Sytravious: The Lost Warlock Of Moruz (The Oathbreaker Book 1)

by Acevedo, E. B.

  “Hopefully, this will be our last night sleeping on the ground,” Hellios said.

  Nysight was surveying the land before them as he insisted they camp on the higher ground closer to the mountain. Sytravious was glad to see his stepfather talking a little more. Since he told Nysight about Nyxseous’ death, his stepfather’s overall demeanor had changed. It was as if the cold general of the Fifth Legion had returned, forever leaving his kinder self in Havencrest. Sytravious was grateful that Raiven was there to take his mind off his somber thoughts.

  She waved him over, inviting him to sit with her by her bedroll. He walked over and sat down. He noticed she had a set of parchments in her lap, and seemed excited to share them with him.

  “What have you got there?” He pointed to the parchments.

  “I stole these from the temple treasury a while back; before I knew you would be joining the guardians.” She seemed both ashamed and proud of her deed at the same time as she whispered to Sytravious, while grinning.

  “What are they?”

  “These are enchanted parchments from the old ages before Vesalys’ temple reigned supreme in Valcrest. Their use is forbidden, but they were kept as study material for more advanced priests.”

  Sytravious was still clueless as to what she was getting at. “So, what are they?”

  She snickered and replied, “Well, these two parchments are sisters, bound forever by the same spell. I do not understand the magic behind them, or how it works, but watch this.”

  Raiven handed him one of the blank parchments, while she kept the other. She pulled out a golden feather from her bag. When she began writing on her paper, he was amazed to see words appear on his parchment. The note read, “Can you see this? If you can, I love you. -Raiven.”

  “That is incredible!” he said.

  She giggled, and wrote him several more messages in which the content would have made her blush had she said them aloud. They took turns exchanging notes, one parchment to the next, until supper was ready.

  Hellios made a delicious stew, using cabbage and the delightful meat he had given Sytravious back in Havencrest. Nobody dared inform Raiven or Bryce that it was bacon, and instead, let them enjoy their meal in peace.

  “I wish we would have had those all along. Imagine how much easier things could have been?” Sytravious said to Raiven as he sat down with his bowl of stew.

  “I agree, but I was never daring enough to take them before. I guess your dauntlessness is having an effect on me.”

  Hellios cleared his throat, interrupting their private moment. The legionnaire eyed Sytravious with a serious expression. It was apparent Hellios had something important on his mind.

  “Yes?” Sytravious inquired.

  “So here we are now with the port of Springdale a mile away. Have you put any more thought into where you will head from here? My offer still stands.”

  “I have, and decided that we will travel with you as far as the shores of your land, but we will go our own way after that. We want to live in solitude, and we would appreciate it if you did not mention our existence to anyone. Once the time is right, perhaps I will find you.”

  Hellios nodded and kept his stare focused on him. Sytravious took note that his stepfather did not object. It was as if Nysight had surrendered to the fact that their paths were destined to part. Hellios pulled out a tattered cloth from his pocket and tossed it to Sytravious.

  “Alright, well here is a map of my land in case you change your mind.”

  Sytravious picked it up and realized that upon inspection it was just a dirty handkerchief. “Are you trying to be funny?”

  “No. Soak it in some water and you will see.”

  Sytravious poured some water over the rag, and once it was wet, a detailed image of the lands appeared. The map concentrated on southern Moruz and beyond. The Red Curtain had a path drawn through it, which led into the southern wilderness, a place that was uncharted on any other maps in the land. The focus of the map was a stronghold that was deep in that territory, and surrounded by small cities, labeled Xandunia.

  He studied the surrounding areas, noting several places of interest where he might try to settle. From this map, it was clear that there was a whole other world south of the Red Curtain, one that was unknown to the kingdoms in the north.

  “Thank you, friend. I shall put this to good use,” Sytravious said, before stuffing the map into his shirt. Raiven leaned against his shoulder. He cherished the moments he could be near her and looked forward to the next time they could sneak off together.

