Chapter 19: The Spring Festival
It was without a doubt the worst day of the year for Lith. He would be forced to spend the full afternoon away from home, surrounded by complete strangers, and robbed of any privacy or personal space during the festivities.
All the families in the village would gather for the festival, forgetting about their daily problems and miseries. Everything from decorations to food and drinks was paid for by Count Lark.
He would also take part in the festival, to keep his bonds with the community strong and maintain his reputation as a fair Lord, instead of just being a faceless guy who collected taxes and made their lives even harder.
The festival was comprised of three parts.
The morning would be spent like normal, with work and chores, to give foreign merchants and carnies the time to prepare their stands and arrange their merchandise.
In the evening, the families would gather and check out the stands. People would search for trinkets and jewelry to buy with their extra money to add them to their daughters' dowry.
The food would mainly consist of appetizers, like fresh fruit and vegetables. There would be also skewers of different kinds of meat and even exotic food. Count Lark always brought saltwater fishes and seafood for the occasion.
The only drinks available would be water and light beer.
After the sunset, huge braziers and torches would be lit all around the village, while the Count's workers would prepare the stage for the festival main event: the election of the Spring Maiden.
All the girls fifteen and sixteen-years-old could take part in the Spring Maiden contest, which was more like a debutante ball rather than a beauty pageant.
It was the opportunity for the young maidens of marriageable age to show off their beauty and virtues, in the hopes of catching the attention of as many suitors as possible.
The judges of the Spring Maiden contest were always the same, Count Lark, the village chief, and Nana.
After the election, the real food would be brought out. The banquet had lots of roasted animals, soups, and caramelized fruits. Both pure and watered wines would be available, raising the spirits for the finale.
The last part consisted of a ball, encouraging the eligible bachelors to approach one or more maidens that may have caught their eye.
Each part would affect Lith's mood differently. The first would cause extreme boredom, tempered by the fact that he was still not allowed to move alone.
The second was akin to torture. He would be forced to sit on his father's shoulders for hours, staring at a bunch of little girls he did not give a damn about.
The third was the best one, but only because it was very short. After some dancing, his parents were too tired to remain any longer, and would finally bring him back home. None of their children was yet of marrying age, so they had no reason to linger.
For the first time in his new life, Lith had some money in his pocket. He could finally check out the carnival games that offered the best prizes.
'They cheat, I cheat. Let's play this fair and square.' He thought.
Using spirit magic, he won a beautiful stuffed bear for Tista, beating a ring toss game rigged by unbalanced rings. From a crossbow shoot game, he got a silver-coated hair comb for Rena.
All he needed to do was to use two strands of spirit magic, one to guide the dart to his target, the second to force it to fall. Last, but not least, a silk ribbon for his mother from a Wheel of Fortune stand.
The carnies were flabbergasted, but trying to bully a local child in front of so many villagers, not to mention Count Lark, would have earned them nothing more than the beating of a lifetime and a permanent ban from every event in the county of Lustria.
They started to keep an eye on him, but Lith was not greedy and left after getting the three prizes. He actually wanted something for Raaz too, but all they had were feminine products.
The carnies hoped to lure the young boys into wasting their money, trying to impress the girls with expensive presents they could not afford without gambling.
After distributing the presents, Lith searched for Nana. He wanted to have a chat about magic with an expert. He found her sitting on a bench near her house.
The first thing he did was look at her with Life Vision. Her mana flow was way bigger than Lith's, but her life force was weaker than Tista's.
Nana was an over sixty years old woman, but she looked like an eighty-year-old Earth woman. Her back was so hunched that she needed a cane to walk properly.
She had sharp grey eyes, a face full of wrinkles, and a big aquiline nose. Nana always wore a shawl over her head, to avoid her long grey hair bothering her during work.
At a first look she seemed an inconspicuous old lady, but when you approached her, you could feel the raw strength exuding from her body.
'She must have had a rough life.' Solus commented.
"Hello, Nana. How are you?" Lith asked.
"Hello to you, little imp. You sure are growing fast, aren't you?" Just like Elina had noticed back in winter, Tista and Lith were growing taller and more slender than their peers. The same was happening to Rena too after she had received Lith's treatment.
