Generational Curse

I N T E G R A

I might be outside longer than expected. I've been playing with everything that I've learned for my boy to keep his affinity to magic even just a slither because once he completely loses it, there will be no way to turn him back. I may be able to amplify the miniscule amount of magic he may retain but it will be impossible for me to bestow him magic if there's none left to cultivate. That's not how witchcraft works. In the awful event that your living body is unable to gain, contain, and maintain magic anymore, nothing in this godforsaken world can help you. Even the forbidden curses won't be able to.

          "Do you think Vatic is fine alone in the cave, Mistress?" Calista asks as she and I continue to roam the remote spots of the island to gather some materials for my makeshift spell.

          "I'm confident in my barriers, Calista. Do you doubt my prowess?"

          "No, Mistress. I won't even dare to think of such things." She stays silent for a while which is rare because she always voices her thoughts. "Tell me. What's bothering you?"

          "I mean no offense, Mistress. I would just like to air my thoughts."

          "Go on, then."

          "I remember you telling me before that your barriers are great for keeping anyone or anything with has any speck of affinity to magic kept away or locked in there, right? This might as well be a total reach but does your barrier work against regular human beings?"

          I stop in my tracks to think. Honestly, I've never considered that because the cave is situated somewhere no common folk can traverse. Why bother, right? "Like most fauna that can come and go, I think common mortals can go in and out of the cave. That is if they can climb up and down the rocky mountain without getting impaled to their doom."

          "Point taken."

          "There's something else, isn't there?"

          "Don't you think that Vatic would be able to come out of the cave and look for you if you won't be able to come back? If we think about the worst case scenario, his magic will run out. If that happens, your barriers won't work on him."

          "You're thinking too much, Calista. We still have a week or just a few days even if we're really thinking about the worst case before what remains of Vatic's magic runs out. We still have time. I believe we do."

          "I walk where you walk, Mistress. I run where you run. I will always be behind any and all of your judgements."

          "Always knew I could count on you, Calista."

          The morning sun came but I still don't have any concrete plans to aid my son. I've set up every herb, material, and even most of the tools I brought in the nearest safe clearing I can find. Eyeing everything, hypothesizing is all I can think of as to how I can keep even a sliver of Vatic's magic. I kept pacing in a circular path all night long until that was everything that I could do. I've ventured to every theory, conspiracies, and even mere ideas of my kind regarding the matter but all are for naught. If nothing is done, the curse will devour him. There's no turning back if that devil of a nymph wins.

          "Have you heard any screaming last night, Mistress?" Calista asks. "It was so bloodcurdling. I thought someone was being killed.

          "It's probably some mountain lion. They can be pretty active at night."

          "Yes. I agree. I might just be overthinking it."

          "You most definitely are. We're in a stressful situation after all."

          We've decided to continue working on the concoction. There's a lot to do. I haven't had the need to amplify someone's magical affinity from scratch so I'm navigating everything from all the basics I know to all the possible theories that make sense. I may be full of wrath towards that hell nymph but at the end of the day, I'm a mother to my one and only son. If I let him lose his magic which is an integral part of who he is and is the only line of defense against the curse, there's no telling how his body will react.

          A flock of birds flying in a V-shaped formation is passing overhead coming from the direction of the seashore. They're here. It's been raining heavily for a while so they're unable to dock and do their business in town. The pirates have come back. It's been a while since I've seen them. Considering that they may have valuable things that I can take advantage of, Calista and I decided to monitor them, scavenge for some valuables, and even take someone as a guinea pig. Even my morals will not stop me from saving my boy.

          I settled in watching them from a cliff nearby, overseeing the shore and the entrance to Hiraya. As expected a group of pirates are in the process of docking their ships but the small number of theirs seems to be out of the norm. I only see two or three ships sporting a familiar symbol on flags raised on their masts. The Blood Moon Pirates are here. Aside from them though, I don't see any pirate groups with them. They don't have anyone else to trade with. Does that mean they have a different agenda for being here? I wonder what that could be.

          I press my left hand to my right aiming outwards. Adjusting my hold, I created a triangular-shaped opening between my hands and pointed it towards an unsuspecting pirate. If I really want to learn something, I have to be up close and personal. "Niossessop." I chant, making sure that my target is within range. In the blink of an eye, my consciousness was transferred to the pirate. He is now me and I am him. Being within the chaos, I oath to learn their true agenda.

          "Now that everyone has gathered here, all I want you to do is find my sister." A man with herculean proportions announces to us. "We've wasted so much time for the storm to pass and we can't afford to waste even more than a second. As an additional incentive, I will gift a full chest of silvers and golds to the first pirate to find her." Murmurs of excitement echo the entire stretch of the shore. "What are you waiting for? Disperse."

