The room they now entered from the flight of hidden stairs was almost bare and about as big as the one just up the stairs, but instead of the statue of Ashur there was three pedestals opposite from of the room. The middle one was taller than the two on either side of it, and the right one was the only one holding an object that was round and completely black that it looked as if it could never reflect light off of it. “Is that it?” Joel asked as he walked up to it fascinated by its look.
“Yes,” Kara answered. “But where are the others?” Karas bladed gauntlets produced a single claw and she relaxed it against her upper leg in excitement.
Joel saw this but disregarded it saying, “Others? How many should there be?” He touched it with his hoof.
“Three,” She said threatening to cut herself. She then looked and saw what he was about to unknowingly do and and shouted, “Don’t Joel!”
“What?” he said but instantly the black ball ejected a blade from within it that cut Joel's front leg causing a superficial injury that still drew blood. He jumped back bleeding from his leg, and the blade retracted itself back into the black orb.
“Joel you insipid fool. How could you?” she shouted as Joel retreated away from the black sphere that had just attacked him.
“What did I do? ‘It’ started it,” he said as his leg slowly bled. It wasn’t a serious injury and would no doubt heal soon.
“Do you not have the slightest clue how Hexer magic works?” she shouted in annoyance.
“Honestly I don't even know how most of this world works.” the black orb slowly rose from its pedestal and floated over to where Joel was. “Hey, whoa wait what is it doing now.” he said as he backed himself into a corner trying to stay away from what just attacked him a few seconds ago. It got closer and nearer to his face but he couldn’t move unless he wanted to run into it, “Kara help me here.”
“Raerey Joel, you're a Taffing rearey. Why, just why Joel.”
“Kara this thing is going to kill me.” he said as hoofed it away with a dull thud.
She walked up to Joel and knocked the black orb away with her bladed wings and held her claws to Joel's face saying, “It's not going to kill you Joel, do you understand what you did? It's bound to you now. You have bounded it you guewl.” She yanked herself away and stormed back up the stairs away from him and the dark magic of Noriphmy.
Joel watched her in confusion and as he did the orb came back and harmlessly bounced off his face. “Hey you started this,” he said as he swatted it away and ran after Kara, picking up the glowing rock on his way out. “Kara wait. What do you mean it's bound to me?” he whistled through his teeth and the stone. As he ran up the stairs the orb followed closely behind. It was like having an imprinted duckling. When he reached the top he spat the rock out and said, “Stop. What do you mean?”
She turned and said, “You seriously don't get it, do you?”
“I don't even know who Noriphmy is, what a Hexer is or even who Aminus is.” the orb again bounced off the back of its head as it caught up to him and Joel simply ignored it with an annoyed groan.
She looked at him with angered eyes and said, “where are you from? Who even are you?”
How do you answer a question like? Obviously he wasn’t a pony but he donned the body of one. He was out of his element completely led by chance. He shouldn’t have even been here Mace shouldn’t have even suited Joel in his own armor and equipment. Was this all just one big flub the universe happened to have. If so then why did Joel had to be the one who ended up trusted into this situation. Literally millions of others and it had to be him. But then he thought if it wasn’t him then it would be another asking the same exact questions.
Shaking his head he said, “I… I just, I'm just not from here Kara. I can’t explain it. Please can you just help me? What is this thing?” It was now hovering next to his face just simply floating there.
Kara thought for a moment in disappointment then said, “That ‘thing’ is the stolen magic of Noriphmy.” She didn’t look at him when she said that, “He was the Hexer who saved Carridian from Aminus the black dragon.”
“What exactly is stolen magic?”
“Its Magic in a physical form, although much weaker and less powerful. However its still a useful tool.” She took a breath and and looked up to the ceiling with tears in her eyes, “I was going to take that magic Joel. I was going to take it and bind it to myself.” She shook her head and said, “I studied magic most my life. Most said I was crazy because I was a pegasus and that it was simply a pointless, fruitless, aimless endeavor. My sister was about the only one who supported me. She sent me books every now and again that she would find out on her journeys. Technically she was breaking the law because she should have been sending them to the capital, but Kohlagin Sirvidian allowed it.”
