The Dragon Charges the Wall

There is a land, parallel to our own. This land is full of warriors, spirits, but mainly… Monsters. This is Dominaria, a world unknown to us, and for a good reason too. The creatures of this land are dangerous and lay waste to civilizations. They declare war after war, against other civilizations or monster herds, proving who has the upper hand in power. Today, was one of those days.

A human army was preparing for their upcoming raid against the monsters from the Mountains. As the archers and wizards sat upon the cities great stone walls, awaiting to strike from above, an army of soldiers below stood their ground to protect their almighty home. The sky lit, as the sun were to rise; though this was not the case. The light was coming from the army of monsters charging from the distance. The commander screamed his battle cry as the battalion of human warriors charged the stone creatures. Most of the monsters were tall and had a rock like exterior, heat coming off of their skin. As the warriors fought the beasts, the battle seemed lost but for the human's secret weapon: the Wizards on the walls. They casted aquatic magic, which proved useful against the flaring demons. The door from the stairway opened and a tall hooded man stepped onto the wall. Two wizards were shocked who had arrived upon the wall.

"Arcanis the Omnipotent!" One wizard exclaimed in joy but also shock, "Why have you come to the wall? You would be safer below."

The tall man stood at the edge of the wall, the two wizards ready to catch him if he fell. Arcanis lifted his robed hand and waved it to the side. A giant wave of water had appeared from the airs vapor and washed away the legions of monsters. The human army cheered. Arcanis had made the wave phase through his troops, not wanting to waste innocent lives. He turned to his men and raised his hands before shouting for them all, "We have not finished yet."

A mighty roar was heard as a shadow casted over the wall. A giant behemoth of a monster was flying infront of the wall, a raging flame leaking from the sides of its mouth. The soldiers shouted as the wall around them seemed to crumble from the beast roar alone. Arcanis turned to face the massive demon, "The Mighty Siege Dragon."

"Ha! Balefire Dragon attacks directly!" An excited voice rang out through the school yard. A young man, named Kazuki, slapped a card onto the stone table outside his school, "I win again!"

Two boys groaned and gave the red haired boy 100 Yen each. He took the money with a smile and put it into his pocket, putting his deck back together. Kazuki is a boy in his first year, making him fifteen. He was fairly tall and had a skinny figure. He usually wore beige jeans, a green T-shirt, and on certain days, a beige vest which he wears unzipped. He waved at the two now upset boys, bidding them farewell from their loss. At this school, the biggest thing now is a card game called Magic. A player of Magic is known as a Caster, a term made since the game was called Magic. The students hold tournaments and bet money in matches. Of course, only the two Casters can bet money. The tournament room is only accessible to second and third year students too, so the younger students can only spectate.

"You won another match, Kazuki?" A young voice chirped out from behind. When the young man turned around, he saw one of his friends, Usagi Himori. She stood out from most people for one distinct reason she had two long strands of her gold hair that resembled long, sagging rabbit ears. She was short, about at Kazuki's shoulder height even though they were the same age.

"Totally! I was able to get Balefire out right away and win!" He took out a round wrapper and opened it, taking out a stick of chocolate. Biting half the stick, he looked around, "Is it only me here today? Where are the other Casters?"

"Apparantly, the third years are holding an exhibition match today of the new Trial Decks." Usagi said with a big smile, "We should go see!"

Kazuki chuckled and ate the rest of his chocolate, "Nah! I don't need to watch students that I could easily beat!"

Usagi sighed and tugged on his arm, "Come on! The Casters in these matches are different! You've refused to watch any matches in the school arena! Let's go!"

"U-Usagi! I'm not gonna watch!" He shouted as he tried to resist her pulling his arm. He slid his arm out of her grip and sighed.

As the two continued to bicker, a group of third and second years walked by. The two first years quieted down and watched the group. One of them stood out the most; Kaito Umoi. He was a tall third year student with a mass of blue curly hair, like an afro but it goes down to the shoulder blades. He looked at Kazuki through the corner of his eye, who felt a shiver down his spine. Usagi watched the students as well. When they walked inside, Kazuki pulled his eyelid down and stuck his tongue out at the door, "Meeeeeeeeh!"

Usagi slapped his shoulder, "Stop that! Those were some of the schools best Casters!"

"Which you stand no chance against!"

The two looked infront of them and saw one of the second year students, "Your Kazuki, ain't cha? The Dragon user who challenges the students in the quad?"

"What's it to you?"

The student chuckled before pointing at the first year, "Think you're so good? The school has an assembly today. I dare you to challenge the first Second or Third year student to enter that arena!"