Lith was already over 1.1 meters (3'7'') tall, his shoulders broad like he played water polo.
Lith nodded. "Yes, I am. Can I ask you a question?"
"As long as it's not about my age, be my guest." Nana laughed.
"Nana, are you a strong magician?" Nana was surprised. It wasn't the question she would expect from a child.
"Yes, I am. When I was still a young girl, I even got a scholarship for the prestigious Lightning Griffin academy, and I managed to graduate without a problem." Nana straightened up proudly, remembering her years of glory.
"Then how did you end up being a healer in Lutia?"
'How tactful of you, Lith!' Solus rebuked him.
'Children are allowed to be rude. It's one of their few privileges.'
Nana's mood turned gloomy.
"You see, Lith, in this world there are commoners, nobles, and mages. A strong mage has status on par with the nobles, depending on their magic power. Back then I was very strong, but not a genius.
"Sadly, I was also stupid and naïve. I made some very bad choices and ended up alone, without anyone backing me. I only had two options left. Either submit to a powerful noble or live free with the status of a healer. Guess what I picked?"
Lith became gloomy too. The idea of losing everything after working so hard for it made his future look even scarier.
"There, there kid!" Nana brightened up. "Let's not spoil the mood and enjoy the festival."
After leaving Nana alone, Lith recalled her words about his growth. He stopped in front of a mirror on display to watch his reflection.
He could only sigh in resignation.
'No matter how many impurities I expel, I even managed to fail at the gene pool lottery. I took so much from my dad and so little from my mom.
'When I look at myself while brooding, rather than cool I look like some kind of psycho kid escaped from juvie. If I smile, now that I'm missing so many teeth, I'm not even cute.
'Even all dressed up, I could barely pass for a street urchin from one of Dicken's novels.'
Solus tried to brighten him up, but to no avail.
Later in the evening, Count Lark introduced the village elders to his guest of honor.
"Chief Yurok, sage Nana, allow me to introduce you to the young Ricker Trahan, son of my dear friend, baronet Lokar Trahan. This young lad is a really talented mage, who in the future will bring glory to our county."
Count Lark was a magic enthusiast, always trying to sponsor promising youths from his land.
"Nice to meet you, young man." The village chief saluted him with a polite bow, expecting the other to offer him his hand or at least reply to the bow.
Ricker instead kept looking around, his eyes filled with contempt.
"The pleasure is mine." He replied with a cold tone.
"Ricker, where are your manners?" Count Lark rebuked him mildly. "Sage Nana was a powerful and renowned magician in her youth. Feel free to ask her for advice. Her experience could prove invaluable to overcome any difficulty you may encounter during your studies."
"I have no doubt about that, my Lord." Ricker bowed this time, but to Count Lark.
Nana had seen enough nobles in her life to recognize the type. A high and mighty young master, pampered enough to believe that only nobles could achieve greatness.
The people of the village were having a hard time tolerating so much disrespect towards their elders, but for the Count's sake, they limited themselves to angry whispers.
"Oh, oh, oh! You got yourself another spunky one, dear Lark." Nana laughed without any warmth.
Ricker shuddered at such a lack of respect, the old bat calling the Count by his first name without honorifics. But he knew that Lark was a sucker for magicians, and judging from her attitude, he had granted the old bat the right to do so.
"He has every right to be proud, dear Nana. Next year he will turn twelve and apply for a Lighting Griffon's academy scholarship. With a little luck, he will enroll just like you did back in the day!"
Ricker failed to repress his amazement, knitting his eyebrows at Nana.
'By the gods, how could such a commoner get admitted into the academy?' He thought. 'She must have cheated her way in, no doubt.'
"Really?" Nana replied with exaggerated enthusiasm "Why don't you ask him to show us what he is capable of?"
Count Lark gladly accepted. Per his request, a one meter (3'3") high stump with a head of lettuce on its top was quickly set up.
Ricker had to stay at least 10 meters (11 yards) away from it and knock it down. It was a very basic exercise for anyone who wanted to become a magician, often use to quickly get rid of unworthy candidates.
