The swordsman in white, and the red mage

by Joseph_Tanner

Chapter 5: Good news, and a contract

(For future reference, in an environment where they know him as Altamir I will be calling him just that, but where he’s known as Mortis, I’ll call him that, okay?)

“Hey Altamir, Galaxia and Comsos wants to have a word with you,” MoonDust exclaimed.

“Yeah, but where they at though?” Altamir replied.

“Have you not seen them?”

“Nah, why should I? I’m coming from the library,”

“Are you telling me the King and Queen are gone?” Altamir replied.

“If you put it that way, yes…” He replied.

“Are you telling me, that while the entire Royal Guard was on shift, they disappeared in broad daylight in the middle of the day without anyone seeing them?”

“Maybe?” MoonDust replied, trying to make a charming face.

“You lazy fuck,” Altamir muttered.

“What? I got knocked out by your sister, okay? You owe me a favor…” Dust replied.

“You owe Itrix one, she asked you to watch me, not me,”

“Not the point, we need to find them anyway, or else we’ll be in trouble,”

“Who and why would be in trouble again?” Asked a colt from behind, wearing similar robes to those Itrix wore.

“You again? What do you want?” Dust asked.

“Watch your tongue when talking to a Royal Advisor, or else you might find it’s missing,” He replied.

Altamir leaned in to whisper. “Who’s this douchebag?”

“It’s one of the advisors, he’s Minas,” Dust replied.

“Ahem… So… Why would you be in trouble?” Minas wondered.

Dust and Altamir pretended not to see or hear him, and walked past him, until a wall of magic appeared in front of them. “Altamir, don’t you dare leave me here,” Dust said and Altamir walked through the wall.

“You think I would?” Altamir replied, and turned to face Minas.

“Now, speak or he’ll regret,” Minas replied.

“If he does, you’re done for,”

“Ha! As if you could defeat me, don’t be ridiculous,”

“You seem so sure about yourself, but what are you worth without magic?” Altamir wondered.

“Why would I NOT use it?”

“Against me? Useless, it is,”

“We will see then,” Minas replied, taking an aggressive position.

“If you lose, you die,” Altamir informed him, and raised his blade against him.

“Let’s see what Humans are made of,” Minas threw back, and the two lashed out at one another. At first, Minas shot a blast at Altamir, which hit, but caused no damage… Not in him at least, but a window ceased to exist. “Your words were true at last, well then, how about this…” He replied, and produced a sword from his robes.

“How did that even fit in there?!” Altamir asked loudly while blocking most attacks.

“An advisor must have a wit of their own!”

“In short, you had it up your rump,” Altamir replied, taunting him.

“Your tongue is sharp, but is your blade as sharp?”

“You’ll see…” He replied, and the next time Minas stuck, Altamir grabbed the handle of the sword, causing Minas’s (Minai? Minas’s? Minases?) magic to disperse, disarming him in the end.

“This is not so fair, don’t you think?” Minas taunted.

“Neither is abusing your rank as an advisor… You crossed the wrong Human, you will never do this mistake again,” Altamir replied, and with no hesitation cut off his horn, leaving him defenseless.

“I will have your head for this!” Minas cried in pain, then turned to run.

“I doubt so,” Altamir threw back, and slashed his hind legs, slowing him down. He let go of the swords and grabbed Minas by the robes and threw him against the wall.

“What do you want?! You already won!”

“I can’t tell, but I will, since you won’t speak,” He replied. “Rule one, kill your opponent, or die,” He explained, and began beating him, until Dust stopped him.

“Enough already!”

“Step back, or you get some too,” Altamir threw back.

“Woah, fine, be that way then, I saw nothing…” Dust replied and walked away, leaving the two by themselves.

“Wait! Come on! Help me here!” Minas yelled after him.

“Where were we? Oh,” Altamir muttered, and continued beating him, until blood soaked the carpet at his feet. “You should’ve been a Pegasus,”

“Wha- Why?” Minas asked.

Altamir said no word, and threw him out the window, and watched him fall to his demise, landing with a splat loud enough to be heard from 200m. Unfortunately for him, Minas didn’t die instantly, but the crash paralyzed him. I’ll see you in h- He couldn’t finish his thought, as his own sword came down, landing between his eyes.

