Of Magic And Men
Chapter Ten

Peter awoke to the sound of a crackling fire, he could tell by the chill in the air it was almost sundown, his ankle was throbbing but he did feel better for his rest. He slowly tried to sit up but quickly felt his dizziness return. Laying back down he looked around for Alaya, he saw her sitting with her back to him in front of the fire . He could tell by the smell that she was busy cooking the meat. It smelled incredible, his stomach rumbled in response to the smell of sizzling meat, he was starving, it made sense that he needed to replace the energy he had lost after the dog fiasco. “The meat will be ready soon, just stay laying down for now, I’ll bring it over to you when it’s done.” Alaya said. “And don’t think you’re off the hook for not telling me about your ankle, an injury that bad has to be looked after properly, you promised to get my father back, what good would it be if you were to die before even getting to Elathor?” “I’m sorry.” “Don’t be sorry, just be careful.” Peter felt bad for making Alaya worry about him, that was never his intention, he wanted the opposite if fact. He knew Alaya had a lot on her mind and didn’t want to be a burden to her. “Alaya, can you tell me more about how the war started? What is causing the corruption?” Alaya sighed, Peter could tell she was not looking forward to telling this story. “Before I start, try to realize that my father already holds himself responsible and doesn’t need anymore guilt put on his shoulders.” Peter couldn’t understand what she meant but instead of asking for clarification, he just let her continue. “It started almost two hundred years ago when my father was born, along with a twin brother, my father had a knack for the magical, he picked it up so easily and mastered it very quickly, but his brother Morgan did not. By the time they were ten Merlin had already moved past using the verbal aspects of an incantation, Morgan was still struggling. Morgan quickly came to resent my father for his abilities, it didn’t help that their parents always favoured Merlin.” Alaya took a minute to bring a cooked piece of meat over to Peter before returning to the story. “One day, Morgan decided he had had enough of the constant belittling from his parents and decided to take things into his own hands. He went to a book store and bought every book he could find on dark magic. Unfortunately what he read gave him the idea to create a curse that would suck the magic out of others and give him the power. We suspect that there’s another aspect to the curse because the miasma isn’t spreading as fast as we anticipated. But I fear now that he has my father he will be able to finish the spell, becoming the most powerful wizard to have ever lived.” Peter sat with that information, not knowing how to respond he decided to just eat his meat in silence. He could understand now why Merlin felt so strongly about saving everyone, he felt responsible, most likely. Maybe if he had tried harder to be equals with Morgan, instead of isolating him, Peter wouldn’t be in this mess. However Peter also saw the flaw in Merlins guilt, Merlin had been a child, it wasn’t his fault that their parents ostracized Morgan, and favoured Merlin. It was a hard situation to judge. Finishing the food he had been given, he started to feel better. He wasn’t light headed anymore and his ankle wasn’t throbbing. He sat up to look at his ankle, which to his surprise was completely healed, he was so confused. Just a couple hours earlier he had been bleeding to death and now there was nothing there except for a couple of small scars where the bite marks had been. “Wha-” Peter tried to ask. “I told you, I could look after it properly for you, a little bit of magic goes a long way. Despite your human blood slowing me down at first I think I did a good job.” Alaya having turned around to face him, he could see her gentle smile. Peter wondered about if he would be able to learn healing magic. It seemed incredibly practical and would come in handy as the journal continued. “Thank you. It seems like I’m always either thanking you or apologizing to you.” Peter said offhandedly with a chuckle. Alaya smiled vaguely then turned back around to finish cooking her meat. Peter laid back down and took a moment to appreciate the scenery. It was getting dark, he could see the sun setting through all the trees, Pinks and oranges spread across the sky, knowing sundown would come soon he just wanted a second to relax, it seemed to be rushing all the time these last few days with no chance for taking everything in. He knew that when Alaya finished her food it would be back to rushing around, so he closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of the forest. The birds chirping, insects buzzing and the fire crackling. He wasn’t tired or sore anymore but content in the moment, Alaya retrieved her meat from the fire side and began to eat, this was nice Peter thought, enjoying the cool night air with the girl he liked. He didn’t want anything to disturb this moment but soon Alaya finished her food and stood up. It was nightfall meaning it was time to keep going. Peter stood as well and stretched his foot, it was a little sore and stiff but he figured it would probably be better by tomorrow. The pair packed their belongings and put out the fire, Peter was ready to move on but had questions about where they were headed, and who was Elathor? Also, where was Silicont, Peter had seen head nor tail of him since flying across the body of water. With any luck Silicont wasn’t there when the camp had been raided. If he was still alive could he tell us where Merlin was?

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