The Magecraft Chronicles III Story Thread

[Mizagium]

The intrepid party of Marion Criss, Kugo Agetev, Telan, Jolie, and Professor Penrose T. Fezziwigg (and their Hellen escort) journeyed into the heart of the Cerebus Desert, acquiring heavy thirst, empty stomachs, and sunburns for everyone but Marion and the professor. Evidently, Fire Drakes don’t get sunburned. They stopped noticing the shifting sands. They stopped counting the days. They didn’t see the fortress in the distance until they arrived at the gate.

“Curious,” Fezziwigg rumbled. “I don’t recall…my good man,” he addressed one of the Hellen soldiers, “how long has this fortress been here?”

“Not so long,” was the all he said, but that only made the Professor swing his head towards Marion.

“Are you familiar with this location?”

“No, and I’ve been through here recently.”

Once through the gate, though, they could see that the fortress was still some distance off. The wall they encountered merely encircled what had once been an oasis, but had since blossomed into a strange, thriving town. Well. A garrison was a more accurate description, Marion realized. She saw columns of soldiers, squads of soldiers, and individual soldiers, but she didn’t see any civilians.

“Welcome to the Fortress of Rutilus Murum,” the lead guard announced to them. “The Queen will see you now.”

-

The Queen resided in the Inner Keep, the Fortress proper that they had seen from the entrance. Rutilus Murum wasn’t nearly as grand as the soldiers treated it, being only two stories at the highest, and looking more and more hastily constructed as Marion examined it – but it was far off any trading route, most airship routes, and only the occasional (and crazy) adventurer ever traveled this way. Marion didn’t think any such travelers were ever able spread tales of the Red Queen.

And some queen, she mused, unable to hide a smile. She couldn’t have been older than sixteen, wore simple white clothing stained with red, and had – Marion noticed amusedly – orange-red hair. She was beginning to understand the Red Queen moniker.

“My queen.” The guards knelt. “We caught these…people trespassing at the edge of your territory.”

It was too much. It was all too much. The soldiers, the fortress, the ceremony – all for a teenager. Marion started laughing. Not hard or too loud, but enough that it echoed in the sudden silence.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered through stifled laughter. “Really. It’s just…What!”

The soldiers didn’t rise, but they did share a horrified look for a moment before turning back to the Red Queen, who hadn’t moved from her chair. Not really a throne. Kugo found the situation somewhat absurd as well, but had reasoned that holding his tongue was the smarter option. Telan and Jolie were simply too tired to care, and the Professor was busy puzzling something out. Marion, clearly, hadn’t been attuned to whatever psychic wavelength they were all operation on.

To her credit, she was trying to stop, but that just made it worse – she did stop, though, when a strange blond-haired man appeared out of nowhere and lifted her into the air by her throat. No one moved immediately to help. Maybe it was the days and days of desert-marching. Maybe the shock. Or maybe, as before, they had all decided staying out of it was the smarter option.

“That’s enough,” the girl said. She sounded like a girl, too (not a queen), but there was something in her voice that was off. They all heard it, but couldn’t place the strangeness. “Inanis.” The strange man in strange armor let Marion fall to the ground and disappeared, reappearing at the Red Queen’s side. “Sorry about that. He’s really loyal, but not so great with the restraint thing yet. Just be glad he didn’t use his swords.”

“Please,” Kugo said finally. “We don’t know what’s going on. We were chased into the desert by…bandits. We didn’t know it belonged to you now.”

“It doesn’t,” she said simply. “It belongs to the Hellens.”

“Er…” Kugo lost whatever he was going to say and exchanged it for a quizzical look at the young girl. Marion coughed and staggered to her feet.

“Well. Vaer does. The Hellens made the desert their home after they were forced out by the humans so long ago. I just can’t stand to see them suffer like this.”

Kugo frowned in confusion. Hellens lost their home? A place called Vaer took it? What had happened? How far ahead had that time warp flung him?

“I intend to give it back to them.”

“You can’t!” That was Marion. “You can’t just fight the most technologically advanced nation with this merry band of angry rebels! Don’t get me wrong, the Hellens got the shit end of the stick way back when and I get it. But this is just…stupid!”

The girl queen laughed – no, she giggled. “You’re right. It is stupid. But they’re willing to go along with my stupid ideas. And yeah, they might all die, but what Vaer doesn’t know is that I have this.” Suddenly she stood, brandishing a blood-red sword that seemed constantly in a state of semi-liquidity. It appeared to flow, to have a fluid swirling around inside it. Marion felt the hairs on her body stand rigid. Fezziwigg gasped. Kugo wasn’t sure what it was, but it made him feel sick just looking at it.

“No,” Marion whispered. “You can’t have…”

“Cruor,” Fezziwigg finished. “The legendary cursed sword forged from blood and soul magic.”

Kugo knew the name, if not the look. With that in her hands, the rebel army might just stand a chance. He said as much and the Red Queen – Vidalia Gae’om – giggled again. “Now you get why I can’t let you leave.”

Elsewhere a small band of Red Hellen Rebels crossed the Vaerian border…

[Myrdraxxis]

There was a stunned silence in the meeting chamber. Finally one of the headmasters spoke, probably prompted by the impatient look that Magnus was giving them all.

"Magnus...you're back." he, Timmot, if Magnus remembered right, stated the obvious.

"Yes I am. Glad to see this place is still standing." Magnus replied dryly. "Now what's this about Tintalla being destroyed?"

