The Conquest of Mytheyr
Chapter 18

Morgan was having a rough night. She tossed and turned in her cot, loathing and anger still seething and boiling in her chest. Indigo, who was still in a corporeal form, lay beside her cot, keeping watch. His mismatched gold and green eyes pierced the darkness of the magically enlarged tent, his gaze roaming over the various sleeping bodies.

When Morgan finally fell into a fitful sleep, she immediately regretted it. She found herself once again in a dream, but it was unlike the others Semele had sent to her. She couldn’t move. She was completely paralyzed, and couldn’t even manage to so much as twitch her fingers. She was in a grey void, with nothing to see, nothing to feel, not even a temperature.

“You are almost more trouble than you are worth, Morgan.” Semele sighed, stepping out of the nothingness. “Those thralls were quite valuable, you see. Much more experienced then any of the others I could have created. Oh, and I loved the irony. Once Mytheyr’s protectors, they would bring to me the only one who could save their land. But, of course, I was not expecting you to have such a large force. Tut, tut, you’ve been stirring up revolt, haven’t you? Don’t you know what happens to traitors when they defy their king? Oh… my poor girl.”

Morgan couldn’t even snarl at him. What was his game? He didn’t seem know about Raven in Rimcenter at least, and that was a relief. He seemed to have forgotten about her entirely, and Morgan knew that Raven would make sure Semele regretted dismissing her as a threat.

Semele came uncomfortably close, inches from her nose, peering into Morgan’s eyes. She was once again greeted by the emptiness behind his light eyes. She couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to him, what had led him here. No one was born like this. No one fell onto that path by accident.

Then Morgan became afraid. Black magic seeped from him, tying them together. Tendrils wrapped around her wrists, burning her skin with their icy touch. Semele gently tore the high collar of her tunic, revealing the base of her neck. He leaned forward and kissed her neck softly.

The glyphs Morgan had drawn days before began to glow. The Dark symbol on her left wrist glowed purple, while the Light on her right shone gold. The Dragon’s Eye glyph on her neck lit up with silver, and her paralysis was broken. Morgan pulled away from Semele, ripping the tendrils of black magic. Semele cried out as if physically hurt, stumbling back. He glared daggers at her.

“There is a price for that, Morgan.” He launched himself at her, but Morgan, instead of counterattacking, seized control of the dream and created a pool of water beneath her. She fell in, freezing the surface as she swam down. Semele beat at the ice, trying to get at her, but he couldn’t crack it.

Morgan kept swimming downward until her lungs burned with the lack of oxygen. She gasped when she couldn’t take it anymore, water filling her mouth and lungs. She woke with a cry. Indigo was standing over her, panic in his usually predatory gaze.

“I tried to pull you out,” Indigo said in that peculiar way familiars could speak to their masters, in which they look at each other and just know what they are saying, “but I couldn’t reach you.” Morgan took a shaky breath, rolling out of her cot and practically running out the tent’s opening. Indigo followed, staying a few paces behind her.

Once outside, Morgan paced frantically. The moonlight filtered through the leaves of the centuries old trees, the undergrowth creating strange shadows. The light danced along Morgan’s wings, making them seem almost as if they were glittering. The gentle light also enunciated her pale skin and the dark circles under her eyes, which by day had been hidden by a simple glamour. Morgan was almost hyperventilating. Her heart beat too quickly to keep up with. She fell to her knees, holding her head in her hands, desperately trying to get a hold of herself. She was going to pass out.

She forced herself to take one breath and hold it. She let it out with a gasp and took another one, holding it for longer. She continued that process until her breathing returned to normal and her heart slowed its galloping pace. She checked her glyphs. The wrists and neck were the most vulnerable to magic, and the Trinity spell was centered on those places to give the strongest protection. When Morgan had cast it, she thought she was being overly cautious. She never imagined Semele would attempt to put a binding spell on her. She laughed bitterly at her naivety. Binding spells like this were just one step up from Necromancy.

