Chapter 20 - Treading on Futures.

In the mountains of Candervale, The ritual holding Endar unconscious was almost over, his levitating body was also still covered in the patterns and dripping with blood, his entire body painted and red. His hair flowing like its underwater as the blood witches' chanting slowly die down.

his floating body descending from the air into the red pool of blood, the other elemental pools had their own occupants, the fire pool had two witches practicing their blaze ritual while the wood pool were meditating in cocoons and the water witches spend hours underwater draining the special waters energy.

This chamber was ancient and has been around for eons. Ever since the witches were gifted magic. Once the witches fully stop their chanting the blood patterns slip off his body and back into the pool, awaking in the pool with the witches handing him robes and clothing options, seeing his old outfit.

It was a leather clad suit with blood red highlights on the accents of the suit, the arms exposed and a hood fitted onto the back shadowing over his head nicely.

He seemed relieved to see it was still intact, then it drops when he thinks about his mothers interference with everything but taking it either way, going into a nearby cubby in the wall and changing rather quickly. Already feeling the effects of the magic pools.

Clenching his fist with a surge of power rushing through his body and with a sigh of relief he leaves and begin making his way into the main chamber to see what was going on with the tribe, knowing Camilla was likely in their room. Giving Endar a chance to greet his brothers and sisters.

Seeing familiar but not friendly faces pass by.

All of them scowling in his direction with filthy looks and glares from most directions, feeling the pressure of the social chain in the tribe until spotting the one face he knew wouldn't scowl at him.

Alstroe was an exceptional wood witch, capable in the ways of the trees and nature, she had a mousy brown hair with lilacs and petunias lining the self made flower crown. She was sweet and kind, probably the only person here with truly good intentions other than Camilla. And her big brother Endar was her most favorite person in the world.

"En?! OH MY STARS YOU'RE HERE!" she shrieks with joy when she finally sees him for the first time, billowing over and hugging him tightly in her arms with great strength for a tinier woman. With her partner following not too far behind her, a rough and stoic woman with huge bulking arms.

She greets Endar with a simple and subtle nod, he returns the gesture and hugs Alstroe back with gentle squeezes in-between.

"I've missed you guys, been way too long" he admits smiling at the two.

"Too long is an understatement, you've been gone forever brother!" Alstroe whines with her girlfriend saddling up beside her, Endar lifts his brow in a teasing gesture towards the bulkier witch.

"Hey Torra, you're looking grittier than ever~"

"Its called being an earth witch, you don't see me calling out all the blood you're covered in whenever you use your magic" she replies less than impressed with his attitude being the same.

"Touche"

After a short and touching reunion, Alstroe glances back to Torra with loving eyes. Cradling her lovers hand with convictions and hugging her briefly before going back to the table they sat at and begin to eat their respective meals, a water witch that goes by Maren was a peculiar personality.

Rather snobbish and well received by the elder witches of the tribe, but his good and scholar like attitude clouds his softer side, one that only the group really gets to see from him, skimming the pages with his glasses placed firmly on the edge of his nose with a resting scowl face. Pure concentration on the tome he was reading.

Until Endar leans on the table just opposite him with a smirk.

"Wow Maren, still stuck with your head in a book, just like the old days"

He scoffs and continues to read, muttering under his breath just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Those days are dead, still as naive just like in the old days" a sarcastic retort closing his book with a loud and booming thud. retaining everyone's attention, formerly joining the conversation.

"Why are you back so soon, I was expecting another year or two"

"Yeah well, kidnapping can be pretty tricky Maren, remember when we used to take them on?"

"Yeah, you were reckless and I was the brains as usual, nothing much more to say about that day other than you falling into the bog...It was the funniest moment in my life" His monotone voice scoffing with laughter along with the rest of the group as they continue to tell their tales of older days.

However, Camilla stayed roaming her room in an comfy pace, thinking about the witch she encountered and the pit she was heading towards, wondering if the noises were people fighting for their lives, or training to better themselves. she knew Endar was her ally, but everyone else was questionable to her.

Her loyalties tested as she sneaks from the room with curiosity. Edging by the other witches without a second glance from any of them, she thought she was being sneaky, but the Matron had addressed them before hand to allow her to walk freely among the witches.

Once she had reached the entrance to the orange glowing pits, she attempted to peer inside and eventually ventures down into another chamber, it split in different paths leading to multiple chambers. All of them the sound of fighting could be heard from a few, her curious nature forces her to peek into one of the chambers.

