The White Wizard

Chapter 7

Devic staggered backward in fear.

“What happened to you?” he asked with widened eyes.

Arthur continued the act. He moved sluggishly while forcing his breathing to become uneven.

“I'm a little unwell. I just need some rest,” he said weakly.

“A little unwell? Are you sure you only need rest?” a terrified Devic asked while staring at Arthur with horrified eyes.

“Yes. If I rest today, I should be strong enough to return to work tomorrow,” Arthur replied.

Devic recoiled slightly.

“Today of all days, you decide to be unwell. You better still be unwell before I return or I will simply kill you. Nobody will question me for it. And if you are too sick to work but fail to arrange this scattered home before I return, I will kill you myself.”

He pointed a finger at Arthur before angrily storming out.

Arthur released a sigh of relief after the old man left.

Sometimes, he wondered if deceiving Devic would eventually cost him dearly. Tricks could make Devic lose it.

The man was old, and heart attacks remained one of those strange things that could suddenly claim a person's life.

Arthur was not ready to kill anyone.

Although, if he ever met the people who murdered his father, that might be a different matter entirely.

Arthur hurried outside and retrieved the buried book from the backyard.

The farm was now bustling with birds, cows, horses, and camels. A shirtless man sat nearby, sipping from a wooden cup while staring across the vast stretch of land.

Arthur finally took in the full size of the farm.

He never expected the place where he had stolen the egg the previous day to be this large and spacious.

Oddly enough, there seemed to be no proper guardian watching the area.

Even if there had been one, Arthur was fairly certain he would still have gotten that egg.

Returning inside, Arthur opened the book and began studying.

The spells appeared familiar.

Almost immediately, he remembered many of the incantations he had learned from Gad. Every one of them seemed powerful in its own way.

It reminded Arthur that magic was a strange language requiring study, and its wonders only revealed themselves when properly spoken.

Several pages in, Arthur discovered a darker brown sheet folded carefully between the pages.

Curious, he unfolded it.

The paper was covered with writing.

As he studied it carefully, Arthur realized it was a letter.

A letter written specifically to him. A letter from his deceased father. The handwriting was neat and elegant.

“Dear Son,

If you find this message, it means I am no longer among the living. I preserved this letter so it would reach you after my transfer to the other realm.

Arthur, you must understand that you carry the forbidden bloodline of the Wizards.

You know yourself as Arthur White, but you do not yet know what the White generation truly represents.

Many years ago, before Erysus was divided into four nations, supernatural beings lived alongside humans.

There was peace.

Erysus was a vast kingdom that overcame countless enemies whenever powerful invaders emerged.

With the aid of magic and sorcery, Erysus kept all its foes at bay.

The Wizards served as priests who communicated with the supernatural beings, the same beings who helped Erysus achieve victory.

But over time, the population of the serpentine beings began to decline drastically. Their deaths became more frequent.

Rumors spread throughout the kingdom, and uncertainty followed.

If the creatures disappeared completely, Erysus would lose its greatest advantage.

Artarxes, who ruled Erysus at that time, began consulting the Wizards.

Unfortunately, none of them could discover the cause behind the deaths of the creatures.

Things became worse when Sariel, the most powerful of the serpentine beings, threatened to destroy Erysus.

Artarxes pleaded with her to spare the people while he continued searching for the source of the plague affecting her kind.

But Sariel refused.

Instead, she demanded that every Wizard drink from the Brink of Sia, a sacred spring located near what is now the Kingdom of Sysia.

Sariel intended to use the oath to determine whether the Wizards were responsible for the deaths of her kind.

Every Wizard drank from the Brink.

However, some of the guilty Wizards secretly performed a ritual that prevented the oath from settling within them.

They later expelled it from their bodies.

Yet the deaths of the supernatural creatures continued.

One by one they perished until Sariel became the sole survivor.

When Sariel realized that the continuation of her race was uncertain, she attempted to flee and enter hibernation somewhere safe.

At that same time, a message reached King Artarxes.

Some Wizards had attacked Sariel upon a great mountain in the northern regions.

Before Artarxes could ride there himself, Erysus was invaded from multiple directions. That single day changed everything.

Erysus was shattered into four nations: Sysia, Atteus, Egasus, and Queech.

One kingdom became four. One king became four kings. And peace vanished.

According to historical accounts, the people responsible for the division were the traitors themselves.

Several powerful Wizards had been gathering political influence from the shadows for years.

Today, many rulers secretly descend from those same traitors.

Ironically, they hunt and execute any Wizard they find while preserving power for themselves.

Only a small number of faithful Wizards escaped.

Most of the Wizards who drank Sariel's oath were slaughtered.

Among the survivors were the descendants of White, the bloodline of a prominent Wizard who played a vital role in Erysus' liberation.

From that point onward, Wizards became forbidden.

Sariel was never seen again, but there remains strong reason to believe she still lives.

The surviving Wizards fled into the endless forests and isolated themselves from humanity and from the traitors.

The four kingdoms outlawed all Wizardry and magic.

Meanwhile, the very traitors responsible for the catastrophe continued using dark magic for their own benefit.

Rumors claim those traitors, who are now the kings, attacked Sariel to obtain her blood and strengthen themselves.

The faithful Wizards, the survivors created an occult organization.

Its purpose was transparency, loyalty, and mutual protection.

They named it Oore. I was born into this organization.

As I grew older, I began sensing that another betrayal was approaching.

Some members of Oore had already begun communicating with the traitors.

They exchanged messages and information that threatened to expose everyone within the organization.

My father was poisoned alongside many other members of Oore.

I narrowly escaped and hid among ordinary people within Atteus.

I concealed my identity and lived as a common man.

Then fate dealt me a terrible surprise. I became involved with Corrigan Vron's daughter without knowing who she truly was.

Mondanna, your mother, was a princess of Atteus.

By the time I learned the truth, she was already carrying you.

When I finally presented myself before Corrigan Vron, I was humiliated for daring to touch a royal daughter.

He declared that he would kill me and destroy the child growing within Mondanna.

As I sat chained within his prison, I began to realize that Corrigan viewed me as something more dangerous than an ordinary man.

Every morning he passed my cell smiling.

Eventually, through careful study of spells despite my restraints, I learned the truth.

Corrigan intended to sell me, and the child within Mondanna, to the Sorcery Agents.

Those Agents are descendants of the same treacherous Wizards from long ago.

They continue searching for the blood connected to Sariel. They seek it for dark purposes.

Fortunately, I escaped alongside Mondanna.

We hid within the mountainous forests surrounding Atteus. Still in Atteus where were wanted.

There I cast a special spell known as the Forgetfulness Summon.

The spell caused others to forget me. Even if stronger magic was used to locate me, it would fail.

As long as I remained within Atteus, they would believe I was somewhere far beyond their reach. The spell worked exactly as intended.

After Mondanna gave birth to you, she died on that very day.

I was never truly happy again. Her death wounded me deeply. That is why I raised you the way I did.

I wanted you to learn how not to depend on emotions.

Because this world can wound a person more deeply than any blade.

I know, little Arthur.

Many of these words may not seem important now. I might be wrong with my narration.

There are truths you will discover on your own journey.

But danger lies ahead.

And the most important thing you must know is this.

You, Arthur White, carry the ancient blood capable of awakening Sariel's blood.

You must find Sariel without revealing your identity. You must free Sariel wherever she is imprisoned.

And you must protect the world from the danger that approaches.

Your Father,

Gad White."