63 Faults
1512 Words
"Remember, only a drop of energy. A drop of water will do for now. Don't overdo it, use as little as you can."
"Right." Janus said as he breathed in and closed his eyes.
Just a drop of energy. No more no less.
He went back to the vastness. Imagine taking a pinch of salt, that's all you need in the beginning. The book had said. He now saw the lights take on a fluid movement, the Wellspring was said to adapt this behavior when trying to harness water. He took a small pinch, and the water in the glass rippled. A small pea-shaped drop levitated.
"That's it, now move it upwards. Envision the drop of energy being flown overhead by lines of arcane."
Janus did as he was told.
A drop of water flew upwards and hovered at eye level, right where Janus' eyes were. A wave of excitement raged inside of him.
This is it! This is magic! I'm doing it!
One of his greatest fantasies realized. He remembered when he first learned of Marcus' abilities, how his brother twirled, and weaved magic as a display of skill. The same way that a child would when brandish his new toy to his brothers. Memories of the Old prince came back to him, all that envy that he once felt was now replaced with triumph and a great sense of pride.
The drop of water quivered and exploded. Splashing him in the face.
After wiping his face, he was greeted by Haruna with a sly look on her face.
"You got distracted. Didn't you?"
"Sorry." He shrugged.
"No matter. You did better than any novice ever could. Which only solidifies my assessment of your affinity. There's no need to dilly-dally any longer. Try it with the whole glass of water. Move it to the tank now, carefully."
"Really? The book says to take it slow, drop by drop."
"The book says a lot of things, and it's tailored for young kids with a square meter of the wellspring. This is just a simple experiment, I don't think there's a need to go slow on this one. Just try it."
"Okay then."
Janus breathed deep and visualized.
Expand the drop of water to a glass. That should be easy enough.
His mind raced back to the Wellspring and he envisioned a cylindrical shape, carefully estimating its size. He enlarged the shape slowly and carefully based on how strongly the contents of the glass quivered.
"That's it. You're doing great. Slowly now." Haruna whispered.
Janus heard words of cheers and awe from the onlooking audience. He tried to clear it from his mind and went back to the Wellspring.
He felt a cacophony of colors swirling around just like last night. And in front of him was the water still in its glass. Once he was confident with the shape that he envisioned, he raised it slowly towards his head.
More. A voice reverberated inside him.
Take more, you can do more.
A vile stench flickered in his nose. Faint. Familiar.
"Janus, wait for a second..." Haruna called but her voice seemed to be fading away.
More, take more. Your power is larger. Yes. You can always take more. Don't be afraid. Look at her, she's weak and too young. Her Wellspring is merely a drop in a bucket compared to yours. Why does she have to teach you anything?
Janus lost sight of his glass of water. It hovered in the air like a stiff ball of fluid held by an invisible container
Go ahead, exhibit your power. Test your limits. Bathe in the glory.
No. Janus said back, but there was no sound.
He heard nothing now, none of Haruna's instructions. None of his audience standing a few meters back. Nothing of the wind. No sensation of the heat of the sun. All he could see was his Wellspring and the millions of lights speeding around in space.
He was lost.
Back in the real world, the earth rumbled. Haruna was almost screaming.
Indeed. A glass worth of water still hung in the air, but apparently Janus didn't stop there. The pond quivered and rocked, sounding like the crashing of waves on a rocky shore. Then it rose up. The whole pond levitated as easily as the contents of the glass had. What's left was now an empty and hollow crevasse that stretched to the earth. The water swirled around with all the bile and miasma left from the Necromancer's old lair. A vile stench permeated the air as a green-tinged mist scattered towards the land.
The Lady's voice rose to a panic, she was practically rocking the Prince's body back and forth, who was now in a catatonic state.
Something vile emerged from the depths of the pond. A flaring of red and green plasma of volatile energy. It bellowed and screamed as it was exposed to the open air.
Free at last! The traitors? The mutineers? Where art they? They will burn!
It moved towards the northeast. A ball of fire and anger. It burned everything along its path.
"Mughardhu! It's him! He's come back!" Teeko, the goblin alchemist screamed.
Janus had just unearthed the necromancer--or what's left of him-- from underneath the pond.
#
Janus rose out of his stupor a few moments later. He was lying on the ground, nausea and headache filled his senses. His perception of depth and distance now heavily disrupted by the previous encounter.
When light returned to his eyes, he was on the ground. Lady Haruna was looking down at her with tears welling in her eyes. Teeko was there as well, with a clearly troubled look. He could hear the sounds of people yelling, as well as horns and alarms that would alert the Mystic Flames.
Three long beats. He knew that alarm well, he had devised it himself. It meant that a catastrophe was imminent.
What happened? Why is our army being deployed?
"Janus! Are you all right? It's my fault. If only I knew. I should have known! Damn it all!" Haruna screamed.
"What happened?" Janus looked at his hand, he was holding the glass. Apparently he had picked it up and crushed it in his trance. It was bleeding profusely.
"Princey, it is him! Mudghardu manifested in another form. Now he's running after our tribe, seeking revenge!" the goblin said.
Mudghardu. It was the voice that called out to him. In his pride and his excitement, he had listened to it. Unleashed it with all its fury.
"He's somehow transformed himself into a fire elemental, perhaps to cheat death. He's burning everything in his path right now. He's not too big, but he's fast." Halbur said.
"Your Highness, Sir Arthan is on the job." Elgar, one of the guard officers who came running at the scene said. "He and the Knights are rallying there right now along with the Merrimen. The scouts are surrounding the area as well."
Haruna was sobbing right above him.
"Sorry Janus, I should have known. I could have snapped you out of it."
"No, it's all my fault. He caught me off guard. He somehow seeped deep into my Wellspring and influenced my thoughts. I didn't know it was possible."
"Some form of dark arts. I should have known. Damn it all, I should have known!"
Janus shook off the glass shards from his hands, some of them were clearly still lodged in his skin. It throbbed and ached, it reminded him of the time when he was almost murdered by assassins sent by his brothers. It reminded him of the Old Prince when he tried to kill himself.
He looked at the pond, the water had already been displaced completely. Haruna had finished the job for him. But there was a bigger problem now. There were scorch marks in the fields of grass, and everywhere that it passed a fire raged on, consuming the fields and trees in its surroundings. Smoke billowed across the landscape, a thick column of black that raged and curled up to the sky. It leads northeast, towards Yashiek's tribe. In there were hundreds of huts and goblins, just beside Kazzuk's territory.
People were yelling and screaming, and alarm horns blared in the distance. Janus tried his best to compose himself.
"Sire, you're bleeding! We need to take you to the infirmary now." Elgar said.
"That can wait." He looked to Haruna, then bandaged his hand with a piece of handkerchief. "Halbur says it's a flame elemental. Can we get rid of it by drowning it in water?"
Haruna wasn't listening. She was in a state of panic. She trembled as she clutched her staff. Janus remembered that she was also a princess, sheltered in palaces and prestigious schools. She may have had experience in destroying monsters before, but perhaps not in a chaotic situation like this.
Janus touched her hand.
"Haruna calm down. What do you think, can you drown that thing in water?"
Haruna blinked. Her face turned red.
"Yes, but we need to have a large water source. One douse would not be enough. It has to be a sustained exposure."
"You think you can do it?" Janus looked her in the eye, his right hand-stained in red.
"Yes." She said.
"Let's go on our way then. Elgar, lead your regiment to help in rallying civilians. I doubt this monster can be killed with cold steel and arrows. We're going directly to the scene."
- Writer