A small gasp leaving her mouth when she peers into he chamber with a glowing light of orange, the witch with lilac eyes from before was in there with a cloaked stranger, assuming it to be a teacher. Watching as she send multiple flaming missiles at him with her hands, the flame traveling up her arms and into her hair, lighting it ablaze.

Her hair was a simmering flame that emit smoke from the top, her face angry and ready to keep fighting. She was expertly dodging the reflected flames she shot at her tutor while sending more lances of magma at the person, angry growling and grunts come from the her with her fists clenched.

"Why do I have to do this every day and my friends get to eat and rest!" she spits at the master with a frustrated and aloof tone, her hair simmering down from the hot flames and back to her hair, but her eyes were still blazing with hot light.

"Because you are the strongest elemental fire witch in the tribe" he says back to her with an emotionless voice, before releasing his magic from his fingers and heading for the door with her angry voice calling out to him, Camilla hides behind a pillar nearby.

"You're wrong, Endar's the strongest witch...we all know that!" she shouts, crashes and clangs coming from the room with her livid growls echo through the door when the teacher leaves.

Giving Camilla a chance to see what she was doing. Entering the chamber and gazing upon the destruction of the room itself with the scorch marks on the walls on the ceiling, all the boxes and and racks of weapons were scattered and destroyed around the room while the witch stands there silently bubbling with rage.

Camilla was unsure if she was safe too even speak to her but bravely she does it anyway.

"Is that true?"

The witch snaps her neck towards the princess, a nasty look on her face when she sees Camilla standing there with her fingers fidgeting in her hands, but after a minute of scary silence the fire witch sighs and turns to her fully.

"What?" she says exasperated and tired, no longer giving the energy to be mad anymore.

"Is what you said true...is he really the strongest?"

She scoffs and walks over with an unimpressed face, grabbing a rag off the floor and wiping her sweaty face and brow before standing right in front of her. Camilla getting a good look at her properly without any fighting or pushing. She wore a similar outfit to Endar without the hood or colour, it was jet black with orange and red frills on the outer accents of the outfit.

Her face was solid and unmoving, but her eyes were nice to look at, when she used her magic her eyes were a melting red light, while her normal eyes were a light shade of purple.

"No, hes the most powerful blood witch in the tribe...I just hate hearing how hes praised for deserting his family"

"He didn't desert you...he looked a lot different a few months ago"

"You don't think I know that? god for a princess you're really fucking stupid, move"

The witches attitude struck a nerve in the princess making her stand in the way of her strut, just inches away from her face which was unnerving with her vexed expression. The fire witch was intimidating to Camilla but she stood her ground, opening her mouth to give her a piece of her mind.

"You're right, I am a princess...and I've gone through more than a princess ever should or could"

"Oh, poor you, you had to walk somewhere with added protection and the luxury of not having to fight for yourself the entire time" she fires back at the princess with spite.

Camilla goes to defend herself, but she wasn't fast enough and gets spoken over by the condescending voice booming over her. The fire witch getting annoyed as she speaks, The veins in her face were popping, it wouldn't be a stretch to say she had steam floating high off her head.

"Then when your brother declared war on everyone, only then you stepped up, what a waste of such power...and you used none-" the fire witch ripped into her verbally like a ravenous beast, before she was cut off by Endar walking in. Finding the princess against the door cornered by the fire witch.

"Enough!" he shouts, catching both their attention as the witch backs off from Camilla at the sight of him. Her brows furrowing in his direction when he fully enters and stands in front of the princess in a protective stance.

"There's no need to take your anger out on her...I'm the one you're mad at Enya" he says calming while she thinks it over and nods with a sullen look.

"I'm furious at you! How could you leave me halfway through my training!" She yells, a small amount of tears welling up, threatening to fall but they don't, held back by her stoic face. But her words hurt Endar as he approaches her with open arms.

"I'm sorry, but i wasn't fit to teach you in that state and my cousins were busy eating away at the world" he says as Enya scoffs in Camilla's direction.

Camilla's face snaps to him in shock, in disbelief that he knew in the first place. Approaching his side with her face in distraught, Endar gazes at her with worry painting his emotions.

"What's the matter?"

"You've known the entire time and you didn't think to tell me!!" Her face scrunching up with a splice of confusion and anger. He was unsure whether he should lie and say he found out not too long after her, or tell her the truth.

"Yes i did know, its why I saved you that day...we're family after all" he admits to her, but she doesn't take it well and gasps loudly.