"That...is what we were hoping to discuss here, sir." Another spoke up. What was his name? Er....Vhang? Yeah Magnus was pretty sure it was Vhang.

"Then by all means."

"Based on the report we received Tintalla is just...gone." Vhang addressed the whole room. "Complete destruction."

"Could the undead have returned?" A voice suggested and the room broke out in worried murmuring. The war was still fresh enough in everyone's minds.

"No, this was no work of necromancy." Vhang shook his head. "This was far too...direct."

"To be able to level an entire city though..." Magnus said aloud, though mostly to himself. "This world shouldn't have anything like that. Not for...centuries at least."

Nathaniel gave the commander a curious look but remained silent.

"We should have been able to prevent this." Another professor cried out. "We were warned!"

"We were told to be vigilant." Vhang scowled. "Its too farfetched to assume that this is related to his words-"

"To whose words?" Magnus cut in, frowning. Vhang blinked.

"Ah, it happened two months ago. A stranger came here and spoke with the Board. Warned us of coming danger. It was rather vague and dramatic so we took little note but..."

"Did this man...did he give a name?" Magnus pressed.

"Er...Willard? Yes I believe his name was Willard."

And that was all Magnus needed to hear. Without another word he turned and left the chamber, leaving a room full of confused headmasters behind.

Nathaniel and his retinue followed closely behind. The Mage Hunter waited until they were outside again before asking his questions. "So what exactly is this Tintalla?"

"It's a city." Magnus answered. "The capitol city of the Methusela which are...well, basically vampires." Nathaniel grimaced at the word and he heard Faust growl in disgust.

Vaer had a...istory with vampires. It was nearly a decade ago, when some hellan mage had snuck into Helgas and summoned one of the dark creatures, leaving it to feed on on the population. Before they knew it, Helgras had an epidemic of fledgling blood-suckers that had to be put down.

"And this...Willard?" Hecate posed that question.

"THat's...well, its Him."

'The Mage?" Nathaniel asked.

"Yeah. That was his name. At least, its the one he gave me when I asked him." Magnus explained. He was about to elaborate further when a figure suddenly blocked his path.

"Master Magnus!" I cheerful voice greeted. Magnus blinked and stared at the newcomer for a moment before recognition set in. A young man, with pale skin and ashy hair. A methusela.

"Al." Magnus smiled thinly. "I almost didn't recognize you."

][

Arrick really hated the desert. It was dry, it was unbearably hot, and the locals didn't seem to like him too much.

"Human!" One of his hellan captors spat. "You ar intruding on the lands of the Red Queen!" The hellan was armored lightly and had a Vaerian pistol aimed at Arrick's head. Six similarly armored hellans suddouned Arrick.

"Well I guess I'm in the right place then." Arrick mused, ignoring the weapon that the hellan was waving in his face. "Tell me, this Red Queen, can you describe her?"

The hellan leader looked momentarily put off, then scowled. "I wont explain to Vaerian spies! You will know her well enough in time!"

"Well that's not helpful at all."

Arrick conjured his favorite weapon, an arcane halberd and batted aside the hellan's pistol, following through on the spin and striking the man in the temple with the butt of his polearm.

The others closed in, but Arrick raised his other ahnd and muttered a quick incantation. A flash of fire blinded the group for a moment, giving Arrick the chance to step in closer.

A few fancy moves here and there, and the hellans were down.

"You spared their lives" Solomon noted.

"No need to kill them." Arrick shrugged. "Now let's see here." He squinted his eyes and looked off int he direction that the hellans had come. He'd seen the patrol coming from the south (and was content to let them approach him. He needed some directions).

From here he could make out a faint bulilding rising up in the distance. "I suppose that's as good a place as any"

-

"These hellans sure are an angry bunch." Arrick said aloud, sidestepping the sword-swipe of a hellan guard and finishing the guard off with a stab of his own weapon. Conjured blades were so very nice to have in a pinch. Arrick had started trying to conjure firearms, but that was...tricky. He was still working on it.

"They have reason to be. Solomon said.

"I suppose. Say, do you sense..."

"I sense no Celestial presence here." Solomon replied.

"Well I guess it was too much to hope for that we had a solid lead. Still, something is going on out here. The hellan tribes don't generally unite like this." Arrick observed.

He'd had to fight his way into the facility he found, which was actually turning out to be more of a fortress. Not a very well put together fortress, but the intent was there.

"I do sense something though. Coming from the room beyond."

"Oh? Is it bad?" Arrick asked, stepping up to a door. He could hear voices on the other side.

'Blood magic. Very powerful blood magic." Solomon said grimly. Arrcik scowled. Great.

That hellan...he had mentioned a Red Queen hadn't he? That...doesn't bode well. "Nothing for it I suppose." Arrick muttered and opened the door.

The scene he found was...rather odd. A room with hellan guards surrounding a group of travelers. Prisoners obviously. And a rather weird travelers at that.

And at the far end of the room, a teenage girl weilding a very powerful sword. One that Arrick had never seen before but knew enough about to be suddenly very worried.

"So, the door was open..."

[Sariel of Tevet]

Roluo and his crew followed behind Magnus as he left the building and listened to his explanation.

"So...vampires huh? Think we would be any help? They ARE undead after all.."

[Myrdraxxis]

"Methusela aren't undead." Magnus answered, glancing back. Al looked at the group curiously. "In fact, call a methusela undead and they'll probably kill you. They're..." He paused trying to figure out a way to explain. "They just live a very long time and live off of blood. They're still very much alive."

