Twisted Wonderland Book 6: The Watchman of the Underworld

Chapter 18: Historical Guidance

Lilia answers Ruggie's question, "Indeed. While the Watchman has become something of an urban legend by now... Back in the old days, when mages were called witches and wizards, they were feared across the land. People believed the Island of Woe would punish any wizard who abandoned their principles and went mad with power."

"One of my family's history books claims that the group is so ancient, they date back to the Age of the Gods. The relationship between magic and blot hadn't been established at that time. According to my history book, people believed overblots were disasters that occurred without warning. The Jupiter family forebear sealed those disasters away on the Island of Woe and brought peace to the land. A watchman was tasked with keeping those disasters from plaguing the world again. That person was one of the Shroud's family ancestors," Malleus adds to the explanation."

"That sounds less like history and more like myth," Cater says, "It's all on such a grand scale. Ya boy Cay-Cay can barely keep up..."

But Lilia says, "Mind you, humankind never stopped researching magic, eager students that they were. Time marched on, and at some point magic became safe to practice. The witches and wizards of yore became known as mages. Nowadays, mage licenses are international. Mages are globally recognized as contributing to the betterment of society. And governments passed laws and forced agencies to discipline magic abusers who caused trouble for people... over time, the Watchman of the Island of Woe faded from the history books. But the group continued their research on the disasters—or blot, really—as the organization Styx."

"We were aware that Idia was the son of the Shroud family, yes... But this is the first time I've heard of a connection between them and Styx. I've read just about every notable work on magic history, yet I've never seen any of this discussed," Trein says.

"Ah, but see, you're limited to the texts that survive among humankind. Humans and Fae stopped intermingling quite a long time ago," Lilia says, and continues, "Plus, different cultures and species pass down lore in different ways—not every truth is written down. There is no shortage of historical narratives that have been twisted to suit someone's agenda."

"All this is giving me butterflies in my stomach," Tanzanite says, feeling uneasy.

"Twisting historical narratives, huh..." Jasper says, adds just as shocked.

Then Trein says, "This makes me wonder... Was the headmage aware of Idia's connection to Styx? Does that mean he wasn't able to work with the Shroud family to avoid this scenario?"

"Who can say, really? Even if he had known, he wouldn't have been able to stop them," Malleus says.

"As for Styx...Why did they capture a group of overblotters? What's their plan?" Trey questions.

Then Jade says, "Based on what Lilia said, I doubt they'll treat them hospitably. If they're lucky, they'll only be examined. If they're unlucky, they'll become test subjects. And if they're REALLY unlucky, they may already—"

"Woah, hey! Don't even joke about that, Jade," Kalim replies with a frown on his face.

"Yeah. If what you say is true, then Briar and the others are in serious trouble," Jasper says, sounding upset.

Rook frowns in response as well.

Then Floyd says, "Y'know, there's one thing that's buggin' me after hearin' all this. Those goons rolled up and blasted half the campus. There's tons of witnesses, right? Someone must've got 'em on video. Seems to me like they're not tryin' to stay very secret. Maybe they don't care. Or maybe they have some REAL reliable way of cleanin' up after themselves."

Trein remains silent after hearing that.

"I don't like the sound of that one bit. I say we worry about our own skins 'stead of wastin' time on the others," Ruggie says.