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mindcrackloveSorry for nothing this weekend. I was in the middle of no where Pennsylvania without Wi-Fi, so I just wrote this. It's longer than other chapters, and switches perspectives.
Notes:
-Expect a reader submitted chapter backstory thing probably tomorrow (later today? whatever)
-Comment who you want to have the next chapter about and give constructive criticism if you find something that could be better!
Enyoy reading! :3
Paul POV:
Baj and the other man, whose name was BTC, had better tolerance for the potion than Doc and I had hoped. They had apparently shielded themselves from the effects for the most part, only feeling woozy and having few coherent thoughts, most comments being about the color red from the man BTC. After Baj finally was able to speak clearly again, I made up my mind to go back to the tree house with the others, so that we wouldn’t be split into two groups. I walked over to Vechs, who was chatting with Pause, and before I could ask Vechs anything, Pause spoke up.
“So, why did you want me to give a secret to the gay pole dancer? I understand that it helped him recover from… whatever the problem was, but I feel like I told him something he really didn’t need. I mean, my most private of secrets?” He glared at me accusingly. I replied, trying to keep myself from boiling over in anger, even though I showed nothing outwardly. I kept my feelings in check most of the time, so I had probably surprised Vechs with my tears and he had convinced Pause to do it. I also was confused by one of his words.
“Well, if you hadn’t said anything personal or important, then it wouldn’t have helped. And since we are an uprising, we need to have as many able-bodied members supporting our cause, and without everyone trusting everyone else, we are nothing but a group with similar goals, no bonds between us.”
“Well, I’d say Etho and Nebris are bonding rather well right now,” Pause spoke up again. I cocked my head to one side in confusion, and he just pointed to the staircase leading to the roof. I sighed, looking at Pause in a way that showed I wasn’t done with this conversation, and proceeded to climb the stairs and on the top floor landing, I stood before the door a moment in case I needed to hear anything. What I heard was a complete wonderment to even someone as well versed in relationships, having taken care of many children of my own. I heard Nebris’ and Etho’s voices coming from close to the door, and they were letting out moans and cries of pleasure. I took a moment to think over the night, and how Etho had put his mask on when he had gotten up from talking with Nebris, and how Nebris had been redder in the face after their conversation. I knew they needed to hurry up since we were going to leave soon, so I felt I needed to speak up.
“Nebris, Etho!” I yelled through the door. I heard two quiet gasps of surprise before Etho tentatively called back over the rustling of cloth.
“Yes, Paul? What’s going on?” Etho asked.
“Well I know what going on with you two, so get dressed before I come out and talk to you.” I stood patiently for a few minutes before Nebris came to the door and opened it, motioning me out onto the roof.
“So, we are all going to be heading back to the tree base since questioning didn’t end up going very well. I suggest you stay more quiet next time, since I think Pause realizes what you were doing up here. Etho blushed and Nebris looked over at him with an expression that showed his apology. I continued.
“We’re leaving in a few minutes and one of you needs to carry one of the prisoners. His name is BTC and we really don’t know anything else. Either get him to speak up about his goings on around here or keep him quiet on the way there. Blindfold him, but allow him to talk if you wish. Get your things ready and come down quickly.” I finished my military style speech and turned smoothly before walking back down the stairs, hearing two sets of feet rushing down after me. I smiled a bit, and then addressed the rest of the guys gathered around me.
“Alright. There is a new plan. Since these two prisoners are yielding less information that Nebris here, we’re all going to go to the base in the woods. Anyone object?” No reply from anyone, so I grabbed Baj from his position lying on the floor and threw him over my shoulder. I motioned for Nebris to get BTC, and he went over and mirrored my actions. Everyone seemed ready, but as the apparent leader for the time being, I needed to ask.
“Does everyone have what they wish to bring? Doc, do you have the plants?” Everyone nodded their heads to show that they were ready, and Doc, whose hands were occupied by the plants, simply raised them up to chest level to signify his readiness.
“Alright then! Let’s get on with it. Vechs, you lead the way there. I’ll be in the middle with Nebris so that the prisoners will have fewer opportunities to escape without notice, and Etho and Pause, you bring up the rear.” The men in question nodded again, and we set off in the direction of my home.
-
BTC-
“Geez, do you have to be so rough?” I asked Nebris, the man whom I used to consider a friend and ally, but he had become a turncoat, betraying Baj and the Council. Nebris remained silent, as he had the last few times I had spoken up. I cursed inwardly as I tried once again to summon a flame to my fingertip, but failing because of the potion that man DocM had given me. It cancelled out any magic that I tried to use, and weakened me even more. At this point, I felt like I could fall asleep at any moment, if not for Nebris taking every possible bump and pothole in the well-worn dirt trail. He finally spoke up, but not about something I would have liked to speak about.
“Why don’t you just say what you’re doing? It would be more beneficial to everyone, and frankly, the Council is a terrible group of people that doesn’t do anything to help anyone except themselves.” I sighed, knowing what I would have to say.
