TBATE - Havaca Rises

Chapter 45 - The god of Death

"Come in," came Cynthia's voice through the use of sound magic.

"..." Claire gaped at the sight of Alea and Bairon standing right in front of us.

"This is Claire Bladeheart, a promising, up and coming mage, the leader of my newly formed Disciplinary Committee," Cynthia introduced Claire singing her high praises. "And you are of course familiar with Arthur."

"They are the lances, in the flesh!" Claire fangirled.

"Yes, yes, now clam down cause you're starting to sound like Marcois," I joked.

"Don't compare me to a druggie," she snipped.

"Oh, has there been another one?" Cynthia asked sorrowfully.

"Yes, Marcois was found under the influence of the new magic enhancing drug," Claire said as she began to retell the tale.

"I see," Cynthia said pondering a way to hamper the spread of this drug.

"We can't keep losing students like this," Bairon said.

"We have to track down the makers of this drug," Claire said with determination.

"That might be impossible," Claire interjected, "After all, there are many backdoors and alleyways that we can't constantly monitor," Claire finished alluding to some noble houses and their participation in the black market.

"All too true," Cynthia sighed.

"If we can't stop the spread of the drugs maybe we can dissuade the use of them," I said.

"Do mean hosting an anti-drug campaign?" Alea asked, being the first to pick up on my plan.

"Yes, I think we should release information on how the drug works, and heavily stress the side effects and cost of such a vile power."

"Cost?" Claire asked, unknowing of fatal side effects.

"Lifeforce, the drug uses one's life force as a supplement for strength. But what makes it scary is the fact that even if your mana core gets broken the after-effects of the drug will still continue to consume one's lifeforce despite losing the ability to control mana."

"That's awful!" Claire gasped with tears welling up in her eyes. A courageous yet soft heart, she has.

"How long will it take to start this campaign," Bairon asked.

"Since Kyat passed, I've been preparing a team for this, however an official announcement from their majesties will greatly help in convincing citizens of the dangers of drug... Ouroboros, yes Drug Ouroboros."

"Ouroboros?" Cynthia questioned.

"Well, it needed a name..." I shrugged.

"No, I get that it needs a name, I was asking for the meaning," Cynthia facepalmed.

"Oh... then I think Alea would be the best one to explain this," I said as everyone turned to her.

"Ouroboros is an old Elven bedtime story. He was a massive, lengthy, and girthy serpent filled with so much greed he swallowed the world and when that wasn't enough to satisfy him, he swallowed himself," Alea explained.

"That doesn't make sense, how could someone swallow themselves?" Claire quickly asked, interesting in learning more about another culture.

"It's not meant to be taken literally, it's a parable warning about the consequences of the sin of greed," Alea said.

"Oh."

"So tomorrow we will present our case to the council for their approval; will your people be ready in time?" Bairon asked.