Promise of Vengence (Closed:PyroBlaze)

[Ciraxis]

Spoiler

This thread takes place between Dark Rendezvous and it's Epilogue

 

Trotscany....

 

It has been decades since Hou set hoof on the verdant rolling hills of this Itaily region. Long ago she chose it as one of her 'safe' vacation spots, relatively safe from her schemes and plans. Because - let's be honest - who would want to disturb this charming countryside and it's warm sun?

Well, brutes like Tirek and vermin like Chrysalis would - the short-slightness that was a reason for their initial failures. Even when putting some thoughts and preparations into the actual planning, they found themselves bested yet again. Shuren was glad that they were gone. The trio presented an uncontrollable disturbance, one to be taken advantage off - like she did yesterday - but not manageable. Sorceress was even more glad that they were not off the board entirely. As her agents reported, Alicorn Sisters and Discord lacked the nerve to deal with term permanently. Good. Perhaps when the time comes, they will prove to me more...controllable pawns.

 

For now their fate proved yet again, that challenging Equestria upfront without an army - no matter how powerful you yourself were - was inviting your own downfall. This country had to be weakened first, undermined until it was valuable. To make them guess each and every move, and to make their sovereigns look over the shoulder every minute. And that required subtlety...and patience.

 

Like those present in one that was her tail right now. This was going long enough. By now Celestia probably thinks she left the country entirely, or moved south to disappear into crowds of Manhattan. That was of course what she would normally do....

"You have been skulking behind me since half-way of Eponine Mountains crossing." Hou said, suddenly stopping in the middle of the country road and looking over the shoulder. "I assume  from your persistence, and lack of REA guards swarming to annoy me that you have business to discuss." unicorn mare added, in somewhat expectant tone.

[PyroBlaze]

Magnus was starting to wonder if he had overestimated this mare, he had been following her for quite a while seemingly without her notice, all the way to Trotscany. Sure, she was powerful, she had demonstrated as much with the fight against Sombra, but what good was that power if you couldn’t tell someone was following you. All it takes is one well-placed strike and you’re done. 
 

He froze as she finally spoke up though, listening for a moment and letting out a small snort before dropping the invisibility and revealing himself to her. He would have used illusory clones, but if she could sense souls, they wouldn’t do much. 
 

“Impressive, even Sombra couldn’t detect me. Though perhaps the recent fight with you was dulling his senses. Regardless, I came to learn from you, to gather strength.” He said, watching her. “Of course, I do not expect to receive something for nothing, I know how the world works.”

[Ciraxis]

Hou let out a giggle at stallion's first words.

"Sombra's current state had little to do with this. He's always been less proficient in espionage and counter-espionage then he believes he is. Yet another display of his over-confidence. He get few flashes of cunning, but one swallow doesn't make a spring." sorceress mused before asking. "Did you extend the same request to him?"

Shuren enjoyed Magnus reaction before continuing.

"Not that it matters. Sombra pretends he can teach more then he could, but many of his talents stem from the fact that he wasn't born a pony." Hou explained patiently.

"I remember a times when most of this...." she waved widely toward at surrounding landscape "...was a primeval beech forest. But I was always an unicorn, one that clawed her way up to where I am today...." sorceress explained before turning around and pausing. She looked somewhat....contemplative?

 

"So you seek strength, and are aware of the price. The only thing that can defeat power is more power. That is one constant in this universe - even if that power takes many shapes and comes from different sources." Hou said. She already sounded like a teacher.

"However, there is no point in power if it consumes itself. Power has to have a purpose." sorceress said with emphasis.

"So, what is a purpose of that strength you desire, Mr.....?" Shuren asked, expectant expression.

[PyroBlaze]

Magnus hummed a bit at the talk of Sombra just being bad a detecting hidden creatures. Well, Sombra's big defeats were not hidden threats, so there was little to back it up either way, but Magnus would take her word for it for now. The words of Sombra not being able to teach as much due to what he was born as were somewhat worrying, but Magnus saw no reason to cancel those lessons. Who knows what he could actually learn, after all. He simply watched her as she spoke more, revealing more about her long life before talking about power and the need for a purpose.

 

"The purpose, initially, is vengeance. After that, I might take what once belonged to them, and I will likely need to fight off anyone looking for their own vengeance against me." He said, pausing for a moment as he imagined what he would do to his 'family'. "I am Magnus Durum." He added after a moment, nodding to her with his introduction.