“Let me guess, the wrong Human to mess with?” Mortis asked, crouching aside him, aware of his death. She stood back up, looked up, spying for her sibling, soon sighting him standing behind the shattered window. Apparently he saw her too, and waved. Lesson learned it seems.

Altamir wasted no time, and went to check on Itrix, who was still asleep. I won’t wake her… So he headed for Moonlight’s instead, where the mare just woke up.

“Hello?” She exclaimed.

“Greetings, I doubt we met before. At least, I doubt you know me,” He replied, and sat down at the foot of her bed.

“How so?”

“Here’s a hint, I’m Altamir,” He replied.

“Ah, the guy Itrix spoke of all the time,” She noted.

“Oh, did she? Touching…” He replied. “Tell me, are you any better?”

“Just needed some rest, yes,”

“What were you doing so long in the library?”

“We tried to develop a spell, requested by Galaxia,”

“What kind?”

“You will have to ask yourself, you know, not only the guards and soldiers get orders,”

“I’ll keep it in mind, thanks,” He replied and left, only to run into said mare.

“What a pleasant surprise,” She noted, taking some distance.

“Your words are exact,” He replied. “I’ve been looking for you two for a while now, Moon Dust and I grew worried even for your absence,” He explained.

“Yes, yes, come walk with us, I’ll tell you everything,” She replied.

“So, what have I missed?” He asked on their way to the throne room.

“You’re the first we tell, you see, this noon I felt ill, so we called for the healers…”

“Was it a reason to worry?” Altamir asked.

“Not by the least, in fact, it’s the best reason to celebrate,” Cosmos continued.

“How so?” He asked again, this time the two sat in their thrones.

The two swapped glances, unsure which one of them would tell. “Well, soon there will be more bearing crowns than the two of us…”

Altamir was unsure what to make of it, until he noticed Galaxia’s belly. “Oh! Oh! Oh, oh my, that’s great news! Congratulations!” He replied. “Have you heard of the gender?”

“No, we will let fate tell us,” Cosmos replied.

“Well, that is good to hear, truth be told,” He assured them. “When will you tell others? The Royal Guard, the citizens, Itrix...”

“We’ll let them wait, we just got to know it too,” Cosmos replied.

“If you would excuse, I need leave,” Altamir informed them.

“If you must,” Galaxia replied with a nod.

Altamir left, and headed for his room for some rest, but was surprised when he found a figure standing at him bed. “Who would you be?” He asked.

“Ease, Altamir. I’m anything but a foe… To you at least,” The man replied.

“And why are you here?”

“Remember the day Itrix brought you here?”

*Nods*

“Remember the device Itrix used to talk to somebody?”

*Nods*

“Then you know who she talked to,”

“You?”

“Yes, but I fear it would be a waste to introduce myself, as you would not believe me,”

“Do it anyway,”

“I am Etarr, a being capable of anything you can imagine, I could make all life cease to exist with a snap of my fingers, I could bring thousands of citizens to existence, send you back or forward in time, and everything else you can, or can’t think of,”

“How so?”

“I fear I myself know not the reason, nor the source of my powers, but should you need proof, I’m eager to provide,” He replied.

“So long I have no reason to do otherwise, I believe you. Why are you here?”

“You may not know, but Itrix is a friend of mine, in fact, she’s my eye in a way. I trust her on a reason, and gave her the power of magic, and knowledge beyond recognition, but I must admit, she may not be enough alone,”

“I didn’t know that about her…” Altamir noted.

“I have come to you with an offer, Mortis,”

“Of what kind?”

“I might be a powerful being, sure, but the more effort, the more result, the more people work for me, the more influence and effect I can have on this world… Altamir, work for me,”

“What? How? Why?”

“The why is answered already, the what is as well, as for the how, it’s simple… Altamir. Be my arm, my strength, follow my words, and fight for a better world, to ensure peace for the generations to come,”

“I’m willing, but what will I have in return?”

“What do you desire to have? You have Extos, Itrix, and maybe even the royal two as family, or friends at best, you have your might as well, I’ve been keeping an eye on you since your first day in that arena, so, what would you have?”

“I fear I can’t answer yet,”

“I want you to be clear, so I tell you again. If you work for me, I will grant you a few favors or wishes from time to time, and if you wish to, I can reward you now as well…” Etarr explained.
“Have you chosen now?” He asked.

