He looked me straight in the eyes as I drove Dawn through the center of his chest. On his face, was a look of bewilderment...as if he did not expect me to run the blade through him? He coughed, trying to utter some last words and perhaps...an apology. I quickly pulled the blade out, watching the knight's now lifeless body fall to the floor. Around me lie the bodies of the Rune Knight's fellow brother knights. Blood covered the walls in a pattern similar to stars in the night sky. Five people, including myself, walked into the guildhall. Only one would walk out.
My name is Anton Linea Veritas. I was born into a humble family of the famed "Guild of the Morning Sun". I am twenty-seven years old and I was pegged to be the youngest wizard to ever join the Council. My parents saw that I had an affinity for magic at a very young age and decided to foster this curiosity.
At fourteen, I had mastered Nullification, Heavenly Body, and Arc of Embodiment magic. I had quickly risen through my guild's chain of command. At eighteen, I briefly served in the Rune Knights dark guild hunting squads before being bestowed the honor of Council Representative for my guild. By that time, I was a fully recognized S-Class mage, was a master of Arc of Time magic, and was the only wizard alive to be conferred the title of "Peerless Swordsmanship Specialist". Though I could have became guild master, I decided not to pursue the matter out of respect for the current guild master.
Things began to go downhill after my installment as guild rep. A Councilor had grown jealous of my powers. I defeated his son to get my S-Class rank, and he was still sour about it. I could tell in the way he looked at me. The permanent sneer of disdain he had on his face when he looked upon me. I never pushed the issue…until something happened.
One quiet night, I had found myself unable to sleep. Like any other sleepless night, I had went down to the library, which was just a few paces away from the guild building's entrance. In my spare time, I had improved upon my knowledge using Memory magic to master the elements. I had kept the practice to myself, since seeking power merely for power's sake was against my clan's tenets.
There was a knock at the door. It was not soft like most knocks are, but one of authority and power.
"This is Rune Knight Commander Renaldi. By Council mandate, Guild Master Armin Blechre is ordered to come with us to stand trial for murder."
In two steps, I was at the door. I opened it to find spears aimed at the doorway. Rune Knights had their swords drawn alongside wizards who had their magic at the ready. They lowered them as soon as they recognized me.
"Representative Veritas," the Knight Commander bellowed. "Is your guild master here?"
"No," I replied. "Let me see this mandate you speak of." The Knight Commander slightly bristled up and handed me the sealed scroll with the Magic Council Emblem on it. I broke the seal and read over the document a few times before rolling it back up.
"Why are Council members putting him on trial now?"
"We have reason to believe that he was the perpetrator in the murder of another council member." The Knight Commander attempted to step forward, but bumped into a barrier. I could feel myself uttering the incantations in my head until I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"Anton," my guild master said to me with a tired look on his face, "it's alright." He walked past me and into the assembled throng of onlookers that had stepped out of their homes. After they cuffed him, the group of Rune Knights and Council members blinked out of existence.
I did not attend the trial. In fact, my representative status was revoked and my S-Class ranking was being contested because I cheated. Because of that, I was denied entry to the nullification ceremony. The last time I saw him was at his execution.
The Council murdered him. He was wrongfully accused for a crime he did not commit. Slowly, people began to leave the guild. Rune Knight patrols seemingly began making their rounds past the clan building. After a few months, I found myself being the only person left in the clan. My S-Class status was revoked and was currently under surveillance by the Council. They wanted to add me to the Dark Wizards list.
My life was effectively over. The Council and the Rune Knights had destroyed my reputation, my guild, and everything I stood for. The only thing I had to my name was my magical abilities, which numbered thirteen in powers, and my peerless swordsmanship ranking. After everything finally died down, the Council quietly sent four of their best Knight Commanders to end me.
Five walked into the guildhall, but only one would walk out.
"Anton," the commander at the front of the group yelled, "you can make this easy on yourself if you just surrender to us. We'll make it as painless as possible."
"You don't get it do you," I said finding the courage to summon one of the most powerful sets of armor to ever exist.
"You've taken everything from me. You took my clan away from me, killed my guild master, and destroyed my reputation." The white chainmail armor of legend, supposed forged from the center of a dying star and cooled in the blood of gods finished materializing on me as the founder's sword Dawn took it's rightful place in my right hand.
The knights threw everything they had at me as I laughed a maniacal laugh. The guildhall was engulfed in fire as the knights all focused their powers on me.
"You fail to realize that you have awoke a sleeping giant, one…that shows no mercy for the likes of you!"
As I yelled this, I flew forward towards the first knight and cut him in half before he could even blink. The second knight attempted to nullify my magic until I picked him up off the floor and slammed him into the nearest wall. The third and fourth knight circled me like lions circling a mark.
"Do you realize who you're fighting?" one of them asked as he laughed. "I single-handedly killed the leaders of the Fallen Oaks dark clan. My friend behind you used to be a member of the Brotherhood of Fire before he joined the Rune Knights."
Before the bragging knight's friend could finish his sentence I spun Dawn with all my might, bathing the room in holy light. One of the knights took the bait and charged straight towards me. I sidestepped him and lopped his legs off in one turn before pointing my blade at his friend. In vain, he charged towards me with his blade. I purposely let my powers wane, just to give him a fair chance.
He thrust his sword forward, and instead of going in for a killing strike, I sidestepped him. He spun on his heel, unleashing a blast of fire magic before I could block. I barely jumped out of the way before the flames hit the side of the guildhall, lighting the aged wood. I flicked my right hand, knocking the sword from his hand. Trying to get away, he tripped on his cape falling to the floor. In a feeble attempt to reach for the sword, I banished it to another dimension.
"You're not leaving this room alive," I said slowly advancing towards him as he began crawling backwards towards the wall.
"Keep crawling," I sneered. "Crawl to your death." I sheathed Dawn and waited for the knight to make his move.
"You…you d-don't ha-have to d-d-do this. P-please…I'm be-begging you."
"Did my master beg and grovel for mercy like you're doing now? Rune Knights are supposed to be strong and stout. How can a little worm like yourself represent the will of the Council." I got as close to the knight's face as I could before I pricked him with my blade. He began screaming as I got up and watched him burst into flames.
I looked at the final knight who I had thrown against the wall. He was standing in the middle of the guildhall looking at me blankly. His blade wasn't even raised to the attack position.
He looked me straight in the eyes as I drove Dawn through the center of his chest. On his face, was a look of bewilderment...as if he did not expect me to run the blade through him? He coughed, trying to utter some last words and perhaps...an apology. I quickly pulled the blade out, watching the knight's now lifeless body fall to the floor. Around me lie the bodies of the Rune Knight's fellow brother knights. Blood covered the walls in a pattern similar to stars in the night sky. Five people, including myself, walked into the guildhall. Only one walked out.
The knight who had just lost his legs just moaned in pain. Our eyes met each others. In his eyes was true fear. His mind was focusing on his family. I walked over to him and out Dawn on the floor beside me and pulled out my dagger.
"I didn't know," he said. "I was just doing my-"
"-your job," I interrupted. "You do not seem like the others. It would be in your best interests to walk away from this life while you still have breath in your lungs." I walked out of the guildhall before he could say anything else.
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