SWNOVELS Chapter Chapter Nine: The Guardian
Amara looked at Iris, puzzled. She was standing outside her chamber, holding a book in her hands and a tiny vial of Phoenix Blood.
“Yes?” Amara asked, raising her eyebrows.
“I have a few questions. May I come in?” Iris asked with a hopeful smile.
Amara contemplated whether to let Iris in the chamber. No one had ever entered her chamber and she didn’t want to change that. Although, now, Iris was on the verge of forcing herself inside so Amara reluctantly nodded and gave her way. Her grin widened and she stepped inside, glancing around the chamber in awe. Iris admired the dark atmosphere, the deep blue curtains sashaying playfully as a chilly wind entered from the slightly ajar window, the side table with two rickety chairs, a little bed in the corner, a Fireplace with a huge sunken chair and a dead bearskin for a mat at its feet, lamps glowing gently, resting on the walls at a few places and a bookshelf that contained many interesting old books.
Ignoring her, Amara walked up to the side table and took a seat on a chair. Iris followed, settling on the chair opposite to her. She placed the book of Ancient Witchcraft on the table along with the vial of Phoenix Blood before turning to look at Amara. She was lost watching the flames dance in the Fireplace.
“Amara?” Iris said, hoping she would look at her. Amara snapped her attention to Iris.
“You told me about Phoenix Blood. That it grants life, but whoever drinks it cannot contain it for long; and you told me about a witch who drank the blood. Who was she?” She asked with a curious expression on her face.
“Did you not find anything in the books?” Amara retorted, raising an eyebrow.
“Not exactly, it only says that the witch was a great one and her name was Lilith. There is no mention of the story behind her taking the blood. I mean, given the consequences and that she was a great witch, she must have had a good reason to do what she did. Can you tell me anything about her?”
“It’s a very long story, Iris. I think you would get bored,” Amara replied, unsure of whether or not she should reveal the story. Iris seemed adamant.
“I won’t get bored. Please do tell me,” she said with a curious glint in her eyes. Impressed by the determination the new witch had, Amara began telling her the tale of the great witch.
“Lilith Angelique Juniperus was born in the year 1538. Coming from a great sorcerer’s family, she had no parents. Lilith lived with her dying grandmother. Once, while looking for potential mentors, she came across a book at the age of sixteen. The book belonged to the then King of Acanthus, King Abraham Baltheir who had bewitched it for protection from the enemy land. The book was about the darkest witchcraft and he was looking for a solution to destroy it or save it from getting into wrong hands. One day, when he was travelling to meet learned sorcerers, he met with some witch-hunters. After fighting bravely to save himself, he was abducted, but using his powers, he hid the book so only the virtuous and the deserving find it and destroy it.
"When Lilith came across that book in the great woods of Aughmor, she realized that it contained dark witchcraft. After consulting her grandmother, who died few days later, Lilith went in search of finding a mentor. Reaching Acanthus, she met with a great sorcerer by the name of Hermys. He trained her in witchcraft and Lilith became an exceptional witch who had vast knowledge and did great deeds during her existence. She lived for two-hundred-years but could never find a way to destroy the book so it would not get into wrong hands. Her quest never rested.
"Years later, exhausted, she lay at the shore of the Sea of Cypress where a lady emerged from the dark waters and addressed her saying the book wasn’t to be destroyed, but hidden somewhere no one would find it. The Sea of Cypress was known to have saved great treasures and Lady Calypsa, being the guardian, had been protecting everything. Lilith agreed to hide the book in the bed of the great Sea, but she was heard by King Abraham’s enemy, who had been keeping track of her for a long time. When she was about to hide the book, the enemy attacked a now weak Lilith. Yet, she used all her strength to fight but was on the verge of dying. Lady Calypsa could only help by offering her Phoenix Blood, with the consequences told. Because the enemy had taken away the book from her, leaving her to die, Lilith agreed to take the blood.