The two young teenagers gasped in unison. That kind of challenge would be suicide, since the third years are basically the school champions. This idea… was perfect to Kazuki. He hit his fist on his own chest then pointed at the student, "ACCEPTED!"

Usagi gasped and slapped his shoulder, "You idiot! That's a stupid idea!"

"You better not bail out on it."

The student left as Kazuki chuckled loudly… inside screaming like he pushed the giant red button on a bomb. He knew inside that it was a stupid idea but didn't want to look like a coward. He sighed and held his deck tightly in his hand.

"You're not going to keep that promise are you?"

At Kazuki's house, a college student laid in his bed, which was a mess of sheets and pillows. He opened his tired eyes and looked at the clock. He slammed his fist on it, a split second after it rang its alarm. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, adjusting the toque he slept with. Approaching his mirror, the lightly tanned man got a look at himself. Even with his toque, his blonde hair was a mess.

"Trent!" A female voice rang from downstairs, "Hurry up and pick up your brother!"

"Hmm? Brother..?" He then realized what time it was and slipped on a dark green jacket, jogging pants and ran out the door, "D-dammit! Kazuki's almost off school! Why didn't you remind me, bud?!"

Who was he talking to? He was already half way down the short street from his house.

In the school arena, the first years were all talking and ready to take their seats… all but Kazuki and Usagi, who stood next to the doorway, waiting for the higher classes to appear. As he awaited, he took a good look at the arena. It was a huge circular arena, with students seated high above the center, out of any harm's way, if there was any. The arena itself was very bland; just a flat platform. He groaned, "This is what the big fuss has been about?"

As he said so, the second year students entered and all took their seats. Usagi looked at Kazuki in confusion, "Hey… You didn't challenge them."

He shook his head as the third year students made their way to the door. Once he heard the door open, Kazuki jumped in the way and shouted for all to hear, "I CHALLENGE YOU TO A MAGIC BATTLE!"

The whole crowd, including Usagi were not shocked… but scared. Once Kazuki looked at who he challenged, he felt a horrible pain in his body. He had just challenged Kaito Umoi, the Third Year champion, to a Magic Battle. The third year stared at the student as the other third years quickly began talking about what just happened. Kaito glared down at the student and pushed him aside, "I will show you how foolish you are to challenge me."

Kazuki swallowed and stared at the door as the rest of the students walked into the arena. What did he just do?

The two students stood in the waiting room, awaiting the battle to start. Kaito had the assembly put to a halt for the battle. Two officials were going through the players decks, checking for illegal cards or fakes. Once finished, they loaded the decks into two belts, one red and the other blue. The two were called on over.

When they approached, the two officials put the belts on the students, with what looks like a metal rod on it, "What's this for?"

Kaito scoffed as a tight red bracelet was put on their wrists, the bar then was connected up the ribs, along the arm and attached to the bracelet. On the bracelet, was a blue glass circle, "Huh?"

The two then entered the arena, the crowd cheering wildly. Kaito went to the far end of the arena and turned around to face his challenger, who was busy realizing how large the arena really was. He almost couldn't even see the students in the crowd since they were high up and far apart. Kaito whistled at Kazuki like he was a dog, "Let's get this over with."

"Casters! Prepare to Battle!"

Kaito into a pose, which involved him holding his arm out then slightly bending it, his palm facing the ceiling. Upon making this pose, a blue energy formed around him. Kazuki jumped and stepped back as he felt a gush of wind. Behind Kaito, a tall figure arose but he looked strange. He was like a line art picture with no color inside, the lines being blue.

"I will destroy you here, with my monster, Arcanis the Omnipotent!"

Arcanis stood behind Kaito and looked down at the challenger, making Kazuki jump, "WHATS GOING ON?!"

Usagi face palmed and groaned, "If only he came to watch the matches…"

"CASTERS! Choose your arena."

Kaito was given five cards to choose. He picked on up, looked at it then showed Kazuki, "We will battle in the Islands!"

Around them, the arena seemed to change. The audience vanished and was replaced with sky, the ground was replaced with one foot of water and the walls were now open space. In the distance was a structure on an angle and halfway submerged in deeper waters.

In front of Kazuki, seven floating cards appeared, "H-huh? Is this my hand?"

"Never seen a Magic Battle, have you?" Kaito stated as he took one of his cards, "I start. I will start by adding one Island to my Mana Pool."

