The new recruits were funneled into a large circular room.
Instead of the normal stone or wood floors of the other buildings, this room
had a sand floor. There were no more than thirty, yet the small group seemed to
fill the entire room. “’Ello, new blood.” The voice came from Tyrell, who was
partially cloaked in the shadows of the torch light. Ivan stood at the side to
observe. He adjusted his glasses and spoke. “This is commander Tyrell. He is
the leader of the Aeon Scouts. Tyrell is skilled in many aspects of scouting
out enemy territory and remaining hidden.” The elderly looking man bowed his
head towards his commander. Ivan nodded and continued. “You are not here to
audition for the Scouts today. Oh no, you have a long way to go before that
happens.” Both leaders gave an ominous laugh. Tyrell stepped forward so that
all could see him. “You are here today, because each of you show the capacity
to use magic.” The group of recruits chattered quietly in excitement. “Now
then…let us begin.”
Tyrell
stood at ease; hands clasped comfortably behind his back, a stable stance, and
back straight. “Now then, all at attention!” The recruits snapped to a proper
attention form. “Now then, you,” Tyrell pointed towards a shorter boy, “What is
magic?” He swallowed hard. “I-it is power, sir. A power to overcome your foes.”
Tyrell nodded. “But that is not all.” A pale blue light shone from the man’s
left arm. His left eye began to glow the same color. At the same time, a vivid
green light shone on his right side. The two lights mixed and swirled around
him as his eyes glowed a ghostly green and blue. Tyrell smirked. “It is a
psychological weapon as well.” Tyrell looked to the same kid. “Charge me,
please.” The boy took a few steps forward and ran at the commander. A few feet
from contact, the light around Tyrell flickered much brighter than before. The
boy was startled and changed direction immediately.
“See? All I
had to do was make him think that I was going to use magic.” He pointed to the
group and the boy went back into place. “Now then, magic is not just power to
overcome foes. It is the power to overcome ourselves.” There was some
chattering from the group. “The greatest enemy to your success is yourself. Own
yourself, be in control. That way, you can control others, like I just did.”
Tyrell took a few steps back and nodded. “Magic is in the air we breathe,” He
spread his arms in a dramatic gesture, “in everything around us. But where are
they most concentrated?” A few people raised their hands and Tyrell called on
one. “The pillars?”
“Correct,
miss. The pillars are where magic concentrates. It is a unique phenomenon that
not even scholars can figure out. So I’m not even going to try.” Tyrell got a
few nervous laughs out of that one. He smiled again. “What I do know, however,
are the elements. The abstract elements: Light, Dark, Time, Space. The natural
elements: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth. Each of these eight elements form the
foundation of magic. The elements are, ironically, Pillars for magic.” Tyrell
closed his eyes and looked up. “Now then, there is one element I wish to
discuss now; Dark. Who here uses one of these?”
Not a
single person put up a hand. Tyrell nodded again. Commander Ivan spoke. “This
is good. Dark magic is hard to use, and is the only magic used by the Sirens.”
Whispers rippled through the crowd. The Sirens were getting more and more
brazen. The two mercenary groups had been in a turf war since the civil war
broke out. Mercenary life was not easy, but the Sirens lived to make it harder.
The commander continued. “I do not want Dark mages in the Mage Corps. It only
exists to hurt and kill. Raw power can only get you so far and the Sirens do
not recognize that. Besides that, when you work with select types of magic, you
learn how to counter that kind of magic. I don’t want to give the Sirens any
advantage.” Ivan turned the recruits back over to Tyrell. “Thank you, Boss. Now
then, I’d like to get to know what magic you fools can use. I’ll start with the
natural elements. Who here can use Wind magic? Step forward.” A large chunk of
the recruits stepped forward. Col was famous for its wind mages. Tyrell
anticipated that many of the recruits would use Wind. After all, the Aeons did
originate in Col.
Tyrell
pointed at a girl and asked her to explain Wind magic as best she could.
“Well…um, Wind magic affects the user physically by making the user faster. It
also improves balance. Also, Wind magic is the only element capable of healing,
right?”
“Is that a
question or a statement, miss?!”
“Statement,
sir!” He smiled. “Well, Light magic can heal small cuts and broken bones, but
not to the extent that Wind can. Good work. Next, Fire magic! Step forward!” A
smaller group stepped forward. Again, Tyrell picked on someone. He spoke up.
