Dark Legacy

by Valery Starsky

  Teko was like previously paralyzed man, who had now gotten the opportunity to walk. Despite the fact that his legs were weak, he was able to walk. The ruler refrained from shouting due to his experience and his ability to hide his emotions well. Teko Kamir looked like he was thoughtful. The ruler thought about Yar.

  Looks like I owe this young wizard from an unknown planet a lot.

  The ruler turned to his daughter. “Heiro, order dinner for five people. Let them set the table and all employees are free. Increase the guard and then put additional observers on all the towers.”

  “Okay,” the joyful princess said and was about to run away to carry out her father’s order, but suddenly she heard.

  “Heiro, stop!” Gray Raven intervened. “Eagle, my friend,” he turned to probably the most famous archmage in the world. “Can you hide the characteristics of the princess at least for a while? We don’t need the gossip.”

  Eagle Tamp, agreeing with his friend, closed his eyes and immediately took out a gray unremarkable cloak with a large hood from a subspace pocket.

  “Here you are, Your Highness. Try it on, please. It will suit you, do not worry, and you also need to put on a hood.”

  The princess did just that, and the gray, plain hooded cloak quickly huddled over her figure.

  “Fine,” Eagle Tamp commented with a smile and a wave of his arms, stopping the gratitude of the well-bred girl. “Don’t thank me; it is not necessary. Consider it a gift.”

  Heiro performed a super-fast curtsy and, like a frivolous breeze, she went off and carried out the orders of her formidable father.

  The ruler, watching the typhoon-like girl, sighed, showing his love and concern in equal measure.

  “Well, gentlemen, we still have plenty of time before the dinner party, so I propose to continue our conversation without titles and the rest of the bureaucratic crap, which absorbs time and does nothing but undermine trust. Personally, I am interested in discussing my benefactor and the situation around this rather unusual person. It looks like I'm not the only one with such intentions. No matter how regrettable I am, it seems that the crown of dark elves knows less about this phenomenon than all those gathered here. Therefore, please follow me.” Teko indicated the way.

  They walked into the garden and sat in a small, cozy gazebo with a small table, on which stood elegant cups and several carafes filled with wine and other drinks as well as fresh fruit.

  “It looks like I should be the first to speak,” Gray Raven said pouring some wine and taking a couple of sips.

  He told them what had happened briefly. Goh mentioned the hunt, the Mallorne, and the application for joining the Midnighters clan to find out the necessary data.

  Teko and Eagle listened to him patiently and without interrupting, but after Goh’s words about the application that could not be withdrawn, the rector of the dark university was unable to sit still and asked, “Is it possible?”

  “I don’t know,” Goh replied sincerely. “Yar calls it a hacking of the system. Which, by the way, you saw with your own eyes. He hacked the system once again while putting the imperial spy’s corpse into the cage.”

  “We need more details,” Teko said.

  “It is a cross between an energy spell and an artifact. It’s called the Cage of Oblivion. Oblivion seems to wait for everything and everyone that goes there. It is possible to get out from under this energy curse if Yar allows it.”

  “Yea-ah,” Eagle said thoughtfully. “Does he have many artifacts?”

  “I think he has a lot. I saw how he created super-complex energy symbiotes, but I understood almost nothing of how he did it. Everything happened very quickly, and it was amazingly complicated.”

  “Wow,” the archmage, Eagle Tamp, admired. “I know what energy is. But what is a symbiote? I’m hearing this term for the first time.”

  Heiro burst into the cozy gazebo, bringing freshness with her, like after a thunderstorm, and the smell of flowers. She literally blurted out, not allowing her teacher to answer, “Done. Symbiont, as Yar said, is an energy assistant, a partner. My mentor and I got one YDSA or Yar Dark’s Symbiont of Aura each. Mr. Rector of the Dark University, you may be able to look out for them in our auras.”

  ‘Well, let me see.” Eagle Tamp stood up and frowned, looking as if through the princess.

  Immediately the rector’s face stretched out in surprise. Characteristics found in the princess’s symbiont appeared in the air directly above the table filled with wine and fruit.

