Chapter 11:

  “I think that’s an excellent idea, Corvy. And this time let's go in style.” Said Elora while she smiled.

  “You have me worried, I’ve seen that smile before” Thorn said worriedly.

  “Can I help in any way Elora?” I asked

  “Actually you can, because you can amplify different magic right? Well I plan to use an advanced elven royalty magic that is special to my specific type of magic. I have Golden Silk Aetheerium magic, which hasn’t been seen by elves for several thousand years. And the specific spell I plan to use is called The World Tapestry Soul Portal.” She said.

  “I’ve heard about that before, I’m honored to help you Elora.” I replied. I began by applying an extreme amplification enchantment to her Rapier. She held it perfectly perpendicular to the earth, pointing directly to the sky. Elegance and Glory was now brimming and coursing with such magical potency concentrating around her deadly tip that you could feel it radiating off her. Elora closed her eyes and assumed the perfect stance, her heels together, elbows tucked in, both hands on her rapier.

  “Show me the threads of this world” She said barely above a whisper. It sounded ethereal, like she wasn’t of this world.

  When she opened her eyes they were glowing a brilliant gold and her rapier had golden threads moving about it. They seemed to come from the tip of her rapier and trail off. They also didn’t abruptly end, but rather faded away like they were brought through a rift from another plane of existence. Suddenly she plunged the tip of her rapier into the ground and from the spot she punctured the earth with the world around us turned to golden threads. It was almost like a plague spreading from the point of contact at an extreme speed. Hence the name World Tapestry and the incantation she spoke. Even us people were turned to threads, or rather the threads of our souls were made visible.

  Now the entire world looked like a golden tapestry. The only different color was that of our souls connected to the golden strands of our bodies. And the glowing colors of our eyes. Flick’s soul and eyes were a wondrous green. Both me and Thorn had red souls and eyes. And Elora’s soul and eyes were gold, but they were more brilliant and beautiful than the world around us. She proceeded to leave her rapier in the ground and strode over to us, gathering a single thread from each of our souls. And then she returned to the rapier and gripped the handle with her free hand.

  “Keep close, and try not to be too shocked.” She said while she smiled. What she did next was completely astonishing. She tore a rift in the tapestry of the world and pulled the three of us by our threads in. Before following herself. I blacked out and I think Flick and Thorn may have because when we woke up we were in the elegant citadel of the elves.

  Chapter 12:

  The castle was absolutely stunning, it must have undergone several renovations since I last visited. Every wall, every house, every stone in the floor this beautiful place was carved of. Was interlaced with golden threads and embellishments. They shone in the moonlight gorgeously. The city was bustling and busy, always doing something. Several elves glanced at me curiously or out of fear. But none stopped. I was weaving in between them avoiding running into anyone. Both Flick and Thorn kept giving me weird looks. It was amazing to think that this place was carved from an entire mountain. With the ley line tree at the center top. It glistened in the red light, decorated with gold threads and windchimes made of crystals. The elves practically worshipped the threads of life. But as we walked through the city, something felt off.

  “Why is nobody here, and would you stop doing that, Corvus.” Flick asked as he cocked his head.

  “What do you mean the city is practically full! It's amazing!” I responded enthusiastically.

  “No, Flick’s right, it’s like they deserted this place. And please stop, you look so weird.” Thorn butted in.

  “They couldn't have, they wouldn’t.” Elora’s eyes grew wide with realization.

  “I’m not crazy. I know I’m not. I mean I am crazy but not insane enough to hallucinate things.” I said getting increasingly worried by the second.

  “No, you’re not crazy, Corvy. Your soul has been inscribed with an acceptance glyph by an elf before, hasn’t it. The thing about elves is, you can't see them and they can’t see you if you don’t have this rune. Well not while they’re in the citadel, and not if they don’t want to.” She explained.

  “Oh yeah, I forget all the time. One of my students who happened to be an elf invited me to journey with him to the citadel once. Ended up forming an alliance with the elves, and had a magic exchange event.” I recalled.

  “That makes sense. But the reason I can’t see anyone and no one can see me here is because my parents must’ve exiled me and revoked my acceptance glyph. Their final cruelty toward me.” She spoke softly, her voice cracking. Her gaze to the floor.

  “Well then I’ll just have to go talk to them.” I said confidently, my chin held high. I was ready to give them a piece of my mind. “Show me where they live.”

  “Corvy, that's probably not the be-” She was cut off by me holding up my hand to her.

  “Just show me, I love you and they will see reason. Even if I must fight them.” I said.

  “Well, they live over here. But know this now, they won’t fight you, but my monster of a sister will. My parents chose her over me because she is oh so perfect.” She said that last word with such disdain and disgust that I knew I would hate her. We all walked a couple streets before coming to an ornate and large house. I knocked twice with my knuckles. The door cracked open and from behind it I saw an old elven woman who looked like she was so full of envy and disgust that she might pop. Her face contorted when she got a better look at me.

  “Go away, demon. We know not of you.” She said, her voice laced with unspoken threats. She began to close the door but I shoved my boot in the door.

