“To be completely honest with both of you I do want to end this war once and for all,” Valentine put a hand up just as his mother opened her mouth stopping her from interrupting him as he spoke “but not the way that my mother wants it to be stopped. Enough of our blood and the blood of the magic wielders have been spilled unnecessarily and with little thought on either side as to how it affects the rest of world.”
The queen slapped her sons hand away angrily as she spoke “Their blood makes us more powerful, much greater then we could ever have been without it though!” She snapped at him wrapped up in the intoxicated thoughts of draining witches and wizards of their magical blood “Without it we would not have the power we have today. You would not be the prince of our people; you would be nothing more than a commoner among all of the other vampire commoners, fighting constantly for your next meal, fighting just to stay alive from one day to another! We would probably have been killed off thousands of years ago, extinct by now if not for their blood and power we gain from consuming it!”
Valentine raised his had yet again though this time his mother seemed unable to move it no matter how hard she slapped it or pushed it away from her “That is the biggest problem, both sides continue to consume each other’s people. Regardless of the unfortunate fact that it gives us more power, changes must be made to preserve all of us magic wielder and vampires alike. With Ahti and I aligned in our goals, working together we may be able to stop the war without too much more bloodshed from either side.”
Ahti nervously raised his hand as if in a classroom and said “I am not going to marry you though, and could you please call me Ty. My mother is the only one who used to call me…” He stopped cold at the thought of his mother fighting back tears at the possibility of her demise.
With a reassuring chuckle Valentine replied “As handsome as you are Ah…” pausing clearing his throat and correcting himself “Ty, we are not going to get married at this time or at any time in the future as far as I can see. It was just a stall tactic to figure out what we should do for our next move. The next full moon is roughly a week away, which means we have ‘til then to have a plan, be prepared, and far away from here and on our way to the Council with some kind of strategy that won’t lead to our immediate deaths.”
Queen Rhianwyn gasped in horror and grabbed her son with furious passion burning in her cold ice blue glowing eyes “You can’t go there, they will kill you on site, and that is if you are lucky! They may try to torture you into giving away our Coven’s position or our war plans!” At this point her voice was shrill and fearful.
Valentine pushed her away with ease “Not if Ty can figure out how to use his magic before we get to them. As it stands, he is still the most powerful wizard to date; he just needs to learn how to tap into that grand power of his and use it to protect himself as well as me. If it all plays out well like I believe it will, we will all survive and you can keep your oh so special title mother dearest. If you stand in our way though I believe I have enough power to usurp you since I drank Ty’s powerful blood, and Ty here could probably take on my father the king without being maimed too badly.”
An image of himself facing off with the king flashed into Ty’s mind, it was not a pretty sight with his blood and insides strewn on the cave- like floors of the Covens meeting hall, seeing the king drain him, or rip him in half laughing in his deep evil tone. “I rather not find out how I would fare against the king personally. As well how do you expect me to learn enough about magic to take anyone on within a week’s time?”
Valentine put his arm around Ty’s shoulders and walked out of the chamber with him, ignoring his blustering mother as they went on their way “We will discuss that as we catch some food. You must be starving right about now, and I could go for some dinner myself.”
The night air and the greenery of the forest around him was pungent in Ty’s nose as he stepped out of the stone arches, he could smell every part of the forest, from the plants and the animals, to the creatures his senses told him to avoid until he had his powerful magic to help protect him from whatever they may be capable of. He took a deep breath of the fresh air relishing in it and comparing it to the stuffy dank air of the cave systems they just left behind them, Ty then turned to Valentine “So what exactly would you say the plan is, and how do you know I will agree with any of the things you plan for us?”
Valentines jet black medium hair was alight with the moons beams, he chuckled taking his arm from around Ty’s shoulders “Well first of all I figure that you would want to make sure your mother is alive and well or not, and second you must be dying to meet your father in person. I could only imagine the questions you would have for him, especially after all that has happened to you since your birthday.”
Ty’s eyes flashed with that glimmer hope in seeing his mother alive again and meeting his father “So she is alive?” he asked barely able to get the words out due to the struggle he was having keeping his emotions in check.