“Well, I don’t have any ability to betray them, since they injected everyone with those chips a few weeks back. Remember, the ones that can inject a lethal dose of neurotoxin into the bloodstream? You got one, I got one, and every one of the mages that were working with Milbee, Pyro, and Baj got one. So you’re going to get killed, and I’ll live through it.” Nebris set me down on a tree stump since apparently everyone except for us two were having a break. I took a deep breath now that my chest could move uninhibited. I looked up awkwardly at Nebris, and hands with my hands tied, I couldn’t move myself to a better position to do, so I settled for cocking my head to the side and stared into his bright purple eyes. He returned the look and began to speak, but more quietly.
“Well you’re welcome for this, but I manipulated the administrator to keep our unit from getting any. The only injection you got was an injection of painkiller. So good for you and I, but if you aren’t happy about it, I can kill you here and now. I don’t really care if it backfires for me if you really want to die.” He held up a rapier to my throat, drawing just a hint of blood. I was speechless. He had really manipulated people who were accustomed to mind-magic like that? I took a moment to find my voice once more, and I replied hastily so that Nebris didn’t kill me before I could respond.
“Wait! No, no, no! I don’t want you to kill me!” I yelled out, and a smirk crept across his face. He sheathed his rapier and sat down before me, and motioned for me to go on.
“I was on an assignment with Seth and we stumbled into a council meeting under a shield that blocked us from view. I was maintaining the shield while Seth listened in, and Seth fell out of the shield, letting everyone know he was there. We had overheard some… sensitive information regarding the mages in the council’s guard. So Seth was arrested and sent to some middle of nowhere town. I manage to slip out, but Baj and Pyro found me, took me to Milbee, and I spilled what I knew to him.” I paused for a moment, fearing what I needed to say next, but remembered that I was not under their control, fearing the toxic injections.
“I was sentenced to fight Pyro in The Arena and…” I broke of, thinking back to the events. I fought as hard as I possibly could, but my death magic obviously didn’t work on such a strong mage, and Pyro’s constant barrage of flaming projectiles kept me from summoning anything more powerful. I had fallen within two minutes, burned terribly, and had been rushed to the infirmary, where Milbee was waiting. He had kept the doctors from administering any pain medication, and I had fared through the week in there in constant pain from the burns. My face had been spared the trauma, but my body was badly injured, so much so that I had needed a suit to keep my skin from being exposed to the elements. Even the slightest rain or breeze caused burned skin to flake off of my body and leave behind pink, tender patches all over me. I had put on a mask in the shape of a skull to keep my sham hidden at letting Pyro have his way with my body, and I had simply nothing left to rebel against. Seth was gone, I had been demoted as soon as I was well enough to begin serving again, and council spies were watching me all day every day. Nothingness was my life. But when I was required to go on this most recent mission, a total failure I might add, I was thankful that I was even alive, even though it was a terrible place to be. I looked up to Nebris, who had waited patiently for the minutes I had been reminiscing and began to tell him of the last few months. I felt myself begin to tear up, so I reached for the mask at my hip, and realized it was not there. I just looked away, and continued. Finishing with what he knew already, he retaliated with a question.
“So why resist telling everyone this?”
“Because I needed someone who understands what this is like. Who knows the council and the constant fear of being a mage.” He nodded his acknowledgement, and stood up. He took out a dagger and cut the ropes that bound me and took a step back. I stood warily, expecting to be tackled to the ground, but instead Nebris came over and embraced me.
“I’m sorry. We’ll get Seth back, and I’m willing to bet that Doc will have a burn salve better than anything any doctor in the Council’s fortress has.” He leaned back, and with a hand still on my back; lead me over to the others.
“So, he finally say something?” came a voice I vaguely recognized from the time in the assassin base. I looked over and saw a tall man with blue clothing who was sharpening something that appeared to be a pair of gloves on a whetstone.
“Yep. And he’s betrayed the council, so increase the tally again, we have a new member,” Nebris announced more loudly than was necessary, trying to make my addition more dramatic than it needed to be. I just smiled politely and looked around at the people I would be spending almost all of my time with for who knows how long. A few came up to me for a more formal introduction. The first man was tall and had a mask on who introduced himself as Etho, ninja and assassin master. Another man who was older than anyone else there said that he was Paul, and asked me about any military experience I had. I told him about my past experiences and my many years of military service, and we exchanged a few stories about that before he went back down to his seat on a nearby log. The final man came up, and my eyes instantly went to his green goggles that reflected the campfire’s light. He had an air of confidence; similar to some of the newer military recruits I had once had to break into their military lives. I also saw that he was slight of build, and had only a thin cloak to veil his body. He extended his hand towards mine with a large smile that unnerved me. I didn’t know whether to trust this man or not. He seemed to be all right because he was here with my new allies, but he had an ominous magic about him. I reached my hand out and took his with a hearty shake. I felt an extreme heat radiating from beneath his gloves and I wondered why he was wearing them, seeing as he was quite warm and the night was certainly not chilly.