"Who doesn't know what a Methusela is anyway?" Al spoke up, giving the group a pointed look.

Al was a Methusela, by the way.

"Ah, right. These are....associates of mine. From very far away." Magnus explained vaguely. Nathaniel just nodded to the strange newcomer, not saying anything. He wanted to keep as much f a low profile as possible...though with this group that would probably be impossible.

[Monika]

"It worked!" Lenore was genuinely shocked; she didn't think that she'd never learn the art of healing magic, but to get it right after only a couple of attempts was a pleasant surprise. "I am in your debt, Vynalion. Though I wouldn't say we have two healers just yet. One and a quarter, perhaps? I still have much to learn." As her teacher walked off with his barely noticeable scar, Lenore followed closely behind. "I will accompany you," she explained. "A library sounds like the perfect place for me to study these books I borrowed. We'll need all of the knowledge we can get for the coming battles." With a heavy sigh, she made a mental note to return the books to Valendis at the earliest opportunity. "Hah. Here we are, about to do research, while the other half of our team is probably on some wild adventure..."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Yeah, yeah. Methusela. Tintalla. Great. When does all of this lead into the 'finding the Mage' part?" Kazan asked, having been paying only slight attention. Every second they spent there chatting was a second they weren't getting closer to the Mage of the Beginning, and that didn't sit well with Kazan. Something deep inside of him wanted to track down that Mage and blast him with waves of hellfire...

"But I don't even know any Hellfire spells..." Kazan thought aloud.

[Damien]

"Yes, dear Lenore," said Vynalion, "there is still much to learn, but you need only keep practicing and the rest will come. Eventually, you will be able to cleanse people of poison and disease, heal mental damage, and, maybe one day, resurrect people from the dead. It's similar to necromancy and soul magic, only their soul hasn't left the body yet, so we basically heal their wounds and restart their heart. If we take too long, it becomes impossible." He came up to a shelf lined with books of varying sizes, colors, and ages. Some looked to be so old that, if touched, they might disintegrate. Vynalion grabbed books from the shelf until he had a stack of about seven or eight, headed to a table, sat down, and began to read.

-----

Izaak and Dorian looked at the pale creature that had approached the group. Magnus, in his usual manner, was already trying to cover up the origin of the group.

"Nice to meet you...Al, was it?" said Izaak. "I'm Izaak Bezaleel, and this is Dorian Harper. If you don't mind my interrupting, would someone kindly fill us in on what's happened? Those of us not from around here keep hearing about this Methusela capital, Tintalla, and we've no idea what's going on. Everything's happened so quickly since we arrived."

"Yeah," Dorian chimed in. "I, for one, am very confused."

"I'm sure you are," mumbled Izaak.

"HEY!" Dorian said, looking hurt.

"You'll be fine. I'm sure we'll be thoroughly brought up to speed, won't we," Izaak said, turning his attention back to Magnus and Al.

[Mizagium]

Marion cleared her throat and her assembled party scooted off to the side to allow the human and the Red Queen to see each other. Vidalia Gae’om regarded the lone human who had wandered into her throne hall. She shifted in her seat and instantly, a strangely-dressed man was at Arrick’s side, two blades hovering just at the human’s throat.

“You stand in the presence of the Red Queen,” the man said rather calmly. “Have a little care, human.”

Marion narrowed her eyes and pulled the Professor close. “Is that…is he…?”

“Yes. A summoned spirit,” Fezziwigg whispered. “Curious. I thought the Warrior Spirits were all forgotten…”

Vidalia snorted. “How’d you even get in here, anyway?” She certainly didn’t sound like any queen.

---

Valendis edged closer to Magnus. “Ah, not to be rude, but…” he lowered his voice. “Is the plan changing now? Does this Tintalla tragedy affect…us?” He avoided glancing at Al.

---

In a secret hideout somewhere on the human continent, five individuals celebrated the successful firing of the Hellmouth with a gentle clink of glasses of champagne. The device itself was a hulking piece of magitech that occupied half the room and faced a wide, open window that overlooked the sea. Somewhere beyond that, lay the now smoldering ruins of Tintalla. But the assembled five weren’t focused on that at the moment. They merely toasted, drank, and then one of them – a tall, muscular male – disengaged himself to pull a large chain hanging from the ceiling.

Despite the fancy couches, bookshelves, wine racks, and ornate lighting, the Upper Echelon of the Hellfire Club met inside a long-ago hollowed out mountain that overlooked the sea. It was one of many mountains on the human continent, nothing particularly noteworthy about it. And once the large man, Kruschev Kruchevski, had finished working the chain, the original stone edifice had been replaced, leaving no hint that anything sinister was amiss.

A younger female with wavy brown hair sat alone in a chair that only she ever occupied. She swirled her drink around without dipping any, staring into the amber liquid, lost in thought. Meredith Grendal was never not seen idling these days, not since construction on the Hellmouth had begun. She kept her face calm, but those green eyes betrayed a storm of thoughts within.

Two even younger girls, both with blonde hair and blue eyes, sat across from Meredith on a proper couch, sipping and giggling to themselves. Abella and Illein, the twins. Meredith took hardly any notice of them; they obeyed when needed and were let to their own devices when not. Meredith had never bothered to learn what either of them did when not in her sight – nor which one was which.

