The Phantom Reaper And A Lullaby

Laena observed the scene with a complicated expression. She understood that her teacher wanted to free Evelyn from her remorse and nightmares but the way he convinced her looked wrong from the side. It seemed that his blood thirst had invaded the area around him like a thick cloud and every being inside of it wanted to destroy what they hated the most.

The elf noticed that when she unconsciously got a hand on her sword's handle while gazing at Jack's ferocious smile. His aura triggered something primal inside of them, enticing them to destroy their inner demons.

'It's not a bad thing though, it looks like she managed to turn her grief into burning wrath thanks to him. I just wonder what will happens to her... Will she eradicate the orc race of Kaneoldor's surface ?'

Her mentor turned to her and grinned, his carnivorous aura disappearing in an instant. He then told her :

"Only you two will take the quest, I have many things to do in town. Furthermore you need to learn how to rely on yourselves as I will not always be there to cover you. Is that fine for you ?"

"Uhh yeah I guess...? Are you sure that a whole tribe isn't a bit too much for us two ?" Laena asked with doubt. She looked at her small companion for her support but only saw a raging sea in her blue eyes. She was probably ready to turn the orcs into mincemeat all by herself if she needed to.

"You will be fine as long as you don't rush things. Let's get this quest validated then pack our things in the inn first."

Going toward the counter again, Linda was surprised by the difficulty of their quest and advised them to be extremely careful. Even if they had fighting experience, this kind of fights were often filled of surprises and improvisation. Coming back alive was the best thing to do if you couldn't finish your quest as fighting another day was always better than dying pointlessly.

After her briefing about the mission, Jack asked her on another note if there was a public library. He was very disappointed when he learned that he could only find this kind of things in the capital since a few hundred years. In order to avoid the loss of knowledge, the king wanted to centralize everything in the safest place of his kingdom.

He thus walked away a bit disappointed but knew that there were other ways to get books if you didn't care about the law. After thanking the receptionist, they went to the girls room where their teacher explained them a few things about magic fighting :

"Laena, never let any enemy cross you and reach Evelyn whatever the cost is. Young one, always keep focused even if you see a bloodshed or something terrible. A mage's mind must be calm in order for it to create a tempest. Keep working on your Wind Blade an try to shorten the cast time, it will truly be helpful in fight. Young elf, you nearly got the hang of the basis of fire magic. For your next exercise, try to make this fire stick on your blade and the foes it hits."

Gazing at them with stern eyes, he smiled lightly when they nodded seriously. Then, he started to chant a spell with a language they didn't know.

-"Oh Ravens, may you follow my kin and feast on their preys. Birds of darkness, watch the light from the shadows. Protect them from the dangers that may befall on them and appear from my flesh. Raven's Feather !"-

His mana veins turned black and he coughed a little blood, seemingly feeling a terrible pain. A dark tear fell from each of his eyes and landed in his open palms. Then, the ink-like substance took a feather form and solidified itself. He then sat on the ground, visibly exhausted and bleeding from his mouth. His students wanted to help him but he gestured them that he was fine. After a few seconds, he got up weakly and a sad smile appeared on his bloody lips.

"It's really weak but it is the most that I can do for now. Keep those on all the time and if you ever feel in danger, break them." He explained, gently putting the black feather in their hairs like a hairpin. It was nearly five centimeters long and one large with many details and thus looked like a jewel carved straight out of an onyx block.

The girls seemed quite touched by his attention and looked at themselves in a small mirror the room had, admiring their gift in the glass. They both felt by touching it that it was a magical item and thanked him from the bottom of their heart. Curious, Evelyn asked him how he did it as magical items were supposedly quite rare and hard to make.

"This one was hard to make too you know." Jack laughed weakly. "There are many ways to create magical items, and I simply took the fastest one. What I have given to you is a part of myself if I explain it crudely. I have crystallized my own mana and spell into drops of my blood, nothing more. A true artifact take way longer to be created and require specials components."

His students both deeply bowed and after a look they both say together :

"We will not waste your gift, thank you again !"

"Yes, yes. Make sure to come back alive, that's all I wish for now. Try to find a carriage going in the same way as you, it will take too much time for you to get to your quest location other way."

After a little more discussion and a moving separation for Evelyn the group separated itself and the girls went on their way. Jack then walked to the inn again, falling in his bed and welcoming the sleep that invaded him. He pushed himself way too hard to create those trinkets as it was a personal spell supposed to be cast with way more mana. Tweaking a few things, he managed to make it work but the rebound on his fresh mana circuits was still more than painful.

Drifting in the dream world, what welcomed him was his former castle and his own army, the same feather appearing on them. 'It will never be the same, I need to stop dwelling those memories.' He thought and dismissed the dream, falling into a dark abyss of nothingness that suited him more.

-

"Do you think that we will manage it together ?" Evelyn asked while she was walking toward the north-east gate with her companion.

