The Land of Magic

A Sense of Relief

Andrew led the group to large grand doors. He entered the hall, warily surveying the room. Alex wondered what was he afraid of. The group resisted going in, but another guards pushed them from the back, forcing them in. 

It was a large hall, with a stone chair at the end of it. The guard made them all kneel down. "I will summon the Dark Lord." He exited the hall by a door behind the chair.

Alex felt a sense of dread. The door opened again. A man followed by Andrew entered the room. The man walked to the chair and sat down. It was obvious who it was. "These are my enemies? This will be an easy battle," Eldritch said. Lord Eldritch had blond hair and fair skin. Those were the only normal things about him. He had fully black eyes and black markings, enveloping his neck and the sides of his face. He was wearing black armor, which seemed to give off a layer of black smoke. 

"Leave the room," Eldritch said to Andrew and the other guard. Andrew looked surprised. "But-" "Leave." He wasn't kidding around. Andrew was displeased. "Yes, my lord." 

Now alone with the kids, Eldritch stood up and walked over to them. "What are you going to do with us?" Pearl asked. Pearl was only 11 years old, she didn't deserve any of this. "Stand up," Eldritch said. Only now, his voice wasn't the confident, commanding voice that they heard just now. It was softer and more gentle. 

Only Pearl stood up. She looked at the others. "Guys, please, maybe if we listen, they'll go softer on us," she pleaded. Sylvie sensed that Eldritch actually had no bad intentions. She sighed, then stood up as well. She took another look at Eldritch. Somehow, his black eyes had a softer tone now. They weren't filled with hatred as much as before. 

Once everyone stood up, Eldritch made sure no one else was listening. "I am sorry for having to make you do this, but you have to trust me." Fayre looked at him suspiciously. "Just why should we do that? You've killed thousands of people before. You've done so much evil. Why should we trust you?" Eldritch sighed. "Because I am trying to help you."

Sylvie raised an eyebrow. "What?" Eldritch smiled. "Perhaps, if I change my form, you'd trust me." Gray smoke started covering his entire body, and his figure changed. Once the smoke went away, Sylvie gasped. 

"It can't be...you're.." "Yes. I am her," Pareslaei Serdiam nodded. "She's a bodgus," Denuis started, "They are born with the ability to transform into one other body." Pareslaei nodded. "Yes, that's right. I'll tell you all how I came to be," 

"At first, I did want to be evil. I wanted to cause chaos and mass destruction. And honestly, I wanted to do it for fun. Life was just too boring. So I became Eldritch, and did just that. One day, I saw a family. They were trying to hide from me. When they realized they had been spotted, their father pleaded, "Please, spare my kids and my wife, I'd do anything, just please, spare them!" I got so confused. I had never felt love before, and never seen it either. I looked at him and then at his family. They were all whimpering. So I asked, "Why would you shield them? Families are good for nothing. They bring you down. They are nothing but a burden and a distraction." He shook his head. "No, families give you support. They're always there for you. They will be there when no one else is. They give you comfort. They give you love" I have never felt love. Now that I've heard of it, I'd like experiencing it. So I used my bodgus powers and turned into Pareslaei. Everybody was so desperate, they all just believed me when I said I used to be a soldier. One day, I used a spell to create an illusion of my former self while I attacked it with Pareslaei.  Seeing as it was only an illusion, it was easy to defeat. Everyone cheered for me. I felt something I have never felt before. Acceptance. I felt genuinely happy. However, I did not expect to be the new queen. I tried to resist, but they didn't let me. I just went along with it. It was pretty easy and I passed away peacefully. But now, they decided to summon me back, and I can't do anything about it. Now, I'll order them to let you all go."

They were all in shock. All, except Emerald, that is. "So that's who you were. I was wondering, as one would recognize another," she said. Pareslaei looked at her and smiled. "My, I can't believe I didn't notice you before. Have you used yours yet?" she asked. Emerald shook her head. Marcus looked around in confusion. "What are they talking about?" Sylvie gasped. "Emerald is a bodgus."