Kruschev resumed his earlier seat at a rather uncomfortable-looking stone seat devoid of any cushions or throwpillows. Meredith has insisted several times that he have something soft to sit on, but each time he refused her. “Nyet, stone is good. Stone is solid.”

Finally, there was Tultett, about her age, looking stoic and serious as always. Brooding, was how Meredith thought of him. Even on this happy occasion, surely he would find some cause for sourness.

“Is the champagne not to your taste, Tultett?” The twins abruptly stopped giggling and turned to face the man, who was standing against the far wall, under a painting of a hanged Methuselah. Kruschev grunted, but did not look.

Tultett frowned, looked at his drunk, and drank. “Of course not, Ms. Grendal. It’s perfect as always.”

Kruschev scoffed again. Tultett never addressed any of them by their given names. He claimed something like proper respect, though Meredith suspected he kept a safe distance between them all, out of dislike or distrust. Either way, she never let it show just how much it grated on her.

“Today is a happy day, Mr. Ovelais,” she used his family name with just the barest of scorn. “Surely even you cannot find some way to dampen the excitement?”

“I was…merely thinking of our next move, ma’am.”

“Of course.” She smiled, full of venom. “Of course.”

A team of messengers had already been dispatched, carrying fliers and posters and letters to be handed out, pasted up, and set to anyone of import, all carrying the exact same message:

The Mouth of Hell is Opened
It Hungers
Tintalla was Just the Beginning
The Human Race Will be
Saved from Vampires

[Myrdraxxis]

"Your guards weren't that tough. Going for a 'quantity over quality thing', huh?" Arrick said to the so called 'Red Queen' without his tone at all changing. He seemed rather relaxed for someone with blades at his throat. He was mentally taking stock of the room's occupants.


'Hmmm. several guards and mister slice-y behind me.' Arrick counted. Then his eyes landed on Marie and her friends. '....okay that's a strange group. Allies? Nah, probably hostages.'

"What are you planning?" Solomon asked him.

'Might as well take these guys down quickly. But I should get some answers first.'

"It's rather curious to see hellans united like this. Haven't seen a group this large since my old trips to Hyddick." Arrick said casually.

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

Magnus took a second to consider Valendis' question. As much as it bothered him to admit, Magnus realized that no, while Tintalla's fall was tragic it didn't involve their current mission.

"No...I suppose it doesn't." He answered finally. "But...."

"What exactly are you doing back here Magnus?" Al cut in, looking honestly curious. It was a disconcertingly innocent look considering Al....well Magnus didn't think about it. That was all in the past anyway. And he wouldn't bring it up if he didn't have to. Magnus had done good work in sealing Al's old memories, but the mind was a tricky thing. There was no telling what could trigger their return. And Magnus didn't want to have to deal with Al. Even before the Lich King incident Al had never been a very good person.

"Sir?" Al prompted, bringing Magnus back to the present.

"It's...complicated. We're searching for that man that visited the Council recently."

"Oh, Mister Willard?" Al asked, making Mangus blink at him.

"You spoke to him?" Nathaniel spoke up.

"Briefly. He mentioned something about a 'key' and then left." Al shrugged. Magnus sucked in a breath.

"You're sure he said Key?" Magnus asked.

"Does that mean something?" It was Faust who posed the question.

"Dimensional magic is pretty messy. Since there are so few people who use it there are no real set rules to use as a guide. No rulebook." He started to explain. 'Hmmm maybe I should write a rulebook. A dimensional codex or something.' he thought. "You're very limited in how you can direct where you want to go. But there ways to...influence it. Dimensional Keys that you can leave behind in worlds. That way if you want to return to places you've been before you just have to lock onto that key and the magic will take back to it."

"I...thnk I get it?" Nathaniel said slowly. Man, magic sure was weird.

Al looked utterly lost though. "Al, did Willard happen to mention where this key was?" Magnus turned attention back to the methusela.

"Yeah...he...well," Al shifted nervously. "He said Tintalla."

Magnus sighed and looked back to Valendis. "Well there you go."

[Sariel of Tevet]

Eleazar walked up and slapped a hand onto the shoulder of Magnus.

"Well, looks like that is the..KEY...to our mission, huh?"

He turned to the rest of the group, raised a fist in the air, and yelled.

"Who's up for a vampire weekend!"

Roluo slunk his head down and shook it slightly, and then fell backwards onto the ground and spread his limbs out.

"Did you really just..."

[Damien]

"Dear gods," said Izaak. "I thought we'd left the puns behind when we left Sorin back in our universe."

"Really?" said Dorian, his voice hinting at something.

"Yeah, he was a total prankster. I met him after he'd used his shadow magic to mess with people and then shadowstepped into the pub I worked at...speaking of, I'd never turned in my two weeks..."

"Huh," said Dorian, grinning. "I would have thought you'd stand behind the use of puns. They really are the key to success here."

Izaak didn't even look at Dorian as his hand went sailing for the back of his head. Dorian tried to duck it, but Izaak, thinking that would be the case, caused a spark of electricity that struck Dorian right on his butt, causing him to yelp and stand back up straight. Izaak's hand would have met it's mark, but he decided to let it go at that.

"YOUCH!" Dorian yelped, rubbing his butt where the spark had hit. He smiled at Izaak, and Izaak looked at him quizzically. "I like this much more than when you slap me. If this is how it's going to be, I might just have to make more puns." He winked at Izaak, and Izaak's face went through fifty shades of red.