"This whole time you've known who my mother was! WHO I WAS! And you never thought it was important!?" She releases all of her fury onto her good friend with everything she had. Unrelenting and making sure she budges him when she storms out and leaves. Enya and Endar stand there silently while Endar pinches the bridge of his nose.

"I wasn't expecting that..."

"Clearly, you've lost your touch" she says also leaving him while he follows on both of their heels, trying to catch up to Camilla but she wasn't having any of it, reaching her room and slamming the door. With most of the people around looking at the door with confused glances, but Endar decides to leave her be.

"I'll give her time, its one thing to know about her mother, but that I've known longer must've sent her over the edge" he says regretfully looking to his apprentice with her eyes comforting, but she quickly shakes it off and scowls at him.

"Serves you right for not treating your real family well, you left us, then you lied to her and let me restart my training from the beginning...think of it as karma"

Enya being done for the day, walks over to the chamber that had the most witches inside and joining the friend group Endar was with earlier. But suddenly he hears a voice inside his head speaking directly to him.

"Come Endar..."

The voice was familiar to Endar as he looks up towards the highest chamber in the mountain cave, seeing a dim light emerging from the curtains covering the entrance to the room. Endar sighs relieved and begins walking up the long steps and up towards them with quick speed and reaching the curtains at the top.

Smelling the incense coming from inside deeply, they smelt like smoked wood and tangerines, filling the blood witch with peace and joy, just happy to be where his favorite place was in the tribes whole cave set up. The den.

"Oman...you in here?"

There was no answer, but a slight humming came from the corner. A very odd man sits on a comfortable pillow with him eyes shut.

"I am here boy...sit" the old man says, opening his eyes too see they had a white film over them, seeing nothing out of his cold dead eyes. Endar approaches him and sits with his legs crossed just opposite Oman.

"You called? must've sensed me and wanted to say hi to your favorite witch maybe?~" he asks in a joking manner as the old man scoffs, a swirling bright yellow in his hands while a flourishing light protrudes from his head in the shape of an eye.

"Don't be an fool...I need to show you...what happens..." he says, the yellows of his eyes turning magenta with his hands pressing onto Endar's forehead. He welcomes it but he wasn't prepared for the amount he was about to see, sending him hurling in his mind into the future, slight glimpses of possible realities unfold before him.

But the main scene he wanted to show the blood witch with his psychic magic, there was a man walking the desert by himself, a cloak covering his face in the sandy winds while he stumbles along the craggy edge. The place unknown to the blood witch, but Oman wasn't done with his vision.

Hurling The witch through more possible realities, people dying and people surviving certain events of the past, before reaching another conclusion. The place was dark and the environment was hot and dangerous. Unsure of where the two were, Oman clears the image for him.

"This is a week or so from now...everything is dead and soulless...."

He gazes upon the horror and his mouth opens in shock, the whole realm was scorched black and there was nothing but burnt land as far as the eye could see. It was destruction in extreme lengths and he had no idea what could've cause it.

"What?! a week?...what possibly could've done this Oman!"

His face was grave and uncertain, but when he lifts his finger to point at the cause, Endar drops to his knees with tears falling from his eyes.

"No...it cant be true...not again!" he whispers to himself, the blind man approaching behind him in the vision and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Looking on at the rumble as a foot smashes down on a nearby creatures skull, the most power Endar has ever felt emanated of the force as red lightening strikes from the sky. A menacing silhouette in the flashing lights on the collapsed witch.

It was Endar, but not the same.

He had blackened eyes and the veins surrounding his eyes were spreading down his neck, a grim smile on his lips as the sky pokes through with a heavy red hue, blood pours from the sky all over the realms clouds. Evil had consumed him completely beyond recognition.

Oman exits the vision and returns with Endar to the cave, a sense of grief hitting the blood witch hard with him standing and holding his hair worried.

"I don't understand...the prophesies were WRONG!..." his body language scared of his future as she shudders in a guttural panic attack. The blind man stands and places another spell on his head.

"Calm yourself...everything in the coming week will push you...but i know it can change...that you may change"

"How do I change it?! tell me!"

"You need to find your source...your true father and they mystery behind his identity haunts your mind...perhaps finding him may clear them" Oman suggests as The witch sighs still shook to the core.

It takes a moment to click, but when it does Endar's head leans against the caves wall, dreading everything to come knowing that if he isn't able to fix it in time... and find out who his father is.

The world will end...