The Old Scholar

Around 4 to 5 thousand-ish years ago. 

Standing atop a cliff that had a lone tree on it, Leilani, dressed in her white robes and headdress that made her stand out like a sore thumb in the dark greenery that was behind her, looked out at the vast plain of grass and rocks before her which was alive with the sounds construction work as people toiled away with their magic and tools building one of Malcolm's newest projects. It was unlike anything she had seen him do before, or even any of her children really. Ash had a city built in her name sure, but did not participate in its making, the same can be said for Staldhart, Icairn, and Malcolm's other older siblings who by this point were well-established in their own continents and had monuments and cities named after them. 

But this one, this city, Cobalt City as Malcolm called it, was his own personal project, and Leilani felt that it was not going to be the last of his projects. 

"aH! Mother! You came!" A young man's voice called out to her from behind 

Leilani turned, and while her headdress made it look like she didn't see him, she clearly could as it was a one-way cloth. The man standing before her was a handsome man although shorter than her at around 5'6 ft (1.68 m) his black hair was short and spiky and his tanned skin complemented his handsome face that had a large scar running down the left side of his face that while he could heal at any time, had chosen to keep it as a sort of 'maturity mark'. His topaz-colored eyes were giddy and full of life as he was looking at her, the white robes he was wearing had many pockets that were stuffed with papers, scrolls and other parchments that had his writing on it. 

"Hahaha, of course I would be here darling. Mother is always happy to visit if you ask" Leilani said as she caught him in her arms as he closed in quick and embraced her 

"Gods it is so good to see you again Mother" Malcolm said as he continued his embrace 

"Hahaha, the feeling is the same Malcolm dear, the feeling is the same" Leilani replied as she was stroking his head 

As the two of them pulled away from one another, Leilani got in a kiss on her son's forehead that made him giggle like the young boy he once was. Something that made Leilani smile as it still showed that despite their time apart, he was always going to act like the boy she found and raised all those years ago. 

"Right, since you called me all the way out here to your continent Malcolm, what is it?" The First and Only Scholar of Santomin asked as she turned away from her son and back to the massive construction site in the distance 

"Oh right! I invited you here to look at the new city I am making. I call it, Cobalt City, and it is going to serve as the capital of a new nation I am personally making called the 'Mage Kingdom of Gharintia!' Sounds cool huh?" The young man of 34 years said as he looked at her 

"A kingdom of your own? Are you sure you aren't trying to one-up your siblings?" Leilani asked jokingly with a feint smile on her lips as she glanced at him 

"No.....ok maybe trying to upstage Big Sister Ash...BUT that's only because she has an entire empire named after her just because of her influence" Malcolm replied with red cheeks 

Leilani nodded as she kinda understood where he was coming from, Ash, Leilani's eldest daughter, had done literally her job and on her continent of Quelecta, several kingdoms banded together and named themselves the Ashen Empire in her honor as a massive thank you. While surprising to many and seen as a great way to honor someone who was spreading knowledge, to Ash's siblings, it felt like a big thing they had to live up to despite Ash saying "By the Gods do not compare one another!" during one of the family meetings last year back in Imperia. 

Leilani couldn't help but let out a chuckle as she shook her head then turned her gaze back to the city in construction, watching with a discerning eye, the various things underway in the site. From the elves and dwarves busy propping up the frames of the buildings with magic and hammering in nails, to other workers making Magi-concrete which was a type of building material meant to construct the foundations of buildings and roads that Malcolm and Icairn had come up with. 

As the duo were staring out at the city, the sound of someone running to get to them filled the local air and the two of them turned to see an even shorter man who was pudgy and had a full lock of auburn hair that was tied in a neat bun on his back, wearing a set of simple white robes with red accents and carrying a set of crystals in a pouch in one hand and a bag full of scrolls slung over his right shoulder. 

"Malcolm! There you are!" The young man shouted as he stopped to catch his breath when he just got to them 

"Ah! Merbert my friend! What's the rush? Is there something going on? An emergency?!" Malcolm replied as he moved to his best friend and crouched down to his height, taking the bag of scrolls from his friend 

"No....no...I was....I was just....haaaaa" Merbert replied through ragged gasps as he tried to regain his composure 

"Take it slow my guy, there is no need to rush" Malcolm replied as he and Merbert sat on the ground, Merbert conjured up some glasses filled with ice-cold water and the two of them began drinking in one go 

"Haaa. Right, like I was saying. Some of the construction workers have reported that the Capital Library is going to be completed ahead of schedule! What's better, they built the thing larger than it was supposed to be" Merbert told him as they looked at one another 

"Hell yeah! That is great to hear and- Oh! Where are my manners, Merbert get up with me, let me introduce you to someone" Malcolm said as he helped up his best friend 

"Oh! My apologies Ma'am, I forgot you were here" Merbert replied as he bowed his head 

"Don't bow Mer! This is my mother for Gods' sake!" 

