Nychta - The Bloodrose Kingdom

Chapter 6 - Powers and Chatters

“Call the alchemist,” one of the guards told the other who was guarding near the gate of the palace.

The wooden gate lead to a vast space of pavements. There was a well in the middle of it. By the sides of the courtyard was soldiers who were in different stations, the sounds of the clinking swords and angry men ringing through the field. This was where the kingdom trained its mighty warriors, the Red Guards. The grunts that carried me was nothing compared to the strength of these people, for they were only lesser nychtas.

The Red Guards wore a deeper shade of red compared to the usual ones, quite close to being crimson. It had carvings of a thousand black ravens in it, stamped in tiny but intricate details along the torso and the metallic pants. Their head gears were crowned with a black raven that gave them a fearsome look. They were the sentinels of the queendom, after all.

The Red Palace’s main entrance was a hollow opening that was lined with shiny silver. There were two banners by the sides of the opening, bearing the queendom’s crest, a black raven. It was symbol of our darkness, of our allegiance to the lack of light and the evil.

I shuddered at the thought of everything that happened here.

A tiny man with gray hair and a long beard appeared after being summoned by the guard. He looked more like an apprentice rather than an actual alchemist.

“We go to master’s hut,” he says, leading the way. He was wearing brown dirty robes that was splashed with chemicals of different colors. He walked with a limp, his left leg shorter than the other.

We followed as the night flew in the background. There was a smell of the dampness on old rocks here in the courtyard. There was also a chill that made me rub my anxious shoulders.

As we were walking, I began to devise a plan.

Even if I had been surprised by my own power, but I already knew how to summon it. Given the guard’s reaction of it so far, it will be a good plan to cause a scene involving my power. Either it gave the alchemist worse plans or it saves me in some way. I hope that it became the latter.

We passed by more of the guards. They were hulking, their eyes red with feral glow from the unending training they had. It was already night, but they were still training. They carried large swords of different colors and styles, some crooked and some straight. Some tested bows and arrows of an immense size, their sculpted arms taking the weapon firmly.

As we walked by them, some of them noticed me. Or more like, they noticed the gem.

Some stared at it, while others even stopped their training to observe. Some of them whispered among themselves, theorizing about the unique gem I had. Others looked directly at my eyes. I stared directly back at them and scowled, showing that I was unfazed by their intimidation.

Show them what you’re made of the voice in my head says.

Later, I replied.

The right side of the courtyard led to a winding set of stairs that ended with a large hut, with torches on its side. It was the alchemist’s hut.

I calculated my surroundings. Further on the sides of the winding stairs were the Queen’s sea, the sound of seagulls being heard. The sounds of the gentle crashing of the waves rippled through the night. The calm before the storm I was going to unleash on them, or so I hoped.

Each heavy step gave off a crunching sound from the impact of the metal and the stone. Each of them thundered heavily in my heart. Each step closer to my demise.

I gently rubbed my elbows, giving off whatever heat I can.

“This girl is quite different,” the tiny guy mumbled to himself.

He was fidgeting his fingers, jittery from something. Did he inhale anything before meeting us? Or was this just normal for him?

After a while, we finally reached the top. The alchemist’s hut was not just of plain brown wood. It was also pillared with silver metal that was engraved with a language I did not understand. The door was fashioned with a black raven, but with spiral engravings all over it. It reeked of magic and knowledge.

The glass windows of the hut showed the tremendous amount of books and chemicals inside it. Different colors, mostly of pink and green lit up inside, bubbling with energy and spells. The books were of heavy parchment and old spines, age and knowledge deep within it.

But the alchemist was not in a mood as grand as his hut.

The alchemist, a lean and tall man with round spectacles had his eyebrows furrowed. He crossed his aged arms, his head tilted at an angle. He was shouting, fighting with someone inside the hut.

“Master!” the tiny guy said, his quavering and tiny voice echoing around the elevated expanse of rock and land. Cold drifts of air wandered aimlessly around the hut, relaxing me.

I snapped back when the guy looked outside.

His right eye was replaced with a black glass ball, but with a white center. It looked outside, its aim on the tiny guy.

“Master! The guards call you!”

The alchemist took one last look at the person he was talking to before making his way to us.

As he opened the door, a particularly sharp and old voice rang from inside.

