Draconic Testament

by Zac Atie

”Yeah…” Bastion says, almost smirking, thinking that it certainly sounded like something she’d say. “Have I ruined us? She’s obviously your friend, right?” Talia said, quietly.

  ”No, you haven’t. Though… you should apologize. Leave it for a while, I’ll invite her out on a trip with us someday, you can apologize then.” Bastion said, knowing that it wouldn’t ever happen.

  ”…Alright.” Talia sighed.

  ”You know you’re the only woman for me Talia, I shouldn’t have to emphasize that.” Bastion said, with softened features. It seemed to do the trick, Talia regained confidence in Bastion and smiled again, almost too happy. “My parents are out for a while today…” Talia giggled. She was obviously hinting at something, and it wasn’t hard to determine what exactly it was. Bastion thought about Veronica, for a second, that Veronica had waited at the gates specifically for Bastion, and as a reward, she got a busted lip. There was something about her that made him sad, her loner status, her awkward communication, her almost defensive aggressive behaviour… but she was sort of a bitch. Bastion had chosen Veronica over Talia last time she tried to take her clothes off, so he thought that he should give in. Besides, perhaps Talia did his job for him in the whole revenge factor, since the exploding pens went to hell, and he got another cup of water for his troubles. “You know, I think I can spare… say, a whole night.” Bastion smiled, slyly, “Shall we check out your bedroom?”

  Monday. The whole weekend was spent, kissing and hanging around with Talia, though Talia was dreading Monday. Bastion had told her and his mother about his trip to Germany with Vander, who didn’t want anybody to know about it, but he felt he owed them an explanation. Talia was content with him leaving to Germany, and though his mother gave him a ton of grief about it, she ended up submitting. Bastion got ready, brushing his teeth, showering, adding gel. Then he packed his stuff. He didn’t take any clothing, clothing was to be provided. He only added things he’d need, and he also took his medallion. With that, he left his room, went downstairs and bade his mum goodbye, kissing her on the forehead. Then he left for the train station, wondering what was going to be in store for him once he actually got there. He arrived at the train station, obviously he got there first. He stood around a while checking his watch. 2PM. “Ah, so you came.” Veronica said. Bastion turned around.

  “Yeah, figured I should not only owe you an apology for standing you up on Friday. I figured that the magic isn’t something I should ignore, or even try to suppress. I mean, I besides, I have a rather good excuse for leaving so suddenly and for so long.”

  ”Is that all?” Veronica asked “I hoped that you’d have had some sort of revelation.”

  ”No, that’s all… How’s your lip?” Bastion asked.

  ”You forget that healing is my craft. Your wild friend’s blow was strong, but I didn’t feel it.” Veronica boasted.

  ”So… You going to tell me all about the Magi now? Because I'm sort of interested… I hope you enjoy telling stories.” Bastion says.

  ”I don’t mind… I mean, I don’t talk to people much, I try to blend into the background, usually. The killing snapped me out of that mindset, as it got closer. I thought it was just some Magi killing other Magi.” Veronica said

  ”There a reason why you don’t, err... have any... I mean, hang around with anyone?” Bastion asked, then Veronica went silent. “Forget I asked.”

  ”Our train is coming. I’ll tell you everything you need to know then…” Veronica said “We’re going to Surrey hills, a countryside where Korreal is located.” And with that, they set off on a journey to a Magi settlement.

  Chapter Four – The Magi of Korreal

  Sebastian Slater

  Bastion and Veronica sat face to face in a private, first class room. The train was relatively quiet from inside, and Bastion thought that this room was practically made for the rich. The privacy was perfect for the types of conversation that they were going to have from within the room. “Alright.” Veronica said, putting away the last of her bags, and leaning forward. “I don’t know where to start, to be truthful. Do you remember I mentioned a planet called Cazria?” Veronica asked. Bastion nodded, and Veronica continued. “Well, over 2000 years ago, the date isn’t known exactly. A kingdom within Cazria called Metholi had a civil war on their hands, it was called the Metholian Civil War. The short version is, it didn’t look good. The current Overlord at that time, Voltrin Elric, had decided that he’d fallen in love with an alien, and wanted to put her on the throne.”

  ”Pause. I heard you talk about Overlords before, I think… what are they?” Bastion interrupted.

