Hetalia – The Cold of War
Chapter 14! It's that time again, another chapter. So a quick note the characters known as 'Elites' will now be known as 'Dead men', frankly it sounds cooler and is preferably. Sorry for any confusion this may cause. With that out the way, the next chapter!
Enjoy!
The Nordic Kingdom, The Royal Palace, The Archives
Slow dust spiralled in the old Palace's Archives, stuffed to the brim shelves forming confusing mazes of information. Tiny flames danced inside bulbous gaslights and casted warm Amber light into the pale washed walls. The air was silent save the occasionally ruffle of a page and the quiet snore from a sleeping boy. Lukas Bondevik stifled his huge yawn with a delicate raised hand and smiled at his younger brother's calming rhythm. The two of them had been sorting through the records when Erik had decided the work was too boring and fell asleep, his silvery blonde hair pooled out over the open book he had been previously reading. Their table was dotted with many unsteady stacks of thick leather bound record books with their yellowed pages crusty and crisp.
. So Lukas saw none of this, for he was blind. A black cloth had replaced the once lidded lilac mysterious orbs. Lukas was blind but, it did not mean he couldn't see. Being a sorcerer, Lukas was gifted the ability of telepathy, the gift to sense and mentally manipulate his surroundings. More then once in the past Lukas had amusingly compared himself to a bat, using his telepathy to cast a radius around him and create a three dimensional image inside his mind of the environment. True he could not make out details such as faces and images, but Lukas found he rarely missed them anymore; only feeling the pang of remorse knowing he would never see his little brother grown up. Erik's life force flame flittered beside Lukas in the inky blackness that surrounded him. It was how everyone appeared to Lukas, orange bobbing flames with the exception of himself and Allistor, whose flames were a dark blue. He tried not to think about Arthur's, that haunting mystery had lay hostage to his thoughts long enough.
He sighed and again stifled a yawn with a hand that had not seen battle for years. Lukas had been about to reach over to proximately where Erik dreamed and shake him when the introduction of new bright presence entered his radius, the person's bonfire sized flame spitting and blazing as it drifted closer. Whoever this person was, they were incredibly strong, Lukas thought as their heavy footsteps pounded and stopped in front of the table.
"Are you the sorcerer called Lukas?" A young man's voice called out uncertainly between hagged breaths, as though he had been running. Lukas turned his head and smiled in the direction he estimated the speaker to be.
"Yes I am a sorcerer by the name of Lukas Bondevik, may I ask for your own?" Lukas replied softly as he rose off his seat and stuck his hand out to be shook, a large warm hand enveloped his own.
"Alfred Jones, Special Agent of the Resistance sir. Allistor Kirkland suggested I come to you to learn about sorcerers" Alfred Jones explained with his pink tongue nervously wetting his dry lips as he shook the Sorcerer's hand, unable to help but notice how small and fragile it seemed to his own beefcake one.
"That does surprise me, Allistor inviting a stranger to learn our secrets," Lukas quietly chuckled as he sat himself back down and motioned to Alfred to take a seat "would you tell me why you ask for this knowledge?"
Alfred paused and shuffled his weight from one foot to another before answering. "Well you know, uh- we can never be too careful. Knowledge is power and all that" He nervously laughed, he'd already admitted to liking Arthur to Allistor and he wasn't ready to tell another. Lukas nodded slowly and placed his hands together as he thought.
"I see, then I will start with the basics… There are three types of magic, mana if you will: World Mana, Body Mana and Soul Mana. World Mana is the natural energy that exists in the world around us. We constantly absorb this and convert it into useable Body Mana, which is what you may have seen Arthur use in the past. You could imagine a sorcerer's body like a rain drum; World Mana is the rain that falls into the basin to fill it, however the sorcerer can only use that water when it has been purified" Lukas explained as simply as he could, it was difficult explaining such a foreign concept to someone who it didn't apply to.
Alfred listened intently and folded his arms before asking his question, "So what if you use all your purified water but the rain drum is still full of rain?"
"Then you are 'out of magic' as you cannot safely use any. If you attempted to use magic with just World Mana, then it would become dangerously uncontrollable. I remember a sorcerer who was foolishly convinced that he could harness World Mana. Alas it resulted in his death as he tried to create a gentle wind for his ships sail, but ultimately created a crushing whirlpool that swallowed his ship and crew…World Mana is never to be trifled with lightly, it should only be used to fuel one's Body Mana" Lukas grimly lectured to his temporary student, whose mind was struggling to comprehend. He'd never imagined the layers and risks of using magic.
"Okay so World Mana is bad to use. What about Soul? That sounds like a big deal" Alfred commented as he leaned forward to pick up one of the books that lay on the polished oak surface, opening its pages and biting his lip when he saw its contents written in some sort of rune like language. Lukas nodded his head in somber agreement.
