The Stratigos of Dark Magic

The desert heat bore down on Demetrius, Ganzaya, and Adriadne. They felt the scorching sun blaze down on them. However, the cool breeze blowing in from the seaside gave them a tiny relief.

They were riding on horseback through a hilly seaside region of the Eastern parts of the Remen Empire. Currently, the group was heading South. Adriadne was holding in a look of pain. Demetrius noticed it.

"Are you okay, Adriadne?" he asked.

"I'm fine!" she snapped. "Just..."

Demetrius recoiled back. Adriadne looked at him and sighed.

"...I've never been on horseback this long. I'm getting sore," she said.

"We could take a break if you want," Demetrius offered.

"No. I can keep going," Adriadne insisted.

"We're already making good progress. We can take a short rest if you need it," the Stratigos stated.

She gave him a glare, opened her mouth, closed it, and looked around. Her gaze rested on Ganzaya.

"If that barbarian can keep going, so can I," Adriadne said in a tone that made it clear that she did not believe her own words.

"I mean no offense, but I doubt anyone in the Remen Empire could match my skill with a horse. I am an Ulv. I was riding on horseback before I could walk," Ganzaya said. "And I am the greatest warrior of the Ulvs. Even among my own people, my skill is legendary."

Adriadne opened her mouth, but she closed it again. The girl then shook her head.

"We are not stopping," she stated.

They rode on for a few more hours with soreness increasingly flowing through Adriadne. She stopped being able to hide her pain. Every time Demetrius suggested they stop, Adriadne insisted that they keep moving forward. Eventually...

"That's enough!" Demetrius snapped. "We are taking a rest."

"No, we are not," Adriadne said.

"Yes, we are! I am your older brother, the heir to the Kallergis family, and the Stratigos in charge of this expedition! If I saw we're taking a rest, we are taking a rest!" the Stratigos shouted.

Adriadne shot him a glare that could cut ice. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it. The girl looked away from her half-brother.

"Fine. We'll rest," she grumbled.

Getting off her horse, Adriadne walked over to a large rock. She sat on it and gazed towards the ocean. Adriadne tried to calm herself by watching the waves move on the glistening water.

Ganzaya walked over to the girl while Demetrius kept his distance. She ignored him at first, looking at the sea. The Ulv gazed at the other hills between them and the ocean.

"Back in the steppe, there was grassland as far as the eye could see. Here, hills block much of the land. You could dozens of men behind these hills. And I don't want to imagine fighting a battle with horse archery on this terrain. It would be possible, but I can see why some people prefer infantry," Ganzaya thought.

He let out a deep sigh.

"I miss my wife."

Then, the Ulv turned to Adriadne .

"She's about my daughter's age. And yet, she does not seem to like Demetrius. I never had any sons, but family is important. Children should get along with their siblings," Ganzaya thought before speaking. "You do not seem to like your brother."

The girl gave him a glare.

"That is none of your business, barbarian," she said.

"Normally, it wouldn't be. But I am on a mission with you and your brother. If your issues with him impede our task, it is my business," Ganzaya replied.

Adriadne sighed.

"That's a good point," she admitted. "But I still don't want you interfering."

"I understand that, but I think you should try to get along with your half-brother," Ganzaya said.

Adriadne muttered something so quietly that Ganzaya couldn't hear her.

"What was that?" he asked.

She whispered again. Ganzaya leaned closer this time.

"Yes?" the Ulv questioned.

"I'm trying to get along with Demetrius," Adriadne answered.

"It doesn't seem like it," Ganzaya said.

"I know, but it's hard," she shook her head.

The Ulv pondered a moment.

"Was Adriadne forced to go with Demetrius here, or was it her choice?" he thought before speaking. "Why are you here? Is it just for the mission or something else?"

Adriadne sighed.

"Caesar Basil wanted to send a different magician with me at first. I requested that he send Demetrius," she said.