Only those with a real talent for magic were able to use chore magic from such a range. For normal people, magic had a range of a meter or two.
To learn something outside chore magic, one had to either enroll in a magic academy or buy very expensive books.
"Young man, do your best!" Count Lark's voice was full of enthusiasm.
Ricker had done that exercise countless times, but always alone. This time he was surrounded by commoners who clearly hoped to watch him fail and get the chance to ridicule him.
Even worse, Count Lark was putting a lot of pressure on him. In Ricker's eyes this wasn't a simple test, but a matter of life and death.
Feeling countless eyes on him, he lost his concentration while performing the hand signs and stuttered the magic word.
"I-Infiro!"
He produced a chestnut big fireball that almost missed the lettuce. Yet with a small boom, the head of lettuce was knocked off.
No one applauded except for count Lark.
More than one "That's it?" could be heard among the crowd.
Nana walked slowly to the vegetable, bringing it back for the Count to examine.
"He messed up a few key hand signs, stuttered the magic word, and missed the lettuce entirely. It only got knocked off because of the explosion." Nana remarked coldly.
"I would not keep my hopes up, Lark. When I was his age, I was able to actually hit my target without performing signs nor using magic words. They admitted me only because of my perfect silent magic." Nana's grey eyes were staring at Ricker in contempt.
"Well, he is still young, that's why I brought him to you. He has another full year to prepare for the exam. There is still time to fix the small mistakes. I was hoping you could mentor him."
"I would be glad to, I really would. But between the villagers and my disciple, I already have my hands full. I'm too old to take care of two youths, and my apprentice takes precedence. As you know, a mage's word is her bond."
"You have an apprentice?" Count Lark was shocked no one had informed him about such a critical matter.
"Yes." She nodded, smiling in Ricker face.
"He learned to read and write and the age of three, and by that time he had already learned chore magic all by himself."
"Marvellous!" Count Lark's excitement was a slap in Ricker's face.
"Yeah, he is also my disciple." Selia stepped forward, adding fuel to the fire. She and Nana politely detested each other. Yet between her and a stuck-up obnoxious brat, Selia would always choose the devil she knew.
"He has hunted in the Trawn woods from the age of four. Even if he can only hunt blinkers and critters, he would never miss a moving target, let alone some deadweight lettuce."
She then whispered to the Count's ear: "He is actually the you-know-who that provided the you-know-what."
"Fantastic! Excellent! When can I meet him?" His monocle jumped out of his eye orbit from happiness.
Ricker was on the verge of exploding with anger.
'Can't he see they are just leading him by the nose? How can someone with such a high social status like the Count trust even one word from these commoners?
'Lying and cheating is in their nature. They are just trash, trying to drag us to their level to make themselves feel better about their pathetic lives! If that old bat is a mage, then I am the crowned prince.
'Why do I have to bear listening to her nonsense? And how come even a gut-stinking hunter can freely speak to a Count? This evening could not turn any worse. How the heck did I managed to let my father convince me to come to this pigsty?'
"Here he is!" Bromann shouted triumphantly, forcefully dragging Lith by his arm.
Lith had no idea what was happening. He was with his family, nibbling at a caramelized apple, when Bromann appeared out of the blue, babbling about the village honor or something.
Too many eyes were on him, Lith's intuition told him that something was wrong, so he decided to play it close to the vest.
"Count Lark, I'm honored to meet you." It didn't take a genius to understand that the overdressed beanpole with the monocle had to be the lord of the land.
Lith greeted him cupping his fist while giving the Count a deep bow. He then proceeded to greet the village chief, Nana, and Selia, making his bow deep according to the respect they deserved.
Lastly, he turned towards the ill-looking kid standing next to the Count. He had to be around ten years old and was 1.4 meters (4'8") tall. He was wearing a silk white shirt over high-end leather pants. His face was all red and sweaty like he had either run for his life or been bitten by a venomous snake.
The situation made no sense to Lith, but since no one seemed worried about the kid's health, Lith did what he was supposed to.