Izaak turned to Magnus and Al, still blushing. "So what can you tell us about Tintalla? Since we're obviously going there now, we'll need to know anything that might be of use. Is there anything there that might hinder someone's magic? Are there things we should look out for? I know that the landscape will be completely devastated, and some of these questions might no longer apply, but we need to be as prepared as we can."

-----

Sorin walked into the library and joined Lenore and Vynalion as they studied. He'd brought several books on shadow magic with him, and, while he was technically a master of his magic, he knew that there was always something more to learn. Vynalion looked up at him as he approached, and the worried look on the shadowmancer's face was unsettling.

"Is everything alright, Sorin?" the cleric asked. "I haven't seen you around in some time."

"I just have a very bad feeling," replied Sorin, his voice tinged with worry and doubt. "I hope the others are okay...wherever they are."

This revelation troubled Vynalion. Sorin was usually very jovial, even in times of stress and danger. The fact that he wasn't even smiling in the slightest scared the cleric.

"Well, I'm sure you needn't worry," he said after a few seconds. "They're all very capable, and they even have Magnus with them. He's traveled to many different worlds, so I'm sure they'll have gone to one he's familiar with."

"Even so," said Sorin, "I still worry. I just hope they're okay."

[Mizagium]

Inanis raised his eyebrows questioningly at Vidalia, who nodded. The swordsman lowered his blades and stepped back. “The Hellens here are rusty is all, having been forced into the desert for so long.”

Marion took that opportunity to clear her throat. “Actually, ah, your majesty, I would like to know what exactly is going on, as well. We had no idea there was a camp like this out here…that there even was a queen. Much less of the Hellens. So…please, if you would.”

Inanis looked about the say something, but the Red Queen cut in first. “I had hoped to save the big reveal until the correct time, but…I suppose it doesn’t really matter.” She sat up straighter. “It’s very simple. The Hellens have been thrown around for a long time, pushed from one country to another, out of their homeland and into the desert. I’ve brought them together, united the tribes for the first time in centuries. And together…the Hellens are going to take back their homeland.”

Marion kept her gaze on the Red Queen, but everyone else – Kugo, Telan, Jolie, and the Professor, exchanged nervous looks.

-

Valendis scowled at Eleazar. “Then I guess we better get going.”

Just then a young boy ran up and thrust a flier at him and ran off. On it was printed

The Mouth of Hell is Opened
It Hungers
Tintalla was Just the Beginning
The Human Race Will be
Saved from Vampires

[Damien]

Izaak and Dorian walked up to Valendis, watching as the young boy left. Izaak looked at the flyer, his eyes squinting slightly in thought. Dorian just watched Izaak.

After reading the message, Izaak turned to Magnus. "Does the 'Mouth of Hell' ring any bells?", he asked, indicating the text of the flyer. Dorian just kept looking at Izaak. There was something about Izaak that kept his attention, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He just shook his head and looked to Magnus, awaiting his response.

[Sariel of Tevet]

Roluo, who was a bit oblivious to everything happening at the moment, had been squashing a few bugs here and there in the background and now summoned the remains into a little sport sized ball. He began to taunt Luilfr with it a big before tossing it over the back of his shoulder, where it landed at Magnus' mighty feet and the pup took off after it. He picked it up in his mouth and then dropped it back at Magnus' feet, and nudged his ankle a bit and waited. Roluo looked back at the scene and couldn't help but laugh to himself a bit.

"Well...looks like the ball is in your court now. "

[Myrdraxxis]

Magnus sighed. Deeply. There were times when he suspected that it would have been easier to just do this whole mission on his own. It would certainly go faster. With less puns.

"Kasser, you have my permission to shoot the next person to make a pun." Nathaniel spoke up, rubbing the bridge of his nose wearily.

"Roger that." The soldier said cheerfully.


"The Mouth of Hell doesn't sound familiar." Magnus answered Izaak. "Clearly a terrorist group. A racist one at that. We should take a look at what's left of Tintalla." Magnus said. "At he very least it should give us clues on where to go next."

"Ooh, can I come?" Al asked suddenly. Magnus fought to not grimace. "I want to help. I haven't left the Academy much but...well I am a Methusela and this involves my people..." Al trailed off.

Magnus sighed, debating. It couldn't hurt except if....well...Magnus had done his work well the first time he was here. Al didn't appear to be in any danger of relapsing. All the same, if something were to trigger a memory recovery...or worse, undo the illusion spell or magical lock Magnus had placed over the Methusela....

Actually, it might be better to have Al close by so Magnus could supervise.

"I suppose so." He conceded.

"Great!" Al grinned.

"How far is Tintalla, exactly?" Nathaniel asked.

"Not too far from here. Maybe a couple hours by airship." Magnus said. "Luckily, I can make portal.s Useful things. Wouldn't work except that I've been here before."

"Lucky." Faust noted.

"Indeed." Magnus took a moment to prepare the spell. A shimmering magical portal appeared. "That should get us pretty close."

Without waiting any longer he stepped into it. The others (he assumed) followed.

Exiting the portal Magnus immidiately grimaced. The smell of ash and fire was immediate and overwhelming.

The portal had exited out in the plains around Tintalla. It was a battlefield. Not a recent one, but one still scarred by the conflict. Magnus recognized it. The site of the final battle between the armies of Serioc and the Lich King.

One thing was different, however. Where once Tintalla could be seen rising up in the distance, there was simply....nothing.

"Gods..." Al muttered, stepping through the portal and taking int he sight as well. "What could have done this."

