Elian de Acero

Elian de Acero was not merely a warrior. He was a sorcerer, a man born with the gift of channeling the energies of the invisible world. He kept this secret, because in his time witchcraft was punishable by death, but he used his powers in battle to protect his men, to bend the wind to his favor, to cool the steel of his enemies. His best friend, Rodrigo de Vela, knew it. He had seen him conjure, had seen him tremble after each battle from the effort. And Rodrigo felt envy. Not only of Elian's ability, but of his connection to the supernatural, of his favor with the king, of his betrothed, Isabel. The night before the decisive battle, Rodrigo poisoned his wine. But it was no ordinary poison. Rodrigo had hired a dark priest who gave him a special potion: a brew that blocked Elian's powers and weakened his physical abilities at the critical moment. On the battlefield, Elian felt his magic fade and his muscles grow numb. He tried to summon ice, wind, protection, but nothing came from his fingers. His sword weighed like lead. Rodrigo rode beside him and, before plunging his dagger in, whispered the truth: "I knew about your powers. I always knew. And I always coveted them." Elian fell into the mud, feeling his hot blood mingle with the cold earth. But as he bled out, as his eyes grew dim, his cursed blood—the blood he had carried since childhood, the blood that gave him his powers—began to boil. He would not die in silence. With his last breath, with his voice broken and fingers buried in the mire, Elian uttered a blood curse: "May your name be erased from the memory of men. May your children weep every night without knowing why. May fear pursue them to madness. May your lineage be extinguished in disgrace, one by one, until not even the memory of you remains. And when the last of your blood has paid, when the debt is settled, I will return. I will return from death to reclaim what you stole from me. So be it." And Elian died. But his curse lived on. --- Centuries of accumulated energy Elian's spirit was bound to the battlefield, and later to the mansion that Rodrigo built over his bones. But he was no common ghost. He was a dead sorcerer, and his magic, though atrophied, remained latent. The curse worked exactly as he had designed it: · Each descendant of Rodrigo suffered a different misfortune: accidents, illnesses, premature deaths, madness, financial ruin, unhappy loves. · Each suffering, each tear, each cry of pain emitted energy that Elian absorbed. It wasn't just his spirit that fed; it was the curse itself, growing and strengthening with each victim. · The more the descendants suffered, the more power Elian accumulated. He could move farther, touch objects, whisper in ears, manipulate dreams, create frost, and above all, exist with more intensity. But Elian did not just want to exist. He wanted to return to life. The curse was clear: when the last descendant paid, when the debt was settled, he would return. Not as a specter, but as a man. With his body rebuilt, his magic restored, with all the power he had accumulated over centuries. And that moment was near. --- Among Rodrigo's belongings, Elian found a gold and silver pocket watch, an artifact the traitor always carried with him. But it was no ordinary watch. Rodrigo, in his paranoia, had commissioned an artisan to create a mechanism to track his descendants, a sort of blood compass. Elian discovered he could use it to know exactly where every member of the de Vela family was. Generation after generation, Elian followed the trail. When descendants moved far away, he used the watch and his growing power to send them misfortunes from a distance: terrifying dreams, inexplicable accidents, sudden illnesses. One by one, he eliminated them. But those who remained, the last ones, began to flee. They abandoned the mansion, scattered across the world, tried to hide. The mansion stood empty, forgotten, at the mercy of dust and time. Elian could not leave the property, but he could project his influence through the watch. And when he learned that only one descendant remained, alone, without parents or siblings, living an ordinary life in the city, he decided it was time to act. But he could not simply finish everything from a distance. The curse demanded that the last descendant pay in person, in the place where it all began. She had to be at the mansion, on the battlefield, so that the energy would be complete and Elian could be reborn. So Elian did something he had never done: instead of sending misfortunes, he sent attraction. --- Using all the power accumulated over a century and a half, Elian channeled energy into the watch and from there into her. It was not a complex spell, but it was effective: an irresistible attraction towards the mansion. She began to dream of the house. She saw it in her dreams, felt it calling her with a voice she could not ignore. She started investigating her family history and discovered she was the last heir of the de Vela. The notary sent her the papers. The mansion was in her name. And without knowing why, she felt she had to go. It was not just curiosity. It was a physical need, as if something in her chest pulled her towards that isolated place in the countryside. She quit her job, sold her few belongings, rented a car, and drove there. Elian watched her from the window when she arrived. He saw her get out of the car with her small suitcases, saw her gaze at the gray façade with a mixture of awe and fear. And he felt something he did not expect: a pang in his dead chest. She was beautiful, but it wasn't just that. It was the way she stood before the mansion, jaw clenched, telling herself she would not run away. She was brave. Elian smiled. Everything was going according to plan. She was there, on his territory, ready to pay the debt of her lineage. He only needed a few weeks, perhaps months, of suffering. Fear, despair, madness... all of it would feed the curse. And when she was completely broken, he would be reborn. But then the impossible happened. She entered the mansion. Elian began his usual game: making the floor creak, moving objects, creating shadows. He was enjoying it, savoring the fear that would soon consume her. But she did not flee. She challenged him. And most importantly: she saw him. Her eyes landed directly on him. Not through him, not in the wrong direction. Directly at his golden eyes. "Yes, I can," she said, her voice trembling but firm. "You're tall, black-haired, and you have an idiot smile." Elian was left breathless. And he did not need to breathe. That should not be possible. No one could see specters, except in extreme circumstances. Was it the curse? The fact that he had channeled so much energy into her? Or something else? And then he understood. Or thought he understood. She was not just a descendant of Rodrigo. She was something more. Perhaps Rodrigo's blood, after so many generations of suffering, had mutated. Perhaps the constant contact with the curse had awakened something in her. Or perhaps, simply, she was destined to be the only one who could stop him... or save him. Elian felt fear for the first time in a hundred and fifty years. Not for her, but for himself. Because if she could see him, if she could speak to him, if she could touch him... then his entire plan was shaky. Vengeance was still there. The curse was still active. But now there was a new problem: He did not want her to suffer. He could not admit it even in his own thoughts. But when he felt her warmth despite the distance, Elian knew he was lost—though he would never acknowledge it. --- The final dilemma: 1. The curse, which demands her destruction so that he can be reborn. A hundred and fifty years of planning, of accumulating energy, of waiting. All for this moment. 2. The attraction, which consumes him from within. She is the first person to truly see him, to speak to him without fear, to provoke him. She is the first who could give him back something he lost centuries ago: humanity. And there is a third element: guilt. Because Elian was the one who attracted her to the mansion. He was the one who summoned her with the attraction spell. He put her in danger. And now, when he looks at her, he does not think of vengeance. He thinks of how to protect her. But the curse does not break so easily. If he does not destroy her, if he does not fulfill the debt, he will remain a specter forever. And worse: the curse could turn against him, consume him, erase him from existence. Or perhaps she is the key to breaking the curse in another way. Perhaps her blood, her courage, her ability to see him, are the bridge he needs to redeem himself. But for that, he would have to trust her. And Elian trusts no one since Rodrigo plunged the dagger into his chest.

Updated September 23, 2026