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Fantasy Cruelty of Swine | Private

"Drop the pretense." As if the man in front of him cared about being rude. "I remember." How could he not? While magic, especially as a form of combat, had failed to ever truly capture Arthur's interest, a fact that was odd enough in itself given his position as prince of a kingdom as proficient in magic as Moonhaven, he still held a certain level of respect and appreciation for the use of magic in everyday life. Besides that, he was still the prince, it was only natural for him to at least know the highest ranking officials in the kingdom. Especially those that made up the council. "So even one of the members of the council was a traitor." Arthur's grip on both his weapons tightened, his tone cold and quiet as a tomb. "You've truly done a lot for Moonhaven," He heaved a deep sigh. "But none of that matters now. You've inflicted far more misery, you traitorous sack of shit!"

"Goddess?" The prince spoke the word with such venom that it made one wonder if the word itself had offended him. "Iulla's no goddess, she's the worst monster of them all. I'd sooner let my corpse be eaten by pigs than I'd ever give myself to your crazy demon mistress, you demon-obsessed lunatic!" He adjusted his sword as the man stepped forward, glancing back at Sybil before raising the hand holding the dagger in front of her protectively. Yes, he felt an instinctive aversion towards the woman, but at this moment, all he could think of was the visceral hatred he felt for the man in front of him. If Vail thought he would just roll over and let him do as he pleased he would make sure the man regretted that thought.

"You talk as if it's natural that Iulla would get to decide what happens to this land. I may not have a crown, I may not have a palace, but I have some pride. And I swear... as long as my hands are warm enough to hold this blade I will never allow Iulla to rule! You think that crazy bitch sees us as children? I doubt she thinks of us any more highly than you would about a bug you accidentally crush beneath your heel. Don't deceive yourself, as soon as she's done with you she'll get rid of you. Just because you've proven useful a few times doesn't mean you're not disposable. And if this..." He used the tip of his dagger to gesture to the surroundings roughly. "Is what the true light is like, the world would be better of staying in the dark forever."

"Her vessel... She has a name you piece of shit!" Perhaps that was an odd thing for the prince to get hung up over, after all, he didn't call her by her name himself. But the fact that this man thought he could decide on the purpose of another's life made his blood boil. One could argue that he himself had done the same just the day before but at the very least he'd given her a choice, a cruel, unfair choice, but a choice nonetheless. Either she helped him out of her own free will or she died. He would never go as far as to control her, no matter how dire the situation.

"Promised to you? And who decided that you sick son of a bitch? You and Iulla? You really are a rotten piece of shit. I've heard enough, my father rarely made mistakes but it seems it's up to me to correct one of his biggest ones. Hold your tongue or keep spewing the same bullshit as before, I don't care. I'll make sure you won't leave this forest alive." Sybil finally seemed to have regained her mind enough to respond, summoning a spike of earth under the man. Arthur gave her a quick nod as she stepped closer to him, returning to his attention to the man in front of him nearly immediately after.

"As if I would. I'm truly glad you've remained human, because of that I'll get to end your miserable existence with my own two hands!" The prince bit out, giving Sybil another sharp nod before launching himself at Vail. He dashed at the man at full speed, putting his right foot forward the moment the man came within reach of his weapon, shifting the weight of his entire body onto it as he swung his sword at the man horizontally. Before the sharp edge of the weapon even reached the man Arthur quickly pulled the sword back, having intended for the strike to be a feint, and shifted his weight onto his left foot instead as he swung his dagger at Vail from below.
 
Vail's twisted smile had turned to displeasure as the prince seemed to only hurl insults at the man, persisting to remain in his way as he shook his head in sadness, "Oh how painful it is to see that you've fallen so far from Iulla's grace. Fear not, I will make sure I discipline you-" Before he could very much finish his sentence, the prince had suddenly dashed at him, causing a cold smile to cross the man's face, not a normal reaction to have especially considering the prince had every intention of killing him. The first swipe Vail had automatically moved to dodge, an instinctual reaction and yet in doing so it was quite the mistake as Arthur swung the dagger right behind the initial swipe, cutting a clean cut across Vail's abdomen although it was shallow considering the man didn't seem to be moving as fast as he could be, instead from the glint in his eyes it almost seemed like the flare of pain was... enjoyable. Or rather, was that in of itself a trap?

Sybil's eyes widened in response, her hands reaching out just as Vail's blood, black in coloration had suddenly seeped from the injury only to solidify as sharp as a blade to lash out at the prince in response, though it seemed like the barrier had been rather sluggish in response due to Sybil having not been using her magic in quite a long amount of time, the hardened blood had managed to strike at the prince's shoulder though merely hitting his armor, it had left a clean slice through what would be hard metal. The woman took in a breath, trembling at the effort to keep the barrier up as Vail's eyes turned to the trembling mage, sweat beginning to spring across her skin as he chuckled, "Dearest blossom, you're taking his side? Why?" The mana suddenly springing to life before her eyes suddenly made her legs feel as if they would give out, horror twisting her expression as he had so quickly seemed to vanish only to reappear before her, before she could very much react, the man had grabbed hold of her and flung her into the side of the nearest tree, the breath being knocked from her lungs as she slumped to the forest floor.

Stunned, she was struggling to bring breath into her lungs as Vail approached, having lost interest in the prince so very quickly as the man had grabbed Sybil by her hair, wrenching her head up as he crouched down beside her, "...Hm. You're far weaker than before, it is such a shame. Perhaps are you hoping to die? I cannot allow that." His other hand grabbed her by her throat, a familiar spark of rage beginning to settle in his eyes as she choked, scratching in vain at his hand as he smiled with bliss at the pain etched upon her face, "Oh, how lovely you are my dearest blossom." His grip tightened further as he pressed her head against the dead trunk of the tree behind her, the pleasure coming to his eyes making her feel sick to her stomach as he laughed, "Does this bring back good memories? I'm sure it would." Sybil's eyes squeezed closed as she struggled to reach for the spark of mana within her body, perhaps wind magic would help?

However, as the spell was casted in desperation... it only did little to loosen his grip, only a pitiful breeze rustling the man's fine clothing, though this could merely be a result of Sybil's mind beginning to panic. Strangled sounds left her throat as her fingers lashed out at Vail's pleasured face, scratching at his skin as his grip seemed to tighten, her chest heaving as she was struggling to bring any breath back into her lungs, panic causing each breath to be swift as she was trying desperately to free herself, but considering she was far too weak to begin with, there was no true strength within her at this moment as Vail seemed all too content to be occupied in torturing the woman he now had pinned below him.
 
Arthur didn't even have time to take a step back as Vail conjured a blade made from the blood he had drawn through his surprise attack. The counterattack would have at the very least taken his arm clean off if Sybil hadn't protected him. He hastily took a step back when he got the chance, momentarily overcome by terror. The difference between himself and Vail was clear, the way he was now he wouldn't be able to beat the mage in battle even if he recklessly sacrificed one of his limbs to do so. He thought back to before the continent had devolved into chaos, to every crushing loss he had suffered sparring against his father. He'd foolishly thought that he'd caught up to, maybe even surpassed, his father these past eight years. Maybe he had, maybe mages of this caliber simply weren't something a magic-less warrior could take on, or maybe he had simply never actually seen his father go all out in battle.

He snapped out of his thoughts as Vail turned his attention to Sybil. "Eyes on me asshole!" He quickly spun the dagger around in his hand as he rushed at Vail again. "Have I fallen from Iulla's grace?" He didn't stop running, placing his entire body weight behind the dagger as he swung. "Or have I escaped her control?" Instead of colliding with its target the dagger sliced through thin air where the man had stood not even a second ago. Arthur hit the ground with a dull thud, carried by the momentum of his swing. He inwardly cursed, clearly the man didn't even see him as a threat, was this how every battle from now would go? Would there even be another battle? Would he die here? Arthur wasn't special, his high tolerance for pain and persistence being his only two notable qualities in battle beyond his swordsmanship. He wasn't a match for someone backed by an Old God, much less the Old Gods themselves. This battle had been decided before it even started, unless...

Arthur scrambled to his feet, dashing for the horse with all the strength he could muster. It was impossible for Vail not to notice but the fact he didn't see the prince as a threat worked in Arthur's favor for once, the mage probably assumed the prince was just trying to flee. Arthur arrived at the horse, quickly snatching something off the ground before changing course, dashing straight towards Vail. He launched an armored kick at the man's side as soon as he got in range, following it up with a horizontal strike of his sword. The desperate attacks didn't have much of an impact, not that that had been Arthur's intention, he had simply meant to create some distance between Sybil and the man. "You really are a twisted bastard!" The prince crouched down on one knee next to Sybil as he faced Vail. "Have you been doing this to her her entire life?" He just needed the man to be distracted a little longer. "Let me use your method of transportation." He whispered to the woman next to him without ever taking his eyes of Vail, covertly flashing her the cuffs in his hand.

