Sofosys\' POV

"Are you absolutely sure you want to do this, Your Highness?" I said skeptically, "I don\'t think I have a good feeling about it."

"Don\'t question my judgement again, Sofosys...or this time I\'ll positively have you hanged." The Queen\'s tone betrayed no emotions.

I stood still as a statue, unable to stop the Queen as she is undertaking this dreadful job. I have failed, as a mentor and as a Magi to show the correct path to the Monarchs and all that will now be left would simply be chaos. I bowed my head in regret, racking through my brains to find a solution that might help me stop Iphigenia.

"You must remember what I said." The Queen spoke gravely, "no one….. I repeat, not a single soul must know of this. You dare not utter this in front of Rathaerys, otherwise you will face grave consequences. I don\'t need to explain anything to anyone, I am the Queen and I will do as it deems fit. Understood?"

She tilted her head slightly, looking at me will suspicious eyes.

"Yes, Your Highness." I replied without a breath, "but please, let\'s atleast tell your husband about this. He is wise enough, he may have solutions that are…..er more acceptable than this one."

I looked at her helplessly, praying hard that she changes her mind.

"NO!" The Queen roared, "Rathaerys must not know! Never! You will keep your word, Sofosys and I\'ll see the rest."

I knew that I had lost this battle. So, it would be prudent for me to give in. Iphigenia was the most stubborn woman that I had ever known. But the very thought of doing what we had intended, sent a shiver down my spine. I started remembering all those words spoken long ago by my mentor, his voice reverberating crystal clear in my mind.

"Knowledge is a terrible weapon, Sofosys." He used to say, "One that should be yielded with utmost caution. Many lives can be saved through it, and many more can be destroyed too...if only knowledge fell into wrong hands. We, The Holy Circle of Magis, thus swear to protect this Knowledge, to guide the people so that they can use it only for the greater good, and thus prevent misuse and malice."

I had been young and naive then, curious about the nature of everything. So I had asked, "But Master, what if we want to expand our horizons? If we don\'t experiment, don\'t learn new things, won\'t knowledge remain as stagnant as the water in a filthy pond?"

Master had laughed at my analogy, then answered in a cool voice, "I know the thirst of Knowledge, Sofosys. It\'s impossible to resist but we should always exercise caution. There are lots of things in the world that simply don\'t require meddling. Dark Magic, is one of those. I have known great Magis, tempted to try out the Dark Arts and they have never been the same again. Don\'t be a fool to looking for those, you will do well to know your boundaries and stay within it."

I had adhered to his warning for so long, despite my curiosity I had never tried Dark Magic before. But today, at the Queen\'s orders, I have been forced to break my ancient vow. I wish my Master would never have to hear about my failure.

"Shall you go now?" The Queen said impatiently, "or you wish to brood longer so that others may arrive before I have accomplished my task?"

I followed Iphigenia soundlessly, walking through the dark grounds and finally arriving at Magnus\' prison.

He was propped up on the floor, sleeping. The translucent moonlight illuminated half of his face, rendering it an ethereal glow. For that moment, I felt sorry for the guy. Despite all his evils, he didn\'t deserve this...no one on the face of the World deserved this. What we are going to do today, is a sin beyond redemption.

"Wake up!" The Queen barked, and Magnus was woken with a jolt. It took a moment for him to register what was going on, and then that playful grin returned to his face.

"What a pleasure, Your Majesty!" He said, reclining lazily, "Can I know the reason for your sudden nocturnal visit?"

"Get up!" The Queen said, not bothering to play around, "I give you one last chance. Confess….why are you here? Tell me everything, everything that you know of Arphoelus that may help us to win the war. I might spare your life if you cooperate."

I prayed silently, wishing he would finally open his mouth. This was no empty threat, only I knew what disastrous fate awaited this foolish guy.

But, he only smiled.

"I have told you before, I don\'t know any secrets. None that can help you win the war atleast. I came here looking for closure, I wanted to apologise to Cassadrei and my work is done now. There\'s nothing more that I can help you with. Unless, you want to know more about Tygrenne…"

Tygrenne? Why does the name sound so familiar?

"Enough!" The Queen growled, stopping him before he spoke any further, "So, you won\'t cooperate…. I have no other option left then."

"What? Are you going to kill me?" Magnus said casually, "Do it then. I am not afraid of dying because I no longer have anything to live for."

"You think it\'ll be that simple?" The Queen hissed, "You have destroyed my people, you deserve something far worse than death!"

With that, she took out the ruby. At first glance, it looked quite ordinary, a huge red ruby shining dully….no one would pay a second glance to it. But, Magnus was no ordinary man, his eyes bulged as he saw the ruby.

"You...you can\'t do this." He stammered, his voice was filled with dread now, "Please, just kill me and get this over with. Don\'t stain your hands by doing this dirty task, Queen…. don\'t forfeit your soul for me!"

"I am already dying." The Queen said with a harsh laughter, "I don\'t care about my soul anymore. All I want is for you to pay the price of your crimes."

She threw the ruby into the prison, and started muttering the dark spells. I shifted away from her, wishing to be anywhere but near her.

The prison glowed in a maroon black light, like dark red blood and I covered my eyes to shield them from the dreadful sight. Magnus screamed, but his voice was drowned within a second and he was trapped inside the dark red ruby, which now emanated a vicious blackish glow.

He was trapped inside the stone, for eternity now, and his soul would be tortured forever by the dark magic that controls the ruby. He would never know peace again, he would crave for death every day but he would not die. He would live an immortal life, filled with agony and pain, forever trapped inside that stone.

The Queen exhaled and sat on the ground, panting from the effort of the spell. Her hands trembled, and she looked at me with blank eyes. I shook my head, indicating that the deed has been done. We left the prison slowly, I held her lest she may fall, and took her back to her hut without anyone noticing.

"Tomorrow…" she said softly, with shallow breaths, "prepare them for leaving. We have to go back."

I nodded my head.

I couldn\'t sleep the whole night, tossing and turning in my bed as I thought about my role in the entire thing. I wished that I had somehow stopped her, but now it\'s too late. I will surely be ostracized by the Circle of Magis if they came to know of this. Perhaps, I can explain….maybe they would understand.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in. Maybe, it\'s for the good, I thought. I could finally be free of the Magis and I can pursue my other interests, like I had always desired. Maybe even reconcile with Helly. I wonder where she lived now, surely she would forgive me….

My thoughts were interrupted by Maland who came knocking at the door. Was it morning already? I had told him that we would be leaving today, so he must have informed Cassadrei.

I quickly got dressed and found Maland standing outside, with a cup of tea in his hands.

"For you sir!" He offered it to me, "The Princess is ready to go, they are all waiting outside." He said.

"And the Queen?" I asked tiredly, then gratefully took a sip of the warm tea.

"She is also ready. They are all waiting for you." He said.

I sighed, daunted by the prospect of facing the day. Nevertheless, I trudged along with Malnad and found them all standing near the great oak tree. The Queen looked tired too…. I am sure that she had no sleep after our last night\'s adventures.

I was just going to address her, and tell her that we are ready to move when Victoria suddenly came running to us.

"Something\'s wrong!" She said frantically, "I…. I went to give breakfast to Magnus just now….but he\'s not there. His cell is empty! Magnus is gone!"