Witches of Mellgrah

"I-I don't?" his words puzzled Maya. Saving Mellgrah was one thing she kept parroting to herself ever since Anastasia first asked it of her. At times it felt like an exciting challenge, and at others, an unbearable burden.

"Mellgrah was wrong from the start," Erik proclaimed, "Borne of sorrow and brutality. From the moment of its creation, neither side was left unscathed."

"Oh," Maya reflected for a moment. Indeed, the entire lesson he was giving was filled with nothing but tragedy. There was another side to it, too.

"To complete it," he continued explaining, "our world was depleted of magic, leaving the mages that resisted its idea with nothing. And on the other side, since this world never had magic, it was made to run on a delicate system that could give way at any moment."

"You're right," Maya concluded. "The Old World no longer has magic. We could only use it after coming here."

"So what you need to save is not this train wreck, but return magic to our world."

"That makes sense," Maya nodded. It felt infinitely easier to save magic than save the world. However, she quickly realized it was just another vague and unclear task replacing the other.

"So all I need to do is find a way to bring back magic?" Maya was left biting her lip and scratching her head.

"If we manage to find the locations of the five power sources it was divided into, the rest would be less challenging."

"Oh, yes! Because we can't just freely leave this world either," Maya concluded, clenching her fist.

However, when she received no response, she turned to look at him and found his gaze gently resting on her, the corners of his mouth lifting into a subtle yet warm smile.

"What?"

"Nothing," he assured her, "I'm merely struck by the realization that you're smart enough that I believe you would've managed to piece it all together, even if our paths had never crossed."

Maya instantly blushed. 'A sudden hit by a compliment? Is this man even real?'

Their first encounter and the man before her were such a stark contrast that it was hard to believe he was the same man—one whose hands grabbed her, ready to pierce her beating heart. Not only does he look dreamy, but he was smart and supportive.

"Is that also one of her alterations—the one-way portals?" Maya wanted to quickly change the subject.

"It's fairly possible. Anastasia took some liberties at the end," he returned to finish the story. "And Mellgrah witches quickly found their utopia differing from the original plan. First, she pulled in the magical creatures, and with them the danger. Appearing to have lost her mind, she began to prophesize a second coming of sorts. And there, they quickly realized that if she was not removed, she would eventually bring their undoing."

At this point, Erik had successfully repaired his crossbow. With deliberate motions, he pulled back the string, checking the alignment and tension with a practised eye. The weapon was pointed in Elena's direction as he examined it, and even though it was unloaded, Maya felt a twinge of discomfort.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Safety's on," Erik muttered, noting Maya's unease. His words were meant to reassure her, to remind her that the weapon was currently harmless.

Yet, Elena remained unfazed, her face impassive even as the weapon was pointed at her. Perhaps she hadn't witnessed how Erik had used it earlier to eliminate the vampires. With a smooth motion, Erik de-cocked the crossbow and set it aside.

"So, they did kill her." Elena inferred.

Erik nodded.

"I missed the part where they decided to kill people and kidnap children," Elena narrowed her eyes.

"A one-way world where no one can be born? What else is there than to take from another?"

"Did she do that?" This reminded her of not having seen any kids around or facilities that would accommodate them in a normal world. "The part with children?"

"Well, it was most likely one of the unforeseen consequences. After all, who can tell what she intended or did not? There are no precursors to Mellgrah."

"I get that, but why go through all the trouble to kidnap tragedy-riddled teens? Why not younger?" Elena pressed further.

"The same reason why the age of 16 was suitable for Initiation," Erik returned to his old point. "Magic of younger mages is too malleable. It is only later that a hearth is fully formed. Mages without a solid hearth are susceptible to corruption from this foreign world and cannot survive."

"A hearth is like a core?" Maya wished to confirm. This hearth he spoke of aligns with the concept of magical cores she developed herself.

"Yes."

"So no child can survive here and no child can be born," Maya summarised.

"That's correct."

A light chill overcame Maya. Suddenly, she remembered Charlise.

'Is what I saw in her belly the corruption?'

Maya shook her head in an attempt to shake off those thoughts. It was too frightening to allow into her exhausted mind.

Maya's thoughts returned to Anastasia. This whole story was about the same witch that Maya knew. It was difficult to imagine someone of her delicate character had to endure so much.

"Anastasia has such a poet's soul. I can't believe they made her do something so horrible," Maya mumbled.

Erik's gaze drifted away, perhaps empathizing with the character at the heart of his tale, who was unexpectedly still somewhat present.

"So, the whole story about her sacrificing herself and becoming the last Prima was just a cover-up for eradicating her whole bloodline," Elena mixed in. "Must be quite cushy to have an isolated world where you can rewrite history."

"It's meaningless to point fingers at the long-dead witches, now," Erik retorted. "It is like holding German descendants accountable for World Wars. Neither humans nor mages ever lacked the capacity to come up with such heinous crimes. It works for a prettier story to be a chosen one than coming to terms that everyone in this world today is a victim of that foul legacy."

"B-but…" Maya wished to speak but found herself at a loss for words.

"You're wondering why did you had to become a victim as well?" Erik, however, appeared to read her mind. "It's hard to say… When a world is unable to naturally replenish itself, people resort to preserving the sense of normalcy through any means possible."

He sighed, realizing how great a burden it was to lay all this knowledge on her at once.

"Admittedly, my revelations may seem harsh," he continued, "Maintaining ignorance and continuing to live within this illusion could be a more comfortable existence. That is, until the day you begin to question it. For many, it will fall apart the moment they wish to start a family."

"Oh, because there are no children here…"

"Precisely. You don't have to be smart to imagine what happens to a world that can't produce offspring."

"It is doomed to slowly die."