“You do not turn your back at me! I’m serious here!” the female voice said.

The alchemist put his finger in his forehead and scratched it annoyingly.

“What is it?” he begrudgingly said. His hair was gray too. He was also wearing the same robe as his accomplice, but cleaner and more arranged. He was also fumbling his finger for no reason. Was it the chemicals that made them act this way?

“Alchemist Jurian?” one of the guards stepped out from their pack behind my back.

Jurian looked back at him. He crossed his arm.

“What? What is it?” he said, his annoyed voice said. He looked at the guard from head to toe, analyzing each and every detail of his armor.

“A lower guard, huh? Who is he to call by my name?” his mind said.

I breathed a sharp breath as I realized that I had read a mind again. The powers need to be contained and controlled for me to able to use it properly it seems. If only I was given more time.

“We are the guards who have come from Silverfang to deliver you news,” the guard said.

“Ah,” the alchemist said, his eyebrows relaxing. He dropped his arms. There must’ve been something interesting.

“You are the ones who claim to have found our new Black Gem?” he said, his eyes flashing with a twinkle of curiosity and interest.

The guard bobbed his head.

“Show me the girl,” the alchemist said greedily. What were they going to do to me?

A guard behind my back grabbed my elbow. I tried to resist, but his iron grip took the best of me. I shouted, “I can do it myself!”

The guard didn’t listen and chose to drag me instead. My feet tried to plant itself to the ground, but his force carried me.

Jurian stared at me as I was dragged. Or more like, stared at my gem. His eyes twinkled even more. His former irritated face lit up, now looking at a subject. The twiddling of his fingers stopped.

“You have found quite a beauty,” he said as I was finally in front of him. He was taller by a few inches, his gaze looking down on me.

“Aren’t you beautiful?” he said with disgusting affection, his hands inching closer to my forehead. I pulled my head instinctively.

In an instant, his stare went to my eyes. He huffed a breath of frustration.

“Who is this girl?” he asks with disgust.

“A thief from our town. She only obtained that when we tried to catch her. Fast girl, she is,” the guard says a comment.

Jurian grabs me by the chin.

“You think you’re different now?” his head angling slightly. It was only inches apart from my face. The white center of his black eye widened, trying to intimidate me.

Show him what you’ve got , the voice in my mind said.

Later, I replied.

Foolish girl, it replied back.

“Do you not know who I am?” he said. He looked at the guards again.

“Where did she find this stone?” a tinge of curiosity in him.

“In the Gray Forest, where a newly found river was seen just yesterday. We found her with the gem when the first sunlight arrived, even when we have searched for her all night. It was quite a mystery.”

Jurian let out a mysterious tone from the back of his mouth.

“Casualties?” he asked.

“None, but our captain had half of his face beaten to near-death after she punched him with some magic. We were not quite sure about what it was. It is best not to provoke her.”

I liked that last part.

“Uhm-hmm,” Jurian says. He took the warning as a challenge then. Let me show him what I’ve got if he wanted to.

He looked below me, and then suddenly raised his arm. In a swift motion, his heavy hand slapped my cheek, stinging pain spreading around it.

“You asshole!” I say, my cold voice cracking out of surprise.

“And you dare to talk?!” Jurian replies. In another attempt, he swings for my face again, landing on the other side of my cheek. I was too late to dodge.

The guards behind me all stood stiff, attention back to them again.

“S-sir!” one of them said.

“Shut up!” he says, as he tries to slap me once again.

I dodged the third one.

“What the f**k?” I say as I stepped back from him. I was about to tap the switch behind my head, the switch I used when I unleash my power back at the forest when the feminine voice rang from behind Jurian again.

“What is happening here?” she says.

A tiny woman with a slender frame went from inside the hut. She was wearing large, round spectacles of a red color, her small eyes zoomed in from the distance. Her petite figure was also wearing a brown robe. But as tacky as the others looked while wearing, she wore it like it was a dress made for her. It gave highlights to her tiny curves. Her black curly hair were placed properly in front of her. She gave off the look of a woman who had knowledge.

“This little b***h is taking too hard to crack,” Jurian replies as he tries to slap me once again. In his fifth attempt, he almost lost balance as his weight was carried by his own hand. What a limp.

