The Northern Dragon

CH 24: WARGS AND MAGIC

Magic had once truly been a mighty force in the world. The Valyrians and the First Men were such examples. But other than people who were born with magic, there were also those who learned it, such as the Warlocks.

But for the last two centuries, the magic of the world had begun to decline. The Warlocks, who were originally not among the most powerful magic users, felt it the most. As time passed, they became unable to use truly powerful spells and could only do magic tricks.

With the birth of dragons once again, magic was slowly returning, but for the Warlocks, even with the dragons close to them, their power had only slightly increased.

Pyat Pree, for instance, could multiply himself, but still needed to use a normal dagger to murder the Council of Qarth. To imprison Daenerys, he could only use illusions and trickery. Although they felt real, it was still just illusions to distract Daenerys to chain her to the wall. Once the dragons fought back, there was nothing he could do other than stand in place as he was burned alive.

The only importance of the Warlocks was their magic, but they were weak compared to others in that field. The dragons were their only hope. But as long as Daenerys was alive, the dragons would grow too powerful and they would become uncontrollable.

Therefore, the Warlocks decided they would kill Daenerys first and then take her dragons for themselves.

This little girl they met in the pier of Astapor, who wasn't exactly a little girl, was the person sent to do the job. Too bad that no matter how much she had planned, she never expected the constant interruptions.

There was no longer a need for her disguise and so the little girl returned to her original appearance. Her bones broke and twisted as they stretched. The clothes she had once worn changed into a robe that appeared to be made of snakeskin. The robe covered the arms and neck, falling to the ground like a dress.

The arms and legs grew longer and boney with the blue veins under the skin visible. The face became wrinkled with messy hair on top of the head. That, along with the dark purple lips and teeth made the Warlock appear like a deranged witch. As for the chest, nothing grew there, and the little girl turned into a skeleton-like man.

The Warlock didn't show much of a reaction to the woman who had suddenly appeared in front of him, only snarling, "You learned magic..."

"Nothing to brag about. Even you can use it."

The Warlock growled like a beast and launched forward. From his long sleeve, a dagger slid out and fell on his hand. Just like Pyat Pree, this Warlock could use magic, but could not take lives with it.

Rhaenys moved to the side, avoiding the blade that approached her. The Warlock continued slashing, pushing Rhaenys backward with every attack. As she moved, her eyes trailed over the gathering crowd that was watching the show in either fear or excitement, most thinking that it wasn't a true fight but entertainment that someone had prepared.

These people might have thought that at the moment, but if word reached some of those little Good Masters... It was always better to keep your cards close to your chest. Although revealing some things wouldn't necessarily cause her trouble, not like she had had enough time to learn much to begin with, she would rather not attract any more unwanted attention. Her ancestry and the dragons did enough of that already.

Not wanting to reveal her real strength didn't mean she would let this person run away, though.

The Warlock rose the dagger high into the air and then just as fast, he stabbed down, the tip of the blade pointed at Rhaenys's left chest. And rather than avoid it, she stayed in place.