"It was very difficult for her to control it but she tried her hardest and fought with the enemy again while Lady Calypsa snatched the book away after he was distracted. The book was hidden in the Sea soon after, and Lilith, in the end, lost herself to her pride on saving the book. Her haughtiness of being the only one to endure Phoenix Blood and contain it inside of her drove her to the point of insanity, until she was begging for Death. Unable to control herself any longer, she set herself on Fire. From that day on, nobody dared to drink Phoenix Blood. Lady Calypsa, in the Sea of Cypress is known to have hidden grave treasures and possessions of witches and she still continues to do so.”
Iris’s mouth was agape when Amara finished telling her the story. She told herself there was no way she would ever take Phoenix Blood. She would rather die.
Letting out a sigh, she said, “Okay, um, and the book is still hidden in the sea? Did nobody ever try to take it?” Iris asked.
“People did try to find out what the book was about. Nobody knows what all it held because Lilith never told anyone. And Lady Calypsa has been protecting it until now,” answered Amara.
“What all things are there in the Sea of Cypress?” Iris asked again, the curiosity bubbling inside of her. A tad bit impatient, Amara did answer her questions.
“As far as I know, there are possessions of great witches who had no capable heirs so they handed them over to Lady Calypsa. Things like swords, ancient books, the gifts granted by goddesses, powerful weapons, and-” she hesitated.
“And?” Iris urged.
There was one other thing that could not be revealed to Iris or anybody else apart from Amara, Lord Lucifer and Lady Calypsa.
“And other things that I am not particularly aware of,” she said, dropping the subject.
Iris’s face fell. Her curiosity was unsatisfied and for a moment, she considered invading Amara’s mind to know what she was hiding. The way she hesitated, Iris was sure there was something she had not talked about; but she knew that there was no way Amara would let her know if she didn’t want it to be known. She was capable enough of hiding it even if Iris invaded her mind.
“How do you know all this? The books didn’t give me so much information,” Iris enquired.
“The Lord is a descendant of the Lord Hermys, who was a great sorcerer and the one that trained Lilith. His valour was well known. Legend has it that he extracted the blood of the last Cymmerien dragon, which is known to be the deadliest poison there is. It’s supposed to be one of the things that Lady Calypsa protects in the Sea of Cypress,” Amara said. “But it could only be a story. There is no proof of it being true. Cymmerien dragons went extinct centuries ago,” she paused. “I want you to keep this information to yourself, Iris. Enough people know about it and we do not need more. You are not to discuss this with anyone else. Do you understand?” Amara said in all seriousness.
Looking at her face, Iris realized the intensity of the situation and nodded her head quickly. “I won’t talk about this again,” she said.
“Good. Now is there anything else you want to ask?”
“No. I’m done,” replied Iris as she stood up to leave, since she understood she wasn’t supposed to linger around in Amara’s private chamber after her work was done.
Although, she did like the ambience. Her chamber wasn’t this lavish. Shaking that thought out of her head, Iris proceeded towards the door and walked outside with the bottle of Phoenix Blood in her hand. It looked much more dangerous now that she knew the whole story. Shuddering at the mere thought of it, she replaced it in the potions chamber before retreating to her own.
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Inside her chamber, Amara let out a sigh as the piece of parchment trembled in her hands. She read the words again:
To possess it, a loved one must be killed.
Placing it back inside the book, she shut it and kept it in the bookshelf again. Amara shut her eyes for a moment, forgetting about the Sea of Cypress and jumped out of her window to go into the woods. It was a new moon night and as custom, she had to meditate.
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Iris sat in her chamber going through the book of Ancient Witchcraft when the sound of swirling winds came from outside her window. Frowning, she stood up and walked to the window to find Nicholas standing outside rotating his arms in the air.
“What is he doing?” She whispered to herself.
Nicholas raised his arms higher in the air and wind rose above carrying stray leaves from the ground that circled around him for a while then fell back down and the whirling sound vanished.
“Wish to join me, Iris?” He asked, turning bemusedly to face her. She looked at him quietly before stepping out the back door of the chamber. When she stood next to Nicholas, he gave her a smile and raised his arms in front of him again.
