“Cecelia! Phern! Time to go! Those people you described are on their way!”
I ran back into the church as fast as I could. Meeting even two people in my current state was far more than I felt I could mentally handle. Having to explain this situation to a group would be a nightmare. Not to mention these people are looking specifically for me.
If it was anyone other than Phern, I would have been confused at how she managed to completely wrap herself in multiple sheets atop her bedroll in a record time of 15 minutes, but she never ceased to amaze me.
Cecelia, on the other hand, looked like she was already preparing for this possibility. All of her possessions were packed in the time it took for Phern to wiggle out of her sophisticated, albeit soft, prison. I moved to pack up my own belongings before realizing I had nothing to my name aside from the strange bindings across my body, travelling from just above my knees all the way to my ribs. It had to be one of the most conspicuous outfits that you could imagine. Cecelia, looking over at me like she could read my concerns over my outfit, gave a loud grumble and pulled out extra clothing from the same handbag that the bread was contained in. Okay, that had to be magic, there’s no way all of that could fit in there. The extra clothes were thrown into my chest, falling into my arms and short circuiting my brain. A white blouse with tan pants sat tangled up in my arms, all I could do was stare blankly at the clothes, then back up at Cecelia.
“Put them on! Gods, if a blouse shatters your masculinity, bandit. We’re going to have a conversation about that.”
She was joking, surely. Regardless, I was fine. It was just a blouse, so it’s definitely fine. I didn’t have the time to waste, pulling the pants on one leg at a time before slowing buttoning up the blouse which again just in case it wasn’t clear was fine with me.
“Make sure you button it up, we can’t afford your upper back to be visible. The people coming certainly know what you are, but if we can make it to the nearest town, you’ll need to be careful. No one can see it.” Her tone of voice twisted into a deep seriousness as she locked me in her gaze. Hide the tattoo, got it. The next minute was a whirlwind of packing everything we could, and then trying to find the easiest way to get to Multon.
The question is how one descends a hill that only has one way down without being seen. The answer? You don’t. As soon as we left the church, we could see the group immediately call out towards and charge up the hill. 4 of them, that is. The 2 with blindfolds didn’t just run towards us, they seemed to blink, appearing to flicker in and out of existence as they raced towards us faster than any normal could run.
“Shit. Follow my lead, bandit. We need to find a way to lose them, this isn’t a fight we can win with you being so untrained.” Cecelia contraption immediately burst forth into a sword, the familiar schwing of the metal sliding against metal singing through the air.
“If you can keep them busy for a moment, I can get us out of here!” Phern called out towards Cecelia as she dug through her dirty looking brown bag. I kept staring to see what she might have been preparing to do, but after seeing dirt, animal bones, and a family portrait fall out of her bag, I figured it would probably only stress me out more to watch her work. I could probably keep these people busy, right? How hard could it possibly be to win a fight if I couldn’t die?
‘Relinquish control, let me fight them.’
I heard Lilith’s voice urge inside my mind as I ran alongside Cecelia. There was no way that I would let her control my body. I had no idea what the scope of that control would do, and I didn’t trust her to not immediately attack Cecelia and Phern when given the chance.
‘You don’t have much of a choice, little morsel. You will see how pathetic you are when the Marked get here.’
Marked. That explains it. When Cecelia described the group trying to find me, the descriptions felt familiar. I had read plenty about the Marked in the academy. They were part of the royal guard, but so much more. Magical miracles of people, able to take in immense amounts of mana at a great sacrifice. From my readings I knew that they sacrificed their bodies to gain a greater well of mana than you would ever achieve on your own. The first sacrifice to go was always the eyes of the Marked. Descriptions of what they were actually capable of were hard to come by, all of the books I had read usually stopped at the surface level. The Marked were designed to be mysterious. If you ever encountered one, you would simply pray to the Gods that they weren’t there for you. Lilith might have a good point, but I still wasn’t willing to endanger Cecelia and Phern, if the two of them died, I would be hunted alone. I wouldn’t last a day.
