Blood and Elixir - Curse of the Old Gods

Valdes

He held his future in his hand.

For being something with such colossal significance, the stone sure was deceptively small. Shaped like a pentagon and with a surface darker than night, it seemed to radiate a foreboding aura instilling a chilly ambiance in the air.

If it were sentient it would probably be baring its teeth at him, he mused to himself.

He stared at it, his beady eyes squinting at the minute text scrawled above. It was an ancient language, the likes of which had been lost to their civilization for ages. But he had not let that hinder him. He had not reached the topmost rungs of Iscyrian society by letting small obstacles throw him off. He had spent his sixty seven summers plotting and scheming. It was with his wit alone that he had made it to the rank of Chief Advisor of the King from a street urchin born in a dilapidated rundown part of the kingdom. He was the only common-folk in the Council that was otherwise packed with pure blooded Elven.

The Elven were the ruling class of Iscyria and they never let anyone with diluted blood in. But he had successfully infiltrated the closed-off, conceited self-righteous Elven council. He knew he had the cunning to make it and he had. Well that and the fact that he was not squeamish about the means to his end. The lack of conscience had proven to be very helpful.

And now he was the Protector. The defacto ruler of the kingdom. Once upon a time, this would have been the height of his ambition. But not anymore. Not since he had discovered her.

He had known for a long time that knowledge, no matter how mundane should be acquired. For it was knowledge that could be converted to power. It was this knowledge in seemingly childish folklore that had revealed her true identity to him. Of how powerful she could be if her energies were directed properly. Just like how he had converted his knowledge of sorcery into something very productive. The spells had been crucial in paving the way. With the influence of the first one he had made the king seek her out and bring her out of seclusion. Another spell or two had ensured that he was entranced by her and sought her hand in marriage. Everything had been going according to plan. And the plan was simple - to make the king marry her. He had known it would not take much for her to fall in love with the king; love deprived wench that she was. It had only taken a kind word and an affectionate gaze for her to fall head over heels in love with him. The next part had been to induce hatred in the king so that he would renounce her after claiming her heart.

It would have been so much more convenient that way. Despite her extraordinary power she was still so naïve. And he had discovered it over time that it was much easier to control and manipulate a heartbroken and scorned woman. Their vulnerability was an asset. But things had started going haywire when the king started resisting the influence of the spell. He had never taken the willpower of the Elven King into account. He had started actively resisting the fog clouding his senses. What was worse was that he went ahead and actually fell in love with the witch. For real this time and a hatred spell did not work in the least on a couple bound by love.

He genuinely regretted the fate of the king but he had been left with no other choice really. He had been a bright young man but he needed to be disposed off. And now he was close. So close. He could almost taste it. The taste of unlimited, unhindered power.Just one more stage to complete. Just one more step to go. And he will be the Emperor. The ultimate ruler of all realms.

He had dug up all the ancient texts in the kingdom and finally deciphered the minute text scrawled above. Ten years of hard work had gone into deciphering the text but he was a patient man. And now it was done. In time too. For now was when he needed it the most.

She had evaded the soldiers for so long and all the better for them. For he was sure that even if they managed to catch up to her; they would never be able to capture her. His thin lips twisted in a grimace. No, she was much too powerful for that. He needed help.