The Ancients

by Adam-Clay Webb

  “That might give them reason to see us as threats!” Clover tried to whisper.

  “No! No, please! I can’t go back!” the boy cried, tears running down his face.

  “Come now, hurry it up!” a fat, sweating man shouted in annoyance and impatience. One of the witches there touched the fellow and he vanished in green mana, probably never to glimpse the shore of Notherland again. Clover’s heart sunk again. She itched to fight Grimstone and the other sorcerers. Clover watched as the stern woman whispered something to one of the men there while pointing up at her. Clover’s heart raced as the wizard quickly made his way up the yellow bridge.

  “Come, woman,” he said, stretching a hand to Star. Star held on to him and looked at Clover. The woman nodded and smiled at her slightly, then the wizard took her down to the team who had the fate of so many in their hands.

  “Do have a seat, young lady,” one of the witches said. “What is your name?”

  “Star,” she answered quickly.

  “Ah, nice name, I see,” the same man who took her down said, giving her a wink. Grimstone cleared her throat and straightened her face even more. “N—not that that is in any way relevant,” he said. Star smiled and the man almost laughed.

  “Why do you wish to enter Notherland?” an old woman there asked.

  “Well, I am very interested in your school of magic that is run by an Ogal Councillor herself. It would be a great honour to be taught by a Notherlandian witch who is even of the holy council.”

  “Ah, so you are a witch?” Grimstone asked, looking quite interested.

  “Yes, I am! Should I demonstrate?”

  “A simple show of your mana will do,” Grimstone said, not sounding as impressed as Star had hoped she would. Star held her hands out quickly. Her palms were sweating and her hands were fidgeting.

  “Hey, relax, miss… Do your worst,” the pleasant man said with a smile. Star roused mana about her hands and it quickly climbed up to the fourth grade. The examiners stepped back and stared at her in shock.

  “Don’t think I’m finished!” Star boasted, and powered her mana up until the blueness became a fiery red.

  “Incredible!” the young man there gave out.

  “Fifth grade mana?!” Grimstone blasted, taken aback and unable to remain cool. Star relaxed and her mana disappeared.

  Star breathed a bit heavily. It had been a while since she pushed herself to the fifth grade.

  “Wondrously incredible!” one old woman said. They all looked very impressed, quite pleased, even honoured. Clover sighed and smiled, seeing their excitement wasn’t the type that would push them to start an execution.

  “With the right guidance, you should be able to skip through to advanced magic!” the man said. “Where are you from?”

  “Libson.”

  “Quite interesting finding such a powerful witch from so far from Notherland,” Grimstone said. “You do know that if your magic is used for any sort of deviance, there will be immediate punishment, right?”

  “I understand, Ma’am.”

  “And the regular licence that comes with citizenship covers only up to grade three magic, so using fourth or fifth grade magic outside of authorized contexts will land you piles of trouble, and also make you into a target. You will understand everything in time when you read this through.” A small, thick green book appeared in Grimstone’s hand. Written on it in a fancy golden font was ‘The Holy Constitution of the Country of Oga’. Star’s hands shook as she took the book.

  “Does this mean…”

  “I will grant you a class B citizenship, which is more than enough time to graduate magic school. After that, if your record is clean, I will personally grant you a class A.”

  Star was speechless. Grimstone took her left wrist gently and looked at her intently. Star became nervous again suddenly.

  “Do you swear, by Oga’s name, to obey the laws of Notherland?” Grimstone asked.

  “Yes. By Oga’s name.”

  “Since you want to touch her, do the honours, Henrik,” Grimstone told the man.

  “Wh-what are you talking about?!” he stuttered nervously. Star laughed. The young man sighed. “Your hand, my lady,” he said, taking Star’s hand gently like he was about to marry her. “This will hurt a little,” he said, “but you know, some pains are wonderful.” He winked at her again, forcing a smile on her face. He covered the greenish veins on her left wrist with his hand and held her tightly. She clenched her teeth as she felt a sting. He released her. She looked down at her wrist. There, in purple, the emblem of the country rested. Also, there was a faint yellow circle around the emblem.