“But you said if you're a Hexer it doesn’t matter. Any type of pony could use magic.”
“You're right Joel. It doesn’t matter but I'm not a Hexer. Stolen magic can be used by any pony as long as it is bound to you by blood.” And with a thrust of her hoof with every word next she said, "The very thing you did just then.” She turned and began to saunter away with wings drooping lower than usual.
Joel ran after her and said, “why don't you just take it then? I don't need it Kara. I don't want it.” He was deserving of this and he knew to keep it for himself would be selfish.
She let out a weak laugh, “The only way I could take it from you was if I killed you first.”
“That doesn’t seem like something you wouldn’t do,” he joked. “I’ve known you for a week now. Believe me.”
“I wouldn’t kill you Joel. Not even for the most powerful dark magic in Carridian.” She obviously meant the very thing Joel now had following him. “If I met you on the mountain and you had this magic I would, believe me. But you're apart of team Vendetta, and a Falconer never harms their own.”
“I'm sorry Kara, I didn’t mean to screw up. If it weren't for me we wouldn’t be down here.”
She looked at him and said, “If it weren't for you we would not have found Noriphmy’s dark magic.”
The thought that Joel now had dark magic kinda worried him, “so um this magic. Will it corrupt me or something?”
“You truly are mentally inept Joel,” she said. “Magic is a tool. Something the Hexers used constantly. Dark magic was only used for self defense. Light magic influences the physical form causing them to be capable of doing impossible things if it weren't for it in the first place.”
“What about Alchemy? I saw Hilliph use some to catch that spy.”
“Hilliph wasn’t using pure alchemy. He was blood binding the elements so he could have control over them. Alchemy is control over elements without the need to blood bind. With pure Alchemy you can change landscapes and move mountains.” The kept walking down the hall and they passed the cells they had blown up, “it's exactly what Aminus would have done.”
“Who is Aminus?”
“He was a dragon with black scales, no mouth but he still spoke with a thunderous voice. He had entrancing eyes and was believed to see the future.”
“That's what they all say befor there defeated,” Joel said as they rounded a corner.
“He certainly didn’t see Noriphmy,” she took a deep breath. “I just wish I could have been alive when he fought Aminus. They said the white flames that shown on his face were the brightest and most pure thing anypony had ever seen; the most absolutely breathtaking sight ever. Just something so magistrum about it. Some even thought he was a god.”
“I would believe it.”
“Many did. But he wasn’t a god. This magic proves that he died.” Joel thought that was kind of depressing. You accomplish so much in life and the time comes it just ends, “So after he defeated Aminus and killed all the majins…”
“Margins?”
“Majins,” she corrected, “Majins were essentially monsters except they could wield magic to devastating effects. This is where Hexers got there magic, by killing Majins.”
“Wasn’t Aminus a Margin then? He was a monster right.”
“Aminus was a dragon. Yes a monster but classified as a dragon. Not a Majin. Nobody exactly knows what a Majin is except that unlike monsters they have no blood.” They found a flight of stairs that looked as if it led out of where they were.
They both breathed a sigh of relief no knowing that they wouldn’t be stuck down here forever. “Kara,” Joel said. “I'm really sorry for binding this black magic. I didn’t know it was so important to you.”
“It's not your fault. My intentions were not exactly pure in heart. I just wanted it just so I could say that I have it.” She brushed a hoof through her mane and added, “and a few tricks too.”
“But I don't even know how to use it.”
She smiled and said, “I’ll teach you. I know more about Hexers and there magic than anypony. Even Hilliph.”
“I’m reluctant, truly. But let's just get out of here first.”
She nodded and they ran up the stairs to the door and opened it. They were on a balcony in a massive room that looked as if a war had taken place there. There were cracks in the walls burn marks, chains and a whole a wall that looked as if it had blasted inward.
There was an explosion on the far end and Joel saw Igneous and Mace jump out of a smoke cloud were as Igneous shouted to Mace, “Deploy yourself!”
Doing as he was told Mace pushed his chest button and his crossbows sprang up beside him. There was the sound of a huge door opening beyond the smoke screen and Igneous drew two of his four swords and poised himself for combat.