7 Chapter 6: The Temptations Of Blood Magic

"Grandmother, I found the error." Aegon put down the large book to reveal Antasa's lovely smile.

"Where is the error my darling grandson?" Antasa asked, placing her face on both hands to admire Aegon even more.

"The initial order was for 10,000 swords, but only 8,500 swords were accounted for among the different battalions. Initially, it was considered that the executive in charge might have allocated the remaining swords to their own troops or returned them to the main front." Aegon turned the log book to Atasa so that she could in fact see it herself.

Her smile widened upon Aegon seeing the problem though let him finish since that mature act that Aegon seemed to present only made her more giddy.

"I didn't assume the worst at first, however, upon further investigation, it was discovered that there are no records indicating that the executive's battalion received any swords, nor were there any records of the swords being returned to the main compound. This leads to two plausible conclusions.."

"Meaning either; Firstly, it is possible that the executive is secretly hoarding the surplus swords for future use. This could indicate a personal agenda or a desire to have additional resources at their disposal when needed. Such actions would be considered a violation of protocol, as the surplus weapons should be reported and appropriately distributed among the battalions or returned to the main front. "

"Or Secondly, there is a possibility that the executive is involved in illicit activities, specifically selling the surplus swords for personal gain, acquiring extra gold dragons outside of official channels. This, too, goes against established protocols, as any sale or disposal of weaponry should be reported and authorized beforehand."

"In either scenario, the actions of the executive are suspicious and raise concerns about their loyalty, integrity, and adherence to protocol. Further investigation and evidence gathering would be necessary to ascertain the truth that he is probably embezzling money and or has been for a while." Aegon finished the explanation by pinching both thumb and pointer finger together to form a money sign as the greedy light flickered in his eyes, seemingly resembling that foolish executive.

"Good! Yes, you are correct." Antasa praised, taking Aegon into a warm hug.

"That fool seemingly thought if he didn't mark down what he did with all those 1,500 swords, that I would just assume he would give them to his men." Antasa then grabbed Aegon's chubby cheeks to focus him in on her now serious face.

"But listen well Aegon, that was an easy example of embezzlement. It will only get harder to sniff out all those greedy rats if you only focus on catching the slow and fat ones." Atasa lectured though unbeknownst to her, Aegon wasn't new to embezzlement and also understood that whoever tried to steal those swords was also a complete idiot.

"Well, that's all for your lesson today." Atasa cheerfully exclaimed, releasing Aegon's distraught cheeks from her grandmotherly grip.

"Ok grandmother." Aegon nodded obediently not wanting to suffer any more, hopping down from the chair and making his way towards the door.

Antasa had started training Aegon about the different logistics involved with running the golden company.

To an outside spector, this seemed rather ignorant if you looked at it from a regular perspective.

Though it is not common for parents and grandparents to overestimate their little loved ones' abilities out of pure love, Antasa was different.

She originally had no intentions of teaching Aegon these sorts of things until he reached at least his tenth name day however after watching and realizing just how quick he picked up on Viressa's teachings she thought he might be capable of learning her education early.

Then once Antasa convinced herself to start his studies, she decided to put Aegon at the lowest level but the child seemed to soak up the initial knowledge like a sponge so much so in fact, that the booksmart Antasa to become ecstatic leading them to the level they were at now.

"Oh Maelys, he takes after you so well." Atasa softly whispered to herself, looking up at the ceiling as if her beloved was watching over her right now.

"Mother!"

Viressa, knowing that distinctive call, looked upward from her book to see her darling child Aegon running towards her.

"I found a way to heal you!" Aegon joyfully proclaimed while holding a blood red book causing Viressa to tilt her head.

After Aegon's lectures with Antasa and before his teaching with Viressa, he would usually scour around the Blackfyre family library to see if there was anything he could add to the lesson which in turn led him to finding this book.

"What is this?" Viressa raised an eyebrow in confusion since she had never seen this book in the library before.

"I covered the whole Blackfyre library and found this book on blood magic rituals-"

"AEGON!" Viressa suddenly exclaimed in horror as Aegon flinched in surprise since she had never yelled at him in this tone before.

*Ahem*

"I'm sorry my darling, but you are too young for this book." Viressa promptly took the scarlet red book as Aegon shook his head in denial.

"Mother but this can-"

"Aegon enough-"

"Can heal you if we do sacrifices like it says-"

"AEGON!" Viressa's authoritative voice once again rang out loudly to Aegon who closed his mouth almost immediately.

