Inheritor Of Magic: The Magi King

The entire town slowly gathered outside the building, assuming that there must be some sort of announcement that would come along with this dramatic change. They had felt the curse being activated, and then the spell spread through the town and tore their bodies apart, but strangely spared the children, the town healer and a few others.

Most of them hadn’t realized yet that the spell wasn’t an offensive attack, but that the damage was a side effect of it banishing curses that were lingering in their bodies. That was why the children were unharmed. Most of them were filthy at the moment, as the Bloodline Curse had also been somewhat inelegantly cleansed from their bodies, but only a few parents were able to be concerned about that right now.

One of those who was concerned was the town’s healing potion specialist. She had never cast a curse in her life, so the spell hadn’t really affected her, other than forcing the dried Bloodline Curse out. But she was in her thirties already, and wouldn’t gain the huge benefits that the youngest generation would.

Children like her own four girls, who she quickly rinsed with a garden hose and made change their clothing before they joined the crowd, headed for the source of the commotion.

Inside the building, Witches slowly stumbled in from the side rooms and basement, in agony and trying to recover from the shock. Most collapsed when they saw the three powerful figures in the middle of the room, and Wolfe’s sensitive hearing picked up more than a few cussing at the old woman kneeling in front of Ella.

“Greetings everyone. It looks like you’ve all realized now that trying to curse us isn’t going to get you anywhere. So, we will do this negotiation the easy way. You will reform, and you will do it now. There will be no more slaves in your village, if there is a boy with Magi potential that you wish to be rid of, you will send them to us with a protective escort.

If you check the marks on your necks, you will find that they are Servant Marks. Your lives are owed to Saint Noxus, who has purged your curse damaged bodies and given you a second chance to live as honest witches.” Ella announced once the sounds of movement outside the room had stopped.

Either this was all of them, or the others had been too damaged to heal themselves through the process.

“Now, we will be making a public announcement, so I will heal some of you to accompany us outside, where your villagers are waiting. Who among you can be reasonable?” She asked.

The Seraphim man was trying very hard not to laugh right now. This sort of negotiation was not what he was expecting when he arrived, though he hadn’t expected a warm welcome from the Witches. It looked like they had found the boy with potential, and they would be able to impart an Inheritance spell on him and help him grow, so his mission was nearly accomplished.

There wasn’t much to complain about. He hadn’t had to do anything, hadn’t been injured, and hadn’t even been required to use his magic to pacify the crowd. The Seraphim specialized in pacification magic, calming crowds and implanting group thoughts.

The witches looked at each other, and the Elder glared up from her position on the floor. Even with healing magic and the potion vial that every witch normally keeps in their pocket in case of emergency, she was in bad shape, and she was raging at the disrespect of these outsiders to come to her village and tell her what to do.

Finally, one of the younger witches in the room, a woman in her younger middle years, perhaps fifty or sixty by Wolfe’s estimation, got to her feet. She didn’t seem to be in the immense pain that the others were, which was a good sign of her character, and she had a resolute look in her eyes that said she would not accept anyone questioning her on this.

“I will go with you to speak to the townsfolk. Many of them must have suffered the same backlash that we did when the curse was channelled through the Coven Link. How many of our people did you afflict with the Servant Bond, Magi?” She asked, visibly furious, but trying to be polite.

“Every person who assisted in the spell. Every person who had a curse cleansed from them as well, but their debt will be much smaller, and quickly repaid with common actions and civilized behaviour. I will have you know, I’m not intending to lift the spell from your town, there will be no more cursing visitors.” Wolfe replied.

That didn’t help her mood at all, but it did set things clear in her mind. His servant bond would be on pretty much everyone in town, as all witches carried the Bloodline Curse, even the men. If there was someone in town that didn’t have the mark, it would be extremely suspicious.

“Alright, we will go speak to the people now, before they begin to panic or come up with theories about the horrible ways that they might be dying right now. Unlike the ones in this room, they had no idea what was going on before they were affected.”

That word carried a good bit of not so hidden resentment, but they would begin to appreciate his efforts more in the near future, Wolfe was certain. If they truly followed the old ways, they should be happy to have their children awakening with puberty instead of around age eighteen. They just needed to be reminded that curses were looked down upon during all times, and were a last resort during the war, not an everyday greeting.

Four of the younger witches, the assistants to the Elders who worked here, got to their feet to follow, and Ella noticed that there were far more people here than the leadership of a small town should need. Most towns operated with three or four leaders and pencil pushers, but there were over twenty women in this room, plus servants.

That didn’t match with what she knew of the historical structure of the Covens at all.