The Dark Witch Chronicles Book One: The Curse of The Cymmerien Dragon

There were black and white stripes on its wings, which were only visible when it flew. Its face and body was that of a magnificent and fierce horse. The overall black coloured creature had a red eye that shone brightly in darkness. It had various symbols on its body that remained covered when it wasn’t flapping its wings. It had a long tail and giant wings. The creature that now stood before Amara and Azrael was the largest one Azrael had ever seen. He had read about them but never sighted one.

Amara watched the giant bird worriedly.

For she knew that it was the Lord's pet, who was only sent without the Lord if he were in danger. She could understand that something was wrong and that the Lord was in need of help. So she took a few steps forward when the bird landed before her, and she stroked its head when it bowed to her. She then took a step back.

"Is the Lord in danger? Is there something wrong?” She asked him softly.

The bird nodded once, looking down. Azrael stepped ahead adjacent to Amara.

"Is there any message from him?” She asked again.

It then flipped open its wings and produced a roll of parchment that fell to the ground. Amara picked it up and opened it. On the parchment were two words that she read out loud.

"Noctia Stella," it read in a loopy, yet clumsy manner, making Amara frown.

Sudden realization hit her. She dropped the parchment on the ground and induced a flame that burnt it to ashes. Then she turned to Azrael.

"We have to go," she told him.

"What is going on?” He asked.

"The Lord needs us. I'll tell you all about it on the journey. Right now, we need to leave. I'll go get my bag of supplies and inform the others. I think we're going to need Iris as well."

With that, Amara stalked back into the castle while Azrael stood there, confused out of his mind. He could not even pick up the parchment and read what was written on it, for it was already destroyed for safety purposes. So he stood there waiting for Amara to return as he watched the giant creature before him. It turned around and walked towards the lake to drink some water out of it until Amara was back. Inside the castle, Amara had grabbed her bag of supplies and rushed to Iris’s chamber where the latter was busy talking to Leandra about how idiotic Eridanus was. As soon as she saw Amara barging into the chamber, she knew something was up.

Iris was immediately on her feet.

"You need to come with me. We're travelling," said Amara.

"Travelling where?" Iris questioned.

"Just be quiet and follow me. There's no time for queries," she said and pulled Iris outside by her arm. Then she stopped mid-way and turned to Leandra.

"Please inform Sienna and Eridanus that we are leaving and will be back soon. Meanwhile, the three of you can prepare everything that is needed for summoning Lilith’s spirit,” she said.

"Of course, I'll be on it right away," Lea replied with an obedient nod and Amara rushed out of the chamber, dragging Iris along with her.

Iris followed Amara confusedly and had a million questions to ask but she saved them for later. It wasn’t the right time to ask anything to Amara since she was in panic mode. When they had reached back to the woods, Amara let go of Iris’s hand.

"Wh-what is that?” gasped Iris as she spotted the huge creature that stood at a distance from her.

Amara ignored Iris’s reaction and kept walking. Iris’s eyes were wide as she had not seen anything so huge in her entire existence. It was terrifying, to say the least. She held dazed look as she blindly walked ahead with Amara. Her eyes were stuck on the bird before her. Azrael turned to find Amara walking forward followed by Iris and he took a few steps ahead.

"Do you mind explaining to me what exactly that is?" Iris asked with her eyes wide.

"No time for questions, Iris," Amara replied while securing the bag of supplies around her waist.

"Okay. Mount on top of it," she instructed to Iris who snapped her head in Amara's direction and gave her a bewildered look.

"Most certainly NOT!" replied Iris, horrified.

"Iris, we have no time!" Amara told her, irritated.

"You're asking me to sit on that thing and-wait, is it going to fly?” She shot back, taking a few steps backwards.

Amara was far more than angry now. She was infuriated.

"At the speed of lightning; now get on it or I'll have you unconscious right this minute!" warned Amara, sternly.

Impatient with all the commotion, Azrael rolled his eyes as Iris began to take a few more steps back in terror. He stalked up to her, grabbed her by the waist, and effortlessly tossed her on top of the creature that was waiting for them to climb on. Iris squealed in horror as she saw herself settled on the soft yet firm body of the creature. She still held a terrified look on her face as she realized that they were going to fly. Iris had always been afraid of heights. It scared her to no limit. And having to fly on a giant horse-like bird that apparently ran at lightning speed wasn’t making her feel any better.

