《Blue Seed - Path of a Mage King》


 Prologue

    I have always been fond of the ivory keys of a piano. The feel and the sound they create. They are but one part of a whole device made of many parts, each working together to produce an instrument capable of magical things. Perhaps this kind of pointless thinking is poison to the mind. Perhaps it is something all men do. I cannot truly say I know.


    The ivory keys danced as they always did under my delicate touch. Years of abusing Black Magic had dulled many of my traditional senses, but I could still feel. I could also taste, hear and see with little effort. It was simply the concept of my senses which had been eroded like waves crashing against a wall. To know you can feel, but at times to forget how. An odd experience.


    I could feel the voices in my head, more crisp and clear to my brain than the sound of the piano, and they pulled me away from the room. Not physically, mind you, but in another way entirely. What was my essence and not a physical being was being dragged through the lengthy halls of the Halls of Obsidian to some other damned place. It was our way of calling each other.


    The ways of the Seven Black Sorcerers.


    "Will you ignore his summons?" The voice of a spirit sounded out from behind me.


    "Ignore is not the right word. I am simply shelving his summons until I find it fit to appear before him."


    The Seven that called themselves the Black Sorcerers had no love for each other. We were bound by the Empire that offered us many things, not by any sort of loyalty. He hated I, and I hated he. Such petty creatures we were. I could already imagine the being known as Aragor tapping his metal boot impatiently as he awaited my appearance.


    In truth my hope was to force Aragor to come to me. It usually took a while, but among the Seven it was clear that Aragor had the littlest patience for waiting. He also had the littlest patience for pretty much everything. I could remember with clarity the time that Aragor almost killed a man over the wait time of a bowl of soup.


    I chuckled like the villain I was. "I can almost see his veins bulging from here."


    "His veins are always bulging." The ghostly voice responded with unkind words that made me smile.


    Black Magic did things to ones outer appearance, which is why I dressed in so many layers of black and gold. It is also why I wore a white and gold mask to cover my somewhat questionable face. I was once told it was very "owl" shaped for a mask. Of course, I liked to keep my eyes out in the open. Nothing screams welcoming quite like the red eyes of a Black Mage.


    It did make going outside a little painful, of course, seeing as how they were red from what I could only assume was my blood vessels bursting in a vain attempt to escape what I could only assume is many magical related diseases ravaging my body. Of course, I was once told by a noble tailor that art is a painful process. Black Magic was no different.


    When he finally burst open the metallic door to my lair, I turned behind me to face Aragor from the seat of my piano. He too coated himself in black and gold, though he chose to forgo the robe and cloak combination I admired and chose armor, instead. An imposing man even as Black Magic ravaged his body, Aragor was at least three times my height and frame. I was jealous.


    "You insolent fool!" Aragor the Frenzied, which was a lovely little nickname, screamed loud enough to wake the dead resting in my lair. "Why are you intentionally ignoring my summons once more?"


    "As I was just explaining to nobody in particular, Aragor, I was merely shelving it until I find it fit-"


    "Enough of your foolishness, Defiler!"


    With a wave of his arm, my dark sanctuary was lit up from candle to candle. The ominous green glow of my favourite Murith candles did little to make my sanctum look any less threatening to the average person. From the ground to the high ceiling were shelves and shelves of books and odd things. A skull here, a golden chalice there and a few bottles of this and that in between.


    My sanctum was the largest room in the already imposing building it was contained in, forming a sort of tower that stuck out of the already intimidating building like a clock tower. It had no windows, for I could see in the dark and thus I had no need for foolish windows. To reach the tallest parts of the room, one needed to slide the wooden ladder around to get what they desired.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    It was as dangerous as it sounded, even to a Black Mage. That''s why I simply used magic and left the ladder for people who lacked such a convenient method of collecting things. Like, say, a certain Master of the Post who was constantly on the prowl for exotic books on fairly erotic fiction that I keep on the highest shelf.


    It may also be of note that four corpses sat on their knees, two on each side of my piano. These were flesh puppets that were formerly people of ill repute who had met the end of an imperial rope. Though they were resting, they were always aware. Sadly, to my displeasure I had once told them that Aragor was not an enemy and thus they showed no real hostility.


    "I come demanding your attention and you muck about. Have you no shame as a Black Sorcerer?"


    "It may be because you''ve come demanding my attention and not just seeking it. Your remark about shame is also somewhat confusing." I gave a small shrug. "I guess it''s all the dark magic."


    "The book, Defiler!" Aragor raised his voice again. "Tell me of the book!"


    The book he spoke of was a bit of an oddity even amongst this collection of oddities. We had discovered it some time ago in a crypt discovered deep within the ground. Supposedly, though we did not know for sure, it was the only known possession of the Mage King who slumbered in that crypt. Naturally, we stole it without hesitation.


    The thing that made it an oddity was that it simply had titles and not words. Despite this, it had an immense aura to it as if it was trying it''s hardest to suppress an extremely powerful spell. Perhaps even spells. The problem was, we had no idea how to use it. Well, it''s not like I had tried very hard to uncover it''s secrets up until that point.


    "My research is not yet complete. As a matter of fact, I have barely even begun. That is to say, I haven''t started."


    "I don''t care. The Sun Emperor grows impatient with your lack of progress. When the Sun Emperor grows impatient, I grow impatient."


    "I couldn''t imagine why our lord is growing impatient." I lied through my teeth.


    "That may be because you have been intentionally ignoring his summons as you do mine!"


    In reality I knew very well that the Sun Emperor was growing steadily impatient with progress on the book. I had simply done my best to ignore any attempt ever made in informing me of his impatience. The foolish man who dressed in golden armor didn''t have the guts it took to leave his luxury filled palace to personally face me. Let alone personally critique me.


    My guess at the time was the Glorious Empire were suffering a few setbacks in their apparently never-ending quest to consume the land and paint it with their banners. Perhaps it was rebels from within the borders or some sort of resistence from outside. The point was, there was an effort that the Sun Emperor hoped to quell with the contents of a magical book.


