Soonyoung wasn’t allowed to leave the infirmary while his wounds were being treated. He was forced to spend the next couple of days under the strict supervision of Minghao’s nagging and by the third day he was sure he was going to go crazy. Jun continued to stop by and give him news of how the war was progressing, but it seemed like no large-scale battles had broken out. The enemy side had taken a blow and were taking the time to recover just like they were.

He kept an ear open to any information about the group of dark magicians that had traveled from the Southern Isles, interested to see how the army soldiers would react, but there was next to no news. “They seem to be keeping under the radar for right now,” Jun reported, a frown gracing his features. He looked haggard, working hard to reorganize their troops and develop strategies for future battles. “The council has separated them from the military and are keeping them secluded in a camp outside of the palace gates. There are rumors floating around but so far no decisions have been set in stone.”

“Isn’t that even more dangerous?” Soonyoung questioned, amused. He would have thought Valahad would have wanted the enemy close enough to be monitored, rather than just hanging around at the edge of their grasp.

But Jun merely shrugged uncaringly. “This whole situation doesn’t seem to make sense in general.”

Finally, after three days Soonyoung was cleared to leave the infirmary. “You’re not to be involved in strenuous activity for the next four days,” Minghao had stressed, terrifying glare promising just what would happen if he happened to return to the infirmary again. “That includes magic and sparring. And you are NOT to be involved in fieldwork,” he snapped. “Am I clear? If your wounds open up again and I have to treat you I swear to god-”

“Don’t worry,” Soonyoung laughed, trying to lighten the wood while secretly edging out of the room. Minghao’s wrath was not something he wanted to be on the receiving end of. “I’ll be fine. I promise I won’t get into trouble. Thank you Minghao!” He smiled and practically ran from the room with Jun at his heels.

He glanced at the other magician once they were out of earshot and the two let out simultaneous chuckles of relief. “For a healer he sure is terrifying,” Soonyoung commented.

“Would’ve made a fine soldier,” Jun acknowledged.

“Oh,” Soonyoung suddenly remembered, “Did you retrieve my bow?”

The older man went quiet and Soonyoung felt his blood boil. “Jun, what aren’t you telling me?”

Jun had the decency to at least look apologetic. “It was smashed to bits when I found it after the battle. There wasn’t anything I could salvage.”

Soonyoung breathed out his nose, trying to control his temper. It wasn’t Jun’s fault, but he had worked a long time for that bow and it had served him well for years. Jun reached over apologetically and ruffled his golden hair. “Hey, at least you have something to do while you’re out of commission.”

Soonyoung scowled at the joke but Jun made a quick maneuver out of his grasp and leaped down an adjacent hallway. “See you at for dinner!” He called over his shoulder, black hair disappearing around a corner.

Soonyoung sighed in resignation once the other man was gone. If he was to be back on the battle field in less than he week he needed a new weapon, and at least now he had the time to make one.

It was early afternoon with plenty of time left in the day so Soonyoung decided he could get a head start. Jun would keep him updated on the war front, but until then he should monitor his time wisely. He set into a light jog, extremities still sore from the movement but thankfully not openly bleeding. It seemed Minghao’s careful treatment had done him well.

He traveled through the palace hallways, slipping in between servants and soldiers, and made his way toward the front courtyard. The Valahad army soldiers were stationed just outside of the kingdom’s entrance, large hulking men in silver armor and sharp weapons that acted as guards. There were rows upon rows of tents displayed along the front clearing and Soonyoung could see the magician’s tents in a rich purple stationed in the center.

“I heard the royal family took in some rogue dark magicians.” Soonyoung heard from a group of soldiers conversing around a fire.

“I heard that was just a rumor!” A messenger countered.

“No, seriously. I saw one! They’re over six feet tall and have four arms and no eyes.”

“My sister said that they can kill you just by looking at their eyes.”

“Sneaky bastards. I would never work with a dark magician. They can’t be trusted!”

Soonyoung’s ears perked at the gossip but he didn’t stop. It seemed that the news of the dark magicians had gotten around to the foot soldiers, but the information was still far from accurate. It would only be a matter of time before the royal family integrated the dark magicians into the army, and he just as quickly that opposition would form between the two forces. There was just too much bad blood between them.

He headed straight toward a line of dark green tents at the edge of the camp and entered the weaponry, scouring for materials. He found some hemp cord, leather and arrow heads, and packaged them all into a sack which he slipped over his shoulder. Now he just needed the wood and he could get to work.

Instead of heading back toward the palace, he made his way towards the empty stretch of forest just outside the palace army. It was a large spot of wilderness owned by the Valahad Kingdom that was mainly used for hunting. It would thankfully be empty and would give him some peace and quiet while he worked. He could collect his wood and then find a private place to work.

When the boisterous sounds of the army faded behind him and the warm sunlight filtering in between the trees, he was reminded of when he was a child and used to play in between the thick trees. But as he had grown up he had accumulated too many duties as a member of the Magicians Circle and he hadn’t had the free time to play around anymore. Then the war had hit and no one had really been able to become children again.

He was just considering which route he should take when the air changed around him and a dark haze settled over his senses. The hair on the back of his neck raised and magic surged to his fingertips in response, eyes flashing white.

Dark magic.

He panicked. His mind shut off and suddenly he was surrounded, completely covered by darkness. His senses flashed to pain and smoke and fire, the sound of weapons clashing, blood dripping down his arm and magic draining from his cut flesh-

“Hello.”