Ganzaya nodded.

"And why did you do that?" he asked.

"Because..." Adriadne shook her head. "Do you have any idea what it was like growing up for me? What it was like when your mother's an actress?"

"I can't relate," Ganzaya stated.

"I'm surprised Mother didn't abort me. It's illegal and dangerous, but it's not like that's stopped her before. I guess she was hoping that I'd get her a good future because my Father's the head of one of the four magician families. It's not like she cared about me. It's not like Father cared either. He didn't even bother looking into whether he got Mother pregnant," the girl spat.

"Maybe he assumed she aborted you?"

Adriadne turned to Ganzaya. Her face was red with rage.

"That is no excuse!" she almost shouted but managed to keep herself quiet enough that Demetrius wouldn't hear. "He only found me because the Basileus found out he was sleeping with prostitutes and used a magic spell to see if he had any bastard children!"

Tears started leaking from Adriadne's eyes.

"I spent years mired in poverty. My Father didn't even bother seeing if I existed. I bet he only took me in when he found out because he'd have looked bad in front of the Basileus if he didn't."

"Considering how drunk he was, he probably just wasn't thinking. I'd guess the only thing he focused on was drowning his sorrows. But saying that wouldn't help Adriadne," Ganzaya thought before speaking. "That sounds like it was rough."

Adirdne groaned.

"Rough doesn't begin to describe it. I grew up hating my family. I hated my Mother for not caring about me. I hated my Father for abandoning me. And when I found out I had a brother, I hated him too for living the life that I should have," she said.

"Why didn't your mother try to contact your father?" Ganzaya asked.

"She'd be turned away at the door if she even tried. Do you think a prostitute has any place getting near the Remen aristocrats, aside from during chariot races?" Adriadne answered.

"I don't know much about your culture. I haven't been in the Remen Empire for very long," the Ulv stated.

She sighed.

"Then I can't blame you for not knowing, barbarian. But even after Father brought me in, I hated Demetrius. I resented that he got to live his entire life almost in the purple while I was stuck in an actress' home for all of mine."

Regret entered Adriadne's voice as she spoke.

"Demetrius did his best to reach out to me. He tried to be a good brother, but I kept spitting in his face. And, as the years passed, he tried less and less. I'm worried that it might be too late to connect to him," Adriadne put her head in her hands. "It was wrong of me to resent Demetrius. He wasn't responsible for my circumstances, and he didn't even know Father was seeing prostitutes. So, I asked Caesar Basil to send him with me so we could reconcile, so I could make up for the past years."

"I can see why it'd be hard to talk to him after that," Ganzaya nodded.

Adriadne became silent for a moment. Then, she spoke again.

"And I still resent him," the girl admitted.

Her body hunched over.

"Those feelings haven't gone away, even though I know they're wrong. I hate that I hate Demetrius, and I hate myself for hating him."

Ganzaya nodded.

"I'm not sure how to deal with those feelings, but I believe you're making the right first step. Just stay near your brother, take it easier on him, and try to find some things to do together with him. If you have fun together, you will grow closer," he suggested.

"I'll...I'll think about that. Thank you," Adriadne promised.

She then sighed.

"While you're not minding your own business, is there anything else you want to ask?" there was a slightly joking tone in the former phrase this time.

"Yes. Where is your husband? Do you have one?" Ganzaya asked.

"No," Adriadne answered. "Father's too lazy to find me a husband, and none of the men I tried courting wanted to marry a bastard daughter. The fact that my Mother's an actress also held me back."

"Ah, yes. There is that difference in social class," the Ulv said.

"Not many aristocrats want to marry someone from a very low social class, and Father would kill me if I married someone who wasn't an aristocrat. Honestly, I'm not sure if I'll ever find a good husband. I'll probably just have to take whoever I can get."

Ganzaya nodded.