"Greetings, honorable guest. I hope you enjoy your visit to our village." Lith cupped his fist again, giving Ricker a small bow. He had no idea who that kid was, and Ricker could not find the strength to introduce himself.
The Count seemed to have completely forgotten about his existence.
"Oh, oh, oh!" Nana laughed. "See, Lark? Manners. That's something so many youngsters lack nowadays."
Lith kept looking around, waiting for someone to explain what was happening.
"Can I be of assistance?" He asked.
Ricker once again needed all his willpower to prevent himself from throwing a fit of rage.
'Is this guy their prodigy? A toothless bum? I should ask the Count to whip them all to death for their blatant lies! Simply outrageous!'
"Yes, Lith." Selia stepped in again. "Count Lark loves magic in all its kinds and forms. I was just telling him about how you kill blinkers without ruining even a feather. Would you mind showing him?"
She took out a wooden stick, holding it up for the Count and everyone else to see.
Lith sighed with relief.
'All this fuss for chore magic? They almost gave me a heart attack. If it's just to entertain some bored nobles, why not? If the village thrives, so will my family.'
"Brezza!" After twirling twice his middle and medium fingers, a small vortex enveloped the stick. At first glance, it was just like the ones every housewife used daily to clean their houses. Looking at it closely, however, one could notice that it was actually two different vortexes, one spinning clockwise and the other counterclockwise.
This way the spell applied a huge strain to the stick in the point where the two vortexes connected, causing it to break almost instantly.
Lith had invented it after Selia had started bothering him too much about how he killed the blinkers. He could not show her spirit magic, so he came up with this trick.
Ricker wanted to rebut saying that Lith was standing barely a meter (1.1 yards) away from the stick, but even he knew how hard it was to use two different spells at the same time. He also knew that such an objection would be met by the old bat requesting him to do the same. And he had no idea how to.
Nana waved her hand, and a villager put another head of lettuce on the stump.
"Lith, be a dear and knock that out, please."
Lith was getting more and more confused. The Count now had stars in his eyes, looking at him like some mythical beast had descended from the heavens, while the noble kid was as pale as a ghost.
'What the heck is going on here? Why is the Count so engrossed by cheap magic? And why is it that no one cares about that sickly kid? Whatever he has, is getting worse.'
Lith shrugged before flicking his middle finger while saying: "Jorun!"
An ice dart hit the lettuce dead center, making it roll a few meters away.
"Without using hand signs!" The Count gasped, his voice so faint that Lith could not hear him.
"One last thing, dear Lith. If you manage to indulge this poor old lady, I will treat you and all your family for free until you start your apprenticeship. Are you willing to humor me one last time?"
Lith had no need to think before accepting. Despite his best efforts, Tista still needed constant care. From time to time they still had to seek Nana for help and it wasn't cheap.
Nana smiled, full of confidence enough for both of them.
"Bromann, toss one of those as high as you can."
Bromann threw a head of lettuce with a lob shot, sending it about three meters (10") high. When it reached its peak, Nana made a simple gesture, cutting the air horizontally with her extended hand and fingers, conjuring ten ice darts.
Five struck its left side and five on the right side. When the head of lettuce started to fall, Nana cut the air again, this time vertically, splitting it evenly into four parts.
Then she simply opened her palm toward the sky, conjuring four small vortexes that brought down the four pieces slowly.
'Damn! Not only is Nana's mana flow still superior to mine, but her skill level is above and beyond my expectations. I could probably achieve the same result, but I'd need both hands and something more than just a casual wave of the hand.
'Now I understand why everyone in the village holds her in such high regard. She is likely to be the reason why the village of Lutia is so peaceful. If she can do so much with simple chore magic, I can't imagine what she can do with a real spell.' Lith thought.
"Now is your turn. Bromann!"
Another head of lettuce, another lob shot.
Lith knew it wasn't a contest, he wasn't supposed to perform as good as Nana.
Until Lith could get a clear picture of how much talent was considered good, how much to be considered a genius level, and how much for the "burn that monster" label, he had to play it safe.