    I neither knew the real reason for the trouble, nor would I have cared if I did. What I did care about was my peace being disrupted by a fool seeking to answer all the questions of life with dark magic. Not even I, who called himself a Black Sorcerer and accomplished Black Mage, answered all of my questions with magic. Sometimes I also used words.


    "What do you plan to do, Aragor?" I asked as I stood from the piano. "Hand the Sun Emperor the book and tell him to throw it at his enemies?"


    "It''d serve a greater purpose in my hands than yours, Defiler."


    "First of all that is remarkably untrue." I gave another shrug, infuriating my associate of many hated years. "Second of all, I can''t actually fathom how to tell you properly that this book is extremely important."


    Aragor was a Black Mage like myself, but he was never a particularly normal one. Now each mage both Black and Blue used magic in their own different way. Some used spells like the classic stories you may have heard your father tell you about, and some empowered themselves and their allies with their weaving words and movements. To make themselves stronger.


    Aragor used his magic to strengthen himself and then butcher people with his giant sword. It was actually a pretty amazing sight were it not for the fact that he was often just as dangerous to his allies as he was his friends. The point was, Aragor went about his business with the subtly and carefulness of a furious and blind Shenock in the Emperor''s vase room.


    "I will hand the book over to the Sun Emperor when I am done researching its contents. If you are that eager to gain his favor, why don''t you just defame me a little more?"


    "I already do." Aragor spat his words with his arms folded.


    "Double your efforts. I''m sure he still has a shred of faith in me. Aim for that!"


    Aragor stood closer to me and I could see the clear shape of his armor even in the poorly lit green glowing room. Despite the black and gold colouring of the armor itself, he wore a bright red cape down his back. His armor was thick and metallic with spiked pauldrons, and his iron helmet was shaped into a roaring demon. He looked like a very cruel hearted knight.


    "I will take your suggestions to heart, Defiler." Aragor snorted "But I suggest you begin working on the book all the same."


    "I will do so my stalwart ally." I retorted "But I will do so at my pace. It is after all, still morning."


    "It is the afternoon, you cretin!"


    Spinning on his heels, Aragor left my sanctum. He did this by slamming the door as hard as he could behind him. I couldn''t help but let loose a small chuckle as he did so. Aragor reminded me so much of a furious child who did not like it when things didn''t go his way. He was clearly annoyed at being badgered for my apparent failures. That suited me just fine.


    After all, I was also a child who did not like it when things didn''t go my way.


    "I suppose you should begin your research, huh?" I heard the voice of that same bored little ghost and it brought a smile to my lips.


    "In a manner of speaking." I spoke as I used my magic to slide my staff from the wall to my hand. "I think it''s time we go for a walk."

 Chapter 1

    The Capital of the Glorious Empire was called the Palace of Gold. This was something that bothered me because the Palace of Gold was actually only a small part of a very large city that was once the stronghold of a much less corrupt government. What this place was called beforehand, of course, is something that no sane man would use in the presence of loyalists.


    My sanctum and living quarters were located in what many called the Obsidian Halls. These halls were many and came to about fifteen floors in total. That may not sound much height wise but length wise they were absurd. Now generally speaking the Obsidian Halls consisted of offices and living quarters for people who weren''t directly related to the Palace of Gold. Mine was more of a library.


    As I marched along I could see many people of various ranks in the hallways going about their days. Some dressed in the kind of linen and outfits that a boy could only dream of and some dressed in the rags that boy probably had at home. A handful even wore the painful slate black collars that marked them as the cogs of the Glorious Empire. Slaves.


    "I see that the owl has awoken. During the day, no less." I heard a voice from behind that I knew very well.


    "And I see that the Captain of the Royal Guard is pestering me instead of guarding his charge. How is the Prince anyway?"


    "Fat and lazy. At least you share a similar speed with the bastard."


    Appearing at my side as I walked was Royal Captain Zoma Weiss, also known as Captain Weiss of the Glorious Guard. The latter name was something that the brute faced and remarkably sarcastic Weiss disliked. It may be because Glorious Guard was a little too flamboyant but it also may be because Weiss didn''t like his position that much to begin with.


    Being a Royal Guard means being away from the battlefield, and Weiss was nothing but a soldier. One could go as far to say that he wasn''t a soldier but a warrior or barbarian. Weiss lived for battle and the slaying of worthy opponents. I didn''t see much merit in trying to find someone capable of killing me just to do battle with him, but I suppose we all have our quirks.


    A quick glance at his visage and I saw the bored face of a leashed dog. His tanned skin was apparently a common quality from his home region, though I couldn''t remember the name of that region for the life of me, and his short hair that seemed to slowly be turning white was also a genetic trait. I thought he looked incredibly easy to spot in the pale noble crowds.


    He wore the ceremonial armor of a Glorious Guard. The armor was gold, albeit not real gold of course, with a black cape. It had a variety of emblems and symbols that I couldn''t identify nor did I particularly care to learn their meaning in the slightest. The uniform itself came with a helmet with a giant black plume, though Weiss refused to wear it.


    "What brings you to the Obsidian Halls, Captain Weiss?" I asked with my usual attempt at being genuinely polite. "I thought you''d be in your office deep within the heart of the Palace of Gold."


    "I''ve come to deal with Iris and her Brood. I just finished meeting with her, actually."


    "How did that go?" I asked, despite knowing the answer and unable to hide the almost bored tone that escaped with my words.


    "Poorly." He retorted with a similar tone "I can''t convince her to cage those freakish creatures."


    I began to read off the names written on the doors that I past as Weiss spoke. The creatures he spoke of belonged to another member of the Black Sorcerers who raised them as sort of pets. They were giant spiders and I didn''t care much for them. All that skittering about this way and that. Not to mention the webs... I much prefered the company of the undead.


    "The Brood rarely leave the Upper Tier. Why send a Royal Guard?" I asked while stopping at a certain door. "Actually the real question is why send the Royal Guard Captain?"


    "You haven''t heard? When was the last time you left your sanctum."


    "Don''t be dramatic, I spoke to you only last week."


    "Wulfram." I heard Weiss speak my name with a level of exhaustion. "That was three months ago."