“My name is Vechs. I am a mage like yourself, and… well, any formalities aside, I think that I want to fight you and see how good you are.” I decided to voice my thoughts about his odd fashion sense to him, seeing as he had dismissed the formalities I was accustomed to.
“Sure. But, why do you wear such warm clothing when you are so warm?” His smile seemed to take on a more threatening look and I thought I saw a flash from beneath his goggles.
“No real reason. Just because I feel like it. Why do you wear your mask?” he asked me, trying to draw focus from himself. I punched myself inwardly, annoyed at how easily I had allowed the situation to get this way.
“I was burned badly on my body, and felt that a mask was appropriate to accompany the body suit. He nodded, and replied.
“See? It’s all fashion choice. Mine might not be something you approve of, but I might not like what you wear, so deal with it.” And he turned abruptly, calling something over his shoulder.
“Come over to the clearing when you’re ready to duel.” I looked around for a moment before realizing that all eyes were on me.
“What?” I asked, feeling a bit self-conscious. Etho stood up, and put a hand on my shoulder, as if in pity.
“Vechs is quite powerful. I hope you don’t suffer a blow to your pride in this fight. I think you upset him a bit, but I don’t really know how. Either way, he’ll go all out on you. Be prepared.”
“Well, I don’t have a weapon, so I was wondering if any of you have any axes?” I said, looking around the campsite. Paul walked up to me with a bundle of something. I took it when he offered it to me, and unraveled it to see my axes, shining like they always had.
“They were on the battlefield, and they seemed unique, so I grabbed them. Glad I did, otherwise you would have been out of luck in terms of axes, unless you like using a tiny hatchet that we use to chop wood.” I took them out, one in each hand, feeling their comforting weight and balance, and thanked Paul for his consideration. I then walked off to find Vechs.
It wasn’t very hard. He was illuminated like a beacon in the clearing, flames surrounding him in a large circle and wisps flying around his head. I called out to him and he moved the circle of flame to surround me as well, making nice impromptu battlefield. He drew a pair of daggers, one an obsidian black blade that may have been obsidian, but the other was quite breathtaking. It glowed like an ember in a fire, but gave off a powerful amber-colored light across the clearing, outshining the flames that surrounded us. The beauty almost caused me to lose in the first moments of the battle. Vechs flung a large burst of flame at me, and only when it was inches from me did I realize and shield myself. It singed the edges of my suit and mask, and created a large plume of smoke. I retaliated quickly, realizing that Vechs was powerful from the singular attack he had shot out. I called out the incant for a powerful fire spell I had only learned from experience.
“Grant me the power of the divine dragon to reduce all who stand in my way!” A ball of green flame appeared above my outstretched hand and I angled it towards Vechs and finished.
“Dragon’s Fury!” The flames then spread from the orb in my palm to envelope Vechs from all sides; small licks of flame moving in all directions from larger appendage-like flames. Vechs was soon lost from view inside of the luminous ball of emerald fire. I closed my fist to finish him off, hoping that I wouldn’t obliterate him with one of my most powerful fire spells. But once the flames imploded on Vechs’ form and finally dissipated, he was still standing there and appeared unharmed. He brushed a small layer of ash from his cloak, and faced me with a mocking look on his face.
“My turn,” he said and I felt a huge amount of power prick my skin. He began an incantation and I knew I had only a short amount of time to think of something to do. I thought about my skills. Fire and death magics, air current manipulation, shields… That’s it! I thought. I spoke up in the middle of Vechs’ chanting to finalize my plan.
“Aegis!” I began with the set of spells I hoped would prevent my demise at Vechs’ attack. “Potentia augmen! Ventus de alteratio!”
“Destroyer of all, come to me and sentence my foe to eternal torture!” Vechs ha summoned enough power to begin calling upon a powerful demon of fire, and he seemed to be oblivious to what my magic had done to our battlefield. It was now surrounded my visible wind currents and I was shielded in a dark orange and black shield I put all of my strength into maintaining. The magic strengthening spell I had cast was helping as well. Vechs wouldn’t be able to stop the blowback of his summon in time to protect himself, so I readied myself to protect him as well, or at least enough to save his life and keep him from being disfigured.
Demon Lord Efreet, destroy this puny mortal with your fiery power!” Vechs said finally, and a fiery red portal appeared over his head. A giant hand materialized from the portal, then a head, and finally a muscular red body. The head was oddly shaped and disfigured, being a demon, and its eyes were black holes in it face.
“Face my wrath, young one!” The demon yelled out in a grating voice. It fired multiple fiery missiles toward my shield and struck only the wind currents that I had made, drawing the projectiles back to Vechs’ form, still muttering commands to the beast. It realized that it had missed and that the flames were headed towards Vechs and shielded him with his body, burning away the thin cloth robes it wore.