As soon as Amara mounted on the bird followed by Azrael who settled behind with Iris between the both of them, the wings were extended and the horse began to run. Iris shut her eyes tightly as they rushed ahead with what seemed like immeasurable speed to her, and then without her noticing, they were in the air. The giant wings flapped on the creature’s sides as they began to go higher and higher until the ground beneath them disappeared. Iris clutched onto Amara's shoulders with her eyes still tightly shut.

"Now do you mind telling me what this huge thing is and why we are flying to a place I have no idea about?” She asked, gathering all her strength.

Fortunately for her, the bird had lowered its speed when they were high enough and Iris no longer had to scream due to the wind. Amara let out a sigh. Iris never gave up on her questions. She was the most curious being Amara had ever come across. Thinking that the girl was never going to let her live in peace if she did not answer her queries, Amara started explaining to Iris about what the creature actually was. Azrael sat behind them stretching his arms to his sides and yawning.

"This creature is known as Equus. It is the Lord's pet and these kinds of creatures are only found in the world of Conjurers. No human is aware of them. Equus are very rare birds. The first one was created by a powerful sorcerer called Philinarmus Estrado, thousands of years ago. Since then these creatures have naturally bred. Though a few of them were destroyed by dark witchcraft due to their great powers, there are some left that produce themselves from time to time. Equus are born out of the earth. They can only be destroyed through dark witchcraft, otherwise they are immortal. But if and when their Lord dies or they are abandoned, the creatures crash into the earth and break into shards.

"And when they desire a new Lord, the shards buried into the earth assemble again to form another giant bird. They don't grow physically; they create themselves back to the giant forms. It is a very fascinating process to watch them grow back. It is nearly the same as a phoenix but rather different. Equus have powers that are unbeatable. They emit a sound so horrible that it can paralyze the victim for twenty-four hours. Also they let out smoke that can blind the victim as well. They have highly poisonous nails that are brought out only upon their Lord's orders. The nails are capable of killing the enemy with a single scratch on their body. Fighting an Equus is very difficult. Only powerful sorcerers or witches are capable of the same; and besides them, the ones who are skilled in dark witchcraft."

Azrael had read about Equus when he was sixteen and was learning about witchcraft. But since he had not witnessed them in reality, he was surprised to be in the presence of one. Iris’s eyes were wide in amazement as she heard what Amara was describing. But she wasn’t satisfied. She had more questions to ask.

"And what does the Lord call his pet?” She asked, raising her eyebrows.

Amara let out a sigh, shaking her head. It was no use getting annoyed; she should have become rather used to Iris’s questions since they never seemed to end.

"Sparnai," replied Amara.

"What is it supposed to mean?" Iris frowned.

"Why don't you ask that to the Lord? It's his pet after all." Amara shrugged in response. Iris shut the question away. Ask the Lord? That itself terrified her. She did not have enough strength to speak to someone as powerful and intimidating as Lord Lucifer. It was not her cup of tea.

"Okay. Now, can you please tell me where we're going?" Iris questioned.

"The Lord only sends his pet alone when he is in danger. So we're going to help him wherever Sparnai takes us," Amara replied.

"Why do you need me for that?"

"I don't know. I just felt like I needed you."

"Ladies, if you two are finished with your interesting conversation, I have something to ask Amara,"

Azrael interrupted before Iris could open her mouth to say something else. She quieted down when he leaned forward so his words could reach Amara.

"Now what do you want?" said Amara, letting out a frustrated sigh. She was tired of answering questions. Although she knew that being irritated was not going to stop Azrael from saying what he wanted to.

"Apologies for being an annoyance, but I would like to know what was written on the parchment that you destroyed," he told her.

They were now travelling a bit faster. The sky around them was dark and Iris wondered how the Equus was able to look without any source of light. Then again she thought that it might be one of the creature's powers. As Sparnai flew faster, Amara noticed that they were about to reach their destination. She figured she might as well have answered the question before they reach.

“Noctia Stella.”

“Huh?” Azrael gasped as he heard that name.

“Excuse-me, but could someone please enlighten me further!” Iris exclaimed, thoroughly annoyed at their mutual level of understanding.

