by Zac Atie
“You’re an odd boy, you know that?” Veronica huffed.
”I was joking, genius.” Bastion said. “But really, what happens when you need blood?”
”You take it. Right away.” Veronica said. “There’s some Vials in my bag.”
”What happens if you don’t take it?” Bastion said.
”You begin to break down, unfortunately.” Veronica said, raising her eyebrows. “Most mages don’t like the thought of that, so when they feel hungry and they don’t have a backup… They go berserk.”
”So, if you didn’t have these vials, and you felt hungry right now…” Bastion whimpered.
”No, of course not, I would never degrade myself to be such a wretched animal.” Veronica huffed, proudly
”Sorry, your highness.” Bastion mocked her, receiving a light blow to his chest.
”But, if you offered, I would.” Veronica said. “We’ve tried to be civil, and take the blood of animals in bottles and vials, but when there’s no other choice…”
”I get it, no worries.” Bastion laughed.
”Would you offer?” Veronica said.
”I’d offer you some holy water as a replacement.” Bastion laughed.
”Not much of a gentleman.” Veronica huffed. Bastion could never tell if his conversations with Veronica were fun to her, or an irritation. It was very difficult to read her. He wondered if there was anyone who actually knew anything about why she was so irritable at the camp, or if she had anyone she was close to. “Ah crap, I forgot to tell you like 100 times.” Bastion said, stopping in his tracks. “Number 3!”
”What?” Veronica asked, also coming to a halt.
”Through hollow vision!” Bastion said. “I saw a man! Every time I saw him, he’d just disappear!”
”Was it abrupt? Or, did he slowly fade?” Veronica asked, walking up closer.
”Heck, it was right away, like he just vanished!” Bastion gasped. Veronica looked a little puzzled, but ended up dismissing it. “It just means someone knew he was being watched, and hid his aura. Someone powerful, we likely have never met him. Unless you see him again, you have nothing to worry about.” Though, that wasn’t really the end of it for Bastion. The person he was a mage, or a Cazrian, he knows this now. Who was he, and why was he there? He went silent after that, resuming walking alongside Veronica towards the homely settlement of Korreal. He tried to think about how cool it was going to be, how it would be rather different to see a bunch of loonies like Veronica walking around in Victorian clothing. And the buildings, what about the buildings, how old would they be? Would it be like walking into a time machine, back to the Era of Queen Victoria? While Bastion was recalling his history lessons of Queen Victoria, he failed to notice Veronica looking back at him occasionally. She noticed that he was bothered about what she said. She had taken slight interest in the interactions between friends when she was in school, a place where she had no business being, and there was no objective ruling for how friends should react. She had listened to male and female friends talking to each other, and the females were never anything like her. They were usually cheerful, which she felt incapable of doing. She decided to try her best, for once, but she could think of nothing to say to Bastion. “Want me to carry a bag?” Veronica finally asked, almost blushing from the lack of imagination she had. ”Huh? Oh, nah, I got it.” Bastion said, smiling, and resumed thinking. Veronica gave up rather quickly. “Say, how old are you?” Bastion said
”23, why?” Veronica answered, and Bastion lost his mind.
”23!?... You... You don’t look 23. You look my age.” Bastion said.
”We live long… and our bodies don’t age. Horizon’s breath.” Veronica said
”So you’re not going to grow old? And what was that about a Horizon?” Bastion asked
”No, my body will grow into adult in my later years, and I’ll die looking like one. And horizon is a dragon.” Veronica said.
”Wait, a dragon?” Bastion chuckled. “Oh, nah, you’re not going to tell me dragons are real.”
”They are. Though there’s only 3.” Veronica said.
”Bollocks.” Bastion said, not believing her.
”What did you think I meant by Draconic Testament? It’s the dragon religion.” Veronica sighed.
”Dragons are real, and they have a religion?” Bastion laughed. “Bollocks!”
”Think what you wish. I have no reason to lie to you.” Veronica sighed, and Bastion soon realized that Veronica wasn’t the sort for making jokes, which made Bastion come to the conclusion that she was telling the truth.
’Almost there’ seemed like a lie, since an hour passed by since then. Bastion was depressed at how far they had gone, and how everything had looked the same. His awe had turned to illness as they trotted across the plains, when Veronica stopped all of a sudden. “Close your eyes.” Veronica said, smiling slightly.
”What, do you have a present for me?” Bastion asked, and when he saw Veronica frown, he submitted. “Alright…” Bastion said, tired, and he closed his eyes. About 2 dozen silhouettes popped up, small, but close by. “Wow!” Bastion shouted. They were all moving around, doing what seemed like daily chores. There were two figures even closer, beside what looked to be a gate, which Bastion pegged as the guards. Veronica had told him that whenever the Magi train outside, the guards put up an illusion spell that shields the outside world from seeing the magic. Upon closer inspection of the village, he began to see more of what awaited him. Underground, rather deep, he could sense even more faint silhouettes, over triple of what’s on the surface, though he couldn’t get a clear view of what they were doing. In fact, when he focused hard, “Well?” Veronica said.