The card vanished and the Island symbol appeared with a 1 on it. Kaito lifted another card up which vanished, "I will also call Shield Sphere to the battlefield."

Kazuki expected a monster to appear but… it didn't. A card just appeared over Kaito with the floating characters '0/6' but the 6 became a 5. Kazuki's turn was now. He drew a card from his Library, the holder on his belt, and looked at his hand. He lifted up one of his Mana cards.

"I'll start by adding one Mountain to my Mana Pool!" The symbol for Mountain appeared with a 1 on it, "I end my turn."

"What's even going on? Where are we? Where's the audience?" Kazuki began thinking to himself, "This makes no sense…"

"Draw!" Kaito drew a card which floated to his hand. He moved one card to the side, "I add one Island to my Mana Pool and use two Island Mana to equip Shield Sphere with Ensoul Artifact!"

A second card appeared, floating behind Shield Sphere's card. Its stats changed too, from 0/5 into 5/10, "Shield Sphere! Strike down Kazuki!"

The Sphere appeared, shaking with blue energy. It shot toward Kazuki, "H-hey hey hey!" The Sphere's force shoved Kazuki off his feet… over a small ledge. He fell into the deeper water. He slowly sunk in the water, before he opened his eyes and covered his mouth. He realized that… he had taken a breath. He could breathe under water and could hear.. Cheering. The audience was there then, but hidden. He took a breath and swam back to the surface, "Wh-what's the deal! You could have killed me!"

"I didn't though. I did though, take five points of Life from you."

Kazuki realized this too. He saw a scoreboard in the air, which consisted of floating words. Under Kazuki's name, the 20 turned into 15. The red head swam to some kind of land, which was a platform under a foot of water. He stood up and went to wipe his arms of water but saw… He wasn't wet, "The water isn't real…?"

"It's your turn, Kazuki." Kaito said in a calm yet loud voice.

"… Draw! I add one Mountain to my Mana Pool!" Kazuki lifted a card from his hand, "I pay two Mana to call Dragon Fodder! Using this card, I can create two Goblin Tokens!"

Two cards appeared above Kazuki, both tapped. Kazuki took a deep breath before declaring, "I… end my turn."

Kaito drew a new card and put it in his hand, "Draw. I add one Island to my Mana Pool. I then pay three Mana and call Glacial Wall to the Battlefield!"

A card appeared above Kaito, next to Shield Sphere, "Shield Sphere. Attack Kazuki again."

The Sphere appeared again and rocketed toward Kazuki, who's instinct made him jump away. The Sphere missed but curved back and his Kazuki's back, throwing him back into the water. His 15 life went down to 10. Kaito shook his head as he watched Kazuki swim back to the platform.

"Kazuki…" Usagi said from the audience, almost ready to cry, "D-don't give up…"

The red head drew his card, "I add one Mountain to my Mana Pool. I also use one Mana to place Elixir of Immortality on the Battlefield."

A gold bottle appeared next to Kazuki, "I also pay two Mana and tap the Elixir to use its effect."

The red head took the bottle and drank down the contents, his life going back to 15. Kazuki wiped his mouth as the bottle vanished, along with his graveyard and Library shuffling themselves. Kaito sneered at the cards effect, "You've made your ridicule longer then it needs to be."

"Goblin Token! I need you to attack Shield Sphere!" The goblin appeared, snickering as it ran across the water and jumped at the Sphere. It swung down and struck the Sphere, putting its Toughness at 9.

"I end my turn!" Kazkui stood by as Kaito went with his turn. He had to beat this guy… If he didn't, he would be a laughing stock of the school. He couldn't give up!

"Draw. I add one Island to my Mana Pool."

Kazuki grinned, "If he were to attack me now, I could use Goblin Token and block it. Even if he just attacked Goblin Token, he can't attack me with Glacial Wall since it's a wall!"

"I cast Blue Elemental Blast for one Island Mana, which allows me to destroy any Red spell or creature on the field!" Kaito proclaimed. A powerful blast of Blue Energy shot out of the card and destroyed Kazuki's Goblin Token, "Shield Sphere, attack Kazuki!"

The Sphere flew at Kazuki, "I block with my other Goblin Token!"

The Goblin jumped in the way and was destroyed by the Sphere. Kaito sneered, "Tch… Your move."

"Draw! I add one Mountain to my Mana Pool! I start by spending one Mana to use Lightning Bolt! With this card, I can cause 3 damage to the opponent or a chosen monster and I choose Shield Sphere!"

