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deviljaythey · 3 months ago

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Darksider - Vampire Fantasy Novel (WIP) Chapter 7 - Magic (Draft 1)

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Arlin felt like a rock, his whole body felt like it was weighing him down. Usually he would wake up right at the start of Fight Night, when the stars were at their brightest. But when that time came, he couldn’t get up, he just didn’t have the energy to fight off his exhaustion. So he just laid there, in that state in between sleep and waking that he spent so much time in.

But eventually he did wake up, sluggishly opening his eyes to get a look at where they had ended up. The first thing he saw was the sky, the stars beginning to dim as Second Night was beginning. It wasn’t exactly the time that Arlin was used to waking to. They were in a small grove, a clearing in the forest obscured by the surrounding fog. The first thing he heard when he woke was voices, those voices being Leon and Erica seemingly arguing.

“As I said before, I can heal my wounds on my own.” Leon said.

“You can, but you’d also exhaust yourself from overusing magic. With these bandages at least it will heal a bit on its own, then you can do the rest with magic.” Erica said.

Leon seemed to not have much reason to argue back, as Erica was bandaging up the wounds on his back. Just before she wrapped up the wounds, she took out a green ointment that she lightly dabbed on the wound. Leon winced slightly but didn’t make a noise as she continued to patch him up.

“Leon!” Arlin said, getting up and running over to the pair. “Are you okay?”

“I am alright, I just need to heal from our encounter with the Coven Guard.” he said. “There is no need to worry.”

“You got hurt?”

“Yes. Do you not remember?”

“I remember falling when we were running away from them; everything after that is a blur.”

“You must have blacked out right when you hit the ground.” Erica explained. “When you fell, Leon ran over to shield you and got nailed in the back by two spears. So now he’s gotta heal up.”

When the knowledge hit Arlin, his face fell into a frown. It was clear just by looking at him that he was upset, not just at what happened but by much more than that. Erica clocked it almost immediately; she quickly finished up Leon’s bandages and gave him a pat on the back.

“Alright big guy, I’m all done.” she said. “You’ve got to rest for a while, so no more overexerting yourself. You got that?”

“Yes, I understand.” Leon said with an unexpected twinge of annoyance.

“Arlin, how bout we go grab some food while Leon rests? I saw some plum trees further down that way.” she pointed past the treeline.

“Oh, sure I can help.” Arlin replied.

“Alrighty.” she grabbed an empty bag and flung it over her shoulder. “Let’s go, and don’t try to do anything too straining while we’re gone Leon.”

“You have made yourself clear.” he said. “I will not overexert myself.”

She waved before heading in the direction she pointed out. Arlin followed behind, looking back to Leon one more time before catching up with her. The fog began to clear out as the two of them walked through it, the path behind them obscuring as they went further in.

“Is this one of those safe places you know about?” Arlin asked.

“Something like that, it’s a small grove surrounded by a river so the Coven Guard aren’t likely to follow us here.” she explained.

“River? Does that mean…” he put his hands on his head, making sure he was still in one piece.

“Don’t worry, we found a break in the river to take you through.”

He exhaled, relieved by the news. “Thank goodness, that would have been bad.”

“I know vampires can’t cross moving water, but why exactly is that?” she asked.

“Well from what I know the currents and flows disrupt the equilibrium of our bodies, or at least that’s how my caretakers described it. The way they made it sound, I thought my arm might fall off if I crossed one.”

“I’ve only seen it happen once.” she started. “A Coven Guard was chasing me and some people I was transporting. We hopped over a river in the area to lose them, but the guard tried to leap after us. When he tried to jump across something stopped him, and he fell to the ground in a lot of pain. I didn’t stick around to see what happened next.”

Arlin’s body shivered. “I really don’t want to find out. I’m not sure why it happens in the first place.”

“Well I don’t know a ton about vampires, but I do know a good bit about magic. If I could take a guess, your body has its own flow that keeps you together, maybe the flow of the water interrupts the flow in your body.”

“I guess that makes sense, I don’t really know a lot about magic honestly.”

“You don’t?” Erica asked.

