He moved closer. Now walking on his tip toes in order to his footsteps to not be heard. When he was just over the rabbit he licked his lips and reached for it, but he stopped just short of grabbing it. He began to wonder just how did this blind woman catch this rabbit. Was she alone? If not then it must’ve been difficult. He decided against it, turned around and walked away.
“Two days.” The woman said. Vincent turned to her. “For two days you’ve been wandering the forest. You haven’t eaten, hardly slept, you smell like the ass end of a cow, and when food present itself to you, you walk away. You truly aren’t your father’s son, Vincent Valentine.”
Vincent froze where he stood. At any moment, he expected an arrow to come whistling through the air and piercing his heart. “You aren’t blind are you, old woman?”
“No, I’m very much blind. There are many other ways a person can see. You just have to open your mind. And please, call me Mama Murphy. Old woman makes me sound like I’m ancient. Though I suppose I am in some shape or form. Please, have a seat, Vincent. We have much to talk about.”
Against his better judgment, Vincent did sit in the chair across from Mama Murphy. Keep one hand on his sword at all time. Seeing as she was waiting for him, Vincent help himself to a piece of rabbit meat. It was dry, had no taste, and it was the best thing he’s ever had. It made his eyes water.
“Tell me something. How did you know my name? No one has seen me this far of Avia in ten years. But your blind and somehow managed to know it was me. How?”
“Like I said before, there are many other ways to see. Just because the eyes I was born with no longer work doesn’t mean the eyes that Yennefer gave me stopped working.”
“Yennefer? The goddess of magic?” Vincent smirked. “You’re a very bold woman to say that name, Mama Murphy. Not many people would openly say that name in the company of a stranger. Are you a witch? Is that how you can see me?”
“Sadly no. I’m an acolyte. Forever until my dying day. I have some magical potential but not enough to become a full mage in my own right.”
“I’m surprised someone like you even still exist in this world. I thought for sure that all of you would be dead after the Battle of Constantine.”
Mama Murphy went still silent. “That battle was…awful.” She muttered.
The Battle of Constantine happened just over eighty-five years ago. Constantine was a refuge for those who’s magical potential bloomed. Most of the world feared mages for what they could do. Whenever something bad happens a mage was blamed. Famine, drought, even war, and plagues. People always assumed magic was involved.
Soon came the witch hunters. History calls them heroes, other would call them fanatics. They used the goddess Auroras name to commit horrible and haynes acts. Auroras is the goddess of love and light. Out of the seven, she is by far the most peaceful, but her name was soiled by those who would hang children in droves simply being suspected of having magic. Or burning a pregnant woman at the stake for making a potion to ease her pain. Was it any wonder witches rebelled?
The Battle of Constantine spanned nearly three moon cycles. It was simply battle after battle. The witch hunters nor the mages came out victories in these battles. The land was stained red, the smell of decay filled the air, piles of bodies could be seen floating in the water.
Desperate and running out of time, a mage by the name of Samantha prayed to her goddess Yennefer for aid, and she responded. Yennefer gave Samantha her staff. An item of enormous power. It fed on the magical leylines that crisscrossed around the world and pooled its mana inside the white crystal at the top of the staff.
The mages made their final stand at Constantine. If this was to be the end of them then they will take the witch hunters and everyone who supports them with them. Samantha used the power of the staff and drove it into the heart of Constantine. A massive explosion of arcane power rippled from it. The sky burned, the sea boiled, anything caught in this blast was killed instantaneously.
How many lives were lost that day? No one can say for sure because there were no bodies to count. Everyone was dead. Samantha included. The witch hunters became no more than a footnote in history. The mages, on the other hand, made their mark on the world. That blast created a massive bottomless pit to where Constantine once stood.
What little remained of the witch hunters soon disbanded after that. No mage has appeared since. Scholars theorized that they went the way of the Old Religion.
“Judging by your age, I assume you were there, weren’t you?” Vincent asked.