  Energy symbiote the YDSA Level 1,825

  Searching of vulnerable points 3,650

  Implementation 5,475

  Disguise in the aura 9,125

  Survival 18,250

  Reformatting 21,900 (Magic of Affect)

  Possible additional characteristics (depends on the development of the owner)

  Guardian Attacker (random)

  Absorption of negative emotions of the owner (random)

  Reflection of mental attacks (random)

  Optimization of owner’s aura (random)

  Reproduction (random)

  Collaboration and Redistribution (random)

  Cultivation (random)

  * Addition: the display of hidden features is possible

  “Eagle, this is impressive, isn’t it? I couldn’t see the YDSA in Heiro’s aura, I noticed only mine. However, it isn’t seen clearly,” Gray Raven commented.

  The archmage was so astonished that his legs trembled.

  Eagle Tamp was confused, and he hesitated a bit, then he replied, “‘Impressive’ is not the right word, my friend. This is rather stunning! The level of these small entities is unusually high, as well as their capabilities. If I had not seen it with my own eyes, I would have said that it was done by the ancient wizards themselves.

  Goh, look at the characteristic ‘Disguise in the aura’. If there were a few more points, then I would not see anything. It seems that these entities are opposite the EWIS! I would also like to have this YDSA.”

  After a short pause, the archmage added, “No one works with the aura in the Belt of Worlds. Until today, this direction was considered completely unpromising and-”

  “Well, okay,” Teko interjected. “We know what we need, and we will find the money to buy it. Goh, tell me further. You have a very interesting story.”

  The ruler glanced at his daughter accusingly, letting her know that he knew who the initiator of their adventures was.

  Goh the Gray Raven continued. He spoke about how they fled from the light elves and how they decided to give battle, knowing that they would inevitably lose.

  The dark ruler sat calmly until he heard about the slave collars. But, he didn’t jump, didn’t shout, and didn’t swear — the dark elf crumpled his cup, which he held in his hands, as if it was mere paper. Red wine poured over the table, and the spoiled precious cup was thrown out into the depths of the garden.

  “Insolent light bastards,” the ruler hissed.

  When Goh told them about the executioner, Teko turned white with anger. He was literally shaking.

  Realizing that now they were on the verge of declaring war on the light clans, Goh quickly moved to the moment when Yar appeared in their cell and saved them, freeing them from their collars.

  “I need a little break.” The ruler looked at his daughter gloomily. “I see one advantage from this situation, at least. It seems that we’ve finally found the man who can cope with Heiro.”

  “Father!” the princess screamed. Becoming angry, she was even more beautiful.

  Teko raised his hand abruptly, causing his daughter to sit down and immediately become silent.

  “Calm down. I won’t break my word. You will have a choice, but you must think well.”

  The ruler left the arbor, apparently to change his clothes. The princess surprisingly quickly cleaned up the mess he left in his wake.

  However, the rector of Altarum University didn’t even notice this. He was interested in something completely differ
ent. Eagle Tamp was so intrigued by the man in the Belt of the Worlds that he could barely restrain himself.

  “Goh, how did he take off your collars?”

  Goh shrugged.

  “Believe me, Eagle, I don’t shy away from the answer. I would like to know it myself. I’m already tired of guessing, but Yar did it in an instant. He cut Liritii as if it was just an ordinary rope. I tried to follow the process, but I didn’t understand anything. I’d like to point your attention to the fact that he has already liberated thousands of his fellow tribesmen in this way. Yar freed many people from the slave collars with a jeweler’s precision and almost instantly.”

  “I don’t understand anything. Goh, do you know how Yar Dark managed to recapture the palace from the light elves? It turns out that you and Heiro were at the very epicenter of the battle and-”

  The rector of the university was interrupted by the incoming ruler of the dark elves.

  “I would love to hear that too,” he said.

  Teko Kamir was dressed in a lightweight ceremonial dress: purple and black, he was prepared for an important meeting.

  Goh the Gray Raven told of the full events without any concealment. The princess also added details to the story, of course.