“No, I never really got it when my caretakers taught me.” he explained. “I actually wanted to ask you about it.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. I don’t really know a lot about magic, I keep messing up. If I could learn how to use my magic better then maybe I could be more useful. So I want to ask, could you teach me?” he asked. “You said you were really good with magic, so if you taught me maybe I could at least be okay at it.”

Erica looked at him, a soft smile coming over her face. “Is this about yesterday?”

“Yeah. I can’t keep failing like that. Because I couldn’t use my magic properly I ended up passing out and getting Leon hurt. He does so much for me; I don’t want him putting himself in danger because I messed up.”

“You two care a lot about each other, when you were asleep Leon was talking about the same thing.”

“He was?” Arlin asked.

“Yep, he thinks he’s been putting you in danger and not doing a good job of protecting you. But you didn’t hear that from me okay?”

Arlin nodded but the thought perplexed him; how could Leon not think he was doing a good job at protecting him? He was doing everything he could and even more than that, there wasn’t much else Arlin could ask for.

“You must have known each other for a while if you care this much.” Erica said.

“Well, actually we haven’t known each other for very long. I’ve only been with him for a few days.” he explained.

“Really? Why are you two so close then?”

“I can’t really speak for Leon but, for me it’s cause he’s the only person who’s actually cared about my wellbeing. No one’s gone out of their way for me before so, I guess I just want to pay him back.”

“And you want to do that by learning how to use your magic better?”

Arlin nodded. “I’m not good at a lot, but I’ve got this power at least. I want to put it to good use.”

“Alright, if that’s the case then I’ll teach you. I think it’s time I take a pupil under my wing.”

Arlin put his hands together. “Thank you so much, Erica!”

“No problem. Oh, we’re here.”

The two of them came upon a pair of trees bearing fruit. They were small, shorter than the other trees in the forest. Unless you were taking a walk through the forest, you wouldn’t be able to spot them. Their leaves were a deep purple color and around them bloomed white flowers. A sweet scent carried through the air; the plums were ready to be picked. Arlin had just learned he likes sweet flavors so he was excited to try these.

Erica handed Arlin the bag and began to pick some plums from the trees, placing the fully ripe fruit in the bag. After picking enough for the three of them to eat, she tied the bag shut and took it back from Arlin.

“So.” she started. “How much do you know about magic?”

“Not as much as I should.” Arlin admitted.

“Well tell me what you do know.”

“My caretakers described it as ‘the ability to impose your will on the world’ but that doesn’t sound right now. Leon told me it’s a force and what makes up our bodies. Honestly I’m still unsure on what magic even is.”

“Leon was on the right track. Magic is indeed a force, but there’s a bit more to it than that.”

She waved her hand and the fog of the forest parted slightly, revealing more of the landscape around them. Arlin’s senses picked up more of this place– the sound of the river flowing over smooth stones, the wind carrying the pollen and scent of the flowers, the worms carving through the dirt below. He was always aware of the world around him, of all of the life that was there.

“You want to know what magic is? You’re looking at it.” she gestured to the area around them.

“I don’t understand.” Arlin said.

“Magic is everywhere, it’s all around us. It’s under our feet, it’s in the air, it’s in everything. Magic is not the earth but it is with the earth.”

She held her hand out, snapping her fingers before a flame sparked in her hand.

“When we use magic we’re calling it to shape the world, to change and create something new. When your caretakers said that you could use it to impose your will, this is what they meant, just with a bit of aggression on their part.”

“So magic is a force that you can call on to affect the world?”

“Exactly.” she confirmed.

“Then how do you do that?”

“It depends on person to person. Since you’re a vampire you can use shadow magic, basically using magic to manipulate shadows and give them form. Most vampires I’ve seen call magic with dominance and force, they use their authority to bend magic to their will.”

“I really don’t want to do that…” he said, a bit of apprehension in his voice.

“And you don’t have to.”

“Really?”

“Really.” she nodded. “Like I said, the way people use magic differs from person to person, you don’t need to do it like them, you can do it like you.”

Arlin was relieved; all his life his caretakers had told him to demand shadows to bend to him but he just couldn’t do it. It was unlike him to force anything to his will, it was cruel to him.

“Besides, your magic’s a bit different than any shadow magic I’ve seen.”

“Wait, is it?”

