CHAPTER SEVEN
A BELL HAD woken Atlas from his sleep, his blue eyes meeting hazel ones. His widened and in his shock he sat up quickly, kocking heads with the one that had been peering at him moments before.
"Ow! You didn't mention about the head banging bit!" The woman with curled hair called out to the now chuckling men.
"Oh please Miss Robin, we don't need someone else to occupy beds that we don't have!" came the knowing voice of a woman in white armour.
"It's sometime's hard to believe that your the same person that I envied throughout school." came the voice of a man with a badage stump, usually where a left arm is. Atlas was so confused.
"Yeah but that punch in third year though-"
"excuse me..." they all turned to him. "But would anyone like to explain to me what's going on?" he asked. From the group of five or six people, one emerged and walked towards him.
Wrapped from neck to toe in skin tight black leath, a black fur cloak, a wand holster on both his ankle and his wrist, his black raven hair tied up in a bun atop his head, scars that run across his knuckles, one that faintly reads out 'I must not tell lies' on his right hand, his face, a short black beard, grown to hide more scars that had accessorised his hardened face, a scar that stars just above his left eyebrow, and travels diagonally down, to just above his cheekbone, and on the right side, a lightning bolt scar. "My apologies Mister Vault, but I was actually hoping that you'd be able to do me those honours." came the calming voice of the Captain of the Great Army.
"Y-your Captain Black. I'm talking to Captain Black..." Atlas responded.
The man chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck "Ah.. yeah, that's me. Could you possibly tell me the story, from your perspective of what happened yesterday. I have gathered what had happened from the point of view from your friend Zephyr, my Lietenant Bulkian, and my Master of Thought here managed to pry some memories from the imprisoned Sin. I would have taken them from you, but I would not do that without your consent."
Atlas relaxed his shoulders and cocked his head to the powerful wizard before him "I don't mind telling you, but I'm not too sure what you mean by take my memories..."
The Captain looked to the one they had called Robin before. "Hello, so I understand from your friend Zephyr, that from where you're from, the ability to take a copy of a memory from your mind and place them into an object called a penseive and obseve the memory is something unheard of. Well, as I just said, that is what happens. We would take a copy of a memory from your mind, place it into a specially created dish, and submerge our faces into it, so that we may see events from your perspective." The Master of Thought informed the boy.
It took a second before Atlas responded "If that's something you can do, I don't see a problem with it." Draco stepped forward, pulling his wand out and pointing it towards Atlas' temple
"Sorry for the abruptedness kid, but you'll forgive me. Now think about the duel that happened out in the wood." within seconds Draco moved his hand away from Atlas' temple, a light blue tendril attached to the end of his wand. "Alright Cap. Where's the penseive?" from behind his cloak Captain Black pulled a dish, on one side it appeared to be very metallic, on the other an endless pool of liquid that didn't spill.
Drago placed the memory into the dish. "Bulkian, Dracorius, protect myself and Robin as we observe." the two Lieutenants nodded their heads as the two submerged their own into the dish.
"Could one of you let me know where I am... Or if Zeph's okay?" Dracorius huffed, Bulkian stepped forward.
"No problem dickhead. The names Leiutenant Bulkian, of the Captain's Guard. I'm his Right Hand. The Master of Thought and I had been on a recon mission just east of where I had found you. I felt a familliar pressence in the air, and decided to check on the feeling. That's where I found you in the clearing. Wrath is a dangerous sin. She's able to make someone her minion by making them feel angry or any kind of repressed rage, and make them her blind servant. Due to her inexperience with battle's and magic other than what she uses on the daily, she is the least fear inducing Sin of the seven of them, but powerful and formidable none the less.. Which is why it's a suprise to see someone as young as you able to defeat the Sin. Even after my duel with her had weakened her. I have a feeling that, that wouldn't have stopped you from doing what you did." Bulkian responded. Taking a moment every now and then to make sure he was saying the right thing.
Atlas couldn't believe what he was hearing "What do you mean? Are you saying that I defeated a Sin?" a moment of silence.
"Well, defeated is a stretch. But in a way. Yes. You did defeat a sin, but for some reason the kind of magic that you used is unidetifyable. So the Captain and the Master of Thought are digging into the whole situation." A wave of panic flew over Atlas.
"Hawk?" with a POP the arylu came into existence, its ears hanging by its face, its eyes watery "Itsokay Hawk, I'm okay, I'm not harmed" he slightly scratched behind the ear of his wolf-like companion, its tail beginning to wag "Thank you fro trying to protect me. I don't have much in my reserve, bud. Would you be able to stay in the Ether, just until my magic is strong enough." the young pup gave a lick in reply before POP, and he had returned to the Ether.
"Now that's not a sight you see everyday, is it Dracorius?" Bulkian said to his one-armed friend.
He gave a 'hmpff' in response.
Not long after Captain Black and the Master of Thought re-emerge from the penseive with an audible GASP, the Captain returned the penseive under his cloak to face Atlas.
"I see now, Mister Vault, that your undying desire to stop Wrath in her tracks had become an overwhelming sensation for you. Your magic seemed to take over. I'm adversed enough in Attuned magic to know that a transmutation circle is a sign that a spell has been cast. Yet I have never seen a spell that powerful being used before. It seems that even Lady Wrath had trouble trying to ward off its power. Even if she was at full strength. Which makes me beg the question. What spell did you use? because in all memories of the event, no incantation was uttered." The Master of Thought enquired. The Captain and his men looking quizzicaly at him.
