The Curse of the Witch

Preface

Merrick is in the celebration of a simple but important feast. The birth of a new princess is an event that is celebrated, since women have a very special importance in Zondeya, since they are considered beings full of wisdom, love and a particular energy that is responsible for moving the universe.

In Zondeya, through the millennia, is thanked for a prince, but princesses are celebrated.

The magician approaches the cradle covered by a thin transparent cloth, the little one sleeps peacefully despite the music of the cytars and the timbales, he can see in the girl the fine features of the mother, a queen full of strength and wisdom that has given twenty long years of peace to the kingdom.

King Solomon approaches Merrick with his chest inflated with pride and pats him on the shoulder.

"Tell me if she's not a beauty like her mother."

"Yes indeed, Your Majesty, and I sense that the princess will have an important role in the kingdom when she reaches adolescence, you have a strong family.

"I owe it all to the gods, they have been benevolent with my reign and my family," he smiled at his little whining asleep and then looked at Merrick. "Does the god Erosthenes have a blessing for my daughter?"

"Surely so, Your Majesty. But I am only an emissary, my mentor is the one to give the princess the blessing. I will send a message this evening to inform her of your request, my king.

"Thank you Merrick, you are a faithful ally and a great friend.

The king walks away from there to go sit with his wife, who remains unmoved because she is still convalescent of childbirth. Merrick turns to go to the table that has been assigned to him along with the great leaders of the kingdom, but finds himself with dark eyes that alert him immediately.

In Avarnia many of its inhabitants have the color of eyes or hair of a particular color. Dark eyes are attributed to witches, werewolves who are almost extinct and possessed, so do not hesitate to deny the woman the passage until she knows their intentions.

"Tell me, woman, who are you and where do you come from?" his deep voice alerts the guards who surround the cradle, before the silence of the woman, Merrick hits the floor with his cedar staff and extends his arms to protect the princess.

The woman laughs with a grotesque laughter and makes the candlelight shudder, the kings stand up immediately, but the one who walks towards them is Queen Loane.

"Speak, woman! And it better be soon or you will leave this castle escorted by the soldiers."

“Ilusa! Do you think these simple soldiers of Zondeya can handle one of the most powerful witches in the Dark World?” he stretches out his arms and reveals his true identity. “I am the witch Velania, daughter of Olalia, and I have come to give a gift to the princess.

"We do not need the gifts of the Lord of Shadows," says the queen firmly.

"For my Lord it is not necessary for them to ask him for a gift, he gives it and with great pleasure indeed—the witch moves around to see the princess and raises her hands invoking a power." Or potens umbrarum dominus, da potestatem tuam—everyone in the room is petrified by the horror of seeing a witch in full action in the castle, but not Merrick who lowers his arms to be able to fight with the witch. I, Velania, daughter of Olalia, grant this being the gift of never being able to love the destined couple, and if one day he comes to love... May the eternal dream of the gods punish her for such affront to the Lord of All, Raven!

Merrick launches the counterattack so that the witch does not cast the spell on the princess, Velania keeps him in one of her hands and begins to fight Merrick. The salon becomes a stir, where everyone runs to the exits in the middle of the screams.

The queen takes advantage of the distraction to take her baby from the cradle and run with her, protected by the king and the soldiers, but Velania uses a dirty trick to make Merrick fall to the ground and point them with his free hand.

"Stop there! You cannot stop the princess from receiving the gift!"

As no one stops, he throws the gift to the queen with his daughter... but in a completely heroic and selfless act, Merrick frees himself from the snake of shadows that prevents him from moving his feet and jumps, receiving in full the spell of Velania.

"Merrick!" the cry of the king, who tries to run to his friend, is heard, but the power of the spell that surrounds him stops them all.

Merrick is enveloped by a darkness that makes him levitate for a few seconds and then falls to the ground, his earlier blond hair has now become brown, Velania raises her hands to conjure up again, completely full of anger for the magician's sacrifice, but Merrick makes use of forbidden magic.

"O potentissime Domine Erosthenes, da potestatem tuam," he raises his staff and is filled with a power never seen by kings. "Petre aeternum," he casts the spell on the witch who tries to escape, but is reached by power and turned into stone.

Merrick, still weak by the spell of which he was a victim, places his hand on the head of the statue and a few seconds later separates his hand, completely frightened.

"Explode!" the statue is torn to pieces, Merrick turns to reassure the king, but falls unconscious.

When he opens his eyes again, he is surrounded by the king's personal guard, sits on the disturbed bed, but the queen's soft hands calm him down. Seeing his smile he knows that everything is going well, at least with them.

“What about the princess?

"Here," she says, "the cradle that is next to her and that I had not noticed. "You have four days unconscious, in which we have not managed to separate her from you. One of the sorceress of the goddess Marla told us that it is because of the bond that has been created between you, because of...

"My sacrifice," Merrick concludes, sighs and lies down again. "But it will only be until his first year, after which I must make a spell on a personal object of the princess, so that she can separate herself from me."

"I'm so sorry, Merrick... the same sorceress tried to take away the spell of Velania from you, but she told me it was ancient and very dark magic, that no one can take you away unless he's Raven's servant."

"And I would not risk the kingdom just for a whim. In my two hundred years of life, I have never loved and I know that I will never experience that feeling, you must not worry about me, Your Majesty.

"Oh, cousin! I don't know how to thank you for what you've done for my little girl."Loane throws himself into her cousin's arms and cries for him.

"Relax, it was the right thing to do, your daughter is destined for a good prince, who will create an alliance never expected, and that will make all Avarnia feel joyful, but not the Dark World, that's why they wanted to spell it out.

"I just hope that one day you can get that off your back."Merrick gets up and walks to see the princess with her beautiful blue eyes as the purest lake.

“For now she's my priority.”

Now nothing happened is important to Merrick, who continues to believe that no woman will come into his life to be his destined partner.

How wrong you are.

A mysterious sorceress

Sixteen years later...

Merrick is on his way to the small town of Maverick, which is a half-day walk from Zondeya to the south. His life in those years had changed a lot, he had had to take refuge in a serious, almost dark facet that he never imagined before.

After saving the princess, whom the kings had named Lucia, her life became more complicated. She avoided by any means approaching any woman who was not in her family (although that did not prevent her from being with any woman of the night life, because as a man she has certain needs), the king facilitated her work and forbade the sorcerers in the high circles of the kingdom. Of course many took it as a misogynistic action, but as the king was... no one told her to face it.

A few kilometers from Maverick there is a small inn for travelers, La Palancana Magica, where frog soup and seed bread are the most sought after specialties. Decide to enter there