Magnus glanced over at the methusela and cursed under his breath. Maybe bringing him here of all places, to the site of the final battle hadnt been a good idea.

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


Arrick couldn't help himself. He laughed. Loudly. In the backof his head he could hear Solomon sigh , but that didn't stop him.

A long minute ltr he managed to stop, wiping away a tear from his eye. "Ehehe, that's a good one." He said. "That...you honestly think you could do that?"

Arrick looked around at the hellans guarding the room. Most were glaring hatefully at him now. "I hate to break it to you, but old Hyddick is gone. The hellans couldn't hold onto their homeland at their height of their power. Now? Vaer has only grown more powerful while the scattered hellan tribes dig in the sand."

It was unfortunate, yes. But also ancient history by this point. Arrick had gotten over it centuries ago. "You honestly think you can turn a rag-tag army of tribes into a force enough to beat Imperial Vaer?"

the Seeker shook his head. "Look, I was there at the final battle in Hellas, when the city fell. It was abloodbath. You pick a fight with Vaer and it will be like that, if not worse."

[Mizagium]

Vidalia frowned at Arrick. Not a queenly frown. A teen frown. The frown of a petulant child who was being looked down upon. Inanis, the twin-swordsman felt her mood rising and was torn between attempting to calm her down and silencing the Vaerian, but he hesitated too long and The Red Queen stood suddenly.

“Wendyl!” From somewhere in the shadows, a mousy Hellen scurried into view, carrying a sheaf of papers and a pen.

“Yes, my – “

“Come here.”

He flinched under her words and cautiously approached her. And then Cruor was drawn in a crimson flash and she touched the point of it to Wendyl’s chest before he could recoil. He started to ask what she was doing – and then the red lines started etching themselves into his flesh. The scribe clenched and contorted, mouth agape in silent screams of pain, but he could not pull away from the sword. Only when the gleaming red canyons had covered the poor man’s entire body, and his eyes had turned a deep shade of crimson, did Vidalia retract the sword. Wendyl swayed, staggered, but remained upright.

“Wendyl,” she said again, this time more venomous and saccharine.

“My queen.” Wendyl’s voice was considerably less weasely. Indeed, he somehow seemed bigger, or maybe…

“Do show this misguided man what I’ve given you.”

“Of course.”

He turned and displayed the blood magic lines that covered him, even showing through his clothing. With a clenched fist, he punched the ground, creating a wide crater between the Red Queen and the newcomers. He paused, giving them a moment to consider that, before he yanked his fist back – and the displaced floor reassembled itself.

“Was that sufficient, my lady?”

Vidalia was smiling now. “Let’s find out. Well, Mr…” she realized he had never introduced himself. “Mister Vaerian? You were saying something about a bloodbath?”

-

“It’s gone,” was all Valendis could bring himself to say. The remains of a few buildings lingered on the edge of the blast radius, but that barely amounted to anything. There was no city there, and hardly any proof that there had ever been one. Now there was only a charred, smoking wasteland.

The smells brought back the memory of his home, of his parents. Hardly any time had passed and the wound was still fresh, but he had hoped that putting entire universes between him and them would be enough. It wasn’t.

He turned away quickly and stuffed that memory down as far as he could. Maybe it could be buried and forgotten.

“What…” he tried to ask, but couldn’t find the words. His familiars kept close and sat in somber silence, offering no help. “There’s nobody here, Magnus. If…if he was here, he’s either gone or…gone.” He said the last softer, implying a lot more than he said.

He made to move out and look some more when his foot crunched on something that somehow survived the blast. It was one of those same Hell Mouth flyers that they had been given back at the academy. And it wasn’t just one. They were all over the area.

“What’s going on?”

[Damien]

There were no words to describe the scene laid out before the group. No one word, or even group of words, could accurately describe it. It also seemed to bring up memories that Valendis was still fighting to forget.

Izaak, having been there during the fight between Valendis and his sister, Red, approached Valendis and placed a hand on his shoulder, offering silent support since he knew nothing he could say would help the situation. Dorian took notice of this kind and caring gesture, and it made him feel that strange feeling again.

This man just gets more and more perfect every second, he thought. ...Why do I keep having these thoughts? He shook his head to clear it and approached the two, wanting to stay close to Izaak for some reason unknown to him. However, he kept his gaze on the area around them, scanning for any other person or thing that could lead them in the direction they needed to go. Unfortunately, he found no such clue.

"Well," he said, addressing Magnus, "what's the plan now?" He turned his gaze towards the man and, by nature of his proximity to Magnus, Al, and he noticed something very odd about the Methusela.

"We have to do something," said Izaak, turning a bit to look at Magnus and noticing Dorian approaching him and Al.

"Alright, I can't be the only one seeing this," Dorian said, a hint of worry and fear in his voice.

"Seeing what?" asked Izaak, also becoming worried.

"There's clearly an illusion veiling Al here," he responded. "I didn't notice it before because my attention was..." he paused a moment, "...elsewhere." He felt himself go a bit red in the face, and, seeing that, so did Izaak.

"Now that you mention it, I can see something off as well," Izaak said after forcing the blood from his face.

"I know damned well you can see it, too, Magnus, being the powerful mage that you are," Dorian said, his voice tinted with a bit of anger. "What is going on here?"

[Monika]

It's just a little destruction. These fools act as if they've never seen it before and will never see it again...

