The Living Curse

Chapter Six: A History Lesson





They boy’s words surprised Nameh, who up until this point, had been under the impression that they had just met. Well, this explains why he seemed to recognize me earlier, she thought. Mira was faster to recover from the startling words, and interceded.

“Looking for who?” she questioned, wondering which one of them and why. She twisted and pulled at her fingers lightly, as she often did when nervous. His eyes finally left the wall, and met hers, as though he had just remembered she was there. His mental struggle became nearly visible; his eyes flicked nervously about the room, not wanting to make eye contact again.

“First, just tell us who you are.” Nameh said, growing impatient. “Why did you bring us here if you aren’t going to say anything?” The boy covered his face with his hands, rubbing his temples as if he could somehow mechanically draw the words out. His frustration was evident, and bordering on anger it seemed to Nameh. Finally, he looked up, seemingly prepared to address them at last.

“My name is Max. You are, of course, aware of the Vine?” he asked, not waiting for a response, and neither dared interject. “For the last few weeks, I have been trying to find the one other Markbearer in the school. The Vine has known their presence for months, but they were too well shielded to identify. Long story short, I’ve been watching you.” All of his words had come spilling out quickly to this point, as if he had opened a mental floodgate, with very few pauses. Now, he watched their reactions for a moment before continuing, but neither interrupted. “When I was fighting the dragon, and you two so rudely interrupted,” he said with a small smile, “I was sure that you were the other.” he finished. With his serious news delivered, a weight seemed to lift off of his shoulders; he became at ease, and slouched comfortably back in the desk chair, putting his hands behind his head. He left out the fact that he had been sure she was the other before that, when he saw her mark through the watching window.

It seemed to Nameh that he had used humor to mask the importance the issue held in his mind. The use of humor and sarcasm to hide emotions was much too familiar, and was another unsettling reason that she had the urge to trust him.

“So, let’s just say that I am this ‘elusive Markbearer’, for a moment. Why is the Vine suddenly so eager to find me? Running low on new recruits to send to their deaths?” she asked, now throwing sarcasm back at him. She saw Mira from the corner of her eye, looking surprised at the comment. It was understandable, though; only a few hours ago, they had been training to go to the Vine themselves.

“The Vine is trying to find all its potential followers. The Guild is gaining power much too quickly, they think that something must be wrong.” said Max.

“Hold on, they? Aren’t you a part of it, too?” Nameh asked.

“I’ve had my mark for about a year and a half, but I haven’t fully joined yet. I decided to find the other at the Academy, and thought we’d go together.” he said. Judging by his expression, he hadn’t expected the other to be a girl. Mira continued the conversation, pretending not to have noticed.

“Do you know any of the other members of the Vine?” she asked. Max swiveled his chair to face her. For all of his sarcasm, his manners were good enough.

“Well, one of my warlock friends and my oath brother are already there.” he said, referring to his battle partner as she would refer to Mira. His eyes seemed to hold a longing, as though he wished he hadn’t stayed behind. She wondered if he and his oath brother had become as close as she and Mira. As these thoughts swirled around in her mind, she noticed that the light coming from the window had changed from a gleaming gold to a pale silver. Clouds had gathered in the sky, condensing within each other like great and terrible magic. She wondered if this sight was similar to the one seen by the ancient humans as they watched the Great Warlock unleash the spark, and the creatures that were borne of it.

She was half aware of the soft spattering sound of rain on the window sill. Each drop catching a fragment of the lingering early morning sun, illuminating for one glorious moment, before plunging onto the window ledge in a small watery explosion. Heaven is crying, her mother had told her as a child. An angel was lost today.

She snapped out of her thoughts, and back into reality to find that both Max and Mira were looking at her. She realized that she had been staring longingly out the window, absorbed in the peace that the rain and memories of her mother brought her. She managed a weak smile, and tried to keep the conversation going.

“So, how exactly does the Vine propose to do anything about the Guild?” she asked skeptically. The boy seemed surprised that she would doubt the Vine, which he clearly had a great deal of faith in.