“Imbecile! You will pay for that! I will send you to a place where no soul will ever find you in the deepest part of Hell!” Efreet called out to me. I simply made an encouraging gesture, which enraged him even more. I then heard a voice behind me.
“BTC! What the fuck are you doing?!” It was Pause. Damn it. He can’t protect himself from the demon.
“Well. If you want to shield yourself from me, can your friend withstand my might?” Efreet shot out more projectiles, but at Pause. He stood there, paralyzed by the amount of magic in the air.
“NO!” I shouted, and threw myself in the way of the missiles. They struck me with a force I couldn’t have normally withstood, but my need to save Pause was greater than I had anticipated. The explosion destroyed all the nearby trees and only Pause and I stood on solid, unburned ground. I turned around, in a small bit of pain from landing heavily and being thrown slightly, and looked at Pause.
“Are you okay?” I asked him, and he nodded vigorously. I acknowledged and turned to face Efreet, who was in shock.
“You survived my attack? Hmph. Well, either way you will die!” I looked down at Vechs and gasped. He was unconscious, overpowered by the demon’s will. I had to destroy the demon or Vechs in order to stop him. No, I couldn’t kill Vechs. It wasn’t entirely his fault and he didn’t deserve to be sentenced to eternity in this thing’s service.
“No. You will die!” I shouted back and poured everything into this one, final attack.
“Demon’s might, death and destruction, unholy forces, heed me now. Destroy your brethren in this world and bind him inside of yours and strip him of his power.” I stood there, opening the link, and when I felt the response, I moved forward with it.
“Come unto here, and save us! Tenebrae, Lord of All Darkness!” I felt the instant response and saw a short man in shadow appear before Efreet and held up one hand.
“No. You can’t be here,” Efreet said. “Have mercy ple- Auuugh!” The short man took hold of Efreet and took all of his energy into him, leaving only a thick cloud of red dust.
“Thank you!” I called to the man. He nodded and disappeared. I ran over to Vechs at once, with Pause right on my heels. I picked him up and checked for a pulse. He was alive. Thank goodness, I thought. Hopefully his mind would endure the pain of the demon’s takeover.
“Vechs? Are you okay? Answer me Vechs!” I yelled out, beginning to worry. I looked over to Pause, and he seemed to be as worried as I was if not more.
“Pause, please go get someone. I think Vechs is okay, but he needs medical attention,” I told him, trying to stay as calm as possible. He nodded and turned to run back to camp, calling “I’ll get Doc” over his shoulder. I waited with Vechs for 10 stressful minutes before everyone came running over to Vechs and I.
“What happened?” Doc asked as he approached me, but I was too out of it to reply. Pause told him instead, telling him what had happened when he had come. Doc shook his head knowingly at my side and he began to examine Vechs.
“No bodily harm other than some slight burns to his chest, and he’ll recover from those. BTC, can you held me connect to his mind?” I nodded and motioned to Nebris for some help. He came over and put his hands on Doc’s shoulder, and then mine, and I made a connection to Vechs forehead. I felt myself become drawn in, and what was there was terrible. His mind was fractured badly by the forceful takeover of the demon. Doc was next to me, seeing the same. We exchanged glances that enough had been seen, and we exited his body. Doc stood up, and faced the group, telling them of Vechs’ condition.
“His mind has been badly wounded, and he may have memory loss when he wakes up. He will wake up however, and I can help heal him if we get somewhere better to treat him.” Paul nodded hearing this and spoke up, saying what everyone else was thinking.
“Alright then. We’re heading out for the tree base immediately, as opposed to waiting for morning. Pack it up everyone.”
I remained rooted to the spot and only when Paul picked Vechs up did I follow after the rest of the group.
“He’ll be okay BTC. It wasn’t your fault. Stay strong for his sake while he recovers. You can help with taking care of him and Aurey in the infirmary while they get better. That good?” I nodded my appreciation, and followed the others at a brisk pace the rest of the way through the forest to Paul’s tree hut, but it was anything but a simple hut. It went above the canopy and down underground, almost an entire military complex in a single group of trees. I followed Vechs, Paul, and Doc into a room where a girl with fiery red hair was asleep in a bed. Paul put Vechs down in the bed next to her and left to make potions with Doc.
“Wake up Vechs,” I whispered quietly to him, unwilling to say any more for fear of breaking down over his unmoving body.
--
Vechs-
“Wake up,” I heard, but trying to do anything in response made me feel like I was dying. I can’t believe I let myself be consumed so quickly by that thing. I can’t… BTC, I’m sorry, I thought as I fell into oblivion. My mind surrounded me with darkness and I sheltered myself in the shattered framework that was once my sane mind.
Notes:
-Expect a reader submitted chapter backstory thing probably tomorrow (later today? whatever)
-Comment who you want to have the next chapter about and give constructive criticism if you find something that could be better!