When the shot reached its peak, Lith made hands signs with both hands shouting "Jorun!", conjuring four ice darts, two per side. When the lettuce started to fall, he used "Brezza" to cut it unevenly in half, using Brezza again to summon two vortexes to bring the pieces down.
Once again, they were rotating in opposite directions. The slowly spinning lettuce highlighted the phenomenon.
'In for a penny in for a pound. They already know I can do it, if I have to entertain the Count, I might as well do it with a little swag.' Lith thought.
The crowd exploded into applause, soon joined by an ecstatic Count Lark who still could not believe his own eyes.
Nana sent Lith away to his parents, reassuring him that she would keep her side of the bargain, before speaking to Ricker Trahan again.
"And that, young man, is what real talent for magic looks like!"
Ricker could not hear her, though. Back when Nana had shown her skill, he had fainted standing up.
His mind could not accept that all the certainties he had grown up with, had proven to be nothing more than convenient lies.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Legion20
Legion20 Today double chapter, over 3,600 words long.
Will we see this young master again?
Why can't I make normal lenght chapters?
Chapter 20: Ambush
After the end of the spring festival, nothing major happened, and Lith's life returned to his usual routine.
Solus proved to be of invaluable help for Lith's magical training. Despite having lost all of her past knowledge and being quite naïve in the ways of life, she was by far the brighter of the two.
Solus was not limited to the humans' five senses, but actually had twelve. Solus was certain that by regaining her powers she would be able to awaken even more.
Solus' sense of mana helped Lith to better understand the laws of magic that determined innate talent the mana capacity.
Her mana sense was similar to Lith's Life vision, only more precise and accurate. Solus could actually see the mana flowing from blades of grass and even pebbles. When looking at someone, she was immediately able to grasp their magic talent.
Even more important, she was able to use her mana sense on Lith's memories. According to Solus, all the information needed to use mana sense was also contained in the visible spectrum, but humans lacked the means to interpret them.
'When you were on Earth, you had no mana core. Your native world had no mana at all. The same thing happened on the alien spaceship.
'But when you were born here, you started with a very small blood-red mana core. By absorbing and processing the world energy with your breathing technique, you managed to develop it from red to orange.'
'Four years of unrelenting practice just to promote it to the next rank?' Lith was quite depressed by the news.
'Not quite. Your mana core also keeps changing and developing as you grow up, and this happens to everyone else too. At the moment of your birth, Tista's mana core was already field poppy red, and turned brighter every year.
'Right now it's light orange, and it would not surprise me if after her final growth spurt it turned yellow, or even green. She seems to be fairly talented in magic.' Solus said.
'And where does that leave me?' Lith kept feeling worse about himself. 'Am I really a complete failure in everything? Looks, talent, can't I do one thing right?' Lith thought.
'Stop moping around and listen to me. You keep forgetting that you are two years younger and I have no idea if males and females develop their mana cores at different rates.
'Also, the constant use of Accumulation makes it hard for me to understand how good your base talent is. After every cycle of expansion and compression, your mana core would turn one shade brighter.
'Every time you expel impurities from your mana core, it skips to the next level. Right now, it's deep green.' Solus said.
'Is it just me, or does the mana core strength seem to be somehow related to the light spectrum?' Lith pondered. 'A prism can break down white light in its basic components: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple.'
'Agreed.' Solus mind nodded. 'But it could also somehow be related to fire. Flames follow the same principle. A yellow star is colder than a green one and so on. Our real question is: Is the final step for a mana core to turn purple or white?'
Lith shook his head.
'I'm starting to get a splitting headache. We'll face this as I did for college back on Earth: one exam session at a time. Even back then, if I started to think about all the exams that I had to pass to get my degree, only to start right back for my masters, I would fall into a deep depression.' The memory made him shudder.
'Let's focus on the present. I'm deep green, what about Nana?'
'She is the only person with a light cyan mana core. To be born with such a talent, she is really impressive.'
'Is there anyone else talented in the village?' Lith had to be aware of the possible competition.
'No. The ill kid count Lark brought along had a bright yellow mana core, but I don't think he lives close by.'
Lith sighed, all that information was quite overwhelming for him. For so many years he had deluded himself into thinking that he was special, stronger than anyone else.