“I don’t know how much magical history you’ve digested while here, but I’ll give you the whole story. So, I’m sure you know that the Vine, Guild, and Guardians were once one group. They were founded by the Great Warlock after his spell had the…unintended side effects. He meant for its members to remain united against the evils of the Children of the Spark, and to protect what humanity had left. But, as you well know, not all of the magical creatures were evil, and some even joined the cause. Eventually, after the Great Warlock’s death, there were disputes on how magical power could, or should be gained. Some thought that the fastest way to gain power should be the right way. These people embraced dark magic, sacrificing pieces of their souls to gain what they wanted.” he paused, almost shuddering at the very idea. Nameh’s skin crawled at the thought of Daniel. “Unfortunately, with the great power they gained, they lost sight of their original objective, the protection of humanity. With the loss of this goal, they also lost the blessing of the Great Warlock, and can no longer bear his Great Mark, or Shask.” he continued, pausing again to make sure that everyone was still listening. “The same happened to the Guardians, but for a different reason. The Guardians were traditionalists who didn’t believe in the use of magic; they thought that it could only be evil, and wanted to protect the world from spells similar to the Spark.”

“So, the others then became the Vine, right?” Mira asked, seeming genuinely intrigued by Max’s history lesson.

“Right. The others continued to follow the ways of the Great Warlock, still bearing his mark, and only drawing power from the evil and corrupt.” he finished, with a nearly triumphant look on his face. He was proud to be a Markbearer, she thought.

“Aside from your magic recycling program, then, there has to be another way to gain magic, right? There’s no way the Guild could be gaining any more power than it already has, because they only have one soul to give.” she said, almost expecting him to tell her they had found a way to sacrifice other souls for personal gain.

“That’s right,” he began, a little surprised at how quickly she came to that conclusion, “before his death, the Great Warlock encased all of his power into an artifact called the Relic. He did this to preserve his power, just in case magical knowledge was lost through time.” he said with admiration. “He also developed spells that could increase your power, but not as much as the Relic. The spells are extremely complicated, and few have ever been successfully completed.”

“But, I thought the Relic was just a myth,” Mira started, turning to look at her, “isn’t it?” she finished. Nameh didn’t answer, but instead looked at the boy, waiting for his reply. The silvery light from the window caught his golden hair, making the color even richer than before. It hung down his forehead with a gentle curl; he brushed it aside and continued.

“Few but the Vine know about its existence, and the stories have faded and twisted so much that many do believe it’s only a myth. We still have some of the original texts from the Great Warlock; they tell coded clues about where to find it, but no one can decipher them. Unfortunately, the Guild is getting almost as close to finding it as we are.

“Do you know what the relic looks like, or what it does?” asked Nameh, carefully hiding her excitement behind a lazy, uncaring expression. He breathed deeply, clearly tiring of explanations.

“The Warlock had an amulet that he never took off, it was all that was left of him after he was killed, they never found his body.” he paused, “Well, that, and the golden arrow that pierced his heart. The arrow is now at the center of the Vine building, and they say that if you touch it, you can still feel the Warlock’s heart beating.” he said with an intrigued smile.

The group sat in silence for a moment: the girls taking in all they had just learned, and the boy waiting in anticipation for a response. Nameh saw him lick his lips and glance about the room. She wondered why she, only one person, was so important to him and the Vine. She asked him as much.

“Only those who are strong enough can bear the Mark, as you know. Unfortunately, the tainted world we live in is weakening our race. People willing to even try are becoming scarcer and scarcer. It could be the whole, death if you aren’t strong enough thing, and whatnot.” he said, amused at his own concept. Mira, who had been quiet for a few moments, finally spoke up.

“I’m going to try.” she said simply, with an air of determination that few would question. Apparently, Max was one of these few.

“I’m not trying to pressure you into anything.” he said hastily. “I’m only here to tell her that she’s needed, but I’m not going to stop you, either.” he finished.

“Good.” she replied simply, “Because you couldn’t, even if you wanted to.” A faint smile appeared at the corners of her mouth. When Nameh had met her, this wasn’t something she would even consider saying, but she had become more abrasive, in a pleasant way.

“Alright,” started Nameh, with an edge to her voice, “Mira’s getting marked, and then we’re leaving for the Vine. It’s settled, enough talking. Let’s go get something to eat.” She could see the effect of her words on Max. He seemed amazed at how lightly she handled the subject, not knowing that her mind had been made up even before they had met. She got up and crossed the room to the door, swinging it open with too much force, knocking it against the wall. She grabbed the coat she had flung on a nearby chair and quickly pulled it on, buttoning it up the front. She became aware of the two others staring at her. She felt that perhaps neither of them were entirely used to her behavior, which was both laid back and erratic at the same time.

“Are you coming, or not?” she said with a grin. She spun on her heels, the tendrils of hair that had fallen out of the knot trailed in her wake.

He stared, dumbfounded, after her as Mira followed. Mira gave him a small shrug as she passed, indicating that she was always this irritatingly calm.