Chapter 3: Half i

The girl had fled into the dark space between the trunks. Gone. A trail of blood left behind after rupturing Irelithe’s left eye.

The pain made it difficult to think. She staggered back, collapsing onto her knees only moments after the girl had left. Her left palm clenched her left eye still, slowing the loss of blood for all its worth. Her right hand rifling through the bag hanging on her side, grasping a small vial filled with yellow liquid. She uncorked the vial and threw the viscous liquid on her left eye.

She felt the liquid splash against her eye and the area surrounding it. Or rather, she could but now she can’t. A great shock was sent through her system at the loss of sensation and the pain that had muffled her. Though, the paralysis didn’t function long as her elven blood sought to cleanse its owner of the invasive effect. Without a moments rest, Irelithe uncorked another vial, this time filled with a murky red substance that looked closer to that of gel. Pressing the substance against her left eye, she could feel bits and pieces coming back together through her left hand.

But she knew. She knew full well that a ruptured eye can never see again. Not even if it were to be healed, the loss of one eye would be crippling to the female spell caster.

“DAMN IT ALL!”

She had only done what’s right and protected a child. But how would she know that such a thing would be a monster in disguise? Her claws teared through her wards and enchantments like paper. Wait.

Irelithe reached into her vest and pulled out a golden trefoil pendant with a ruby, sapphire, and emerald slotted in each of the three circles. A diamond lying brilliantly in the center tying the entire shape together. Of the four gems, none of them have lost their light, indicating that none of the wards had even activated.

Irelithe thought hard. That thing bypassed all of her defenses. Even the diamond which was supposed to create a barrier when she was attacked didn’t activate.

“Tsk.”

Irelithe paced around the clearing, noticing the footprints left in the dirt westward, toward that strange swamp of blood…

“Oh.”

Irelithe’s face fell. She realized what that thing was. A byproduct of some Demon summoning gone awry? Or did some fool actually manage to open a Gate there? No, the possibility of a Gate appearing now is close to impossible. The mana there was almost sucked dry, but what was the exact connection with that girl? Irelithe could only postulate for now, but first she needed to warn the northern cities.

Her beloved grimoire lied on the ground, the pages soaked with her own blood, but it wasn’t something that couldn’t be used. She picked up the book and held it under her arm. She drank some blue liquid out of another vial and sat on a stump with her legs crossed and eye closed. Sure, it wasn’t the best method but it was the best for her. As an Elf she had a closer connection with the mana of the world, and could take it in to increase her own recovery. After a few minutes, she stood up, fully charged with mana to last her for another few hours, or less if she decided to use other magic. The grimoire flipped to a page near the back of the book. Two interweaving circles and various symbols and many small inked margins surrounding it could be seen on this page. Irelithe grabbed a white feather from somewhere and dipped its tip in a tiny jar of blue ink, scribbling the image from the grimoire onto a bracelet on her left arm. She slipped up here and there due to her now uneven sight and abysmal depth perception, but she finished the inscription. A flashing light following the completion of the final symbol.

Irelithe placed all her belongings back into her bag and held onto her grimoire tightly. As the circles radiated light, her feet lifted into the air as did the rest of her body and she began flying rapidly northbound towards the nearby Berran territory. She activated all her wards, and although this type of movement was the fastest method she had, it was also the most dangerous and draining of her resources. If she messed up even one stroke of ink in the final design, which wouldn’t be very surprising, she would likely fall towards the ground at high speeds or collide with a wall or tree of some sort and instantly die. [Runic Inscription] wasn’t her specialty, and merely obtaining it was vastly more difficult compared to learning magic for the first time. Especially with the cost of the reagents.

A flash of multicolored light could be seen in the distant sky from the Berran territory tonight, rapidly approaching at break neck speeds. A soldier had spotted this light and notified the Baron. The Baron notified all soldiers to rise and to act carefully as possible, for only a powerful or incredibly wealthy mage could have an artifact emitting such a brilliant glow from hundreds of leagues away.

Irelithe arrived near the grounds of the Baron’s mansion an hour later, met with the sight of a small army bowing down at her arrival. A short fat man walking towards her followed by faithful stewards.

“What can I do for you oh Great Mage?”

The plump man asked of the deathly pale mage dressed in leather armor. She did not look to be a mage but one glimpse at the bounded tome in her right arm, the glowing runes on the bracelet, and the glowing amulet on her chest convinced him that she should not be messed with. He held his head down and kept his hands cupped in the official ceremonial manner meant for respect amongst those in power, waiting for her response.

