The start of likely my last story for a while. I've been wanting to start another one since my first one failed a while back. I've got some time now so I thought it would be the best time to start. This is just the prologue, so read if you'd like, but it introduces two of the characters. If your not interested, just head down to the bottom to find the application.
The sudden clap of thunder echoed through the valley as the small party made their way down the small road. The current storm was making it extremely difficult to travel and the constant thunder continued to startle the horses, but at the insistence of the owner of the carriage, the group kept moving.
"The town's just over the bridge." the older man insisted, a wide grin on his face. "This storms nothing compared to those back when my grandpa owned this cart."
As they approached the bridge, two younger members of the group made their way to the front of the cart. The old man glanced towards them, pointing towards the bridge. "Looks like we're almost there. Guess I really didn't need to hire you two."
"Its always better to be safe than sorry." the girl stated, quickly pulling her hood off and looking towards the bridge. "Seems safe enough."
"Remind me again why I teamed up with you Morgan?"
As the duo took their first step onto the bridge, the girl, Morgan, sighed, shaking her head. "You're such a pain in the ass." Morgan Rowan was seventeen and stood at about five foot six inches. She had pale white skin and had long messy forest green hair, two long pieces of which stuck out the top of her head like a pair of antenne. She also had brown eyes which were hidden behind a pair of round glasses. Under her long black rain poncho, she wore a dark green turtleneck sweater and a black skirt, along with a pair of black tennis shoes.
The boy sighed, staring down the bridge. "Looks like we're needed after all."
The carriage quickly came to a stop as the old man jumped from his seat, walking over to the duo. "I take back that comment from earlier." Another man exited the back of the carriage and made his way over.
Morgan smiled slightly, turning towards the client and offering a smile. "Don't worry. This is what we came here for."
The thunder clapped again, this time much louder than before. Underneath the low stone bridge, the river was quickly getting wilder as the waves began to make their way onto the bridge. Not far down the bridge five men stood blocking the path. One stood at least a foot and a half taller than the others, while the two in the back seemed identical. The man with white hair towards the front quickly stepped forward, a sword hanging from his waist.
"Legal mages." he muttered, shaking his head. "I don't want to stay out here longer than I need to right now, so if you would, please just give us the cargo."
The boy quickly stepped forward, pulling his hood off and yawning slightly. "Sorry about that, I really don't want to bother with this either, but I recently got robbed, so I'm kinda broke right now."
"Just shut up and start Casper."
"Casper..." the man in the front muttered, tapping his chin. "Where have I heard that before? What guild are you from?"
"Sky Tower." Casper muttered, rolling his head and pulling off the rain coat. His dark blue hair reach the middle of his neck and was completely soaked and sticking to his face, though that wasn't because of the rain. For some reason his hair always looked like that, likely due to the nature of his magic. He was several inches taller than Morgan and had bored looking blue eyes. He wore a purple pullover sweatshirt with white strings and a pair of dark blue jeans, as well as a pair of worn brown sneakers.
The man grinned and shook his head. "Casper Weiss. The Wet Devil of Sky Tower. Your reputation precedes you. From what I heard you a washed up mage who lost all his spunk a few years back."
Casper tilted his head slightly, staring at the man with a bored look. "Topher Knapp. Current leader of the Black Sea mercenary organization. From what I've heard your group turned to crime after several members stole most of your money and ditched you." The man quickly frowned and nodded to the pair of identical men behind him. The two quickly took off running down the bridge, both heading straight for Casper, who simply stepped forward several feet.
The duo had dark black hair and stood around Casper's height. "I wonder if he's anything like the rumors stated?" the one on the left asked, looking towards the other.
"Don't even bother." the right one stated, shaking his head. "He's nothing like he used to be."
Casper sighed and turned back towards Morgan, who stood in front of the man. "If I take out more of them I get more money."
"Don't decide that after you walked up!" Morgan yelled, quickly starting to walk forward. "There's five of them. I'll leave you those two."
"We'll see." Casper muttered as the two approached him. His arms rose as the waves began to rise out of the water, encircling his arms. The duo stopped in their tracks, staring at the younger mage began to walk towards them, his facial expression not changing in the slightest. "Not going to move? Well that makes this easier."
"You idiots!" Topher yelled, quickly drawing his sword. "Take him out now!"
"What-"
Casper lunged forwards, arms outstretched in front of him. "Webbed Claw of the Water Dragon!" Both hands connected with a face and engulfed the duo in water. Casper quickly brought his arms down, flipping the two and sending them flying through the air and coming crashing down several feet back, both unconcious. "Not interesting."
"Dragon Slayer magic?" the man behind Topher asked, staring at his commander. Topher scoffed and turned towards the taller man.
"Elric! Your up."
The taller blonde man quickly ran forward, slowly picking up speed. "Mach Drive." he muttered, suddenly picking up speed.
"He's fast." Casper's eyes widened slightly as Elric closed the distance between the two in seconds. "Speed Magic?"
"Hundred Mile Fist!" Elric's fist shot forward as Casper quickly brought a hand up to block, though the attack never came.