  “I think you will find that you will be talking to me. Because you exiled Elorabeth.” I said my fake smile falling to reveal a very anger filled expression. Not one of pure rage, but one of dangerous complexity, one that said everything by saying nothing. She looked at me a second time, her face twisted into a sneer. Though it didn’t last long when she saw my look. She knew that I would only remain calm for so long.

  “So, Mrs. perhaps you would invite me inside for a chat. I’ve brought some friends, although they can’t be seen.” I said my voice laced with a lie of kindness as my smile returned. How vile that smile felt when in the presence of someone so cruel you could feel it.

  “Very well. But do tell me what business the last living Oni has with my daughter.” She said, opening the door and inviting us in. Their home was filled with artifacts and modern art, themed decor. They were very wealthy, but these things never impressed me.

  “She is an integral part of our mission, in fact she is here with me right now. We need access to the elven ley line tree. We’ve found a way to heal the trees. But the four of us all need acceptance glyphs. And while we will get my other two friend’s glyphs from someone else, you need to revoke Elorabeth’s banishment curse.” I said, my voice dropping dangerously low.

  “Well,” She began a scheme forming in that small brain of hers, despite the largess of her skull. And that massive forehead. Her receding hairline is not helping at all. “We don’t just give anything for free. We desire entertainment.”

  “I was warned of this. You most likely desire a fight between me and her sister.” I said with such malice I could taste it. She clapped her hands together.

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  “Ecellent, the terms are as follows, if we win, Elorabeth will not be unbanished and you must leave. But if you win,” She said with such serious doubt in my abilities that I could see it on her face as she looked me up and down judgementally. “Then we will restore Elorabeth’s glyph.”

  “Good, shall we go now?” I asked hoping to get this over with sooner.

  “That would be most favorable.” Elorabeth’s mother replied, leading me and unknowingly the other three to the garden. It was an elegant place matching the embellishments of the house. Different unique plants grew in perfectly arranged formats. From circles to squares to all sorts of patterns across their perfectly manicured lawns. At the center of it all was a large square area to which several paths connected, a sparring arena. A mature eleven lady who must’ve been Elora’s sister was sparring with some kind of training dummy. Elven technology is always flaunting what they can do with their magic. She had straight black hair that whipped around as she fought. A simple yet elegant short white and gold dress. And a katana as black as night itself. It looked like the embodiment of shadows and seemingly radiated a black fog or mist. Her slashes left an after image in the air that sliced again moments after she did. Her speed was one to be impressed by. Perhaps this fight will be worth my while. Elora, Flick, and Thorn sat on a bench ready and waiting to see the next events unfold.

  “This is Lesleigh. She will be the one you fight with. Begin when you are ready.” Spoke Elora’s mother.

  “Ah, a new victim.” Lesleigh said with a devilish smile that made me second guess myself. Her teeth razor sharp and her eyes just as black as her katana, except one was black and the other gold. But the doubt lasted but a moment before I regained myself. “I do so love, love, loooove. Living prey”

  “Good, then you know how to battle I take it?” I inquired. Reaching my arm out to the side, hand open. I summoned my scythe. The Whispering Blade. It appeared in a haze of red black smoke. I twirled it around before holding it behind my back, top of the blade to the floor. One hand holding the handle.

  “Oh, I don’t just know how to fight, I LIVE FOR THE FIGHT.” She said curiosity and insanity tangled together in her smile and her eyes. “Enough chat though, Show me what you’re made of.”

  We both lunged at each other, weapons ready for the first strike. Each of our blades hungry to draw blood first. She fought very erratically, constantly doing something with not a moment of downtime. The after images from her slashes proving quite the nuisance. She could deflect almost any attack of mine and follow up with one of her own. It felt like a true dance of death. Meanwhile I was very aggressive, swinging my scythe with deadly precision. Quite the contrast to her wild strikes. Eventually I found a slight pattern to her. She preferred to be attacked, finding her strength in deflecting and attempting to catch her opponent off guard with a follow up attack in quick deadly succession. But if I were not to attack her she would come after me, in which she left herself very vulnerable. So I baited out one of her attacks.

  She lunged at me, but I expertly side stepped and prepared to attack her from this new position. As my blade closed in on her all I heard was

  “CRESENT MOON SLASH, A THOUSAND CUTS OF THE SHADOWS”

  The world fell dark, the only thing to be seen was the floor and each other. And everything was moving in slow motion, or at least I was. This all happened in less than a second. Lesleigh carved her blade upward from my stomach before darting around the area at near light speed it would seem. Taking every millisecond to attack me. The after images couldn’t keep up and only added to the pain.

  The light returned and I fell to the floor, covered in what must have been at least a thousand cuts from her blade. None bled yet. She sheathed her sword with a loud shink and then blood poured out of my wounds at an alarming pace. Lesleigh’s smile was even brighter now, but then it fell as she watched me bleed out.

  “Aww, playtime’s over?” Lesleigh said as she frowned, watching me stain the stones of the garden crimson with my blood. Flick was practically on top of me but I told him to go sit back down and wait. I wasn’t about to give up.

