Supreme Magus

"Orpal's incompetence caused Night so much suffering and humiliations that she finally returned to her senses.

"His obsession with the Destroyer is now hers. Night finally puts efforts in what she does, she plans ahead and schemes instead of just charging forward. She even convinced you all to steal your steeds and is the only one missing along with her own, Moonlight.

"Orpal is an illness, but the fever he causes is doing some good. Night now understands how hard-earned a true victory is and has finally started to study her powers.

"My imm.a.t.u.r.e youngest daughter replays every single one of her defeats in her mind, learning from them and working hard to make Orpal her equal rather than her slave. I have no idea where they are now, but I can feel their determination."

Baba Yaga shapeshifted again, this time in the Mother, the form of Dusk, making the Horseman shiver even though his body was supposed to be incapable of feeling cold.

"Dawn is the one who has gotten closer to understand her role and the reason why I have given my Hors.e.m.e.n the need to have a host. Even back when Night changed her host like a soldier changes his socks, she was still better than you.

"Fusing with so many people allowed her to learn more than you ever will and to rid Mogar of a lot of power-hungry morons. It also allowed her to never stop searching for the right host instead of settling for someone powerful like you did."

Baba Yaga sighed, looking at Dusk and wondering if he wasn't the one who had actually gone insane. Wondering if being a Lich was not only a perversion of undeath, but also a curse of madness that had spread to her beloved son.

"When the undead from Jiera arrived, you should have known that a war would have only culled our numbers. Valeron's True Griffon spell ended the war just because with all the undead who fell during the simultaneous attacks to the three cities, the balance is restored.

"When Night angered the Council, you should have contacted them and explained that it was just Night being Night. You should have made peace offers and apologized, not ride her insanity. When she proposed to steal your steeds, you should have simply refused.

"You may have become the Hushed King of the Dusk Court, but you're no leader. Your fellow Liches ignore you and all of your plans have only brought ruin upon your kind.

"Yet your most unforgivable act isn't fusing with a filthy Lich, but having completely obliterated his mind. What's left of the powerful Wynwald the Lich, one of the greatest minds of many generations, is nothing but an empty shell that adds nothing to your union.

"Dusk, your power has grown stale not because you didn't work hard but because the answers that you obtained from studying a Lich's body are unfit for all of my children.

"Also, by erasing Wynwald's personality, you have gotten full control of his body at the price of losing the brilliance that once brought that damn Lich to such heights that even I was interested in his work.

"By getting your hands on the legacy of Wynwald's past, you have deprived Mogar of his future discoveries."

The Mother took a long pause, to let Dusk ponder her words and finally realize the error of his ways.

"What you have done is much worse than Night ever did. You have dragged our entire race in a war against the other three that we cannot possibly win. The longer it goes on, the more our numbers will dwindle until we become extinct.

"You have smothered your own potential and become so foolish that Night actually makes sense in comparison." She said.

"What can I do to fix this?" Dusk asked.

"It's not up to me to tell you what to do. You've created this mess and you will clean it. The only thing I can do to help you is to give you a clean slate. A fresh start."

"What do you m-" Dusk was cut short when Baba Yaga plunged her hand inside the Lich's c.h.e.s.t and took Dusk's red crystal out, breaking their bond.

"I've healed your wounds, but your powers will remain sealed until you find a way to unlock them. Any last words before I kick you out of here?"

"How can I survive if I'm powerless? What can I possibly offer to a host to make them accept me?" He said in panic.

"Let me see." Baba Yaga pretended to think before answering. "Awakening, Spirit Magic, your millennia of wisdom and knowledge. I'd say you're still quite a catch. Don't worry, I left you the ability to use the basics of Spirit Magic.

"You'll communicate with mind links and use telekinesis to move around or defend yourself. Good luck."

A snap of her fingers Warped Dusk to a random location, leaving him at the mercy of both fate and his own wits.

"I wonder if he understood from my words that only his host can unlock his powers, Wynwald." She said while using all of her best healing spells to find the scattered remnants of the Lich's mind and put them back together.

"If you want to take revenge on my son, I will not stop you. He deserves your rage."

After a while, however, Baba Yaga managed to gather up enough of the Lich's consciousness to form a single thought.

'Kill me.'

Centuries of abuse had left nothing behind and the only thing that Baba Yaga's healing attempts had managed to do was to make Wynwald feel pain. After a few more attempts, she took the phylactery out of his c.h.e.s.t and broke it.

The blood and the mana core merged into one after being split millennia ago, giving the Lich's soul the time to utter a few words before leaving.

"Thank you. I choose to bond with your son to escape the boredom of loneliness and because I craved his powers. I don't resent Dusk because he did to me what I wanted to do to him. Had our positions been reversed, would have you saved him?"

"No. Bonding with a Lich was madness in the first place. I am very patient and sooner or later, even those like you die." Baba Yaga shook her head as Wynwald laughed his a.s.s off and his spirit disappeared.

'Dusk is out of commission and Dawn is too wounded to take any more punishment. I can only hope she keeps learning from Epphy and make herself a good life.

'Who would have thought that Menadion would have managed to use my Hors.e.m.e.n technology to bond her tower to Epphy and let her in turn bond with someone else just like one of my children? I wonder if it was intentional of her or just luck.'

She inwardly sighed while looking at her oldest daughter kissing Acala's hand in a moment of tenderness that forced Baba Yaga to avert her gaze.

'Now, I only have to find Night and kick her a.s.s into oblivion. I should be enough to put an end to this war.'

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away on Garlen, Night and Orpal switched from one body to another as she trained her magic and he spearsmanship.