"No magic lessons for the next week." Viressa turned her weak figure away from Aegon who was suddenly riddled in shock.

"MOTHER-"

"Leave, I am tired and need to rest." Viressa pulled out the sick card causing Aegon to bit his lip.

"Fine." Aegon didn't want to disturb a chance to let his mother rest and huffed, turning his back to his mother only to look back once his figure reached the doorway.

His striking purple eyes fixated on the scarlet book that rested on the nightstand next to his darling mother.

The radiant glow in his gaze seemed to illuminate the very pages it beheld however with a soft click, he closed the door behind him however his greed still remained open as he walked down the hall.

Viressa, a woman of reason, stared deeply into the crimson tome, her own eyes a profound shade of purple as surge of worry swelled within her heart.

This book held the key that could seduce her loving son into a forbidden realm, a dark side of blood magic that Viressa was keen to stay away.

Its associations with vile and depraved practices had led to a widespread misconception, shrouding it in an aura of infamy.

The disparity lay in the means by which practitioners of blood magic communicated with the mystical forces. While warlocks and witches employed various methods to interact with magic, the users of blood magic differed in how they engaged with the essence of this arcane power.

The perilous nature of blood magic became evident in the fact that many of its adepts had to act as their own catalysts, a risky endeavor when venturing into uncharted territories. Most practitioners were unwilling to stake their own lives, thus resorting to endangering others in their experiments.

Viressa had always kept her distance from the depths of horror that blood magic could unleash. She vehemently wished to shield Aegon, her beloved, from that grim existence. However, deep down, she knew that such a desire felt utterly unattainable.

Later That Night

*Drip*

In a seemingly dark abyss painted an objective scene, two arms outstretched from nothingness as they limply hung downwards with them appearing cold and lifeless.

Running down all across the pale outstretched arms were different streams of dark black blood.

The streams of the blood seemed to flow all around the arms however they all converged on a single point which led small drops to fall off the tips of the pointer finger of each arm.

Slowly, the drops would fall before colliding onto a purple dragon egg resting in a marble white nest.

However instead of running down, the black blood would almost immediately evaporate every time the two different objects of matter touched.

Until one drop didn't.

Slowly, the egg became drenched in the black liquid and once it covered the egg it made its way down to the marble.

Slowly the smooth white marble became jagged under the stream of black until no shred of white was left.

Then as if finishing its work, the arms slowly disappeared back into the nothingness they both stuck out of originally.

Then once the stream ended, all black blood that seemed to wholly wrap around the egg suddenly cleared though once the egg revealed itself; it appeared not as its original dark purple, but a deep red.

*GASP*

Aegon eyelids immediately opened revealing his purple eyes, then and only then, did the air return to his desperate lungs.

*HUFF*

Aegon clenched his heart, his whole body was covered in sweat while using his other hand to slick his white hair backwards.

Recalling the dream, he remembered the scene before immediately focusing on the two arms though upon seeing one of the arms skin colors his eyes shook.

"Mother." Aegon threw his covers off while rushing towards his dear mother's sleeping chambers.

Once Aegon reached the door, instead of barging it open Aegon slowly creaked the door open and to his relief Viressa was peacefully sleeping in her usual bed.

Anxiety formed in his eyes upon making contact with the distinct arm hanging off the bed in the exact position in which his dream foretold.

Clenching his teeth, his eyes darted to her night stand as the scarlet red book sat as if waiting for someone to read it.

Not even hesitating, Aegon sneaked to the nightstand and whisked the book out of the room.

Grabbing his clothes and his sword, Aegon sneaked out of the area and into a familiar forest.

Two pairs of eyes highlighted from the moonlight upon his feet stepping into range as fangs perturbed below the shiny red eyes.

*Rustle*

The bush rustled for a split second though it was all Aegon needed to unsheathe his sword and slice forward.

"ARF!" The wolf whimpered mid-air upon having cold steel plunged into its flesh.

Seeing this opportunity, the wolf that was on the opposite side of Aegon leaped forward as its eyes only coveted the taste of human flesh.

*Whoosh*

*Bam*

"Arf!"

Aegon stepped to the side while letting go of his sword still plunged into the other wolf's flesh, to hit this unruly dog square in the nose causing a slight whimper.

