Algernon Black

(Chapter 37) The Hoard

Despite almost wearing herself out from her practices with dark magic, Lucy made it to her last class of the day, where Enzelwood's vindictive agenda seemed less motivated today as she could only count on one hand how many times he went out of his way to glower at her.

Worse than the professor's judgment, which was easy to interpret and understand, was Algernon's. Lucy wondered if he was laughing at her hopeless attempts at dark magic. If he scuffed at her all the same as everyone else, but his face didn't seem to reflect her worries when she met his gaze and there was no harshness in it, in fact, she thought she was seeing the very minuscule traces of approval. But with how little his black eyes gave away, she couldn't be sure.

"What are we most desperate to destroy?" Enzelwood asked his class as they all stared back at him.

"That which causes us harm," Tosant answered. He was a nobleman's firstborn son who tried his best to live up his family's expectations by coming off as knowledgeable as he could. Pecilia knew he had no real outstanding attributes to him besides the courage to fake having them, which she supposed was all that you really needed when you were born into this level of privilege.

"More specifically what we fear," Enzelwood replied with a nod of approval. "Destruction magic pulls from your fears to create the greatest extent of your abilities. And there is no greater motivator than fear. Which is why I prepared a gift for all of you today." The professor gestured to the potions laid before each of his students. "The gift of your greatest fears and the chance to face them." Lucy looked down at the small vial of green glowing liquid, wondering how often a thing it would be for professors to use potions in their teachings.

"This liquor will make your greatest nightmare come to mind, some you didn't even realize you had. And in that state of great terror, you will be able to reach the depth of your powers." Enzelwood looked upon his class. They all so badly wanted to live up to their noble lineage, but he wondered what number of them had the courage to really try, he suspected very few. "There was actually a tradition for princes of Emora to take the potion on the day of their coronation. To show how they were able to keep their composure about them even in the greatest state of distress."

Pecilia wondered how successful those coronations were as she pushed the glass away. Lucy stared down at her own. It had a unique glowing coloring, but one that seemed oddly familiar to her.

"Professor, didn't King Gashtion go crazy drinking too much of this liquor?" Freya asked, holding the liquid up to the light where she could see specs of red wafting around the green.

"That king had many addictions that contributed to his ailing mental and physical health," Enzelwood stated. "But he also had one of the most successful military expenditures in his time. Under his leadership, the old soldiers of Emora would drink this before battle and raise their fears far above their worries of war. They found that in that state of fear, they could face their opponent with unparalleled strength." The professor marched around the classroom, speaking like a commander inspiring his battalion. "Those soldiers went on to become the gentry, nobles, ancestors of some of your own. The most powerful men and women in the world." Algernon glared at the professor with his brows pulled together, unentertained and unaffected by the obvious implication.

"And King Leviathan outlawed the drink under his rule," Freya said, scrunching her nose as she sniffed the pungent liquid. Being one to always take pleasure in everything she put in her mouth and body Freya didn't much care for something as foul as the teacher's offer.

"Perhaps the last king didn't have the resolution of mind needed to handle a substance of such magnitude. Like we may discover some of us here don't have either." Enzelwood paced to stand in front of Algernon's seat as he finished his dare. The entire class took notice and Pecilia rolled her eyes at the teacher's antics. "But those courageous enough to take it inspired their nations and became kings with the respect and reverence of the world. And those that didn't," The professor glanced down at Algernon. His black eyes were as fiercely indifferent as ever. ''Well, who could truly believe in a ruler that was too afraid to face his own fears."