“Noctia Stella is a Mortuis. She is more than a thousand years old and has been practicing dark witchcraft for ages now. Through the message that the Lord sent, I assume it has something to do with her since she is an extremely powerful witch. She can’t move a single finger due to old age but her strength lies in her eyes. She can do terrible things: things that can damage our world to no extent. But she had been caged by King Abraham the First using a shield of spells that are invincible.

"No amount of dark witchcraft can damage that shield. So she cannot destroy anything major on her own; but she has power enough to give her teachings to others enabling them to do her work. The glitch in that is it would take centuries until Conjurers become as strong as her and finish what she wants to do. But the problem is, nobody knows whom she has trained," Amara revealed.

They were starting to descend back to the ground. Iris clutched Amara's shoulders again when the speed increased. Moments later, they were on the land, softly paddling onto the grass. Iris observed her surroundings. There was absolutely no sound that she heard. Not even the wind flowing through the leaves of trees made any sort of noise. It was a deadly calm. They had entered a clearing where there were tiny huts of various kinds settled at a few paces ahead of them. There was a considerable distance between all the huts that were covered with stacks of hay. It seemed like a quaint village, but there not being a single sound was frightening in a way.

As the Equus came to a halt, Amara was the first to get down. Then Azrael followed suit. Iris was still atop Sparnai, gulping as she could not bring herself to descend. Azrael had to grab her by the arm and pull her down in one go, holding her waist to steady her so as not to let her fall. Iris dared not make a sound. She thought that she would be tortured if she uttered a single syllable. When Azrael was sure she was conscious enough to stand on her own, he let her feet touch the ground and released his hold on her waist. Iris pushed the hair falling over her face back, and started to follow Amara as she walked ahead. The Equus retreated and left to go to a river that was at a distance behind them.

"Where are we?" Iris whispered, leaning close to Amara's ear.

"The village of Heletes," replied Amara just as softly.

Iris did not ask anything else. She decided that she would save the rest of her questions for when they returned. At that moment, the more important task was to rescue the Lord. Amara walked ahead looking around to find any hint of Lord Lucifer but he was nowhere in sight. The path was lit with a few torches of fire that rested on trees. Azrael searched for Lord Lucifer as well, but to no avail. Then suddenly Amara stopped and turned to Iris.

"Can you find out where the Lord is?” She whispered.

Iris looked at her for a moment and then nodded. She shut her eyes in an attempt to connect her mind to Lord Lucifer's. She had never done that before. There were other minds that she had invaded and connected to, but not Lord Lucifer's. Neither did she ever dare to, nor had a chance like that occurred.

The air around them was cold. But Iris did not feel a thing, for her mind was focussed on something else. When she was sure her mind could locate Lord Lucifer's, she strained it so as to find out where he was. Iris realized that Lord Lucifer was not in his proper senses. She saw a vision of him inside one of those huts, but far away from where most were present. That hut was the gloomiest one out of all. It was bigger and the walls were a clear black with the strangest symbols around them. They gave off a dreadful vibe. Iris saw Lord Lucifer bound in chains on top of a chair, trembling. She immediately opened her eyes.

Without a word, she began walking in direction of the hut. Amara and Azrael glanced at each other before following her. They walked farther away from the shacks that were closely there and were now in an isolated area. Huge trees were in their surroundings, but there wasn’t a single leaf on them. The air was disturbing. It gave off an extremely grim vibe. Iris blindly walked towards the shack and stood in front of it. The wind came to a standstill. The atmosphere was gloomy, creepy and frightening. It made Amara shudder in dread. Azrael scrunched his face up in disgust at the stench that had begun to waft through the air.

It was similar to the one that Lilith carried; only this time it was worse. Iris snapped back into her conscious state of mind at the horrible smell. The area around the hut was deserted and petrifying, to say the least. It scared Iris a lot more than necessary. She had never been to a place as gloomy as that one. It was worse than any place possible. She glanced at Azrael who was standing beside her, and then at Amara who was staring at the symbols on the hut. As they began to enter, the smell augmented and the atmosphere became darker and darker. A single candle was lit inside, illuminating the rest of the place in a soft glow.

Iris inadvertently grabbed Azrael's arm as they ventured further in. Soft chants of spells were heard that made Iris cringe. Azrael glanced at Iris once and placed a hand on hers to assure that he was there. She failed to notice and clutched his arm tighter, her nails digging into his flesh. Amara walked ahead to find Lord Lucifer tied to a chair. He was shuddering uncontrollably and right opposite to him was a woman. The appearance of her was hideous, sickening. Iris wanted to scream at the sight, it made her shut her eyes to never open them again. It was far worse than Lilith's.

