Realm of Monsters

Mage lord Elzri Noir was 82 years old, yet because of his drow heritage he only looked to be in his 60s. His natural grey hair was long and tied in an intricate ponytail with silver string. Wrinkles danced around his calm grey eyes. He had a thin face and high cheekbones. His grey skin was bereft of hair save for his scalp. He wore an elaborate long white robe reminiscent of a mage’s black robe. An orichalcum black necklace with six different color gemstones hung from his neck.

“I’ve requested your presence many times these past few months, yet this is the first time you actually chose to visit, why?” Elzri asked without bothering to glance at his granddaughter. 

“I’m a busy woman, what more do you want me to say?” Loh smirked.

Elzri spoke with a calm cadence, refusing to rise to her jeer, “My secretary tells me that you used the power of our surname to imprison and execute a drow secretary by the name of Byrel. Is that true?” 

“Since when have you cared about commoners?” She crossed her arms.

“I care about what happens in my academy. I take my position as principal of this prestigious school quite seriously, unlike some child with their teaching position,” Elzri said while he continued to read his tome.

“If you don’t want me teaching here, then why hire me in the first place?” She spat.

“Tauri Katag begged me to take you on at this academy. Did you think I hired you because of some familial sentiment? Please. I taught you better than that. The only reason I tolerate your presence in this academy is because house Katag now owes me a favor.”

Loh clenched her fists. She hadn’t known what her friend had done. Damn Tauri for not telling her and letting her walk into the dragon’s den unprepared. She needed to say something, anything to rattle this old man’s cold exterior, but she couldn’t think of a single word. The moment slipped by, it was too late. 

“So, is it true, the incident with Byrel?” Elzri asked.

“What if it was?” She began channeling mana through her body.

“Then I would want to know if the use of our House’s name means you have decided to return to the Noir family.”

She laughed bitterly, “That’s why you called me here? Dream on, old man, I-”

Loh’s words caught in her mouth. She couldn’t move a muscle. Dark shadows curled around her limbs, small grey curse symbols dotted around her entire body, restricting even her breath. 

“You would do well to give me the respect I deserve. Remember that, child,” he said, ice clear in his voice. Yet, still he did not look at Loh.

The black and grey spells disappeared as quickly as they had come. Loh coughed and gasped for breath. How could she not have noticed he was multicasting? And what’s worse he made it seem so easy. In just a span of a few moments he had already shamed her twice for her own ineptitude. 

“Don’t waste my time, Loh.”

She hated seeing this monster. “I’m not planning on returning to house Noir. This was a one time incident. I don’t plan on using your surname if I can help it,” she said through grit teeth.

“Our surname. Ignoring reality doesn’t change reality.” He sighed, “I had planned for you to be my successor as head of the family. I had hoped you had changed your mind regarding your self-imposed exile. But, alas foolishness cannot be cured.”

“I’d rather be foolish than a kin-slayer,” she snapped.

“And yet, somehow, you’ve managed to be both,” he remarked.

The words pierced her like a blade through the gut. 

“Take that back,” she said with a shaky voice.

Elzri ignored her, “No matter your choice on rejoining the family, you shouldn’t have killed that secretary. You are right, I don’t care about a single commoner’s life. I care about what the majority have to offer, the power they can give to this academy, this city, and House Noir. My granddaughter killing one of the school’s staff without any trial has only served to put all the staff, magi included, on edge. It makes them less effective at their job.”

“Byrel would have been convicted at a trial, I didn’t see the point in wasting time. Besides, I had my reasons.”

“And what reasons were those?”

“She tried to kill my apprentice,” Loh admitted.

“Ah, yes. You have an apprentice now, so I’ve heard. A hybrid and an odd one at that. Although, I must admit I am glad that you have embraced the will to truly teach on your own, finally. Still, you should have imprisoned Byrel and consulted me before deciding her fate.” 

“Byrel’s fate was decided the moment she tried to harm Stryg. I won’t let anyone endanger the life of my apprentice, not while I still have breath,” she said resolutely. 

Elzri’s mouth twisted, “If this is about Aizel then-”

“Don’t you dare say his name!” Loh screamed.

Elzri made a half-smile as he turned a page of his tome.“Are you being serious?”