The Trinity spell was cracked, but it had done its job. Morgan broke apart the threads of it, weaving it anew. However, due to her tired state, the spell was not as ironclad as it had once been. Semele would expect it next time, should he think to attempt it again. Indigo padded behind her, sitting beside her and putting his head on her shoulder. Morgan scratched behind his ear, sighing shakily.

Semele would not go unpunished for this. She would make him hurt. He’d suffer for this…

Morgan flinched. Her blood staining the marble, dripping down the stairs. A cruel laugh echoing off the walls. A human boy yelling. The face of that damn devil.

“Enough.” Morgan hissed, and the memory faded. “Thanks for that.” she said to herself sarcastically. “I really fucking needed that reminder right now.” There was a point to her flashback, however. She couldn’t afford to push it. She’d hunt, she’d kill, and she had to leave it at that.

“… Morgan?” a tentative voice said behind her, “Is something wrong?” Morgan smiled slightly in relief and turned so she could see Vath.

“Everything is wrong, and there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it.” she told him. Vath sat on the other side of her, before shooting Indigo a semi-nervous look. The black wolf was an embodiment of Morgan’s Dark magic, and it got stronger with her Dark emotions. Vath knew this from the bits Morgan’s legend that he had heard from the others, and he was trying to gage how terrible she felt. Indigo gave Vath his wolf smile, and lay down next to Morgan.

“Semele’s been in my dreams ever since the first day I came to Mytheyr.” Morgan told him, looking down at the ground. “It’s been limiting my magic use. I do too much of it, my mind gets all fuzzy and I get tired quickly. Luckily, summoning familiars is a small magic, and I could probably summon the other one if I thought I had enough Light emotions to support her. But… tonight…”

Morgan sighed heavily. She hated feeling weak. She was embarrassed after what had happened on the battlefield, ashamed that Asa had seen her like that. But… strangely… she didn’t care that Vath had seen. She didn’t care that Vath had seen what happened when she cracked. There were only a few people she trusted like that, and she didn’t even really know Vath all that well.

“What happened tonight?” Vath asked quietly, and the simple caring in his voice made Morgan decide to knock down her walls.

“He tried to put a binding spell on me.” she said bitterly. She remembered that Vath had an elementary knowledge of magic, so she elaborated. “He would have had control of my body, so that I would have little power over my actions. A black spell like that is difficult to break. Semele was even able to block Indigo out, and with all the anger and hate and frustration I’m feeding him, Indigo is practically a hellhound with wings. The only reason I got away was because I surprised him.” she showed Vath her right wrist, and the Light glyph drawn there. “I had a protection spell,” she explained, “it’s powerful, but it can be broken. I… I’m afraid Semele will be able to do it next time.”

Vath was unsure of what to do. He couldn’t offer to protect her, as much as he wanted to. That would be a promise he couldn’t keep. He didn’t dare to say that everything would be alright. He put a tentative hand on her shoulder.

“Is there anything I can do?” he asked.

“I don’t think so.” Morgan sighed. “I’ll have to be more careful. Could you… just sit with me?” she said when Vath made a move to get up. “I…” she trailed off.

Vath didn’t say anything; he just nodded and sat back down. Morgan plucked at the small plants on the forest floor, and they sat together in silence, until dawn broke. As the other Dark Elves rose and began to break up the camp, Morgan called to a nearby bird. A magpie landed on her knee, and Morgan pulled a paper and pencil out of her satchel, scribbling a note in an alphabet Vath didn’t know. She rolled up the note and held it up so the bird could take it in its beak. It took off and disappeared into the sky.

Raven,

If anything happens to me, I want you to use my true name. I won’t hold it against you.

“Thank you.” she said to Vath, watching the magpie as it vanished.

“For what?” he asked, surprised.

“For staying with me.” Morgan answered, standing up and giving him a faint smile. She walked away, going to go find Caspian.

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