"You went from a renowned mage to a demon's lapdog. Don't you feel even a shred of shame?" And with that biting question and the slightest nod to Sybil the prince dashed at Vail once again, readying both his weapon for another strike. Just before the prince got in range of the mage he lowered the weapons, throwing them to the side with a somewhat exaggerated movement, silently praying Sybil understood what he meant and both could and would do what he asked, having thrown his weapons aside that was all he could do, either she would understand or he would die right here.
 
Sybil's eyes were beginning to blur with tears, each gasp for breath becoming more so desperate as the edges of her vision was going dark, her nails not even leaving welts upon the oddly cold, hard skin she was trying to lash out against. This was pointless, she knew that. Although she still had her own will, her own agency, did Iulla send this madman after her to punish her? She wouldn't be surprised if she did, as the Old God always had been quite sadistic in the way she used her own pawns, and more importantly how obsessed he was over her, this wouldn't end anytime soon. Perhaps would she be humiliated further? Would she be dragged back to that place? She didn't want to go back. Vail's face was becoming faded, she couldn't even see his smile anymore, only feeling the tightening grip of his fingers, an inhuman strength behind his grip as his body weight was beginning to press down upon the woman... only for him to be sent tumbling away from her.

The woman gasped for air, coughs wracking her body as her thin fingers came to her neck, struggling to bring oxygen into her lungs as it felt like all of the strength had been drained from her body, tilting her head back up to see the prince boldly standing in front of her, yet again a barrier between herself and Vail who was now standing up once more, dead leaves clinging to his attire as his face was now beginning to slip into annoyance. "Prince Arthur, by all means I must ask that you stay out of this!" He pointed at Sybil, the agitation becoming more so obvious with each second as it seemed like being disrupted was beginning to get under the mage's skin, "Why shouldn't I? The rebellious streak that she insists on fostering is unbecoming, especially without Iulla's guidance! She was promised to me, and me alone!" His teeth gnashed together as his face was becoming red, veins springing forth upon his forehead, spitting with rage, "It is not your place to pass judgement on a family affair, especially concerning my betrothed!"

Sybil's eyes dropped to the ground as her stomach was curling with illness, though she did catch the glint of the cuffs, causing her eyes to widen ever so slightly. He couldn't possibly mean...? Her amber eyes narrowed then slightly nodding her head in response, shifting past him to Vail who was now breathing heavily, now no longer keeping his composure, "Shame? Shame?! What shame is there in serving the benevolent goddess, after she has blessed me and this world with her grace! I shall not allow you to continue to show such disrespect!" Sybil's stomach churned as the mana seemed to spike in the man, an overwhelming sight that nearly made her vomit on the spot as her eyes grew wide with horror, the inky darkness flowing off from him in waves making her sick to her stomach and causing a trembling in her legs, however she forced herself to struggle to focus, just as the prince had made a mad dash toward Vail. She needed to muster just enough mana to be able to teleport him at the right moment, perhaps try to temporarily pause Vail if possible... but if she did that.. no, she needed to, if only to keep Arthur alive. Vail was a small enough target, and despite her body beginning to struggle to keep up with the very few spells she had managed to conjure, relying on the dark arts would perhaps help her even if she would regret it later.

Vail's crazed eyes brightened as Arthur had tossed his weapons to the side, the blackened blood flowing from his wound and beginning to surge into a blade, yet just as he was releasing the mana the prince... disappeared? Shock flickered across his face as the blood surged forward, hitting a tree instead as he felt a heaviness suddenly settling upon his limbs as if he couldn't move, who was doing this? His eyes shifted to Sybil, the woman's expression becoming quite hatefully smug, the glint to her eyes disguising her terror as his jaw clenched, "You bitch!" He screeched, rage surging within him as he could feel the heavy pressure beginning to wane, blood beginning to drip down the woman's nose, her mana beginning to weaken as her body was finding it too difficult to keep the spell's hold for long. However, what Vail had been unaware of in his split second of rage was that Sybil had safely teleported Arthur behind the man, giving him the advantage in the fight, or at least to the best of her abilities.

Her insides were beginning to burn, an effect of the dark magic she was drawing on to bind the man in his place. Her breathing, already labored was beginning to be slight as Vail was twitching, trying to break through the hold and slowly was beginning to. Hurry. The desperate thought filtered in her mind as she winced, body trembling with the effort as she wasn't quite noticing the blood beginning to drip from her nose, even if the pain was beginning to become more and more obvious, her amber eyes shifting to look toward Arthur behind Vail, clearly weakening with every second as Vail was desperately trying to break free of the hold that the black magic she was struggling to keep upon him, though considering the man was very much healthy, Sybil's weak spell would only hold for a few seconds longer, and considering she had done so while using the teleportation spell, the backlash had not yet hit her.
 
The feeling of being teleported was unlike anything Arthur had ever experienced before. The sudden shift in scenery from staring Vail straight in the eye to kicking of the ground with Vail's back suddenly turned to him was bizarre, it was a rather fascinating feeling, though more than anything, it was a nauseating and disorienting feeling. Luckily for the prince he had a solid target to focus on which stopped him from hurling. He only barely managed to come to a halt before colliding with Vail by planting his boots firmly into the ground, not having expected his momentum to stay with him after being teleported.

Sybil had done it, Arthur took a fraction of a second to thank the stars that he hadn't ran straight into certain death at the hands of a blood-wielding madman before he sprung into action. Sybil had done what he had asked of her, going even further by holding Vail in place with magic, now it was his turn to do what he was supposed to. He stepped forward, effortlessly slipping his left arm around the mage's neck before firmly grabbing hold of the man's right arm and placing the cuff around his wrist, repeating the same exact thing for the man's left wrist. "I told you asshole, eyes on me." The prince didn't hesitate, planting an armored kick to the back of the mage's knee at the same time as he released the mage's neck, letting the man crumple to the ground.

With the cuffs in place, Arthur was sure he could take the man on in a fight easily. While Arthur didn't have any special abilities or crazy spells he had only ever missed days of training these past eight years when he was fighting an actual battle, both his strength and endurance were far above average even for a knight. Not only that, he doubted the mage had done much strength training, if any at all, he wouldn't be surprised if the man had never even lifted an actual sword before.

He placed his armored boot on top of Vail's back to keep him down on the ground before turning to Sybil, catching her eyes. "I really owe you one." That still felt very strange to say, and he didn't much like the thought of being indebted to the woman in any way. But... he could and would not deny it was true. While he had gotten out of the battle relatively unscathed thanks to Sybil conjuring a barrier to protect him, the same couldn't be said for her. Vail himself had done quite a number on the woman, choking her almost to the point of blacking out before Arthur had managed to intervene. Not only that, it seemed the spell she had casted just a moment ago to bind Vail in place and teleport him behind the mage had taken its toll on her as well, blood dripping down her nose. "Rest." The prince's tone was assertive but gentle. "I'll make sure this sack of shit doesn't go anywhere until you're back on your feet and able to give him a piece of your mind."

The mage shifted below the prince's foot, trying to push himself upright, earning him a scowl from the prince. "I wouldn't try to go anywhere, unless you want to experience what it feels like to take a dagger to the back of the knee." Arthur pushed the man back down with more force than necessary, causing the mage to slam back into the ground with a dull thud. "What did you say before again? You wouldn't allow me to continue showing such disrespect to the monster you worship? Isn't it you who has shown me nothing but disrespect? The capital might have been largely destroyed but the area is still under my protection. As long as even just a single building remains intact, I will keep fighting for Moonhaven as its prince and you... you're nothing more than a traitorous rat of a subject. I'd gladly end your miserable existence right here and now but there is someone who deserves to decide what happens to you even more than I." He backed up his words by placing more weight on his foot, glancing at Sybil.
 
Sybil couldn't suppress the strong feeling of relief that settled within her as Arthur had taken full advantage of the opportunity she had provided for him. Her head settled against the bark of the dead tree behind her then, allowing her hold on Vail to crumble as she watched the prince give Vail what he surely deserved. The former council man looked pathetic in the dirt, his eyes alit with rage as the prince pinned him down underneath his foot, causing the woman to almost genuinely smile... if she wasn't in so much pain. The agony surging within her body was enough to tell her she had pushed herself far too much, and yet as the prince had thanked her, the tone he used made her expression twist in discomfort.

"..You don't owe me anything." Her voice was plain as she looked away from him, gazing at the struggling mage underneath his foot as she shakily raised an arm and hastily tried to wipe away the blood dripping from her nose upon the thin, ragged sleeve of her thin clothing. That was right, this mere act of good was nothing to make up for all the chaos that Sybil had unwillingly done. Yes, she had saved the prince's life, but it was only out of her own benefit to keep him alive if only to fulfill her side of the bargain they had stuck with each other. Otherwise, she would've left him for dead through her own terror. And now, the very same man who had made her so very terrified was reduced to a magicless fool on the ground. It felt good, overwhelmingly so. If this would be her one reward upon this journey, she would all too happily accept it.