Wagging his finger at Ty, Valentine responded looking empathetic “I did not say that, all I know is that she was wounded in the initial entry of the home, but she teamed up with a powerful wizard in the living room while I was getting you out. There is a possibility that she might have survived is all I am implying. Though any wizard or witch facing off with my father has very little chance of survival.”
He had a spark of excitement at hearing this news, this meant his parents and him might still be able to reunite and somehow he could have a normal life, as normal as being a wizard vampire would allow. Ty quickly asked “What do I need to do to learn to use my magic? Who or what will teach me how to use magic?” As he asked the last question he put his hand in his pocket and felt the book brush against his hand. Quickly he whipped it out and flipped through the pages looking for some kind of answer.
The pages were all blank as before, so he waited a few moments hopping that the writing would appear as it had the first time. They remained blank and after several minuets waiting he spoke up frustrated “What’s wrong with this thing? Did I break it somehow?” Ty was panicking now. Thinking that he was already defeated before he had a chance to change his fate.
No The two letters appeared on the page as soon as he finished asking the question. “That is a very interesting book you have there Ty.” Valentine remarked at the books response to Ty’s question.
Ty thought for a moment before asking “Can you teach me magic? How will you teach me to use magic?”
Responding quickly the letters filled the page Yes I can teach you magic and I will teach you the basics of magic but not until you have fed the writing faded again leaving a blank page.
“That settles it then my friend, we need to get some food then you need to get to work on your magic lessons.” Valentine said waving for Ty to follow him as he started off into the trees. Both Ty and Valentine took off quickly as Valentine continued speaking “Seeing as how you reacted so strongly to drinking my blood I think we shall stick with feeding on animals tonight, and will continue to do so until you are used to the taste of blood and are ready to move on to more substantial food. It seems easier for fledglings that are not as blood thirsty as others to feed on wild animals. It is not nearly as filling but it will do for now.”
A short while later they were prowling the forest just outside the city and not far from the cave. With ease Valentine took down a deer with amazing agility and power and offered it to Ty. Though Ty felt queasy at the thought of using blood as sustenance he also felt his body as it began to become enticed by the blood and the way it smelled to his new senses. Ty closed his eyes and sank his fangs into the deer, drinking deeply trying to ignore the thoughts of the substance he so easily consumed as he fought to control his urge to withdraw from the dying animal. Compared to the princes’ blood the blood of the deer was almost like water compared to whole milk, he felt only slightly less hungry after he had drained the deer of all its contents leaving it dead on the ground, and his own hunting instincts kicke
d in as he hunted down and drained not only a second, a third, but also a fourth deer with skills on par with Valentines before Ty was finally sated.
Finishing off his fourth deer as well Valentine commented to no one in particular “Not a single drop left, nor did you allow a single drop to spill anywhere. You impress me even more my friend with every lifeless breath you breathe.”
“I am not trying to impress you or anyone else for that matter, and as far as I am concerned that is not a compliment in any way shape or form.” Ty retorted annoyed at himself and how hungry he had been.
Full from their meals the two vampires found a clearing to settle down in while Ty retrieved the book from his pocket. As he drew it out, it began to glow a deep purple color, until it seemed to grow hot and Ty tossed it in front of him so he wouldn’t get burned from its growing heat. The book gently landed then faded away and a purple glowing human like figure appeared floating above the spot where only moments before the book itself had landed on the ground.
“Greetings young ones,” it spoke in a chiming tenor voice “I am the Elemental charged with teaching you. My element is Wild like your own element Ty, which will assist me in teaching you to use your own magic. The element of Wild is a unique, rare, and powerful element that has fewer wielders than any other element in existence. It is the element of balance, neither good nor bad but wielded to keep a balance as seen fit by its wielder. The two base elements that make up the Wild element are Darkness and Light” It droned on like a monotone instructor of sorts “with Wild between them, after that there are the four base elements Earth, Air, Fire, and Water with many debates as to whether or not they are the actual base elements due to the lack of beings with magic older then the four elements I just listed. There are sub elements below each element as well but for this lesson those are in no way important for what you need to learn, and if you wish to learn about them later you can gain information from your book of magic” The being of light announced as if it were teaching in a classroom.