[Ciraxis]

"Vengeance?" Hou asked 'surprised'....or at least did her best to act like she was. I reality she was doing her best to not show how trite she was feeling. Not because she had any qualms against Magnus's motivation, no. But Shuren was expecting for his drive to be fueled by something more...original.

 

.....Then again, it wasn't exactly her business of what he will be doing in his free time. At least the stallion seemed to be aware of cycling nature of such endeavor....and that one had to find themselves a goal after fulfilled revenge.

 

"M a g n u s  D u r u m" sorceress slowly said stallions name, as if to taste it. "Not a name of Equestrian origin. Was your father from Kastrot? Or your father's father?" Hou inquired but quickly returned to 'introduction' part.

"I would give you my name, but I guess you already know who you sought....." white unicorn said with confident smirk, which quickly turned into more serious expression.

"Yes, I have the means and tools to turn your revenge into reality...and perhaps give you purpose beyond it....." Shuren admitted.

"However, this - like all things - comes with a price. Not only that, I have to see if you are somepony worthy investing into. Are you willing to throw yourself at challenges I give you? Are you willing to pay the price to see those that wronged you suffer?" sorceress asked, her expression at the end turning into something equally wicked and excited.

[PyroBlaze]

“Yes, I am of a Kastroti family originally.” Magnus responded, falling silent as Hou continued speaking. He nodded when she suggested he already knew who she was, which he did well enough to know she would be helpful to his goals. As long as she didn’t betray him, he cared little about what she did outside that. 
 

“I have been around long enough to know that nothing comes for free. If these challenges of yours are the price you set, I shall face them.” He said, nodding resolutely before a bit of a cruel smile appeared on his face. “I shall very much enjoy making them suffer.”

[Ciraxis]

Hou held her sinister smile for e moment upon seeing that Magnus sported a smile of his own...before quickly dropping it, walking forward and.....

 

<SMACK!>

....delivering a dope slap to the back of the stallions head!

"This is for getting carried away. Consider that a Free Lesson No. 1" sorceress explained before taking a deep sight and elaborating further "Anger and hate can empower us, but should never defy us. We are....or are supposed to be Masters of them, not the other what around. I will assist in that...vendetta of yours, but only because it leaves your attention split. Only when it's done, you will be able to achieve your optimal level of focus."

 

Shuren walked aside, before pausing, tapping her hoof expectantly. The story she was about to share was not on that she did gladly, but if it helped the boy here help from getting himself killed or - worse - dragging her with him....

"I am old Magnus. Ever fresh, but old. And during my long life and numerous endeavors I aimed at vengeance ONCE....." she started "...And you know what it got me? Failure, humiliation and gritted teeth. Since then I swore that I will not play that suckers game ever again. So far I am a whole lot better because of it." white mare revealed

"Of course it may be hard for you to comprehend this. You are young - from my perspective at least - and dedicated your life to do just that. But you had a lesson how such endeavor gone spectacularly wrong just a few hours ago, in Heartland...." she turned around, the look of her purple eyes dead serious.

"You know why those three lost? Because they wanted to get EVEN, instead of removing obstacles towards what they desired. Rather then doing practical thing, they had to rub their supposed superiority and advantage into their opponents faces. And it costed them everything....again!" Hou pointed out.

"...I won't discourage from your revenge. But if...when you get down to it - be quick, be efficient and by Tartarus. Do. Not. Gloat. At least not directly, and/or unless you want to get a rise from somepony for some purpose(but that's whole other can of worms). We have things for that! Like Astral Projection." Shuren give Magnus a tip.

"If you want to revel in your victory, do so later. Preferably sitting at the armchair near a fireplace, while enjoying some fava beans and nice chianti, smiling at the memory of your triumph..."

 

"But enough for now. You wanted to earn you 'education'? You have to bring me some things that I can't get ,myself." Hou stated in matter-of-fact tone.

"The first task, is making a copy of the book that every other copy was lost.....except one in Crystal Empire. Unfortunately, since Sombra showed his face there for a second time, their defenses against dark magic where.....upgraded by Celestia herself. And I am sure she kept me in mind while doing so....." sorceress mused

"...You however are not tainted by dark magic yet, and thus, beneath suspicion. At least until you will express the desire to borrow it - not that you could , it can be read on-site only."

she explained "...So instead you will take the tome to the darkest corner of the reading room, and use this on it...." Hou said while hoofing him a small crystal pyramid.

"This magical device is able to copy text, using something not so different to Aether Dubling, and then project the stored information on other physical body - like paper, or stone tablet - although it erases Imaginary Space Copy within the crystal in the process, leaving it blank again. Useless when competing with printing press, priceless when you want to copy something that wasn't supposed to be copied....." unicorn mare explained before adding....