A strike of red lighting hit the sphere, sending its Toughness to 6, "I also spend 3 Mana and place Cloud Key on the Battlefield! With this card, I can select one type of card in my Library and lower its Mana Cost by 1! I choose Creatures!"

"I block with Glacial Wall!" The wall's toughness went to 5 as Kazuki ended his turn, "Draw! I add one Island Mana to my Mana Pool and I end my turn."

"Right… I need to destroy Shield Sphere first. That is my main problem in this battle…", Kazuki felt the pressure alright. It was crushing down on him like a giant weight, "Draw! I add one Mountain Mana to my Mana Pool! I use one Mana to cast Lava Spike! This card allows me to deal 3 damage to you directly!"

Kaito looked up and saw the large mass of flames which crashed down on him, finally lowering his Life to 17. The crowd was silent… then suddenly roared in cheer. The flames burst to show Kaito glaring in Kazuki's direction, "How dare he…"

"I also use two Mana and tap Elixir of Immortality!" The red-head drank from the bottle and put his life back to 15, "I'm not letting you get any farther than that. I end my turn."

"DRAW!" Kaito shouted in anger, "I add one Island Mana to my Mana Pool!"

The crowd went silent. Kaito had 6 Mana in his Mana Pool now, "I use 6 Mana and call Arcanis the Omnipotent!"

In a power blast of water, shooting up like a geyser, the hooded man appeared, towering over Kaito. His stats of 3/4 appeared above him, "Shield Sphere! Attack this idiot!"

The sphere struck Kazuki and brought is life to 10, "I end my turn!"

"Draw! I add one Mountain to my Mana Pool. I also use Elixir of Immortality's effect again." Kazuki sent his life back to 15, "I also use Cloud Key's effect and lower the cost of one of my creatures and use 4 Mana to call Scourge of Valkas!"

A large dragonic creature appeared then faded away as its card appeared above Kazuki, "When I call Scourge of Valkas or any other dragon to the battlefield now, I deal damage to you or your monster equal to the amount of Dragons I control!"

"Go, Scourge!" The dragon roared and shot a large fireball at Shield Sphere, putting it at 5 Toughness, "I end my turn."

Trent walked into the arena, "Hmm? Assembly?" He then saw the 'rabbit ears' of Usagi and went over to her seat, sitting next to her, "Hey, Bun bun."

"Trent! Kazuki is in the arena!"

"Ah… HE WHAT?!"

"Draw! I add one Island to my Mana Pool!" In a shout, Kaito called his attack, "Arcanis and Shield Sphere, attack Kazuki!"

The crowd watched as the Sphere hit Kazuki, sending him to 10 Life again. Arcanis flew toward Kazuki and stopped infront of him. With a wave of his hand, a powerful tidal wave hit him and sent him flying into one of the buildings windows. He rolled on the stone floor and stopped on his front. His life was at 7 now, "Next turn, match is mine."

Kazuki got to his feet, struggling to get up. When he stood up, he was in the room, not able to see Kaito, "What… What am I going to do…?"

As Kaito went to draw his card, he got a strange feeling, "Huh?" The card in his hand… felt warm. He lifted it to his head and read the name quietly, "Siege… Dragon? I-it's affect… It will work!"

He ran to the window, "Kaito! I wouldn't claim victory just yet! I draw and use 1 mana to use Lightning Bolt on Shield Sphere!"

Shield Sphere was hit and its toughness went down to 2, "I also use four mana, using Cloud Key's effect, and call the mighty Siege Dragon!"

A roar echoed through the sky as clouds rolled in and darkened the blue sky into black smoke. A large fireball fell from the sky and before hitting the ground, the fire burst to show a giant dragon inside. The Dragon roared loudly and looked at Arcanis, "Arcanis!"

"Siege Dragon. We have unfinished business." Arcanis spoke to the new creature.

"Indeed we do."

"What?! A new monster?!" "When did that monster get there?!" "Is that even a legal card?!" "Is Kazuki cheating?!"

The dragon looked back at Kazuki, "Were you the one who called me?" Kazuki nodded in reply, "Good. A strong hearted young lad. Tell me your name"

"I am Kazuki Niza!"

"Kazuki Niza… I am in your care."

"Right! I use Siege Dragons Summon effect!" Kaito then saw his Glacial Wall vanish to his graveyard, "Siege Dragon destroys all Walls on the field! I also use Scourge of Valkas's effect where I can attack any creature or player!"

