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Chapter Eleven
/Martel's Castle/Spring/1002/
#Henrik POV#
Lucien Castle, as the servant calls himself, had really helped us this time. We have been staying in this castle owned by Count de Martel for a while now.
At first we thought our covers will be blown when count de Martel doubted us . Apparently, the nobles my siblings were disguising as were children of another count, Count de Guise and this Count de Guise never told his fellow Count that he had children.
Rebekah and Elijah were able to turn it around so we escaped another huddle.
A party was thrown for our welcome, rather their welcome, filthy nobles. Well, as a servant that I was, I served but lucky for me, I was under the charge of my sister for the ceremony. During the ceremony, Finn asked whether it was possible for their servant to stay closer to where they were. I really do appreciate their concern for me. The count struggled with an answer, he wanted to refuse reasoning that there was a quarter for servants to stay and as usual my sister, with her skills with words, was able to get one room close to them for me to stay. I never really bothered about whatever plans they had before, my thoughts where towards the things my mother had before she passed on. I needed time to go through them.
After the long night party with the count and his two children, Tristan and Aurora de Martel, it was time to retire for the night. On our way, I stayed behind not too far from Klaus, I was surprised by what he revealed. Apparently, Lucien had bad remarks for the nobles. According to him, the Count was worse than us who weren't humans, the irony.
He was very cruel and heartless when it came to treating those who were not nobles. It wasn't just him, most nobles according to him, were far worse than we could have imagined. Well they don't drink blood, so I don't think we can imagine anything worse than that....for now.
So we all went to our assigned rooms, mine closer to Finn. I feel pained for him, during our journey, we talked. He felt sad that for being a supernatural, he had to give up his magic.
He told me sincerely that he was envious of me getting the best of everything but still felt proud that at least one of us was still a witch. When we talked, I found myself having more respect for him. He was sincere. And that night I made a promise to him that I would find a way to get back what he desired. Truly I would.
Now, I had settled down in my room. Compared to the others, mine was small, nevertheless, it was still bigger than where we all slept in our former house.
It was time to go through what was once my mother's. And to tell you the truth. I think she was hiding her strength from us, if what I am reading from one of her journals is true. This woman was already touching the realm of a warlock. You could say warlocks were the highest form of a witch, there were others, sorcerers, shamans, witch doctors and others. It was difficult to progress.
But my mother was already getting there..and it seems she was missing something. Something she found out later but apparently, she never had a chance to finish this particular research. Or did she but never penned it down.
Leaning into my chair in deep thoughts from what I just read, although not much that can help modify my own knowledge though, which if I measure was already, I was also touching the realm of a warlock. A little more understanding, study and modification I would be a bonafide warlock and even stronger. With the advantage I have and the new gifts such as telekinesis and others I'm still trying to understand under my witch species, I can take on a half a dozen witches and escape from a warlock. My mother, she could handle a dozen of those as well as go toe to toe with a warlock.
That brings me back to what I have been thinking. If she really was that strong from what I have read. Then how did our father strangle her without her retaliating, cause in as much as my mind was in disarray, I took note of her body, and I saw no blood stain, no cuts and definitely no sign of poisoning. Only a mark to show strangulation. I wondered if, by measuring our powers in magic, I was in her situation and someone as strong as father was strangling me, it would only take a few moments of struggle to manipulate the energy in the air to rub the assailant of his freedom before taking any action. This is just me using just my witch power aside from my gifts. So why? Why did she succumb? Was it out of guilt for having an affair outside? Was it out of shame from facing us again? Was it out of anger for herself? What then was it?....
Then it came to me after putting it all together, and knowing my mother....
"Hee...that woman played us all..."
With a smile on my face, I finally relaxed. Turning my head towards where the window exposed the moon's light..
"I hope you achieved what you were looking for..and definitely I hope it would be for our family's benefits...since you didn't want us to know, I'll keep your secret...I still miss you mother"
Thinking more on it, I was a little tensed, in the fact that what she must be planning might not work. I had read before from one of her research about a plane for the ancestors of witches, I might have speculated whether it was real or not but with the plane called purgatory, I begged to differ. There definitely was, if my guess is correct that kind of plane is definitely like purgatory, in terms of energy, the energy I absolved when I was there. I still feel connected to it. Rather it has become a part of me.
But the most shocking thing of all is that with the combination of this energy as well as the nature energy we all recognize as magic, Spells and rituals are much more powerful and easier. With little or no price to pay. And why is that? If my guess is still correct is because I am a dweller of both planes.
We are born here and so it is easier to know how nature energy feels, it's easier to summon it. As for the other planes, you cannot tap such energy without paying a prize unless you are connected to that plane and the easiest is being a dweller and for you to become a dweller as well, there a criterias you must achieve. And that is none other than giving up your physical body here. In other words..
Death.