"I feel sorry for Adriadne. Her situation got better, but she still has a host of difficulties. If she was on the Steppe, she could just get herself kidnapped to find a husband. But kidnapping someone and forcing them to marry you is illegal in the Remen Empire. Still, there are some other things I want to know," he thought before speaking. "You are a witch, right?"

"Yes," Adriadne replied.

"That is a magician that specializes in things like curses, right?" Ganzaya asked.

"It is," she answered.

The Ulv scratched his beard.

"I heard the Kallergis family was made up of dark magicians. Is a witch just what they call female dark magicians?" Ganzaya questioned.

"No. Female dark magicians are called dark magicians. Male witches are called witches," Adriadne said. "Witchcraft is completely different from dark magic."

"How is it?"

"Dark magic is combat-focused. Witchcraft spells don't have any use when a fight starts unless it's a really long battle where there are lots of people protecting the witch. Our spells take a very long time to cast. It's more than enough time for someone to run over and cut us to pieces. They also often need things like cauldrons and herbs," she explained. "Don't you have witches in the Steppe?"

"We have magicians, but few witches. Most of it is grassland. So, I doubt you'll find many herbs there. We call our magicians shamen. They use magic to speak to the gods. Aside from that, I never knew much about their practice. The Ulvs were not an important enough tribe to have a shaman," Ganzaya stated.

Adriadne smirked.

"Well, at least you admit that," she said.

"It is what it is," Ganzaya shrugged. "But now, I have one more question. Why are you a witch when the rest of your family are dark magicians?"

"Because I didn't want to be a dark magician," Adriadne stated.

Ganzaya raised an eyebrow.

"And your family gave you the option to not be one?" he asked.

"When I was brought into the Kallergis family, they wanted to make me learn dark magic. I threw a tantrum whenever they tried. Eventually, Father got tired of it. He convinced the Basileus to let me use a different type of magic. So, I learned witchcraft," she answered.

"And your father didn't just beat you until you agreed to learn?"

"No. He must have felt guilty about me growing up in poverty."

"Either that or your father really does care about you," Ganzaya thought before speaking. "Did you have to do anything special to learn witchcraft?"

"We had to find some old hag in the woods to teach me. Witches get pretty famous if they stay in one area long enough, so it wasn't very hard," Adriadne said.

Ganzaya glanced at Demetrius before looking back at Adriadne . The Ulv scratched his beard again.

"What does Demetrius think about you using a different type of magic than him?" he asked.

"He probably doesn't care," Adriadne answered.

The way she said it caught Ganzaya's attention.

"Probably, you say?" the Ulv noted.

"I never asked him about it," Adriadne said. "And I don't see why I should. It'd be a waste of time for both of us."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes. What sort of magic I practice is none of Demetrius' business."

Ganzaya pondered.

"Your brother is a very dutiful man. He's focused on his duty to the Remen Empire, but I can tell that he cares about his duty to the Kallergis family too. He might think that you rejected the duty of your family," he stated.

Adriadne's eye twitched.

"I've been around Demetrius much longer than you have. And I can assure you that he doesn't care that I'm a witch and not a dark magician," she said, a hint of concern showing her voice.

"Have you ever talked to him about magic? It doesn't seem to me that you've talked to him much," Ganzaya stated.

Adriadne's face turned cold.

"I believe you have pried enough," she stood up. "We are not talking about this any longer."

The girl walked over to the horses. She mounted hers and called out to her brother.

"Demetrius, I've rested enough. Can we get going now?" she asked.

"Are you sure?" the Stratigos questioned.

"Yes, I'm..." annoyance flashed through Adriadne's voice.

Then, she remembered Ganzaya's words. The girl took a deep breath before speaking.

"Thank you for your concern, Demetrius, but I'm doing much better now. You don't have to worry about me," Adriadne said.

"Alright," there was some skepticism in Demtrius' voice.

Still, the Stratigos mounted his horse with Ganzaya doing the same. The three then continued their journey, riding under the hot sun.