  When Goh finished, the elves sat in silence for a few minutes. Each of them thought about different things. The direct participants of the events re-experienced their adventures in the Ryiri Palace of Capture. The listeners were surprised, they made conclusions, and, perhaps, they made plans. In general, the influential and powerful interlocutors didn’t notice how quickly the time passed.

  Yar Dark is coming,” Eagle Tamp said suddenly.

  “He is already here,” Goh commented, looking through the trees of the garden.

  “Why did I not hear or see anything?” the princess asked.

  “Because our friend has a very powerful portal,” the rector answered.

  Chapter 41. Laws of Privilege

  T here was nobody in the room when Yar jumped through the portal.

  “A trap!” Yar thought, and at that very moment, he took up a fighting stance, baring his swords with a bang of energy discharge. After a few heartbeats, he realized his mistake and was upset to think that he would now have to take a good rest. Excessive suspicion was superfluous.

  “Great!” the dark elf ruler said in admiration. Teko Kamir was the best swordsman of the dark elves, so he appreciated both the fighting stance and Yar’s speed.

  Teko had to believe in the Shadows of the Moon clan. The dark elf judged by incomparable predatory, elegant style, and power swords.

  “I beg your pardon,” Yar Dark said in annoyance as he bowed guiltily. “It worked out reflexively. I didn’t mean to offend anyone.”

  Yar noticed that the ruler and Eagle Tamp were looking at his armor. The archmage was surprised, and the ruler stared at the armor with undisguised admiration and a strange smile on his lips. Then he spoke.

  “It’s okay, Yar! It was great. Don’t apologize. I just can’t understand what kind of combat school you have?” Teko Kamir asked, staring at Yar’s right hand.

  “Dark Recus’,” he answered simply and quickly.

  “Oh!” the ruler exclaimed in surprise. I know Tes Recus. This is a very serious school, no matter what anyone says. However, I haven’t heard anything about Dark Recus,” Teko Kamir uttered in astonishment.

  He always believed that he knew everything about the martial arts of the Belt of the Worlds. The ruler noticed the marks. They were real and completely unfamiliar.

  Yar seemed embarrassed, but he answered anyway.

  “To tell you the truth, the correct name of this school is Yar Recus’. This is a well-thought fusion of the fighting schools of the lefars, Shadows, and earthlings.”

  The ruler seemed happy, his face wrinkles smoothed out, and he asked Yar with genuine and inexplicable joy: “Do I understand correctly, Yar Row Dark? When the system accepted and registered this kind of magic as a new school, you received a tattoo in the form of a black multi-star with an inverted moon on the top?”

  Yar nodded, amazed that the dark elf ruler had viewed everything so well.

  “Yes, that’s right, Your Majesty. The graphite star is a sign of the founder of the school. The black inverted moon is the ‘Lord of the Shadows’—the highest degree of the martial arts of the Shadow of the Moon clan and the Totkhen’s power. The Shadows call this sign the brotherhood of the inverted moon, and worthy masters wear a gray sign on their right wrist with pride.”

  Yar thought he was ready for any reaction, but not for what happened next. This undermined his ideas about the elves. The strangely joyful Teko hugged Yar and lifted him above the ground several times, shouting something incoherent. Yar didn’t understand this language, but the princess, apparently, heard everything and rushed off somewhere. Goh also realized something and immediately, being impressed, poured himself a glass of wine and drank it down in one gulp.

  The odd behavior continued. Teko looked at Yar with kindness, as if at a long-lost relative who had suddenly been resurrected. The ruler of the dark elves spoke some kind of nonsense, and with such joy, that the impression was created that he, to put it mildly, had gone a little crazy.

  “Don’t call me majesty anymore. Don’t you dare! Don’t do this anymore! You will offend me.”

  Damn, what’s going on? What the hell is he talking about? Yar thought nervously. Nothing clever occurred to him.

  Finally, the dark elf ruler said a clear and soothing phrase, “Yar, can you show us the characteristics of the system marks? I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

  The clan leader of the Midnighters hastened to show the information in order to divert Teko’s attention from himself, at least for a while.

