Tale of a Hedonistic wizard

Hegdal's expression turned grim, it seemed like Durwin knew about them.

Cara's voice rang out, filled with fury and desperation. "Don't touch her, you fucking pig!" She struggled violently against her captor, but to no avail.

Durwin merely chuckled, reaching out to caress the woman's cheek. As his fingers made contact with her skin, Jaegar felt a surge of dark energy. Tendrils of shadow seemed to flow from Durwin's fingertips, crawling across the woman's face like living ink.

The captive woman trembled but didn't cry out, her eyes blazing with a mixture of fear and defiance. The black energy pulsed, and for a moment, her features seemed to shimmer and change, revealing something... else.

Jaegar watched, his mind racing. He recognized the magic at work—a powerful, revealing spell, designed to strip away illusions and disguises. But there was something else, a deeper, more malevolent power at play. Whatever Durwin Starbeeze was, he was far more than just a pirate captain.

***

As soon as the dark energy touched her, the woman started to tremble violently, her entire form seeming to ripple and distort. The air around her shimmered like a heat haze, and before the stunned onlookers' eyes, her human appearance melted away like mist in the morning sun.

Her skin transformed, taking on a pale, ethereal quality that resembled fine porcelain. Intricate patterns of cuts and grooves appeared on her elbows and hands, not wounds from any injury, but an integral part of her true form. They seemed to form delicate, swirling designs that pulsed with an inner light.

Her hair, once dark and unremarkable, now cascaded down her back in a waterfall of pure white, as pristine as freshly fallen snow. But it was her eyes that drew the most gasps—they had changed to a brilliant, inhuman yellow that seemed to glow with an inner fire.

Durwin grinned widely as he stared at her transformed visage, a look of triumph and hunger in his eyes. "There you are, Ar'kalan," he purred, his voice filled with a mixture of awe and cruel satisfaction.

Hegdal and the rest of the Five Claws were bewildered, their faces were a mixture of shock and dismay. How could this pirate captain have unraveled a camouflage spell cast by a grand mage? They exchanged worried glances, the gravity of the situation sinking in.

This was supposed to be a secret mission, a task they had been specially commissioned for. Five Claws was a group of professional mercenaries. They were to safely transport Ar'kalan to the Empire, away from prying eyes and dangerous factions. They had taken extra care to mix her in with the rest of the crew, to make her seem utterly unremarkable.

So how had Durwin found her? How had he seen through their carefully constructed ruse?

As if reading their thoughts, Durwin threw back his head and laughed, the sound echoing across the suddenly silent deck. "You merely..." he began, his voice dripping with condescension.

As Durwin began to speak, a sudden commotion erupted.

Cara, through sheer force of will, broke free from the dark magic binding her.

With a fierce battle cry, she sprinted towards Durwin, her sword raised high. However, her attack was swiftly countered. With a casual flick of his hand, Durwin sent her flying, her body slamming hard against the ship's railing. The impact was brutal, and Cara crumpled to the deck, gasping for air.

Seeing her crumble, the other members of the Five Claws surged into action. They charged at Durwin, weapons gleaming in the moonlight. But the four pirates, who had been holding Ar'kalan captive, leapt into the fray, engaging them in fierce combat.

The clash of steel rang out across the deck as the battle resumed. However, the Five Claws, already exhausted from their earlier fight and caught off guard by the revelation of Ar'kalan's true nature, found themselves quickly overwhelmed. One by one, they fell to their knees, disarmed and at the mercy of Durwin and his men.

Durwin surveyed the scene with a smug grin, chuckling at the sight of the defeated Five Claws. His gaze settled on Ar'kalan, who had collapsed to the floor, her ethereal features twisted with a mixture of fear and frustration.

"Now, we take her and get our reward," Durwin mused aloud, his eyes glinting with greed. "Go look for the passengers, see if there are any nobles among them." The pirate captain seemed to savor the moment, reveling in his victory.