We didn’t have to win this fight, thankfully, we just had to not die for long enough that Phern could do… whatever she was doing. I snuck a glance towards her to see what progress she had, if any. It looked as though she was stuffing materials into a kind of pot? I hope to the Gods that it's relevant to whatever our escape was.
The first Marked flickered 20ft away, and the next I saw of him, he reappeared next to Cecelia, already winding back his leg for a kick. His head was almost fully shaved, aside from two rows of blonde curly hair that traveled the length of his head. I watched as Cecelia pulled out a second silver circle from her belt, extending it into a shield at the last moment before the man’s foot slammed into the shield covering her chest. She had two of those contraptions?! I wanted to continue watching the two fight. It was a beautiful and elegant fight between two people who very clearly knew what they were doing, Cecelia transforming her weapons on the fly, mixing and matching her attacks with different forms. Swords, whips, shields, and more were swinging every which way, I was impressed that the Marked man was able to keep up with the sheer variety and unpredictability of her attacks.
I was forced to divert my attention, however, as the second Marked flickered into existence near me, an arm pulled back and ready to thrust forward. This woman has similarly dark skin to the other Marked, with frizzy black buns tied up over the blindfold around her head. They looked so similar I would be shocked if they weren’t siblings.
I was always told that all my thinking would get me in trouble eventually. Now was that time, apparently. Analyzing the appearance of the two hostiles meant I was too occupied to dodge out of the way of her jab. I did what I thought was the next best thing, and moved my left arm in the way of the blow. A sickening crack hit my ears before the pain came rushing to my senses. My left arm was wholly shattered with a single punch from this woman. It had to have been magical. Her fist was wrapped in a shiny film of golden light that molded around her fingers, and given the magical affinity that the Marked are known for, there was no doubt it was some kind of enhancement. I was knocked to the ground, making the dreadful mistake of attempting to catch myself with my hands and sending a whole new wave of pain from my left arm all the way through my body. “Fuck! Can you pull a few punches? I’m new to this!” I cried out.
Cecelia looked over to see me shuffling backwards away from the woman, and though a flash of concern showed up in her eyes, she was far too engaged in her own fight to be able to break away and help.
The Marked woman made no attempt at responding as I picked myself off of the ground. I could tell she was cocky, already. Someone fighting to win would have followed up while I was on the ground, but her mannerisms as she walked towards me made it clear she was not concerned about what I might do to her.
‘You will break. Give me the body.’
My body, I emphasized to Lilith. A glimpse of pride sparked inside of me as I managed to avoid the next 2 swings from the Marked. Not revolutionary, I know, but I was taking what I could get.
‘You’d get more if I was fighting’
Y’know Lilith, nagging me while I’m in the middle of something isn’t going to-
CRACK
The woman’s foot plunged into my chest, and I was now playing the classic guessing game of ‘how many ribs just broke?’ as I cried out in pain. Shards of bone splintered into flesh like a macabre flower blooming inside of my chest. I managed to stop myself from falling to the ground, instead catching myself on my knees. My chest ached. Each breath I drew in felt like a lie, my brain expecting far more air than I was actually receiving. No matter how much I gasped for breath, I couldn’t seem to stop the dreadful feeling of suffocation. A rib must have punctured a lung, even the very thought of that was making me panic even more. No. Hold it together Xavier, I can’t lose yet, I need to buy more time.
As I picked myself up from my knees, gasping for breath, I noticed my arms and hands had become slick with the same filmy black substance culminating in razor sharp claws at the ends of my fingers. Perhaps it was the desperation that made them come out? It didn’t matter, I had them now, it was time to put them to use.