  The sound of a twig snapping caught everyone’s attention. Nysight and Hellios jumped to their feet. Bryce picked up his sword as Sytravious moved Raiven behind him to shield her from any danger.

  “Show yourself,” Bryce shouted.

  Several arrows swished through the air and hit the ground in front of each of them. The archer had not missed. They were meant as warnings. Sytravious was sure that whoever hid in the darkness could have struck them down if they had wanted to.

  “Drop your swords and I shall come forward,” a familiar voice called back.

  Recognizing the man’s voice right away, Sytravious sighed.

  “It is alright, men, I know this man well,” Bryce said.

  Nysight and Hellios lowered their weapons, but refused to drop them. Through the darkness, they heard footsteps walking through the grass, and moments later, the constable appeared illuminated in their campfire.

  “Good evening, gentlemen and priestess.”

  Sytravious’ heart sank, as he scanned the darkness behind the constable. If he had caught up to them already, who else could be lurking out there now?

  “What are you doing here, brother?”

  “I should be asking the same of you.” Elric walked up to Bryce, and smacked his head. “Do you have any idea the kind of trouble you will be in should you be caught traveling with this lot by your own choosing?”

  Bryce rubbed his head where his brother slapped him, and turned away. “How did you find us?”

  “I am a constable. It is my job to investigate and track. You are lucky that I am a bit faster than the rest of the group pursuing you now.”

  Raiven stepped out from behind Sytravious to come to Bryce’s defense. ”He has done nothing wrong!”

  “I thought you were out on a mission for the warden? How did you get caught up in this mess?” Sytravious asked.

  Elric glared at Sytravious with wrath, which made him nervous. “I was on a special assignment, but it was not for the Warden. Her Holiness tasked me with the duty of continuing the next phase of my investigation. Were you foolish enough to believe that her arrival in Havencrest focused on a tournament and finding a new guardian?”

  Raiven looked confused. “What exactly did Jezra ask you to do?”

  “Priestess, remember when you helped me discover the evidence in the Foxfire Woods killings? We both agreed that the odd presence of a peach fabric at the scene could be the key to discovering the ones responsible. Upon finding out that Ruby is Sytravious’ mother, Her Holiness ordered me to track Ruby’s movements. I, of course, objected because I could not see the connection, but the high priestess is older and wiser, so I obeyed. The first few days I followed her, I thought the mission was pointless. What possible use could tracking Ruby provide to the case? Then one day, when I was off duty and getting a drink at the Trapper House, I noticed something of interest. While I watched Ruby serve her customers, I noticed her peach colored apron was missing a pocket. That interested me, and that was when I believed Jezra was onto something, so I continued the arduous task of monitoring Ruby’s every move. It was my mission up until a few nights ago.”

  “That is enough!” Nysight shouted and stepped forward.

  “What is going on, Constable? I do not understand. Why would you do that?” Raiven asked.

  Sytravious could feel her staring at him, but he was too panicked to look at her. Elric snapped his fingers and a dozen archers appeared behind h
im, bows set to fire. Nysight readied his swords, and Hellios twirled Daegon’s Rage in preparation for a fight.

  “Do not make any rash choices, friends. I did not come here to fight, or even arrest anyone. Unfortunately, the authority to make such decisions is out of my hands. These are my own men and they are loyal to me, so whatever transpires here between us shall stay here.”

  “He is right. Look at their clothing, they do not wear any sort of unit marks,” Nysight murmured, before signaling Hellios to stand down.

  “That could have been anyone’s piece of cloth that we found. Constable, please tell me what does this have to with us?” Raiven pleaded.

  “Priestess, what I observed validated what the high priestess feared. Just the other evening, I spied on her as she fought in a vicious duel with that man right there.” Elric pointed at Hellios. “Ruby used forbidden magic in the fight, which is how she revealed herself as a witch hiding among the people of Havencrest. I reported my findings to Jezra, but she was not allowing visitors into the temple that night, so I went to General Kenshiro instead. He ordered that I keep the findings to myself, and not report to Jezra any longer. Since she had decided to bring her new champion into her faction, the general believed her input would be biased, and therefore useless. He took over the case from there.”