  “The yellow circle takes ten years to disappear. When it does, your citizenship will have been expired, so get it renewed before then,” Henrik advised.

  “Alright, thank you!” the grateful Star said, looking down at the emblem like it was a diamond ring she was just given by the man of her dreams.

  “Welcome to Notherland, Star,” Henrik said with a wide grin.

  “Thank you! Thank you all!” Star laughed in cheerful excitement. She was sure that the ambassadors would be pleased with Clover’s sorcery as well, and even more impressed, as she was so young.

  “Walk down the bridge to your new nation,” Grimstone said.

  “Could I—I want to wait for my sister.” Star pointed up at Clover. Clover wondered what they were saying nervously. She relaxed a bit when she noticed Star was still smiling.

  Grimstone’s face changed for the worse though. “Do not be dismayed if your sister is not fit to enter Notherland,” she said.

  Henrik scowled. He knew it when Grimstone developed some sort of grudge for someone, and he knew that grudge always bore rotten fruit.

  Star kept her optimistic face though. “I know she’s fitter than I am to enter,” she said.

  “I will decide. Go get the girl,” Grimstone told Henrik.

  “Marra, take Star a few meters down the bridge while we process her sister.” Star went with one of the women. From there, she watched Clover reach up to where the ambassadors were. She kept a smile so Clover would stop shaking.

  “Focus, child – let’s make this quick,” Grimstone’s harsh voice snapped, getting Clover to look from Star to her. Henrik sighed. “Are you the sister of that woman down the bridge?” Grimstone questioned.

  Clover thought for a second. “Yes.”

  “Are you by any chance a witch as well, then?”

  “I am.”

  “What level?”

  “Well, I can maintain the fourth for a long while, but I have reached even the seventh grade a few times.”

  Some of the ambassadors laughed, but Grimstone was clearly not amused.

  “Are you an idiot, girl?” she asked like the question wasn’t quite rhetorical.

  “I’m not lying!” Clover defended.

  “You’re raising your voice at me now, child?” Grimstone asked with her eyebrows raised. “You know I can have you executed right here? This bridge is Notherlandian property, so be careful.”

  “You think you can kill me?!” Clover gasped as she realized what she was saying. She tried to relax. Grimstone’s face was still firm.

  Star slapped her forehead in sudden distress.

  “No entry,” Grimstone said. The woman’s words were heavy and potent, like an arcane spell. “You see that? You see how powerful my words are? They aren’t just foolish babbles like yours. Because of my two words, your chance at a life is shattered. You probably dreamed for years of entering our grand school of magic, living the Notherlandian life in big cities, making riches, finding a proper wizard to marry, even seeing the statues of Oga and his children you’re tired of reading about… But now…” Grimstone’s face showed a menacing smirk. “With two words… all those dreams are destroyed…”

  Clover’s eyes were wide. Her heart jumped, and with each thumping beat, she came closer to tears. “No… Please… You don’t understand…”

  “Begging now, little gir
l?”

  “I have to get to Notherland! Oga has returned from the dead, and he and Kizer will destroy this world as we know it! This god you bow and pray to is the villain who I must face!” Even those on this ship heard this, and much chattering began, even laughing. The ambassadors looked at each other and then at Grimstone nervously.

  “Girl, get back on that ship. Quickly,” Henrik warned with a shaky voice.

  “Dare not move!” Grimstone shouted, sounding quite livid. Her eyes flared and the muscles in her face stood out. Not even Henrik and the others had ever seen her like this.

  Clover stepped back out of the group quickly.

  “I don’t care if you’re crazy,” Grimstone said. “You have committed the most heinous crime, blaspheming the name of God, tainting Oga’s holy name. Here on this bridge I will judge you for your atrocity!” The woman’s mana flared up, creating a vast cloud of blue.

  “No! Please!” Star begged, pushing off the woman that held her off.

  “Matter of fact, kill them both!” Grimstone blasted.