For the first time facing this Marked woman, I went on the offensive. My body was making expedited decisions before my brain could process what I was doing. I charged towards the woman with claws sweeping in alternating rhythm, hoping to catch some flesh in their gruesome grasp. A vicious instinct seemed to fuel my attacks, a miracle considering my gross inexperience in combat and passive nature to confrontation.
Slash after slash caught only air, my series attacks finishing with only a single swipe catching skin. The woman had a shocking amount of dexterity, dodging swipe after swipe of my claws like she was engaged in a dance. Each time I thought I had her out of position, she managed to curtail her body to out space my talons. When I had managed to land a blow, it felt more due to luck than anything else. She flickered in and out of sight, appearing a short distance away as we both readjusted for the next sequence of our bloody dance.
“Fledgling.” The woman spoke in an icy cold tone.
Is that what she saw me as?
‘She knows you are but a child’
Please. I’m 23.
‘And naught but a day old as a Deathless. She can sense your adolescent skill, we are in danger. You must give me control.’
A thread of fear strung itself up from my head to my toes, my rapid considerations filling the spaces between. If this Marked knew I was inexperienced, I couldn’t possibly expect to last much longer. But my alternative was to let the very being that killed me control my body.
“Do y-you tak-take it easy on f-f-fledglings?” Just as much blood came out of my mouth as words, the simple sentence feeling like a fight of its own to choke out of my breathless throat.
“...”
“I-is that a yes?”
I got my answer soon after. A glowing golden light grew in her palms, her hands molding and forming an intimidating visage of a spell. I knew enough of magic to know what she was conjuring could likely be the end of me. I twisted to my left to begin to run away from the woman’s spell, but the golden light was already ripping through the air towards me. What began as a small golden orb of light split into a dozen crystalized golden shards that sunk into my right side. Searing pain coated my shoulder, side, and right leg, the golden crystals shivered with a sickening radiance, burning into my skin and ripping a monstrous scream from my mouth as it did so.
This magic, was it some form of holy magic? It felt so very wrong, dripping into my soul with a cleansing fire that went against everything I was. My consciousness was doing its best to run away from me, but I did my best to latch into it and pull it right back. I fought to stay awake, my eyes resting upon the other fight that had been going on the entire time I had been toyed with by the Marked woman.
Cecelia. Was she okay? I watched the blond haired woman slide underneath a golden circle of light, effortlessly rising from her slide into an upward slash with her sword. The sword clashed with a brilliantly golden floating sword, the male Marked looked to by fighting with a number of summoned weapons, a fighting style that could only synergize this well with the vast pool of mana a Marked possesses. The two seemed to be evenly matched, a thought that made me reflect on my earlier encounter with Cecelia. I truly had no chance of landing a blow, did I?
To my abject horror, the stalemate I was watching was broken by a crossbow bolt sinking into Cecelia’s left leg, fired by one of the four royal guards that had finally crossed the distance to join in the fray. The Marked pushed the advantage, pushing her onto her knees with the golden blade. His second conjured weapon, a floating golden maul, swung down from above, breaking the deadlock of blades and sending Cecelia reeling to the ground from the devastating blow. She went limp. But, she had to be okay, right?
“Cecelia Sicaria… can’t say I expected to find you here. My favorite Life Hunter, protecting the very creatures you supposedly hunt?” The guard with the crossbow peeled off his helmet, something which I could now see had a very different design from the other three guards. Was he a captain? The man had dirty blonde hair, swept in sweat and marred in muck. The grease in his facial hair alone made me wish I had fire magic to ignite the fire hazard that was his face. He made his way up to Cecelia, grabbing the hair on the back of her head to raise her face to face with him as he kneeled. “A delicious fall from grace, if I’ve ever seen one. I’ve had copies of your wanted poster on standby for this very occasion. Guess it's my lucky day.” His face contorted into an unsettling smile. There was clearly some history between the two of them that I needed to ask about later… if there is a later, that is.
“Fuck you, Markus.” Cecelia spit the blood that had been collecting in her mouth into the face of the grizzly man.