  ”They’re basically kings, but there’s more to it than that. Their souls are stored within a monolith, so when they die, that’s where they reside, fully conscious, in peace. Together, all the overlords view candidates for the title of overlord when they come before the monolith, and accept or decline them, like a council. The candidate that is accepted has the experiences of their magic in their head, and their skill in magic rises as they learn magic and skills far faster than any other mage. This makes them Overlord, and they are the head of the kingdom, and run it alongside a queen. Overlords lead the wars when one is declared, and the queen stays behind to rule, so choosing a queen should not be only about love, but about skill.” Veronica explains “Now, back to the story, Voltrin belonged to the Elric family, and the Elrics were the only family to found an empire, and keep their family as rulers. They were all pure-blooded Cazrian as well, making Metholi the smart choice to put in charge of the Crusade…” Veronica said, waiting for Bastion to intervene. ”Crusade?” Bastion asked.

  ”Yes, the Crusade is a mission to open up portals across Cazria, and offer the race a chance to accept or decline the Cazrians’ help, and to also try and convert them to the Draconic Testament, the true religion.” Veronica said, raising a finger. “We’ll talk about that another time. 'Tis long and boring, like all religions.”

  ”So, Voltrin announced he was putting an alien on the throne of Cazria, and it sparked major controversy, since he was going to throw away the Elric pureblood lineage. This was not a thing to worry about for the other kingdoms, but it was for Metholi. A few noble houses, from Metholi, stood together to form ‘Sanctum’, the pureblood supremacist organization. A pureblood is a Cazrian that had only mated with Cazrians, by the way.” Veronica says. “Sanctum practically declared war, making attacks on the Overlord’s supporters, guerrilla attacks, and over time, more and more supporters rose and stood with Sanctum, believing the Overlord was bewitched, corrupted, insane, etcetera. Sancterus, Voltrin’s son, saw Sanctum as a huge threat and stood up against them. He made smart moves, rallying forces from all over Metholi, trying to get some nobles from other kingdoms to lend their armies, he succeeded to a small extent in that act. After warring, and trying to take down Sanctum, he knew it was not enough.”

  ”So, what did he do? Is this going somewhere?” Bastion asked

  ”Yes, it bloody is.” Veronica huffed “Voltrin opened up a new portal, a portal to earth, in the BC era. Usually, overlords search long and hard for a planet to convert, but Voltrin didn’t have to. There are theories as to why Voltrin didn’t have to, but I believe there used to be a definitive answer, our knowledge on history erodes as time goes by. This caused controversy, since they were in the middle of a war, and this was not part of the Crusade. Whatever the reason, he stole many humans from their camps, all over the world, the portal situating in Britain. Humans of all ethnicities were brought before the Cazrians, and the Cazrians forced a transfuse under Voltrin’s command, adding to a long list of controversial acts under Voltrin’s reign. The blood transfuse is what gave us magic, but I’ll explain that in a bit. Now, they told us their history, and told us they need our help, and in the tens of thousands, we fought Sanctum. The war went on for a while, but let’s not get into that.” Veronica said.

  ”So, nobody knows about that? What happened?” Bastion said.

  ”There were no history b
ooks back in those days. Whenever someone would publish his findings, the findings would be passed off as folklore, and the scroll would be lost. There’s simply no way such an outrageous tale would find itself on modern paper, especially one so old with many facts lost.” Veronica said.

  ”So, what happened next?” Bastion asked

  ”Well, when we won the war, Voltrin sent us all back, abruptly. Again, another controversial act, and nobody knows why he did it. Not only that, but he shut down the portal… only someone with the blood of the Elrics can open it.” Veronica explained. “So, there you have it. We got our magic from the Cazrians, and we’ve survived this long. You see, magic is in the blood. Your children will carry your magic with them, as will... mine, and you can give your magic to anyone by transfusing your blood with theirs.”

  ”Incredible…” Bastion said, sitting back.

  ”And that’s only the base of the story. There’s a lot more you need to know… such as our characteristics, the Archmagi, the Draconic Testament… lots. But ‘tis a long ride, so it’ll be ok. There are some history books in the library at our keep, if you’re interested in the Draconic Testament, or any other historical event we could salvage while we were there, go ahead and look. I'm not crazy about religion, even if it is believed to be true.” Veronica said, sitting back “My master believes it wholeheartedly… but… you never know.”