Kazan frowned, wishing he could tell this inner voice of his to shut up. Unfortunately, he was pretty sure that whoever the voice belonged to wasn't a good listener...and Kazan couldn't afford to keep talking to himself and have his party members question his sanity. After a vigorous head-shaking to clear his mind, he waved his hand forward toward the destruction in front of him.

"Come on," he said, very seriously. "Nothing will get done if we stand here in shock and awe. There will be time for lamenting and reflection later. We have a Mage to find."

And so Kazan began walking forward. He had never been here before, of course, and wasn't entirely sure where he was going, but a very strong sense of purpose guided his feet.

---

"I'm sure they're all fine," Lenore replied to Sorin, only passively paying attention to his and Vynalion's conversation. Lenore's attention was fully devoted to the books in front of her. The tomes contained a wealth of summoning knowledge - as to be expected from the private collection of a family of summoners as old as the Gae'oms - and she was determined to learn as much as she could from them.

I refuse to let there be a repeat of our last two battles, Lenore thought. I couldn't help against Blood Red. I couldn't help against Ahriman the Devourer. I will be prepared next time.

She continued flipping through the books' pages, scanning each one thoroughly before moving onto the next. She stopped only when she came to one page that seemed...different from the rest.

"Peculiar," she muttered, running her fingertips along the length of the page. Whereas most of the pages in her borrowed tomes were yellowed from age and felt very much like old paper, this page was a dark gray and felt like it had just been fabricated that day. Even stranger, however, was the fact that this page was completely blank. The preceding page had a picture and detailed description of a massive golem known as Hashmal, a lost Earth elemental said to have powers beyond those creatures in the Master Tier. On the following page was a description of Hyorinmaru, an Advanced Tier Ice Dragon. But the gray page in between them...

"It's completely blank. Surely there should be another 'H' summon here?" Lenore thought aloud. "Is this page just a placeholder? A way to separate the book into sections?" This guess was proven incorrect as she quickly flipped through the rest of the pages in that book and the others, noting that there were no other blank pages of that color or texture. "If it were here to divide the book into sections, then there would be more of them. And it feels too new...Was this page added later? Hmph."

She walked over to the librarian's counter and took a complimentary bookmark, upon which was written 'Reading is FUNdamental!' in big, colorful letters. Rolling her eyes, she made her way back to the table and placed the bookmark between the Hashmal page and the gray page, deciding to investigate it at a later date.

[Sariel of Tevet]

Roluo and his group walked into the portal and out the other side. They were met with a simmering battlefield, and a sight that seemed to hit Roluo a particularly harder than the rest. He stood with an expression on his face that had not been made since his childhood. His eyes followed the trails of smoke up into the sky, where his own thoughts became lost. His mouth began to form words, though without any sound. Luilfr sensed his master's distress and began to tug at the bottom of his pants and whimper.

"R..Roluo? Are you ok?"

Suri placed a hand gently on his shoulder and nudged him gently. He failed to move, trapped in his own past. The smells of the ash in front of them turned into the burning tents of his village, and his imagination filled with the screams of that fateful day.

"I'm really sorry about this, Roluo."

Suri reached her hand a ways back, and Luilfr recoiled a bit and covered his face with his paws. She smacked Roluo across the face and brought him out of his haze. Bringing his hand to his stinging cheek, he collapsed to the ground with a huff.

"Thank you for that. I haven't had to think about that day since I found you. The dreams have more or less stopped but...the truth always comes in the flames."

He gaze fell to a smoldering piece of debris next to him, and Suri stomped it out along with his memories. She knelt down behind him and wrapped her arms around his chest, and placed her chin on his shoulder.

"Big baby..."

Eleazar was watching this scene, and then his eyes went out towards the rest of the group.

"You know Roluo, this won't be the last battlefield you see. I know you have done most of your fighting on your own since the accident but, now it is time to grow up. Other people are going to get hurt. Better to learn that now than later on when we get into some trouble doing...whatever it is we are doing here."

He watched as Kazan seemed to be the only one attempting to make any progress.

"So uh...what..are we actually doing anyway? Now that we came all this way."

[Razgat]

What's that?...Yes...Yes, they did leave us. No, no, don't take offense. I'm sure they're very busy. Better than being locked up right?

*giggle*....*sigh*

No, I'm fine. Really, I am. I'm free to roam around this...giant..metal...thing that's exactly like a prison. I am in a bigger prison. Yes, I suppose that does make my situation exactly the way it was before, doesn't it? Well, I mean, I'm not chained up. That has to be a little better, right?....right?

This is hopeless. Why am I still here? I guess it's not like I could really escape. What would I do, jump?

What? No, I'm not going to actually jump. Gosh, Steve, I'd die! No...No, that's...I can't do that. No, I shouldn't...Yes, I suppose I might be able to seep the blood back in, but what about my bones? I can't reanimate myself...

What's that?...Use someone else? No, I...they haven't threatened me....yet. But I shouldn't...I couldn't...

Steve, No! Stop suggesting that! That's terrible. That's...doable...No. No! AUGH!

With a heavy thump, Deyanira sunk to the floor. "This is so BORING! I think I'll go crazy waiting in here! What did he need me for anyway? Decoration!? It's been forever! Why can't I go out?....Shut up, Steve, I know it hasn't been that long, but it feels longer."