“If that’s how you want to do this, Sicaria.” Markus rose to his feet, throwing Cecelia back to the ground. “I can always say it took a lot more fighting to subdue you and your pet”. Markus threw a glance over at me, was I the pet? His implications were clear, however, as he drew his blade and pointed it down at Cecelia’s prone form.
I wondered where Phern was. If she wanted to stay alive, she would have taken this opportunity to flee to safety. The pain from the crystals was paralyzing, forcing me to watch the gruesome scene before me, hoping that Phern was nearly done with whatever her escape plan was.
Markus stepped above Cecelia with grim satisfaction, pulling back his blade to strike. My heart pounded in my chest as a familiar scene replayed in my mind. Every part of me cried out to look away, to even close my eyes to the scene, a burning fear pulsing through each fiber of my being. Not again. It can’t happen again. I need to-
Make it stop.
Everything went black.
Inconsequential Magical Inconsistencies & Incongruities. The pretentious book was somewhat of a difficult read, but I relished in its theoretical knowledge and intricate analyses of unexplained magic. Most people find comfort in the explained, and for good reason. But I had always found myself fascinated by the things that defy understanding. Our current understanding had been built on what was once unexplained mystery, meaning that which we cannot understand might be fundamental for the future.
“Xavier! Are you in here?”
Vyra. I knew it had to be, no one else came into this room. It was a stale and stuffy room with just about as much dust floating in the air as books on the shelves. The library was a fascinating place, but a little too public for private reading, which is why I had stuck to this silent room in the upper corner of the library ever since I discovered it years ago. It was so neglected that I doubted even the librarians came here, meaning it was perfect for those not wanting to be bothered.
“Yeah, come on in.”
I shared my knowledge of this place with Vyra soon after I discovered it. She never used it, personally, but since it was my usual hiding place, it became essential for her to find me. When I had first met her, I hated when she would find me. But the more I got to know her, the more I realized the harder you try to avoid her the harder she will try to find you. It was infuriating, but part of me loved it. She was special.
“Oh my gods, are you still reading that mouthful?”
“Sort of. I finished it a few days ago, but I was coming back to it for a specific section.”
“Inability to Ingratiate Intimately with Individuals? You could use that section.” She put on a mockingly ‘posh’ voice, complete with a mimed mustache with her index finger.
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, please. Why would I bother making friends when I have an attention-sucking leech attached to me at all times?” I pressed my tongue out of my cheeks to add insult to injury. Our verbal poking and prodding was something I had grown very attached to while getting to know her. It allowed me the space to feel like we truly cared for one another without me having to, y’know, actually say that. Perhaps that was emotionally immature, but it was me.
“In all seriousness though, Vyra, I was looking over the section on transfigurative magic.”
“Oh. Oh! Wait, is this about what I think it is?” Vyra’s expression lit up as she moved to sit on the bench next to me. A puff of dust spread through the air, emanating from the old faded red cushion. It only served to add to the stuffy air being lit by the golden rays beaming through the nearby window.
“Um, yeah. I’ve been thinking about it more.” I gave a weak smile, even the idea that I was discussing this with someone was new to me, but I knew that I could trust Vyra.
“That’s great!” Vyra responded. The scene around me started to shift, I was suddenly standing out in the central garden of the academy.
These memories… why was I back here? This was the past, I didn’t want to be here. I don’t want to remember.
“Mind if I sit?” A girl with heavily tanned skin, blue eyes, and braided brown hair had walked up to me. Vyra.
“Oh, sure.” I didn’t speak those words, but they came out of my mouth regardless. It seemed I had no control over these memories, I suppose that makes sense.
The girl- Vyra, sat down on the concrete rim of the large fountain in the middle of the garden. She turned to me quickly with a hand outstretched to offer a handshake. She swung her hand so fast it thudded into my chest, tipping me backwards and into the fountain.