Scourge of Valkas roared and shot flames at Shield Sphere, finally destroying it, "Scourge of Valkas, attack Arcanis!" The Dragon flew toward Arcanis, who flew at the dragon and threw blasts of water. The water hit the dragon, not phasing the beast. Scourge grabbed Arcanis and threw him at the ground, making a small crater and sending him to the graveyard. Kaito now had no monsters on the field. He shouted in anger and drew a card.

"DRAW!" Kaito threw a card into his Mana Pool and tapped 3 of them, "I call Captain of the Mists to the Battlefield! I also use Annul and destroy Cloud Key!"

Kazuki drew a card and grinned, "This is gonna be a good turn. I use 1 Mana and cast Lava Spike!"

The mass of flame hit Kaito, who was screaming in pure rage. His life went down to 14, "I also use 1 Mana to give Scourge of Valkas plus 1 power!"

The dragon flew at Kaito and breathed fire at it, sending his life to 10. Siege Dragon attacked next, sending Kaito to 5 Life, "I activate Siege Dragons effect!"

"ANOTHER ONE?!"

"When Siege Dragon attacks, if there are no walls on the field, he deals 2 damage to every monster you control!"

Siege Dragon flew at Captain of the Mists and blasted him with a fire ball, putting its toughness to 1. Kaito drew his card, pulling on his collar, "I USE FOUR MANA AND CALL WALL OF FROST!"

A mist covered around Kaito as he glared at Kazuki, pure rage in his eye, "Captain of the Mist attacks you directly!"

"I use Scourge of Valkas to block!" The dragon's toughness went down to 2 as Kaito ended his turn, "Draw! I use 2 Mana to use Elixir of Immortality." Kazuki put his life up to 12 and tapped another Mana, "I use 1 mana to boost Scourge of Valkras again."

The Dragon flew at the Captain of the Mists, "I block with Wall of Frost!"

The wall's toughness went to 2 as Scourge flew back to Kazuki. When it landed though, it had ice growing on it, "Whats happening?!"

"When Wall of Frost blocks an attack, that monster cannot untap until your next turn."

"Damn… Well, I attack your Wall of Frost with Siege Dragon!"

"I will handle this fight!" Siege Dragon flew at the wall and shot a fireball, destroying the wall. Kazuki ended his turn. This next turn will decide it all.

"Draw! Captain of the Mist attacks Scourge of Valkas!" The warrior captain stuck the dragon with a silver blade, destroying it, "HA! I END MY TURN!"

"I've never seen Kaito like this… It's like he's a new person."

"I know."

"DRAW!" Kazuki drew one last card, "I add one Mountain to my Mana Pool and use 6 Mana. I call Ryusei, the Falling Star!"

The dark sky returned as a long snake like creature flew down, it spun around then stopped around Kazuki, covering him with its long body. It roared fiercely and loudly, making the crowd cover their ears. It had stats just like Siege Dragon, "Siege Dragon…. ATTACK KAITO AND END THIS!"

"Yes, My Lord!" The giant dragon flew up high then sky bombed toward the player.

"I block with Captain of the Mists! DRAW!" Kaito looked at his card and gasped, "J-just a Mana Card…? I-I end my turn."

"Draw." Kazuki spoke calmly, "I win this match."

"Ryusei and Siege Dragon! Both of you attack Kaito and end this battle!"

"I will, in the name of the Niza Kingdom!"

"Your wish is granted." Ryusei spoke as the long dragon flew into the sky. Siege Dragon flew up with it and the two soared down to Kaito, who ripped his collar as he screamed out.

"THIS ISN'T POSSIBLE!"

The arena vanished as Kaito laid on the ground, nearly passed out.

"… THE WINNER IS KAZUKI NIZA!"

The crowd made an uproar, cheering for the student who had just beaten the champion of the Third Year classes. Kazuki raised his fists up high and shouted in victory.

In his deck, Siege Dragon thought to himself, "The child shows promise. I like that in a master."

Usagi and Trent cheered loudly as the dragon appeared in a spiritual image, like Arcanis did, "Kazuki Niza, you are an honorable fighter. I will stay with you and aid you in your future battles"

"You got it!" Kazuki gave the dragon a thumbs up.

In a graveyard, a figure stood in the center, holding a card in their hand, "… You are the key to my goal. Do not disappoint me."

First day of the Summer Months

My journey took me to a military civilization. The city had built walls to protect their town's folk. A smart strategy in my eyes. I see many wizards on the city walls, obvious for defense. But as I continued to watch, I witnessed a giant dragon appear: the Siege Dragon. The dragon's mighty roar alone destroyed the cities entire wall. This monster is a force to recon with, indeed.

~Planeswalker