The Illusion of Shelatores

I had fallen many years before to Harris. With the throne, I have lost the connection with various forms of ancient magic to him. And yet, he was never one who was talented in controling the subtle powers that surrounded all beings.

Therein lay his weakness.

In order to free the children of my dead comrades from the false king's artful manipulation, there needed to be more gingaros resisting him. I plotted to rescue my cousin, Mandy, from the castle's oubliette. She was a skillful soceress who had once served under The High Priestess

No doubt, the castle was the most well-guarded place in the kingdom. But I had planned a diversion. A diversion that took advantage of the false king's weak magic.

This day, I invoked a powerful illusion of Shelatores. I made Harris and his men see the armies of Shelatores marching towards them to attack. And they took the bait. The castle was now empty of guards. With immense sadness, I watched the dead magistrate's son from afar, shooting arrows at the illusions.

In any case, I did not watch for long. I headed towards the now empty castle. Yet, I had one last obstacle to overcome. At the perimeter of the castle walls were stone guards. Once a foreign presence was detected, they would be poised to attack with a dreaded form of ancient magic.

I took my chances at the Eastern gates, where the statue of the goddess of justice stood. In old times, it was said this goddess had an oath to uphold justice. I moved forward as she raised her sword, upon which I uttered the ancient words to her. "You who have failed in your duties to justice, how dare you raise your sword at the old king's presence."

Tears of blood fell from the statue's eyes and the sword of justice fell to the ground. Having crossed the barrier, I raised my arms to detect any signs of Mandy's magic. Initially, all my attempts failed, and then it struck me, I was above the oubliette where Mandy was entombed.

I blast opened the stone hatch and traipsed along the dingy stone corridor. The stench of rotting flesh accompanied me. This time, I raised my arms to feel my cousin's magic and there it was. She was behind the iron doors.

Forcing my magic in front of me, I walked through the doors. At this point, I saw her crouching in the darkness, her eyes were empty. I called out to her, and she seemed not to have heard.

I gathered an orb of light on my left palm to better see in the dimly-lit cell. And there it was, embeded on her arm was a seal that robbed her of her magical powers. It was now clear as to why she could not escape from her plight.

After I had removed the seal, some measure of her emotions returned. But she fainted a few minutes later. It was obvious that she hadn't eaten for a long time. The power of the seal ensured she survived, by converting her powers and the subtle magic into food. But the very same seal cruelly took her emotions and magic that she needed.

At the very least, I was finally able to rescue her. And our resistance, would continue after she has recovered.

The Dark Bomoh