Grunting, Sybil awkwardly struggled to get to her feet, her legs trembling and shaking with each movement as she slowly stood, ignoring the prince's gentle word for her to rest. "We don't have the time for me to." Her voice tone was controlled now, no terror sinking into her voice as she approached the man struggling underneath Arthur's foot, disgust as plain as day within her amber eyes as Vail's eyes turned to her, though he spat out in response to the prince's insults, "You are nothing in compare to the goddess! Nothing! You will suffer for your insolence, even if I am to fall here-" His sentence was interrupted by Sybil slamming her own foot upon the man's face, pressing his face into the dirt as her heel dug into his cheek, a startled sound leaving his lips in response as Sybil spoke icily, rage sparking to life in her cold eyes, as he managed to wheeze out, "B-blossom? Y-you-"

The woman followed up with a firm kick to his side, driving the breath from his lungs, "...Shut it. Hearing your voice makes me sick. You're very lucky that I cannot draw upon too much mana right now, otherwise you would've already been dead." Rage settled in the woman's chest, memories surging within her as she stared in silence down at the man whose eyes were probing at her again with such glee... she hated it. The phantom feeling of his lingering touches and Iulla's oppressive grip forcing her to not react, to not respond. Memories of her father staring at her stone-faced within his study upon her twelfth nameday, saying that it was for the sake of their family's wealth in order to keep onto an empty title of nobility, and this foul man who had taken advantage of the fact that he had been pushed into the council, and praised so highly by her father that he would do no wrong to Sybil... hah, what a joke it all had been.

She couldn't even begin to properly express the pain and frustration within her chest, to be engaged to this man, a family member who already had fallen into Iulla's madness, nor could she scream or express her agony to anyone due to Iulla silencing her. She had no agency over her own life, she had been nothing but a prisoner within her own body. Lips pressing in a tight line as she shook her head, swallowing down the rage as she moved away. There was no point to scream and rant about how unfair her situation had been, Vail would feel no remorse. The woman didn't meet the prince's gaze, pain as clear as day within her amber eyes before she composed herself once more, "Go ahead and execute him. There's no need to keep him alive much longer," She glanced over her shoulder toward Vail, the maddened light in his eyes making her feel more so disgusted, "Return him to Iulla's embrace if that's what he wants, no need to bury him either, just leave his body for the monsters if you'd like."

Showing self-restraint in this situation, as much as she didn't want to was somewhat impressive. She wanted to kill the man herself and scream at him for what he'd done to her, but that wouldn't solve anything now would it? Plus, they didn't have the luxury of time on their side, this had already been enough of a detour, and she could still feel Ygdis's presence moving. All of her previous trauma would disappear anyway once she was dead, so freeing herself now of it seemed to be just another waste of time.
 
Arthur shook his head. "No, I do owe you, you saved my life here today." He responded, not paying any attention to the man squirming underneath his armored boot. "What happened in the past can't be forgotten but it doesn't change the choice you made today." She could have ran, faced with a man she clearly loathed with every fiber of her being, perhaps even as much as she loathed Iulla. She could have simply teleported herself away from the fight and left him to die at the hands of the demon-obsessed madman, but she hadn't. She had stayed even after the mage had thrown her against a tree and choked her almost to the point of blacking out, going along with his crazy plan for victory. Much as he still hated the thought of it, that at the very least deserved some of his respect.

He sighed, she was right, they didn't have time, but that worried him. After fighting a battle to near death with Vail it was easy to forget but they hadn't gotten a step closer to their original goal. Ygdis was still out there, and the Old God would most likely still be in perfect health, unlike the both of them. Arthur could still fight, thanks to Sybil's efforts he had only barely gotten injured at all, but the same couldn't be said for her. If they were to continue their pursuit without any rest he was afraid his companions body wouldn't be able to keep up, still, he didn't say anything as she walked up to Vail.

He silently watched as she let out a fraction of her rage on the man, keeping the man pressed to the ground without saying a word. "If that is what you want." He nodded, surprised she had decided to leave it at a few kicks and a stomp on his face. He briefly lifted his foot off of the mage's back, walking over to his dagger and picking it up from the ground. Even if Vail decided to try and make a run for it he wouldn't be a match for the prince if he was in perfect condition, let alone with the knee injury Arthur had inflicted on him holding him back. He returned to the man with his dagger in hand, placing his foot back where it had been, stopping Vail's desperate attempt at crawling away. "Tell me then, if your 'goddess' is so forgiving and benevolent, where is she now? Now that her most loyal follower if about to die? It's about time you face the facts, your 'goddess' is a cold-hearted cruel demon who never once cared for your miserable existence. You were just an expendable pawn to her." He raised the dagger, aiming right for the man's heart. "If you have any last words, save them for the afterlife. I have no interest in hearing the final ramblings of a madman."

Arthur didn't like killing, even after eight years of bloody war he still hated it as much as the first time. Even so, killing the man beneath his foot had been just, if Vail had been judged for his crimes in court he would have received the death sentence several times over. Still, he couldn't deny there had been personal frustration and hatred behind the stab that ultimately killed the mage. He heaved a deep sigh, pulling out the dagger and wiping it on the mage's robes before returning it to its sheath. Unshackling the man's wrists and pocketing the cuffs, they might prove useful again someday.

He walked back over to Sybil and the horse after without sparing the body a second glance, picking up his sword on the way. "I know you want to go after Ygdis right away and believe me, I want him dead just as much as you probably do. But are you sure your body can handle it? You look like you're about ready to pass out and the last thing we need is you passing out during our next fight after we barely managed to come out with our lives in this one." He wanted to go after Ygdis. If possible, he would have liked to run the Old God through himself. But... Considering everything that had just happened, was that really what they should be doing right now? "Well, we should get out of here first." He effortlessly swung himself back into the saddle before extending his hand to her, intending to pull her up in front of him this time around.
 
Sybil's head turned slightly once more to the prince, seeing as he was readying his dagger to slaughter Vail, her eyes dropped back down the the madman as he bared his teeth in a vicious, triumphant grin at her. "My soul... will be her nourishment." The taunt held confidence, a pride in the fact that he would be nothing but fodder for Iulla, Sybil already knew that quite well. He loved his "benevolent" goddess far more than anything else in his life, so this was perhaps in his own twisted mind a pleasure greater than anything else. Nothing was truly a punishment to him; and the all too excited look in his eyes just made Sybil that much more sick to her stomach... but she could use this too.

Her lips pressed in a tight, disgusted line, suppressing the wave of nausea within her stomach as the sound of a blade meeting flesh would follow and the light began to fade from the hateful face of Vail. His blood would follow soon, begin to soak the earth and with it she could feel immediately a shift in the air, a chill flowing down her spine. It was a mere second that passed, but she knew quite well that Iulla had took the man's essence due to the pounding pressure in her own head. She sucked in a sharp breath, the frigid air feeling scathing within her throat as the nausea increased, a hand coming to clasp over her lips to suppress the feeling.

Her body was suffering, the thrum of mana within her that had been suppressed was nauseating, sensations that had been dulled had returned in full force, and unfortunately this left her far more sensitive to the Old Gods and their whispers, but more so Iulla's than anyone else. Shakily, she dropped her hand from her lips, expression twisting with disgust at the bit of blood that had managed to slip and fall upon her palm, a salty tang settling upon her tongue. It couldn't be helped though, she had used black magic for a fraction of a second to hold Vail in place, it came with its repercussions, she just needed to soldier through.

The prince's voice however had finally made her attention be captured, eyebrows furrowing in confusion for a mere second.. only for her to snort as she shook her head at him, "We don't have the luxury of time. Unfortunately, I am quite unhealthy and with how little mana remains," She gestured to their surroundings with her blood stained hand, the dead or dying trees and earth evident of the fact, "I have to rely on my own store of mana... well, I'm sure I don't have to elaborate further." The woman glanced down at her bloodied hand, wiping it away upon the tattered tunic draped over her, though eyeing the prince's outheld hand and hesitantly taken hold of it, using some of her remaining strength to settle upon the saddle in front of him, although she was relying more on his strength than anything else.

"..So we must hurry, before the damage to this land becomes irreparable." She only spoke after she had caught her breath, "Don't spare me your concern, I did say I will help you. As I said before you don't need to act kind to me." Silence settled over her then, her body no longer quivering with fear at least for being on top of the horse, though her thin body now barely had the strength to stay upright on her own, her back leaning against the prince's chest, "...Thank you though." Her gratitude was rarely spoken, though it was only due to his actions regarding Vail, even his anger filled retorts in response to Vail's taunts was enough to make her feel a bit of gratitude in regards to him.

"For earlier," Sybil's eyes shifted back to Vail's motionless body, "...Even if you are quite the hypocrite." She added the small quip, unable to help herself. Besides, it at least was a sign of her being at least strong enough to muster little jabs like that. However, the pale pallor to her face seemed far more ghastly than before, the skin around her neck beginning to show the first signs of a bruise, dark purple blossoming to life, remnants in the shape of Vail's fingers around her neck.
 