Now he felt like the proverbial frog in the well, finally discovering the vastness of the sea.
'Enough moping around, let's roll up our sleeves and work hard. Nothing that's worth having comes easy.'
Lith and Solus kept practicing together for the whole year, growing closer and closer like fraternal twins.
Lith's birthday was in the fall, but all major activities in the village would be suspended until the next spring. Since Nana's offer was to replace the two years of public schooling with an apprenticeship, Lith had to wait until spring to begin his magical education.
In late winter the weather cleared, and the trades between the village and the farmhouses became more and more frequent.
Thanks to this, Nana was able to let Lith know the date she had set for the start of his apprenticeship. She had entrusted the message to one of his neighbors that had come to her to heal a nasty wound suffered while repairing the roof.
When the day came, Lith woke up early, determined to keep his routine of cleaning both his house and Selia's before going to the village.
The huntress had done so much for him that Lith considered her as an aunt. A stingy, nagging aunt who would make rip-off deals, but an aunt nonetheless.
That morning the house was in turmoil. All his loved ones were so excited at the idea of having a future mage in the family, that they could barely eat their breakfast. They would rather spend all their time and energy giving him unwanted and obvious advice.
"Don't be late. It's better to be a little early rather than to show up late." Raaz said.
"Be obedient and respectful. Nana is giving you a great chance!" Elina said.
The reason everyone was so on edge was that they considered the first day to be of vital importance and Lith had to go to the village alone.
The house was in dire need of repairs. With Orpal gone, they needed all hands on deck to take care of the fields and animals.
Lith didn't mind it at all, it was just a thirty minute walk that he had done countless times. Raaz and Elina, though, felt like they were abandoning their child in his hour of need.
Lith rushed out of his house, to escape from their barrage of worries. He was very calm about the apprenticeship. It wasn't his first rodeo.
Yet they had managed to make him nervous like a teenager waiting for his first date. After finishing the chores at Selia's house and collecting his usual payment, Lith restlessly looked at the sun.
'Dammit, it's still barely dawn. Here I was, shuddering in fear. I still have a lot of time.'
Lith walked briskly toward the village hoping that, by the time he arrived, Nana would at least already be awake. Arriving so early to give her the wake-up call would have been quite embarrassing.
When he had made it about halfway down the road, Lith noticed something odd. There was a horseman standing on the side of the road.
It was already unusual finding a stranger so early in the morning, but what really alarmed him was that the man wasn't moving. Whoever he was, he was clearly on patrol.
As soon as the horseman noticed Lith, he took out a silvery whistle from under his shirt and blew into it, emitting a high-pitched noise.
Lith kept moving forward, but slowly, ready to react at any moment.
Soon the scout was joined by four other horsemen, and they started trotting toward Lith in an arrowhead formation.
Lith stopped moving. He had many spells at the ready.
"Kid, are you Lith? Son of Raaz and Elina?" Said the horseman on point. He was a middle-aged man, with brown hair and eyes. He had a perfectly trimmed mustache, and everything from his straight posture to his commanding tone identified him as a military commander of some sort.
Lith looked carefully and noticed that all the horsemen had the same vibe, marching perfectly aligned. Yet they were wearing casual clothes. White shirts over leather hunting pants.
'Isn't it a little early to go out without the matching leather jacket?' Lith thought. 'Unless they need to avoid showing any household insignia.'
"Who are you, mister? My mother always tells me that I am not supposed to talk to strangers." Lith decided to stall for time while he and Solus checked their surroundings for lookouts or possible reinforcements still in hiding.
'I perceive only five human males with above average physical strength and deep red mana cores.' Solus reported. It was the same thing Lith had determined using Life Vision, but four eyes were better than two.
"I ask the questions, kid. Are you the Lith that is supposed to start his apprenticeship today?��
Lith grimaced.
'Whoever sent this hired muscle, knows way too much about me.' Lith thought.
"I am." Lith retorted fiercely. "And it's none of your business."
"I'm here to give you a bit of friendly advice, son. Today you are feeling very ill, and it's best for you to go back home and stay in bed all day."