From his lessons with his mother Ty had learned to raise his hand to his instructor and did so now, when the elemental gestured for him to speak he asked “Is it really ok to have Valentine here while you instruct me in my lessons? It’s not that I don’t trust him, it’s just that as the one who was supposed to kill me I don’t completely trust” emphasizing the last two words and looking Valentine square in the eyes as he said it pausing ever so slightly before continuing “him and don’t see any sense in someone without magic being here during the lessons.”
Still with the air of a teacher the Elemental responded “Yes, since he drank your blood, you two are deeply connected to one another. The magic he absorbed through your blood has mixed with his own natural elements, of darkness and nature. Nature being a powerful combination of Air, Water, Fire, and Earth, he himself has almost gained the element of Wild as his element now. Though not nearly as powerful as you can become, he should also learn how to use his newly developing magic. Now to begin, I have to say teaching you two will be difficult, since being turned into a vampire” it gestured to Ty “You have become new form of magical being, and taking in Ty’s blood and turning him into a vampire” it then gestured to Valentine who was now sitting up listening intently “You became a new form of magical being as well Valentine.”
Valentine not used to a class setting of any kind spoke without raising his hand or showing any form of respect for their teacher “If we are such new magical beings, how do you plan on teaching us anything magical?”
“As a being made entirely out of self-aware magic, I can sense a logical way to use your potential power though it may become more difficult the further along you get in your lessons, and I can figure out how to best assist you in gaining not only the use of it, but also assist in gaining the knowledge you will need to master magic in all its forms available to you.” The Elemental responded plainly to Valentine as if insulted by his impertinent attitude.
“So you get to teach two magically juiced vampires how to use magic, one of which was born a vampire long ago with no magical abilities, and the other a wizard turned vampire just the night before, and who I have to mention did not have a chance to learn any magic beforehand. I do not envy you Elemental” Valentine chuckled standing now and leaning against a nearby tree “but I will do what I must to learn what I can about magic and how best to wield it.” He replied in a dry and monotone voice trying to mimic that of the Elemental in a mocking no nonsense behavior.
Ty snorted with laughter at Valentines mimicking response to the Elementals tone, then quickly ceased when the Elemental gave him what could only be translated as an annoyed look before saying “To begin with you both need to learn how to gather up magical energy from your cores, the magic that is within you.” It placed its hands in front of its chest, palms facing each other as it concentrated. A ball of purple magic about the size of a Ping-Pong ball gathered between its palms “All you have to do is delve into your subconscious to find the source of your personal magic, and draw some of that magic to a single point between your hands, centering it and gathering it into a simple form. You must gather it and focus on it, feeling the magic gather with every bit of your being, as you shape it into a ball of magic.”
Both Ty and Valentine copied the Elementals stance, concentrating on the task he had assigned them. Ty reached his core with ease and saw what seemed to be a large pillar of purple light that he suspected to be his magical core. He grabbed a handful of the magic mentally and focused to gather it in between his physical palms. It only took a moment for Ty to create a speck of glowing purple magic in his hands. Seeing Ty proceed with such ease Valentine doubled his own efforts out of competitiveness until he himself had a ball of forest green magic mimicking the size and shape of the Elementals.
Seeing that his gathered magic was much larger then Ty’s Valentine remarked to him while still focusing on his own task “Can you not do any better than that Ty?”
The Elemental dissipated his own ball of magic and walked up to Valentine “You might be surprised young man; powerful things come in all shapes and sizes. Depending on how much power you gathered I will shine brighter to match its strength and purity.” It touched Valentines ball of magic and as it disappeared the Elemental grew only slightly brighter then faded back to his normal brightness. Then he walked over to Ty and using his pointer finger touched the purple speck of magic lightly trying not to move it as he did so. One second it was night time, the next second it seemed as if the sun was directly in front of them though it seemed to not be burning them as it should. The Elemental returned to normal quickly saying “Just as I had expected from someone of such power.” Then as if it had a mouth to express emotions with it seemed to grin at a still blinded and amazed Valentine standing dazed and surprised next to Ty.
Chapter: 4
How much is too much?