Disciple of the Liga Umbrei Pt. 01

Damn it. Damn it. I did nothing wrong! Nothing! So why was I bounded to this magic prison?

I was Karl Autumn, a mere student in Blazewing Academy of Magic in the Aurum Imperium. One day, without warning, I was banished to this prison. Then, like a bright light, Headmaster Karpov visited me. He phased through the magical barrier.

"Headmaster!" I rose from my cold, hard bed. "What have I done?"

The bald, elderly headmaster sighed. "I'm really sorry, boy," he said. "But it seems that you have been framed for the murder of a fellow student, John Vandamme."

"But-but Headmaster! I didn't-"

"I know, boy, I know. The murderer is Princess Anne herself," he said. "She burned him in anger after a petty dispute."

"Wait, so-so I'm free right?"

"Boy... do you really think they'll send the princess to prison? No, boy, you have been sacrificed to protect her," he said. "You're a poor orphan. No one would question your 'trial' deeply."

My knees felt weak. I collapsed to the floor. "So I'll spend my life here? For nothing?" I half-screamed.

"No," he said. "As long as I'm here." He turned around, dispelling the barrier. He turned once more and faced me. He then threw me a bag.

"Go, boy. Run as far as you can, away from the Kingdom of Acacia. I've put the guards to sleep and you will find enough supplies for a few days in that bag," he said. "Good luck, boy. And I'm sorry this is all I can do."

"Thank you, Headmaster," I said with a shaken voice.

"Now hurry."

I ran away from the prison cell. To my surprise, outside of the prison was a thick jungle. Without thinking, I charged through, carrying the bag made of animal skin with me.

And I ran. I kept on running until my legs gave up. "Well, well, well. I haven't had a visitor in years."

An elven witch with a hat approached me. She was rather young with wild, red hair. She had a staff of rubies with her. "Oh goodness," she said. "What happened to you?"

Instinctively, I cast a protective barrier spell. Witches in jungles were bad news; so they said in the academy. "B-back off!" I said with a trembling voice.

"Calm down," she said. With a flick of her hand, strange black flames consumed and destroyed my barrier. "So much hate. So much anger. Hmm... follow me. I'll help you."

She turned her back and walked into the forest. Reluctantly, I followed her; she didn't seem like she'd kill me. After some walking, we reached her house. It looked rather cozy with white painting, contrasting against the tall trees behind.

"I'll burn incense for my patron god first," she said. She burned some incense in front of an altar. I recognised the idol.

"Val, the Goddess of Justice?"

"That's one side of her," the witch said. "Some like me know her as the Goddess of Retribution."

We went inside the house. "Make some tea," the witch ordered to a maid. The maid immediately went to the kitchen.

"Your servant?"

"Slave."

"You're a slaver?"

"No. I bought them from Acacia," she said. All civilized nations used slavery as a form of punishment against criminals, as well as bandits and pirates.

She coughed. "Alright. We haven't exchanged names yet," she said. "I am Magna. If you want to know more about me, just ask."

"Oh, I'm Karl," I said. "So, um, are you some sort of a dark witch?"

Magna laughed out loud. "Depends on what you define as dark magic," she said. "But, yes, I do use some... unconventional magic, so to say."

I nodded faintly. "Why did you help me?"

"I sensed something within you," she said with a grin. "I felt strong anger and desire in you. Well, that and nobody seems to travel to these forests anymore. Now it's time for me to ask."

She looked at me in the eye. "What happened to you?"

"I was framed for murder," I said. "It was to protect a princess who was the true murderer. My headmaster helped me escape prison."

"So sad," Magna said. "So unjust."

"Yeah." The maid returned with tea. We sipped hot tea from the porcelain cups.

"Are you angry about that?"

"Of course I am!" I snapped, banging the table. "How could this be fair? I'm innocent! And-and just because she is a princess!" I lost my words.

"How about you become my student?" Magna flicked her hands and the torches that illuminated her house emitted black fire. "I'll teach you about combat magic."

"I-I don't have any money."

"I'll teach you for free," she said.

I broke down crying. "Thank you-thank you very much...."

"You're welcome," she said. "I'll bring you to the training room now." Magna flicked her fingers again, and a few floor tiles opened, revealing a secret entrance. I wiped off my tears and we walked down the stone stairs, going left and then going right.

"Wow, this place's pretty complicated," I said, noting the structure of the dungeon.

"Yeah, careful with your turns," Magna said. "I'll have to give you a map later."