Enyoy reading! :3
Paul POV:
Baj and the other man, whose name was BTC, had better tolerance for the potion than Doc and I had hoped. They had apparently shielded themselves from the effects for the most part, only feeling woozy and having few coherent thoughts, most comments being about the color red from the man BTC. After Baj finally was able to speak clearly again, I made up my mind to go back to the tree house with the others, so that we wouldn’t be split into two groups. I walked over to Vechs, who was chatting with Pause, and before I could ask Vechs anything, Pause spoke up.
“So, why did you want me to give a secret to the gay pole dancer? I understand that it helped him recover from… whatever the problem was, but I feel like I told him something he really didn’t need. I mean, my most private of secrets?” He glared at me accusingly. I replied, trying to keep myself from boiling over in anger, even though I showed nothing outwardly. I kept my feelings in check most of the time, so I had probably surprised Vechs with my tears and he had convinced Pause to do it. I also was confused by one of his words.
“Well, if you hadn’t said anything personal or important, then it wouldn’t have helped. And since we are an uprising, we need to have as many able-bodied members supporting our cause, and without everyone trusting everyone else, we are nothing but a group with similar goals, no bonds between us.”
“Well, I’d say Etho and Nebris are bonding rather well right now,” Pause spoke up again. I cocked my head to one side in confusion, and he just pointed to the staircase leading to the roof. I sighed, looking at Pause in a way that showed I wasn’t done with this conversation, and proceeded to climb the stairs and on the top floor landing, I stood before the door a moment in case I needed to hear anything. What I heard was a complete wonderment to even someone as well versed in relationships, having taken care of many children of my own. I heard Nebris’ and Etho’s voices coming from close to the door, and they were letting out moans and cries of pleasure. I took a moment to think over the night, and how Etho had put his mask on when he had gotten up from talking with Nebris, and how Nebris had been redder in the face after their conversation. I knew they needed to hurry up since we were going to leave soon, so I felt I needed to speak up.
“Nebris, Etho!” I yelled through the door. I heard two quiet gasps of surprise before Etho tentatively called back over the rustling of cloth.
“Yes, Paul? What’s going on?” Etho asked.
“Well I know what going on with you two, so get dressed before I come out and talk to you.” I stood patiently for a few minutes before Nebris came to the door and opened it, motioning me out onto the roof.
“So, we are all going to be heading back to the tree base since questioning didn’t end up going very well. I suggest you stay more quiet next time, since I think Pause realizes what you were doing up here. Etho blushed and Nebris looked over at him with an expression that showed his apology. I continued.
“We’re leaving in a few minutes and one of you needs to carry one of the prisoners. His name is BTC and we really don’t know anything else. Either get him to speak up about his goings on around here or keep him quiet on the way there. Blindfold him, but allow him to talk if you wish. Get your things ready and come down quickly.” I finished my military style speech and turned smoothly before walking back down the stairs, hearing two sets of feet rushing down after me. I smiled a bit, and then addressed the rest of the guys gathered around me.
“Alright. There is a new plan. Since these two prisoners are yielding less information that Nebris here, we’re all going to go to the base in the woods. Anyone object?” No reply from anyone, so I grabbed Baj from his position lying on the floor and threw him over my shoulder. I motioned for Nebris to get BTC, and he went over and mirrored my actions. Everyone seemed ready, but as the apparent leader for the time being, I needed to ask.
“Does everyone have what they wish to bring? Doc, do you have the plants?” Everyone nodded their heads to show that they were ready, and Doc, whose hands were occupied by the plants, simply raised them up to chest level to signify his readiness.
“Alright then! Let’s get on with it. Vechs, you lead the way there. I’ll be in the middle with Nebris so that the prisoners will have fewer opportunities to escape without notice, and Etho and Pause, you bring up the rear.” The men in question nodded again, and we set off in the direction of my home.
-
BTC-
“Geez, do you have to be so rough?” I asked Nebris, the man whom I used to consider a friend and ally, but he had become a turncoat, betraying Baj and the Council. Nebris remained silent, as he had the last few times I had spoken up. I cursed inwardly as I tried once again to summon a flame to my fingertip, but failing because of the potion that man DocM had given me. It cancelled out any magic that I tried to use, and weakened me even more. At this point, I felt like I could fall asleep at any moment, if not for Nebris taking every possible bump and pothole in the well-worn dirt trail. He finally spoke up, but not about something I would have liked to speak about.
“Why don’t you just say what you’re doing? It would be more beneficial to everyone, and frankly, the Council is a terrible group of people that doesn’t do anything to help anyone except themselves.” I sighed, knowing what I would have to say.