“Most vampires I’ve seen have only been able to create inanimate objects, like weapons or tools. But you’re able to make living things out of your shadows; I haven’t seen anything like it before. It’s honestly pretty amazing.”

“I don’t think it’s all that great, I can’t make weapons or tools like other vampires.”

“Yeah but most vampires can’t make animals like you can, that’s something to be proud of.”

“I guess it is…” he said, trailing off. “So how can I call on magic? I know it’s unique to each person but what’s the process like?”

“Well when I use magic I’m usually in a bind; I ask the earth to lend me a hand and help out.”

“Do you have to ask out loud?”

“Not all the time, but when you want to cast something big, you usually do. It’s called an incantation; big magic like that needs a strong call for it to work.”

“Alright, I think I’m starting to get it.” Arlin said.

“Another thing to keep in mind is from where you’re calling your magic, cause for you it could come from two places.” Erica said. “It could come from the magic in your body or the magic around you.”

“What’s the difference?”

“If you’re drawing from the magic in you you’re drawing from your own reserves of magic, your own energy. If things go wrong you’ll be feeling the brunt of it, like when you fell unconscious yesterday. If you’re calling from magic around you then you won’t have this issue, but it’s much more difficult to get the magic around you to listen if you’re inexperienced.”

“I see.” he said, trying his best to retain all of this new information.

“The reason that you were having trouble before is cause you were trying to call from the magic around you while also trying to force out the magic in your body. That’s not to say you can’t do both; you could call some of the magic inside of you to amp up the magic you’ve already called. It’s an advantage you have as a vampire; since I’m a human I don’t have the option to call from internal magic.”

“Wait, human? I thought you were a–”

“Nevermind that, let’s stay on topic.”

Arlin relented, but he made sure to save that question for a later time.

“Give it a try.” Erica said. “Try to call magic to you, in your own way.”

He nodded, taking a breath to steady himself. Arlin had no idea what he was going to do; whenever he used shadow magic it usually exhausted him. But that wasn’t always the case, sometimes he did it without even thinking. They would just appear, when he felt lonely or needed help, the shadows would shift and move to assist him. It was different from what Erica described, it felt like they answered a call that he never made.

At that moment, he had an idea. It wasn’t fully formed, but he knew the less he thought about it the better it would turn out. He put his hand out, pointed right at the ground in front of him. First he looked to the shadows inside him, but he couldn’t see much. It was blinding, a viscous muck that he was unable to part. But then he turned to the shadows around him, the ones he knew well. The shadows cast by the trees as the light of the stars passed through their leaves, the shadows cast by the flowers as the wind caused them to wobble in place, and the shadows cast by him and Erica as they were wrapped up in the lesson.

These shadows had always been with Arlin, following him around the mountaintop and even into the tiny room he used to sleep in. No matter what, they were always there, laying there cast by the light of the world.

So this time he called, but this time not with words. He was taught another way to speak, a language shared with him by the animals of the mountain. Deep in his body he called out, a howl rippling out of him and into the space around him. He closed his eyes, trying his best to focus on the call, not wanting to lose it. Slowly, the shadows around him began to move, flowing to the spot Arlin pointed to with his hand. They went from flat on the ground to gaining depth, evolving in complexity the longer Arlin focused on the call.

Erica watched, giving Arlin the space to focus and figure things out on his own. She told him not to strain and he was trying not to, although the effort not to strain took some slight straining. In a flash, the shadows stopped, their movement ceasing entirely. Arlin didn’t want to open his eyes, he didn’t want to see that he had failed in creating anything once again. If he didn’t open his eyes, his fears wouldn’t be real.

But he felt something– a sensation on his palm, a familiar one. He felt a wet nose press up against his hand, and soon after that something was licking him. Arlin slowly opened up his eyes, still scared that he might just be imagining all of this. But he was not faced with an illusion, but something real and tangible. It was a wolf, a wolf completely made out of shadow.

“Ah!” Arlin gasped, in shock that this was actually happening.

The wolf brushed up against Arlin’s hand, clearly wanting to be pet. Arlin laughed and of course gave the wolf all the pets and scritiches it could ever want. It was just like a real wolf, one made of wispy shadows but a wolf nonetheless.