With a casual wave of his hand, Durwin ordered his men, "Come on, lads, finish up here, spare the nobles, they could fetch a coin or two, kill the rest of the crew." His tone was cold, devoid of any empathy for the lives he was so callously ending.

Receiving their captain's order, the men started to move, and one of them saw Jaegar standing at one corner of the ship, he ran towards Jaegar, raising his sword.

But before the pirate could even get close, Jaegar flicked his wrist almost casually. The dark energy that had been binding him dissipated like smoke in the wind.

The pirate's blade came whistling down, aimed at Jaegar's head. But it met nothing but air as Jaegar moved with inhuman speed. In the blink of an eye, the attacker found himself flying through the air, crashing hard onto the deck with a sickening thud.

BOOM!

All the men who were fighting, suddenly stopped, seeing the man glued to the wooden wall, upside down. They turned in the direction from where he came.

All eyes turned to Jaegar, a mixture of shock and awe on every face.

Their captain, who stood aside, finally saw Jaegar. Durwin's frown deepened as he reassessed the threat before him. With a snarl, he barked orders to his men, "Take care of him!"

But Jaegar was done holding back. Without hesitation, he summoned his powers, and the air around him crackled with energy. Bolts of lightning danced between his fingertips, while a purple mist – the essence of chaos itself – began to swirl around him.

The pirates charged, but they were woefully unprepared for what came next. Jaegar moved like lightning incarnate, his form blurring as he darted across the deck. The purple mist reached out, ensnaring pirates and holding them in place as precision bolts of lightning struck them down.

In a matter of seconds, four of Durwin's men lay motionless on the deck, their bodies still smoking from the lightning strikes. The remaining pirates stumbled back, fear evident in their eyes, as they looked to their captain for guidance.

In just a matter of a few seconds, Jaegar had dealt with the four of them, killing them swiftly.

The Five Claws watched in amazement, their earlier defeat forgotten as they witnessed Jaegar's display of power. Ar'kalan's eyes were wide, a mix of hope and wonder at her mystical features.

Durwin's frown deepened as he reassessed Jaegar. His eyes narrowed as he studied the young man's movements and the nature of his power.

"Apprentice level," he muttered to himself, though there was a note of uncertainty in his voice. He turned to his most trusted henchman, a burly man with a scar across his face. "Kill him quickly," Durwin ordered, his voice low and urgent.

As the henchman stepped forward, drawing a wicked-looking curved blade, Jaegar's power seemed to intensify. The lightning around him grew brighter and more focused. Each bolt that leapt from his fingers found its mark with uncanny accuracy, as if guided by an unseen force.

The deck of the ship became a battlefield of light and shadow, with Jaegar at its center. His lightning illuminated the night in brilliant flashes, revealing glimpses of the fear on the faces of Durwin's remaining men.

Jaegar had wanted to avoid revealing the full extent of his abilities, preferring to remain in the background until absolutely necessary. But now, faced with the imminent threat to him, he knew he had no choice but to unleash his full power.

The deck of the ship fell silent as the last of Durwin's men crumpled to the ground. Jaegar stood amidst the fallen pirates, his power still crackling around him like a living thing. The ease with which he had dispatched the crew was evident, and it was clear they had posed little challenge to his abilities.

Durwin, however, remained a formidable presence. His frown deepened as he surveyed the scene, but his composure never wavered. There was no hint of worry or concern in his demeanour, only a calculating intensity as he reassessed the situation.

"You are a wizard?" Durwin asked, his voice steady and curious.

Jaegar remained silent in response.

Durwin's eyes narrowed as he studied Jaegar more closely. "May I know where you are from?" he asked, an amused expression playing across his features despite the gravity of the situation.

It was clear that Durwin was intrigued. Though Jaegar appeared to be at an apprentice level, the scale and control of his elemental powers were far beyond what Durwin had expected. The lightning, precise and devastating, coupled with the mysterious purple energy, hinted at abilities that were not to be underestimated.