    "Oh." I replied with a raised eyebrow "I suppose it''s been about three months, then."


    I tapped on the door of the Master of the Post a few times, despite the fact that I knew he wouldn''t answer. I knew that balding bastard was actually in his office, I could hear him. I knew he thought I''d go away if he waited long enough, so I just used my magic to open the locked door. Unlike Aragor I had some class and style.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Thaddius!" I yelled in a cheerful tone as I entered. "I have a job for you!"


    "M-Master Azalea!" I heard him reply as a girlish scream almost drowned out his voice "I-I didn''t-"


    "Spare me the usual charade about how you didn''t know I was knocking and about how you were busy reading your daily scripture. I''m only here to gain your aid, not question your life choices. Well, not vocally." I shrugged.


    I saw the situation rather clearly. This office belonging to the Master of the Post for all the Obsidian Halls had two current occupants. The balding and nebbish Thaddius, a spherical shaped middle-aged man, who wore a buttoned up shirt with no colour that fit a dullard like him, and a girl who was currently very naked and very much on top of him. She was blonde.


    That''s pretty much all I cared to take in.


    "Mone''s Bones, Thaddius." I heard Weiss exclaim as he covered his eyes. I couldn''t particularly blame him, since the idea of Thaddius doing anything physical was repulsive even to a Black Mage.


    "I was just... I was just, uh-"


    "It doesn''t matter. I need you to focus on me now, Thaddius." I spoke, trying to keep things rolling as the call of my sanctum and its soothing atmosphere grew stronger.


    "For the next... month. Yes, a month will do. For the next month, I want you to redirect all of Aragor''s mail to my sanctum."


    "W-What?"


    I noticed the girl trying to cover herself and avert her gaze from my presence. I did not know if this was because she was caught in the primal act of mating or because she knew exactly who I was. The latter was something I very much enjoyed as a perk of being a Black Sorcerer. Nothing amused me more than seeing someone run away out of fear of being "cursed."


    "Hm?" I came back to my senses, rubbing the lower part of my mask where my mouth would be. "Oh. I said redirect his mail to me. All of it, even the brothel fliers I''m sure this woman will be mailing us all. And it should go without saying that you shouldn''t tell him this."


    "I''ll do as you ask, M-Master Azalea." Thaddius spoke, wiping the sweat from his brow. He found it difficult to oppose the Seven Sorcerers, and I knew that Aragor would be unlikely to drop by Thaddius'' office. It was the perfect setup for a devious amount of mischief.


    Spinning on my heels just as Aragor had done to me, I left Thaddius and his woman to their own devices. Weiss followed me behind, barely able to contain his sighs of disappointment. Of course someone like Weiss who cared only for the sword and battle would be annoyed by the carnal desires of those who were supposed to be doing their duties.


    "You were saying something earlier?" I asked in an attempt to get things back on track. The most important thing I could do at that moment was forget the mental image of Thaddius'' spherical body slapping against another living creature.


    "The Palace of Gold is going to be hosting the Red King and his men for the next two weeks."


    "Not a fan of demonic spiders?" I asked with a smile under my mask.


    "Apparently not. My superiors shoved me towards Iris the moment we spotted one of her freakish monsters skittering around the grounds." He let out another sigh. "It seems they can scare guards and nobles alike, but foreign lords are a no go."


    "Poor Captain Weiss. I forgot about your fear of the Brood."


    "It is not fear, Azalea." He spoke, with the kind of tone one does to convince themselves more than anything. "It is a deep mistrust. I do not like fighting monsters."


    While there were many kings and warlords across this realm of ours, each fighting for control of the land, the initiated knew that there was only a handful of factions in the realm of Amon that were actually capable of winning what was known as the Great War. The Glorious Empire was an obvious one, albeit not exactly a favored one in the grand scheme of things.


    The other major force that was relevant to me at the time was the Red King and his men. I knew him as King Aurellius of House Aurellius, which was extinct even at that stage. Supposedly the Red King had purged his own family due to a mutual hatred or some such. The details were murky at best, but they were gone all the same.


    He was known for his bright red fashion sense and legion of elite soldiers who dressed in crimson armor. They were a fierce fighting force, and capable of great feats of what we mages refered to as deadening. To explain what deadening was would take quite a while, and was irrelevant to my current tasks at hand. But it was essentially a form of anti magic.


    Needless to say it was of course big news that the Red King, who was not a particularly friendly associate of the Sun Emperor, would be staying within its walls. The problem was, it was simply not in my nature to probe into such affairs. Now if the Red King was a secret tomb or a shard of some powerful ancient orb, then perhaps the probing would be worth it. Politics bored me.


    Most things bored me. Even that line of thinking.


    "I assume this is the part where you ask me to talk to Iris on your behalf?"


    "What do you want?" Captain Weiss asked without hesitation as if this was a routine. That tone was reasonable because it was a routine, albeit the Brood aspect was relatively new.


    "Since the Captain of the Royal Guard is asking? I should say I''ll do it for free but I''m not that kind. I can''t really think of anything now, so how about we call it a favor to be paid in the future?"


    "I hate owing you favors." Weiss had a look of disgust on his face that amused me greatly. "But, for the sake of order, fine. I don''t want to see the Brood until the Red King is gone."


    "Then consider the spiders no longer a problem, Captain Weiss."


    "I have some more business on this floor." Weiss spoke with a respectful bow as we reached the staircase at the end of the hall. "I''ll leave you to your day, Master Azalea."


    "And I yours, Captain Weiss." I responded with an equally respectful bow and made my way down the stairs.


    "Dealing with Iris..." I grumbled to myself. "What a distasteful task."


    "I don''t see why you hate Iris so much." The ghostly voice spoke out after quite a bit of silence. "She seems quite affectionate towards you."


    "That is why I hate her. I can''t stand the way she looks at me with those eyes of hers. Not to mention the fact that she sends her spiders, the regular ones I mean, into my sanctum to watch me."


    "That''s sweet. Creepy, but sweet."


    "I don''t do sweet and I fulfill the creepy quota. You should know that, dear sister."