  A while passed. A relaxed Bastion was lying down on the chairs in the room, looking outside the window as he saw more and more countryside. Hills and mountains appeared in the distance, getting closer, not to mention the noticeable health of the green leaves of the passing trees. Such a view was enough to put him into a relaxed sleep, but Veronica had other plans. “Bastion… you remember when I asked if you ever wanted to be Dracula?” Veronica asked, opening one of Bastion’s eyes. ”Yeah…” Bastion groaned.

  ”Well, something you should know. The whole Vampire myth… it came from us.” Veronica mumbled.

  ”I know, you told me.” Bastion moaned, rolling over, trying to give Veronica the impression he was tired.

  “No, I mean, it actually came… from us. Our actions.” Veronica said, hesitantly. That got Bastion’s attention, as he opened both his eyes, stunned. The he sat up, looking at Veronica. “Err, sorry, what do you mean it came from you? You mean… you can turn into bats?” Bastion gasps.

  ”No, you fool, that’s made up. Most of it is, the stakes, the sunlight, the teeth, the coffins, all of that. But we need blood to survive.” Veronica said.

  ”You DRINK BLOOD?” Bastion gasped.

  ”Shh, damn you!” Veronica hissed. “We have to. It’s not by choice. Look, we’re the only race the Cazrians shared their blood with because we could take it, our anatomy was very similar to theirs, but unless it’s exactly the same, it never goes perfectly.”

  ”So the side effect is that you need to digest blood?” Bastion asked.

  ”Yes, the content of the blood is needed to survive… you’re not a target though, we don’t actually need human blood. Animals will do.” Veronica said.

  ”That’s sort of sick.” Bastion said, “but it explains how you know my parents weren’t Magi.”

  ”Yeah, every human has a small amount of magic in them, but only a very small number actually have enough to manifest and use it. Those that don’t instead go mad. Around 120 Humans per decade are natural mages… that’s the average, which is why it’s so hard to believe that you’re one of them. Nobody has ever said anything about them being this strong.”

  ”Perhaps one of my parents was a human?” Bastion asked

  ”It’s possible, I guess, but…” Veronica pondered. “Most Halfling Mages still require blood to feed.”

  ”Anything else I need to know about you guys?” Bastion sighed.

  ”Yeah. There is one other thing. We also live for about, say, 500 years average.” Veronica said, smiling as Bastion’s jaw dropped “500? 500!? That’s… Think you could share that blood with me?” Bastion laughed, half joking

  ”If you think 500 is good, I should tell you about the Archmagi.” Veronica says, amused as Bastion’s reactions. ”Why, what are they?” Bastion asked.

  ”Most mages had blood transfusion by normal Cazrians, everyday peasants, however the Archmagi had a lot given to them by Overlords, who’s blood is different upon being accepted as Overlord.” Veronica said. “This increases their power tenfold, practically making them our leaders. Thus, we looked to them for guidance as the Cazrians looked to their Overlords… However, there are dire consequences to this action. Unless the Magi is supplied with the blood of that exact family member periodically, then they’ll end up going insane unless precautions are taken, and those precautions are morally wrong. Since we were all sent back here, the Archmagi slowly went insane, except for the strong ones who resorted to the desperate measures to keep their sanity.”

  “How would they keep their Sanity?” Bastion asks.

  “No Magi really knows, the Council keeps the truth while rumours spread. But...”

  “But what?” Bastion asked.

  “I don’t know.” Veronica said. “I assume it’s along the lines of cannibalism.”

  ”That’s horrible.” Bastion mumbled “Why would they just abandon them like that?”

  ”Nobody really knows why, but we’ve been looking for a way back ever since.” Veronica said “15-17 years ago, another portal opened up, somewhere in southern England. Voltrin’s vault. Nobody knew who opened it, or why, but we found It.”

  ”So, you need to go back, get some men, open it up and go?” Bastion asked.

  ”No, we need the blood of an Elric. That’s... not going to be easy to get. In fact, there will come a time when there’s no chance we can obtain it at all, most likely.” Veronica said.

  ”Are all of Sanctum our enemies?” Bastion asked.

  ”I’d assume so… in fact…”

  ”They just showed up, claiming they were always here?” Bastion asked. “Around the same time the portal showed up?...”

  ”Yes, but we know for a fact they didn’t come through the portal. We don’t think there are many, but they watch us from the shadows. We don’t know why, all attempts to make contact have ended in failure.” Veronica said

  ”But you killed one in the assembly!” Bastion gasped “Surely, you should report that?”