The wolf seeing its momentum crushed, desperately tried to regain it only to have Aegon suddenly stomp its face into the ground.

*BAM*

Not once but twice did Aegon stomp down a force not expected from an almost four year old child as the wolf cowered a little from pain induced fear.

Pulling out the sword still stuck in the now dead wolf flesh, he turned his head to the wolf as it saw his eyes highlighted in the light.

Deep purple eyes fully encompassed the wolf's vision though as it looked closer, a speck of red could be seen in the ocean of purple.

"Now, let's heal you."

Throughout the coming nights, the rabbits would all cower in fear as the whimpers of wolves, their own predator's screams, seemed to haunt their minds as one child desperately sought a way to heal his dear mother.

Four Months Later

*Twack*

"Aegon what's wrong with your eyes?" Bee inquired from the side as Aegon struck the training post with his sword over and over again continuously.

"Nothing, don't worry about it." Aegon dismissed Bee's obvious question since in the last four months, Aegon's appearance has been slowly changing.

His previously illuminating white hair seemed to now have streaks of void black run from the base as his usual pearly purple eyes now had more speaks of scarlet red.

These side effects were from Aegon's recreational acts of sacrificial blood magic where every night, he would sneak off into the local forest to practice these dark arts on the predators of the woods, wolves.

The reason for wolves is that in actuality there were too many as of late and the side effect of this was the disruption of the ecosystem resulted in the overpopulation of them.

Aegon saw the perfect speciesism to experiment on while also not disrupting the close ecosystem of the forest which led him to easily get away with it since no one would miss an invasive species.

The problem lay with the fact that as Aegon slowly trenched deeper into the darkness that was blood magic, the environment of such a place started affecting him as a whole being.

Though not emotionally affected, the side effect appeared physically as his charms slowly started turning into that of a demon born of hell.

These changes didn't go unnoticed as many close aides that were permitted to his existence started to question it.

But once Aegon spread rumors that his change was due to him being a pureblood of the Blackfyre family, the worry calmed down once they looked at the Blackfyre's house colors.

Red and Black.

"No you're lying." Bee wasn't convinced by his piss poor excuse, frowning since after spending so much time with Aegon, she could more or less tell when he was hiding something.

*TWACK*

*CRUNCH*

With another fell swoop, the wooden sword ravished the training dummy but instead of the training dummy, the wooden sword broke into two.

"Tsk." Aegon clicked his tongue since as of late these flimsy wooden swords he used to practice with had been breaking more frequently over these past four months.

"Here, use this training sword." Bee, seeing the clear distress on his face, handed her his wooden sword which was meant for the next level.

"It's heavier but in return is way more durable." Bee advised Aegon who nodded politely.

"Thank you Bee." Aegon smiled though Bee caught wind of the slight of the canines forming from his mouth leaving her to scrunch her eyebrows.

"AEGON!" Bee yelled, causing Aegon to cover his ears in pain.

"Geez, could you be any louder?" Aegon rubbed his hurting ears as Bee's frown reached its peak.

"Why are you keeping secrets from your best friend and sworn sister!" Bee stomped her foot showing the start of usual tantrums.

A while back, Bee learned of how knights became brothers in arms and begged Aegon to participate so they could become sworn brother and sister.

Aegon thought of the act as barbaric though seeing that Bee wouldn't shut up unless he did it, Aegone eventually acquiesced.

"Correction, you are my only friend so being my best friend doesn't have any value like it would with others." Aegon pointed out making Bee's face red in anger.

*Sniff*

"Do you not trust me?" Bee sniffed as the tears threatened to form in her eyes before showing her thumb.

"Did our oath mean nothing to you!" Bee held out her thumb, the tears on the verge of falling from her face.

*Sigh*

*Flashback*

"Come on! Come on! Aegon pleeeeeeeease." Bee showed herself to be pleading to Aegon even going so far as to get on her knees.

"It's just a stupid oath Bee, why does it mean so much to you-"

"IT'S NOT STUPID! IT IS HOW KNIGHTS TRUST EACH OTHER ON THE FIELD ON BATTLE!" Bee immediately protested in anger as Aegon rolled his eyes.

"If I do the stupid oath will you let me read in peace?"

"Yes!"

"Fine, how does it go?" Aegon just wanted this to be over with as Bee hurriedly stood up not wanting this chance to pass as a piece of paper appeared in her hand.