"Oh shit....did I offend her???" Merbert began panicking as he began hyperventilating 

"No you didn't! Snap out of it Mer!" Malcolm said as he grabbed the collar of his best friend's robes and began shaking him 

Leilani couldn't help but chuckle at the hilarity that was unfolding before her eyes. Her laughter helped to calm Merbert down and the two young men were looking at her with confused glances 

"Ahem. Merbert, this is my mother. The woman who taught me everything I know" Malcolm said as he straightened up and gestured to her after dusting off Merbert's robe

"My apologies from earlier Auntie. I am Alistair Merbert, the ever-loyal right hand and best friend to the First Scholar Malcolm!" The young man introduced himself as he bowed his head slightly 

"I see, so you are the Merbert my son speaks to highly off, so much so he refers to him as his 'best friend' A pleasure to finally meet you" Leilani nodded

At the drop of that information, Merbert looked at Malcolm and gave him an (*0*) expression while Malcolm was just raising his eyebrows up and down rapidly with a smug smile in confirmation 

"I am honored to have him think of me as such" Alistair said with flushed cheeks and a small smile, with some tears in his eyes he quickly wiped 

"Hey Mer, I need some alone time with-" 

"Oh yeah of course. Don't worry. I didn't mean to interrupt Malcolm" Alistair said before Malcolm could finish, with an understanding expression on his face as he nodded at him 

"Thanks my guy, I will see you back down there" Malcolm said with a nod as he and Leilani watched him begin running back the same path he came from 

Turning their gazes back to the construction site, there was a small moment of silence as the two of them were taking in the spectacle of the sight before them and processing the events from earlier. 

"He's a good man, Alistair" Malcolm said with genuine happiness as he glanced at his mother 

"He seems like it, how is he?" Leilani asked him while keeping her gaze on the construction site 

"He may not be the sharpest tool in the shed per say, but he is smart in his own way. Some of the things I have planned for this nation, I ran it through him and he gave me really good feedback, helped me rethink some policies even. He is the man I plan on making the king of the kingdom" 

{!}

"Not yourself?" Leilani asked, kind of surprised at her son's words 

"Oh no not me, I am the First Scholar of Dravitarius, I can't be tied down to one place. But Malcolm can. He has been with me through thick and thin ever since I came to this continent and I want to repay that immense loyalty and kindness" 

"Then I think that this place is in good hands" 

"It will be" 

"And one more thing Malcolm" 

"Yes Mother?" 

"I think this city is going to be great!" 

"I know it is!" 

Those last words repeated again and again in Leilani's mind as she stood at the same spot that overlooked Cobalt City. The spot was now a park that rested on the outskirts of the city. She could see Cobalt Castle in the distance and Leilani allowed the rain to down her face to mask the tears in her eyes as she could feel her heart aching as she remembered her son 

"It really was a great city, Malcolm...I'm sorry that I may have to burn it all down"  

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Back in Cobalt Castle, King Holland, his wife Darisn, and the now silent Taurus alongside the rest of the nobles were all frozen in fear as they stared at the 18 figures before them, literally looking like nightmares that had crawled out of hell to claim them. The 17 figures that were crooked and black in color with a pair of white eyes and a large white smile on their faces began slowly moving towards the nobles who tried to fire off spells at them, from fireballs to lightning streams, each elemental attack that landed was just shrugged off completely as the figures continued forward unabated. Some of the nobles began making a break for the doors that led to the rest of the castle but once they reached the doors, they were horrified and scared as it was locked. 

Despite them banging on the doors and screaming for air, there was no one coming as the throne room was fully isolated and there was no way anyone was going to get in or out of the place and call for help or assist them. Meanwhile, Holland and his wife locked eyes with the only white entity in the group that was not even moving. It was eerie as it had a feminine figure compared to the monster-looking forms of the others and this one was the one that spoke so far, coupled with the large black eyes on its face, the black wings on its back, and the large black smile on its face, it was truly a horrifying figure that left the two of them speechless. 