"Right," Arthur nodded as he pulled her into the saddle in front of him, it hadn't escaped his notice that she had wiped blood from her hand just moments before accepting his outstretched hand. Obviously, quite unhealthy was quite the understatement by Sybil, the woman was much worse off than she let on, in fact, Arthur was both thoroughly surprised and impressed that she was even able to stay conscious. "If you say so." The words came out as a mumble lacking any sort of confidence but he didn't voice his concern any further. He'd asked her plenty of times now, and though he wasn't convinced by her answer in the slightest he knew that she would simply give another dismissive answer should he ask again. Besides, he wasn't quite sure on the details of absorbing mana for a mage but even he could tell the environment was depleted, resting might help her physical wounds a bit but he had no clue if it would help her internally at all.

He nodded as she talked about the damage to the land, to his land. It was still both his goal and dream to one day restore Moonhaven to the beautiful place it had once been. And while they had yet to even fight a single Old God, not to mention defeat one, to bring them even a step closer to that dream, the fight with Vail had given him a little bit of hope that maybe, just maybe, he could make that dream come true one day. Although, the amount of effort it had taken and the state the both of them were in after fighting just a human mage made him equally worried about what the future held.

"Yes, yes." He rolled his eyes as she told him she didn't need him to show concern or act kind to her for the tenth time, not that she would be able to see that he did so from where she was seated but it would be hard for her not to notice the slight irritation in his voice. He raised an eyebrow at her expression of gratitude, though she would once again not be able to see it. Still, he didn't think he deserved her gratitude, he'd helped her kill Vail, that much was true, and yes, he had both verbally and physically defended her against the man. But all of that was done out of selfish hate for the man much more than a desire to protect Sybil. Arthur hated Vail and everything the man had said with every fiber of his being, perhaps not quite as much as Sybil hated the mage but he doubted it was much less.

"As are you," He retorted, the ghost of a smile playing around his lips. "Telling me to stop treating you kindly and to stop showing concern right before thanking me." He was glad she had the energy to muster the small comment, though he could tell from the way she slumped against him and the barely visible bruise on her neck that she was pretending more than anything. Now would have been a good time to wrap an arm around her to keep her from falling off, but, even after going through battle with her the prince found himself unable to do so, his body still rejecting the thought immediately. Besides, it wasn't as if her reaction had been positive last time he attempted, he would intervene if it seemed she was about to actually fall off but would let her simply lean against him to avoid falling off the horse otherwise.

"Let's get going then." A quick and forceful push with his heel was enough to get the horse moving again. Arthur tightened his grip on the reigns, steering the animal past Vail's lifeless body back onto the right path, taking a last look at the mage's corpse as he did.
 
Sybil detected the prince's irritation, the familiar note ringing much more familiarly to her ears than that of before. Her eyelids felt heavy, thin frame suppressing a shiver from going through her at the suddenly flow of cold that had skimmed along her body, granted it could be blamed on the winter chill and her less than adequate cloak, it was a mere ominous sign of her body beginning to protest and reject her previous use of black magic. Her thin fingers had dared to wrap the cloak tighter around herself then, attempting to hide the incessant shivers beginning to wrack her body as the prince had responded in turn to her rather barbed words earlier, prompting her to feel tempted to look at his face, but deciding not to.

"I don't think that was hypocritical of me. It's just proper manners, I'm not a brute you know?" Sybil huffed weakly, her body fully resting against the icy armored body behind her. Ah, how her head was beginning to pound now, the woman barely even reacted to the sudden movement of the horse beneath them; a taunting whisper sinking into the back of her mind, incomprehensible and alien and all too clear. The very audible whisper to her had prompted the woman to shift slightly, her head turning a bit too quick in the direction in which it came, from Vail's corpse. Though, there was nothing there. No stirring of the wind, no unknown stranger and certainly no magic to be detected.

Grunting, Sybil had leaned back against the prince, expression pinching as the whispers were growing louder. Although it was grand to feel mana once more flowing through her body, what she didn't like was the intensified sensitivity she had to the Old Gods. Even if Ygdis's voice was rumbling nearby due to him being in closer proximity, it didn't mean that she couldn't hear the other five as clear as day. Her cracked lips parted as she sucked in a breath, the icy air mingling with the taste of iron on her tongue, as she spoke, "...Do you think you can put the cuffs back on when we stop?" The request was bizarre. After Sybil being so insistent on freeing herself from the cuffs that she complained nonstop about, now she was requesting for the very same items to be put back on her.

Even Sybil realized how utterly insane the request was, her driving motive was to at least deaden the maddening cacophony in her own head. Even if feeling unnerved due to being cut off from mana for awhile bothered her, what bothered her more was not having peace within her own mind. She hesitated for a second, fixated on the path ahead, the lurching of the horse beneath her causing her stomach to clench and twist, "...I can barely hear my own self think right now." Having her at least be clear of mind would be for the best, or at least until they reach their destination.

A surge of nausea settled in her stomach, her chest shuddering with the effort of taking In a breath as the iron taste intensified, fresh crimson beginning to stain her tongue and drip past her lips. Her insides burned, a familiar feeling as she struggled to keep the surge of blood down, a hand flew to clasp over her mouth, crimson flow beginning to seep through her fingers as she had tried her best to suppress the urge to heave. From behind her however, one could only see the frail woman's posture slackening, the rocking of the horse doing little to provide her much stability as more blood oozed through her fingertips, unrelenting now and dripping upon the thin ragged material of her clothes.
 
"Sure, sure," He didn't really focus on her words, his attention mostly taken up by how weak and frail her voice had been as she spoke them. "Just shut up and rest for now." He eventually added, perhaps that had come out a bit too roughly, the prince did still feel slightly on edge from the fight. Her sudden movement surprised him but he soon regained his composure, raising his arm to block her view. "Nothing good will come from looking back at that." He gruffly remarked. She probably had a reason for looking back, he doubted she had done so because she wanted to, but still, he truly did believe in his own words.

He raised a single eyebrow at her request, holding back a similarly surprised comment until she finished speaking. "Alright, if that's what you want." He hadn't realized the cuffs prevented, or at the very least dampened the amount of voices she heard constantly. Especially with how often she complained about the cuffs, well, he shrugged lightly, if she wanted him to put them back on he would. It might make them slightly less prepared for any further ambush but he was fairly confident he could get the cuffs off her wrists at a reasonable enough pace, still, in a battle those few seconds could make the difference.

He guided the horse in silence for a little while, not saying anything as he studied the terrain in front of them. After a while he looked down at the woman in front of him, noticing her slackened posture. "You alright?" She didn't answer, still, he didn't want to shake her, what if she was simply zoning out to conserve her energy? "Hey, you alright?" He asked again, a little louder this time. She still didn't answer, not even moving or communicating in any other way. He hesitated a moment before digging his heels into the side of the horse, commanding the animal to stop.

"Hey, get off." He slightly shook her shoulder, still no response. He frowned, swinging his foot over the back of the horse and landing on the ground. He didn't wait for a response, pulling her off the horse himself, making sure to lower her to the ground carefully. He cursed under his breath at the sight of the blood on her clothing, hand and around her mouth. "What the hell were you thinking?" He bit out roughly. This must be the backlash for her use of magic earlier, he'd figured something like it would happen, that's why he had insisted they take a break and let her rest up. Yet in the end he had let himself foolishly be convinced to move on anyway.

"We're stopping here." He commanded. "If we catch up to Ygdis with you in this state we're both going to end up dead." He propped her up against a nearby stump before walking back to the horse and tying the leash to one of the many dead trees nearby. He grabbed the cuffs from his pocket, walking over to her and quickly clicking them back into place. They probably wouldn't help, but maybe not hearing the constant barrage of voices would put her a little more at ease.
 
Muffled words and spinning scenery, darkness beginning to cover the sides of her vision. The whispers within her mind was only serving to grow stronger as her body truly had no control of itself. All strength that had been within her had failed, leaving her limp and cold, her breathing settling on wet gasps as blood was being expelled past her cracked lips. The prince's voice seemed very much far away, too far for her to understand, to comprehend.

Sybil could feel herself being moved, though desiring to protest at the action as the spinning world around her was only serving to make her feel much, much worse. Nonetheless, she could still feel the hard, icy metal of armor upon her form, meaning the prince had moved her. Amber eyes flickered to try to focus on the man's face, her expression turning bitter and annoyed as she struggled to speak, but her voice would fail and leave her silent and gasping.

The prince's words made sense, as she had forced herself to focus in the midst of all the pain and the distractions within her own mind. "We must..." She struggled to utter the two words, though it was now difficult to determine exactly what she was saying as her blood wasn't stopping from leaving her. Yet, the feeling of familiar steel around her wrists had made the uncomfortable feeling of the Old Gods whispers suddenly become softer, making her blink rapidly and the tension to her face relaxed.

"...Ah.." A sigh left her lips, unable to stop herself, her gaze glossy as she was staring blankly ahead of her. The paleness to her face was worrisome, the blood flow beginning to slow from her lips. To have her mana suddenly cut off, even if it felt just as alien and uncomfortable... it still was a relief, like water being dumped on a fire. Her body would not respond to her desire to stand and stubbornly continue their journey, which made her both frustrated and relieved.