“Fire magic allows the user to produce fire. It improves the user’s natural
healing ability and gives them enhanced energy.”
“That could
have been worded differently. But yes. Fire magic is best used for long fights.
Just pump a bit into your body and you will feel refreshed and ready to go.
Although it is not intended for extended use. Finish the fight and get the
magic out of your system.”
“Yes sir!”
The Fire mages stepped back. “Water mages?” A smaller sized group stepped up.
“Well…aren’t you the lucky bunch. Alright, tell me what you know.” There was
silence. “Okay then. Water magic allows the user to manipulate water. It also
improves muscle durability and improves the brains ability to calculate. You
become a sprinting economic advisor. As silly as it sounds, it is quite useful
for field commanders and scouts. I may be calling on you to join me in a few
years.” The group nodded in shame but stepped back into place. “Any Earth
mages?” Nothing. “Onto the Abstracts then. Time?” No one. “Space?” Still no
one. “Gosh. Well, okay then. How about Light?” A young man stepped forward. He
was pretty average looking. The only unique feature about him was his silver
hair. It looked out of place on him. “Looks like you’re my man. What’s your
name?”
“Alec,
sir.” Tyrell gave a low chuckle. “Listen up, Alec: I want you to tell me what
you know about Light magic. But let’s make this harder for you.” Alec stood up
straight. “I also want you to tell me about your focus.”
“Light
magic boosts the user’s affinity for and defense against magical attacks. A
Light mage will be the strongest magical force on the battle field. It allows
the user to distinguish the terrain and can even isolate specific colors into
their vision. Useful for tracking down a particular mark.” Tyrell smiled.
“Absolutely right, kid. Absolutely right. Now, your focus.”
“Right,
sir. My focus is capable of cushioning up to six spells.” Tyrell nodded. “Good.
That’s a decent size. Now then. Why are foci so important?” Alec remained
collected as he thought. “A focus is necessary to channel magic from the body
and surroundings into a usable form. It also attempts to limit the amount of
damage done to the body when magic is used.”
“Gosh boy,
were you born a mage? All of that is right.” Tyrell exclaimed as he reached for
a training sword on the wall. He tossed another one to Alec. “Now, why don’t
you put your money where your mouth is, huh?” Alec brandished the weapon and
faced Tyrell from the opposite side of the arena. The youth slowly sunk down
into a standard katana stance. Alec leaned forward slightly and took a stable
stance. He held the wooden sword at his side as if it were in a sheath, waiting
to sink into his opponents flesh. Tyrell stood in a basic dueling stance;
dominant arm at his side, holding the blade, and his other arm behind his back.
“The rules are simple. You win if you can survive my onslaught. However, I’ll
restrict this bout. You may only use a burst or inoculation spell.” Alec nodded.
Tyrell began to light up as he did earlier in the demonstration. This time,
Alec did the same. The boy began to glow with a silver light. His eyes shone
with a confident white light. The two mages faced off.
Tyrell made
the first move. Faster than Alec could track, the instructor was within striking
distance. “’Ello.” The leader jabbed the butt of the sword into Alec’s side.
The boy rolled with the blow and ended up crouched on the ground. He sprung up
and slashed at Tyrell. His weapon fell short. Tyrell smiled, “You see, Alec,
Wind magic allows me to move incredibly fast when inoculated. You won’t hit me
like that.” Alec grit his teeth. “Okay then, I’ll just have to outlast you.” Tyrell
ran forward again. Before impact, Alec swept with his sword. If he could move
before Tyrell had time to react, he thought, the magic that Tyrell had infused
into his body would be dispelled. His blade clattered against Tyrell’s. Alec
was stunned. Tyrell pushed him back.
“You see,
Alec. I’m a dual mage. I can use two elements. Time magic, my second, increases
my reaction speed while inoculated. It looks like you have to outlast two types
of magic now.” Tyrell rose his blade and pointed it at Alec. “Come now, lad. I
thought you could use magic?” Alec grit his teeth again in defiance. The light
around him flared and grew brighter. “How’s this?” He yelled as a ball of white
light shot towards Tyrell. He tried to dodge, but the magic hit his right arm.