“Well, I don’t have any ability to betray them, since they injected everyone with those chips a few weeks back. Remember, the ones that can inject a lethal dose of neurotoxin into the bloodstream? You got one, I got one, and every one of the mages that were working with Milbee, Pyro, and Baj got one. So you’re going to get killed, and I’ll live through it.” Nebris set me down on a tree stump since apparently everyone except for us two were having a break. I took a deep breath now that my chest could move uninhibited. I looked up awkwardly at Nebris, and hands with my hands tied, I couldn’t move myself to a better position to do, so I settled for cocking my head to the side and stared into his bright purple eyes. He returned the look and began to speak, but more quietly.
“Well you’re welcome for this, but I manipulated the administrator to keep our unit from getting any. The only injection you got was an injection of painkiller. So good for you and I, but if you aren’t happy about it, I can kill you here and now. I don’t really care if it backfires for me if you really want to die.” He held up a rapier to my throat, drawing just a hint of blood. I was speechless. He had really manipulated people who were accustomed to mind-magic like that? I took a moment to find my voice once more, and I replied hastily so that Nebris didn’t kill me before I could respond.
“Wait! No, no, no! I don’t want you to kill me!” I yelled out, and a smirk crept across his face. He sheathed his rapier and sat down before me, and motioned for me to go on.
“I was on an assignment with Seth and we stumbled into a council meeting under a shield that blocked us from view. I was maintaining the shield while Seth listened in, and Seth fell out of the shield, letting everyone know he was there. We had overheard some… sensitive information regarding the mages in the council’s guard. So Seth was arrested and sent to some middle of nowhere town. I manage to slip out, but Baj and Pyro found me, took me to Milbee, and I spilled what I knew to him.” I paused for a moment, fearing what I needed to say next, but remembered that I was not under their control, fearing the toxic injections.
“I was sentenced to fight Pyro in The Arena and…” I broke of, thinking back to the events. I fought as hard as I possibly could, but my death magic obviously didn’t work on such a strong mage, and Pyro’s constant barrage of flaming projectiles kept me from summoning anything more powerful. I had fallen within two minutes, burned terribly, and had been rushed to the infirmary, where Milbee was waiting. He had kept the doctors from administering any pain medication, and I had fared through the week in there in constant pain from the burns. My face had been spared the trauma, but my body was badly injured, so much so that I had needed a suit to keep my skin from being exposed to the elements. Even the slightest rain or breeze caused burned skin to flake off of my body and leave behind pink, tender patches all over me. I had put on a mask in the shape of a skull to keep my sham hidden at letting Pyro have his way with my body, and I had simply nothing left to rebel against. Seth was gone, I had been demoted as soon as I was well enough to begin serving again, and council spies were watching me all day every day. Nothingness was my life. But when I was required to go on this most recent mission, a total failure I might add, I was thankful that I was even alive, even though it was a terrible place to be. I looked up to Nebris, who had waited patiently for the minutes I had been reminiscing and began to tell him of the last few months. I felt myself begin to tear up, so I reached for the mask at my hip, and realized it was not there. I just looked away, and continued. Finishing with what he knew already, he retaliated with a question.
“So why resist telling everyone this?”
“Because I needed someone who understands what this is like. Who knows the council and the constant fear of being a mage.” He nodded his acknowledgement, and stood up. He took out a dagger and cut the ropes that bound me and took a step back. I stood warily, expecting to be tackled to the ground, but instead Nebris came over and embraced me.
“I’m sorry. We’ll get Seth back, and I’m willing to bet that Doc will have a burn salve better than anything any doctor in the Council’s fortress has.” He leaned back, and with a hand still on my back; lead me over to the others.
“So, he finally say something?” came a voice I vaguely recognized from the time in the assassin base. I looked over and saw a tall man with blue clothing who was sharpening something that appeared to be a pair of gloves on a whetstone.
“Yep. And he’s betrayed the council, so increase the tally again, we have a new member,” Nebris announced more loudly than was necessary, trying to make my addition more dramatic than it needed to be. I just smiled politely and looked around at the people I would be spending almost all of my time with for who knows how long. A few came up to me for a more formal introduction. The first man was tall and had a mask on who introduced himself as Etho, ninja and assassin master. Another man who was older than anyone else there said that he was Paul, and asked me about any military experience I had. I told him about my past experiences and my many years of military service, and we exchanged a few stories about that before he went back down to his seat on a nearby log. The final man came up, and my eyes instantly went to his green goggles that reflected the campfire’s light. He had an air of confidence; similar to some of the newer military recruits I had once had to break into their military lives. I also saw that he was slight of build, and had only a thin cloak to veil his body. He extended his hand towards mine with a large smile that unnerved me. I didn’t know whether to trust this man or not. He seemed to be all right because he was here with my new allies, but he had an ominous magic about him. I reached my hand out and took his with a hearty shake. I felt an extreme heat radiating from beneath his gloves and I wondered why he was wearing them, seeing as he was quite warm and the night was certainly not chilly.
“My name is Vechs. I am a mage like yourself, and… well, any formalities aside, I think that I want to fight you and see how good you are.” I decided to voice my thoughts about his odd fashion sense to him, seeing as he had dismissed the formalities I was accustomed to.