"..We don't have the luxury of time.." Sybil began again, her chest rattling as she struggled to fight down a wave of nausea, blood stained lips pursing as she forced the bile to not spill from her lips, it would be mostly blood anyways, and she wasn't too keen on allowing herself to lose too much. Closing her eyes, despite her stubborn words, she wasn't getting up, nor was she really pushing for an argument. "...I fear that I really am at my limit. What a shame that my body has deteriorated so much.." A bitter bit of laughter had left her then, eyelids cracking open to gaze almost dejected at the dead leaves covering the forest floor. She had been capable of so much more when she had been in better shape, but it truly couldn't be helped now. Conserving her strength was for the best, she knew that.
 
She looked a little better after he placed the cuffs back around her wrists, the constant flow of crimson from her lips slowing down. Even so, her face was still pale to such a degree that it would have been hard to tell if she was even still alive if it wasn't for the visible shallow rising and falling of her chest. He'd ignored the words she'd desperately attempted to convey earlier, he knew what she was going to say, he knew she was right, but it just wasn't possible.

"I know, I know already." Arthur bit out, even in the state she was in she was still trying to get them to move on, to pursue Ygdis. "I know we don't have time, but what do you want me to do about it?! If we run into even someone like Vail the way we are now, we'll die. Fighting an Old God right now is nothing short of madness." He took a few steps away from her, taking his frustration out on the nearest wilted tree he laid eyes on, punching the trunk over and over again with a frustrated scream. He only quit when the tree couldn't take it anymore, snapping in half and falling over, his hands a bloody mess.

He heaved a deep sigh as she finally admitted she couldn't go on. He should have been relieved, relieved that his words had finally gotten through to her, relieved that she wouldn't be rushing to her death anymore. But, as he gazed past the resting woman at the devastated remains of what would have once been a thriving forest within the kingdom, blood dripping from his hands onto the dead leaves covering the ruined ground, he felt nothing but a deep sense of frustration and anger.

Arthur stayed silent for a while, quietly patting the horse's nose a few times before sinking down against a nearby tree trunk opposite of her. He ran a hand through his messy hair, leaving streaks of blood behind. "Let's just stop." The words were out of his mouth before he had time to regret them. "I was foolish to think we could defeat Old Gods, we're just humans, not the heroes from some fairy tale." He was really spiraling now. Hadn't he promised her they would kill her grandmother just this morning? What a joke. He wasn't special, he couldn't kill a demon. He'd known that already, the thought had always been at the back of his mind throughout the past eight years. He'd simply pushed them back, convincing himself he was more than he was, that he could change the way things were.

But fighting Vail had just made it all the more clear. "Even if you regain all your strength, you'll still be fighting alone. I'm barely worth more attention than a bug to our enemies." The words were bitter but they lacked any anger, instead they were filled with resignation. "I couldn't even do anything against a human mage. We only won against that piece of shit because you pushed yourself past your breaking point and we got lucky." He pulled out his dagger, staring into the shining metal of the blade for a moment before stabbing it into the ground next to him with another frustrated grunt. "You've studied magic, haven't you? Isn't there a way for me to obtain the power I need to fight back? Some artifact or-" He cut himself off, shaking his head with a hollow laugh. "Look at me, trying to desperately cling on to the false idea that I'm someone special. Forget it, life isn't that convenient."
 
A slow exhale of breath left Sybil's lips as she viewed the prince through half-lidded eyes, his frustration evident in the agitation that moved his body to begin to pummel the poor trunk of a broken, withered tree. The sight made no pity or sympathy flare to her chest, only causing the woman's lips to press down in a thin tight line of annoyance. She supposed it was fair enough for him to give into anger and frustration after being rudely awakened to how utterly weak and out classed they were currently, but it didn't serve to put much confidence in her companion. This further was solidified in how he sunk almost defeated to the tree opposite of her, Sybil's head slightly turning as she observed him begin to speak: to give up.

This caused an annoyed sigh to bubble up past her lips, closing her eyes as a headache thrummed with her skull. Was he truly going to do this at the slightest bit of doom and gloom? It was reasonable to any other person, any other person would feel pity and go along with his tantrum in how unfair everything was, how hopeless it seemed. Sybil wasn't so sympathetic. "...Stop? Well if you're just going to give up like a petulant child, then you'd might as well kill me here." Her weak voice was scathing, voice sharp like a blade's edge, "..This never was going to be easy. You should've known that from the beginning, idiot. If you're going to give up now then you shouldn't have... ugh.. made me that offer before.."

Her head turned away from him as she could feel her head spinning, swallowing down bile from rising further in her throat. Though more of his words sought only to annoy the woman as she finally snapped, "Quit your whining already!" The effort to shout had caused the woman to wheeze, propping herself upward as she dispelled her previous more calm mood, a finger pointing at him as she bared her bloodied teeth at him, "Are all you good for is complaining? Godsdamnit do I want to strike you down now! Is one setback enough to reduce you to this?! You're really a pathetic bastard!"

It was uncalled for truthfully, the insults spilling from her lips, but truly seeing the prince like this had irked her in a way she didn't think possible. There was still life in her body, despite how weak she was at this moment, and she'd be damned if she were to give up now. A cough rattled her body then, her hand dropping back to her head as if nursing a blossoming headache, eyebrows pinching as she released an annoyed grunt.

"I'm not a miracle worker, however the royal family always were strong with magic. Always." Her tone was biting as she spoke, amber eyes glowering at him as she shook her head, "Even the royals from two centuries prior, Osephi being the priestess of light, she wielded sacred magic with ease. If anything I'm sure that talent would have been passed down to you, maybe even something else. Did you even try taking a magic aptitiude..." She trailed off then, shaking her head, "...Why am I even asking? Considering all you've done is use those blades of yours, of course you haven't."

A sharp exhale left her again as she rested against the tree, waving her hand dismissively at Arthur, "Oh well, continue complaining away. I'm not gonna bother." After all, why should she when he was so set on giving up and feeling sorry for himself? No, she was going to lay there and rest as she was supposed to, certainly a cruel move of hers indeed, but did Sybil care? No. There was no warmth she felt for the prince, especially now. Even if she was grateful to him for his aid earlier, it seemed so far she was just repaying him with barbed words and insults.
 
The first time she bit back Arthur ignored her, but he'd heard her words and they had had an effect. He begrudgingly pulled the dagger out of the earth beside him, his own emerald eyes staring back at him for a moment as he looked into the now dirt stained metal before he wiped the dagger off and put it back in its sheath. He truly had given up for a moment back there, allowing his thoughts to drag him down into a dangerous spiral of misery. Even so, the thought of killing her hadn't even crossed his mind, he found himself briefly wondering when exactly he'd fully discarded the idea of killing her. She was right though, he was acting foolish. Maybe he shouldn't have made her the offer he did, maybe he shouldn't have made her the promise he did, but he had. What he should and shouldn't have done didn't matter, those decisions lay in the past.

For now, all he could do was forge on with the decisions he'd made in the past, trusting they had been the right ones. He stood up after her second outburst, renewed determination shining in his eyes. "You're right, I am a pathetic bastard." He regretted it the moment his fist connected with the side of his jaw but much like the decisions he'd made in the past, he couldn't take back the punch he threw at himself. "Figured you might not be able to muster the strength to strike me." He told her with a pained smile, spitting a drop of blood to the side onto the forest floor through gritted teeth.

The woman's words might have been unnecessarily harsh but he'd needed them. If it had been anyone else, they might have agreed with the prince's depressing words, agreeing to give up, leading Arthur down a path of wallowing endlessly in an cycle of self-pity until he eventually would lose the defensive battle he'd been fighting for the past eight years to the Old Gods and die in battle. Honestly, it made him feel a little relieved that the woman could muster the strength to mouth off at him, but he doubted it was great for her condition.

Figures, his father and sister had both been adapt in the field of magic. While Arthur... Arthur wasn't. Well, that wasn't exactly correct, he'd simply never tried, his father had asked him if he was interested as a child, he'd answered negatively, being obsessed with the noble knights from the stories he read, and that had been it. So no, he hadn't taken a magic aptitude test and he told Sybil so, though she already seemed to know. "You're right, I haven't. Truthfully, I'd barely even considered it." That sounded stupid and, speaking honestly, it also made him feel stupid. He knew his family had a history of strong ties to magic, admittedly he had the feeling that Sybil knew more about his family's history with magic than he did, but still, it wasn't like he hadn't known, and yet, the thought of wielding magic hadn't crossed his mind often.

It had crossed his mind once or twice during the war but he'd discarded the thought just as quickly as it had come to him, he didn't have anyone around who could instruct him on the use of magic even if his aptitude turned out to be high. He took a step towards her after her final outburst, looking straight into her amber eyes. "You have every right to act that way. But..." He sunk to his knee, bringing himself down face to face with her. "I will selfishly ask for your assistance again. You can think of this as another desperate attempt of mine to feel special if you want but I need to explore every option I am given until I am truly all out of paths to walk." His eyes burned with renewed resolve as he gazed into hers. "Are you able to determine my magical aptitude for me?"
 
