Elais found himself in a nearby local town, with the sun slowly rising from its wake behind the blanket of clouds. It was nostalgic yet unfamiliar, as many buildings that he had frequented in the past were replaced by much more robust structures. The only thing left mostly unchanged was the cobblestone path that he tread on. He honestly felt overwhelmed and lost in what used to feel like a second home. That was centuries ago anyway, since he didn’t have much of a reason to leave his home as he had a lifetime supply of resources. 

A particular antique building stood out to him; a witch hut if it hadn’t changed with its surroundings. It presented itself with a rusty arched entrance and pillars supporting its classy, timeless appearance, with greenery enveloping the structures. He entered, and walked around to scan the shelves of books and miniature potion bottles that had plants growing in them. It didn’t exactly give off the vibes that he’d be anticipating. The walls had been adorned with luscious plants, with many of them hanging in on a hooked plant pot.

“Welcome, how may I help you today sir?” the shopkeeper greeted him. She wore a cream apron on top of her dark turtleneck. Elais noted the miniature runes on her forearm that were barely covered by her long sleeves. A witch, in disguise.

“Do you practise magic by any chance?” he asked. A bit too directly, it seemed.

The wide-eyed shopkeeper started to tremble in his presence. “Are you.. With the consul?” she asked, the shakiness of her voice hiding her attempt to hide the fact that she was readying to strike him with her wand behind her back.

“I don’t know what you’re babbling about, but I just need assistance with figuring out a girl’s magic. I was hoping to seek guidance,” Elais responded. “I’ve been driven into a corner and fear for her safety.”

The shopkeeper lowered her guard upon recognising the sincerity in his words, and slipped her wand into her back pocket. “You may need to seek consultation from a sorcerer, since that sounds rather complex. It sounds..unheard of.” She walked behind the counter to reveal a hidden compartment, and pulled up a spellbook. Elais briefly explained his current findings to her, and broke down his theories and notes that he’d gathered so far.

“It definitely isn’t telekinesis, or purely destructive powers if she doesn’t have much magic reserve. It doesn’t work that way, so there must be a lot more behind it. There’s no way such power can go undetected, not for a young girl,” the shopkeeper said, flicking through her book.  The storekeeper turned to a particular page, and pulled out a tiny news clipping. 

“Unfortunately I will not be of much assistance. But you will need the assistance of a sorcerer, which will be difficult to find if you’re aware of the times,” she said, almost in a whisper. 

Elais shook his head. He eyed the newspaper clipping she presented him, which showed an image of hooded sorcerers being incarcerated in public. 

The shopkeeper exhaled and scanned the empty store warily. “They’re all forced into hiding in fear of persecution for being associated with the cults for practising magic.”

Elais’ eyes widened in surprise. “Could you elaborate on the cults?’

Cults were usually unheard of in regard to magic, as they were mostly associated with religious beliefs. For such a thing to cause even sorcerers, who were considerably respected in society to go in hiding was evidently a concern.

The shopkeeper nodded. “The cults are supposedly looking for ways to transcend the natural order of life itself in order to control it, likely in bid of world domination,” she explained quietly. “Apparently, there were cases of cruel experiments and merciless torture..” she stopped briefly, appearing rather queasy in her thoughts. 

Elais suddenly saw a flash of white appear before his eyes. 

The young vampire had been submerged in darkness, feeling nothing but the coldness of the stone table his body had laid on. His limbs were bound, and as his consciousness returned, the pain of what felt like his soul being drained struck him to the core. Rather, he was certain of it.

 His soul was no longer that of his own.

He sharply gasped and took a step back, abruptly returning to his senses. 

He thanked her for her information, and was about to leave the store when she stopped him. “Please take care, a lot of this information has been censored. It will be difficult to research the incident, but also may bring you and the girl in harm's way,” she warned him. 

Elais realised that he had closed himself to the world so long ago that he was completely unaware of what was happening anymore. 

He found himself wandering into a nearby bookstore, with little to no books regarding spells at all, except within their expansive history section. They weren’t exactly helpful either, as all of this information could easily be found in his personal collection. It reminded him why he didn’t need to leave his home. He was about to leave when he noticed a collection of fairy tales in the corner of his eye. 

“Which one of these appeals to young girls nowadays?” he asked the shopkeeper, gesturing to the fairytale books. They recommended to him the ‘most popular of all time’ selection as well as the new trending selection of books, most of them boasting overly vibrant covers. 

Elais left the store with both of his hands full, and headed back home.