 Chapter 2

    The problem I now faced as I passed the ground floor of the Obsidian Halls and yet continued down the stairs, was how I would deal with Iris. I knew that any other Black Sorcerer would muse that I could simply trade myself to appease Iris and achieve results that way, but I did not want to do such a thing. Iris was much too dangerous for me, in many ways.


    So how could I appease her without sacrificing myself?


    "I should have brought some flowers." I mused. "Or a jar of flies for her Brood."


    There were three floors under the Obsidian Halls ground floor. The first, which I had passed, was the floor in which the slaves went about doing this and that. The floor also acted as storage for a lot of meaningless and space hogging items. Some of them were mine, of course. The floor below that was the slave quarters themselves. Not the most wonderful place to stay.


    The last floor at the very bottom of it all was Iris'' "beast" pen. It also acted as her living quarters, although she did technically own a sizable estate elsewhere in the Upper Tier. She, like myself, rarely left her sanctum. It may sound weird that we was capable of staying in a single room for over three months without leaving, but one must keep a simple fact in mind.


    A Black Sorcerer is not human. An average Black Mage is only slightly more human. To force magic, and not practice it, is to give up your humanity for sheer power. They are something that is either, based on the morality of those who look upon them, better or worse. But I digress, the fact of the matter was I could have stayed in my sanctum for a year and failed to realise it.


    "Hm?" I felt the stares of what seemed to be countless creatures all fall onto me at once. My eyes made it clear as day even in the dark bowels of Iris'' pens, but the pitch blackness would have been too much for a regular slave. Not that slaves would come down here of their own free will. Only when ordered to feed Iris'' beasts would they make the trip.


    And of course, veteran slaves knew the double meaning of that order. Those who didn''t, rarely got to learn.


    I was surrounded by many of the black creatures that formed the Brood. The size of an average dog, these were a special kind of creature that Iris called Wolgrim Spiders. If that wasn''t the official name, I had no way of figuring out what the real one was. Those kinds of things were not my forte.


    "Your master." I banged the tip of my staff on the cold floor. "Bring her to me."


    The spiders stood silently, staring at me. They were not hostile to me in the slightest, but even I did not like the idea of countless dog sized spiders watching me so closely. I briefly considered hitting one with my staff, but figured that wouldn''t exactly help the diplomatic mission I had been sent on. Plus, I''d feel just a bit bad for the poor thing.


    It''s not their fault they were born so utterly spider-shaped.


    "So demanding." A voice echoed through the beast pens as the Wolgrim Spiders began to skitter this way and that. "This is why you shall never be popular."


    "If being demanding is a bad quality, I fear Aragor may never find a wife."


    "What brings you to my lair, Wulfram the Defiler?" Iris spoke as she walked towards me.


    "The same thing that brought the noble Weiss."


    Iris was a lucky Black Sorcerer to say the least. Unlike the rest of us, she did not have the kind of face that only a mother could love. As such she was the only Black Sorcerer who didn''t wear a mask when she entered the public. That wasn''t to say her Black Mage ways hadn''t soured her body, it just wasn''t as utterly hideous as our transformations.


    For instance, Iris never grew up. I had once been told by her that she hadn''t gotten any taller since her youth. Having started practicing illegal magic in said youth, she tended to place the blame on that. Her hair was long, falling to her lower back, and had a platinum colour to it. On both of her temples sprouted what could not be mistaken for anything but grey horns.


    Meanwhile her skin was pure white, to the point where if she fell asleep in public they''d probably mistake her for a corpse, and her fingernails were black as ichor. I had seen her scrape the wall without breaking or chipping those nails, which were as hard as shell and tough as metal. I had also once been slashed by them, that was not fun.


    But of course the most telling part of her corruption was her eyes. They were pure black, no pupils or anything, and supposedly the light did not reach them. The downside to such a thing was that she was utterly blind, but none of us actually needed our eyes to see the world. Magic had many conveniences, and sight was one of them.


    "So Weiss fails to sway me and sends you in his place?" She scoffed.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    "I think he would have sent Thaddius if he had have met him before me." I mused. "You know the Captain means well. About as well as anyone in this foolish place can mean."


    "You speak fondly of the Captain." She seemed amused by my words, tapping her chin with her long fingernails. "It is rare to hear you speak fondly of another."


    "Is it?" I moved closer, placing my hand on Iris'' head. "I speak fondly of you, do I not?"


    "You are a good liar, Wulfram, but your lies tend to fall apart when it comes to displays of false affection. But I accept your words, regardless." She seemed to almost pur as I brushed her hair with my hand. "Zoma Weiss wishes me to cage my pets, but why? He did not say."


    "Yes, I can imagine he tried to request your assistance halfway up the staircase. Either way, it has to do with the Red King. Apparently he''s stopping by for a visit."


    "The Devil Aurellius?" Iris scoffed, adding venom to her words. "What would the Cursed King want with the Sun Emperor?"


    "I haven''t a clue. Nor do I particularly care to find out. It''s obvious that no matter why he''s here if he were to, say, be eaten by spiders..."


    "I suppose that would be a bit of a diplomatic incident."


    "A bit." I gave a nod. "Just a bit."


    "Very well. I will cage my pets, but tell Weiss that I have not done it for the Sun Emperor or his minions. I''ve done it for you."


    "And I am very grateful." I lied. "Very grateful, indeed."


    I turned to walk away from the beast pens, and possibly to a place less infested with dog sized spiders, when I heard Iris call out from behind me.


    "Leaving so soon?"


    I felt a chill run down my spine as I let out a nervous laugh. I had to be careful, or else I''d meet a worse fate than the slaves the spiders decided to wrap up for later consumption. "Our business has concluded and I have a very important mission ahead of me."


    "The Sun Emperor wishes for me to decipher a mysterious book." I added.


    "You''ve had the book for a while now, how have you not finished?"


    "It is a very complicated book, and I have a lot on my plate." I lied again. Well, only the second half was a lie. I was still unsure of what to do about the book.


    "How sad. I had assumed you truly cared for me as I cared for you, Wulfram the Defiler. Perhaps I will not cage my Brood after all." The Wolgrim Spiders close to me suddenly became wary of me, and I knew she was intentionally riling them up by using her connection to them.