  ”No.” Veronica said “No, no, I can’t, it’s not important.” She seemed hesitant about it, for some reason.

  “Don’t mean to jump from subject to subject, but didn’t you defeat Sanctum?” Bastion asked.

  ”We don’t know what happened when Sanctum was defeated. We were evacuated soon after.” Veronica said “To straight up attack us, like this? Kill off Blue and Red Magi? Doesn’t make sense, obviously they were looking for something, but they also didn’t want anyone to know exactly who they were looking for.”

  ”This is all pretty confusing.” Bastion said. “Enough about Sanctum. Tell me more about these Magi fellows. You said Blue and Red, right? What did you mean?”

  ”Aye, remember the Medallions? Well, not long after we left Cazria, we travelled around in groups. The other ethnicities didn’t bother us, seeing all we had seen, the incredible constructs, and incredible weaponry. However, peasants killed them off first, making most of them flee to ships and stoop to banditry. Eventually, we made settlements, and we tried helping innocent folk. Upon seeing our incredible power, they fled in fear, spreading rumours, and we were being hunted, as well as innocents being killed due to accusations made out of fear.” Veronica explained “It was chaos. Huge tribes were running us down, and for all our strength, we were simply too divided to fight back against them. Remember, we came back during the ages of Britain being nothing more than scattered tribes. After centuries of being oppressed by those we tried to shield, there was a split led by an Archmage, Dante McAllister. He said that we should find our way back, and take vengeance, that we should take humans and convert them to us due to our numbers being los
t. We tried to tell the man, that it was crazy, that we would be giving power to those that feared us, that even if we found a way back, declaring war would be suicide, but he heard none of it. He was incredibly successful and persuaded a great many of our number to leave this world, but there were those among us that stood against him. We tried to stop him from converting humans, and we sparked a war among ourselves. This is when we donned to title of ‘Red Magi’. Eventually, after much Magi death, technology began to rise, and people began to make records. If we were to keep ourselves secret, we were to work together and blur the truth into myths, and stop fighting. A truce was agreed, and he stopped the conversion, although we still hate each other till today.”

  ”I see… So, you’re part of the red Magi, yeah? Why are you looking for a way into Cazria?” Bastion asked, curiously. “A good question, finally.” Veronica huffed. “Well, humanity got to a point where we didn’t need to slip in every once in a while to help them. Technology was not our concern, medicine and food for the poor was. However, there are sicknesses they can’t get over, technology they’ll never reach, people they’ll never save. Once the portal opened, we made a decision, to enter the portal and claim these things, so that nobody can lose their families unfairly to diseases they’ll never cure.”

  ”But you need blood of the Elrics. How do you suppose we get that, when Sanctum doesn’t want anything to do with us, and we can’t contact any Elrics?” Bastion said.

  ”We don’t need to. Because today, an Archmage roams the earth with the blood of the Elrics, blooded by Voltrin himself. Unfortunately, he’s our number one enemy... Dante McAllister.” Veronica said, dramatically, and after that, the conversation drowned into small talk and discussion about petty matters. In the long run of things, this new look on the world that has been opened up to Bastion will only get deeper.

  ”We’re almost there.” Veronica said, as Bastion cursed as he’d gone over the 60th hill. He had been walking across the countryside for miles, trying to get to Korreal, though, Surrey hills was amazing. Who knew that close to the industrial goliath that is London, there’s such a large, beautiful area like this. The trees and grass swayed beneath him, and although it wasn’t particularly good weather, the view was great. The fields and beauty went off for what seemed like forever, with the shades of skyscrapers off into the distance. It felt so easy to breath here, and he felt so light. He rarely got to see anything like this with his own eyes, due to his love of his Haven. However, although Bastion loved the view, the walking was a pain. Veronica’s feet hurt, much like Bastion’s, however, the difference was that Veronica knew how to dull the pain. On top of that, Bastion also offered to carry both his and Veronica’s bags along the way, to his severe regret. Korreal was supposed to be near a massive hill, situated at the base of it, out of site. On the surface, they looked Amish, but underground? Veronica wouldn’t tell Bastion, she just said he’ll love it. “So…” Bastion said, since conversation started to dull as the pain started to become more irritating. “You hungry? Want some blood?” Bastion offered.