202: Not A Dream But Memories

Not A Dream But Memories

Oriana asked hesitantly, "Then, what are real witches?"1

Yorian started to explain, but his next words were not what she expected. "Do you know of scholars?"

"Uhh, yes?"

"What do scholars do?"

Oriana blinked in a daze, but despite her confusion, she tried to come up with an answer. "They are intellectuals, ranging from philosophers to officials to scribes and teachers…."

The elf nodded. "Correct. And the very foundation of their knowledge is that they are able to read and write. Witches are equivalent to scholars among the supernatural beings. As I said, witches are a race, and they are the race of the ancient seekers of truth. They understand the rules of the world better than any other race. They are always seen studying, experimenting, reading books or talking with other witches to verify the truth. 

"Witches are able to 'read' magic, understand how the world works, and 'write' or 'rewrite' them through spells. That is why we told you before that a witch who doesn't know spells isn't really considered a witch.

"Other races depend on natural talent. Example, a mermaid can only live in the water and use water-attribute magic, or a person from the feathered race can only transform between human and bird form. However, for witches, as long as they understand the 'rules' of those innate magic, they can mimic them and use a wider variety of magic. 

"As scholars, each of them has a particular specialty, some focus on making potions, others on summoning familiars, or divining the future, and there are rare witches who could do a little of everything. Martha, for example, she can cast illusion magic, and she can also cast low-level barriers. She also has basic knowledge on potion-making, thanks to the senior witches who taught her."

Yorian's words overturned everything Oriana pictured in her head. 

After meeting the wizards, especially after sensing the familiar black magic from them, the young woman could not help but imagine that witches were similar to them, evil and bloodthirsty assassins.

"Uhm, but you told me Miss Martha is different from me because I'm a Black Witch?"

"Indeed. It is a matter of attribute," Yorian agreed. "Other races, like fairies, have the attributes of nature like fire, water, wind and earth. Witches don't. According to legends, when your race was created, the progenitors are blessed by two different factions, thus granting them the rarer attributes of light and darkness. Those with the light attribute are called White Witches, and those with the darkness attribute are called Black Witches.

"The difficulty in educating you, child, lies with the fact that spells of the White Witches are different from the Black Witches. To put it into example, it's like cooking meat. A White Witch 'boils' meat, while a Black Witch 'roasts' meat. Though Martha can teach you how to 'boil meat' in theory, you cannot learn it since you two have different attributes. Does that make sense?" 

Oriana nodded helplessly. That meant, despite being also a witch, Martha could not help her control the hateful darkness attribute in her magic.

"Uhm, my lord, do you not know where I can find another Black Witch?" Oriana asked.

"Unfortunately, neutral Black Witches are uncommon in the human kingdoms," the elf replied. "You might have guessed this, but the reason why witches have a bad reputation were mostly caused by evil witches with a darkness attribute. Not to mention, there are also those wizards—who are black magic practitioners often confused with warlocks. 

"It almost caused everyone with black magic to be hunted and shunned, even by their fellow brothers or sisters. Covens—that is what we call the scholarly circle or group of like-minded witches—often discriminate against Black Witches. Even if Agartha…alas, let's talk about that place another time.

"What I'm saying is, it is hard to find you a teacher as the witch race has a very, very small population. For every twenty witches, only one warlock is born. In every couple, they mostly only give birth to a single offspring. Out of every hundred babies, only one is born with the darkness attribute. Imagine how small the number of your kind is.

"But what you must understand is that you, Oriana, are not inherently evil. Your power is not evil. You should not fear your magic. How you decide to use your power, it is all up to you." 

After they had finished that small session, Yorian left, leaving Oriana with mixed feelings about what she heard. 

"May I ask what's bothering you?" Seren asked.

Oriana looked at her, feeling puzzled as to why Seren had suddenly asked her this.

"You look unusually quiet today, unlike how you are always," Seren added. 

Oriana herself was not aware why she was feeling this way. Was she confused, sad or disappointed? She couldn't understand anything. 

"Maybe I am just exhausted with all these unexpected events happening these days. I will be fine soon once I get used to it."

"If you say so," Seren replied, "but if anything is there, you can talk to me. I don't treat you like a servant but someone I can relate to. You can always talk to me."

"Thank you so much, Your Majesty." Oriana bowed. "I shall take my leave now. I am grateful for this help."

When Oriana left, she couldn't help but find it a little funny. The Queen of Megaris was younger than her, but Oriana felt like she wanted to rely on the Queen like she was her older sister instead. Oriana could not help but admire her composure.

'If only I'm more like her…'

-----

After the second day of the summit conference concluded, Arlan returned to his mansion. The prince did not return alone, as the carriage bearing the crest of Megaris was directly behind his own.

"You didn't go to your wife first and instead came here to chat about the conference?" Arlan asked when Drayce stepped out of his carriage. "Seems like your head is immersed in political matters."

"Seems like your head is in the clouds," the young king refuted. "You did not even realize I used my powers. While my carriage was following your entourage, I already visited her and returned inside the carriage just now."

Arlan simply shrugged. "What efficiency. The life of a supernatural being really cannot be compared to us humans."

Drayce chuckled, only to get a questioning gaze from his friend. "I am wondering how long you will lie to yourself, insisting you're a human."

"It's not a lie. My parents are human, and so am I," Arlan countered, sounding a little annoyed. 

Upon entering the foyer, the prince's three attendants welcomed their master and greeted his guest. Arlan didn't reply to their greeting and climbed the staircase leading to the study, not sparing anyone a glance, not even Oriana.

Inside the study, Drayce made himself comfortable in the lounge area. "Anything troubling you?"

Arlan, who sat behind his desk, passed him a questioning look. 

"Since morning, you seem to be out of sorts. What is it? Don't lie and tell me it's about the conference."

"There is indeed something." Arlan told him about the dream he had. "...and I am sure it's not just a dream but a memory. I feel like an outsider, like I am seeing someone else's cherished memories."

"You still didn't get to see that woman's face?"

Arlan shook his head. "But the strange thing is that, though I often have recurring dreams about her, she only appears at the end of my nightmares. Last night I had that dream without having any nightmares. Why was it about honeysuckle flowers? I feel as if it's trying to hint at something…"

"Someone's memory? Maybe it is your past life."

"I don't think so. My intuition is telling me it's not mine. I cannot explain, but I can distinguish this much."

"Do you think it's about 'him'? His memories before he became your other half?" Drayce asked. 

Arlan fell silent. He had the same guess in mind, but he didn't wish to admit it. 

"You think the same, right?" Drayce asked. 

Arlan sighed, idly massaging his temples. "I am not sure what that creature is trying to tell me."

"That it's time for you to start accepting him," Drayce pointed out. "Avoiding it will only prolong the inevitable. You have to face reality, the sooner the better."

Arlan did not say anything, but from the frustration on his face, Drayce could read that his friend was neither ready nor willing to listen to his advice.

"Think carefully, but I don't think you have much time left," Drayce said as he took account of various things happening. "My intuition is telling me something big will happen soon. We have to prepare, for I fear that what awaits us might be beyond what a human can handle."

"I am sure a mighty Red Dragon like you can carry the weight of the sky even if it falls.. This human friend of yours will simply cheer you on and make sure your legendary heroic feat will spread far and wide."

Drayce didn't argue as this was something they argued over many times, and the result never changed. Arlan was a stubborn man, even more than him. It was impossible to change his belief, until he personally experiences what Drayce experienced. A time would come when Arlan would be faced with no choice but to accept his fate.

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