    "But what measure is a book against such a lovely woman?" I had failed to escape with my life. I could only hope the spiders wrapped me up before Iris did.


    "Don''t look so frightened, Wulfram." She spoke as she moved closer to me, motioning me to lower myself to her eye level. "I would never do you any harm."


    To punctuate this, she ran her fingernails against my cheek. "I can''t help but think back to the time you did this exact motion and then clawed me across the face."


    "That was merely because you had chosen to ignore me."


    "True, but that was still a form of-" I cut myself off as I felt her put more pressure on my cheek. "No harm. Of course."


    "Good. Good. It has been so long since we were face to face."


    "According to Weiss, it''s been about three months."


    "And I missed you every single day."


    Her words were like honey, too erotic for the body that she had been gifted. It did not arouse me nor did it particularly fill me with joy. It was not the body that put a wall between us, but my knowledge of the depravity of Iris. Were I to take a guess, I would assume that the reason her outward appearance is so un... transformed, is because her insides are what turned filthy.


    She was dangerous. Not just in a traditional sense like Aragor, but in a spiritual sense as well. I truly believed giving in to her temptations would be the end of me on some level. Thus I couldn''t help but try my best to put some distance between us. At the very least I did not want to ever be in a vulnerable state around her.


    "How about we arrange a dinner." I spoke, placing my hand over hers and lightly pulling it away from my cheek. I held it with both hands in some attempt at an affection gesture, wary of getting another claw to my face. "Possibly one not underground."


    "Are you offering to visit my estate of your own free will?" She mused.


    "Not necessarily. Perhaps I could take you somewhere? Or I could kidnap one of the kitchen staff from the palace? Or I could bring a cook back from the dead? All of these are fine options."


    "I would rather a more intimate dinner. I know that Wulfram Azalea the Defiler and God Eater can cook. I''ve never tasted your food before. I''d very much like to." She spoke in her alluring voice, still obtaining almost no real results.


    I found myself cursing past Wulfram for willingly letting slip my dark secret of culinary talent. When boasting of talents we held outside of magic, I had very few. I couldn''t raise myself in their eyes if I had boasted about my ability to write erotic fiction about the Fae. Still, I realised I could make this work for me.


    "Very well. Though we''ll dine in my sanctum and not your estate."


    "That''s acceptable, I suppose." She seemed a little annoyed, but didn''t seem to want to argue. "And when shall this dinner be held?"


    "How about after the Red King leaves?" I spoke, quickly adding to my sentence as she frowned. "Think of it as a reward for holding back and not sending your spiders to maul Captain Weiss."


    "I suppose that is also acceptable." She mused, no doubt thinking of having Weiss webbed up in her beast pens. I couldn''t begin to guess why she didn''t get along with Weiss, even if I knew very well why Weiss didn''t get along with her.


    "Then the matter is settled." I brushed her hair again, more of a pat really. "With that, I really should be going. If I have your leave?"


    Iris hesitated for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh. "I suppose so. I will await my reward eagerly."


    I had done it. I had survived an encounter with Iris. My happiness was amplified by my desire to shove the impending doom of my dinner with Iris deep into a forgotten part of my memory. That was a problem for Future Wulfram, not Present Wulfram. I shook the thoughts from my head as I began to make my way out.


    "Wulfram." Iris caught me once more with her voice. "I almost forgot to ask you something."


    "What is it?"


    "Have you..." She trailed off. It was unusual for Iris to falter in such a way. "No, nevermind."


    "Oh." I gave a shrug, not truly interested in what she had to say in the first place. "Very well."


    I could not imagine the face she had made as I turned around. But then again...


    I could not imagine the sheer level of change that was about to occur.

 Chapter 3

    I felt exhausted by the time I had arrived back in my sanctum. With a flick of my hand, my staff was magically sent sliding back to its original position. I did not exactly want to do anything other than sleep, but I knew it wasn''t time. Be it partial curiosity that had always been building up since I obtained it, or just a wish to get it over with, I wanted to examine the book.


    The candles that Aragor had lit had burned out, but as they were Murith and thus magical in nature, they had repaired themselves to a level they could be relit. It was not for my convenience that I reignited them with a wave of my hands, but more so for the figure who had found their way into my sanctum.


    "And why are you here?" I sighed. "Sitting in the dark, no less."


    "I figured it''d surprise you. I forgot about the whole eye thing." A truly honey coated voice responded.


    My sanctum contained my many books, my many trinkets and my piano. It also contained a small bed, more of a makeshift bed I''d say, and a very large desk that I used for my various writing purposes. Sitting at my desk at that moment was a girl of significant height, with long limbs and pale, almost purple skin. I knew her as Silvi, a Moon Elf.


    "I would lecture you on entering places you do not belong, but I have a feeling I''d be wasting my breath."


    "There is no need to be so frustrated." Silvi gave me a wry smile. "I didn''t touch a thing."


    "Lies." I spoke bluntly, walking past her as she stood up to embrace me. "I know when you are lying, Silvi."


    While the elf dressed in beautiful clothing, silk garbs of red and gold that left little to the imagination, I found her disgusting. It was not because of her physical appearance, which while displaying a few obviously inhuman qualities like rows of sharp teeth was still fairly gorgeous, but because the very existence of Silvi bothered me greatly.


    Make no mistake, Silvi was not like Iris. The latter was bad for my health because she, for some reason, held affection towards me that clouded her judgement. Silvi wished that I was dead, and actively worked towards that goal every waking moment of her day. It was to be expected, she was my slave, marked by the black collar around her neck.


    And I was the man who butchered her family, children and all.


    "You took two quills, a bottle of ink and a Relic of Tambor. Part of a slab. You can keep the last thing, it only causes impotence in men who read it. I''d like my quills back, though, I don''t want to have to buy more."


    She gave me a smile as she lay everything, including the small slab, on my table. She did not have any weapons on her, I''d know, but I was still wary of having her in arms reach. It bothered me that all the women in my life were either ghosts or dangerous. I briefly considered making new friends.