“You don’t get to fucking say his name. Not here, not ever.” Anger flared in her shimmering eyes.

Elzri finally looked at Loh and sized her up, “Why did you come here?”

“...I came here because my apprentice is special,” Loh pursed her lips.

“Yes, you’ve made it amply clear that you care for the hybrid,” Elzri tapped his fingers. 

“I do care for him, more than you could have ever cared for me. But, that’s not the point. Stryg is a prime mage.”

“A prime mage? I haven’t seen one of those in quite some time. Well then, he can be added to the other half-dozen prime magi in Hollow Shade. I’m told he already looks different, so I’m sure he’ll fit right in with the city’s other six benign curiosities.” Elzri went back to reading his tome.

Loh took a deep breath, “Stryg’s not just a prime mage. He is able to cast complex spells far beyond his age, he has proven himself to be a very talented spell caster. But, because that secretary sabotaged Stryg’s entrance exam I didn’t know how talented he really was. I personally gave him the chromatic identity exam this afternoon. It showed that he had great potential within each color.”

Elzri stopped his readings. He closed his tome and stared at her, “What are you saying exactly?”

“I’m saying Stryg has the potential to be an arch mage. A prime arch mage. You know what that means better than most. What it signifies for your precious academy, for the city of Hollow Shade, for the entire Ebon Realm.”

Elzri clasped his hands together, “And you’ve come to me for help.”

“We both need Stryg’s magical identity to stay secret, he’s still too weak to protect himself. Besides both of us, only Stryg knows, and I’ve sworn him to secrecy. To the outside world he is only a gifted tri-manifold mage, impressive, but not game-changing.”

“Good, we must make sure to keep it that way,” he nodded.

“In the meantime, Stryg needs to learn how to master his gifts. I can only train him in three chromatic colors. I need master magi to train him in the other seven. Magi who will keep Stryg’s chromatic colors utterly secret. Of course, we’ll only show them the extra color they will teach Stryg, not a single one more. No one besides Stryg and the two of us will know the true extent of his abilities,” she finished. 

Elzri tapped his fingers on his desk. “I can arrange something of the sort. But, it won’t be easy to find such trustworthy and loyal master magi. It’ll take some time, several weeks, a few months at most.”

“Perfect. I had planned to take Stryg on a trip soon. We’ll be back at Hollow Shade by the time you’ve found some teachers.”

“Dusk Valley has become more dangerous these past few years. I hope you won’t endanger our new magical prodigy with this outing.”

Loh pointed a thumb at herself, “You’re the one who trained this magical prodigy. You tell me.”

Elzri grinned, “And I did an amazing job, but in the end I failed you.”

Loh looked at him in surprise. Was he actually regretful?

“I made the mistake of underestimating how weak you were.” Elzri shrugged, “A small, but significant oversight.”

Loh shook her head and went for the door, “Oh and one last thing. No matter how many teachers or who Stryg’s teachers may be, I’ll be the one in charge of his overall training.”

