The Magecraft Chronicles II

[Nel]

Mear had been tending to her pegasus when she had recieved the summoning. Her, Greta, and Allaina had been summoned to the headmaster's office. Since she was their commander, Mear informed the two sisters that they were to go to Serran's office. All three were wondering what the headmaster wanted with them.

As they reached his office, his secretary let them in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Norette walked casually to her job at the bar. She had been working there ever since the war ended. Without any parents or really any family to look after her, it looked like she was on her own, and the first thing she needed was money. Unfortunately, the only decent paying job she could get was waiting tables at a bar. Truthfully, she hated it. She kind of wished she had stayed with Rolan on the Voihawk, she could've worked on the airship or something for a job. But, she sighed, she was stuck with this.

As she entered the bar, Norette thought she recognized some of the people sitting at the bar. In fact, she recognized almost all of them. She had met them on the Voidhawk. She saw Ethan, Ella's daughter what was her name... Sofia, a Russian guy, Adden, and Rolan and the crew of the Voidhawk.

Weird, what were they doing here? Norette decided to go say hi, since she hadn't seen them in a while.

[Mizagium]

"Back to Veritas?" Adden frowned. Life there hadn't been horrible, but he had had no intention of returning. "What for?"

~~~~~

Yolanda was already waiting there when the Valkyrie knights walked in. "So, Headmaster, what's all this about?"

[Nel]

"Hey," Norette said,"What are you guys doing here?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Yes," Mear agreed, "I think we would all like to know why you summoned us here." Greta and Allaina nodded in agreement.

[Myrdraxxis]

"You all remember fighting the Mage of the Beginning." Ethan said. He mentally winced; it had been brutal, and for a while Ethan had even thought they might lose. "Well Serran and I discovered something when we looked back on the fight...'


THe Mage of the Beginning dropped to his knees, raspy pants coming from under the man's hood. Ethan and Adden stood before the legendary figure, unsure of what to do. They should finish him off, Ethan knew. But...

"Impressive work, Dark Wing." The Mage gasped out, coughing. Blood spurted from the man's mouth as he talked. "But I promise you this, Sorian. It will not end here." He shakily raised a finger and magic hummed through the air as a blue glow enveloped his fingers. Ethan's eyes widened.

'Duck!" He dove to the side as the Mage fired, the attack sizzling over his head and disappearing from sight. The Mage let out a final wheeze and dropped face forward into the snow, unmoving.

"Serran took the Mage's body for study." Ethan continued, now pacing. Zhang glared at a few patrons who were starting to get closer, listening in. THe glare sent them running. "What he discovered was.....troubling."





--

"....I looked over the body and made a disturbing discovery." Serran said to Yolanda and the Valkyrie guard. "The more I examined the man, magically, the more evidence on the body showed that it was just a body. That any lingering trace of a soul was gone."


--

"We began thinking on this." Ethan frowned. "Vael says that Ailina killed the swordsman Gwen, and they are still looking for Kage's body." He glanced at Adden, the man who had fought the shade first. "Did anyone ever find the one called Ostin?" He asked.


--

"It was a technique called Soul Transfer. I dug it up from one of the deeper layers of our library." Serran pushed his glasses up. "From what we peiced together, the Mage of the Beginning was not attacking in the end."

--

"He was escaping."

--

"A report from the Megolin Gate says that a man fitting Ostin's description was seen traveling to Mundus Veritas two weeks ago.' Serran said.

--

"Simply put; The Mage of the Beginning is alive, and now on Earth." Ethan said grimly.

[Razgat]

Sofia's eyes widened. Home. It had been months since she heard anything about it. Almost a full year. She wondered if anything had changed. What news had she missed? What new movies had come out? Did anything interesting happen with her friends? Oh, she had forgotten all about them. What did they think when her and her mother went missing? What must they have felt?

She must have missed so much....

"When are we going?"

[Nel]

"Oh my...," Greta gasped. He was still alive.

"That's impossible," Allaina whispered.

"But... why is he going to earth?" Mear asked, "What does he want there?"

~~~~~~~~~

Norette who had heard everything Ethan had said waas shocked. The Mage of the Beginning heading to earth? It wasn't over....

[Myrdraxxis]

"As soon as possible." Ethan said. "We will meet up with Yolanda, and possibly Cedric at the new Ossen Gate, on the far side of New Vesperita."