    "You can leave now." I motioned with my hand. "Unless you''d like to dance the witty dance with me. You''ll joke about how you love me so, while plotting to poison my tea. I''ll laugh merrily as I remind you that your mother and father turned on each other in desperation as I used them as fuel for my research."


    For a moment I saw her expression falter. It was cruel of me to remind her as often as I did at what I had done to her. To her family. But it was something I did anyway, as I had to remind her that I was not a harmless person. I had a feeling that ignoring her, or Mone forbid trying to support her, would give her the courage to outright attack me.


    "Very well. But you''ll know where to find me if you need me." She put on her normal cat-like grin as she began to leave. I turned to avoid it, if only to not have to look at her damned face anymore.


    "Yes, yes. Your private quarters that you share with Beni because she''s so enamoured with your figure. That damn scatterbrain would keep goats in her room if she found their balls alluring." I tapped my chin. "I said that as a joke, but on second thought I''m pretty sure she would."


    I heard the door close behind me as Silvi left, and a small bit of tension left the room with her. She was the only slave I had ever actually owned, though many had come and gone in my life as resources for this and that. Slaves were a vital part of the empire, but they were also vital to many of the experiments and research the Seven Black Sorcerers did.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    "Six years and she still finds herself shaken by the loss of her family." I muttered.


    "Of course she would. She''s normal." I heard the ghostly voice again. "Normal people do not simply forget the pain of the past. They merely dull the pain."


    "You find me cruel?"


    "Very." The voice of my deceased sister sighed. "But I''ve grown numb to your cruelty, Wulfram the Defiler."


    "That," I turned and waved my hand, summoning a figure out of the air around me, "is not a name I like to hear from you."


    While fairly see through, to put it one way, the figure of my sister appeared. Though she would be much older, if one counted the years of a spirit as real years, she still retained the appearance she had upon her death. She was small, had long and unkempt black hair, and dressed in rags. It served as a grim reminder of our origins.


    "Jami." I spoke the name with as much warmth as I could muster. "You''ll understand why I do the things I do one day."


    "I highly doubt that." She mused.


    Opening the top drawer of my desk, I found and placed the book that had become so central to many people''s lives on the tabletop. That was after I tossed that cursed Relic of Tambor away from me, of course. I gave it a good look, here and there, taking it in with all of my senses. It was a very... blue book.


    "I''m surprised Silvi didn''t touch it." Jami spoke as she hovered, literally, over my shoulder.


    "I''d like to say it''s because she knows what''s good for her but..." I trailed off. The book had a severely oppressive atmosphere to it that I assumed even those without magical talent could feel. Jami was an exception, of course, being dead.


    I flipped the pages of the book. It was thick, with more pages than I thought was necessary, each with a title but otherwise completely blank. The titles ran on for pages, sometimes over a hundred. Things like Great Loss and Redemption, I didn''t understand what it was laying out. Perhaps the story of the Mage King?


    No. It had a deep power within it, it was not merely a storybook. That was the problem.


    "How do I use you?" I could not hide my excited voice.


    With my hand over the book I began to speak with the confidence that only magic can bring. I spoke shmala and I spoke vunhal and every other magical word I could think of. Open, I spoke to it in a thousand known languages, open and be mine. Yet it did not open, and no matter how much I tried to force magic onto its body, it seemed untouched.


    I felt my face growing hot and my body growing sweaty as I pushed and pushed. But no word I spoke even disturbed the book. It did not react, it merely acted as a barrier, as it was my momentum that shoved me away. I gave up after a while, sighing as I slumped into my chair, waving my face with my hand.


    "Damn secretive Mage King." I muttered. "Why can''t he merely booby trap his books like everyone else?"


    I flipped the pages idly as I tried to think of what I could do next. Spilling slave blood on it was rarely useful to anything not humming and letting out dark sounds. I could try set it on fire, but that was also a hit or miss tactic. I could try throw it at a wall, but Jami would probably mock me for it. So what else could I try?


    "Write on it." Jami spoke.


    "It''s an ancient book of untold secrets, girl." I replied with some hostility. "Of course it was inevitable that I''d ink it."


    I sat up and flipped the book to its first page. It simply said Name in the kind of writing style I had seen often in older books. Big, blocky letters with curves and additions that modern writing styles in the Glorious Empire did not have. It felt a bit fancy, like I''d just obtained a very rare book for bards, which made my urge to defile it with my writing grow even further.


    For research, I corrected myself mentally, it''s for research.


    "Name, huh? I suppose that would be... Wulfram Azalea." I dipped my quill into the ink and wrote my name with as much neatness as I could muster, tapping the quill into the ink jar once I was finished.


    I was then promptly blasted away from my desk, flipping in the air, and hit the ground of my sanctum with the kind of force only magic can bring. I felt my lungs exhale harshly and my bones creak out in agony. I hadn''t prepared for that in the slightest.


    "Fucking... Mage King... I didn''t think he actually booby-trapped it." I sputteredas I forced myselfup, feeling light-headed.


    "The ink is gone." Jami spoke as if she was unconcerned with my safety. Having seen some of the things my body had been through, that was fair enough.


    "What?" I tried to fix my mask which had become crooked on my face as I walked back to the desk "What do you..."


    Wulfram Azalea was gone. It had vanished from the page entirely.


    "Parlor trick." I muttered, and it was true. Even I had seen the magical books that ate your ink. It was a mere prank that students at academies played on each other.


    "And the magical fist you just took? Parlor trick?"


    "Less so." I thought back to the one time I had received a book which shot a gust of wind at my face when I wrote anything even remotely related to air into its pages. This was different.


    The sheer power the book released to attack me was dangerous. If Silvi had written in the book, for instance, I would have been sending her corpse down to my storage. I gave my robes a good pat down as I sighed as loudly as I could. I had assumed the book had its secrets, I just didn''t expect they''d be so painful.


    "That''s the last time I take your advice, Jami." I jabbed at her floating visage with my elbow.


    "You were going to do it anyway." She spoke as I gave a shrug in response.


    On the bright side, I knew how to bully Aragor the next time he came bursting into my Sanctum.