“Perhaps I didn’t fail you entirely,” he smirked.

~~~

“So, this is the place? It’s...quaint?” Callum scrunched his brow.

“The Merry Crescent? My dad visited once, but I’ve never been,” Kithina said.

“I know it’s not great, but Stryg likes this place a lot,” Feli shuffled her feet.

The four of them stood in front of the Merry Crescent tavern on a warm evening. 

When Stryg told Feli she would meet Callum Veres, she assumed they would dine at a fancy restaurant with the young aristocratic vampire, not go back to some common tavern.

“The drinks are good, so is the food. What more do you need?” Stryg stretched, happy to have full control of his limbs again.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Kithina walked up the steps and pushed the doors wide open.

Stryg easily spotted the blonde hair of the barmaid Carla. He raised his hand to get her attention. 

When she noticed the goblin she ran up to him, “Welcome to the Merry Crescent! I’m so happy you’ve come to visit, are these your friends?”

“They are my classmates, my fellow magi... and yes, they are my friends,” Stryg said. “We’d like a table.”

“Other magi?” Carla mouthed. “Oh! Um, of course. Pick whichever table you like. Don’t worry if someone is sitting there, we’ll move them immediately and wipe down the table for you.”

“A restaurant with no reservations, huh?” Callum asked. 

“Feli,” Carla said in a deadpan voice as the former barmaid walked by.

“Stay away from Stryg, or else,” Feli said nonchalantly. 

Carla frowned.

“Sshtryyyggu? Ish dat you?” Rorik called out.

Stryg glanced at the drunken guard captain, “Looks like you already beat me to the drinks. Although, you still can’t beat me in drinking.”

“Id doeshent make shense, I shud beet you. I’ma beeggir dan you,” Rorik slurred.

“Dream on, drunk,” Stryg grinned.

“Ffeeyyyleee?” Rorik’s eyes turned to Feli.

“Hello, Mr. Polamtal, why don’t you go take a seat over at the bar,” Feli said curtly. 

“Anyfffing fo you,” Rorik saluted haphazardly and stumbled away.

“Everyone’s looking at us,” Kithina muttered.

“They’re curious to see the people who came in with Stryg. He’s pretty notorious around here,” Feli explained.

“What, did he kill someone or something?” Kithina joked.

“Yes, pretty gruesomely too,” Feli noted.

“Oh,” Kithina muttered. 

The four of them found a table in the corner away from view. Carla walked over and began to take their orders.

“I’ll have some mead and make sure you don’t mess it up, I’ll be sure to share some with Stryg,” Feli warned.

Carla sighed, “Understood.”

“May I have some blackberry mead please,” Kithina requested.

“I’ll take some regular mead for now,” Stryg said.

Carla nodded and came back with their drinks. She then turned to Callum who was still eyeing the tavern’s food with a look of indecision. 

Carla sidled up next to him. “Are you still having trouble deciding? I can get you anything you want, you know. And I do mean anything,” Carla whispered into his ear.

Callum turned to her with a wide fang-sharp smile, “And here I thought you didn’t have a wide variety of selection. In that case I’ll have some fresh blood, preferably from your shoulder, but I’ll settle with your wrist.”

Carla blanched, “I-I, uh. I’m not sure we have that. Let me go check in the kitchen.” She ran off without a second thought. 

Callum frowned, “I’ll take that as a no.” He was already missing having one of his maids nearby. 

Kithina burst into laughter. Feli hid a smile behind her hand. Stryg’s mind was elsewhere. 

Stryg had found out just a few days ago that he was a prime mage. The rarest type of manifold mage. Yet, instead of being happy, Loh had seemed worried, stressed even. She made him promise not to tell anyone about the exam or its results.

Stryg didn’t know what the problem was, but he wasn’t surprised. He had always been odd and somehow always found a way to mess things up. He recalled Plum’s tear-stricken face. 

Even the best of things, Stryg sighed and clasped his clawed hands together tightly.

Back in Vulture Woods, despite being a child of a sylvan tribe, Stryg never felt as a part of the tribe. He always wanted to be. He always strived to be accepted by them, to be seen as a great warrior. He had failed that dream and had ended up alone, a freak among the rest. His magic was supposed to fix that, but now it even made him more of a freak.

Plum’s voice echoed in his mind, A Monster. 

“Are you feeling okay?” Feli placed her hand over his.

Callum cleared his throat, “I can only imagine how stressed you are about the matter with Plum. But, I’m sure you’ll figure things out one way or another. And if you can’t, we’ll always have your back, no matter what.”

“Here, here!” Kithina and Feli raised their mugs in unison.

Stryg’s eyes wandered around the table in disbelief at their kind words. For the first time in his life he realized he didn’t feel alone, sitting among these strange people. A shrewd human, an awkward dwarf, and a strange hybrid like himself. He felt oddly at home.

Something cracked inside him, a weight he hadn’t realized he had been carrying for a very long time.

“Stryg?” Feli asked.

Stryg blinked and touched his cheek, it was wet. His eyes widened in horror. Was he actually crying? He hadn’t cried since his failure in the night challenge, so many moons ago. They’d laugh at him just as they had back then. They’d call him weak and undeserving of life.

Callum looked away and pretended to not notice. Kithina sipped her drink. Feli smiled warmly and kissed him on the cheek.

“We’re here for you,” Feli whispered.

“And we’re not going anywhere,” Kithina spoke into her mug.

Stryg didn’t understand. They weren’t goblins. They weren’t even warriors. But they stood by him just the same. They were his friends, his tribe.

Book 1 End

Stryg Image:

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