A Seal of Blood

LEGEND OF THE OMNIMAGI
Chapter 4: A Seal of Blood

Only seconds ago, the ground beneath the feet of an entire village shook while a giant arm rose from the ground high enough to block the sun. Now, three newcomers to the town, one of them encased in a giant stone fist, rested amongst a crowd of murmuring people, all curious about what was happening in their normally peaceful town.

The hunter struggled to free himself, but neither his magic nor his muscles were able to break him loose. Surprisingly, he began laughing.

"Ha!" Giving an oddly defiant grin, the hunter turned his head as best he could to Len. "You want my staff, kid? Just wait until this spell of yours wears off, and I'll give it to you - right up your scrawny little..."

"As tempting as that sounds," interrupted Len, "I think I'll just take it now."

The hunter laughed. "Now? What are you gonna do, reach through several feet of solid rock and take it?"

"Well, more or less. Now, brace yourself; this may hurt a wee bit..."


Khaea watched the whole scene in silent fascination. As Len made his way over to the mercenary hunter's earthen prison, she couldn't help but wonder why this guy, from out of nowhere, had helped her. After all, normally when a mercenary is chasing someone, don't people normally try to help catch the criminal?

I really should go, but...I just gotta know! Who is this guy? And why'd he help me?

The surrounding crowd's conversation suddenly grew louder, snapping her attention back on Len. He was standing over the giant hand, his own hand hovering inches above it.

The mercenary hid any fear he had of Len and the spell he was casting well, although his face was twitching from the discomfort he felt in his stony cage. It felt like the earth was wriggling, pushing and nudging all around him, trying to move him in spite of his immobility.

Suddenly, something struck both of his wrists hard. As he let out a cry of surprise, something yanked the staff out of his hands, leaving him to grab nothing but dirt. In a matter of seconds, the staff had rematerialized, rising slowly out of the stone and into Len's hand.

"See? Told you I'd do it." said Len, appraising the staff for a moment. "Now, one last thing..." And I better hurry; that spell's gonna wear off any second now. Planting the staff in the ground, Len then adjusted his sleeves, allowing a small dagger to slide down from its hiding spot into his hands.


Some of the surrounding crowd gasped, the mothers trying to hold their children close. Even the mercenary, though he continued to talk tough, had an audibly nervous edge to to his voice. "W-what are you going to do with that? K-kill me?"

"What? In front of a bunch of kids? What do I look like, you?" Len retorted. Offering no other explanation, he made a small gash in his free palm with a quick and careful slice. The mothers of the crowd grabbed their children even closer, some even turning away themselves. All other eyes were now fixed on the white-haired stranger.

Len ignored the onslaught of eyes pressing onto him as he dabbed two fingers from his uncut hand onto the wound, causing him to wince painfully. With the fresh blood on his fingertips, he then began making a small design on the mercenary's forehead, using his slashed palm like an painter's palette when the blood on his fingers ran out. When he had finally finished, a tiny, bloody pentagram adorned his opponent's face.

"What the hell are you doing to me?" yelled the mercenary, who was beginning to freak out. When Len slapped his uncut hand onto the mark and began chanting in a bizarre language even he didn't know, he got his answer. A sudden surge pulsed through him, feeling as if a bolt of lightning has coursed through his body in the span of half a second. Though the pain was instantaneous and his body seemed fine, he still felt dazed, so much so that he barely noticed the stone hand around him crumbling to dirt, leaving him free to move once again.


Soon after, he regained his sense and stood up, brushing off the dirt clinging to his clothes and turning to Len. Regardless of his current lack of a weapon, the mercenary's voice was as cocky as ever. He scoffed, "You think I need that to beat you? When I'm done with you, I'll...I'll, uh..."

His ego almost instantly deflated. He was trying to focus his magical energy into another attack, but nothing was coming. He couldn't even activate the simplest spells he knew, ones he was using when he was just a boy. Len simply stood and watched, lightly smiling.

"W-what...what...what the hell did you do to me?" yelled the mercenary, panicked.

Len replied, "Well, simply put, I sealed up your magic."

"Sealed...but..." He just stared at Len, looking shocked. "W-who are you?"

"Heh, right now, someone with a significant advantage over you. Of course, since you can't use any spells, someone else may be interested in making use of it. Ain't that right, miss?" Len added, turning to Khaea, who'd been watching the strange events unfold silently. She knew better than to get involved in magic.

That guy IS helping me! But why? For a moment, Khaea was confused. Then, however, what Len had said clicked. Wait a minute...'can't use any spells'? ...well, maybe I can worry about him later. Right now...


Finally daring to approach the dueling mages, Khaea made her way slowly toward the mercenary. Her eyes were filled with a menacing gleam. Both Len and the mercenary noticed it; Len simply smiled knowingly at the mercenary, who reacted with wide-eyed terror.

"Um...if I were you," spoke Len quietly, "I'd start running for the nearest temple shrine to get unsealed. Now."

Apparently, the mercenary was thinking along the same lines. Immediately after Len had said it, he shot up and ran for the nearest patch of trees outside of town, this time much slower due to his lack of magic. Khaea followed, but much slower as well; Len surmised that she was now the cat playing with a soon-to-be dead mouse. Whatever the reason, the two of them parted the crowd as they left, leaving Len at the center of attention.

The battle was now over, and Len was able to take full notice of the people around him for the first time. After using a quick healing spell to patch up his hand and remove the bloodstains, he called out awkwardly, "Alrighty, people! I, uh, apologize for the disturbance, but it's all taken care of now. Please go about your business! Nothing to see here! Go on! MOVE!"

The last word startled the villagers out of their confusion and they began to disperse. Len let out a large sigh and thought to himself, Man, I REALLY need that drink now. ...aw damn it, I'm lost! Where's the tavern again?

After a moment of looking around, Len resigned himself to heading back to the center of town, hoping to regain his bearings as he walked.