 Chapter 3.5

    Dear Koma.


    I am very sorry for the loss of your fastest horse. However I must remind you that you have a duty to the Sun Emperor as his stable master. As a further note, if you continue to gamble in the stables with my men I will tear your balls from your fucking-


    "Ugh." I clenched the letter I had written as tightly as I could, ruining it with the sheer strength of my hatred.


    "Captain?" I heard my right hand from behind her desk, penning her own letters at a steady pace.


    "Hurt my wrist." I lied, pushing the hatred I felt for this shitheap of a task to the depths of my soul. "I''ll be fine."


    I had no idea what kind of Royal Guard was supposed to spend all day writing letters. This was the duty for literally anyone else, even that fat bastard Thaddius. Yet I found myself sitting in my chair barely able to keep a straight face as the audacity of my situation began beating me over the head. I was going to kill someone, and I was hoping it would be the Fat Prince.


    "Fuck it." I murmured. I tried to keep my mouth clean and my words as polite as possible, to honor my shitty position. Sometimes, though, it got through.


    "Captain?" She replied as she always did, grating on my already raw nerves. It didn''t seem that she heard me, which was good.


    "I said I''m stepping out for a bit. Just keep at it, will you?"


    "But your helmet-"


    "I don''t need it. Mone''s bones, I''m walking through the palace, not going into battle." I grumbled, wishing I was actually going into battle.


    Closing the door to my office behind me, I began my trek through the Palace of Gold. It was full of every kind of person I hated the most. Nobles who had never fought for a thing in their lives, who cared only for what they ate for dinner and the quantity of that meal. The Glorious Guards consisting of placated dogs without teeth. And of course the royal shitstains who ran it all.


    The Sun Emperor and the Fat Prince.


    "Captain Weiss." I saw the way they gave their small nods and words of polite greeting. I saw it, but I heard their true intentions a lot more clearer when I couldn''t see it. They saw me as a foreigner who had no right to stand with them. A Meylander. A savage. A piece of shit who didn''t belong in their precious Upper Tier.


    "Assholes." I let my true thoughts slip in at a thankfully quiet tone as I walked past another pair of spineless nobles. I choked down my follow-up, turned, and gave them a proper greeting. They didn''t like it when things were... complicated. Uncomfortable, even. If they had heard me they wouldn''t dare show it.


    War was on their doorstep, but they believed themselves to be in a time of great peace. They saw the Seven Sorcerers, or the Seven Black Sorcerers, as an unbreakable defense that would keep them safe. They were utterly wrong. I knew enough about the Black Sorcerers to say with confidence they would abandon us, eventually. For one reason or another.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    It would be a slaughter if this land was invaded.


    "Oh my, Captain Weiss." A voice like a dagger in my spine caused me to halt.


    "Colonel Geiger. To think I''d meet you here." I turned with a face so stoney I''m sure it could stop a battering ram.


    "I work here. As do you, Captain Weiss. Or have you forgotten?"


    "Of course." I spoke, unable to laugh at what I assumed was a joke. My reputation was one ofattempted stoicismand the occasional bout of sarcasm. The former part of my reputation was a well crafted lie as the fury that lay within my heart was only just held down by force of will.


    "I suppose what I should have said is why did you call out to me... Colonel?"


    Geiger wasn''t a Royal Guard. He was a military man with the medals to prove it. As he stood before me, he was coated in the black and white officers uniform that I had once worn. He wore his medals on his chest with great pride, though I knew a lot of them were things he merely watched happened. I''d never say it to his face, even if I really wanted to.


    He had greying hair and the kind of stupid mustache that only a man of noble blood could enjoy. He kept it very neat, almost as neat as his hair, which I found very foolish. Geiger was a living, breathing symbol of everything wrong with the military, and he stood before me with the kind of half cocked gaze only a cunt who thinks he''s better than you could do.


    "We''ve heard some nasty reports of rebels inside of our fair city. They call themselves revolutionaries but we know what they truly are... scum." Geiger looked as if he would have spat, were it not for the fact that the floor itself was worth more than both of our lives combined.


    "And?" I tried to get this over with as soon as possible, folding my arms. "I''m a royal guard. Unless they''ve been causing trouble in the Upper District, which they haven''t, it''s not my problem. I''m preparing for the Red King''s visit, you see."


    "You were a soldier once, Weiss," He spoke as if I had forgotten, infuriating me, "Surely you still feel that sense of duty deep within you?"


    "More than you could possibly know, Colonel." I spat the words as hard as I could, hoping they''d do physical harm to him. No such luck, of course.


    "My superiors, ever the frightful bunch, want me to personally... lead the charge, as they say." He gave me some air quotes with a roll of his eyes. "But, well, I find myself rather swamped."


    "And you''d like me to do your job for you?" My amusement seemed to strike a very negative cord with him. "I''m the Captain of the Royal Guard, Geiger. I''m not a City Hunter."


    "You misunderstand. I am not asking you to go down and crack open a few heads in hopes of striking fear into the rabble. I was suggesting that you help me, as peers of this Glorious Empire, find the ringleaders and stamp them out for good."


    He made that up on the spot. I knew he wanted me to do his job and start cracking down on every Tier until I rounded up enough people to meet his quota, self-imposed or not. I guess he assumed that asking me to bounty hunt a few rebel ringleaders would be more appealing. It wasn''t in the slightest, and my face seemed to betray that information just enough.


    "You could even ask your friend, Master Azalea to join you."


    "Wulfram?" I raised an eyebrow. "You want a Black Mage and Royal Captain to deal with a bunch of underpaid, underfed rebels?"


    "Whether or not they are a true danger is uncertain. I believe our superiors are paranoid, but they are none the less insistent they are a true threat. Thus I am willing to deploy all we have available, so to speak." He spoke, though I had come to note he wasn''t naming his superiors. That meant he was clearly trying to brush a minor task off onto my lap, thinking me a fool. That pissed me off.


    "Except yourself."


    "E-" He cut himself off. "Amusing, Captain."