“Sure. But, why do you wear such warm clothing when you are so warm?” His smile seemed to take on a more threatening look and I thought I saw a flash from beneath his goggles.
“No real reason. Just because I feel like it. Why do you wear your mask?” he asked me, trying to draw focus from himself. I punched myself inwardly, annoyed at how easily I had allowed the situation to get this way.
“I was burned badly on my body, and felt that a mask was appropriate to accompany the body suit. He nodded, and replied.
“See? It’s all fashion choice. Mine might not be something you approve of, but I might not like what you wear, so deal with it.” And he turned abruptly, calling something over his shoulder.
“Come over to the clearing when you’re ready to duel.” I looked around for a moment before realizing that all eyes were on me.
“What?” I asked, feeling a bit self-conscious. Etho stood up, and put a hand on my shoulder, as if in pity.
“Vechs is quite powerful. I hope you don’t suffer a blow to your pride in this fight. I think you upset him a bit, but I don’t really know how. Either way, he’ll go all out on you. Be prepared.”
“Well, I don’t have a weapon, so I was wondering if any of you have any axes?” I said, looking around the campsite. Paul walked up to me with a bundle of something. I took it when he offered it to me, and unraveled it to see my axes, shining like they always had.
“They were on the battlefield, and they seemed unique, so I grabbed them. Glad I did, otherwise you would have been out of luck in terms of axes, unless you like using a tiny hatchet that we use to chop wood.” I took them out, one in each hand, feeling their comforting weight and balance, and thanked Paul for his consideration. I then walked off to find Vechs.
It wasn’t very hard. He was illuminated like a beacon in the clearing, flames surrounding him in a large circle and wisps flying around his head. I called out to him and he moved the circle of flame to surround me as well, making nice impromptu battlefield. He drew a pair of daggers, one an obsidian black blade that may have been obsidian, but the other was quite breathtaking. It glowed like an ember in a fire, but gave off a powerful amber-colored light across the clearing, outshining the flames that surrounded us. The beauty almost caused me to lose in the first moments of the battle. Vechs flung a large burst of flame at me, and only when it was inches from me did I realize and shield myself. It singed the edges of my suit and mask, and created a large plume of smoke. I retaliated quickly, realizing that Vechs was powerful from the singular attack he had shot out. I called out the incant for a powerful fire spell I had only learned from experience.
“Grant me the power of the divine dragon to reduce all who stand in my way!” A ball of green flame appeared above my outstretched hand and I angled it towards Vechs and finished.
“Dragon’s Fury!” The flames then spread from the orb in my palm to envelope Vechs from all sides; small licks of flame moving in all directions from larger appendage-like flames. Vechs was soon lost from view inside of the luminous ball of emerald fire. I closed my fist to finish him off, hoping that I wouldn’t obliterate him with one of my most powerful fire spells. But once the flames imploded on Vechs’ form and finally dissipated, he was still standing there and appeared unharmed. He brushed a small layer of ash from his cloak, and faced me with a mocking look on his face.
“My turn,” he said and I felt a huge amount of power prick my skin. He began an incantation and I knew I had only a short amount of time to think of something to do. I thought about my skills. Fire and death magics, air current manipulation, shields… That’s it! I thought. I spoke up in the middle of Vechs’ chanting to finalize my plan.
“Aegis!” I began with the set of spells I hoped would prevent my demise at Vechs’ attack. “Potentia augmen! Ventus de alteratio!”
“Destroyer of all, come to me and sentence my foe to eternal torture!” Vechs ha summoned enough power to begin calling upon a powerful demon of fire, and he seemed to be oblivious to what my magic had done to our battlefield. It was now surrounded my visible wind currents and I was shielded in a dark orange and black shield I put all of my strength into maintaining. The magic strengthening spell I had cast was helping as well. Vechs wouldn’t be able to stop the blowback of his summon in time to protect himself, so I readied myself to protect him as well, or at least enough to save his life and keep him from being disfigured.
Demon Lord Efreet, destroy this puny mortal with your fiery power!” Vechs said finally, and a fiery red portal appeared over his head. A giant hand materialized from the portal, then a head, and finally a muscular red body. The head was oddly shaped and disfigured, being a demon, and its eyes were black holes in it face.
“Face my wrath, young one!” The demon yelled out in a grating voice. It fired multiple fiery missiles toward my shield and struck only the wind currents that I had made, drawing the projectiles back to Vechs’ form, still muttering commands to the beast. It realized that it had missed and that the flames were headed towards Vechs and shielded him with his body, burning away the thin cloth robes it wore.
“Imbecile! You will pay for that! I will send you to a place where no soul will ever find you in the deepest part of Hell!” Efreet called out to me. I simply made an encouraging gesture, which enraged him even more. I then heard a voice behind me.
“BTC! What the fuck are you doing?!” It was Pause. Damn it. He can’t protect himself from the demon.