We reached a massive chamber at last. "This is our training chamber," she said. The room was relatively empty, safe a gigantic bookshelf. Magna took one of the tomes.

"The black flames I showed you now is called the Flames of Decay," she said. "Now, can you perform a standard fire spell?" I nodded.

"Yeah, fire's my specialty," I said.

"Nice. That means I can give you this," she said while handing me a scroll.

Magic spells didn't appear out of nowhere. Only extremely skilled mages could create a new spell. The mage then imprinted it on a scroll. Other mages could then absorb the magic inside of the tome, which would allow them to have a rudimentary control over the spell. The mage would then have to train their skill in using that spell for maximum capability.

"Did you invent this spell yourself?" I asked.

"No, my teacher invented it," she said. "Now hurry up and use the scroll."

"O-okay." On the scroll are two very complex magical circles. Such circles were the method by which magical spells were imprinted. The more complex and numerous the circles were, the more difficult it was to master.

I placed my hands on the circle. A few seconds later, I could feel the knowledge pouring into me. "Okay, so now you should be able the first spell concerning the Flames of Decay: a simple burst of fire from your mouth. Now try to do it at that puppet."

A training dummy emerged from nowhere. It visibly had a barrier. I extended my hand, creating a steady burst of black fire. The fire sort of chewed the barrier, and after ten seconds, it broke. "Wow!" I gasped. Fire magic was notoriously weak against mana barriers.

"That's pretty good," Magna said. "Alright, that's it for now. My slaves will show you your room."

"Wow, I-I don't know how to repay you," I said. "We've just met and you've done so much for me."

Magna laughed. "I asked that to my teacher, too," she said. "And she told me when I asked her how I would repay her, 'go teach others like I'm teaching you', so here I am."

I was directed to my bedroom, also in the underground dungeon. It was not very luxurious, but it had an indoor bathroom and a comfortable bed. I slept well that night. I had always lived on the orphanage or the school domitory; it felt nice to have my own room.

For a full month Magna taught me how to use my newfound magic in the training chamber.

"Alright, Karl," Magna said, pointing at the training dummy. "Show me what you've got!"

I extended my hand, producing a large burst of black fire, instantly melting the barrier and the dummy. Magna clapped. "Good," she said. "I think you're ready for your first task. Come, follow me."

"First task?" I wondered as we walked through the stairs and turns of the dungeon.

"Yeah," she said. "A proper mage should have battle experience. Well, that and I need to refill some potion-making ingredients in my storage."

"Oh, you're an alchemist?"

"How else do you think I can afford a dungeon this large and complex?" she asked. "Well, some of it was built by my teacher, but I refurbished the hell out of it."

We ascended back to the house. She gave me a short list of ingredients. "Blue mollen flowers and wings of batwolves."

"Batwolves? There are batwolves in this area?"

"That, and so much more," Magna replied. "Take this talisman. If anything happens, it will warn me and guide me to your location. Careful out there."

"Okay, thanks." I wore a simple tunic cloak and carried a bronze staff with a pointy end given by Magna, as well as a sack. I kept the talisman inside of my pocket.

It was not difficult to harvest the blue mollen flowers, which were scattered across the forest. They shone rather brightly even during day. The more complicated part was the batwolves' wings, as they only lived, according to Magna, in caves, and there was one cave nearby that Magna usually harvested the wings from.

I lit a torch and entered the cave. Just a few metres in, I had encountered a batwolf. Batwolves had bodies that looked like bipedal wolves, with wide wings and glowing red eyes. I extended my palm, unleashing a small barrage of fire.

Two more arrived, dashing at me with their claws. I conjured a barrier to deflect them. "Heah!" I screamed, stabbing one with my staff and burning the other with black fire.

"Alright, that should be enough," I murmured. Suddenly, I noticed another pair of red eyes in the distance. The red colour was rather different; whereas the previous batwolves' eyes were light red, this one had dark red eyes.

It retreated while I gathered the wings of the fallen creatures. With all the alchemy ingredients collected, I went home. "Here it is," I said, handing over the sack.

"Thanks," Magna said. "So, how was it?"

"It wasn't too difficult," I said. "Oh, but I did see a batwolf with dark red eyes. Kinda weird, I think."

Magna halted and looked at me in the eye. "Are you sure it's a batwolf?"

"Uh, no, I didn't see the body."

"Be careful, Karl," Magna instructed me. "It may or may not be a batwolf."

"What? What do you mean?"

"It could simply be a mutated batwolf. Or could be something else. Just remember that many things in the forest could kill you. Anyway, you can rest now. I need to go."