[Mizagium]

"He's still alive?" Yolanda shouted. "Well then we should be going!"

~~~~

"Mundas Veritas," Rolan mused. "Doesn't look like I'll be of much help."

"What?" Adden asked, alarmed. "Why not?"

"He's a Beastman," Torran said simply. "He would stick out among the homogeneous population of the non-magical world."

"That," Rolan agreed, "and I can't do much without my airship. And I don't suppose we can sneak one in, eh? I've better left here."

"But!" Adden protested.

"I'll hold down the fort here; all us sailors will."

Seeing he had lost, Adden nodded. "Very well."

"I'll be coming along," the Shade boy said in such a way as to discourage argument.

"But you just said - "

"I know what I said. I am much easier to disguise than a Beastman; just wrap layers of clothes around me. They'll think me strange, but not out of place, especially in the New York place where you come." Sensing the unasked question, Torran continued. "I think my uncle has plans for Veritas. Here I will be caught an killed instantly if I try to look into it, but there...there I might a better shot."

[Myrdraxxis]

"I'll stay too." Zhang said. "I had some ideas I wanted to enact." Seeing Ethan's look he shrugged. "There have been a couple of folks who wanted to join Dark Wing. I thought it would be good to maybe establish a home base here; maybe recruit some more people."

Ethan hummed and nodded. "Sounds good. As for everyone else, we should get going immidiatly."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Meet Ethan and the others at the New Vesperitas Gate portal." Serran said calmly. "Uhh, so far, he only knows Yolanda is going, but I want you three," He nodded at the Valkyries, "There as my eyes and ears."

[Razgat]

Sofia began to muddle over what she would do. She would stick to the plan of course. The Mage of the Begining was not to be underestemated. Especially after their fight....


Blood....there was blood in her eyes. Was it hers? Or the Mage's? No, he doesn't bleed, does he? She could of sworn she had seen some. So they must have been getting to him. They must have. Oh, but why can't she move?

'My baseball bat...where's my bat?'

She squeezed her hand and felt something hard push back. It must have been there, but she could barely feel it. 'Oh, what happened? How did I get knocked out? That magic...it must have been too strong. I'm only learning still, and I doubt I'd get close enough to hit him with my bat. But Ethan and Adden and the others? They must be there, right?'

She struggled to bring her arm up towards her face to wipe away the blood from her eyes. She wanted to see, or at least take a peak. She had to know what was going on. She had to make sure she wasn't in danger. She felt something drag against her left eye, but she couldn't tell if it was her hand or not. She decided not to care and try and look anyway.

At first she saw nothing of interest. But then he saw Ethan and Adden....and The Mage. He was still alive....or was he? He was on the ground...she thought. But what was....

She winced as she saw a bright blue light fly right over her. It hurt to look at, so she closed her eyes and turned her head, wimpering as she felt a burning sensation in her neck. She didn't open her eyes again.

Sofia frowned and pushed the memory away for the moment. She had to think about now. What was important now. "Is there time for a quick good bye?"

[Myrdraxxis]

"Sure." Ethan nodded. "I'm going to head over to the gate now." He stood. Zhang grunted and stood as well, shaking his hand firmly.

"Best of luck out there. And do be sure to come back." he grinned.

"Of course." With that, Ethan turned and began heading for the Gate.

[Mizagium]

Adden sat with Sofia. "Who do you have to say good-bye to?"

[Razgat]

Sofia simply smiled and said "My pet."


Sofia quickly got up and looked for a soft area of ground with dirt. He could easily force his way through the stones, but no point in straining him now. She found a nice area perfect for her friend and started stomping on the ground with one foot before she shouted...

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORMYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The ground began to rumble and the pebbles and stones that dotted the ground seemed to dance as the ground shook. As the shaking increased, so did the rumbling. It quickly roared into a glorious thunder. Soon, there was a small crack in the ground before suddenly, it burst open. The ground split with hole with a diameter of about fifteen feet. Dirt exploded around it as a wall of oozy leather seemed to fly out of the hole until it finally landed in front of Sofia.

Wormy was a giant Sand Worm that she had discovered on her adventures with Dark Wing. They had found eachother completely by accident but bonded quickly. He was now her giant pet that had grown at least three times it original size since they first met. He was about the length of five school buses now. Little had she known that he was just a baby when she first found him, but now he had grown into an adult...she thought.

"WORMY!" Sofia smiled and extended her arms to collapse against her giant pet. She was quickly met with a thin layer of slime, one that would have engulfed her when she first saw him. His slime had gotten much thinner, and she suspected he would eventually be slime free. "Do you think you can give me a lift to the Gate, Wormy?"

It nodded and let Sofia climb onto its back before it barreled in the direction of the Gate, passing Ethan along the way.