“Aye. I was there. My mother gave birth to me there. I still had my eyesight then, but my magical potential made me an acolyte. I always felt I brought shame down on my mother and father for not having a high magical yield. They themselves were very gifted mages but I was the black sheep.
By the time I was five years of age, the Battle of Constantine began. Samantha evacuated those who couldn’t fight out of a tunnel that lead us miles away from Constantine. When we exited the cave, I remember the explosion of arcane power. It was the last thing I ever saw. Looking directly at that massive explosion had many different effects on people. I went blind, others committed suicide, others got an incurable pox disease. Compared to that, I was lucky.
Now, now I see the world in colors. Colors represent different mana types. You, for instance, are blue with one little minor exception.” Mama Murphy glanced at Vincent’s right arm. He felt it begin to burn. “It would seem that we both have been touched by magic in a way. Although yours is so much more primal than mine is and older and…black?”
“Enough,” Vincent said as he rose from his seat. “Thank you for the rabbit and this little walk down memory lane, but I really must be on my way. I’m losing the light.”
“Ah yes. The dutiful little brother on a quest to find his sisters. Sisters who ten years ago you wronged.”
Vincent froze again where he stood. “How much do you know?” he coldly asked.
“Quite a bit. You would be amazed at what people talk about around someone who is blind. You are right to start your quest at Slavers Bay, but let me ask you something. Ten years is a long time. Has it not once crossed your mind that they might be dead?”
“No.” He replied. “They aren’t dead. They’re Valentines. A Valentine knows how to survive.”
“This coming from the man who killed his own family.”
“I said we were survivors. I didn’t say we were smart. Once again, thanks for the food, but I should be off.”
“One more thing before you leave, Vincent. This is more of a warning. Be wary around women. I see great danger in your life around women.”
Chapter 10
It was just around the stroke of midnight that Vincent arrived at the border to Blackfire. There was a new moon out which illuminated the castle standing in his way. This castle was built when Blackfire first rose to power nearly five hundred years ago. At that time, Blackfire conquered every kingdom from here to the Dividing Line.
King Arthur Valentine, the first king of Avia, built this castle to hold back the army of Blackfire. The castle walls stretched all the way to the coast of the Black Sea. It would take someone three days to arrive there on horseback and even then you have a raging sea to contend with.
King Arthur put down the massive army that Blackfire amassed. 800,000 men couldn’t capture this castle. They all fell one by one to no more than 5,000 men holding his keep. Soon after, Illya, Livia, and Reign combined what was left of their armies and slew the Blackfire soldiers as they slept.
Soon after, a peace agreement was signed, but the agreement was more fragile than a thin sheet of glass. Blackfire waits in the shadows for it’s day to once again be recognized as conquers.
There was no getting around this wall, Vincent knew that. It would take to long to try and walk around it. He was left with little choice but to try and climb the hundred foot wall. A fool's tasked people would call it. Thankfully that wasn’t the case.
The wall that fa
ces Avia hasn’t been well maintained over the many centuries. No one would ever think that an attack would come at them for this side let alone attempt to climb the wall.
Vincent kept low to the ground to avoid the sentries manning the top of the wall. He hugged the wall waiting for the guards above him to make another pass around the battlements. Once he saw the lights of their torches move he began his climb. The stone was splintered, cracked, and falling to pieces. Yet surprisingly still sturdy for its age. There wasn’t a shortage of cracks and openings for Vincent to grab on to.
He soon reached the top of the battlement, having barely broken a sweat. He found the atmosphere around him eerie. Granted Blackfire hasn’t tried to conquer Avia for generations now, Vincent was always told that the men who guard the border are always vigilant. Right now, Vincent sees no more than a skeleton crew of soldiers. He can see only four lit torches moving around the courtyard down bellow. Something was wrong. His right arm told him so with its continues heartbeat pulses. It’s only done that a few times and when it does something bad always seems to happen.