"Where to?" I asked, disrobing my cloak.

A burly man with short, black hair entered the house. He bowed slightly. "My aide, Talleyrand," Magna said, introducing the man. "Some villagers nearby reported some strange sightings and murders."

"There are villages nearby?" I asked.

"Quite a few. There's even a viscount ruling over them," she said. "How else do you think would I buy food? Alright, I'm going now."

Magna donned a red mask and left. I had been resting for a few hours when Magna returned. I met her in the living room. Her face was grumpy. "So, uh," I said. "Something wrong?"

"Not much," Magna replied. "Just a bunch of vampiric wolves that have been raiding the villages. I've cast protective wards around the villages."

Magna slumped down on a chair. "The concern is where these creatures are coming from."

"Right... a wolf that is bitten by a vampire turns into a vampiric wolf," I gasped.

"Bingo. It'll be annoying to have a vampire around."

"Umm, I mean, you can beat one, right?"

Magna laughed. "I can kill fifty to three hundred, depending on how strong they are," she said. "The vampires do not concern me. I'm afraid that their presence will attract the Inquisitors."

The Inquisitors; the Church's own military arm. The Church worshipped a wide pantheon of gods, but primarily the Lord of Light. They were officially supported by the royal family.

"Those vermin are the most annoying. Kill just one of them and a hundred more will come," Magna claimed. "Sleep for now, Karl. I have an assignment for you tomorrow."

I nodded. "Understood."

I slept well that night. It looked like the tides of my (mis)fortunes had turned. There was hope in my heart. Hope that I could, one day, exact my retribution. The next day, Magna prepared me for yet another journey. "I need a glowing golden flower called the auruflora from that cave," she said. "You'll have to go deeper."

"Okay, Magna," I said. "What is it for?"

"Auruflora can be used on the vampiric wolves to reveal who had bitten them," she said. "I don't like to use it because the potion was invented by Morgana, but still."

Morgana? That Morgana? Legends had it that she was an extremely powerful necromancer and demon summoner. It took fifty years and the entire world-including humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, goblins, and even vampires-to unite under one banner. The men, elves, and dwarves flourished, but the orcs and goblins were almost exterminated. The vampires broke into civil war, some supporting and some opposing Morgana.

"Ahahah," I laughed nervously. "You must be kidding. I mean, does Morgana even exist?"

Magna sighed in dismay. "You know very little, Karl."

I bode her farewell and travelled again into the forest. This time it felt more friendly; I had been familiar with the trees and the atmosphere. Once more I lit my torch and pierced deep into the cave. The wolfbats were not as aggressive as before; perhaps they remembered their brethren's fates.

The cave forked into two. I noticed the auruflora in the left fork. I was bending down and plucking it off when I noticed the same dark red eyes in front of me.

Hurriedly, I stored the flower. I swung the torch at the general direction of the slowly advancing creature. "You'll make a nice meal, human."

"W-what? You can talk?"

"Of course. All vampires can."

At that moment my torch illuminated its face. The creature was in fact a silver-haired woman with pale skin and sharp fangs. Instinctively, I cast a barrier.

"So you are the one who have been infecting the wolves!"

"Yup." I ran. I ran as fast as I can as she broke my barrier with one foul sweep.

"Come here, human!" she cried. "Let me taste your flesh!"

"In your dreams!" I screamed. I conjured a stream of black fire that seemed to hold her off momentarily. I ran from the cave. As expected, she dared not chase me outside, as sunlight weakened vampires. I barged into the house.

"Ha... ha...." I fell down to the floor, exhausted.

"Holy Val!" Magna gasped. "What happened to you?"

With broken breath, I narrated what happened. Magna nodded, and, strangely, grinned. "Good. Good," she said. "This will be easier than I thought."

"What do you mean by that?" I groaned. "I nearly died."

"You should've died," Magna said. "But if they can't kill someone on your level, that means they're a young vampire. Still weak."

"If that's a weak vampire, I don't want to imagine what a strong one could do."

Magna grinned. "Come to the training chamber. I will teach you a spell to handle that vampire."

We went to the training chamber. Magna took another scroll from the shelf. "See, the thing about vampires is that they're agile and they're good at melee combat. Their claws are extremely swift and are able to shatter barriers," she said. "Their weakness is that they don't have any ranged attacks. You have to press that disadvantage and keep on bombarding her with your long-range black fire."

