Inheritor Of Magic: The Magi King

On the other side of the Fae Forest, Khalifa the Huntress, Elven Princess and long-time resident of Forest Grove, was standing over the body of a human military leader.

"They just don't learn, do they? This was the second time in a row that they walked into the same ambush tactic, and didn't even try to change their deployment." She sighed.

The Branch Wraith, a Fae Saint who had converted their Dryad body to an ethereal state in mourning after their home forest was lost, just shook her head in dismay.

"You can only expect so much out of them, Princess. They have power, but it is a stolen power, it never belonged to them, so they do not become more in tune with the world, they only get better at channelling mana." The ancient Fae replied.

"What do you mean?" Khalifa asked.

"These humans, they do not have the potential for magic from birth like the Fae or the Magi. They train a technique to channel mana. As they get better at it, they can channel more and gain control over more powerful spells. That's what I mean that they have stolen the power, it is just a trick that they use and not innate."

Khalifa thought about that for a while, then gestured to one of the few survivors of their ambush.

"You, what is your name?" She asked the battered mage on the ground next to her.

He rolled over to glare at her, holding one limp arm to his chest and angrily shaking the steel manacle on his wrist that locked away his power.

"Why should I tell some Demon my name? I have heard what your sort do, you use true names to gain power over others." He insisted.

"True names to gain power? Do you think that you are a Demon that I am trying to summon? Your people have some strange notions about the world. For example, I am not a Demon. That is a Demon over there. I am Fae, and I have a bargain for you. If you teach our humans how to use that power to cast spells, I will spare your life." Khalifa offered.

The man silently glared at her, and the Branch Wraith laughed. "I love it when they're obstinate. Would you like for me to encourage him to speak, Princess?"

Khalifa nodded, and the ghostly Dryad swung a foot through the man's body, leaving him screaming in agony, and ice slowly spreading across his midsection.

"That won't kill you, human. But you will wish that it did. Tell us what we want to know and I will make it stop." Khalifa warned him.

"You will never know the secrets of our power." The mage screamed, then devolved into howls of agony as the ice spread.

While they worked, one of the Incubi ran over with a petite mage in his arms. At first, Khalifa thought that the figure was a girl passed out in terror at being captured by the Demons, but it was actually a small man, intricately bound so that he couldn't move a muscle.

"This one will happily talk. You see, I searched through his things, and there are notes on how the technique works. He is still a beginner, so he doesn't know much, but he knows the most important part. He knows how to get started." The Demon proudly announced.

"And how does this relate to you carrying him around all trussed up like a birthday gift?" Khalifa asked.

"Don't think too hard about that, he knows the safe word. Now, would you like me to give you the notebook? It might encourage your stubborn mage to talk. Or perhaps one of these other survivors will be more cordial in their response to our request for information. After all, not everyone wants to live in that amount of agony." The Demon replied.

One of the Nymphs giggled at their interaction. "Bring the notes back to the scribes in town and have them make copies. I kind of really want a bunny girl who can use magic. They're still mostly human, so it should work."

In an instant, the way that the Demons were looking at the fallen mages completely changed, and a flurry of radio messages were sent out. If these human mages could teach the beastkin of the Frozen Wastes to use magic of their own, it would be wonderful.

No longer would they need to call on someone for all things magical. They would be able to effectively join the Magi as a peak magical power, and would no longer have to live in fear of the monsters that roamed the Frozen Wastes.

That part had already been changing with the deliveries of weapons, but being able to deal with it themselves would be even better, and not reliant on others. The villages had always valued their independence, so the Demons and Fae who were overseeing them valued that independence as well.

In the Fae or Demon Realms, it was just expected that everyone should have some sort of power and chance to advance. But here, that wasn't true. However, if they could get the Beastkin to use magic, following the technique developed by these humans, it could be.

Now, there was no guarantee that it would work, but killing the human mages had moved way down the priority list, and taking prisoners was starting to sound like a much better idea than it did an hour ago.

Wolfe just sighed as he listened to the radio reports, and turned to the pair that his team had captured.

"Not only do they show great potential to advance under stress, but they also have valuable knowledge. I guess we should congratulate you on your foresight." Wolfe commended the two Rank Eight elders that had accompanied his team.

"Sometimes, things just go right for you. I doubt that we're going to need all the prisoners that the others are considering. Just a few who are willing to talk should be enough to get the information that we need. But who knows, perhaps they will be more reasonable than their leaders, and they will be able to make a new life for themselves here after we find a way to prevent their portal devices from causing us more trouble." The Elven Prince replied with a smile.