“Try to copy me,” he said to her and she followed his movements, raising her arms above.
Nicholas closed his eyes and twisted his arms so the wind again made a whirling noise and the leaves rose along. Iris bit her lower lip and copied what he was doing, but nothing happened. She tried once again, but the leaves remained on the ground and the wind made no sounds around her. Dejected, she let her arms fall to the sides, thinking that Nicholas had invited her outside just to make fun of her. She began retreating when he opened his eyes and looked at her with his eyebrows raised.
“It’s not that easy,” he said.
“Of course it isn’t. How do you expect me to do it? I’m new and I’m not a trained witch,” she replied with remorse.
“Well, you will only be trained when someone helps you; and all new witches started from the scratch.”
“At least they knew who they were from the start.” She shrugged, looking away.
“Not all of them. Some were like you, curious, impatient, childlike.” Nicholas winked at her. Iris dropped her jaw, narrowing her eyes. Was it necessary for all good looking men to be so mean and arrogant? Were witches not different from humans?
“I’m not a child,” she said, offended.
“Obviously not, but your mind refuses to grow up,” he whispered in her ear, circling around her and coming to stand in front of her. Iris looked at him with her forehead furrowed. She didn’t like the way he was talking, but what could she possibly reply to that?
“My mind is fine,” she managed finally and turned around to go back in her chamber when Nicholas appeared in front of her and she stepped back, startled. Folding her arms across her chest, she stood there with an annoyed expression, not wanting to hear what he had to say if he was only going to shoot insults.
“Learning to handle elements is the first step to becoming a great witch. You have to start from the beginning. A short temper isn’t going to help, though,” he said, smirking.
Iris wanted to punch him for being so arrogant but he had a point. Her impatience was acting up. For a while, she had thought she was going back to normal after forgetting about Amara’s past but this man had to come along to remind her that she had lot of things to do.
“Fine but I’d rather learn from Erasmus.” Iris turned back around and Nicholas let out a slight chuckle.
“He isn’t so good at tackling the element of Air. I am,” he said, shrugging.
She didn’t reply, but Nicholas got the message and turned to face her completely.
“Close your eyes,” he said and Iris did so, but as soon as her eyes went blind, the sensation of a vision entering her mind began to work its way. She wanted to open her eyes immediately when she realized she was invading someone’s mind. There was no one’s mind she had been able to invade apart from Amara’s, when she was thinking of her past. Nicholas’s voice was now just a foggy whisper that she was unable to decipher. She tried hard to pull herself out of Amara’s mind, but flashes of a few scenes continued.
***
“The prophecy is hidden yet known to many. . .”
“I swore to protect her and I will do so!”
Lord Lucifer pulled his sword out and slashed his neck, grabbing Amara by the arm and dragging her away from the dungeons.
“He will save you,” Thomas said and jumped out of the window, running away. Amara screamed in agony, “LEAVE ME! LET ME GO!” Her leg caught in his grasp and she struggled to get away.
“She has to protect the treasures. . .”
“NO!” she screamed.
***
Iris opened her eyes to someone shaking her gently. She was breathing heavily, half-lying on the ground, her head cradled in Erasmus’s arms. He helped her up and kept an arm wrapped around her shoulder to support her tiny frame. Nicholas held out a glass of water and Iris took it from him, gulping it down in one go.
“Are you okay?” Erasmus asked. Iris nodded, unable to say anything. She blinked a few times to register her surroundings. “Here, get up,” Nicholas said and held out a hand, pulling her up to standing.
“Let’s get her inside. Give her the Fire and Ice potion,” Nicholas said to Erasmus and he nodded, taking Iris inside the castle with him.
Nicholas turned around and started walking towards the woods where he knew Amara would be present. From what he observed, Iris’s condition had something to do with Amara since she called out her name twice before collapsing. Whatever it was, things were getting seriously complicated and he had to find out before he left to travel again.