Sybil raised an eyebrow as she looked over to the man, his words being what had grabbed her attention as he finally spoke, responding by admitting she was right - granted Sybil felt quite smug for a few seconds - only for him to... punch himself. This made the woman's amber eyes grow round in surprise, amber moons staring at him owlishly as she wondered for a brief second if she had mouthed off too much this time... did he go mad? Not that she was one to talk, but still, his following words afterward had made the woman's expression pinched as she rolled her eyes then, swiftly losing interest. Yes. He was crazy. "Believe me, you didn't need to do that." It was unnecessary, her eyes darting to his face and away again as she seemed for the first time at a loss for words.

His following response made her snort. Ah, what an idiot indeed. Although it was purely optional; especially to nobles, most if not all citizens in Avrune had some knowledge of what element they were aspected to. It was almost as natural in the land as receiving one's name, granted not everyone did pursue magic seriously. Most could only conjure the tiniest of spells to get by, and some couldn't and were as consequence used for mercenary work, even if they themselves still had mana burning in their body as was the case for every native born man or woman who even so much as breathed on Avrune. Though, this knowledge was only common due to the coveted magic academy of Moonhaven being leaked due to excited students wanting to flex their knowledge, still it was a wonder why the man didn't bother at least figuring what element he could at least have the potential to control the easiest.

Sybil's eyelids closed as she heaved an annoyed sigh, now setting her sights on ignoring him. Her body slackening further as she draped an arm over her face, dragging in the crisp air into her lungs slowly to regulate her breathing once more until she heard movement. That caused the woman to lift her shield of an arm, peering up at the face that peered down at her, beseeching her of all people for aid. Amber eyes met emerald for a few tense moments as she furrowed her eyebrows at him, annoyance and irritation lining her face as she heaved an exaggerated sigh, discomfort flaring within her at the connection between their gazes. Her lips pressed in a tight line, raising up her hand experimentally, the slender and small hand drawing closer almost as if to gently caress the side of the prince's face where he had struck himself earlier, her voice changing to quiet, tender, "Oh Arthur," The first time she had dared to speak the prince's name, though it was nothing more than a facade as her hand came to slap him directly in the same spot he had struck himself.

"Next time you decide to sink into despair again; you'll be getting more than a slap from me, understand?" The sweet edge to her tone evaporated as she struggled to sit up, grumbling curses under her breath as she sucked in another painful breath, flexing her stinging hand. This idiot really was driving her mad, wasn't he? Amber eyes glared bitterly at the man, "Since it seems like you have no concept of magic, let me explain the bare minimum that you have to understand."

"There are six elements you have the potential to bind to: Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Celestial, and Void. Keep in mind, most people filter into the primary four, earth, water, fire, and air. Celestial and Void consist of the sacred and forbidden magics, Celestial being sacred and of the gods, Void being black magic... which I had all so kindly demonstrated and that disgusting fool earlier had demonstrated as well." She gestured with a dismissive hand in the direction they had left Vail. She placed a hand on her chest, "However since birth I was strongly connected to Fire, as a result it had been very easy for me to master. The other elements... not so much. It usually takes many years for someone to even so much as get even adequate at another course of magic... and considering how dead the land is, this will make this more complicated."

Shaking her head, the woman's eyes dropped to his hands, bloodied knuckles and all, lips pursing in disgust as she held her hands outward, palm up, "And considering a council member usually would be doing this... you really do have some bad luck." It was a more playful jab, but the woman raised her eyes to meet his own, "Here, grab my hands and slowly breathe, the sooner we can get this over with, the less uncomfortable it will be for both me and you." That was an odd thing to say, but the affair always was alien. It was a meshing of mana, of soul to draw out mana. An intimate affair certainly, a drawing of two souls to push out the person's mana, but at the same time the results usually would end with excitement or joy at the rush of mana one could feel in their veins.

A small smile almost managed to twitch across Sybil's lips at the memory, how odd it felt for the man that had been summoned to her family estate all those years ago to determine what she would excell at the most. It was the one time she had been able to express her emotions in full, the one time she didn't felt Iulla's presence pushing down on her, numbing her. Blinking rapidly, the woman shook her head as if to physically shake the intrusive thoughts away, "Well? I'm not going to bite you, or are you too afraid?" Her taunting response was punctuated by an ominous grin, granted it did little to mask the woman looking like she was two steps away from death.
 
Arthur froze up as she raised her hand to the side of his face, speaking his name for the very first time in a gentle tone that caught the prince off guard more than anything. He recoiled slightly as she struck his face, raising a hand to his cheek, more so out of surprise than pain. He stayed silent as she made it clear he would be receiving far more than a slap if he gave up again. Quietly staring into her eyes for a moment before, catching himself completely off guard for the second time within a minute, he burst out laughing. The first genuine, warm laugh that had left his lips in eight long years. Arthur wasn't sure why it had been something as decidedly unfunny as getting slapped that made him laugh. Maybe it had been the sudden shift in direction of the conversation, in the end, he decided not to think too much about it, laughing again after so long felt rather nice. He sat there for a moment, laughing with his hand still pressed to his cheek before he composed himself, lowering his hand and nodding. "Understood."

He sat down cross-legged opposite of her. "Please do." He'd been taught the basics of magic, even after he told his father he had no interest in the field. It made sense, Moonhaven had been a kingdom where magic was deeply integrated into every facet of daily life, it would have been hard for him to be completely unknowledgeable about magic, and he wasn't. He'd always paid close attention to his lessons about the everyday use of magic. The lessons about wielding and using magic himself on the other hand, he'd mostly slept through or straight up avoided going to those. His father had given up rather quickly, scrapping the lessons about wielding magic altogether.

He nodded along as she explained the basics of magic, remembering his sister and the little tricks with water magic she used to perform, he pushed the memory to the side almost immediately, thinking of his family hurt, eight years had lessened that pain but never taken it away. "Is it common for siblings to be connected to the same element?" He hoped not, water magic hardly seemed useful if they would be fighting actual demons. Having to ask basic questions made him feel like a child, he was supposed to know all this, wasn't he the prince? Maybe he would have learned, after he matured a bit more and got over his stubborn insistence to only use the blade. Instead, he had been thrust into war, where he'd been forced to adapt and sharpen the skills he already possessed rather than focus on acquiring new ones.

Her mention of her connection to fire magic brought up some unpleasant memories so he quickly pushed it aside and focused on the remainder of her explanation. "I don't know, from what I remember your strength at your peak certainly at least rivaled the council members'." He stared at her hand in silence for a while, not moving a muscle. She used black magic, she'd told him as much. Surely it wasn't like the fact she used black magic would corrupt him in some way or other, right? And if it did, would that really be so bad? Just because he would be using black magic that didn't make him an inherently bad person, did it?

Arthur shook his head, he'd been the one to ask for this, he should just listen to her instructions. Still, he couldn't help but feel hesitant, not just because of the black magic, he was hesitant to touch her in the first place, the last few times he'd tried he'd almost thrown up on the spot. Then again, that probably went for her as well. In the end, it was the woman's taunting remark that pushed him over the edge. "As if." He shot back, grabbing her hands as she instructed before slowly breathing in and out.
 
Sybil waited patiently for his response in turn, turning over the questionable sound of his laughter, a warm sound that was... unfamiliar. She couldn't tell if it was particularly pleasant, or if it was strange, but she had a feeling it would stick with her for a long time after. It was an odd sensation certainly, but she would not fight it as she had shook her head lightly at the man before her, at least in regards to whether siblings would be bound to the same element, "Everyone is different, though the chance still remains that you could have the same element... it isn't as if all of them don't have their strengths, that is if you're creative enough."

It was the one thing that Sybil adored about magic, the endless possibility, the endless chances of creating something new, something wondrous. The prince's mention of her strength however at her peak had made Sybil's amber eyes darken, "Well, that feels like a lifetime ago." Yes, when the land wasn't dead and her body wasn't weak, her mind relatively unscathed than it was now. There was no time for her to regret it now, it wasn't as if she truly had any agency over her own actions.

The woman felt the prince's hands grabbing her own, following soon her instructions of breathing slowly in and out. The woman's eyes shifted up to meet his own, watching the slow rise and fall of his chest as she then followed suit, slowing her own breaths to the slow rhythm of his own. "Close your eyes and allow your mind to drift," Her tone softer, warmer as she had closed her eyes herself, though she could not feel the mana in her own veins, she could feel at the very least the faint thrum of mana that still remained in the earth. Sickly, sluggish but still clinging on stubbornly as her attention then fixated on the prince before her in her mind's eye.

"Calm your heartbeat, relax your body completely, otherwise I won't be able to draw your mana out of you." The softly spoken instructions were now slipping with ease from Sybil's lips, though currently unable to use magic, at the very least she was attempting to use what very little mana she had left in the reserves to be able to touch and reach for whatever mana lay dormant within the prince's body. She could have sworn she saw a spark, a strong thrum within, but then again the woman could never be too sure on anything.