"Of course 'Limits of Time and Space' is one of those books that are not supposed to be copied....."

[PyroBlaze]

Magnus let out a low growl after the smack, but soon enough reigned in the anger and released the hold on one of his blades. It never left the sheath, but had anyone else done that it very well might have found a new temporary home. As it was, he had no desire to make Hou an enemy, so restraint was in order, even after that. For now, he listened, taking in her words. He had planned to make his family suffer, perhaps cripple them so they couldn’t fight back, but he supposed he would have plenty of time for that once he took over. 
 

When the talk turned towards what he was to do to earn her help, he focused entirely on her, nodding along to the information. He could likely just take the book without them noticing, but this was a better plan. If all that was needed was the information and there was nothing special about the physical object, copying it meant they still had their book and therefore would be less likely to know that anything had happened. 
 

“Very well, I shall copy the book for you. We will both gain knowledge we desire. Was there anything else, or shall I get started?” He said, examining the pyramid for a moment before stowing it away. 

[Ciraxis]

Hou scoffed when she 'noticed' what he was doing - or rather, refraining of doing - with his weapons. So that's how it looked from the outside?

Still, his patience and self-control WAS reassuring. He might even aspire to great things if he keeps them.

 

....Which appeared to be something that she needed to cultivate. The young stallion was rearing to go the moment she finished her explanation. Ponies these days....

"Started? Boy, you nowhere near ready to embark for this task." Shuren said, before quickly clarifying when she noticed that he started to open his mount for the response.

"First off, yes I will call you 'Boy'. It's non-descriptive term when in public, and when you have so many years under belt, pretty much everpony aside from alicorn or draconequss is a kid." sorceress mused, kocking Magnus down a peg. "Second, do you think I would let you go before giving you tools to use in case events go south? You being discovered - or worse - captured, means that that it all can be tied to me and waste preparations I was making for years. I not taking any chances, and neither should you!" she announced before flashing him an audacious grin.

 

"I hope you not tired after that mountain-trekking, for we are putting an all-nighter training session. By the end of it, you will know presence concealing spells that have no counter yet - mostly because yours truly invented most of them." unicorn mare said smugly.

[PyroBlaze]

Magnus’ eyes narrowed briefly at her calling him Boy, but he made no comment on it. He had been called worse, and he could endure it to get what he wanted out of her. The reason for the delay was a pleasant surprise though. Between light magic and knowing how to move silently, one of the few good things to come from his time as a thief, he was already invisible to almost everyone if he wanted to be. Shrinking the pool of things that could discover him was good though, so he was more than willing to learn what she had to say about that topic. 
 

“Very well, training it is. I am already adept at avoiding detection from most means, but there is always room for improvement.” He nodded, wondering where this training would take him in terms of ability. He was actually looking forward to it. 

[Ciraxis]

The training proceed immediately - just after they found a shaded grove that more or less hid them from the prying eyes.. Hou quickly proved herself a demanding if talented teacher. It was clear that Magnus wasn't the first student she took under her theoretical wing. She didn't linger long on practice either. For most of the spells, sorceress only shown them once or twice, and only allowed the stallion until he got them right. And further practice had to be done in his own time.

That said, she was very informative, explaining pros and cons of each spells in detail. Why 'spells'? As in, plural? In Hou's own words.....

"He who uses only hammer, thinks everything's a nail." she explained "The life itself is a proof of that. If you dig deep and long enough you will find remains of creatures of bizarre shapes, which led equally strange lives. Some of them were quite impressive in fact. But they are no longer around. You can guess why. Specialize to much, and you have no tools to adapt and you have no tools when changes came. And contrary to what most believe, changes always come." She explained before barking. "Next!"

 

Soon enough the lesson extended into evening and then nightfall, and the two found themselves sitting around firecamp. Well, laying in Hou's case - cause she conjured a Long Guo style couch for herself. She did produce a tent for Magnus as well, but didn't bother to do the same for herself. Either she thought herself as most dangerous thing in the dark of Italy (which might be a case), or she didn't needed to sleep at all.

"Not bad day at all if I say so myself." she mused, to nopony particular. Sorceress was laying on get her back, staring towards the starry skies visible trough the leaves. One of her hooves extended, as if reaching out to those distant lights.

"One day, even those distant worlds will be within reach." she mused while flashing a confident smirk, before rolling over to face Magnus.

