Chapter 13: The Colours of Magic

Chapter 13

The last piece was in place, everything was ready.  It was time.  Duana sat in the middle of the circle and started to chant.  Her black magic laced with the bloodstone’s red raced along the circle, filling each talisman with power.  It was finally time.

“Duana!  Stop!”  Rhea materialized and scuffed part of the circle with her foot, breaking the spell.  Duana’s magic vanished, though the bloodstone still glowed.

“Rhea, what are you doing here?”  Duana exclaimed.

“I get it now, I understand, but you have to stop.”  Rhea replied firmly.

“Then you don’t understand.”  Duana said.

“I do, everything you’ve done has been for your people, you’re Sacian.”  Rhea said.

Duana looked at Rhea with surprise.  When she opened her mouth to speak her whole story tumbled out, it had simply been ignored for too long.  

“I was ten when the war started, but it didn’t start as a war, it started as an invasion, an invasion of my homeland.  

Our mines are rich with gems known for magnifying and storing magic.  Our country raises miners and farmers, not soldiers.  Your king,” she spat the word, “hired men to burn your own border towns, then sent his army over to burn ours.  Our army, if that’s what you’d call a group of half trained boys and old men, scrambled to protect us.

The first year into the war my father, brothers, uncles, and male cousins went to join the fight.  I will never see any of them again.  

Two years into the war the only thing preventing our annihilation was the abundant magic from our gemstones.  Your king once again hired plunderers and bandits, but this time he set them on our towns.  My family had the misfortune of living too close to the border.  I returned from the river one afternoon and this is what I found,”  Duana swept out her arms, motioning to the charred ruins of what once had been a house.  Her eyes were glassy and a few tears had escaped to fall down her cheeks.  Rhea remembered that Duana had used the “home” as her key word to transport and a knot formed in her stomach as her mind painted a picture of what had happened.  

“My sister was only six years old.  She-she was always happy, always found something to laugh about.  My mother-”  Duana’s voice broke, “my mother used to joke that Rosie didn’t have a serious bone in her body.  

My family was collateral damage.  I was only twelve, but I swore then that I’d see this war to it’s end.  I spent six years mastering my magic and creating this bloodstone.  It is bound to me in colour, magic, and blood.  And it has one purpose; to bring an end to this war,”  Duana whispered.  

Rhea knew that without a doubt Duana was telling the truth.  She could tell by the flat matter of fact way she spoke about the horrors committed upon her family and country.  It also explained what had happened to her magic colour, this what what had caused her aura to change.

“How?  Duana how where you going to do that without killing everyone?”  Rhea demanded.

Duana looked at Rhea with a detached expression on her face, “he was going to kill my people.  The King was going to use my bloodstone to bring an end to Sacia.  It is time for the war to end, no matter the cost.”

“You can’t!  That’s no better than what the king would have done!  You spent eight years as the Queen, if killing everybody was your intent you wouldn’t have waited so many years to use the bloodstone in this way, don’t waste those years!  What about Jason?  He doesn’t even know we have a child!  What about Aya and me?  What about all the other mothers and fathers, and brothers and sisters, and sons and daughters?  Are you willing to make them collateral damage?”  Rhea protested.

“The war must end.  It will end, now, I will make it end,”  Duana said determinedly.

“Not like this!  If we explain the truth to everyone they might leave.  We have to give them a chance!”  Rhea pleaded.  If her words didn’t work there was nothing she could do.  She couldn’t stop Duana, her magic wasn’t powerful enough.

“I will let you try, but if you fail in ending the war I will end it, my way,”  Duana relented.

“Then take us to the front lines,”  Rhea smiled slightly, “I doubt I can do another transportation, not without risks.”  

Duana stood up and waved one hand, the skuff line Rhea had made in her circle disappeared, then the whole circle rose into the air and vanished in a flash of black light.  

Black magic poured out of Duana’s hands and enveloped both women.