Spirit Animals: The Third Devourer War

The Witch

Darkness and cold spread throughout the enchanted forest in Wilcoskov. No one ever stepped foot into the evil lair that Theodora called home. A regular human would get eaten by oversized bears, or freeze to death. Being a witch, she was strong enough to protect herself and use magic against her enemies. In fact, she was the most powerful witch in all of Erdas.

Theodora had collected all of her ingredients needed for her next spell. Her black cat spirit animal named Salem, sat on top of a dusty wooden shelf that held wild mushrooms, herbs and bones from creatures. She smiled wickedly to herself. It was almost as if she could see it all happening.

She had been wanting to resurrect King Feliandor for so long, patiently waiting until she became powerful enough to learn necromancy, one of the darkest arts of magic in all of Erdas. Theodora wanted him back because she knew that his soul was angry. She knew the young King so well that he was full of hate after being tricked by two Great Beasts. By bringing him back, she could help him get revenge.

"Yes," she spoke to herself as her hands hovered above a large saltwater crocodile tooth. "Everyone knows your story."

Salem purred as the witch began plopping ingredients into her black cauldron. She hummed a high-pitched, creepy tune to herself. Her cat jumped down onto the chair next to Theodora's and watched the cauldron bubble.

After finally adding the saltwater crocodile tooth, a piece of Evertree bark, some stone from Feliandor's tomb, and some material from a Greencloak's cloak, her cauldron turned a shadow-grey colour.

Salem's amber eyes widened in curiosity. Theodora stopped humming and put a hand in front of her spirit animal who was clearly leaning too forward into the cauldron.

"Get back," she hissed. "Don't want you in there, do we?"

Salem jumped away and climbed back onto the shelf she had been sitting on before, her fur fluffed up.

"It is time," Theodora said. She stood from her chair and began to blow out the candles around the room. It was completely dark now, the only light barely being visible from the cauldron. She could feel her heart beat in excitement and an evil smile spread across her face.

Theodora chanted to the cauldron, the words sounding dark and cursed. The cauldron produced black smoke and bubbled more, giving a positive reaction to her spell. Her magic never failed her, so Feliandor would soon be on his feet again in a few moments. Salem watched, now in fear. The cat scrambled under an old worn blanket, peeking from underneath it.

Once she had finished her spell, Theodora watched the cauldron. She could only see endless bubbling and smoking, before she suddenly fell to the floor by the impact of an explosion. A few moments passed, and she looked up to see that the cauldron had stopped responding.

"Impossible!" Theodora snarled as she grabbed the sides of it. "Why did it not work?"

She heard Salem meow sadly, as if saying 'maybe you need more practice'.

"Need more practice?" she faced the cat. "I am the most powerful witch in Erdas! I have waited for this moment my entire life!" spittle flew from her mouth. She faced the cauldron again and lit a candle.

There really was nothing. Rage flowed through her and she screamed. Theodora picked up a spare crocodile tooth and threw it at the window, smashing it entirely sending glass shards flying.

But then she felt a connection with something. Her eyes widened and she looked at Salem. She felt someone was there, like someone came back to life. Her eyes took her somewhere else, just off the shores of Stetriol. It was a vision, but she was experiencing it in real time.

She was looking out of someone's eyes. The figure must have been male, due to his masculine features. An opal encrusted crown with a serpent eating its own tail was placed in the sand, and to her surprise the largest saltwater crocodile lay next to the figure.

It must have been Feliandor!

Then her vision took her somewhere else, and she suddenly felt connected to multiple people at once. Another boy entered her vision, who looked half-human and half-crocodile. She was confused, this boy looked different, but then she remembered.

"Could this be...?" she wondered, thinking about the second Devourer.

Theodora's vision left her again, and suddenly she saw through many eyes of what she thought were Greencloaks, Conquerors and Redcloaks. Once she was herself again, she stared in shock at her cauldron and ingredients.

"Salem!" she gasped. "I think I... I think I resurrected the entire world."

The black cat looked up at her and let out a concerned meow. Theodora had no idea what went wrong. She rummaged through her ingredients again, trying to figure out what happened. At least she knew that Feliandor was alive again, that was what she wanted after all. But the other one? Two Devourers in the same time period? She began to laugh psychotically to herself. She knew exactly what she had to do.

Theodora teleported to Shane's location, which was in a pretty forest. She hid behind a tree, watching him finally get to his feet. The witch slowly stepped forward.

"Hello... King Shane," Theodora grinned.

Shane turned around quickly, his yellow, crocodile-like eyes flashed. "Who are you? Where am I?"

"Oh, me? I'm nobody. I did just bring you back to life though, do you remember?" she said.

Shane stared at her as if she was insane.

"Well? How did you die?" Theodora asked. She wondered if any of them remembered anything. This would be an experiment. If Shane could remember, then the others could too. However, if he didn't, Theodora would have to kill him.

Shane looked down at himself. "Abeke..."

Theodora smiled widely. "Good. Now run."

"Run?" Shane echoed.

Summoning a large wolf monster to chase Shane away, Theodora teleported away to Feliandor's location. Stetriol was so humid, it was disgusting. She saw Feliandor standing a few feet away in front of her. His beastly crocodile hissed and faced Theodora.

"The Good King Fel," Theodora bowed. "You have returned."

King Feliandor turned to face her, his brown eyes wide. A red-velvet cloak swirled around behind him, and he had picked up the opal crown and had placed it on his head.

"I have brought you back at last," she said with a smile.

An army of Conquerors appeared from the forest behind the beach. Theodora watched them approach, realising that these were Feliandor's Conquerors. This was very exciting, however she thought that they might try to kill her. Two Conqueror men stepped forward, with swords drawn. One man had a white beard, and the other had a cassowary spirit animal.

"Salen? Jorick?" Feliandor finally spoke. His voice was a little less confident sounding than Theodora had imagined it to be. She watched the men step in front of Feliandor protectively.

"You misunderstand," Theodora straightened her posture. "I am the reason you are all alive."

A ball of blue flame appeared in one of her clenched fists and she held it in the air. Salem appeared in a flash of light next to her. The Conquerors took a step back, surprised by her magic.

"Who are you?" said the man with the white beard.

Theodora eyed them all for a moment, taking in all the pride she could get from these Conquerors. "I am the most powerful witch in all of Erdas. I am Theodora."