“Perhaps, I have,”

“Good, good, what is it now?”

“Make sure Galaxia’s children will be born healthy,”

“And do I shall, now, come, I need your presence,” Altamir approached as requested. “Here, sign this parchment, I need your name here, and we will be good to go,”

Altamir slightly hesitated, but in the end, signed the parchment. “Now, here’s a secret I tell you once, so listen close,” Altamir leaned in to hear. “Mortis may be your sister, but don’t take all her words for granted, I feel her intentions aren’t so noble as they seem,”

“Are you telling me to,”

“All I’m saying, is that she seems to be hiding or planning something, Altamir. For now, tell nobody we met, not even Itrix,”

“Why not?”

“It is better she doesn’t know,”

“If you wish, be that way,” Altamir assured him.

“Remember, just because I can make anything happen, don’t assume I actively am, I only intervene if necessary, and in person, only in dire need,”

“I shall not forget then, good to meet you,”

“The pleasure is mine, Altamir. Now, listen well... When she comes to you in sorrow, tell Celestia these words: Prepare for unforeseen consequences… Now, this is where I get off.” He replied, and faded into thin air.

“Celestia? Who?” Altamir muttered in confusion, unable to find a solution. He lay down in his bed, and went to sleep.

[Hours later, he woke up to knocking on his door] [340 Days left.]

*Knock Knock*

Who could that be this late in the night? He approached the door and opened it. “Yes?” He asked on a tired tone.

“Oh, did I wake you?” Asked a familiar looking mare.

*Yawn* “No, I spent at least half the day in bed, or so it seems. Come, sit,” He replied, and Moonlight trotted in, and sat on her haunches on a carpet. “What brought you here in this time of day?”

“Well, I just wanted to thank you for bringing us to bed… Uh, I mean to ours, our own individual ones, no innuendos,”

“You’re welcome, but was it so urgent it couldn’t wait until dawn at least?”

“The healers checked us both, turned out the library has some sort of gas inside, which wasn’t so good to inhale as air is, and caused us to fall asleep, as you called it. Should you have come minutes later, we would no longer be on this side of the ground,” She explained.

“That’s interesting, have told Galaxia or Cosmos?”

“I was going to tell Advisor Minas, but I couldn’t find him… Maybe I will tell the monarchs though,” She replied.

“You see, I doubt Minas would be around in the future…” He replied.

“How so?”

“He and I had a nasty argument the other day, so…”

“What did you do?” She asked impatiently.

“Nothing! He told me that If I know better, then why not replace him, so he packed his stuff and left…” He explained.

“Had he mentioned where he went?”

“I haven’t bothered to ask,”

“Huh, sad to hear he left so sudden… He and Moon Dust just didn’t come out well anyway,”

“You know Moon Dust?”

“My own brother? Certainly, have you not yet noticed? Moonlight Comet, Moon Dust? Hello?”

“Yeah, I thought your family names were Dust and Comet, so no… I haven’t, sorry,” He replied.

“As for the spell, have you asked Galaxia?”

“I knew I forgot something, but I did meet them today,” He assured her.

“Well, I’ll tell you a secret then…” She replied. “She asked us to find or develop some sort of future telling spell, I’m not sure as to why, though,”

“Well, I believe it is better left unknown, unless she tells her reason, right?”

“No argument from me, well, I must go now, good night!”

“Bye, Comet,” He replied, and shut the door behind her, and went back to sleep.

[339 Days left]

In the morning, he woke up to Itrix knocking on his door. That was a good sleep…

“Here you are, sleepyhead, where were you yesterday?”

“I got home yesterday, and found you in the library?” He replied, unsure if she was aware.

“No, that was before yesterday, where were you?” She assured him.

He briefly looked back at his bed, then back to her. “Um, probably asleep?”

“Sleepyhead all right, well, Galaxia and Cosmos were wondering where you were, you should go, see them,”

“Okay,” He replied, and the conversation was over, since Itrix simply left, so he made his way to the throne room. What could they want?

[End of Chapter 5]

Comments

[Swordsmen]

*Looks suspiciously at the title of this story*

[NovaBomber]

I like it, cant wait for more.