Soonyoung started, hands coming up protectively in front of him. Everything seemed to fade and he was back in the forest, safe and sound. He was surrounded by dark magic, but rather than smothering him it was just resting gently in the air, similar to his own magic which followed him around. In front of him were the group of dark magicians from the Southern Isles. They had set up a row of gray tents in a flat clearing of the forest, and were gathered around a large bonfire smoking in the center.

Lee Jihoon, the silver magician who had saved his life, stood a few feet in front of him. His hands were held out carefully in front of him, but rather than threatening they seemed to show that he was unarmed and peaceful. A look of concern glimmered in his dark gaze. “Are you alright?”

Soonyoung was confused, hands shaking. Where had they come from? They hadn’t been there moments ago. He should have been able to sense them because of their magic. The scene only made sense when he saw the carefully drawn line in the dirt around their camp that suggested they had placed a cloaking spell to cover their tracks and enclose their camp. “What-”

“The Circle requested it,” Jihoon explained, lowering his hands. Soonyoung did so as well, clenching his fists to draw back the magic he had unintentionally let escape in his defense. Some of the magicians in the camp were glancing at them in curiosity, all quietly murmuring amongst themselves. “They said we should stay away from the kingdom until they came to a decision.” Soonyoung thought he saw the other male roll his eyes in exasperation. “Whenever that is, before or after the end of the war.”

Soonyoung chuckled lightly, attempting to calm his frayed nerves. “Sounds like something they would say,” he said quietly before reaching down to grab his bag which he had dropped in his surprise. He made sure the latch was on tight and that nothing had spilled out.

“What are you doing out in the woods?” Jihoon asked. The young man was polite, but his tone was awkward, like he wasn’t used to conversing with others.

“I apologize for intruding,” Soonyoung responded, realizing that it must have looked like he had been searching them out rather than stumbling upon them unintentionally. “I used to go into the forest a lot when I was young so I know my way around. I was just collecting supplies when I happened to come across your camp by mistake.”

At that Jihoon turned curious. “Supplies for what?”

“My bow,” Soonyoung explained. “It didn’t survive the battle and I need to make a new one.”

“You make magical weapons?” Jihoon looked surprised and suddenly very interested. Soonyoung sheepishly nodded, he understood it was a rare skill that was difficult to master and tedious to practice. He was one of the few in the kingdom that still practiced magical crafting.

“One of the old masters in the Circle taught me, and it was always my interest. Unfortunately, with the war I am only ever able to do it rarely, when I have time.”

Jihoon nodded, still looking genuinely invested. “Fascinating. It’s a difficult skill to acquire.”

“Did you make your sword?” Soonyoung asked out of curiosity, remembering the man’s own weapon.

The silver haired man shook his head, shaggy hair falling in front of his eyes but his smile was kind. “No. I received this as a gift from an old friend during my travels.” His gaze turned starry for a moment, as if reminiscing beautiful memories, before he pulled his staff from a strap on his back. Injecting a bit of magic, he spun the wooden staff in his hands and before their eyes it turned into a sharp metal sword.

“Amazing,” Soonyoung whispered, immediately drawn and amazed at the craftsmanship that must have gone into the weapon. He couldn’t help himself as he stepped forward, hesitantly reaching out a hand. “May I?”

Jihoon stared at him and it suddenly occurred to Soonyoung that he was standing mere inches from a dark magician, in the middle of the woods surrounded by dark magicians with backup more than a mile away. Before he could even consider double thinking his vulnerable position Jihoon held out the sword for him to grasp.

Soonyoung took the sword, drawing it close to inspect the silver runes etched into the metal. Protection runes, power symbols, there were too many to count and the detail to have chiseled each one into the metal must have taken weeks. He could feel the thrum of power coming from the weapon, specifically the dark orb that was inlaid into the hilt. He recognized that it was the same orb that perched at the top of Jihoon’s staff. At a closer look, he could see a dark smoke swirling inside the glass, small twinkles of light blinking in and out.

“A medium for magic,” Jihoon explained. “It absorbs and holds energy to be used later during battle.”

Soonyoung hadn’t thought it was possible to accomplish that. He knew magicians in his own kingdom were still researching ways to contain energy, but all the precious stones and metals they used all seemed to break under the force of magic. “Fascinating,” he whispered. He took one last glance at the magnificent weapon, fingers itching to examine it more, before handing it back to Jihoon.

There was an awkward pause as Jihoon sheathed his sword to his side and Soonyoung ran out of things to say. Suddenly Soonyoung remembered the bag at his waist, his face flushing in the sunlight filtering through the trees. “Oh right, my apologies for intruding.”

Jihoon glanced back at the group of magicians who were all starting to gather to look on in curiosity. Soonyoung could feel his face flushing even worse in embarrassment at the crowd they had gathered. “I’ll just be looking around for materials and then I’m going to find somewhere to sit and craft. Please, go back to your people.” He bowed and Jihoon returned the gesture, a small smile on his face.

Taking that as a dismissal, Soonyoung turned and walked deeper into the woods. When he stepped over the drawn line in the dirt the small camp disappeared behind him and all traces of dark magic were gone.

The forest remained the same great power that he had experienced as a child, but Soonyoung couldn’t help but feel like he had just discovered his own little secret.

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