[Mizagium]

Adden sighed and looked away dreamily. "Well, Vi'ir, I'm off again. I'l make sure to come back and see you." No answer, but then he hadn't expected one.

He turned to Rolan. "Take care of Ossen, Captain."

"You can count on me!" He took Adden's outstretched hand and quickly pulled him into a great bear-hug that nearly crushed the summoner. When he let his friend breath again, Rolan said seriously, "You be careful, alright?"

"Right. You coming, Torran?" But Torran was already out the door."

[Myrdraxxis]

Ethan blinked..and stared at the large slimy road being created down he middle of the, well, road. He could here civilians shrieking in surprise and horror as they were mowed mover. He facepalmed. "No subtlety what so ever..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Qwaser stepped through the Megolin Gate, breathing deeply. It was good to be back, even for only a brief time. He had left for Mundus Veritas almost a month before, after he had finished pouring through his new book given to him by House Jaltiir.

It was astounding. The power he had discovered.The secrets hidden away. All the newfound knowledge he possesed made him overjoyed. No longer was he the manservant to some ignorant buffoon of a House noble.

he chuckled darkly as he passed out into Megolin-Mesbaria. Oh yes, this would be the last time he visited his homelands.

[Mizagium]

Baron Vladymir Weivyr marveled over the sword now in his possession. Cruor: the blade that lusts for blood. Within it he could feel the souls of all those who had previously wielded this legendary weapon.

Martin Rutilus among them.

But what to do with it? Now that it was his, he could feel the demon blade screaming into his mind for blood, but he was having an easier time drowning it out; dark magic had its advantages. His plans so far had come to naught. Megolin and Hyddick were finished fighting and Ossen was restored - even after He had provided the magic to see it sterilized!

A thought crept into his mind: Mundas Veritas. No one there possessed near enough magic to handle lighting a candle, let alone deal with a Shade. Especially not one wielding Cruor.

No, he shook his head. That made no sense; his plans involved getting rid of the other Shade Houses, not slaughtering Veritans... BUT the more the idea dwelled in his mind, the more sense it made. Somewhere in his library there must be necromantic spells. Kill the Veritans and create a zombie army...

But they were Veritans! What use were zombie Veritans against Shades?

Vlad dropped Cruor like it was electrified. just how strong was thsi sword that it could implant thoughts in his head?

[Myrdraxxis]

(Wait..is Cruor Necromanctic or Blood magic? And as you can tell, Qwaser will be a main villain....)


Markis woke with a start, brought out of sleep by a noise; some dog barking in the distance. He huffed in annoyance and sat up. Well it was almost dawn anyway. Might as well get moving before anyone spotted him sleeping out here.

He stood and stretched, glancing around. The park was deserted for the most part, save a few hobos and runaways with the same idea as him. Markis turned and retrieved his only valuable possession; his book.

He stopped and stared at it for a moment. When he thought about it, this book was one of the most important things in his life. It had opened his eyes, and made him aware of forces beyond the normal world.

Magic.

He loved the idea of it. Loved using it. Even though it was at times a bit...unsavory, it had served him well. He still remembered the way he had come across it....


Markis looked in surprise as he glared through the fog. Had that store always been there? He'd never noticed it before. Realizing that it was the only place open, and that what terribly cold, he looked up and down the streets, making sure no one was on them before entering the store. It was a quiet night and no one was out, surprising as that was, but he would guess it was just the harsh cold of the winter around him.

Looking to the door of the shop, he observed it. The door was simple, with a window on it (the only window she could see anywhere on the store) that had the words "What You Need" written on the glass. The rest was just plain brick with nothing flashy or special about it.

Entering the shop, he heard the ringing of a small bell as she pushed the door open and found the lighting inside to be less than adequate. It did its job and lit the place well enough for people to see and get what they needed, but only just that, giving the small room a sleepy feeling to go with the cozy warmth that surrounded him.

"H-Hello?" he called out, glancing around the room. It was small, with two small bookshelves loaded to the brim with books covering the right side of the store. Three more shelves were on the left of the room, holding many different odd items she had never seen before. In the center of the room, he could see displays of different items that were still brand new to him and, looking past that, he found the counter, an old cash-register resting there and behind the counter were numerous devices mounted on the wall.

"Hello!" a boy greeted, emerging from the staircase that also lay behind the counter, "What can I get for you?"

The boy appeared to be the same age he appeared to be—14—and wore a plain black hoodie with the hood over his head, concealing his face with the poor lighting, but Markis could still make out the sparkle of the silver crucifix that hung from his neck. As he stood at the bottom of the staircase, he could also see his beige shorts (was he insane—it was the middle of winter!) and tan hiking boots.