“Stop that!” the woman shouts. “You look like a prancing fool!” she says as she steps down. Her red heels were to be seen even with the robe. It was out of her own preference, it seems. Her face, though old, still looked blooming as power and dye painted it.

“And we’re not even done talking!” she says again as he meets the man.

“Have you seen this girl?!” Jurian replies while shouting.

The woman turns her view from the alchemist to me. And then to the gem.

She takes a sharp breath. But from her surprise, she suddenly fixed her demeanor. She was not to be seen weak, as it seems. I already like her.

I was slapped back again when I tried to look back at her. This was heavier than before, rage already evident.

“Now that’s enough!” I tell Jurian. I was not taking the old man’s fury. May the gods take mercy on the old woman for what I was going to do.

Gathering all the strength I had left, I tapped the switch behind the back of my mind. This time, I was more prepared.

The sudden change of mood in the air made the guards raise their weapons. I heard swords being unsheathed, metal clanging with metal.

Tendrils of darkness came from my body, but I was not afraid of it. I embraced it wholly as I they flew from out of me. I felt something in my eyes change. My limbs felt stronger. I had adrenaline pumping from within me.

I had used dark wind earlier to make a barrier and also to put force in my fist. I was planning to do something worse now.

I closed my eyes as I attempted to have claws. I did not know if it was possible, only that I had a longing for it. For that power. For the rage that came with it. I breathed deeply.

As if in answer, I felt cold claws come out from between my hands. They felt light. I opened my eyes and saw claws of a dark and stirring light in it. They were aching for something to scratch, something to destroy.

I put my gaze to Jurian.

He was shaking, his eyes wide from terror.

This was what he was waiting for. Now, give it to him, the voice said and then laughed. I laughed back in reply, my voice darker than ever.

“Stop it!” one of the guards said from behind. It was muted, however, for a deep darkness now ran through me that numbed all logic I had left.

“You dare hurt me?” I say, as I took slow steps towards Jurian. I could feel it now. The power of a thousand, no, a million nights. It was power unmeasurable, greater than everything I have ever felt. It felt as though I was invincible, like I was capable of doing anything. The nerves of my body was thrilled at the power, goosebumps spreading through me.

The tendrils around me grew larger in size.

“Please!” Jurian said, his arms now trembling as it pathetically tried to shield him.

“Should’ve said it earlier,” I replied.

I took one last stare at the woman beside him. She was smiling menacingly, something stirring in her eyes. It was if she was telling me, go do it.

I took one last breath and then scratched through the air. I let go of my power, of whatever force I had.

I expected soft flesh and I received it. It only lasted for a second though. A second filled with pleasure and contentment. That slight second of the claws passing through the flesh filled me an unimaginable thrill.

It lasted a second before it met a hard shield of force. My claws reverberated in the air, power pounding through the impact.

The claws went back almost instantly back to my hands. The tendrils of dark slowly crawled again inside of me. The power was running out now, blocked by whatever force it was, making me sit on the solid ground.

I looked up.

I saw Jurian, his left hand grabbing the part of his forearm that was now bleeding terribly. It was gushing out in a fast pace. He was now crying in pain. I smiled out of pleasure.

I looked at the woman beside him, now grinning widely. She looked at Jurian.

“Now if it wasn’t for me, you’d be dead now,” she teases, lightly patting his gray hair. He groaned back in reply.

“Someone call for a medic!” Jurian said.

One of the guards ran down the path again.

“And imprison that girl!” Jurian continued.

The guards started to move, but halted when the woman spoke.

“Halt! That girl is important,” she says, smiling even more.

She walks near me, her face light. She crouches by me, the smell of her flower perfume wafting through the air. She was wearing the same brown robes as the others, but she carried a grace unseen before. She perfectly suited the role of a counselor, or even an emissary.

“I’m Rosemary from the library.” She says sweetly. She looks at my eyes for quite a while before saying, “and you’re coming with me.”

Jurian protested loudly from the back.

“You’re not taking her! She’s a criminal! A lab rat!” Jurian says.

“Julio, get the chains from the hut!” he continues, naming the tiny guy who assisted us.

An unseen force rippled again in the air, blocking Julio from entering. It was Rosemary.

“You will not, Julio.”

“And why is that?” Jurian asks with surprise and anger. Rosemary looks at her with the confidence of a cat.

“Because I will be taking this powerful girl, right here, as my candidate for The Divination.”