  “But what do you consider ‘forbidden’ magic? A simple defensive spell? I just cannot believe it is as bad as you are making it out to be. You know my cousin always goes to extremes. We are all innocent here!”

  “I am afraid not, Priestess. See, in the days following the duel, we watched as Sytravious was escorted into the temple. He left his parents and that stranger behind. That is when we put surveillance on the home and even attempted to have Sytravious followed as well, since we did not know his connection to the case yet. Then, when news of a group of foreigners entering the city reached General Kenshiro, he directed the elite guard to follow them. It did not take long to find out who they were and why they had come. With the new details the elite guard provided, I believed we had more than enough evidence to arrest all parties involved, so I requested the orders to arrest them. However, the general had a different plan, one I do not understand. Rather than grant me the request, he had the elite guard fall back, and allowed the foreigners to continue their mission. It turns out that they were an assault team sent by notorious warlock in Moruz. Amongst them was someone we identified as Saliz the Wicked, a famous albino warlock from the First Legion of Moruz, known to be in the services of Lord Fheng, but I am sure you already knew that.” Elric directed the accusation to Sytravious, Nysight, and Hellios.

  Sytravious felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him. Kenshiro and Elric had known for days that Nyxseous was a witch and that she possessed the black flame, but it was the fact that the general sat back and allowed the assassins into the city to kill his mother, is what enraged him. Why had Elric not warned him before now?

  “I witnessed the group attack their target, Ruby. I watched as Saliz killed her, how he met his demise, and everything that followed.” Elric narrowed his eyes as he glared at Sytravious.

  “This cannot be true. There has to be some sort of mistake in your investigation. Why would anyone want to hurt his mother? There must have been a mix-up. Sytravious tell him!” Raiven grasped his hand and squeezed it as she shouted at Elric. He could hear her breathing fast, unable to hide her anxiety.

  “Priestess!” Elric spoke over her panicked pleas, “We have identified the culprits of the Foxfire Woods murders, and I think you will want to know what they have been hiding from all of us in Havencrest.” He took a step closer to Sytravious and uttered, “Would you like to tell her, or shall I?”

  Raiven was on the verge of tears, and moved between Elric and Sytravious. She faced Sytravious and held his face in her hands. He could not escape the mess he had made. He watched as her lower lip quivered and tears started to trickle down her cheeks. Knowing it was his fault that she was so distressed, shattered his soul. He tried his best to think of anything he could say to better his situation, but it was impossible. The reality of Elric’s words came crashing down on his deceitfulness and he took in a deep breath and began to explain.

  “The day we split up at the spring, when you heard the explosion, my mother was attacked while picking herbs in the temple fields. The men who attacked her were soldiers from the First Legion of Moruz. They wanted to kill her and my stepfather. She acted in self-defense, and consequently the men died in the process. By the time I arrived, the fight was over, with the exception of one survivor. My mother wanted me to kill him, but I…I could not do it, but I should have! If I had killed him that day, everything that has transpired since could have been avoided.”

  “Sytravious, why? Why were they trying to kill her? Tell me the truth,” she demanded.

  He felt as if he did not even have the strength to stand on his own two feet anymore, but he swallowed his fear of her judgement.

  “They wanted to kill my mother because she was Nyxseous VanDrake, the only surviving child of Byronicus VanDrake.”

  Chapter 28

  Into The Darkness

  Sytravious watched tears streak her face as she packed up her things. Raiven had not voiced a word after he revealed the shocking truth of his VanDrake name. He wished he could tell what was going on in her mind. He wanted to beg her to stay, to wait, and hear him out, but he could not bring himself to defend his lies. There was no explanation worthy of her forgiveness. In truth, his mind was also reeling from the dramatic turn of events that had taken place over the past two days and felt as if he wanted to scream, but all he could do was stand there frozen, as Raiven prepared to leave with the Duegar brothers.