Lips pressing in a tight, tense line she had whispered, "Well well... aren't you something special?" It was breathlessly spoken, she could begin to feel the thrum of life within his body beginning to entangle with her own. It was addicting, the strength she could feel in the healthy body apart from her. The hunger suddenly coiling in her gut had made her hands clench tighter around his fingers, her breathing stuttering in her chest the further she digged. Just a little more... it wouldn't hurt if she just took-

The hungry thoughts alarmed her immediately, causing Sybil to refocus and without hesitation had ripped her hands away, dragging some of the strong mana she felt with her if only to be able to physically display it in the waking world for his eyes. She shouldn't consume it. She refused. These thoughts were not her own, nor would she tolerate it.

Amber eyes fluttered open as a soft gasp left her lips, shivers going down the length of her arms as she shook her head rapidly, holding her hands now together at the bundle of light within her grasp, his mana on display. It was colorless at the moment, not quite yet displaying what element it was, but that would just be a matter of time.
 
Arthur nodded as she mentioned every type of magic having its own strengths, he didn't doubt that. Everything could be useful if you used it creatively enough, that even went for weapons, everything could be a weapon with a little creativity. Well, that might not be the exact same as it was for magic. Magic was different, weapons were constrained to their physical form, one could change that form but they would never end up with more material than they started with, while with magic, one could shape whatever they wanted as long as they had mana available to do so. "Right, understood."

He averted his eyes from hers for a moment as her amber gaze darkened. Perhaps he shouldn't have brought up the strength she previously possessed. The shape her body was in now was a far cry from the way it had been back then, not only that, the amount of mana that remained in the environment was limited, even he could tell as much. "It does, doesn't it?" He eventually answered, thinking back to his life in the palace as his eyes once again met hers, not bothering to hide the sorrow in them.

He closed his eyes at her instruction, letting his mind wander. He slipped back into his previous train of thought, thinking about his life in the palace. The moments he'd spend chasing his sister through the large and numerous halls playing tag when they were little kids, ignoring the cries of the maids and guards to slow down before he tripped. Of course, he had tripped, many, many times. He remembered his mother comforting him after he did, telling him all sorts of stories until he finally stopped crying. He remembered the night of his twelfth birthday, when his father had given him his first own blade.

He received her instructions, pushing the bittersweet memories of his previous life to the side forcefully and attempting to clear his mind. In the end, he focused on the feeling of his hands gripping hers to clear his mind, not really focusing on the person whose hands he was holding but rather the sensation itself.

He barely registered her whispering something, choosing not to respond out of fear of breaking his focus. He was sure it hadn't been another instruction at the very least. He could feel, something, he wasn't sure how to describe the odd feeling. It was like some foreign force was poking and probing around inside of him, latching on and entangling with something as it found what it was looking for. He could only assume the force was her mana, entangling with his own as he became increasingly aware of the steady beat running through his body. Somewhat like his heartbeat but with its own unique and melody-like rhythm.

He kept his eyes closed after she ripped her hands away from his, feeling the beat within himself die down slowly. Only after it had fully faded did he open his eyes, finding himself eye to eye with Sybil who looked slightly shaken. "You alright?" Only after asking did he drop his gaze down to the bundle of light she was holding. "So that's my mana?" He leaned in slightly, observing the light from up close. "Is it supposed to do something?"
 
Sybil's eyes had met his own, his question on whether she was alright or not had caused the woman's lips to press in a tight line, lowering her gaze back to the bundle of mana still carefully held within her own hands. "...Yes." She finally spoke after a few seconds of silence, her mind scrambling briefly as if in a disarray as she tried to pull herself together. The bright mana before her was too appealing to her gaze, especially since the land was so dead, there was little reserves left, so very little brightness of life still left in their world. It would be such a simple matter to not only devour the light within her hands, but also turn on the prince before her. It would only take a second, a lapse in his concentration and she would be able to-

She swallowed thickly, banishing the dangerously vicious thoughts coming to her mind. Although Sybil was many things, she couldn't bring herself to turn on this man, not when he could still be useful to her. Amber eyes flashed up to meet his own for a second, her eyebrows furrowing, frown coming to her lips as if disturbed. The woman couldn't feel Iulla's presence in her mind right now, even if such thoughts would make sense to come from one of the Old Gods... was it perhaps because she had overexerted herself? Drawn upon the knowledge of black magic that she held, locked within her mind? Perhaps, but then that would complicate things further.

"Hm? Ah, r-right." The words came out stumbling over each other, having not noticed that she was staring blankly at the prince's face as she lowered her head to the ball of mana within her grasp. It still hadn't changed which prompted the mage to tilt her head, "..How odd. It's supposed to change color to the element that's within your body, you have so much of it.." A flash of amber eyes flickered back up to the prince who had leaned in to peer at the ball of mana, ausing her in response to lean away, clearing her throat as she extended her arms outward, keeping her hands carefully cupped so that the mana wouldn't disappate.

"Try touching it? Normally it should have changed by now, but perhaps your touch will ignite something in it?" Then I can get rid of this damned thing. It's driving me mad. Her eyes dropped back to the little ball of light, another shiver going down her spine, causing her eyebrows to furrow and clench tightly. Of course with the basic elements, blue for the cool touch of water, a dark leafy green for earth, an airy lighter green for air, and the molten fiery glow for fire; celestial on the other hand was as gold as the most treasured of jewelry and void being as black as pitch. These colorations were supposed to immediately flare to life depending on the mana, however one could only guess the slowness of the color was due to the sheer lack of mana within the atmosphere.
 
Arthur was pretty sure she had been staring at him, though the slight stumble in her voice told him it was likely she had been lost in a train of thought of her own rather than actually having meant to stare at him consciously. "I do?" He eagerly asked at her mention of him having a lot of mana, keeping his eyes on the ball of light. It was interesting to look at the way it flowed within its own form, constantly moving but never falling apart, it was almost a little hypnotic.

He nodded at her suggestion, actually feeling quite nervous now that it came down to it. Sybil had said he had a lot of mana inside of him but that would hardly mean anything if he didn't bind to any element, at least, he assumed as much. Then again, he didn't have the faintest idea how this all worked in the first place, a fact that was starting to annoy him more and more as they proceeded. "What happens if I don't bind to any element?" Best to ask, just in case. And what would happen if he did bind to an element? Would he just suddenly be able to use magic? The beat of mana within his body had subsided now that Sybil wasn't pulling on his mana anymore, would he have to get it started again himself?

He took a deep breath, enough stalling, he'd figure out what to do after. He slowly reached a single finger out to the ball of light, tapping it before quickly pulling his hand back. He stared at the ball intently, expecting it to do something, anything, instead, nothing happened. He reached back out to it, pressing his finger into the ball of light with a little more force, the surface of the ball broke for a moment as he pushed his finger through before just as quickly mending, enveloping his finger entirely.

For a while again, nothing happened, but Arthur could feel the mana in his body starting to pick back up, returning to its own rhythmic beat. The little ball in Sybil's hands shook slightly before it started swirling, its color fading from near colorless to a light yellow glow before passing into a brilliant gold that reminded him of the sunrises he used to observe from his balcony in the palace. He pulled his finger back after a moment, letting the little ball dissipate into the air.

"Is... is that something we can work with?" For some reason he felt more than a little exhausted after the ordeal, though there was an undercurrent of excitement the up until now utterly disinterested in magic prince hadn't expected to feel as the ball changed color. She hadn't actually told him what color meant what. Still, he didn't think the golden color matched any of the standard elements she had described, void magic was definitely out, so that just left one, celestial. At the very least, something had definitely happened, but he didn't really feel any different. He looked away from her to his hand, pushing through his exhaustion as he slowly opened and closed it a few times trying to make something, anything, happen with little success. "Am I supposed to feel this tired?"
 
Sybil's eyebrows furrowed as a frown crossed her face at his first question. What indeed would happen if he bound to none? Although it certainly was unheard of for such a thing to occur, if this one chance it did happen; she wouldn't be able to do anything. "For both your sake and mine, let us hope that you do bind to an element." Surely, he would considering the amount of mana she could see flowing still in his body, a surging strength that made the odd hunger settle within her, causing her expression to sour and her eyes to stubbornly drop once more. She couldn't keep looking at him.

A sucked in breath was to follow as the prince's fingers had prodded the ball of mana, a chuckle nearly leaving her at the nervousness he was displaying, "Come now, it's not going to hurt you." It was almost cute in the way he was displaying such caution, but unnecessary. However, a voice in the back of her mind chided that it would be only natural for someone who had never truly studied magic before. Something this small could be seen as dangerous to those who never partook in the arts to begin with, just because it was as natural as breathing for her, didn't mean that it would be the same for him.

Another intake of breath had settled with her chest as the woman's eyes dropped to the prince slowly allowing his finger to be enveloped within the surface of the ball of colorless light, her pulse picking up in response, a quickening of her heart rate as she waited with baited breath for what could possibly be revealed before her eyes. To say the least she probably wasn't expecting the results it had given.