“Well. If you want to shield yourself from me, can your friend withstand my might?” Efreet shot out more projectiles, but at Pause. He stood there, paralyzed by the amount of magic in the air.
“NO!” I shouted, and threw myself in the way of the missiles. They struck me with a force I couldn’t have normally withstood, but my need to save Pause was greater than I had anticipated. The explosion destroyed all the nearby trees and only Pause and I stood on solid, unburned ground. I turned around, in a small bit of pain from landing heavily and being thrown slightly, and looked at Pause.
“Are you okay?” I asked him, and he nodded vigorously. I acknowledged and turned to face Efreet, who was in shock.
“You survived my attack? Hmph. Well, either way you will die!” I looked down at Vechs and gasped. He was unconscious, overpowered by the demon’s will. I had to destroy the demon or Vechs in order to stop him. No, I couldn’t kill Vechs. It wasn’t entirely his fault and he didn’t deserve to be sentenced to eternity in this thing’s service.
“No. You will die!” I shouted back and poured everything into this one, final attack.
“Demon’s might, death and destruction, unholy forces, heed me now. Destroy your brethren in this world and bind him inside of yours and strip him of his power.” I stood there, opening the link, and when I felt the response, I moved forward with it.
“Come unto here, and save us! Tenebrae, Lord of All Darkness!” I felt the instant response and saw a short man in shadow appear before Efreet and held up one hand.
“No. You can’t be here,” Efreet said. “Have mercy ple- Auuugh!” The short man took hold of Efreet and took all of his energy into him, leaving only a thick cloud of red dust.
“Thank you!” I called to the man. He nodded and disappeared. I ran over to Vechs at once, with Pause right on my heels. I picked him up and checked for a pulse. He was alive. Thank goodness, I thought. Hopefully his mind would endure the pain of the demon’s takeover.
“Vechs? Are you okay? Answer me Vechs!” I yelled out, beginning to worry. I looked over to Pause, and he seemed to be as worried as I was if not more.
“Pause, please go get someone. I think Vechs is okay, but he needs medical attention,” I told him, trying to stay as calm as possible. He nodded and turned to run back to camp, calling “I’ll get Doc” over his shoulder. I waited with Vechs for 10 stressful minutes before everyone came running over to Vechs and I.
“What happened?” Doc asked as he approached me, but I was too out of it to reply. Pause told him instead, telling him what had happened when he had come. Doc shook his head knowingly at my side and he began to examine Vechs.
“No bodily harm other than some slight burns to his chest, and he’ll recover from those. BTC, can you held me connect to his mind?” I nodded and motioned to Nebris for some help. He came over and put his hands on Doc’s shoulder, and then mine, and I made a connection to Vechs forehead. I felt myself become drawn in, and what was there was terrible. His mind was fractured badly by the forceful takeover of the demon. Doc was next to me, seeing the same. We exchanged glances that enough had been seen, and we exited his body. Doc stood up, and faced the group, telling them of Vechs’ condition.
“His mind has been badly wounded, and he may have memory loss when he wakes up. He will wake up however, and I can help heal him if we get somewhere better to treat him.” Paul nodded hearing this and spoke up, saying what everyone else was thinking.
“Alright then. We’re heading out for the tree base immediately, as opposed to waiting for morning. Pack it up everyone.”
I remained rooted to the spot and only when Paul picked Vechs up did I follow after the rest of the group.
“He’ll be okay BTC. It wasn’t your fault. Stay strong for his sake while he recovers. You can help with taking care of him and Aurey in the infirmary while they get better. That good?” I nodded my appreciation, and followed the others at a brisk pace the rest of the way through the forest to Paul’s tree hut, but it was anything but a simple hut. It went above the canopy and down underground, almost an entire military complex in a single group of trees. I followed Vechs, Paul, and Doc into a room where a girl with fiery red hair was asleep in a bed. Paul put Vechs down in the bed next to her and left to make potions with Doc.
“Wake up Vechs,” I whispered quietly to him, unwilling to say any more for fear of breaking down over his unmoving body.
--
Vechs-
“Wake up,” I heard, but trying to do anything in response made me feel like I was dying. I can’t believe I let myself be consumed so quickly by that thing. I can’t… BTC, I’m sorry, I thought as I fell into oblivion. My mind surrounded me with darkness and I sheltered myself in the shattered framework that was once my sane mind.
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Date: Monday, July 7th, 2014 09:15 am (UTC)Interesting! nice references too. I also like the way that you have started showing where the rest of the mindcrackers fit into this world, though the number of mages the council associates with surprises me.
I also think the mage duel was a little weird, and I honestly think Vechs is the stronger mage, so I am kinda surprised with it's turn out. I guess everyone can overestimate themselves though. Nice way to lead into the next chapter though!
In terms of demons, You're more than welcome!
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Date: Monday, July 7th, 2014 11:16 am (UTC)Look at all the cliff hangers you guys give the people ;-;