Happenings and Departure

It was last night that Orien—or rather, Tiberon—revealed his secret, leaving us dumbfounded. We let the three members of the Wolf Brigade stay in the guest rooms while Tiberon shared mine. We had decided to pick up the topic again once we’d had enough time to get our heads around everything said the previous night.

Which is why here we were, sitting around my father’s office as the members of the Wolf Brigade explained the events of the day Tiberon was kidnapped.

“Three years ago, on that day, I was the one assigned to guard Lord Tiberon and his mother back to the castle from his grandfather’s mansion,” Fenrik began. “However, there was a sudden demon attack on Beastalia that required my urgent attention, and I ended up sending two ordinary guards to escort them.”

“While we knew such a thing wasn’t impossible, we were convinced the guards assigned to the duty were more than capable of handling a few human slavers. Even we, the vice-captains, agreed,” Ashryn added. “And it was as expected—except, according to the two soldiers guarding the envoy, there was one human who seemed to defy common sense.”

“According to them, no weapon could touch that man’s skin, nor could magic break through his shield, while his attacks were too fast and too strong to parry,” Liora chipped in. “Only Lady Leona, the Queen, noticed something off about him. Being the warrior she was, she confronted him herself, but was mortally wounded. The prince was abducted. Oh yes—Prince Tiberon, you need not worry. Your mother’s life was saved.”

“After that, we set out to find the prince. However, all we ever found were the corpses of the slaver group—the supposed abductors—but no trace of the prince. So, Prince Tiberon, can you fill us in on your end?” Fenrik asked.

“After I was abducted, the slavers planned to sell me in the Human Realm to some noble family that wanted a ‘royal pet,’ as they called me,” Tiberon began. “But once we entered the Forest of Mystique, that strong man the slavers called Simon turned on them and killed them all—at least, I assume so, based on your account. The moment they started in-fighting, I saw my chance, ran away, and jumped into a river. It carried me downstream until I reached Redcliffe, where the House of Redcliffe of the Candoria Empire saved me and treated me like family while I waited for rescue.” He turned to us and bowed slightly. “I apologize for keeping all this a secret once again. But please, understand my circumstances.”

My parents, who had been listening patiently, spoke up together before Tiberon could continue.

“Stop it, Orien—sorry, Tiberon. If you truly consider us your family, then you mustn’t apologize. Family forgives mistakes, no matter how terrible they might seem,” Mother said warmly.

Father added, “Tiberon, we understand your dilemma as a beastkin in the Human Realm, and we don’t hold you accountable for the lies you told. Those lies were to protect yourself. They caused no harm.”

“Indeed, Tiberon, you are like a brother to me, and I will never hold it against you. But promise me this—next time, trust me enough not to drop the truth on me all at once like you did last night,” I said cheerily, trying to lighten the mood.

Tiberon promised happily, and the three members of the Wolf Brigade bowed to us in gratitude for our understanding.

Once the sentiment settled, Father raised his concern. “About this man—Simon, was it? How could he be stronger than beastkin? I have never heard of a regular human besting one in swordplay. If it had been an elf or a dwarf, I would understand. After all, they are naturally stronger than humans, which is why the Elvendom of Sylphia is such an important ally in the Human Peace Treaty. They shield us from beastkin invasions.”

Everyone fell into deep thought.

“Maybe the soldiers mistook an elf or a dwarf for a human?” Fenrik suggested.

“If that were the case, Lady Leona would not have found it necessary to intervene,” Ashryn countered. “There must be something we’re overlooking.”

I thought for a moment, then reached a chilling conclusion. “Can you tell me what you see once I cast a spell on myself?” I said, and quickly compounded three basic spells.

“MIST!” I cast, cloaking my body in mist. Then, “GLOW!”—making the mist emit light. Finally, “REFRACT!”—a spell opticians use to test glass quality, here bending the glowing mist to form an illusion. “Well? How do I look?”

Everyone stared in shock, but Tiberon managed to speak. “You look exactly like me. I know you compounded magic to achieve this, but how does this explain Father’s question?”

“Well, because I did it in front of you. But if I cast this out of sight, would you be able to tell who’s real and who’s the illusion?” I asked.

“No,” came the unanimous reply.

I turned to the beastkin. “Then is it possible that the so-called human was strong because he was actually a demon, hiding behind a similar illusion?”

The three warriors quickly pieced it together.

“Certainly. If a demon used such an illusion, it would be nearly impossible for anyone without battlefield experience to tell the difference,” Fenrik concluded.

“That would explain why the guards we trusted failed. They were trained against humans, not demons,” Liora added.

“And it would explain why Lady Leona intervened,” Ashryn agreed.

Their reasoning made my stomach churn.

Tiberon noticed and asked, “What worries you so much, brother?”

I gave the answer that silenced the room. “If it truly was a demon, then we can conclude two things. First, demons possess illusion magic we’ve never seen before. That either means we still don’t know the true depths of Demon Magic, or there is someone among them who knows how to compound magic—just like I do. Second, if this is true, then we no longer know who is human and who is demon. If word spreads, it could sow mistrust, fuel in-fighting, and cause the collapse of both the Beast and Human Realms—without the demons even lifting a finger.”

Tiberon, having seen the illusion firsthand, realized the urgency. “If that is true, I must hurry back to Beastalia and warn Father. We must gather every ally before mistrust spreads into a world-ending crisis.”

“You are quite right, young Prince Tiberon,” Fenrik agreed. “We must bring this matter to the king’s notice.”

Father nodded. “I will write to the King of Candoria as well. Prince Tiberon, may I ask you to send a letter verifying my claims once you return home?”

“Of course, my human father,” Tiberon said with a blush. He turned to his knights. “Alright—Fenrik, Liora, Ashryn—we leave for Beastalia at first light.” Then he looked at me and added softly, “I am sorry, brother. We may not have much time left before we say goodbye.”

“Don’t say that, Tiberon. If demons can disguise themselves as humans, then even the Human Realm isn’t safe. We’ll need to work together. You handle the Beast Realm, I’ll handle the Human Realm. That way, this isn’t a ‘goodbye’—just an ‘until we meet again,’” I said with a grin.

Tiberon smiled brightly. “So, until next time, brother.”

The next day, Tiberon and the Wolf Brigade left before dawn, promising we would meet again when needed. But their departure left behind many unanswered questions. Was our knowledge of Demon Magic truly so limited that we never knew they possessed compound magic? Or had they developed it on their own? Or perhaps—just perhaps—was there an enemy other than the demons we knew nothing about?