  “My only concern was for my brother. I never had the agenda to take the priestess away. It was her own decision to leave. Nevertheless, it is better this way. Imagine the life she would have led on the run with you. Always having to seek solitude and peace, but never finding it, and forever having to flee from the wrath of Valcrest,” Elric said.

  Sytravious did not entertain him with reply. He was more concerned with Raiven. She was refusing to make eye contact with him, and every so often, she would break out into a sob before trying to compose herself. Sytravious wanted to help, but he knew better than to approach her just yet.

  Elric continued speaking, “The fact you are a VanDrake is a burden that is yours to bear. We will not join you in confronting the consequences that come with the name, but I will ask you to leave this land now, and never return. If you will not do it for my sake, then do it for the sake of my little brother. He would have followed you into any chaos, and you were going to let him join you. He would have eventually been killed because of your deception, which is something I cannot and will not allow. I am sure you understand.”

  “Oh, just shut it already. You have said more than enough,” Nysight blurted out.

  Elric signaled his men to prepare for departure. Bryce tossed some bags over his shoulder, and glanced at Sytravious one last time before following Elric out of the camp. Raiven stood with her back to Sytravious, reluctant to follow her guardian. Sytravious panicked, knowing this was his last chance to convince her.

  “Raiven, please wait, do not leave me like this.” He hoped by some miracle, she might hear the sincerity in his voice and understand how much he truly loved her.

  She turned to him and tears glazed her golden eyes. She took deep breaths as she waited for him to speak.

  “I wanted to tell you the truth about me, but what priestess would ever give someone like me a chance? I fell for you from the moment I laid eyes on you, and the idea of you being repulsed by my identity frightened me.”

  She furrowed her brow, but remained in front of him. He was grateful she allowed him to continue speaking.

  “Still, it was no excuse to deceive you all this time. My own selfish fears prevented me from trusting you with this knowledge, and you did not deserve that. However, I never lied about my feelings for you.
I love you Raiven, and even if you leave me now, that will always be true.”

  Raiven closed her eyes, sighed, and started to fidget with her cloak. He sensed her inner battle, knowing she was hesitant to believe him. Elric cleared his throat and waited for her to join his group.

  “Sytravious, I can understand and maybe even have forgiven you for being afraid to be honest with me in the beginning. But from the moment you stole my heart, and allowed me to give the most precious parts of myself to you...” Her face twisted up in an attempt to hold back her sobs. “You should have known you could trust me. Now I feel violated and betrayed, and to know it is because of you only makes it hurt even more.”

  Sytravious was dying inside, and having to witness how his actions hurt her so much, made it that much worse.

  “Who knows if I would have fallen in love with you regardless of the truth? Who knows if I would have followed you this far? Sytravious, you took that decision away from me when you decided to be untruthful.”

  “Raiven, please, I only---”

  “No! I cannot do this right now. Just let me go, I need to go. I am sorry, but I just cannot handle this.”

  Sytravious hung his head in shame, unable to speak. His heart beat hard as he was overcome with anxiety. After everything that he had suffered, the one thing that made him fight on was going to walk out of his life. How could he lose her?

  “Will I ever see you again?” he whispered to her when he saw her start to walk away.

  Raiven stopped in her tracks and appeared to dwell on the question for a few moments, before walking back towards him. Without speaking a word, she placed a soft kiss on his cheek and placed an item in his hand. It was one of the enchanted parchment scrolls. He closed his eyes, unable to watch her leave. The soft sounds of her footsteps grew fainter until all he could hear were trees rustling. Sytravious gulped down the lump in his throat, opened his eyes, and saw Elric trailed the group that left the camp.

  “You know I am not a bad person! Not all VanDrakes have to be tyrants,” Sytravious called out to him.