  “What?! Commander, think this through! What will the onlookers think of the government of Notherland if we kill two girls for a slip of the tongue?!” Henrik pled.

  “They will know the loyalty we have to our god. All of you! Rouse your mana and kill these two! That one is strong, so be careful with her!” She pointed down at Star. There were twelve ambassadors there. All but Henrik raised their mana. Some had third grade mana and others, the much weaker second grade, gold mana. Only their leader sported mana at the fourth grade.

  “Henrik, will you die with these strangers?!” Grimstone blasted. She and the other Notherlandians shifted to surround Star and Clover, who quickly converged, standing back to back.

  “Henrik, right?” Star asked, raising her mana to glow about her. He was too nervous to answer. “Do me a favour. Shift out of here. This fight cannot be good for you. If you fight with them, Clover and I might kill you. If you try to defend us, Grimstone and the others might kill you. Go on.” He nodded shakily and disappeared.

  “I will punish that boy later!” Grimstone said, “For now, let us slay these witches!” Some of those on the ship ran back to the cabin area, knowing that a magical battle could easily get nasty and a stray attack could kill many of them in an instant. Some stayed in an excited noise.

  “I’m sorry, Star,” Clover said, and her blue mana appeared about her.

  “So this little girl is really at my grade of sorcery?” Grimstone wondered aloud. “Humph… Well she may be at my grade, but she certainly isn’t on my level… And that other girl... Well, strong as they are… Johnson! Gripper! Heli!” Grimstone called out. Three of her underlings nodded in understanding. They stretched their hands out toward the two.

  “Gashi Oxinus!” they chorused, and mana of green and blue left their hands and reached the two witches, quickly solidifying to form a hard cube about them.

  “Be crushed!” Grimstone blasted, and as one, the four pushed their hands forward abruptly.

  “Anam Garadan!” Clover commanded as the walls of solid mana closed in quickly. There was a burst of smoky greenish mana as the cube crashed into the blue sphere of refuge.

  Star pressed unto Clover’s blue shield and it reddened with a higher mana. “Egrus Anam!” she commanded. Grimstone’s face quickly changed. There was a quick and massive pulse of forceful red mana that sprung from the orb about the two. There were screams and splashes as most of the ambassadors were thrown meters off the bridge into the chilly water. Even those in the ship could feel the violent wind the blast had stirred up.

  Star lowered the shield. Grimstone was crouching with a blue shield about her. Another of the Notherlandians, a witch who was also shielded, ran past Grimstone toward her enemies, moving fast with a bright yellow sword she had just summoned. “Senakken!” Star commanded, flashing red mana at the incoming woman. She stood motionless in a sudden paralysis.

  “Abingush!” Clover railed, and sent some mana at her. Grimstone ducked as the woman was blasted off with a deadly force. She landed and rolled for a few meters more, making the bridge bloody. With spaceshifts, the sorcerers thrown over the bridge were back in business, making serious assails with summoned weapons. Grimstone watched as her men were easily dismissed by what were simple spells for Star and Clover. With adept paralyses, quick shifting and powerful blasts, the team was more easily defeated than even Star and Clover had thought possible.

  “What’s she doing?” Clover asked Star, seeing Grimstone grab on to her wrist tightly, a perturbed look on her face.

  “Backup needed! Requesting a level two assault team immediately!” she called for support.

  There was a sudden flurry of appearing bursts of blue as an attack team of Notherlandian soldiers instantly reached the scene. One of the men appeared just before Grimstone. He was the only one who appeared in a cloud of red mana. He instantly caught the attention of the criminals. The soldiers were finely dressed in full suits of shiny black, each one having an airy purple cloak grace himself. They all wore a black scabbard at their side, but the swords they all had in their hands were made of bright mana.

  “What is the situation, Ambassador?” the man asked Grimstone, looking curiously out at the witches.

  “These two witches have assaulted my team and have murdered some of my men. They are not as weak as they look. You should--”

  “We’ll take it from here, Ambassador,” the man said calmly.