"We can, and we must. Think a little, do you truly think that he would send us toward our death ? Where is your motivation gone ?" Laena replied jokingly.

"No, you are right... Anyway, we will see when we arrive." The little girl decided.

After a few minutes of begging on the border on the road, they managed to get into a carriage toward their objective. After all, adventurer's presence was a boon for the villagers as they were tasked to eliminate the pests or menaces for them. A few silver coins helped the farmer to make his decision and they hopped in the back, landing on a few unsteady planks.

An old but reliable horse dragged them for an uncomfortable trip. During their talk with their driver to alleviate their boredom they learned that the situation was bad for them as monsters hopped on the roads and in their houses to eat them. A little bit frustrated to not be able to practice magic without scaring the burly farmer they still did their best to seem reassuring as they were on their way to eliminate such monsters.

He seemed quite happy and enjoyed their company as they were free guards for him. Little did he knew that Laena was thinking about eliminating him because he gazed too much at her bosom. Fortunately for him they soon went on different ways as the group reached a cross and the girls followed another road.

Finally working out on their magic, they walked a little more before forming a camp in a promising spot. The sun was setting and they wanted to be in their best condition to reap their foe's life. Awkwardly deciding their guard order and eating silently, Laena went to bed first while Evelyn prepared herself mentally for her first night without her teacher protecting her.

-

In the inn, Jack finally opened his eyes. Yawning a little, he stretched his painful body and checked his condition. His veins still felt as if they had molten metal flowing in them but he was able to cast magic without too much troubles. A wolfish smile appeared on his face as he looked through his room's window, admiring the darkness of the night outside.

'It's time for me to set up parts of my plan but I need money first. I guess it's time to make a few people "disappear".'

Carefully opening the lock and enjoying the cold wind flowing in for a moment, he then jumped out the room. Landing without a sound thanks to wind magic, he conjured a veil of shadow around him and disappeared in the streets.

Roaming through the smallest ones, he soon found a prey walking in and crept behind him. Dropping his hand on his victim's head, he froze the man's brain and dropped the body on the ground. Looting the few silver coin the guy had, he pressed his palm on the body's torso and murmured a small spell. Fire burned the inside of the carcass and made it turn into ashes while a darkness veil camouflaged the light.

Cold light gleamed in Jack's eyes as he repeated the process, making people disappear without traces. He also simply roamed into the city, locating the noble's houses and the slums as they would be useful to him later. A satisfied smile appeared on his face when he climbed on the inn wall, going back into his room while the sun started to bring colors to the sky.

Unknowingly, he also had created the legend of the "Phantom Reaper", a ghost who would take you to the underworld if you dared to walk outside alone in the city.

-

During this time the two girls spent their night out, missing their teacher a bit. He had a reassuring aura which told them that nothing would happen if he was there. Now that they were alone they truly understood the pain of taking guard turns and sleeping so little. Still, they stood up and prepared themselves. What they missed the most was the water their master would materialize, allowing them to wash themselves.

Now, they felt like their clothes were sweaty and dirty rags but continued on the road. Near noon Laena finally managed to light a fire on the tip of her finger without burning herself. Of course you could, and this trick needed way more finesse in the control of the temperature to isolate yourself.

Happy for her companion, Evelyn felicitated her while struggling with her spell weaving. She did it silently and with all the focus she could muster but was still too slow as it took her around ten seconds to create it. In real combat, she would be dead before being able to bring down her foe.

Voicing her concern, Laena reminded her what their teacher had told them about spells weaving :

"Evy, do you remember what he explained to us about the different method that existed ? You only need to find one that suits you. For example, I speak to myself in elven language while I try to move mana. It helps me to feel it and I truly think that it's useful. Maybe you're just using the wrong method."

Since they were getting closer, Laena had asked if she could use a nickname for Evelyn and she seemed fine with it so they kept it. The young girl was currently meditating her words, wondering what she should do. Chanting the spell would take more time than simply weaving the magic in her mind.

A few minutes later, she had an epiphany as she reminded herself of her mother singing her a lullaby. She always felt some tingling deep down in her soul as the music soothed her and brought her to a peaceful sleep. Taking a deep breath, she tried her idea and followed her instinct. Soon, her smooth voice filled the atmosphere around them while the wind started to rise.

Laena was simply looking at her small friend, wondering what insect had bitten her for her to start to sing like this when she felt her hairs moving and a cold breeze around her body. Her eyes opened wide when she then saw the little girl swinging her dagger while singing a relaxing lullaby, each move creating a deep cut in the ground with only a few seconds of interval.

Evelyn was nearly dancing, moving gracefully while moving her weapon like a wand. After a small minute her voice finally stopped and she nearly fell on the ground, the elf catching her in extremis.

"I-I did it." She smiled with her eyes glowing from the tears she kept in them.