"I just wanted a—"

"Wait! Don't tell me!" the boy cried, holding up his hand dramatically, before reaching below the counter and bringing up a pen and paper, "Just sign your name here, age here, blood type here, and date of birth here."

Markis shot the boy a questioning look, but approached the counter and did so, "Now, as I was saying, I need a—"

The boy leaned across the counter and put a finger to the Markis lips, causing Markis to grimace. The boy then picked up the form and looked it over before reaching into the pocket of his hoodie and pulling out a tape-measure and smiled, looking back to the Markis.

"I told you not to tell me—it spoils the surprise," the boy grinned, glancing back down at the form, "Now…Markis, right? Well, Markis, stand perfectly still…"
Markis did so, quietly observing the boy suspiciously as he walked around the counter and measured his height and waist. He had to admit, he was beginning to get slightly annoyed when he even took the time to measure his neck and head.

"Get on with it!" He growled.

"Testy, aren't we?" the boy smiled, before walking upstairs, "I'll be right back—remember, if you break it, you buy it."

Markis sighed and took a seat at the table, observing the objects on it. Various assortments of stones, skulls, vials of liquids, chests, dice, and even rings were laid about it everywhere.
"I'm back," the boy called, coming back down the stairs, his hands behind his back, "And I have exactly what you need."

"Oh really," Markis mutter impatiently as he walked back up to the counter, "How are you sure you have what I need?"

"Years of practice—I'm never wrong," the boy smiled revealing the item he had behind his back, “Here, have this. It’s exactly what you need…"

Markis looked at the book in the boy's hands. It was big, and very old looking. Strange symbols wove around the front, giving it a regal, yet occult and almost gothic look.
"I had to keep this upstairs because it has the nasty habit of killing my customers," the boy smiled, "But I have a feeling it’s exactly what you need."

"You keep saying that…" Markis muttered, unconvinced, "…You're sure?"

"Positive," the boy nodded, "I'll give you a full refund it you are disappointed—I aim to please."

"Alright, I'll take it," Markis said, taking a hold of the book, which seemed to shudder in his hands.
Markis looked to the boy, "How much?"

"Oh, you've already agreed to the payment, boya," the boy smiled, holding up the paper Markis had signed.

"W-What?" Markis shouted.

"Fun, isn't it?" the boy’s eyes twinkled, "my customers never even bother to read what they sign first…You see, Markis, I specialize in selling exactly what people need," the boy's smile turned slightly sinister, "But people forget…everything has a price…now, this won't hurt one bit, child-soldier boy."

That was the last memory Markis had of that night. After the boy had said those words, he had blacked out and woken up on the street the next morning, the in his hands and the shop nowhere in sight. From what he could tell, the boy hadn't done anything to him, so he never knew exactly what he paid that night. Many inhabitants of the town told him that the boy asked people for many different things and he never told what they were until after the deal was made and the payment collected. Still, Markis's curiosity couldn't help but get the better of him every time he thought back to that cold night, in that cozy little store, with that seemingly nice boy that always sold people "exactly what you need."


Markis shook off the thoughts and began walking, not too sure whee he was going. At least he was moving forward...

[Mizagium]

((Cruor is a Blood Magic artifact. the reference to Necromantic magic was a thought it pushed into Vlad's head so that it would use Cruor to draw blood. Cruor is like a vampire without the means of transportation, so it relies on transferring that need to its owner.

it's not Frostsoul.))

[Myrdraxxis]

(cool. Also, I finally brought my second new character into the story hurray!...even if its in a flashback....)

[Razgat]

With Wormy as transportation, Sofia made it ahead of the others. Once she arrived, she slid off the side of Wormy, rather slowly due to the slime, and turned towards the front of him (the part she assumed was his face). "Well, Wormy, this is it. This is where I have to say good-bye."

The worm wimpered.

"Oh, don't cry, Wormy. I want to take you with me, honest, but a giant worm has no place on Earth. You'd stick out like a sore thumb! I can't take you, so you stay here, ok? And besides, I won't be gone forever. I'll be back. I promise. Now you go home now, understand?"

The worm nodded, and Sofia sniffed a little. "I'll miss ya, Wormy."

She extended her arms and fell into the worm, giving it a quick hug. "Bye, Wormy."

Sofia turned to leave and head towards the gate, but she didn't hear the ground rumble or feel any vibrations. She turned around and found that Wormy had been following her. "Wormy, go home." It wimpered again. "Go home."

She turned to leave again, but she suddenly felt a wall of slime slam into her back. Wormy had stuck himself to her. "Wormy! Enough!" She peeled herself away and pointed away from the gate. "Go home!"

Wormy wimpered, but it obliged this time, burrowing into the ground. Sofia sighed and wiped a bit of the slime off of her. Now that that was over with, she just had to wait for the others.