Death is the only way to transport yourself to that plane. Like I remember vividly. The plane of purgatory should be where people can hardly access even after dying and it should be the most dangerous planes from what I could sense there. I became one of the few who by some chance had entered there and I bet it was the world tree. I remember the feeling of the energy there, it was as pure as nature's energy, in fact both energy where just too pure, now that I have woken, it seems we were not even harnessing the true form of nature's energy. Not until I came back. And that energy had engulfed me for as long as I could remember and it felt like more than a century there, if I exclude the touch from the world tree, I can conclude that my stay in that place was more than 500 years, I do not know how but my spirit recorded it somehow when I thought of it.
Without digressing anymore, the combined energy from there and here has made casting spells easier for me because I was a dweller in that plane and I am a dweller here.
I had told mother about what I experienced, the energy and everything, just a summary. Although I wanted her to study what I had learnt more with her but it seems she had other plans. She had told me about the Veil, a plane where supernaturals are placed in, created by another powerful witch,Qetsiyah. A beautiful name, for a powerful witch. Ever since I learned of that name, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I wonder if ever I will see her. Maybe when I am ready to leave here.
Qetsiyah...
Anyways I digress again, when she told me about the plane and how the ancestors of witches are there and how you can connect with them to perform powerful spells and rituals, although it came with a price from this part rather than their own side. She must have concluded with my own story that the Veil must be like the Purgatory, that's why the ancestors known as 'The Spirits' are so powerful.
If at all I can guess who else had the thirst for knowledge as well as I do, then my mother was that person on the same platform as I am. Well excluding 'The Hollow', who by all means I wish nothing to associate with, she as they said was just too inclined to dark arts, which I am not delving into, I would study it but nothing more, modification is my main motto. And then, there is the lovely Qetsiyah, her story has always been intriguing.
I wonder how she looks...
Thinking more on all of these things, why are the male counterparts so weak? Like none has achieved anything at all. Or are there any that I have not known? More things to find out, it would be embarrassing that no male had left his name on the slate of time. Well I'm going to change that.
After thinking so much about all these events surrounding my mother, I then relax more to delve into what I want to study much more. Something that I have not seen in this world yet.
Runes
A form of magic that does not need incantations or spell but can do the same job. It's diversity is what brings me in awe about this branch of magic I had the privilege to take from the world tree. What is this world tree, to have so much knowledge. Knowledge I fear that if the world knew, it could cause it to crumble. In my curiosity I wanted to dive more into the sea of knowledge but I was stopped by it. If I had been stubborn to learn more, it would have allowed me, but what I would have gotten would have come with a greater price. Me being dragged into the Purgatory and losing myself and almost going completely mad was the 'price' it took for me to gain the amount of knowledge I have now and becoming a phantom was me getting a 'spare change' from it and if I wanted more, I would have paid heavier. Well, the knowledge I had was satisfactory for me.
The school of runes, alterations, conjuration and illusion..
although there were much more schools and other kinds of knowledge but I couldn't delve deeper. Even the ones I had gotten, I couldn't go beyond the realm that supernaturals could handle. It is why my strength jump from being a novice to touching the realm of a warlock.
Only one of these school I have obtained is enough to breakthrough to becoming a warlock if I focus on only one. Now imagine me having four of them.
Back to Rune Magic, it is simply turning words into visual forms. It is so powerful that you can use it to either enchant tools or embed spells. Words are so powerful and rune magic brings that to reality.
The words and symbols used in runes represent so many concepts in nature and beyond, be it elemental, people or animals, strength, speed, time, space or even go beyond that. That is how much powerful rune magic can be. Unfortunately, I couldn't go beyond a level of knowledge for this School as well as the others but I was still able to delve into the aforementioned concepts.
Because words are it's source of power, it has become both it's strength and weakness. From what I had gained, the age of a language can determine the strength of each runes which is what brings us to
Ancient Languages.
The older the ancient language is, according to time, the more powerful it can be and also the more closer the language is to the present, the weaker it is to the extent that magic might not even appear. For instance, before we started our... journey, I wrote a rune in our common language and guess what. Nothing. Nothing happened at all. Because magic saw it as to young to be considered a channel for energy.
It's a good thing i gained knowledge for a few ancient languages in the world tree, some even I never knew existed. I could bring them into this world through runes. Strictly, I would be the only person to understand them, but for others I can teach it, pass it down to other generations.
Runes are amazing. And I believe I would use this to breakthrough into warlock realm before I study the others more.
One thing I found out again from the world tree was that this world, it is bigger than what we believed it to be. Beings unimaginable have their claws deep into this world that if we become too careless, we might destroy the very place we call our home. It seems like I am not just going to protect my family, not them per say, because from the knowledge I have about us we are at the edge of the pinnacle strength of this world. What I am protecting is the essence of why we are a family. It cannot crack beyond what it is right now.
And then, the world needs my help. That's what you wanted right? That was why you took me there and gave me the opportunity to learn if I paid the price, right, world tree?
To become it's protector. That I will gladly do.