The Warlord

Chapter 15: Lorelei

The excitement within me aches to spill out into pure giddiness. I can barely breathe as the warlord leads me to the insignia of the portal carved into the grass field outside of the palace. I am going to see the upper realm; something that even the ancient witches could not do. The rosy crack of dawn is slowly fading into a baby blue as we near the portal, and my heart begins to race as adrenaline and eagerness course through my veins.

"Stay close to me." The only words that Serestine's warlord offers as we place ourselves at the center of the portal. I am grinning now, grinning like a madman, but I am too happy to care.

Around us, I see the servants circling the portal raise their arms. I feel their noble, powerful but strong and aggressive magic pour into the symbol, filling up every engraving. A rush of pure energy floods me, and suddenly I am surrounded by wind and air and the sky. I'm going to see the upper realm. I feel myself shoot upwards, past the clouds, the warlord's presence reduced to nothing more than a speck. My head fills with carefully crafted fantasies that have been in my head since the day I learned of the gods. This is actually happening.

I feel our destination draw nearer and nearer, feel the godly aura radiating from above us. But then the magic around me seems to cave in, and I am no longer soaring through the wind and sky. Instead I am being crushed under Serestine's atmospheric pressure, and the godly aura is suddenly gone, as if someone has snatched it away and smothered it. No, no, no! I muster my magic and channel a shield around me as the portal slowly falls apart.

My shield keeps me intact as the winds batter at my body and try to push me every which way. I manage to escape the collapsing portal, worming my way out of the malfunctioning magic. Tumbling through the air, the wind faintly whistles in my ears as my mind tries to process what just happened. The portal failed; it broke apart just as it reached the upper realm. But why? Why, why, why?!

Anger begins to blossom as I extend my magic towards the ground and let it cushion me as I land. The warlord must have escaped before me, as I can see her talking to one of the servants. I dust the dirt and bits of grass staining my dress as slight vertigo overtakes my head. Stabling myself, I storm over to the warlord, my anger now roiling off of me.

The servant backs away and scampers to the others, who are examining the portal. "What was that?! The portal failed?!" I yell in her face, my rage taking over any common sense. My chance to see the upper realm has been snatched away right before my eyes, and I am beyond devastated.

"Calm yourself, little witch. The servants do not know what happened, and I trust them. The upper realm must have interfered." She sounds tired, exasperated, as if she is talking to a child. I am not a child.

"Why would Heaven block peace arrangements?! It's obviously due to some tampering here, on the middle realm! I bet you're glad about this, aren't you? You hate the gods! You can't see their greatness, their glory-" My voice is now loud enough so that the servants can hear. Maybe so that the whole world can hear. I do not care. I can only feel the hot rush of rage in my ears, the melting pot of fire and tears and sharp anger mixing within my chest.

The warlord's face grows cold and hard and lethally silent. "You have no right to fling these accusations in my face. You have no right to disrespect the loyalty of the servants who willingly decided to exhaust their magic on making your stupid fantasies possible. If you are to become an impudent impediment, I will have you thrown into the dungeons." She storms away, her words cutting through my mind and my heart, making me freeze. Shame blossoms over me, but at the same time, I cannot help but weep silent tears at the chance snatched from my grasp.