”Consider me impressed.” Bastion admitted, excitement rising. “Let’s go, not far now.” He said, as if he was the one leading Veronica toward the village. The duo trekked the grass even further toward the two guards, coming up on a large, wooden fence, and trailing around it toward the gate. Through the gaps in the fence, Bastion could see the small village. It was minute, nothing that would catch anyone’s attention, but from here he could see that the buildings were ancient. They went round to the front, and presented themselves to the guard. “Veronica Blay, I'm bringing a recruit.” She said, showing her medallion “The first rare human of Korreal.”
”Did you complete your mission?” The guard said, smiling warmly.
”That’s not your business to know.” Veronica said.
”Hmmm…” The guard said, smile fading, and he opened the gate. Bastion was taken aback by Veronica’s rudeness toward the guard, and as they walked toward the village he thought about saying something, but figured he’s only get her riled up. Eventually, they reached the village, and Bastion greeted by waves and warm smiles. A couple of girls giggled at Bastion, a couple of men came up and shook his hand, welcoming him formally, slowing Veronica down as she turned, watching on, mumbling as she became frustrated for whatever reason. The citizens were extremely kind and friendly, and it seemed that visitors were not a very common thing here. A nice, closed off, tight-knit group. If he was to stay here for the rest of his life, he had the feeling he would come to love it. It was as if everyone knew each other. Other than that, they were like he expected them to be. They wore Victorian clothes, though they seemed far cleaner than what he expected them to be. It seemed they had evolved the same way in society that normal humans did. The roads were stone, and divided into squares, unlike the tarmac in the industrial streets of Surrey, and the buildings were all black and white, like Bastion once saw in a movie, and old photos. The centre of the village had a small, church like building, though it wasn’t large. “This place is great.” Bastion said to Veronica, getting all giddy and excited, and Veronica just replied with a weak half-smile. Bastion’s opinion on Veronica began to change once they entered the village. Her accent was completely different from the villagers, and he noticed that not many people made any mention of her, or even acknowledged her… he would be convinced that
she was a mere ghost, a fragment of his imagination, if she hadn’t been quoted 150 times by Talia. Why was that? Was she simply a loner? A lunatic? He figured he was being insensitive, that perhaps she has a brutal and sad past, and that she has problems, but he felt there was a lot more to it.
Veronica led him toward a small bungalow by a small lake, which was her house. Much like Veronica, the house was also alone, situated practically on the border of the village. It was like an outpost, almost the perfect home for an outcast. The lake was large, and kept relatively clean, and had a ton of fish living within it, looking bored like they always do.
“Nice fish… Do you feed them?” Bastion asked.
”Are you serious?” Veronica asked. “Feed them with what, Bastion?”
”Pet food… you don’t have a pet store?” Bastion asked, feeling stupid.
”…No. Look how many people there are in the village, Bastion.” Veronica said. “In the list of priorities, pets are extremely low.”
”Just asking…” Bastion said sheepishly.
”I eat them.” Veronica mumbled.
”You breed fish in a lake to eat them?” Bastion asked.
”Aye.” She said, which confused Bastion into not knowing whether she was attempted a joke or not. She opened the door to the bungalow “Come in.” She says. The bungalow was small, messy and it smelled like an old man’s house. The living room was littered with sheets and books, though the couch was relatively empty. “Sit down, I’ll make you something to drink.” Veronica said, heading off into the kitchen. Bastion dumped his bags onto the floor, and sat on the couch. After a few seconds, his OCD kicked in, and he began doing what he could to clean up the place. He put the books on the shelf, he picked up the sheets and stored them behind the couch in a ball, he cleaned up the litter, and closed the door to the hallway so he couldn’t see the mess behind that as well. “What are you doing?” Veronica asked, in the kitchen.
”Cleaning up” Bastion said “How do you live like this?”
”I don’t know…” Veronica said. “It fails to bother me.”
”You share something in common with Talia.” Bastion said, though Veronica didn’t reply like he expected. That reminded him that he hadn’t spoke to Talia since getting here, and took out his phone to see if he received any messages. None were there, but he noticed the signal was awful, meaning that it was going to be text-based conversations from here on out for the pair, and sent a text informing her of that. Veronica came out from the kitchen, with tea on a platter. She placed it on the table and looked around the room. “Hmm.” she said, thinking the improvement was ok. Bastion thought it was odd that her body and hair was so perfect and clean, but her own house was a dump. “So…” Bastion began “What now?”
”Well…” Veronica said. “I got to talk to Varnis, my teacher, about you and the portal. We’ll handle it tomorrow, it’s going to get dark soon. Where do you want to sleep?”
”Couch will do.” Bastion said
”You… want to stay in my house?” Veronica asked, thinking he’d be disgusted by the idea of staying in such a dump. “Sure, but I'm going to have to clean up, if you don’t mind.” Bastion laughed.
“That’s fine. I'm gonna go check on Varnis, keep him up to date on what’s happening, and make plans for tomorrow.” Veronica said, getting up and walking toward the door, slowing down and turning around. “I'm glad you’re here.” She wheezed, and headed for the front door. Bastion finished his tea, and took it to the kitchen, where he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the state of the kitchen.