"Ok the knight said-ah! Okay, bite your thumb until blood forms, touch the two points of blood then swear 'Tis an oath of our brotherhood, forged in the fires of reality and honor, we entwine our destinies as brothers, bound by the crucible of truth and noble valor. Henceforth and until the sands of time run dry, thou art my sworn comrade, a guardian of my word, and the sole witness to our sacred bond as brothers in arms.'" Bee read the piece of paper after finding a knight who also swore an oath of brotherhood with another.

"And he said to switch brotherhood with siblinghood and brother in arms with sibling in arms." Bee then read the notes of the knight as Aegon just wanted to get this over with.

"Ready?" Aegon asked, biting his thumb as Bee quickly mirrored her cousin's actions.

"Ready!"

"Tis an oath of our siblinghood, forged in the fires of reality and honor, we entwine our destinies as brothers, bound by the crucible of truth and noble valor. Henceforth and until the sands of time run dry, thou art my sworn comrade, a guardian of my word, and the sole witness to our sacred bond as siblings in arms."

*End Of Flashback*

Aegon stared at Bee in a deadpan expression at that stupid oath coming back to bite him, he wasn't the least bit aggravated by her teary appearance since Aegon saw her do this whenever she didn't get her way.

At first he was a little weak to it, but now he honestly didn't care nor bend to it anymore.

But in a way, Bee was his one and only true friend in this new world.

Aegon would literally charge into the midst of battle with only a butter knife; it meant he could save her but that didn't mean he trusted her, yet.

Aegon's only problem with Bee was her child-like naivety and her constant temper tantrums that she never seemed to grow out of.

"If I tell you then you'll surely tell my mother." Aegon threw the bait as Bee immediately lunged at it.

"I won't, I promise!" Bee exclaimed though Aegon got into his stance.

"On our friendship?" Aegon asked, causing Bee to freeze in place.

Bee bit her lips with clear anxiety, since she was very poor at keeping secrets as sometimes secrets would unknowingly slip out of her at random.

This is why she hesitated because she truly cherished her relationship with Aegon, he was the brother she always wanted and instead of him, she got a little whiny cry baby for a brother.

So in a way, Bee cherished their friendship more than her familiar bond though after a while, she steeled herself in an unbreakable resolve.

"Yes!" Bee announced to Aegon as the young Blackfyre silently gazed at her.

*Sigh*

"Alight, come with me."

15 minutes later

"Where are we?" Bee questioned after reaching a clearing littered with wolf corpses and different animal bones varying different sizes.

Bee wasn't even the least bit perturbed by the sight of death since from an earlier age, she was trained like most kids in the golden company to stomach death.

"It's where I've been practicing my blood magic rituals." Aegon confessed the truth and Bee's eyes widened.

"But aunty Viressa said-"

"Yeah I know what she said." Aegon rolled his eyes while grabbing a dagger.

"What are you-"

*BAM*

Bee didn't get to finish her sentence as a dagger flew past her and hit an unknowing bunny as the knife immediately took its life once it embedded itself into its flesh.

"Sorry but I needed an example to show you." Aegon raised his hands in defense upon seeing Bee cross her arms.

Then after retrieving the rabbit corpse, he looked around before finding a rabbit in the clearing.

*Crack*

"SQUEAK!" The rabbit let out a wailing cry, feeling an unfathomable pain shooting up all across its being with the affected area being a now crushed hind leg.

Next to the crawling bunny, a bloodstained rock lay as the culprit Aegon still had his arms extended showing that he was the perpetrator.

Aegon then grabbed the rabbit's ears and walked back to the clearing, Bee watched silently from the side as Aegon used the rabbit blood to paint a rune on the ground.

Then he placed the injured rabbit, constantly squirming around in pain dead center while holding the dead rabbit above it.

Aegon brought another dagger from his waist which he used to slit his palm causing his own blood as well as the dead rabbit to drip onto the constantly squealing rabbit.

"Giēñemagon."

*Whoosh*

The runes surrounding Aegon lit up as wind below all around him furiously, Bee's eyes widened as she watched the Rabbit's body slowly melt away into nothingness however a dark red stream seemed to flow out of the disappearing rabbit and start to make its way into the injured rabbit being.

The rabbit located in the center of the rune, had its body start to convulse under having the stream of red enter its being as Aegon held firm.

"Giēñemagon!' Aegon firmly called out once more as the rune shone even brighter causing Bee's eyes to close out of instinct.