The Mortuis, Noctia Stella, was nightmarish. Her hair was dishevelled, sticking up in every corner, gray and black; the bushy mane pushed back so it did not fall on her wrinkled forehead. Her skin was white underneath specks of black. Eyes a shade of dark red: cold and monstrous. Her nose was a crooked one, again wrinkled. Cheeks were covered in spots of blood and hanging loosely in crumpled lines. Lips were a dark purple; almost black and exceptionally dry. Her hands were crinkled and they trembled on her knees as she chanted spells. Nails were crooked, asymmetric and longer than usual. With lines of blood on them, her nails were settled on the robe that she wore: torn and old. It was tainted and worn, a black coloured robe that had holes in the sleeves that stretched to her elbows. Ripped from the waist a bit, crumpled as she sat still with her eyes boring into Lord Lucifer's trembling being.

Amara's gaze snapped towards Lord Lucifer and she immediately began muttering the purest spells to free him. Azrael proceeded ahead and joined in along with her while Iris stood there shivering beside him. She hid her face into his shoulder with her eyes tightly shut. Amara and Azrael chanted the spells but even though Noctia Stella had noticed them, she did not take her eyes off of Lord Lucifer, for she was quick enough to know that her concentration loss would render the process useless. So instead of disabling her opponents, she continued the attack on her victim.

“Gods of power of the wind and earth, the trembling flames and salient waters, spirits of the pure and the great ones, give us the power to defeat the evil. End the sinful and slay the iniquitous. Give us a soul purer than virtuous, a tranquil strength to vanquish the impure and to trounce over the absolute. . .” Amara thus continued chanting along with Azrael.

Amara shut her eyes and chanted the spells louder. She then grabbed Iris’s arm, and through her mind, sent a silent message of manipulating Noctia Stella's mind. Iris looked horrified. How could she handle the brain of more than a thousand year old witch who was skilled in dark witchcraft? That seemed like the silliest idea to her. But seeing the impatience on Amara's face, Iris shut her eyes and began to apply all the teachings that Eridanus had taught her. She was a fast learner, no doubt, but she had never manipulated any complicated mind of a normal witch, to have been skilled in doing the same for a Mortuis like Noctia Stella.

Amara sent Iris another message saying that since the witch's concentration was solely on Lord Lucifer and in trying to beat her opponents, it would not be as difficult to invade her mind. Iris took that as a confidence boost and let out a sigh before shooting a straight arrow through her mind into that of Noctia Stella's. Iris realized that due to the amount of years that the witch had existed, her mind was a weak one. She could only perform dark witchcraft, but was incapable of having enough control over her mind. That made Iris’s task easier.

Noctia Stella failed to realize when her mind had been invaded. She only understood what had happened when Lord Lucifer suddenly stopped trembling in his seat. His eyes that had rolled upwards had gotten back to normal, and shut by themselves. Iris had shot her best manipulation skill into shutting Noctia Stella's mind to an extent that ceased her process of torturing Lord Lucifer. Amara immediately set Lord Lucifer free while Azrael pulled out the Healing Potion from Amara's bag and poured a few drops down Lord Lucifer's tongue.

However, Iris was still stuck. Her eyes were closed, mind blocked and it tackled that of the Mortuis and she stood stone still. When Amara looked at her, she immediately rushed towards Iris only to find Noctia Stella's eyes now focussed on her. The witch was staring right into Iris as though trying to paralyze her while Amara tried her best to counter the process. Azrael had noticed what was happening and since Lord Lucifer had now woken up, although weak, he glanced for a moment at Noctia Stella and then rushed towards Iris and Amara along with Azrael by his side. He grabbed Iris’s arm and Azrael did the same with Amara. Lord Lucifer gave a nod in Azrael's direction and a moment later, the four of them vanished from the cottage. They landed forcefully on the ground beside the river Carinelle that was outside the village of Heletes.

The Equus was immediately by their side and Lord Lucifer instructed Azrael to help Amara who was struggling to stand up, for her head had been hit while he looked at Iris and was about to help her up. But she had fainted.