  Yar Recus (Dark School)

  Breter + 70%

  Spurt + 70%

  Jump + 50%

  Evasion + 50%

  Dual swords + 50%

  Microportal + 50%

  Silent step + 50%

  * Magic Ability

  Roar (sonic) + 700

  Command voice (suppression) + 700

  The Lord of the Shadows (The Brotherhood of the Inverted Moon)

  Masking + 70%

  Evasion + 70%

  Dual swords + 50%

  Microportal + 50%

  Pitfalls + 50%

  Climbing + 50%

  Hacking + 50%

  * Magic Ability:

  Energy pair swords + 700

  “Wow!” the dark ruler said admiringly.

  Eagle Tamp examined the characteristics with great interest.

  “Right, these are impressive stats. It can be said that they are unrealistically powerful, and some of them repeat. I suppose they must add together. Well, before we sit down at the table, I wish to ask my future student three questions. Do you mind?”

  Yar bowed. “Of course not. I cannot refuse my future rector!”

  “Well,” Tamp said thoughtfully. “So, the first question — is it true that the Magic of Affect created by you completely restores the reproductive functions of elves? Yar, you can answer briefly, this will be enough for me.”

  “Yes, it is. There are already confirmations of numerous pregnancies within the Shadow of the Moon clan.”

  “How many?” the ruler asked with interest. “Two, three, ten?”

  “More than three thousand,” Yar reported.

  Teko didn’t say anything, he just grabbed the carafe and drank it down, swallowing greedily.

  “The second question is do you have a combat form of the dragon?” the rector asked, without paying attention to anything in particular.

  “Yes, I have the Twilight Dragon. The power is tremendous, as well as the magic, too, but for now, I’m not flying very well. However, the dragons have promised to level me up quickly!”

  Teko Kamir looked dumbfounded. Meanwhile, the archmage asked his next question.

  “The third question. Do dragons exist? If so, how many of them are t
here?”

  Despite the fact that there were two questions at once, Yar answered both.

  “Yes, they do. They are all in my clan. There are not many of them yet, just over a hundred individuals, but the number will increase in future.”

  At this point, Heiro returned. She was holding a large book of almost her height.

  Yar immediately identified this volume as a magical artifact. It contained a huge amount of magic!

  “Well done. How clever and quick you are!”

  Teko praised the princess and, putting the heavy magical book on the table, he took a step back.

  He carefully smoothed his clothes and said both solemnly and loudly, “I, Teko Kamir, the ruler of the dark elves, demand that the Laws of Privilege be voiced for the Totkhen of the Shadow of the Moon, Yar Row Dark.”

  Yar noticed how he seemed to be lit up with a bright yellow light. It was not for long—about ten seconds or so.

  A steady, machine-like voice spoke with significant pauses between sentences, and all this was highlighted on the huge black cylinder created by this artifact with contrasting white words.

  Peacetime (equal to the Ruler)

  Wartime (above the Ruler)

  Anarchy (Chief)

  *Addition

  The Totkhen of the Shadow of the Moon, Yar Row Dark (without the right to inherit the throne)

  * All dark elves are notified of the appearance of the Warlord in the Belt of the Worlds. The dark elves always find out about his presence (Confirmed by the System)

  Yar felt his wrist flare, as if from fire. A small black crown was tattooed next to the Dark Recus.

  “Ye-ah-ah …” Yar spoke thoughtfully, receiving endless rave messages from the Shadows.

  The princess seemed to turn on the rhythmic music and dance with Goh incendiary around Yar, and everybody else quickly joined them.

  They haven’t yet drunk, Yar thought with a shudder.

  “Let’s have mad feast!” Teko screamed.

  “Aaaaah!” they all responded with a joyous yell.

  “Invite friends and relatives! The more the better!” the ruler shouted again.

  “Aaaaah!” the space itself seemed to shout back.

  The echo of the palace, thirsting for adventure, caught their cries and spread them farther. They were heard through the corridors, halls, and chambers of the palace. “Feast! Feast! Mad feast!”