    "I''ll tell you what, Colonel Geiger." I put my arm around him as I began walking. He seemed a little unnerved by the display. "I''ll run it by Master Azalea. I can''t promise you the Defiler will be entertained by such a mundane task, but we''ll see. That''s the most I can promise you."


    I gave him a little push with my arm and watched him stumble. He fixed himself off as quickly as he could and cleared his throat.


    "Yes, well, that would be most appreciated." He seemed partially annoyed at my actions, but also worried about something.


    He probably regretted bringing up one of the Seven Sorcerer''s in such a way. Getting one''s attention was rarely good. At that time I had never met all Seven Sorcerers, as they were either reclusive or just too damn fucking dangerous to approach. I knew Wulfram and I knew Iris, and they were all I wanted to know.


    Creepy bastards. Horrible company. I often found myself hoping that Iris would get eaten by her spiders.


    "Until next time, Colonel Geiger." I watched him scurry away with a sigh.


    I turned back the way I came, suddenly finding the idea of writing a shit load of letters far superior to getting caught by another twit like Geiger.

 Chapter 4

    I don''t know how long it had been since my little writing experiment with the book, but I hadn''t moved from my chair since I found my way back into its embrace. Time was not a consistent thing within my sanctum, and it was the kind of abnormality that I quite enjoyed. Had a day passed? A week? A year? I could only wonder.


    Jami had gone silent, though she was never truly gone. The only sound filling my ears was that of my own tapping against the desk. My fingers tapped, one after another, slow and steady. Whether my eyes were open or shut was irrelevant to me, as I knew my sanctum so very well that I could navigate with ease no matter the situation. Time passed.


    It simply passed.


    For reasons I couldn''t quite pin down, I found my mind wandering into my past. I recalled how grand it felt to first learn magic and experience the rush of casting your first spell. Back then I wasn''t a Black Mage, though it was only a matter of weeks before I became one. I listened to the call and I heeded its words.


    To explain to a non magic user exactly what that means is a little complicated, but essentially magic was a living being. Or beings, perhaps. Nobody could say for sure exactly what it''s identity was, but it was a living thing all the same. It called to its wielders, who had the talent and the body makeup to manipulate it. It allowed them to use it and they in return respected it.


    Cared for it.


    A Black Mage, however, was one who tore from that magical essence around us and forced it to obey us. We did not respect. We did not ask for its favor. We shaped it into our own image and used it as a mere toy. This was somewhat of a poison, not to the body, but to the soul. Not that seeping poison into ones soul wasn''t also bad for the body, as our appearances often showed.


    In those first few days of magic, I felt more alive than I had ever felt before. The chilly air of Brighton, the place of my birth, did not bother me. The fact that I hadn''t eaten in what seemed like an eternity did not bother me. I was happy and free, with my heart pounding loudly to prove it. Such a simple time.


    These memories came to mind because I had felt a similar thrill as I did when I ran my hand across this book. It was growing increasingly obvious that it was hiding something powerful, and it was a dangerous path I''d be treading to learn its secrets. But much like the young me who braved into the unknown, so too shall the older me walk the same path.


    I would break it as I broke the essence of magic around me.


    "But..." I trailed off with a sigh. "I don''t know where to start."This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    I did not particularly want to start jabbing the book without some sort of protection. The blast didn''t kill me, but if there was a stronger magic that I was unprepared for... Wulfram Azalea is not actually an invincible man. I had to be careful, and that meant setting up wards, getting conduits and perhaps even gathering a slave or two to use as bait.


    It meant I would have to call upon my peers and their spheres of influence, to gather what I needed. Things I knew the Tiers from Upper to Lower did not contain. In many ways I found that far more daunting than meddling with an ancient and potentially deadly book of magic. At least the book of magic seemed upfront about its attempts to kill me.


    I began to sort through my peers to figure out who I had to speak to. Iris was useless to me, I didn''t need to throw spiders at my problems. Beni was useless, because Beni was always useless. Aragor would rather die than help me and all he had to give me was lip and advice on how best to kill my enemies.


    It couldn''t be Monk. I didn''t need advice on my garden... not that he ever spoke to begin with. Vale, ever the narcissistic bastard, would just give me a painting of himself and be done with it. That left one person who could possibly help me gather what I needed. The man who was rumored to have a tight grip on the throat of every merchant within our borders. And out, for that matter.


    Freyjadour Cythis.


    That, of course, meant I had to find the so-called Purple Shadow. I let out a sigh at the prospect. I was reclusive, sure, but Freyjadour was just plain annoying to find. He did not have a place he called home and he certainly never stayed in one spot. To make things worse, I couldn''t "reach out" as Aragor had done to me. Freyjadour was a black spot on our collective magical senses.


    But it was clear he''d have access to things far outside of my reach. Wards and the like, that is. Things that I''d have to go and get myself otherwise, which was a little too much effort for my taste. He was also a little easier to deal with than Aragor, not that it was too big of a hurdle to overcome, as I knew I''d merely have to pay him in coin.


    After some grumbling about where to start looking, I made up my mind to find Vale first. It felt like pulling teeth when he talked about how great it was to be alive and free. To be beautiful as the gods intended. I found it a little more than hypocritical, because we were abominations to nature and both of us had eaten from the flesh of Mone. A god we had killed.


    But despite it all Vale was Freyjadour''s main associate. The two travelled the most out of any of us, so it made sense they''d share a few common goals. More importantly, Vale was incredibly easy to track down. That is to say, he barely left the home he had been given in the Upper Tier unless he was on a mission for the Sun Emperor.


    I knew for a fact that he was not. I knew this because the egomaniacal bastard liked to flaunt his aura as hard as he could, and I could sense him from where I was sitting quite easily. Placing the book back in the drawer, I stretched my limbs and decided to begin my journey. Despite it all, my curiosity for the books contents were growing ever the more fierce.


    I stood up and slid the staff from the wall to my hands with practiced ease, feeling the feeling I usually got when Jami was stirring. I opened my sanctum door and left my personal fortress behind. All in the hopes of finding a man who could truly be called a ghost. All in the hopes that ghost could help me obtain the secrets of an old book.


    All in the hopes that those secrets could entertain me.