  “By the way, that ship of rebels, I want you to sink it. The name of Notherland might be tainted if they--”

  “I understand,” the man said. He was the only one of the soldiers not carrying a sword. He held his hand in position and a staff appeared in it. There was a small red gem at the tip of the rod. He tapped the bridge with the stick, and the yellow platform suddenly enlarged many times over, stretching even around and past the ship, making it unable to move.

  “Star, what do we do?” Clover asked nervously, “Even the people on the ship are in trouble now,” she fretted. There was a chaotic sea of noise gushing from the large vessel. In panic, some of them jumped overboard, but only to land on the yellow bridge that could not lead to safety. Some of them who jumped down on the yellow platform carried some kind of make-shift weapon.

  “Don’t think you magicians can easily kill all of us here!” one young man said, holding two kitchen knives. He was a chef on the ship. He played with the knives adeptly to show his skill.

  “Attack!” the commander gave the order, and by the second, swords of gleaming hot mana were already ripping through the flesh of the poor mortals. Clover glanced back at the ship in the bloody chaos of savage killing. There were screams, slashes, deadly spells, the splattering of blood, the confiscation of heads.

  “No!” Tears ran down Clover’s face as she stared out at the soldiers slaughtering the crying, screaming people. Men, women, children; the soldiers spared no one. About a dozen of them had shifted into the ship and were killing like monsters.

  “This is all my fault…” Clover muttered to herself in a timeless span of hazy panic.

  “Clover!” the girl heard Star’s desperate shout. The girl gasped as she saw one of the soldiers pull a gleaming sword out of the woman’s chest.

  “Sister!!” There was a sudden wind and the cracks snaked through the yellow platform from where Clover stood. Purple mana burned the air about the girl. The solders, Grimstone and those left of her team watched with wide eyes, with disbelief.

  “Sixth…” Grimstone struggled to utter. The young witch made a beastly shout, then uttered a spell that was on a level far beyond anyone else there.

  “Hands of the Water Goddess!” She stretched her hands out with a wild look on her face, and the sea quaked beneath and around them. The fighting sorcerers froze in fright. Some held shaking swords above the heads of men and women on the ship, looking about, wondering what was happening.

  “What is this power?!” the commander yelped as he watched two gian
tly massive hands rise up from the sea, hands made of the sea itself. All this was like some strange nightmare. A few times the size of the ship, the hands clamped in on everything and everyone there, creating a powerful and frenzied flood that made the yellow platform collapse.

  The roaring waters finally settled, but not to leave everyone drowned. Staring out at the marvellous sight was the Assault Team’s commander, his staff gripped firmly in his left hand. He stood on the back of a small red dragonite – a premature dragon of a certain breed – and a thick red shield of mana was about him. With quick spells, his adept sorcery had effortlessly summoned these to save him from Clover’s attack.

  “What the…” He saw that there was a massive sphere of purple mana around the ship. That explained why the hoards of water didn’t destroy or overturn the vessel. “But…” On a closer look, he saw that the young witch was standing on the deck, holding the badly bleeding woman in her hands. As the soldiers on board were about to continue their attack, streaks of blinding mana stretched themselves from within the purple sphere and struck each of them. The men cried out as a painful paralysis struck them. They fell, their swords falling by them.

  “What sorcery is that?!” the commander wondered. His dragonite flew up a few meters and he scouted the waters. He saw that most of his men had shifted to the nearby Notherlandian shore, saving some of the ambassadors. A few were still struggling in the still-bothered body of water. “The esteem bringing this witch down will bring me,” the man considered, smirking a little. “I must gather whoever is left alive and lead a massive attack on the witch.” He raised his staff and uttered a powerful command. “Summoning! Dragonite Nest!” he commanded, and the red gem on his staff shone brightly. A red portal appeared in the air, and out flew a few dozen beasts, each identical to the one he was on. As soon as the dragonites appeared, in clouds of mana, the commander’s men went on their backs, and even a few of the ambassadors, including Grimstone of course. The stern-faced woman pointed out toward the ship.

  “Kill that witch! Sink that boat!” she ordered like she was the commanding soldier there.