  “See, that's the problem Lesleigh. Nobody is good enough to fight you.” Said Elora’s mother. I slowly stood back up. To the shock of everyone. Lesleigh cracked her smile again. I reached for the oni mask at my hip, and put it on. Elora’s mother was terrified, as she should have been this entire time.

  Power surged through me, my wounds closed in an instant. I smiled wide, vibrant red and black flames graced me. The flames emerged from my mouth, eyes, claws, and traced the outline of my muscular physique, my abs and chest. Elora couldn’t keep her eyes off me. I grabbed my scythe from the floor, and the flames spread to the blade too. The gold rune glowing, ready for me to use a special attack.

  “You’ve passed the test, congrats. But will you survive the final?” I said my voice low and laced with trickery. We fought, reinvigorated. My speed was inhuman, it was slowly overwhelming her. My scythe moved so fast you could hardly see it. We danced around the arena, both of us fighting maniacally. She managed to disarm me by sheer luck, but I wasn’t going to stop. I started attacking her with my claws instead. Achieving the same effect as using my scythe, except I was even faster. She couldn’t keep up, she tripped and fell. I came at her with both clawed hands. She attempted to block me as a last ditch effort. She held me there for a moment before I grabbed her blade with both hands, my blood running down her black katana. I shattered it.

  Her eyes were wide with shock, she wasn’t smiling anymore. But I was, probably because of my oni mask. I took it off, returning to my normal self. I strode over to my discarded scythe, and grabbed its handle. I unsummoned it, it disappeared in the same haze of smoke it appeared from.

  “Have I been deemed a worthy opponent, Lesleigh?” I asked.

  “Ye-” Began Elora’s mother.

  “Shut it, I didn’t ask you.” I told her.

  “I quite enjoyed that, you are the only person to have defeated me.” Said Lesleigh in admiration and awe now. Whilst her mother had her mouth practically on the floor in shock of what I just told her.

  “Good, it was fun.” I started, then I turned to Elora’s ugly mother. “Now I’m addressing you, remove the banishment curse. And give the three of them acceptance glyphs because you were such a rude hostess.” I gestured to the bench where the three of them had sat.

  “Fine.” She retorted with much disdain. She worked quickly, years of being nonexistent to elves erased in seconds. The three of them were now free to walk these beautiful streets and interact with the amazing people. We walked towards the door and prepared to leave the house and never return. But someone grabbed my arm before I walked out the door.

  “Corvinus, was it? I shall accompany your party to the council. You will need permission from them to heal the ley line tree.” Lesleigh said. My eyes met hers, the contrast between the two eyes was astounding up close. Her gold eye full of life, flickering shining strands glistened and danced in her eyes. While her black eye held secrets shrouded in shadows and black fogs.

  “Very well Lesleigh. I suppose it will be far simpler to prove I was the champion of our duel if you are here to agree.” I said. We managed a couple blocks making haste towards an ornate city hall building. But then, the world froze for me. And everyone around me and everything was still. A greenish hue bathed the area. I looked around, praying that the world would suddenly resume. Then from a few feet behind me, a swirling noise, and heeled steps. I swiveled around on a single heel to see, Sophia? She had just came through a green, yellow, and blue portal. It closed behind her. She wasn’t wearing a cloak this time. Instead she was wearing an elegant black dress that came just past her knees. It had gold and green embellishments and a couple layers to her skirt. Her black hair was done up in a sophisticated bun and she wore gold and black heels. She glanced vaguely around, looking very bored. At least until she spotted me. Her green eyes lit up, quite literally when she saw me.

  “Ah, there you are Corvinus.” She said.

  “What business do you have here?” I inquired. Her voice dropped low, the happy mask gone.

  “You need to know exactly what will happen if you continue on this path without being careful.” She said dangerously.

  “First tell me how you’re here, I have a vague idea but I want confirmation.” I said.

  “I’m an Oneirokinetic. I can enter, manipulate, and create portals to and from the dreamscape. Among other things too.” She replied.

  “Ah yes, I remember now. You were so gifted and talented. You could literally bring dreams to the mortal plane.” I began, “It was quite beautiful. And dangerous…” I finished. I was scanning her face, but I couldn't find any bit of hostility. She wasn’t lying, or she was hiding it quite well.

  “So what is it you want to show me, you said the path I tread is dangerous, if I’m not careful. Care to elaborate?” I asked.

  “Yes, your path is quite dangerous. You are capable of returning Aetheerium magic to the world. But are you sure the world is ready for it? Are you sure the world can handle it? You should know that I’m also a powerful Oneiromantic, meaning I can alter one’s dreams to show them possible outcomes of their future. Nothing is definite, there are only possibilities. You can change what happens, you need only try. So I will show you the most likely outcome of your current actions, and what you intend to do.” She explained. Her face was inquisitive at first before it turned to… pity? I didn’t understand, was she telling me everything? I thought she was, but I doubt myself now. I pushed the thought out of my mind, but it lingered.

  “Allow me to demonstrate, what this elven citadel may become.” She said darkly. Whatever she was about to show me, I feared, would be horrible.

  Chapter 13: