What followed next was a whole minute of tense silence as Ezra tried to think of an easy way to deal with this situation. Aurelia had already shut the door, and it did not seem like she was going to let him walk away without an answer. After a while, Ezra finally let his stiff shoulders relax. He looked down and shook his head. “I should not have lied to you. But I didn’t want father to find out.” “Find what out?” Aurelia asked, her voice laced with anxious curiosity. Ezra reached into his inventory and pulled out his enchanted six-shot revolver. Presenting it to Aurelia, he explained, “I crafted this gun at the workbench. It’s an enchanted firearm.” Aurelia could not believe what she was hearing. Although she had never doubted her brother’s magic proficiency, she never expected him to be so good at crafting enchanted firearms. To verify Ezra’s claim, Aurelia grabbed the revolver and checked its grip. She immediately noticed the glowing letters engraved on its notched surface. “
Ezra looked at Aurelia with pleading eyes and whispered, “Please, you can’t tell father. If he finds out, the whole house will know my secret. I can’t let that happen. I don’t want to be treated as a freak again.” Aurelia could understand her brother’s fear, but her concern about his safety proved to outweigh what was at stake for him. “I’m sorry, little brother. But this is for your own good. I trust you, but I don’t trust that parasite on your hand,” Aurelia replied. She was about to call out to their father when Marlin spoke up. “At least allow me a chance to explain. You must hear me out if you truly care for your brother,” he blurted out in desperation. Aurelia could hear Lord Sebastian’s footsteps on the wooden staircase above, but she changed her mind at the last moment and turned around. “What exactly are you? And why have you attached yourself to my brother? What do you want from him?” As Ezra raised his hand, Marlin’s curse eye dilated, and its pupil turned blood red. H
The only Spirit Tamer Relic Ezra had awakened before was the fang-shaped, ‘Lunar Howl’ pendant which had been gifted to him by Lord Sebastian on his tenth birthday. However, awakening that relic was almost instantaneous since it was an old family heirloom passed down through generations. All Ezra needed to do was wear it on his neck and vow to keep it safe. Things were quite different with the ring Ezra had just acquired since it originally belonged to a stranger and had exchanged hands several times before reaching him. Till now, Ezra had only read about awakening Spirit Tamer relics in books but had never had the opportunity of witnessing someone do it in front of him. Even Aurelia’s medallion, which was aptly named, ‘Eyeless Rose’ had been awakened before he was born. Ezra felt hesitant about entering the trial since he knew very little about this new relic and the Spectral entity trapped within it. Marlin was quick to put his finger on Ezra’s nerve. “I thought all nobles wer
Ezra gulped instinctively as he opened his mouth to breathe. The sudden drop disoriented him, causing him to splash around helplessly for the first few seconds. The freezing cold water chilled Ezra to the bone. It was as if he was swimming in a pool full of ice. His clothes were completely drenched by now, and the added weight dragged him down. Ezra looked around frantically, trying to locate the shore, but the only dry land around him were the steep rocky cliffs surrounding the lake. He knew there was no way he could climb the cliff faces without any tools, but staying in this water for too long was going to kill him for sure. To warm his body, Ezra started paddling with his legs and swimming across the lake. He went between the ragged cliffs and finally managed to find a piece of flat land. Passing between the rocky outgrowths jutting out of the lakebed, Ezra swam through the fluorescent reeds and dragged his body to the shore. Once on dry land, Ezra took off his jacket and unbu
“That does not look good,” Ezra mumbled as the Basilisk lifted its upper body off the ground and raised its head to survey its surroundings. The snake’s tail slithered and coiled behind it while it balanced its upper body above the floor. It slowly turned its head from right to left, and Ezra realized he was in deep trouble. To avoid being spotted Ezra scampered back and dived into cover behind one of the demi-human statues. Its base was just large enough to help him conceal himself from the Basilisk. Ezra had heard plenty of tales about Basilisks turning their prey into stone with one look from their coral-red eyes. But the books written by eminent hunters and Beastmasters had dispelled this myth countless times. Still, Ezra knew he had to keep his guard up at all times because even without a petrifying gaze, the Basilisk had other weapons in its arsenal. The Basilisk could use its enormous rope-like body to trap its prey within its coils and constrict them to death. And to make
The spirit of the defeated Basilisk returned to the sapphire ring lying on the ground, awakening it from its dormant state. Ezra slowly walked up the magic circle and picked up the ring. He slipped it on the middle finger of his right hand and held it up to admire its dazzling beauty. [Speckled Green Basilisk has been soul-bound.] [Spectral Companion tamed successfully.] As Ezra touched the ring with his thumb again, it teleported him back to his own world. Once Ezra was back in the basement of their mansion, Marlin’s cursed eye and mouth popped open. “I hate silencing spells!” Those were the first words that came out of Marlin’s mouth. He sounded more irritated than angry, but gradually calmed down when he noticed the ring glowing on Ezra’s finger. “Congratulations! It would appear that you have successfully completed the trial and got yourself a new pet!” Ezra did not miss the opportunity to hit back at Marlin for his previous taunts. “I suppose I am worthy after all. This
The following morning, Lord Sebastian and Ramel headed to the shrine of Ishani to seek the Goddess’ blessings for their family and help the priests make the necessary arrangements for the upcoming festivities. Meanwhile, Aurelia and Ezra decided to visit the town square to oversee the festive decorations and theatrical arrangements. Ishtara wasn’t just a time for worshipping the Goddess, but a revelrous celebration of life through joyous songs, delightful plays, and many other acrobatic and artistic performances. The fire-breathers and jugglers had started training several weeks prior and the young actors and musicians were practicing day and night to perfect their performances. Even the bards from different roadside inns and local taverns had flocked to Aranor to sing their ballads and fill their pockets with coin. Aurelia loved how their little town transformed into a lively carnival ground during the annual festival of Ishani. However, her only regret was that it would be over
Aurelia did not want to stir any panic among the residents of Aranor as it would spoil the festive spirit, but she knew they had to act quickly if they wanted to save the children. Instead of informing Lord Sebastian or seeking the help of the town guards, Aurelia chose to rely only on Ezra. “I have a feeling this might turn into a monster hunt. I’ll get the horses ready and you can go and buy some potions and supplies in the meantime,” Aurelia said to Ezra before regrouping with the villagers outside the tavern. Ezra restocked on healing and magic restoration potions and also grabbed a few grapeshot bombs from the store. As the clock struck twelve, Ezra and Aurelia mounted their horses accompanied by the villagers. Together they headed out from the east gate of Aranor and rode hard down the snaking dirt road that passed through the tribal settlements. Although traveling in a carriage would have been a lot more comfortable, Aurelia ditched the luxury in favor of stallions because