Witch's Daughter And The Devil's Son

[At the start of Time, the Heavens and the World gave birth to the races.

[While the World had many mortal children, the Heavens gave birth to the strongest beings. They were blessed with divinity, and they were called deities, the divine beings who oversee the balance of heaven and earth.

[Among the descendants of the gods, the creatures with divinity on their bloodlines allowed to roam the mortal world, the Dragons are the strongest.]

'How can they be the strongest when there is only one known Dragon, the Black Dragon?'

There were only a few sentences about the Black Dragon, but there was an image drawn on the page, as the previous queen had personally seen the beast form of Draven Aramis. The record addressed him to be the most powerful supernatural being alive, and among those in the continent, he was the only creature who carries the purest divine bloodline.

'So other than him, Dray is the only other Dragon? But Dray had not revealed himself and his mother made this book for him so there was no mention of his name.'

She continued to look at the image of the Black Dragon. "I wonder how Dray looks in his beast form. Has he ever transferred into a Dragon?"

In another book, there was information about the Kingdom of Agartha. It was fascinating to discover the existence of that kingdom which was never mentioned in any map of the continent.

She immersed herself in reading, not realizing how much time had passed until she discovered it was nighttime. Fortunately, her servants were prudent and they silently lit the lamps inside her study in order to not disturb her reading.

Seren stretched a bit as she flipped to the last page of the book. It was a playful poem that spoke of the might of Dragons. At first, she was smiling as she read the rhyming lines, but the more she read, she gradually lost her smile.

'It sounds like...a prophecy?'

[For when the Child of Darkness wore scales of Red

His coming will shake the shackles of the Condemned

Heed the Call, the Oath of the past will come to an End]

Seren was surprised to read the last lines. There was nothing written about Red Dragon but this prophecy.

It was as if Drayce was meant to be born with a grand purpose.

"Child of Darkness..Scales of Red..."

Seren continued to mumble, repeating the words from those lines.

'Since this part of the book talks about the Dragons, this should refer to a Red Dragon, right?'

[...shake the shackles of the Condemned]

If it was something related to Drayce's birth, Seren wondered if  it talked about the Devil's Curse that almost destroyed Megaris.

But that did not explain the confusion as she read the last line.

[Oath of the past]

In Great Lady Theodora's story, she mentioned Esther leaving because she broke a promise, but that was already a finished business since the previous queen already paid the price. As such, this last line didn't make sense to Seren.

'What kind of oath? Is there something that is yet to happen?'

She thought for a long time and then decided, "I will ask Dray if he knows the interpretation of this part."

After that, she took a small break before grabbing the book that talked about witches.

[The Witch Race]

Given that Esther herself is a witch, she took considerable care about the details written in each page.

[Witches are creatures who specialize in curses, formation and spells. They are beings who understand the underlying rules of the world beyond the natural elements, and thus, are able to somewhat peer into the truths of the world and gain control of them.]

[Several millennia ago, as civilizations progressed, so did the covens. Two factions were formed between this race--those who specialize in spells are called White Witches, while those who specialize in curses are the Black Witches.]

The book then proceeded to describe the White Witches. It was mentioned they have many covens, each controlled by the most senior witch, but above them all stood an immortal who they refer to as the Monarch.

'This should be Drayce's mother...'

It also mentioned  the mark of the Monarch of the Witches was called the Witches Knot. Seren observed the structure of that symbol.

A three-cornered symbol with no beginning and no end, interwoven around the circle. Seren read about the symbol.

[The meaning of this Knot is commonly considered to signify the three forces of nature: water, fire and earth. The single line is said to signify the oneness of the spirit and the spirals represent growth. The gaps in the spirals symbolize the stages of life: life, death and rebirth.]

Seren could not help but be amazed, wondering if this meant that the Monarch had an ability to somewhat control those concepts.

'Shouldn't that make her one of the strongest in the entire continent?'

She then read what made witches different from the other supernatural beings. For one, witches are a race that are majorly female, and though males are born, they are a minority called warlocks. Not only that, their powers weren't set at birth--their powers grew the more experienced they became.

[A witch's power depends on three things: medium, knowledge and imagination.]

[In order for spells to be casted, they needed to know and understand the laws of magic and call them forth through incantations, in addition to using mediums.]

Curses are malicious spells meant to harm others. Orthodox spells are magic casted to imitate, bend or change nature. Runes and sigils can be engraved on items for them to possess magic, like amulets.

Summoning...Possession...Rituals...Potion-making...Scrying...

After reading about the witches and the kind of powers they hold, Seren could not help but frown.

"If my mother is a witch, that means she must specialize in at least one of these abilities, but why don't I have any of it? I don't know any spells and I cannot perform any kind of magic."

Was her ability of making flowers bloom fall under the orthodox spells? Was her medium her emotions?

Seren became so engrossed that she even had her night meal inside her study, and she continued reading up until the third time her servants checked on her that evening, telling her it was almost midnight. When she finally returned to her chamber, to her surprise, Drayce was already present.

He was standing by the window, deep in thought.

'I wonder if Aureus had reached the Kingdom of Agartha. I do not know how long it will take him to find out why they are looking for Seren.'

He then looked at something in his hand. It was the brooch made by Tyra which had the golden lily rose preserved inside the amber.

'This flower...Aureus has given this flower to Seren...'

Frown lines appeared on his forehead, but he could only sigh to himself in return.

"Dray, were you waiting for me?" Seren asked as she walked towards him in a hurry.

She was surprised to see him but was happy as well, wanting to ask questions that piled up at the back of her mind while she read his books.

When she came close, she saw the brooch in Drayce's hand. "Isn't it beautiful?"

Drayce saw the smile in her eyes. She looked at that brooch as if it was something she liked a lot.

"Hmm." He nodded.

"It's the flower that Dusk gave me as our wedding present. Tyra made it into a brooch as it's not an ordinary flower but something magical. That way I can keep it with me always," she informed him wistfully, but then she opened up her palm. "I did not realize I forgot to put it on me today."

Drayce wanted to say that she doesn't need to keep it, but seeing her feelings about this gift, he gave it back to her. "Keep it safe then."

She carefully caressed it before putting it in her pocket. "Were you waiting for long?"

"I didn't. I am just a few minutes earlier than you."

She felt relieved as she led him to sit with her on her bed. "Dray, in one of your books, I read a poem about Dragons. The lines looked more like a prophecy, especially about the last ones. Is it about the Red Dragon? I mean about you?"

She repeated the lines to him, and he shrugged as he clasped his hand around hers. "Not sure, but I felt the same when I read them. Mother left that book but she didn't mention whether it was her who wrote that poem or if it was something from another person. I remember her simply smiling at me."

"If it is about you, then I am trying to figure out the meaning of the last line. It feels like it's about the future. I do not feel comfortable when I read it. I hope there is nothing to worry about..."

Her purple eyes were tinged with worry. Seren felt like the previous queen wouldn't have added that in the book for no apparent reason; it should never be taken lightly.

He offered her an assuring smile as his thumb caressed the back of her hand. "You worry too much, my Queen. It's late. Aren't you sleepy?"

As if on cue, she yawned. "I will change into my night dress."

"Your servants are not around. Do you want me to help you?"

It was a simple question he asked with no other intentions, but Seren immediately stepped away from him, releasing her hand from his grasp.

"No, I can do it on my own," she said, immediately dashing towards her wardrobe.

Drayce smirked at his adorable wife. "Even though my concern is genuine, this little kitten's brain is being naughty these days."