The Curse of Elanor

The speed at which the cranium flew toward the pair of lips was blitzkrieging but still inadequate. The illusory black lips faded upon contact with the skull and reappeared a distance away.

The dark lips curled upwards. "It's always a pleasure, Solivar." They let out in the same horse voice as before. It was as if the speaker's vocal cords had been thoroughly dehydrated and their voice passed through a series of barbed wires.

Both foreign existences, the skull and the lips, seemed to know one another, but it was obvious that they were on bad terms. For a second, Bane ruminated on the term used by one of the intruders, this was the first time he had heard of a Seer.

"It's rather rude of me to not introduce myself. I am Mal-Shanse of the House of Fate, the Seer representing Misfortune."

Even more unfamiliar terms were thrown at the Butcher. He decided to not pay attention to them and instead regain control of the situation. The faint golden glow of the room intensified as Bane once again called upon one of his arcane gifts. It was again the power of authority.

"Speak the reason for your intrusion." He commanded in a deep tone.

His confidence in his authority had wavered in seeing how the alleged Seer had reacted to it. When he had initially been commanded to speak, the intruder had remained silently for a few seconds before finally announcing his presence. This was not an act done in hesitation but instead in direct defiance to the command given. If he had listened to the order, it was of his own will and not due to outside influence.

The command hung in the air for a moment before finally being obeyed by both parties.

Mal-Shanse was the first to speak. "I come purely to warn you of events to come. A certain someone has drawn attention that I believe she would rather not have. I wager Solivar came to do the same, though his intentions might not be as pure as mine." The words were spoken in a slightly mocking tone, the horse voice had been embedded with an undertone of arrogance. Pity and slight levels of disgust were also hidden deep in the spoken words.

"For some reason, I doubt that," Bane said, his confidence slowly returning. He could feel the heavy blade still in his hands and, assuming the Seer had watched his battle against the crow-man, Bane still had 19 techniques his opponent was unaware of.

"You stalked me and wouldn't reveal yourself until I commanded it, the skeleton on the other hand immediately made its presence known and was rather respectful in the way it addressed me." Bane's eyes flared with yellow bolts of lightning as he pushed his authoritative abilities to their peak.

"I think I understand what you mean by 'a certain someone' and I'll be damned if I let any harm come to her. That curse is my responsibility and I intend on breaking it so f**k off so I return to her!!

"On my Authority: Begone!"

The previously light golden glow in the room exploded, blinding everyone present. Once the light had subsided, all that was left was Bane and the beige gem-encrusted skull. No sign of the onyx lips.

Stabbing a knife into the table where the skull had landed, Bane let out a command in a short and irritated tone.

"Tell me everything."

…

"Lady Elanor!" the pigionary called as he saw the lady of the house fall to her knees, her eyes glazed over as if they had lost the soul behind them. He quickly came to her side and threw the letter out of her hands, faintly as he did so, he could read the words written on the aged paper.

"Mother Fate…" was all the old man managed to glimpse before turning his attention to the squirming Elanor. It was clear she was trying to articulate something but it all came out in the form of incoherent moans and groans. The old pigionary screamed for help as he wiped the strange liquid that was coming from his lady's mouth.

"B-brother…" She finally managed as the manor guards came crashing in. When they came to look into her condition, she had already fainted. The pigionary gave a detailed retelling of what had happened and emphasized that she had only fallen after opening the letter. He also mentioned his reading of the words "Mother Fate".

The guard in charge, a middle-aged man with serious features and grey hair cut short, picked up the letter. "Sir, there is nothing written on here." He said in a monotone voice. Turning the piece of paper, he showed the pigionary the empty aged paper, the words "Mother Fate" were nowhere to be found.

"N-no, I promise it was there! You have to believe me, I didn't do anything to Lady Elanor!" He tried to protest but the guards had already begun dragging him away. The guard in charge, whose name happened to be Lucas, handed the empty paper to a guard and instructed him to take it to the manor's mystic.

With that done, he checked the room for any strange objects, traces, or scents before finally leaving with Elanor in his arms. He took her to her chambers and laid her on her bed before bringing her parents and any other relevant authorities.

It didn't take long for Lady Agea and her husband to notice their daughter's condition. Earl Marius was the first to react, coming to his daughter's side and taking her gloved hand into his, ignoring the stony skin underneath. His eyes had already begun to water as he muttered reassuring words in her ear, more for his own reassurance than for his unconscious daughter's.

"It has spread." Lady Agea told her husband coldly, vaguely gesturing in the direction of Elanor's arm which had begun to pale and grown grey. Earl Marius stared daggers into her eyes. "Witch! Our daughter is unconscious and all you care about is that stupid curse."

Lady Agea sighed, an ember of emotion in her eyes. "I don't just care about the curse, I'm also worried about Elanor. But there's nothing we can do about her unconsciousness, there might be something we could do about the curse before it spreads to the rest of the manor."

The Earl still glared at her, "And what do you suggest?! We've tried every doctor and mystic from here to Denrun!"

She didn't answer and simply kept his gaze, as if he already knew what she was going to suggest.

"No…

"I refuse to cripple my own daughter!"

Lady Agea's expression didn't change but her lips parted faintly. "The we will all die." She turned her back to her husband and left for the door.

"Wait!" Earl Marius called, his voice lacking the authority his position should have commanded, "Tell me what happened that night."