The green light faded away. “Well done. That’ll be a pain to undo later.” He
turned to address the rest of the recruits. “Burst magic, like what Alec just
used, attacks a mages ability to use magic. It is even more powerful because
Alec is a Light mage, meaning my smaller focus was completely drained.” He said
as he pointed towards Alec. “However, his focus is also drained. Meaning that
he has to pay the penalty for using magic.”
Alec
stumbled from the spell, but focused in on Tyrell. “Light magic causes a loss
of vision. The damage is more severe and permanent without a focus. Alec will
have blurry vision for a while.”
“Not now.”
Alec’s body glowed brighter and he rushed Tyrell. The man sighed and parried
his next blow. The attacks kept coming, however, and Tyrell was slowly losing
his Time inoculation. He poked at Alec with his blade and forced him back.
“Light inoculation allows you to drain a foes magic with each strike. And, it
temporarily undoes the penalty for using light magic.” Tyrell dropped his
sword. “Now then, one last test, Alec.”
“What is
it?”
“I want you
to use your Miasma spell.”
“But…That
is for use only in a last resort.”
“Come now,
we can’t just let the duel end like this. If you’re so worried, I’ll start
off.” The blue light faded and the green light returned. Tyrell clutched his
heart and repeated a chant. The chant had no effect on the actual spell. Some
people believed it was tradition. In reality, it kept the casters mind off the
pain. A sudden gust of wind ripped through the arena. The sand pelted Alec, but
seemed to glance off the bystanders. Alec lost his concentration, causing his
inoculation to end. “I am going to keep this up until my left lung explodes. I
think this counts as a last resort.” Alec bowed his head to keep the sand out
of them. The winds forced him to his knees in order to avoid being blown away.
It was as though a monsoon and a tornado had collided. Alec clutched his heart
and said his chant. “By the powers of Light, I command thee: be gone vile
magics!” The light flowing around Alec vanished instantly instead of fading
slowly. But, in that one moment, all foci in the room were drained of their reserve
magic. “Now that is how you end a duel.” He turned to the recruits and
dismissed them. As soon as they left, Tyrell began coughing uncontrollably.
“By the
Pillars, Tyrell: I thought you were going to kill the boy.” Ivan admonished.
Tyrell shrugged. “I knew what I was doing,” He said, “I wasn’t going to kill
him or myself. I just had to be sure that he could what we need.” Ivan, Tyrell,
and Alec sat in the commander’s office. Alec was carrying a cane while he
recovered from his miasma. That particular type of spell drains the focus at an
alarming rate. Ivan was right, even though Tyrell wouldn’t admit it. Either one
of them could have been seriously injured if the room hadn’t been filled with
mages. “Can you see, son?”
“Yes
father. My vision has returned enough.” Alec said. “Good. I was worried. How
about you, Tyrell.”
“Eh…I’ll be
coughing for a bit, but I don’t think I did any real damage.”
“Boss
Ivan?” The voice came from the outside. “Enter.” A boy a few years younger than
Alec entered. His light blonde hair was in a ponytail, and he wore some noble
recreational suit with a blue cloak. It looked rather well on him. He and Alec
were built the same way. It was odd to see such similar people in the same
room. “Excuse me, but some of your men said I could find you here.” Ivan stood
and motioned for Tyrell to leave. He left coughing. “What can I do for you,
lord…” The boy sat politely and bowed slightly in greeting. “I am Ryan of house
Edmund.” He said. Ryan pulled out a scroll and presented it to Ivan. “I have
been searching for a tutor. I found one, a Dosen named Gobehyz.” Ivan looked
over the documents. “I don’t like dealing with those from Argondos. The war
still seems too fresh to me.”
“I meant no
disrespect, sir. But I was hoping you could escort me to Atlantis where I can
meet him.” Ivan looked over the boy and back at the scroll. “It just so happens
that we have business in Atlantis as well.” He thought for a moment. “Very
well. We will only charge you half of our normal fee. It will increase to normal
if we encounter any bandits though. Is this alright with you?”
“Yes sir.
Thank you, sir.” Ryan bowed again. The three men left and went to work on the
preparation. “So, what are we doing, boss?”
“We will be
escorting the boy to Atlantis.” Ivan said. Tyrell shook his head. “Are you
worried about Calvin?”
“I’m just
afraid he will get in over his head. You know how he is.” Tyrell nodded. “I am
positive he already has. We shall see, soon enough.” Ivan nodded. Tyrell
waltzed away to make sure that all the supplies were ready.
No comments:
Post a Comment