"Indeed it is. Of all the mana types, the Soul Mana is the most complicated. Soul Mana is governed entirely upon ones emotions, a fragile balance that tiptoes on the type-rope between Order and Chaos, the forces of Light and Darkness"
"Like Yin and Yang? Good and Evil? They're like, real?"
"They are both very real. Order and Chaos, the first Ancient gods born. The Soul is eternally bound to their natures, if it's will is not strong it will be consumed by the Darkness; become a corrupted empty vessel and be forever enslaved" Lukas concluded heavily with an exhausted sigh.
"Then why would anyone ever consider using their Soul Mana if they risk losing themselves?" Alfred quizzed as he closed the book and ran his hand over the worn cover, it's title read 'The Lost Chronicles of the Fountain of Eternal Youth'.
"Some are desperate, some are greedy and some wish for miracles. Human kind has a unquenchable lust for things they shouldn't. Sorcerers are the unfortunate ones that have the power to grasp them," Lukas paused for a moment to reflect on his own teachings, imagining giving the lesson to Erik, had he inherited magic, instead. "Does this satisfy your curiosity Master Jones?"
"Honestly, I think I'm more confused then when I started," Alfred replied sheepishly "But it was helpful understanding the mechanics of it, thank you…" He trailed uncertainly, the sickening topic he almost dared not to bring up now weighing heavily on his mind. Lukas clearly sensing the man's hesitation, made a clearing noise in the back of his throat.
"Please Master Jones, ask whatever question is pressing your mind" Another pause before Alfred took a deep breath and spoke.
"When I was in the Capital, I attended a Black Underground auction. There were a lot of gross stuff being sold… Like a pair of sorcerer's golden eyes. When I saw that you were blind I couldn't help but think…" Alfred trailed off once again, unable to find the words. The sorcerer remained silent before sadly laughing under his breath.
"I suspected something of that sort happened to them. It's not entirely surprising. The day the purge of the sorcerer's began, Erik here and I fled for the North; we were close friends with His Majesty and his late father and knew we would be hid. We were a air crossing away when we captured, I fought but was overwhelmed. The bastard soldiers took my eyes as a trophy and threatened to murder Erik if I attempted resistance.
Things were bleak for the both of us… And then young boy by the name of Tino Väinämöinen saved us, cutting our chains and escaped on a airship travelling North alongside us. We arrived safely where I was immediately treated, Erik became a ward of the palace and Tino was rewarded with the position of the King's servant.
We were safe and comfortable, but the thought of my dying kin haunted my dreams every night. I feel guilty now for being so sheltered while they ran for their lives. When I learnt through a vision that the Kirklands were cornered by Imperial forces, my heart leapt at the chance to save them. I sent a Harpy to bring them back to the safety of the North, but she returned with only a heartbroken Allistor in her talons…It took Allistor a year to recover from losing his brothers, Seamus and Dylan dead and Arthur's fate unknown in the Capital. He would scream his throat raw and curse himself for his inability to protect them. He was a broken man, until the day I had a vision of Arthur, alive and well. After I told Allistor of my vision, he snapped back. He poured over his studies with new passion and sought Eduardo von Bock's help restore him to his physical peak. Allistor found himself again and he and I waited for Arthur to return. The moment they were reunited was the happiest I've seen Allistor in six years" Lukas finished with a small smile for his friend, the outside sun now kissing the horizon as it retracted its dimmed beams. The darkening orange light from the window a lot Alfred's tense face, his bottom lip quivering before he gritted his teeth together in cold anger.
"Ivan will pay for what he has done. When I first joined Ludwig's cause, I joined for revenge. To avenge my parent's death, but now I see how selfish that reason was. I've met people who I want to protect, I realise that this war isn't about revenge for what's happened; it's about doing what's right so no one will ever be put through it again. That's my reason to fight" Alfred announced with such firm resolve and strength, that Lukas felt he were facing the glorious summer Sun itself.
"Those are wise words Master Jones for one so young. They inspire me with great confidence that in the future, you will do the right thing," Lukas smiled at the soldier's radiance before his smile turned sour, speaking in a faraway disconnected voice that echoed off the walls.
"I fear something ill willed draws near, something that twists my stomach and sets my teeth on edge. Beware the black snow Master Jones, it brings only death and pain" Lukas warned, folding his hands together on the table. Alfred nodded as he heeded the grave warning, thanking Lukas for the lesson and left the quiet library in search for Arthur; unaware how soon Lukas' prediction would come true.
Ooh we are close to the climax, I am so ready to get this action rolling! So we learn about the mechanics of magic and the laws its governed by and loose knots regarding Lukas' back story and Allistor's are tightly tied up. I am really excited for the next few chapters, shit has been thrown in the air and is flying towards the fan ;)
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you are enjoying this story and would like to see more, please consider leaving a review to tell me your thoughts, opinions and questions. Once again thank you for and as always,
Until next time folks!