Then once she opened it, Bee saw the previously mortally injured rabbit get back onto its feet.

Its whole body shivering from fear yet it continued to look around and after wiggling its previously injured leg, darted into a nearby bush.

"I've been practicing the art of sacrificial blood magic to heal others and have reached a point where I can heal an animal on the brink of death." Aegon turned to Bee who was surprised at Aegon's feats.

"So then aunty Viressa-"

"No it's too soon to start on mother." Aegon shot down the hopeful eyes of Bee causing her to frown.

"Why not?"

"Because there are rules to these types of sacrificial healing; One being if I want to heal a rabbit then I must use a rabbit as a sacrifice, and two the more injured the subject is then the more sacrifices I need." Aegon frowned since it annoyed him how many rules blood magic had.

"Also I do not know if my mother would require a familial sacrifice or just a regular human." Aegon then told Bee his problem causing her to widen.

"Your going to sacrifice yourself-"

"NO!" Aegon immediately shot down Bee's assumption as the latter nodded heavily at this in relief.

"Lives are not the only thing needed when it comes to this type of healing, I can also use body parts of animals to heal other animals but it's still really risky." Aegon scratched his head as Bee pursed her lips.

"How risky?"

"As risky as a coin flip."

"That is risky."

"...."

*Sigh*

They both sighed as now Bee knew of Aegon's distress as she was unknowingly roped into this.

"Well what do you need from me now that I know." Bee inquired, walking around the clearing and admiring all the animal bones.

"I need more animals preferably alive ones." Aegon didn't deny the obvious help making her nod affirmation.

"Yes sir!" Bee saluted before immediately chuckling, causing Aegon to smirk a little as he got back to his work.

The next coming weeks more or less consisted of Aegon and Bee finding suitable subjects to practice on until a terrible event occurred.

"And when you picture the fire, you must-"

*COUGH*

"Mother!" Aegon, who had his head in the book, looked up in worry and charged to her bed side only to see a foreign color, red.

Aegon's eyes shook as the color only deepened with each and every cough Viressa let out.

"DOCTOR! WE NEED A DOCTOR!" Aegon yelled desperately, not even waiting a millisecond before charging out the doors.

"GET ME A F*CKING DOCTOR!" Aegon roared in the hallways alerting all passersby of his request.

"Yes young master!" One exclaimed upon seeing Aegon's familiar appearance before the others followed in example.

Turning his head back to his mother's chambers, his purple eyes somewhat deepened as a firm resolve painted over them.

After her condition was stabilized, the doctor in charge of Viressa's care pulled Antasa aside to discuss the matter more privately though Aegon was still not far.

"Leader, Lady Viressa's condition is only worsening by the day and I'm afraid she will not last more than three years." The doctor, with a heavy heart, gave his diagnosis as Antasa bit her lips.

"You may go but do not tell a soul what you saw here." Antasa cautiously warned and the doctor nodded heavily.

Behind the corner, Aegon's eyes only shone with more determination before he left his position.

1 hour later

"Huh?" A young prisoner rubbed his head in confusion until he remembered what had happened to him.

He had murdered a non-sellsword working at the golden company which set him up for execution; however, upon lying in his cell, he was suddenly knocked out by a small child.

"Where am I-"

"Quiet." Aegon revealed himself from the shadows while binding his mouth with a dirty cloth.

The prisoner's eyes shook violently as he gazed in complete fear at the child's purple eyes that started to be consumed by a red scarlet color.

"Hmph!" Another bound man was dragged into the light as Aegon unsheathed his dagger.

The prisoner, seeing the horror to commence, looked around only to see himself be entrapped in a runic like circle as different parts of flesh surrounded him.

*SPALT*

'AHHHHHHHHH!' The prisoner screamed in his head though only a loud muffled noise was let out.

Looking down, he saw Aegon holding a sword that dug into his leg before lifting it up again.

'AHHHHHHHHHH!'

Aegon didn't stop at just one leg and impaled the remaining one before throwing the sword stained with blood to the side.

"Bee, the book." Aegon held out his hand as Bee walked out from the shadows book in toe.

"Anything to say? Because once we start there's no going back." Aegon warned Bee who gulped, her eyes trialed towards the man who showed her a pleading expression.

"No, I won't turn my back on you." Bee shook her head to the side while handing Aegon the book.

"Then let's begin."

Next chapter