Once he reached the woods, he made his way into the deeper parts upon hearing a chanting sound; the prayers for the Goddess Luna. Approaching the sound he set his feet in position when he found Amara seated on the ground, her eyes closed and back straight, she recited the prayer and the words literally ascended to the sky, which was now starting to thunder. Nicholas stood there for a while, thinking of whether or not he should disturb Amara. The ritual of the new moon night went on until dawn and it was nowhere close to daybreak now. She would not like it if she were disturbed. Retracing his steps, Nicholas started to go back when a spirit appeared in front of him, circling around to block his path.
“She is in grave danger. Save her, save her!” the spirit whispered before vanishing away from sight. Nicholas stood there perplexed for a moment and then swiftly walked out of the woods and back into the castle. Iris was in danger.
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The rock broke into crystals and shattered around as Lord Mikhail stood outside the cave, now rid of the huge rock blocking his path. Pushing the crystals away, he ventured inside the dark cave that was only lit by the torch Lord Mikhail was carrying in one hand. He walked further in a long passage, which went up and down as his feet moved forward. A while later, he was met with a figure seated over a big stone, candles burning around him. Lord Mikhail observed the man. With a long beard that reached his chest, he wore a red robe around his shoulders that cascaded down to the ground after overlapping the stone, white hair as long as his beard, and a wrinkled face. The old man sat in clear concentration, his body rigid and the only movement seen was his chest rising and falling slightly as he breathed.
Lord Mikhail approached further in and stood in front of the man, unable to go ahead because of the candles in the path.
“Lord Perseus, I come here to seek help,” said Lord Mikhail, bowing his head in respect.
The great sorcerer, Lord Perseus, was five-hundred-years old and known for defeating dark witches. After years of bravery and fighting wars, he had taken to rest in the caves of Darald where he meditated for years and helped lost travellers find their way. He was known to have an answer for everything. Lord Mikhail waited for the great sorcerer to open his eyes. After a while, Lord Perseus looked at Lord Mikhail who was standing there in position patiently.
“Lord Mikhail, High Minister of King Orcus,” he said, his voice deep and clear.
“Yes, m’Lord .” Lord Mikhail nodded.
“What do you desire?”
“You are aware about Lady Calypsa in the Sea of Cypress. It is said that she only appears to those who have either known her for centuries, or those who have prayed to her for years. I wish to meet her, but I do not know her and I don’t have the time to pray to her. I seek help, m’Lord . How do I get her to speak to me?” asked Lord Mikhail, placing his torch in a corner.
“Lady Calypsa is a spirit of greatness. If one cannot pray to her for gaining her approval, one has to have the eminent desire to see her. Your mind should be that strong and unmoving. She should be the only concern for whatever reason you wish to meet her. If your desire and your faith are that strong, she will appear without the years of praying,” answered Lord Perseus.
Lord Mikhail sighed in contempt. He didn’t know whether he could have the strong will that the Lord had just described. His only concern was what she was protecting. He was unsure if he could make her his only concern or desire. Lord Perseus closed his eyes again and resumed his meditation, leaving Lord Mikhail with the answer, which was his job to put into work. He stood there for a longer time, thinking about what he would do. Lady Calypsa surely didn’t seem an easy goal to achieve. But then again, what he wanted from her wasn’t something easy either. There had to be some sacrifice if he wished to gain what he desired.
A while later, Lord Mikhail picked up his torch from the corner and began walking out of the cave to find his way to the Sea of Cypress thinking that somehow he would eventually find a solution even though Lord Perseus had just given him the answer to his queries. But it was said that whatever answer the great Lord gave was always difficult to work upon. His answers were confusing but correct at the same time. It was up to the seeker to get to the right way of solving problems. When Lord Mikhail was about to walk deeper into the passage to get out of the cave, a voice stopped him. “There is but another answer to your question, Minister,” said Lord Perseus.
Lord Mikhail turned around and walked back to where Lord Perseus was sitting. His eyes were still closed, but he said, “Lady Calypsa is not the only one guarding the treasures that you so dearly seek. There is a witch who protects the treasure and does not need to be prayed to.”