The spinning of color upon the ball of mana was hypnotizing, the flare of gentle power sinking into her veins, burning her, and yet it brought with it warmth to the woman who was still very much in contact with the little orb of light. It was gold, a brilliant and lovely gold. Her lips parted in shock, fingers trembling around the orb as it flickered and wavered within her grasp, taunting her, pushing against what little patience she had. Of course, she shouldn't be surprised due to the prince being of royal blood but... the envy settling in her chest and the depraved hunger was clouding her emotions.

Sybil's lips downturned into a harsh frown as the mana had finally disappeared from her hands as she had tried to suppress the urge to crush it. The warmth that was left behind, however continued to lap at her, taunting her with the purity it left behind. It made her bitter, made her seethe... and yet, it was an addicting feeling all the same to wash over her. Exhaling slowly, bitter facial muscles were restrained into an icy calm as she forced herself to become composed, to close off her mind to the flow of mana around them at least to preserve her sanity.

"Well... yes. It seems like you are heaven's chosen." The words were spoken with little happiness within them, detached as she released a sigh, "Celestial magic, the magic of the gods is what you have been blessed with. Rejoice and... all of that good stuff I guess." A hand waved dismissively as she slowly shifted to rest back in her previous position, the amber of her eyes settling on the prince as she cracked a half smile at him, "Turns out you really are something special. Good for you! Celestial magic is very rare, you know?"

His following question had made her smile drop as she turned her gaze away, "Normally, no. But considering again how dead everything is, the pressure of drawing out mana is very much more intensive upon the body. Plus it is your first time, don't be surprised if you're exhausted until you get used to it. But, you're strong anyways and considering how much mana you have suppressed in you, I wouldn't be surprised if you bounce back quickly."
 
Arthur could tell his travelling companion was far from delighted at the reveal of his bound element, she barely tried to hide it. Between the sigh, dismissive wave of her hand and somber tone of her words. He couldn't blame her for that, from the way she talked about it Celestial magic was something every mage desired to wield. For someone like her, someone who loved magic so dearly and had devoted her entire life to it, it had to feel at least frustrating if not infuriating to see someone like him, someone who had only turned to magic out of sheer desperation, simply obtain something she desired without having to work for it. Not only that, the state her body was in and the fact that he was partially responsible for that state would only make the feeling that much worse.

He didn't regret any of it, truly, when he'd had her locked up she hadn't been in control of herself. Sybil had rampaged across the kingdom and committed atrocity after atrocity under Iulla's influence. And while it was still an impossible task for him to change the way he felt when he saw the woman because of that, he was at least able to recognize in his head that it hadn't truly been her committing those atrocities. Her body, yes, but not her. Many would call him naive, perhaps even the him from just a few days ago would think he was naive, but he truly believed that.

He shook his head. "No, I'm not special. I'm just lucky." Disagreeing with her wasn't likely to make her feel better, if anything it would probably make her feel worse. Still, he wouldn't ever delude himself again, he wouldn't call himself special again. It would only lead him down the exact same path as before, one that would end in despair as he realized he couldn't be who he had told himself he could be.

"If you say so." He suppressed a yawn. "Speaking of," He didn't want to ask her too much about magic right now, especially considering her foul mood, but there were some things he couldn't wait until tomorrow with. "How will this work? You've told me I have a lot of mana in my body, but surely I'll run out at some point right? Especially if I use a lot of it while practicing. Won't I run out sooner rather than later in that case?" He struggled to his feet, pushing his exhaustion to the background. Walking over to the horse and pulling out their rations for the day, handing Sybil her food before he sat down leaning against a dead tree himself as well.

"Let's both get some rest for today. We'll think about what to do next tomorrow." It had only just started to become evening, far earlier than Arthur would have usually decided to stop for the night but Sybil was in no condition to continue and his own exhaustion was catching up to him quickly, he'd need to rest for a while before would be in any shape to continue himself. He silently stared at the sky, wondering why it had been him out of anyone who had gotten blessed with this magic, wondering if he deserved it. More than anything, he wondered if he could have protected his family if he had only trained in his magic earlier.

After a moment he slowly raised his hand to the sky in front of his face, clenching it into a fist, he couldn't use it yet, nor could he bring back those that he lost, but he silently swore that he'd use it to reclaim and protect the kingdom and its residents from the moment he could. He slowly lowered his hand again moments later, resting it near the grip of his dagger before slowly closing his eyes, tomorrow he'd selfishly ask Sybil to teach him how to use magic.
 
Arthur's assertion that he wasn't special but simply lucky had caused yet another bitter feeling to surge in her throat. Certainly it looked that way, beloved enough by the gods to be given sacred magic that was pure, holy, and revered; to have a family granted ones that no longer lasted in the world that perhaps spoiled and cherished him. To have agency over one's actions, to be able to allow oneself the chance to give up if only for a second... yes, he certainly was lucky.

She truly did resented her lot in life, although she had been blessed with excelling in magic, it did naught in the end but left her to be more so of a perfect vessel for Iulla, to be tainted with the very same Old God's blood in her veins, to have been forced out of a broken mind to seek forbidden magic of the void, everything had been seemingly so perfect on the surface and yet she couldn't bring herself to seek help. So yes, she did feel seething envy toward the prince apart from her, even despite him having his share of suffering in eight years due to her actions, it still wouldn't change the fact that she perhaps still would be quietly suffering if Iulla hadn't acted.

Her head shifted to look where they had come, Vail's body coming to mind which made the expression on her face grow cold. She would have been shackled to that man for the rest of her life, the whispers that would follow her back would perhaps have been as painful as knives due to the absurdity of it all. Her uncle would have been her betrothed, to keep the family wealth together and for her to have a "suitable" partner in the former council member, the youngest of the bunch. A snort left her lips then, shaking her head as an arm draped over her face. Everything was truly absurd and unfair, but it didn't matter.

"Mana slowly regenerates over time, you're worrying over nothing." Her tone was dry as she responded, raising her arm to look at the prince, "Again, you're still in very good health right now, as long as you keep both your body and mind healthy, you'll be fine." Her lips turned down in a brief frown as she considered for a second only to shake her head, "Perhaps the only worry would be the amount of mana you actually use up. But you'll figure it out." Dismissive immediately, treating the situation as if it wasn't her problem.

Silence was her response as Arthur had suggested for them to rest, following Sybil being all too happy to give in to the urge to sleep. Yet, even as she had wrapped the tattered cloak around herself, her eyes shifted over to the prince one last time, seeing as he was raising his fist to the sky which prompted the mage to roll her eyes as she was quick to close them. Ugh, it didn't matter, going to sleep now was the only thing that did.
 
Arthur woke up just as the sun started climbing above the horizon, his hand still on the grip of his dagger where it had been as he drifted to sleep. He climbed to his feet, stretching out fully with a quiet grunt. Sleeping out in the wild was about as different as sleeping in a palace bed as it could be and it really wasn't great for his back. Well, he'd gotten used to it over the years, he'd never been one to complain over having to camp in the first place. He stifled a yawn, determined to get some training in before Sybil would wake.

His hand hovered near the grip of his sword, ready to pull it out of its sheath for his usual training routine. He'd moved a little ways away from their 'camp' if one could even call it that, close enough that he would be able to hear any potential commotion coming from the direction but far enough that he wouldn't be waking Sybil up with his training. He'd already pulled his weapon halfway out of its sheath before he changed his mind, letting go of the hilt and letting the weapon slowly glide back into the sheath. Training with his weapons was important but he had something else to train as well now, he wasn't confident he'd get anywhere without instruction but it didn't hurt to at least try.

He opened his hand, stretching it out in front of him, focusing solely on the nearly flat surface of his palm, trying to visualize a small ball of mana like the one Sybil had held yesterday. He closed his eyes, attempting to restart the rhythmic beat of mana in his body. After what felt like an eternity but would have likely not been more than five minutes the only beat he could feel and hear was his own heart beat. He was about to try again when the sound of dead leaves breaking entered his ear, he immediately opened his eyes, hand already at the hilt of his weapon, ready to fight who or whatever made the noise.

He'd been prepared for many things but he would have never expected the source of the noise to be what it was, a wild boar. Eight years ago, wild animals would have been a common sight in Moonhaven, but with the arrival of the Old Gods and the havoc they wreaked on the land almost all wild animals had disappeared. Finding a wild animal nowadays was more than just rare, few animals would have managed to survive in the destroyed barren land and most of those that did would have been slaughtered early on. The boar in front of him didn't look great either, clearly almost at the end of its life, the animal was small and thin, wobbling as it moved along. If it wasn't for that, Arthur would have felt a lot worse about what he did next, he smoothly and silently pulled out his dagger, throwing it at the animal and striking it right between the eyes, killing it instantly.

He made his way over to the animal, reclaiming his dagger and wiping it off before dragging the boar back to their camp. He quickly got to work, making a small fire using dead leaves and dry branches from the forest floor and skinning the animal, cutting the meat into pieces there wasn't a lot of meat on the boar's bones but it would still be more than enough to get a few good meals out of. He sat back when he'd gotten the meat roasting above the fire through a makeshift contraption made of sticks. If Sybil hadn't woken up from all the noise she would surely be waking up because of the smell soon enough.
 
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