The plan had been going better than what she expected.

‘Do you see anyone coming?’

‘Nothing yet princess, you’re clear for now.’

When she was processed and confined to this dungeon, Sophie had mostly been searched to have all her items seized. Luckily for her, they didn’t search everywhere.

*Zarara*

That was the sound of a nail file she’d snuck into the cell when she was put in there. The plan now was to slowly wear down the lock to her cell door, and find the keys to release Orcus. Then the two would have to sneak past the prison guards; any resistance they met would need to be swiftly taken care of, and that’s where the brutish Warking Orcus came in.

Without her weapons, Sophie only had dangerous magics too large to cast indoors, and too unreliable to use in this sensitive predicament. Orcus on the other hand was a tank, even without his armor; he would be perfect for a quick takedown on some alerted guards.

‘Stop stop, I hear something.’

Down the hall from their cell they could hear a wicked commotion; have they been discovered?

Putting her ear towards the sound, Sophie could only her tidbits of what was happening.

‘...fire in south…’

‘...everyone’s rushing…’

‘...I saw a woman crying… must be a widow now…’

A fire in the south?

Intrigued, Sophie peeked her head towards the window of her cell. The night sky was ablaze with pulsing lights that seeped into the clouds. With each pulse, Sophie saw an assortment of formless auras lining the dark overcast; the ritual of extraction was starting, and it was happening here.

At that thought, the loud thud of footsteps could be heard getting farther and farther. It would seem all the guards had left, how fortunate.

Olinsozo

The pire of magical energies surging from the boy was wrapped and focused, but the spell had thrown Aren back a few feet.

‘Maintain your focus, don’t let the spire burst a second time!’

Aren was referring to the massive explosion of mana that sent shockwaves throughout the forest. Such an even was sloppy on his part, but he had no real control over the light except for where it was pointing.

The magic he was casting was unknown to his assistants, and Aren himself had no real answer for the origins of his rites. Long ago, the spells themselves seemed to come to him in a dream.

He only knew that the incantations would leave a bitter taste in his mouth after their use.

Ozure

Despite their mysterious origins, the simplistic incantations worked well in complex rituals such as this one; setting aside his doubts from so long ago, Aren had used the same spells to extend his control over the conduit during the reign of Teodora.

‘Sir, I can’t.. go on…’

A squeamish voice sent shivers of worry down Aren’s spine. He turned to see one of the troupe members had fainted from the stress of the ritual; if one more person were to fall, then this entire ordeal would be for naught.

‘Hang on men! We’re almost finished.’

‘YEAHH!’

With a final cheer from the last two remaining assistants, Aren casted his final spell to begin stage 2.

Okko

-I must warn you Micheal, they are nearing completion of the extraction-

‘And what about you, what have you been doing?!’

I didn’t mean to come off as rude, but the entire situation was worrying me to no end.

-I have begun to calibrate my own mana, and will now begin the procedure.-

-Are you ready to undergo resurrection?-

I never thought I’d hear such an odd question.

‘Yes voice, begin the resurrection.’

-Affirmative-

Their luck had been extraordinarily eery; or more specifically, her luck. The events before this moment, and the events happening now were like something out of a fable.

‘The jail is empty princess, there’s no one here HAHA!’

Orcus was excited, and that was to be expected. A dangerous prison break was made easy by the sudden disappearance of any and all security. The spectacle should be celebrated.

Her fortune however, had only served to disturb Sophie.

First was her eyes; Sophie could see the auras of people, and objects. This had opened her up to a world that most would leave unnoticed for their entire lives; a world of gods, and mysticism. Most importantly, it was a world where fate existed.

Fate was happening now, and that was a foreboding reality in Sophie’s eyes.

‘Just keep quiet and make sure it stays that way.’

Sophie was currently picking the lock to the jail door. The door itself had been locked from the outside, and no keys were left for the prisoners on the other side of the door.

Why here, why now…

While she picked the lock, Sophie thought about her second fortune/misfortune. The ritual of extraction, which was meant to happen in a secure location, was happening here of all places.

It was fate, that’s the only thing it could be. A singular moment of intersecting paths was about to create an epicenter, an event of cosmic proportions; the fated moment as it were, could be anything, and Sophie hated to imagine the countless possibilities.

‘Change of plans. Once we get out of here, you and I are heading to Praguor.’

‘Praguor?! Why the hell would we want to go back there?’

‘I need to break the fated path.’

Her answer did nothing to resolve Orcus’s question, but the riches he was being offered had ultimately shut down his line of questioning.

‘Ughh!’

A whimper of struggle had left Sophie’s mouth. She was in such a rush to leave that her lockpicking was a fidgety mess.

‘Stand back Orcus, I’m going to blow the door.’

‘Blow the door? What does that me-’

Incesivit Sanguine

‘FUCKIN’ HELL!’

The door blocking their exit was annihilated by the rose flame gushing forth from Sophie.

‘We’ll need a ride.’

At her implication of an oder, Orcus returned to his wits and rushed to find two horses.

‘And I need my things…’

‘PUT OUT THAT BUILDING!’

‘GET THE CATTLE CLEAR OF THAT BARN!’

Lord Saran was directing the chaos in Praguor. The town was encompassed in flames, and currently burning to the ground.

Armored knights and part time wall guards worked together to draw water from the town wells, and save whatever they could. Saran promised himself that when rebuilding, he was going to rebuild it with stone.

‘Captain, any news on the blaze in the forest!’

‘None sire! But the people here say the fire started in the woods before reaching the town!’

That was unlikely. Saran had already interrogated some of the townsfolk, and found that a shady bunch came into town right before the fires started; it was likely that they were the culprit, and that the fire had spread into the forest.

But who would set the village on fire?

The Pelopon Monks? Urial Fanatics?

The options were endless, but Saran would have to prepare a task force to respond to their next attack and hunt them down. Whoever the culprit, Lord Saran intended to hang them all, down to the last man.

‘Captain! Prepare a group and start suppressing blaze while it’s only in the woods.’

‘It will be done!’

With any luck, they could stop the flames before they spread even further.

‘Begin the final chant!’

It was time for stage 3, and Aren was rushing to finish.

He directed his assistants to join him in the final incantation, and explained to the process beforehand to succeed in this exact moment.

Olo Oripus Osin Oolk-Da

The spire of raging energies wavered at the call. Swirling like a mighty twister, the light lessened and lessened into it was only a candle flame coming from the ripped open chest of the boy.

Stage 3 had been a success, the final stage was happening now.

The pillar of light had dropped from the sky, and a new wave of insecurities had washed over Sophie at the sight of it.

We’re late, we have to be.

Both her and Orcus had been riding through the nighttime streets like madmen, and rushed towards the lightly guarded gates of Soramesh. The time it would take to reach Praguor from the gates was only 20 minute on horseback, but to Sophie it was a journey that felt like an eternity.

Her plan was an audacious one. Using her eyes, she planned to pick out those with peculiar auras, and send them on a different path; even if that meant killing them.

She could see the aura leaking from herself and Orcus as they rode; the two of them were already the puppets of fate, and as time went on it would only become worse.

‘HYAHH!’

She snapped the reigns of her horse, feeling as though they could be going a little faster.

Chapter 6 End