"Wh...what is the meaning of this!? Who are you people!?" Holland shouted as he and his wife took a step back when the white figure took a step forward 

"I...am...Pandora" The figure replied, dragging out the way it pronounced its words as it moved closer to the scared king and queen 

"Why are you here?!" Darisn asked as she tried to muster up as much courage as she could 

"I...serve...my...master" Pandora replied as she turned her right arm into a curved blade and began dragging it along the ground, the scraping sound was unpleasant to hear 

"Who is your master?!" Holland demanded 

"None of your concern" Pandora suddenly replied sharply, dropping her facade before she swung her arm 

{!} 

Instead of striking down the king and queen, Pandora impaled the shocked kitsune High Scholar Taurus who barely had time to react to the blade piercing her chest and abdomen. Taurus' breathing was ragged and in short gasps as she looked down at the massive blade that impaled her, blood dripped down from her open wound onto the blade and along the pristine white arm of Pandora, a few drops even landed on her face but the figure didn't even flinch.

{!} 

Holland and Darisn flinched as they watched Pandora casually and effortlessly fling Taurus' body across the room, smacking against the door before falling down unceremoniously onto the floor. The room fell silent except for the occasional rumble of thunder and after a few moments, Pandora turned to the other 17 figures. 

"Kill them all, leave none alive" She ordered in one sharp sentence 

{!} 

Without hesitation, the 17 shadowy figures then moved from their supposedly sluggish stances into fast predators. They began skewering and impaling the numerous nobles within reach and soon the entire throne room was filled with their screams as they were begging for their lives against these figments of the dark that cared not for their words. While their nobles died before them, Pandora stood by the king and queen who were too frightened to move by this point and had horrified expressions with trembling lips as they watched their people die in cruel ways. 

One nobleman met his end as one of the figures wrapped its arm around his neck like a snake before the same arm sprouted out numerous tendrils that impaled him all over his body and began draining out his blood before throwing his body to the nearby wall without care. Then there was a noblewoman who died as the shadowy figure impaled her through her abdomen with both arms before unleashing a spell that turned her into dust. It was a horrifying sight to the king and queen who no longer had the will to even stand as they saw another noble meet his head by being decapitated by Pandora as he rushed to try and help them. 

While all of this was going down, Former Aspirant Ferrin was busy covering her ears and closing her eyes as she tried to drown out the screams she was hearing from the sight going on behind her. She hid behind a pillar next to the door since it wouldn't open when this all went down and she kept praying to the Gods for her to get through this without trouble. Her lips trembled as she prayed and tears were streaking down her cheek as she heard the screaming get louder and louder as the massacre continued. 

Once the nobles were all dead, the 17 figures stood before Pandora and bowed their heads before the white figure opened up the chest that she materialized in her hand and they all flew back into it before it once again disappeared into Pandora's body. She then turned her full attention to the king and queen behind her who were now powerless and looking up at her with fear in their eyes. 

"You can come out now...Woman" Pandora said as she glanced back at the main entrance of the room 

Ferrin walked out and she let out a scared yelp as she locked eyes with Pandora, the sight of the white feminine figure scaring the living shit out of her as it looked as if something from beyond the grave that was not an angel but a devil had come and began speaking to her. 

"Ye...yes?" Ferrin asked as she moved closer, pausing slightly as she saw the strewed-about dead bodies of the numerous nobles that had just met their end 

"You will be needed here by my side. I will be contacting my master shortly and once that is done, she will have orders for you" Pandora said as she looked at Ferrin who straightened up in fear upon looking at the figure of white 

"Of course, I will be ready to receive them" Ferrin replied with as much courage as she could, nearly losing her cool as she glanced and saw the decapitated and torn apart corpse of a noblewoman to her left that was hanging onto the side door. 

"Good. I suggest not disappointing her" Pandora said before she grabbed the king and queen by their collars much to their shock and screaming as they tried to get themselves free from the grasp of the figure holding them

"Resist and you will die like the rest, painful, but I will make it slow" Pandora told them as she then plopped them down on their respective chairs 

Pandora then moved away and down from the platform where the chairs were seated. She snapped her fingers and the pair of wings upon her back turned into massive tendrils that began cleaning the entire throneroom of its dirty contents. The bodies were all moved to one corner of the throne room. She also began cleaning up the blood splattered around, using her magic to absorb the blood into her which fed her and made her stronger with each gallon of blood absorbed. 

Once the entire place was clean, Pandora snapped her fingers once more and she disappeared in the blink of an eye, being replaced by the same small box that Ferrin brought in earlier and the one she quickly caught once Pandora disappeared. Holland and Darisn were about to make their move to try and get the box and hopefully destroy it, but the sudden appearance of a crimson portal in the middle of the throne room interrupted them as the trio of eyes were all locked on the portal, and the woman who had stepped out of it. 

"So, Holland Merbert. We finally meet" Leilani said as she looked up at him with arms crossed and her brow furrowed as her expression showed mild anger that was covering the simmering rage underneath

A/N: New Chapter. Enjoy! Hehehehe