"Aren't you a brooding one. Not curious at least a bit? No questions? It may be a while until such opportunity comes again you know." she teased waving her hoof, all but confirming that she was willing to satisfy his potential inquisitiveness.

[PyroBlaze]

Magnus proved to be a diligent student, and an effective one for the stealth-focused spells. It helped that he already used many stealth spells and techniques, so it was fairly easy to pick the new ones up building on what he already knew. All in all, it was a good session, and he soon enough found himself sitting near a fire with Hou, pondering what he had learned that day until she spoke and he focused on her. 
 

“Well, you could tell me what your end game is. At least where I am concerned if overall is too much to ask. Also, how is it you’ve managed to survive so long?” Magnus asked, looking over her form for a moment. 

[Ciraxis]

Ahhhh what a question! On surface, a simple one - but when pondered over it has shown how immature despite his maturity her unproven pupil was.

"End game? Nothing ends, Magnus. Nothing ever ends." she started, while staring at him. Her body may be young, but those eyes.....they shown how ancient the mare he was speaking with really was. And she was about to imprint some wisdom on him, of the kind that only comes with age.

"The moment you start to think about the 'End', the finish line, is when you start putting artificial limits on yourself. The reason I am still in the game, is because I realized the only real victory Is. To keep. Playing." Hou said with emphasis. She also appeared to summon a glass of wine from....somewhere. Classy. "The moment you set aside your pawns and dice is the time you yourself unravel. Oh sure, you can have 'goals' and 'dreams' but they shouldn't define you. Nightmare Moon, Tirek and innumerable others...they lost because they weren't able to see beyond their goals. You must've be better then this." the last words being something in-between a statement, a plea and an order.

"At the same time, I mentioned 'artificial' limits. It's important the realize and know you real one's. When it's the time to break them...and when it's not. I clashed with Celestia numerous times Magnus. I even have battled Miss Sunshine and her sister at once - in good old days. But I never overstayed my welcome. To realize your limits, is to know when to fold, so you can be dealt a better hoof, later...."  sorceress explained, using card metaphors.

"I assume that's what you were asking me. And not something as bland as 'How come you look so young'? That said, I can answer that one too...." she added with a shrug, while throwing now empty glass into campfire, turning the flames into mixture a green and purple.

[PyroBlaze]

He wasn’t sure he agreed on her statement about things not ending. On the contrary, everything had an end. Hou had pushed her end far away, barring unforeseen circumstances, but that did not mean it wasn’t coming eventually. The world itself would end eventually. 
 

Her talk of getting out so you could live to fight another day though, he could agree with that. He was familiar with that strategy, being a former thief and all. There was no benefit to fighting a losing battle. 
 

“I was more asking about how you prolonged your life many times beyond the typical lifespan.” Magnus explained, watching her as they spoke. “I may want to find my way to something similar in the future.”

[Ciraxis]

"Hmph..." Hou snorted, Magnus seemed competent, but too serious for his own good. Which could be a good thing, if only he becomes more flexible. Some things could only be learned by passage of years, and bruises you gather along the way.

 

"Ah.that is a question that's better demonstrated then explained...." sorceress said as she got off her couch and started to wader the glade they were in. Her eyes were now fixed on the ground, her expression focused.

"So long.....at the time of deer. ...Lover...jealousy...bloody dagger, in hooves of jealousy...." sorceress muttered, before flashing a downright predatory grin.

 

The flames of their campfire turned ghostly jade, and orange and purple aura surrounded the unicorn mare as she appeared to pull something from below.

Soon, rising in volume, a horrified wail could be heard as the soul of long forgotten deer was dragged from it's resting place to the source, kicking and screaming in futilely. Magnus could observe a terrified visage of that long forgotten spirit, before it was absorbed into sorceress body and silenced. Now her sclera too glowed jade, even way after rest of her magic has died down and campfire flames returned to normal.

"A little old, but still good, if not really filling. A murder adds some spice." Shuren judged while licking her lips.

"Well Magnus, this is my method. But that said, it may not work for you. It requires great strength of both will and spirit, and I am a prodigy of that kind of magic. of course there are other ways to eternal youth...." she said "But I assume you wish to hear more details hmmm? Well for first, one doesn't have to be dead to have it's soul ripped out....although they certainly will be after being deprived from it. Second, yes, I can do it en masse....but without preparation it's rather obvious to those arcane-sensitive. No......it's much better to set up ritual at some long-forgotten burial ground and sip them continuously. Also if not eaten directly soul energy has... many practical uses." Hou said.

"Any other questions?" she asked, as the glow in her eyes started to die down.