"Now, in the case that she actually manages to close in, use this," she said while handing me the scroll. The scroll had three complex magical circles. I absorbed them.

"A fire shield?" I muttered.

"Yeah," Magna said. "See, the concept is using the flames to cover your body. It's super effective against close-range fighters. Okay, less talking more action."

"Hnng!" I moaned, creating a layer of controlled black fire.

"Focus! Spread that fire around your body!" Magna ordered.

"Hmm." I closed my eyes and I shifted the thick mass of black fire to the entirety of my body.

"Good," Magna said. "Alright, stop now. That's good, but you should produce more fire from the first, so that it doesn't become too thin later on."

For two weeks, Magna coached me on how to use the fire shield. After she deemed my spell satisfactory enough, she sent me out to take down the vampire.

"Before you fight her, read this in front of her," Magna instructed. She handed me a very small scroll with only a sentence on it. It was in a foreign language.

"Why?" I asked.

"Just do it," Magna said with a smirk. "Good luck!"

I set out at night. In short order I reached the cave. The vampire was waiting for me. "You have some gall to return here, human."

I lit the place with orange fire. "Uhh, wait, wait," I said. "Kama-uh, Kama-Zana-Pata, uh...." Damn. What kind of language was that?

Yet the vampire remained still, unmoving. Perhaps the strange language served as some sort of paralysis spell. "Kama-Zama-Pata-Umasarana!"

The vampire smirked. "Interesting. A human knows about our Sacred Challenge?"

"W-what? Sacred Challenge?"

The vampire sighed. "So you just spoke the words without understanding the meaning, human?" she asked. "The Sacred Challenge is a holy duel between two people. The duel ends when one party surrenders or dies. The loser becomes eternally bound to the winner as a slave."

"What? Wait, wait, then-"

The vampire grinned. "And I accept your challenge!" She dashed forward.

I raised my staff, using it to parry the blow of her blade. I extended my palm, blasting her with a burst of fire, pushing her back. She agilely leaped from cave wall to cave wall. "It's over!" she screamed as she directed her claws at me.

"Not so fast!" I sonjured an armor of fire, burning her left arm. I launched a stream of black fire, hitting her abdomen and chest. With her stunned, I kicked her in the head. She collapsed to the floor.

The vampire rose once more, throwing a punch coated in dark aura at me. I activated my fire shield, burning her hand. A chaotic stream of black fire burst out from my hand, knocking her down.

I placed my staff on the vampire's neck. "It's over."

"I-I lost," the vampire admitted. I retracted my staff back.

She stood up. For a moment there was much awkwardness as the vampire, whom I had just fought against a minute ago, bowed deeply. "What is your command, Master?"

"Uh...." I scratched my head. "Follow me."

We walked under the cover of darkness. I could see some of her burn wounds beginning to heal-regeneration was a trait of vampires. "I never got your name."

"Caitlyn, Master," she said. "And you, Sir?"

"Karl."

We walked under the dark sky, and then returned home. "Magna, you owe me an explanation about that scroll." I grumbled.

"Pfft!" Hahahha!" Magna burst into laughter. "Well, but you did win, right?"

"I did, but what if I didn't?"

"Some risks need to be taken," she said. "She should take a bath for now."

I nodded. "Go ahead, Caitlyn." Talleyrand and a few maids took her away.

"So?"

Magna sighed. And then she grinned slightly. "You need more power to exact your revenge, yes?"

"Yes."

"After capturing and enslaving her, you can make her do a blood pact with you. It will allow you to draw some of her power," Magna said. "That's reason one. Reason two is that a vampire that young will usually have an elder vampire as a guardian. If we simply kill her, the guardian will probably track us here. But if she is defeated in a Sacred Challenge, they can't do anything."

"Can I ask a question?"

"Have you not been doing that for the past six weeks?"

"Why do you help me this much?" I asked. "Surely, you'll want something from me."

"You're perceptive," she said. "You're right. My teacher left me with an important task at hand. A task I cannot hope to complete alone."

"What task is it?"

"Tell me, Karl. How old do you think I am?"

"Hmm... you're an elf, so maybe about 80?" Elves usually lived twice as long as humans.

Magna shook her head. "500. I'm 500 years old."

My mouth froze in shock. "You see, I'm a pure elf. I'm immortal."

"W-what? Pure elf?"

"No being in this world is a pure elf or a pure human. Every 'human' and every 'elf' is a mixture of both. Some had more elven genes and vice versa, sure. See, humans are mortal, so the offsprings between elves and humans didn't become immortal like pure elves."