She cradled the skull she called Steve in her hands and stared at it. "Why am I even listening to you? You're dead! It's not like you can do anything...Yes, yes, I know it's not on purpose, but it's still true. What are you going to do? Roll over there? Yes, Steve, I wasn't serious, I know you can't move. It's called sarcasm. Sorry, this is all making me a bit cranky. We never did find the kitchen."

A growl escaped from her stomach. She pouted. "I'm hungry...Aren't prisoners entitled to food?...Shut up, Steve, don't make me eat you. Well, I guess I'll keep looking."

She picked herself up from the floor, placing the skull on her shoulder, and began to wander around the ship some more in search of something to eat.

[Myrdraxxis]

"Illusion?" Al cocked his head to the side curiously. "What are they talking about, Magnus?" he asked the mage. Magnus glared wordlessly at Izaak and Dorien for a long moment.

'Damnit.' he thought. "We can talk about that later." He deflected rather bluntly.

"I had been wondering about it myself." Hecate made herself known, appearing beside Magnus almost making the man jump. Honestly, that woman was too good at hiding her presence.

"Look now isn't really the time for this." Magnus said, and waved over Nathaniel quickly before they could speak again. "Nathan," the look that the Mage Hunter sent towards him clearly said 'don't call me that' but Magnus persisted, "If there's anything at all out there, we need to find it." he gestured towards the ruined city.

"Right." Nathaniel nodded. "Faust! Perimeter sweep." the young mage hunter ordered.

Nathaniel's retinue began to wordlessly sweep into the ruins of the city. "Everyone else, too." Nathaniel added. "Roluo, Suri, stay with the team and...." Nathaniel trailed off, a thought suddenly occuring to him. 'Wait a minute,. Throughout all of the craziness that they had gone through since coming here, there was something....lacking from their little band. Or rather, someone. "...Where's Deyanira?"

"Er..." Magnus looked around.

""I don't believe she followed us to Altinor. She is most likely back at the ships." Hecate supplied an answer.

"And you didn't think we should have known this sooner?" Magnus snapped. Hecate narrowed her eyes at him.

"I assumed you already knew." She snapped back. Magnus opened his mouth to retort, then just sighed.

"Well, then whatever. If she's back on the ship then it's fine, right? She can't get into too much trouble there, right?"

Nathaniel considered that.....and then paled. Deyanira would have re-boared the Sylvina, being the most familiar airship. Which was fine...except Deyanira was a blood mage and a necromancer. And Mage Hunter Gregor Kell was still aboard that ship.

And the last airship that Nathaniel had left Deyanira on unsupervised had nearly crashed into the Vaerian capitol.

"We need to go get her." Nathaniel said quickly. "It's uh....a security risk?"

"Fiiine." Magnus sighed again. "I can just make another portal back to the ship I guess. Someone pop over there and get her." With a snap of his fingers another portal appeared before them. "Well go on."

Nathaniel nodded hesitantly, taking in Magnus' relaxed pose. He didn't think Magnus was even aware of the fact that most mages couldn't just summon portals to other locations whenever they felt like it, with so little effort. It was disconcerting.

Nathaniel stepped through and was suddenly back aboard the Sylvina. Several crew were standing around, giving him looks of surprise. "As you were." He said shortly, and started walking.

If he wasn't mistaken, Deyanira's quarters should be somewhere around....ah! There it was.

He knocked on the door three times. "Er...Deyanira? We uh, we realized you weren't with us so Magnus sent me to come get you." It really sounded dumb when he said it out loud.

][

As soon as Nathaniel had departed, Al spoke up again. "Seriously, what's this about illusions on me?" he sounded a little bit upset at being brushed off. Al didn't get angry often. Anger frightened him, honestly. Whenever he got mad, he started hearing whispers in his head, and the sudden impulse to destroy. So he tried to be a rather amicable person.

"That...." Magnus trailed off. Mage, how was he supposed to explain this without bringing back something terrible?

"I can sense the magic on him." Hecate stated. She stared down the commander. "It's yours."

Damned Celestial! Where had her sense of subtlety gone? "That...it's....complicated."

further away, Faust led the team into the ruined city of Tintalla.

"What could have done something like this?" Kasser asked quietly. His voice almost seemed to get lost among the oppressive and utter silence that consumed the once vibrant city. There was barely any trace of a city at all. Paved roads scarred and cracked, skeletal buildings reaching up jaggedly towards the sky. But no people. No bodies. All had been burned away to nothing.

"That's what we're here to learn, I suppose." Ishabel replied. Her scrying was proving to be less helpful, revealing nothing but intense terror and pain; the final moments of a dead city.

Faust glanced over his shoulder. He wasn't keeping track of the others in their group (the necromancers, or the oens they found in Arcia) but the small team of Vaerian commandos were fanning out across the street, glancing into houses and down streets. Xing walked a few paces behind Ishabel, the silent Xiolinese swordsman providing the scryer with protection.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

A voice made the whole team act as one, turning to the direction the voice had come from. The soldiers stared down the sights of their rifles at the source. A man was leaned against the side of a crumbling home. He was fairly tall, red hair slicked back over his head and garbed in a simple black suit. What drew attention were the intricate metal gauntlets on the man's arms. clearly weapons.

"Have you come to admire the scenery as well?" The man asked, looking at the group of Vaerians. Faust fought the urge to shiver at the man's eyes. The were so....cold.

"Who are you?" He asked, tone commanding. The man flashed a wide smile.

"Ah, where are my manners?" He bowed. "My name is Vorr. In the name of the Hellfire Clan I welcome you, to this monument of absolute power."