"What?"
Elric's eyes widened as he stared down at the boy, who looked surprised for a second, but quickly shook his head and shoved his hands into his pocket. "I can't move..."
Topher and the remaining soldier stared in awe as Morgan popped up several feet behind Elric, hands in front of her as if clutching something. However her appearance had changed slightly. Her skin had gained a tan tint and the two antennae hairs on her head twitched slightly. Two long brown wings sat in between her back and poncho and her fingernails had grown slightly longer. "I see now."
Morgan quickly clenched her fists tighter, glaring straight at Topher. "Insect Take Over: Bombyx Mori." With that Morgan quickly turned and pulled her arms closer, Elric slowly beginning to move closer to her.
"What is she doing?"
The old man frowned, turning towards the man behind him. "You've got better eyes than I do. Look between the two closely. You should be able to see the strings wrapped around him and leading back to her."
"But Art, how did she-"
"The Bombyx mori is more commonly referred to as the domesticated silk moth." Art stated, stroking his white beard slightly. "She's using a kind of magic called Take Over. Using that she's able to absorb the abilities and body types of a certain kind of being. For example I heard of one girl who was able to use it to become a demon. This girl is able to use it to become insects."
Morgan pulled the strings sharply, bringing them over her head. Elric was quickly brought off his feet and sent flying through the air towards his comrades. Topher quickly dodged, however the other man simply stared as the larger man was brought down onto him. The entire bridge shook as the large man slammed into it, several cracks appearing near where he landed.
"I supposed I'll have to do this."
"I call him." Casper stated quickly stepping in front of Morgan and holding up his arms. The waves quickly began to encircle his hands again, this time beginning to circle his entire body.
"Dammit Casper." Morgan muttered, slowly returning to her original appearance. She crossed her arms and began to walk back over to the carriage.
Topher quickly began to walk forwards as Casper took in a deep breath, inhaling the water around him. "I know about how you Dragon Slayers refill your magical power." He sword began to glow slightly as he held it in front of him. "I won't let you! Solar Flare!"
Casper sidestepped, avoiding the light-based slash attack that shot past him, quickly holding his breath once more and staring at the approaching swordsman, who quickly broke out into a run. "Roar of the Water Dragon." A powerful stream of water shot out of Casper's mouth quickly slamming into the approaching man and sending him flying backwards. Topher quickly regained his footing, only to be brought down once more due to the powerful attack.
He stared up at the mage, who had shoved his hands back into his pockets and was currently yawning. Topher slowly stood up, holding his sword up in front of him. "If those rumors of you are true… I can't imagine how powerful you were." He quickly grinned, pointing his sword towards the ground. "Unfortunately for you… I also know another rumor. Solar Abyss."
Casper's eyes widened slightly as Topher drove his sword into the bridge, bright cracks quickly spreading across the bridge. Before the mage had a second to react, their section bridge collapsed, sending the two into the raging river. While he was the Water Dragon Slayer, Casper had a rather embarrassing secret. He couldn't swim.
"Shit." Morgan muttered, quickly rushing over to the edge and staring into the river. She jumped quickly jumped onto the ledge and readied herself, eyes scanning the water for her target, spotting . "Gerridae!" Her skin quickly gained a dark brown tint and her antennae twitched once more. Without waiting she jumped into the water, however the second her feet touched the surface she shot forward, quickly making her way down the river.
"The water skater." Art muttered, watching as the girl quickly caught up with the other mage, dragging him out of the water and back towards the bridge. Several seconds later she tossed him onto the bridge and pulled herself out of the water, quickly returning to normal.
"Piece of cake." Casper muttered, coughing slightly. "I probably wouldn't have drowned y'know. I could just eat the water."
Morgan smirked, staring down at the older mage. "I could have left you there if you wanted." She turned towards the river, scanning the surface to see if she could find Topher. "Looks like he's gone..."
"I doubt it." Casper muttered, pushing himself to his feet. "He was a lot stronger than he looked."
Art quickly made his way over, cackling as he patted the duo on the back. "What a show. I know I hired the right guild for the job. Nice work! Bradley! You should learn something from these two! Maybe then you won't have to inherit this old cart like I did."
"Keep telling yourself that old man. You wouldn't let me leave if you were dead already." the other man mumbled, shaking his head.
"Damn straight!" Art continued laughing for several seconds more as Morgan pulled her hood up and Casper slipped his poncho back on. "Well like I said, nice job kids… but uh, how're we supposed to get across now?" The two turned towards the broken section of the bridge, both knowing it was coming out of their paychecks.
"Your enemy. Your paying for the damage." Morgan stated, grinning from ear to ear. "Looks like I'm still getting more."
"Shut up already!" Casper yelled. "Now we've gotta find another bridge!"
Well prologue's down. Onto the application form. I've got a few rules that I'm going to need everyone to read before make sure you read em. Other than that I can't wait to see all the characters you guys send in! I'll make sure to put the application on my profile page so that you guys will be able to copy & paste.