“I did it.” Arlin said in disbelief. “I actually did it.”

“See? I knew you could do it.” Erica chimed in.

“Thank you so much Erica, I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“It’s no big deal; besides, we’re not done with the lessons just yet. You still need to practice more to use your magic properly; up for the challenge?”

Arlin promptly nodded. “I am! Please keep teaching me!”

Erica smiled and did just that. The two of them trained for a bit longer, Arlin getting used to using his magic faster and more naturally. He managed to conjure a few other animals, a few birds, some snakes, and a couple of rabbits. A wolf seemed to be the biggest thing he could create at the moment. In excitement for this new progress he tried to create a bear but it ended up disbursing before it took any shape. At the failure, Arlin was a bit disappointed.

“Don’t worry.” Erica reassured. “The bigger effect you want to make with your magic, the more difficult it becomes. You’ll figure it out eventually.”

With that reassurance, they continued the lesson. After a few minutes, Arlin was getting a bit tired. Thankfully he wasn’t on the verge of collapse for a change, instead just being a little winded after using so much magic.

“How about we stop for now? We don’t want you to get too worn out, we’ve got a big journey ahead of us.”

“Yeah, I’d rather not pass out again.” he said, blankly.

Erica threw the bag of plums over her back and the two of them started to head back over to camp. Once again they walked back through the fog as it parted for them, eventually coming back to see Leon. He hadn’t moved at all since they had left, he was just staring at the path they took to go into the forest. His gaze was focused on it, but when he saw the two of them, his look softened.

“Sorry to keep you waiting big guy, Arlin wanted me to teach him something.” Erica said.

“And what did he ask for you to teach him?”

“Here, I’ll show you.” Arlin said.

He put his hands together and he called to the shadows. A whistle went through his mind as a small crow formed in his hands.

“Ta-da! Magic!” he said smiling.

Leon looked surprised but he returned the smile. “That is wonderful, Arlin.”

Arlin’s smile turned somber as his tone shifted. “I wanted to say sorry again Leon; it feels like I keep messing up and causing trouble for us. So I wanted to learn how to control my magic. I'm not that good at it yet but if I keep trying then maybe I can use it to help out.”

“Young one, I have said it once and I will say it again; it is not a sin for you to make mistakes. You are learning from them, which is what you should be doing and I am proud of that.”

“I am trying, I just don’t want to make another mistake. I don’t want to be a burden.”

“You are not a burden, Arlin. A burden is something that is unwanted, and that is not what you are. It is my job to care for you and I do it gladly, please do not think of yourself as a burden.”

“I’m sorry, I just want to carry my own weight around here. I just–” he trailed off for a moment. “I don’t want you to keep getting hurt.”

“You do much for us, do not discount yourself. If you were not there we would not have made it out of the city.” Leon explained. “But, perhaps I have been rash with how I put myself in danger. I will do my best to avoid taking unnecessary damage from now on. Would that put you at ease?”

Arlin nodded. “Yeah, it would.”

“Then consider it done.”

“Jeez. When he tells you to take care of yourself you listen but, when I say it you get pouty.” Erica yapped, her voice lined with annoyance.

“I did listen.” Leon corrected. “I have not moved from this spot since you left.”

She sighed. “Not the point, but forget it; how bout we eat?”

She held out the bag to Arlin and Leon who each took a plum for themselves. Arlin opened his mouth very wide before sinking first his fangs and then the rest of his teeth into the plum as he took a big bite. The flavor was a good bit different from the fig; it was sweet but there was another element to it that he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

“Is it to your liking?” Leon asked.

“It is!” Arlin replied, mouth full of plum. “It’s not as sweet as the fig but there’s something else to it, it tastes, sharp?”

“I think you mean tart.” Erica chimed in.

“Yes that! I like it.” he took another bite out of the fruit.

They ate until they felt full, then Arlin ate a bit more and was finished. At this point the stars had dimmed greatly, the sign that they were well into Second Night. Usually this was the time Arlin would be sleeping, but he was still full of energy. The plums and magic training had tried him out a bit but he had just woken up an hour ago, it didn’t feel right to sleep now.

“I do not believe we’ll be traveling this night, correct?” Leon asked Erica.