Lith's anger started to grow and he didn't care about hiding it.
"I'm feeling perfectly fine, thank you. Now scram!"
The five men lowered their hands to their weapons hanging from their belts, the reins held tightly ready to charge.
"Last chance, kid. Turn back now. I know you have such a pretty house and such a beautiful mom. Not to mention two gorgeous sisters ripe for the taking. It would be really sad if something bad happened to them."
Lith released such a powerful killing intent aura that the horses took a step back. His mana and hatred seethed together generating the equivalent of an aura of fear. The hair on the back of the riders' necks suddenly stood up.
"I wanted to play this nice and slow, but I just changed my mind."
With a sweep of his right hand, five wind blades struck the horses' legs, making them whine in pain and collapse on their sides.
"Now you cannot retreat anymore."
The man with the mustache and his right-hand man managed to dismount with a roll, avoiding getting crushed by the falling horse. The other three weren't so skilled.
"Kill him! Go! Go! Go!"
"Kneel!" Lith's voice was cold, his words fell on the two men like boulders, making them instantly fall on their knees.
Lith's spirit magic was stronger than ever, and he wasn't holding back even one bit.
"What the heck? Sarge, I can't get up!" Screamed the right-hand man struggling on the ground.
"I never allowed you to talk or to look at me. I said kneel!" Another wave, even stronger than the previous one, pushed their heads toward the ground.
Despite dropping their weapons to absorb the impact with their hands, they still hit the ground so hard that they started to bleed.
"Much better. Now let me dispose of the garbage before resuming our talk." Lith walked over to the closest horseman. He was still under his horse, his leg was stuck and broken, making him scream and wince in pain.
With a wave of his hand, Lith turned his head 180°. The rider's neck snapped like a dry log tossed into the fire.
"Stay away! Stay away from me, monster!" Screamed the next in line, crying in desperation.
"Am I a monster? Was it not you who was ready to burn a house full of innocents, to r*pe a barely eight year old child?" Without waiting for his reply, Lith clenched his fist, distorting the man's head before making it implode like a walnut.
"Please, please! It's not my fault! Have mercy! I was just following orders!" Said a blonde, handsome youth trying to free his trapped leg.
"Just following orders… I could lecture you about the many atrocities that men like you did with such an excuse. But you see, I'm just the same. I'm just following orders too! Mine to be precise!" A firebolt struck both horse and rider, turning them into a pyre that screamed in agony.
Lith returned to the kneeling men. They were still struggling to escape his control, their faces pale as ghosts, gritting their teeth while exerting every ounce of their strength.
"I'm sorry." Lith said with a cherubic smile while letting them raise their heads. "But my Puppet Master spell isn't so simple. It takes more than a touch of strength and a spoonful of wishful thinking to escape from it."
The two men wanted to beg for mercy, but their mouths refused to open. It was like their teeth were fused to each other.
"Now, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that I don't need both of you. Between the pack leader and a lackey, the choice is obvious. The good news is that I allow you to speak. Any last words?"
"Please, don't! I just married, I needed the prize money from my Lord! My wife is expecting a child! I could not afford to lose my position."
Lith emitted a cruel, joyless laugh.
"We'll have to agree to disagree. You say wife, yet all I can hear is a widow."
Lith put his left hand on the man's head, turning it into a block of ice.
It fell to the ground, shattering into countless shards of bone, skin, and brain matter.
The man with the moustache started to puke uncontrollably, but his mouth was still shut tight. Some barf managed to escape from his nose, the rest he was forced to gulp down over and over, to avoid choking.
Lith raised his right hand, making the man with the mustache float in mid-air upside down, so that he could look him straight in the eyes.
"Now, you have only two choices. You can tell me what I want and die without suffering too much. Or you can keep resisting, suffering through unimaginable pain and agony before telling me what I want to know. You have free will after all."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Legion20
Legion20
Another damn long chapter, more than 2300 words long. I want to thank all of you that leave comments on my work. You are my source of motivation and some time inspiration. Thank you very much to you all.
Edit: guys, pls, if you didn't do it already, pls leave a review to the novel. tyvm
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