"I wish I could tell you, I really do. But it was more like something my magic did, than I. I could feel myself literally handing the reigns of my body over to this overwhelming power." Atlas told the collective group of half a dozen wizards.
The Captain turned to a few of his guards men "Go check on our prisoner. I'm sure we're going to be safe for now." they nodded their response. The Captain turned back to the remaining members of the group. Bulkian, Dracorius and Robin, they all gave him a nod in affirmation.
With a flip of his wrist a long, thin wand with spherical looking shapes dotted along its structure jumped into his hand, pointing it above them, the Captain then non-verbally cast a spell, a dome began to emerge from the wand that then covered the group, including the hospital bed that Atlas was lying in.
Soon they were in the pitch black.
"Atlas, tell me. How much do you trust us?"
Without thinking Atlas responded "With my life."
"Would you pledge your life to our cause."
"Yes"
"Would you fight a battle until your magic is gone and your body no longer able to move?"
"Yes"
"Do you swear an oath to protect any and all secrets spoken or read to you while under service of Captain Black?"
"I swear it." a golden glow surrounded his body.
"Will you aid in the protection of the realm?"
"I will."
"Will you join the Great Army?"
"I Will."
As if something heavy in his chest had been removed, light returned to the dome, before him he could see Captain Black, Dracorius, Bulkian and Robin.
"Atlas Vault, from here on out you will be addressed as Lord Rhydian Black of House Black. Your identity will now remain a secret. You will train to be one of my lieutenants and close guards. Is this understood?" Asked the Captain.
"Yes, my leige." Atlas responded.
"Now that, that has all been settled. Can we now reveal ourselves to the boy-"
"I'm almost twenty..." Atlas interupted the Master of Thought again. They all turned to him, Bulkian smiled.
"Well ya little bastard, in our eyes that makes you basically a boy. To those that matter my name is Lieutenant Bulkian of the Captain's Guard. His Right Hand. To those that give a shit. My true name is Lord Neville Longbottom of The Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom." He voice still soft, but warm.
Dracorius stepped forward and ran his hand through his hair as it changed to a platinum blonde "To the wizards of the world my name is Dracorius Black of House Black. In reality my name is Lord Draco Malfoy of The Ancient and Noble House of Malfoy and Black." he said, as soon as his hadn left his head, his hair returned to its raven black colour.
Robin courtseyed to the boy in the bed "Mister Vault, I feel that it is only right for me to adress myself to you too. Officially you are to call me Robin Puck, Master of Thought and of the Council to the Great Army. Unofficially, you may know me as Lady Hermione Potter-Ravenclaw of The Ancient and Noble Houses of Potter and Ravenclaw." She spoke, hands on herh hips.
The name's all astounded him, they were all powerful families that Shreya had told him about over the years, Ravenclaw even being the family name of one of the four founders to the greatest wizarding school in Britain.
The Captain bowed slightly "I present myself publically as Lord Commander of the Great Army, Captain Henry Black. Privately I accustomed to being acknowledged as Lord Harry James Potter-Black-Peverell-Gryffindor-Slytherin-Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff-Gaunt of The Ancient and Noble Houses of Potter, Black, Peverell, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gaunt"
"Also known as the Boy-Who-Lived." Came the sarcastic comment from Draco
"Or the Bastard-Who-No-One-Ever-Shuts-Up-About-And-Has-Too-Many-Long-Names-In-His-Old-Age!" Came the laughing voice from Neville.
"Or just Harry. He reponds better to that." Came Hermione's voice.
Atlas sat dumbfounded, staring at the group before him. They were all legends. Heroes that everyone had known and spoken about for the better part of a decade, but people didn't know just how truly powerful and famous they truly were.
The Captain of the Great Army was THE Harry Potter.
"Hi... I'm Atlas Vault... I'm an orphan who didn't know they had magic till they were seventeen. I fell through a mirror where I landed in a magic university called Belgarve academy where I discovered that I was one of the most powerful Attuned elementalists to walk the halls of the school... I'm a Sun Att and a Metal Att, but I've been told that my magical potential could fill up a full outdoor swimming pool, maybe more..." he saw the blank looks "Most attuned have the potential of a coffee mug... or some even a shot glass." the heroes of the war began to laugh.
"There's no need to feel intimidated Atlas. You're one of us. We're going to train you and help yu harnass that power of yours." Neville stated, his kind voice calming Atlas.
"I saw in the memory that Wrath had your friends. Don't worry, if we're quick enough we can get them back, safely." The captain said, his voice now void of emotion "I am to release the Dome of Council. Do not speak of what has been said under the dome. That is an order." As though someone had placed a padlock around his heart, the light washed away and again Atlas found himself in the hospital wing.
The captain turned to face his Master of Thought "Prepare a message to the Ice Queen and Lady Artemis. They are to bring the men they have here. Tell them who is in our cells." He turned to Dracorius " I want you to wri-" he stopped, catching himself before he finished, he instead turned his head to Bulkian "Write to inventory. We're going to need food and suplies. Ask Pomfrey who keeps record of stock so that you know how much to request." with that the men had all moved off, soon Atlas laid on his bed on his own.
"I'm no longer Atlas Vault. I'm now Rhydian Black of House Black." He thought to himself, trying to reinforce his new idenity now that he is apart of the war.