After about an hour of going around clearing away all the rooms in the small bungalow, except Veronica’s bedroom, he turned and headed for the couch, and sat down. Eventually, he got bored, he thought this would be a good time to go out and meet some people, then he saw that it was getting dark, and people would likely be going out in packs drinking blood from beautiful women in the countryside. He chuckled at the idea, and then wondered what he would do as he lit a candle. “If I was back home… I’d read a book.” He said, and turned around, heading to the bookcase. He was glad to see that his thirst for reading didn’t evaporate. He looked through the books, seeing only history books, most of which he’s already read, when he came across a few papers held together by a paperclip. It was clear that this was photocopied, most likely the original copy was extremely old and eroded over time. It seems to be the work of an old mage, one that survived during the Metholian Civil War. He took it out and looked at the front, which clearly stated the name of the papers, ‘The dragons and their teachings’. The words were faded, but he sat down and began to read anyway, having to squint his eyes and go over words several times to determine what it is. As he read, time passed, and the room deteriorated into a small, dimly lit area as the candle burnt the wax, but Bastion didn’t mind that. The words of the papers moved him, to the point where he hoped that it was actually true. The old mage seemed to think so, as he wrote in a way that made him seem like he desperately wanted to inform the reader of a truth long forgotten. The photocopy was about three dragons, and the birth of the world of Cazria, but as he could see, much of the content was obviously missing. However, he did determine all that mattered most.
Perhaps billions of years ago, 3 dragons were born from natural suns within the universe. Horizon - the creator of worlds, Dawn – The giver of life, and Dusk – Bestower of magic. The dragons went around, creating systems and life on planets, inserting magic within their blood to enable them to use magic, but for the longest time, they failed to make a perfect peace loving race. After a countless attempts, they created a world called ‘Dominion’. Dominion was the homeworld of the Domini, a once peace loving race that the dragons adored, and for the longest time they thought that the Domini were the race that would be the chosen ones, and would go about the crusade. However, they were wrong, because power corrupted them once they were given immortality, and after the dragons took it back and abandoned them, they looked upon their abandonment with anger and hatred. It made them violence loving husks of what they once were. Eventually, the dragons made Cazria, who were definitely not perfect, but took the religion seriously. They bowed their heads to dragons, and embarked on the crusade. The Draconic Testament was what they left behind, and is the religion that the Cazrians offer to the failed worlds of magicless beings that the dragons had abandoned. The Draconic Testament was basically a law, and a fair law, which had been successful for many races. The mere mention of Cazria had proven to Bastion that this religion was the religion that Veronica was talking about, the Draconic Testament. “Were these beings responsible for earth’s creation?” Bastion asked himself. He read through the Crusade part, but the only new thing that he actually found was that the portals was practically a ritual that the dragons had taught to them, and that only an Overlord is able to create a portal. Not through the act of leadership, but the sheer power of their magic. The Dragons left it up to the Cazrians on how exactly they would become that powerful, as the title of Overlord came from the Cazrians themselves, and it involved a magic ritual. Opening a portal is easy enough, but creating one requires a massive amount of magic that is usually fed to him by his followers. Then, the Overlord’s blood is required to open and close the portal. He tried reading through other passages, but he figured it was too hard to read. Then, he came across a word that caught his eye. “Arcana”. He tries to think back to where he had heard of that word before, and then an image of a sword entered his head. It was the cauterizing weapon that Torrig used… He thought that the idea of a real weapon having it’s own place in a religious dogma was odd. Reading through, Bastion realized from the emphasis that the writer was trying to give off that the Arcana was a huge deal, basically the weapon was a sign of a whole race, the chosen race. The weapon is fuelled with Arcanum plasma, which is effective against magic and is a humane weapon, since it cauterizes a wound shortly after it had been inflicted. The weapons also came in many forms, from long swords to spears. Then there was
a part that shook Bastion. After all the emphasis, there was extreme anger in a paragraph that explains the crime of “Kinslaying”, which is the act of killing a Cazrian with the gift of their gods, the Dragons. The penalty for such a crime is death. He read through the paragraph, over and over again, trying to piece together why exactly it bothered him so much... then it came to him. He thought back, to the assembly…Veronica took the Arcana and swept the Cazrian’s head clean off. Does she know of the consequences? Has this rule been reinforced by the Mages? Eventually he puts away the papers, and lays down on the couch, thinking about Veronica, and if she was all she looked to be… and eventually, he drifted off to sleep.
He awoke a couple of hours later to Veronica slamming the door with fury. Nearly jumping out of his skin, he scrambled up off the couch defensively, rubbing his eyes as Veronica came into view. “Unbelievable!” Veronica howled. At first, he thought she was amazed by the cleanliness of her once scruffy house, but he noticed that she wasn’t too happy. She stormed off toward her room. Bastion got up and followed her, hoping she was in the mood for talking and wouldn’t just start stripping off, which would make him look rather perverted. “Err…” Bastion began, approaching the ajar door of Veronica’s room, which was emanating sounds of things being tossed aside as if she was looking for something, “You alright?”