Empire of Man

“Yessss.” Rengard hissed through clenched teeth. “She’s mine, but she’s smiling at him! But I know that she’s not mine and her smile was just a smile.” Standing very still and stiff helped. That was what he had done as a child when his magic tried to bubble its way out of his body without permission.

“I’m losing my mind. I just want her. I can smell her from here and she’s over two hundred feet away. I can taste her lips still. This isn’t right. This isn’t normal. It must be the Madness.”

“Tell me honestly…” Wroth sighed. “…What happens if you don’t get the girl?” Wroth tried to be supportive. But he’d already had to put down three imperial sons who lost their minds to the Chaos Magic that created them.

They had been young. Only a few of the palace guards had died in the attempt to control the menace. Rengard Lan was a full-grown man who had never had the desire to master his Magery precisely because he’d seen what the Madness did to his kin. There was no telling how powerful he truly was despite everyone thinking he was less powerful than other mages just because he’d chosen not to pursue magical training.

“If I lose my mind?” Wroth nodded assent to the question. “Then you and all of your men…any man whom she looks at other than me… will die.” Lan hung his head with shame. “I don’t want this. It’s why I never studied anything more magic than was required to keep it together.” Wroth’s head snapped around.

“What don’t you want? What else aren’t you telling me?” Pressing Lan in his fragile emotional state might not be the best idea. But there was something that needed to be established right now. “Are you, in your current state, a danger to my men or myself?”

“Not yet; if the side effects of the spell wear off quickly enough, not ever.” Wroth grunted and left it at that. The Imperial family was always a threat. True they were venerated for protecting the world from Necromancers. Yet, Chaos Magic manifested unpredictable side effects in those who were born to wield it.

But the lie was acceptable. It meant that Lan’s obsession hadn’t corrupted the prince yet. Once Lan ceased feeling the need to lie about how terrible his problem really was, it would already be too late for Worth’s men. Wroth knew that an Imperial Mage, one of the primary Line of Inheritance, was always a danger to those who served them and served with them.

“Using your magic to save her activated its full potential didn’t it?” Lan shook with frightful near hysterical laughter “No. It didn’t take even a fraction of my full potential.” Lan paused for a long moment before asking something that he had never dared to ask. “Wroth, when my uncle lost his mind all those years ago, is it true that he was only stoppable because he had maxed out his magical limit?”

“Yes.” There wasn’t any hesitation. It was common knowledge that sometimes a rogue Imperial Mage had to be put down. The only reason the family was tolerated by some was that they were immune to Necromancers…and it would be impossible to kill them all. “He had maxed out his limit and was unable to break the barrier to go Beyond, unable to unlock his full potential.”

“You should kill me now.” Lan volunteered quietly.

“I thought you said that you weren’t a danger to us.” The older man countered.

“I think I didn’t just save her life.” It wasn’t necessary to say Lyla’s name. For the rest of the prince’s life, both men knew that the only her Lan would think of was Lyla. “I think I brought her back to life. I don’t know how it happened but I think that I performed Necromancy.”

“Did you only give her your life? Or did you take it from someone else?” The distinction was important. The first was just healing, the second…well, the second was Necromancy. It wasn’t possible for someone to perform Necromancy who wasn’t a descendant of the Gods. Mages were forbidden to mate with the Nefhilim…

“I thought it was only my own I gave her. But I didn’t feel the draw; there was no drain on my strength.”

“I’d noticed.” Wroth snorted. But it could just mean that you have a higher power limit than you anticipated.”

“Wroth,” Lan was hesitant like the shy young boy he had been when Wroth had first taken the child on for arms training. “I don’t know what my limit is. I can’t feel it. It’s why I’ve avoided using my magic, so I don’t risk going past my limit and activating my full potential.” Wroth nodded thoughtfully. It wasn’t Necromancy, but he’d known for some time that Lan’s powers were more dangerous than anyone wanted to think about. Certainly more dangerous than the boy’s father had ever acknowledged. Fool!

That was why Lan’s powers weren’t used. Wroth had even once recommended to the Emperor that his second eldest living child should have his powers bound even if it meant the Emperor would potentially be left without an heir if anything ever happened to the elder son. The older soldier clapped the young man on his shoulder.

“You’re right Lan, I should kill you now…but I won’t.”