          Defiant screams burst out from all the pirates as they all start rushing in and around town. The captain of the ship who I assume was the one who ordered to search for his sister seems to be left behind with one other equally strong-looking pirate which probably his first mate and some other pirate who looks to be non-combatant. I don't have any choice but to heed his commands or my cover will be blown. Who is this sister he is referring to? In some process of elimination, only one person pops into my mind. Portia. But how? She's a slave, isn't she? Why is her brother a captain of a pirate group and not just some pirate group but the Blood Moon Pirates? Seems like that Portia girl has secrets she's been keeping. Now that she's gone, she buries those secrets with her.

          Before the first line of pirates enters the town, every one of us halts on our feet as a strange fog envelops the entire place. It's happening so fast that it poses terror to all. In almost a blink of an eye, it seems like the entire island was deprived of proper sunlight. No one can tell where the fog is coming from. Even I don't have any ideas. This fog is awfully similar to the fog Stragis sports with him whenever he's around but he's gone already. So, who's making this colossal amount of fog? Is it Noicnusa?

          "What are the captain's orders?" One pirate asks.

          "Push on!" Another one screams.

          "The visibility in there is catastrophic." One comments from a distance.

          "Push on! No further instructions were heard so we better push on."

          "For the silvers and golds!" One shouts and repeated countless times by many which became a chant for themselves.

          Although hesitations are still felt in the air, the first line of pirates went inside the town with some torches in hand. The rest of us waited for a while to hear from the first one who came in. It was silent for a long while. All that we can hear are the crackling of the fire from our torches and the gentle crashing of the waves from the shore behind us. All of a sudden, screams reverberate from deep within town sending unbearable shivers to everyone around me. What's happening in there? This is extremely bothersome that I'm on the verge of checking it myself but to keep my identity hidden, I have to continue this disguise.

          Murmurs about Dalakethnon started to get passed around among the pirates and aside from that, I heard someone talking about a witch. He's probably referring to me but that's obviously incorrect as I'm already within their midst even before the fog happens. As soon as the screams are silenced, a peculiar silhouette is coming out of the fog. We can see a figure of a man with outstretched arms. He looks like about to levitate while walking slowly and keeping his arms raised at his sides.

          A man emerges from the thick fog. He's only covered with nothing but the fresh blood of the pirates from the first line, we assume. The man's flesh also shows almost all his veins pulsating unpleasantly. His own blood is visibly coursing through all his veins. But, the most disturbing thing about this man is his eyes. It's all black. Around his eyes are prominent veins that also visibly pulsate as blood runs past them. My heart falls to the ground, my will to fight is shattered, and the air from my lungs escapes me. It's Vatic.

          My mind was all over the place and I couldn't think straight. Panic ensues as Vatic makes himself visible to the rest of us. Some of the pirates frenzied back to their ships but some of the combatants challenged my boy in combat. In a common pirate practice, they've surrounded my son and they will take him all at once but before they can even come closer, Vatic made it rain blood without any incantations. I can tell that the blood is toxic as the skin of the pirate I possessed burns when some splashes upon me. The ones who decided to confront him just a few moments ago are now on the ground screaming in agony with their burning flesh.

          With a menacing grin on his face, he chants, "Noisolpxe." One by one, explosions were heard everywhere. I notice right away that the ones who are exploding are the ones who got drenched in Vatic blood. Vatic's blood is exploding. This pirate I'm possessing is doomed the moment he comes in contact with my boy's blood.

          As expected I watch this pirate's body blown into smithereens as his time comes, forcing me to come back to my own body. "Calista, we're too late." I say, crying.

          "What's happening down there, Mistress?"

          "The curse overpowered Vatic."

          "That means…"

          "His magic has already depleted." I cry harder.

          The resounding noise from a horn echoes from the captain's ship, beckoning for the surviving pirates to retreat. Words about Dalakethnon are being thrown among them. With everything that's happened so far, I would understand why they think Vatic is Dalakethnon but he is not and I won't let that happen. But, what else can I do? I can't let him rampage like this. I have to help him somehow. However, a shiver of terror engulfs me as I notice Vatic almost snaps his neck to look at me directly from the distance.

          "Mistress, your pendant!" Calista shrieks. It was a second too late when I noticed my pendant was glowing. It's about to explode. Vatic's range seems to be widened with his current state. We're in danger.

          "Rierra–" A massive explosion erupted from my chest. Vision blurring, I can only make out Calista frantically slithering nearby.