“Nope, you still need to rest more so your wounds can heal. Besides, I think it’s a good idea to lay low; the Coven Guard might still be out looking for us.”

“So what are you going to do?” Arlin asked.

“For now, stay put and rest; like I said this grove is safe so we won’t run into any trouble.”

“Aw man, but I just woke up.”

“We have a long journey ahead of us young one, you should get as much rest as you can.” Leon advised.

“Yeah you’re probably right.”

“You don’t need to fully sleep but you should take it easy, so no pushing it with magic alright?”

“Okay okay, I won’t.”

“What do we have in store for us on this journey?” Leon asked.

“We’ll be heading west, the Silent Sanctuary is right near the border of the Kingdom of Man.”

“That close? Are you not afraid of Latro or Holy Knights finding the place?”

“We’ve taken precautions so that they don’t find us; my teacher set up a few barriers and spells that keep humans out. Unless they’re given a pass like me of course.”

The question that Arlin wanted to ask her again came to his mind, he looked to Leon to see if he had any reaction to it. But when he looked Leon was stoic as ever, it seemed that the knowledge wasn’t surprising to him. Arlin felt like he was missing something.

“Besides.” Erica started. “Latro and Holy Knights aren’t likely to search near their lands for monsters, they wouldn’t expect us to be there. We’re basically hiding right under their noses, it’s the last place they are likely to look.”

“I understand the logic but it still feels like a risk, but if you have been successful for this long, perhaps there is something I am missing.”

“Trust me, it works. But regardless, because it’s so close to the Kingdom of Man that means the sun will be a factor. Which means we’ll have to be careful.” she said, glancing over to Arlin.

“Can I ask a question?” he said.

“Sure you can.”

“What’s the sun like? All my caretakers said was that a vampire dies if they are caught in direct sunlight.”

Erica thought for a moment. “Hm, how do I describe it. Well of course it’s very bright, looking at it for too long can make your eyes hurt. I’d say it’s brighter than even the brightest stars in the sky.”

“That sounds, painful. Even aside from the whole, dying part.”

“Well it’s not all bad, it’s very warm. It’s actually very nice to stand in and take it all in.”

There was a feeling in Arlin’s chest that was new to him, it was like a haze that trickled across him. It was jealousy, jealousy at the fact that Erica could experience this and he couldn’t. He didn’t like the feeling, he didn’t like how it almost made him mad at Erica.

“I’ll take your word for it.” Arlin said. “I’m sure it’s not all bad.”

“Regardless, we'll be avoiding it, we’ll be traveling during Second Night. Well, just night for them I guess.”

“Do humans not have First and Second Night?”

“Nope, they just have one night. Our First Night for them is what they call day; it’s the time when the sun is out.”

“So they go to sleep when the sun goes down?”

“Yes, they do.”

“That makes sense, I wouldn’t be able to sleep with all that light either.”

“Speaking of rest.” Leon interjected. “I believe it is time we all got some rest.”

“Good idea.” Erica said. “I think I’m gonna take a really long nap; I’ll see you two in the morning. I mean, First Night.”

She quickly took out a bedroll and got inside, just about immediately falling asleep.

“Will you be getting some rest, Arlin?” Leon asked.

“In a bit, I just want to stay up a little longer.”

“I understand, but do make sure you get some rest.”

“I will.”

“Good, I will be going to sleep. Good night, young one.”

“Good night, Leon.”

He as well took out his bedroll and got to sleep, lightly snoring as he got some well-deserved rest. Arlin meanwhile snuggled closer to the fire, the flames flickering and dancing across the wood below them. He thought about the sun, a light brighter than any star. This campfire in comparison was like an ember compared to the bonfire that the sun must be.

Because of what Arlin was, he wouldn’t be able to see it. If he saw it, he would be dead. That fact didn’t sit well with him; he didn’t like that he wasn’t able to do something through no fault of his own, just because of how he was born. Was that fair? To be denied something that he could maybe have loved?

He sat with his thoughts, nothing but the sounds of snores and crackling fire to accompany him. He inched up to the fire, putting his hands out to feel the heat on his skin. He focused on it, warmth, the feeling that the sun gave. Arlin thought that he would like to be warm.

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