The next half-minute was a blur of me crawling out, sputtering water, and Vyra spewing out every form of apology that our language could supply. “I’m so sorry! I really- I mean I just- It’s such a mess I didn’t mean to knock you in!”
I remember this. It was the second day of my attendance, hers as well in fact. We were both brand new students, from separate small towns, feeling crushed by the vastness of Varenthell Academy.
“No, it’s fine. I just needed a little refresher before my next class, I’d say this counts as a refresher.” I tried to make the best out of the situation, given that I was soaked and set up for plenty of mocking in my next class.
“Hah, yeah I guess so, huh? I’m Vyra by the way. C-can I help you out some way? I could offer you my spare uniform! If you were comfortable wearing a skirt, that is.” She laughed. I blanched. Obviously I wasn’t, and jokes like that were a significant component of why I wasn’t comfortable with that. At least she didn’t mean it maliciously. I think.
“Xavier. I think I’ll just stick with being wet. Gives me a natural flowery scent at least.” I smiled at Vyra, and the scene shifted once more.
Stop. I need this to stop please-
Make it stop.
Another memory began to form. The one I dreaded more than anything.
Vyra’s dorm room began to peel into existence, I could see her bed become tangible, alongside a mirror and bedside table. I begged my mind to stop the memory before it could start, but the figures of two people began to come into view. I could see the familiar clothing wrapped around my body. The blouse, the skirt, the heels.
Please, no.
I saw Vyra, and I saw Headmaster Gelgin. I could feel my hands-no-my whole body begin to shake as the nightmare came to life. Vyra, on the ground, the Headmaster above her with a sword, raised to strike down at her. Not again.
I can’t let it happen again.
I could feel bones cracking. Our bones. Our left arm snapped into place, our ribs attempted to reshuffle and reattach in our chest. The only thing that hadn’t been able to heal were the 5 large crystals embedded in our right side. Holy magic would not solve itself so easily. I felt our transformation take place quickly, arms and legs becoming wrapped in a thin shadow veil that hugged the skin underneath. Hands shifted into the razor sharp claws, and feet formed into distorted padded forms with the same claws as the hands. Luckily, the female Marked had left us alone on the ground after our fight, letting our transformation take place uninterrupted. Teeth sharpened, smooth leathery ears protruded from our head as our eyes sharped into glowing red orbs.
Has the human given me control? No, he was still in control, but his mind was silent. Our body moved with a sinister speed, crawling on all fours towards that Life Hunter on the ground. What was the human doing? Why was he trying to save her? We need to leave!
‘Human, leave her!’
No response. That fool wasn’t even conscious, but he was still holding on to control. I watched as we leapt into the fray of royal guards, tackling one of the royal guards circled around what looked to be the captain. We made short work of the human, flesh unfurling from flesh, leaving delicious organs to slip out onto the ground like spilled wine. We would eat that later.
Much to my dismay, we were currently standing over the blonde Life Hunter, guarding her as if she were kin. Our body crouched and protective, a gurgling hissing piercing the veil of our maw.
“When I was told the Deathless was inexperienced, I hadn’t expected one to be this feral. Do you think it’s worth protecting your master? I’ve no idea what she’s told you, beast, but she hates your kind.” That disgusting captain spoke with such confidence it was nauseous. He was correct, however, the woman we were currently protecting had no love for my kind. It was ridiculous that this human was so insistent on protecting a monster.
When I gain control of this body, these guards will be h u n t e d.
That might happen sooner than I thought, the vice grip the human’s subconscious had over our form was rapidly slipping. At this rate I would start my massacre in just a few moments. I felt the human, Cecelia, lift herself up to whisper in my ear.
“30 seconds. Can you manage that, Xavier?”
Of course I can, you fiendish murderer. If it wouldn’t reveal my presence within this body, I would slice that cocky woman to ribbons. The other guards will have to do once I gain-
Control.
There it was. This body is mine for a time, and I plan to make it count…