He took it slow descending down the stairs. Staying as low as possible and keeping to the shadows. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Vincent quickly ducked behind a barrel of water just a patrol passed him by. Vincent overheard their conversation.
“Still can’t believe she did it.” One of the men said.
“I can. Everyone knows that the Blackfire royal family is inbred. This one just happened to go insane.”
“You don’t truly buy the whole wanting to keep the bloodline pure thing do you? I’ve seen children of inbreeding and they are such horrors. Besides, Queen Liana Blackfire was not a horror."
"True but she isn’t queen anymore.”
“Yeah. The King Bastion lost it when he found out his daughter wasn’t hers and had her executed. It was no wonder she killed him.”
“Yeah but now she’s on the run. Her wanted poster and plasters all over Blackfire. I wonder how long Emilia Blackfire can hide.”
Now there was a name that rang some bells. Emilia Blackfire. She was annoying, Vincent recalls. She always use to lock him inside of a barrel and push the barrel into the lake. Vincent always found himself having to swim back to shore with Emilia just laughing on the shoreline. Yet, despite her constant bullying, Emilia was actually a sweet girl. Whenever Emilia accompanied her father to visit Avia, he remembers dancing. They danced even if there was never any music playing.
The patrol soon passed. Vincent crept closer to the barracks. He entered inside and closed the door behind him. He knew for sure he’d find soldiers inside and was prepared to fight. What he didn’t expect was to see them all on the floor in a lake of blood.
Their bodies laid scattered about the room. Someone or something got the drop on these men. Their swords were still at their side and their throats were slit open with near surgical precision. They would’ve been dead in seconds and never once had the chance to scream.
The door on the opposite side of the room opened. The guards who were talking about Emilia walked in. “Who in the world closed the…” They looked at the bodies then back at Vincent.
“Would you believe me if I said that I found them this way?” he asked.
One of the men drew his sword while the other ran up the stairs. At the top of the stairs was a raven outpost. He was going to send a message to Rodrick. He had to stop him, but just at that moment, the guard who was attacking Vincent loomed over him.
Vincent unsheathed his sword and locked swords with the soldier. He proceeded to quickly kick him off. The soldier stumbled over one of the bodies on the floor. Using this, Vincent lunged his sword forward, piercing the soldier’s throat. He gasped for air but soon fell over and collapsed.
Having dispatched of the guard, Vincent ran up the stairs to catch the other one. He swiftly kicked down the door only to the see a raven fly off in the distant towards Avia he was too late.
“Shit.” He muttered.
“You’re too late. Within an hour, thousand of troops will swarm this—”
A dagger managed to lodge itself into the soldiers head without him once seeing the blade. Vincent caught the movement of the dagger at the last possible moment. He let his guard down. Had that been aimed at him surely he would be dead.
From on top, the rafter a dark shadowy figure leaped down next to the dead soldier. It was a woman dressed in black leather. Her mouth was covered in a black bandanna with a hood on top her head. She removed the dagger from the soldiers head, wiped off the blood with a rag, and put it back in its holster.
“So, tell me, just how much of an idiot are you?” she asked.
“I’m sorry?”
“Sorry? Sorry?! I’ve been planning this liberation for months and in just one fell swoop you manage to ruin everything!”
“Liberation?” Vincent repeated. “Look, lady, I don’t know what you are talking about. I just came here because it’s the fastest way to get to Slavers Bay. So whatever you are up to has nothing to do with me. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll be leaving before an army shows up.”
As Vincent reached for the door a dagger impaled itself on the handle. “On your way to Slavers Bay, huh? You have the smell of a child fucker on you.”
“Hey! You go without bathing for a week and see how good you smell. And I don’t like being associated with child molesters. I’m sorry that I ruined your ‘liberation’ but me and you don’t have any quarrels.”
“Oh, that is where you are wrong.” The woman said as pulled out two daggers from behind her back. “Anyone who buys and sells slaves in an enemy of mine!”