“Stand, I have urgent news to speak to the Baron about.”

Irelithe had little time for the silly man’s antics. She needed to move to the next Barony as quickly as possible else it would be far too late.

“But miss, h-“

One of the stewards behind the plump man cried out in response, before being quickly stopped by another steward. The plump man awkwardly coughed before replying in a humble manner.

“I am Baruch von Berran, the Baron of this small territory on the outskirts of the Balros Kingdom. What is this news that you have brought me?’

Irelithe was surprised to say the least. That a Baron of the kingdom known for its military strength was actually such an… unimpressive man. His belly was round enough even to put a Balros tree to shame and his soldiers unfit for war evident by their lack of discipline and alertness. Irelithe inwardly scowled at the fat man but she had to do what she had to do.

“Southward near the Balros Forests lies a field covered in blood. I suspect that someone had summoned a Demon but failed to subdue it. I’ve encountered a strange girl in the very same forest and it was covered in blood. I am fairly certain that this is the Demon that had escaped earlier, and I’m afraid that very being is making its way here as I speak.”

“What!?”

The Baron panicked. His soldiers couldn’t deal with this, he had subverted nearly all the funds from the military into agriculture, though the state of the fields surrounding the barony hadn’t seen much use either. One would wonder where all that gold went but that was not the current issue now.

“I can’t deal with that! This noble one requests assistance from your grace to deal with this imminent threat.”

The Baron tried to convince the mage that she should help them, but she couldn’t stand the man’s poor farce.

“Deal with it on your own. I’m only obligated to warn you, I’ll have to warn the other Baronies as well anyway so you better prepare. Now go.”

She showed a rude gesture to the man before her feet lifted off the ground once more.

“Please! I beg of you, have mercy on this poor man! I was never one to fight wars! I just wanted to live a peaceful life away from the others! PLEASE! HELP ME!”

The man fell onto the ground, bawling. His servants tried their best to move the man away but he was simply too heavy. Most of the soldiers which stood overlooking the exchange held amused expressions, while the more tacit ones held blank faces with difficulty. The sight of a grown man crying on the ground was simply something that wasn’t seen every day. Not to mention how boring it is in the Berran territory as the only visitors were merchants with ill-gotten gains and such. The Baron suddenly held onto the mage’s leg, who, at this very moment, is very annoyed at the man’s actions.

“Shoo. I don’t have time for this.”

Irelithe tried to kick the man away but she couldn’t. His grip held tight around her leg, pulling her down, a glint in his eye.

“If I don’t get your help, then why don’t you stay here forever? Guards!”

The soldiers around the Baron fumbled to get into action. Their poorly maintained armor and weapons pointed towards Irelithe, and the Baron whom she thought was nothing more than a plump useless man managed to pin her down. She struggled against the unwanted assault, but her strength was inferior to the Baron, though, that didn’t mean she had no tricks to get out. She closed her eye and imagined a completely white world, expending nearly all of her remaining mana in one prolonged burst.

“[Light]!”

One of the most basic spells she knew and one of the very few which required nothing else than an image to manifest. An extremely bright light appeared between her face and the Baron’s, blinding everyone around her. The Baron didn’t respond too well as the [Light} practically robbed him of all his senses. His grasp on her slipped and she managed to escape, flying away in a direction she did not know, as the [Light] she summoned has yet to fade. She flew as far as possible away from the Barony, she knew the time on her Inscription was nearly over, had it ended while she was restrained by the man, she would probably have been robbed and sold as a slave.

“Not even the mention of a Demon can suppress the Greed of humans.”

She landed far away, the dark of night enveloping her figure. The golden trefoil pendant hung around her neck, three of its four gems no longer possessing the radiance it had prior, simply hanging around her neck waiting to be filled with mana.

Skill [Danger Perception] has been obtained

Name

Irelithe

Age

67 Years

Race

Elf (Wyrd)

HP

34/67 (+.026/s)

MP

4/384 (+.161s)

SP

97/133 (+.105/s)

STR

14

INT

159

WIS

99

CON

19

AGL

18

LUK

32

Current Ailments | Left Eye: Scarred | Blindness

Skills

Level

Proficiency

[Danger Perception]

1/10

4.6%

[Mana Perception]

7/10

4.2%%

[Fire Affinity]

9/10

78.2%

[Runic Inscription]

1/10

17.4%

[Reading II]

6/20

42.4%

[House Cleaning II]

2/20

58.9%