“Buy and…wait! You have the wrong idea! I’m not…”
Vincent wasn’t given any time to explain himself before the woman began to attack him. She was skilled. So much faster than Vincent could ever hope to be. It didn’t help that it was nearly pitched black in the room and all he could see was the purple of her eyes. And that was only when she was up close. The remainder of the time Vincent kept himself still, his eyes closed, and both hands firmly gripped on his sword. He was trying to listen for her footsteps, but when he realized she didn’t make any noise he began to listen for something else. Her breathing. She had to exhale sooner or later.
“There you are!” he yelled.
Vincent swung his sword wildly to the left. The woman blocked his attack with the daggers, but the sheer force behind his attack sent her flying out the window and down below into the courtyard. Vincent followed by jumping out the window.
Vincent hovered over her. She was out cold. He frisked her and managed to find a surprising seven daggers tucked away in her armor. “Okay. Let’s see who you are.” He muttered as he removed the hood.
Vincent was beside himself. He knew this woman anywhere. Long silver-blonde braided hair, violet eyes, white milky skin. This woman is Emilia Blackfire.
Ten minutes passed and Emilia finally awoke. Her hands and legs were bound by rope. On the opposite side of her was Vincent holding her hood. “Have a nice nap?” he asked.
Emilia was confused. “Why didn’t you kill me?”
“Why would I do that? Like I said, me and you have no reason to fight. I’m just passing through.”
“Says the man who threw me out a window. I find that laughable.”
“Well in my defense…you attacked me! And second, I didn’t actually throw you it was more like I hit you out of a window. You’re lucky I didn’t kill you, Emilia.”
Emilia pursed her lips. “Looks like you know who I am, slaver. So, what’s your plan? Gonna turn me over to my bitch stepmother for a reward? Go ahead, but I will not go quietly!”
Throughout the entire conversation, Emilia was cutting her rope bonds using a dagger Vincent missed that was hidden in her boot. She ran up to him ready to plunge the blade into his chest.
Vincent smiled. “You truly don’t know me at all, do you, Emily.”
Emilia stopped short of just breaking his skin. Only one man has ever called
her by that pet name. She looked up at him. He was taller than her now. His hair that was once scarlet was now pale white. But she knew that smile anywhere. “Vincent…?” she muttered.
“Been awhile, Emily.”
Her eyes began to water. She quickly wiped away the tears and punched him in the face. “I told you never to call me that!” she yelled.
“Oh, I forgot about that right hook of yours.”
She began to hit him over and over again on his chest. “I thought you were dead!” she said. “Where have you been?”
“Where have I…wait you didn’t know? Has news of me not passed the border of Avia?”
“All I know is that your entire family died ten years ago. Rodrick took over and spread the word that the whole royal family was dead. Killed by the Black Knight. Some said you were still alive but…I didn’t believe it.
In fact, I hardly recognized you. What happened to your hair? Better question, what happened to your arm?”
“Long story and this one is an even longer story. Emilia, what are you doing here?”
“It's…probably better if I show you.”
Emilia led Vincent down into a cellar on the far corner of the courtyard. He grabbed on of the lit torches on the wall and they proceeded down into the darkness. As they reach the bottom step, Vincent was overcome with the smell of bile and rot. “What the hell is giving off that smell?” he asked.
Emilia began to lite the other torches inside the room. Coming into vision, Vincent saw cells full of people. Some of them were dead. Other were sitting in their own filth. They all looked at Vincent and Emilia with frightful eyes. “Emilia, who are these people?”
“Name it. Farmer, bards, waitresses, some whores, mothers and fathers, children, herbalist. You name it and they are probably here.”
Vincent could feel his anger boiling in the pit of his stomach. “Why are they here?” he asked coldly
Emilia handed him a registry of names and orders which were signed by none other than King Rodrick Maller of Avia. “This…this can’t be right, right? There must be some mistake. Rodrick is many things but he isn’t a slaver!”
The Blackest Knight Page 6
