THE DARK MAGICIAN,
ROHAN
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: Due to the massive amount of detail, and my choice of wording for this story, I cannot update as often as I would like, but I will update as often as possible. MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE URL FOR IMPORTANT NOTES AND MY REVIEW QUOTA! In other words, if you don't review, I'm not going to update at all. I don't care what kind of review it is, just give me something to let me know that you read it. As for all the legal business, I don't own Yu-gi-oh! or any of its affiliates, because if I did, I would be a very wealthy man with a high-paying job, not some guy typing away at a computer every night writing FanFictions. But you know the laws of copyright, so if you steal anything of mine, I will sue you to the point that I will be a very wealthy man without a high-paying job. Thank you for your time, R&R please. Enjoy!
Hello, my friend, do you have a moment? For I would like to tell you a story beyond any you have ever heard before, a story of might and magic, the story of a Dark Magician, a Dark Magician named Rohan. You do? Then please, have a seat.
In the beautiful land of Orbos, a majestic land of mystics and mystery, it is an era where the promise of war is threatening Orbos's inhabitants. The Purn Empire, its oppressive grip held on its people for centuries, was beginning to expand. This expansion instilled a great and terrible fear in the hearts of the common. Riots and protests were beginning to break out in several locations all across the land, and it seemed that all of society would soon be thrown into chaos.
However, far to the east, lay one place, untouched by the Empire's tyranny, and it served as a ray of hope for the people of Orbos. Here was where they resided. It was a place known for harboring many of the greatest powers in existence, a place known only as the Temple of Sages.
The Temple of Sages was the home and training ground for many of the world's magicians. This was the place from which the first Dark Magician had originated, and has since been the place of origin for all magicians, and among these magicians, is the hero of our story.
Celeste, another Dark Magician, was walking through the temple one day so that she may deliver an important message to her friend, Rohan. She made her way to his living chamber to find Rohan, aerially suspended, in deep meditation, his staff lain in his lap.
Celeste had been Rohan's friend and companion since before she knew the meaning of the word. She is currently twenty-two years old, two years younger than Rohan, with golden-blonde hair, and the most beautiful of blue eyes, so deep, that they would change the light reflected off of them into a soft, blue glimmer.
Celeste slowly moved toward Rohan, being cautious not to disturb him. When she was within three feet of the Dark Magician, she stopped and whispered, "Rohan."
Rohan was immediately awakened by the sound of his name, and his deep, purple eyes glistened in the light above his head. He slowly lowered himself to the ground, took hold of his staff, and stood up, Celeste walking toward him.
"Hello, Celeste," said Rohan, "What brings you here?"
"This," said Celeste, holding up a scroll that she held in her left hand, opposite her staff, "It's a summoning from the Dark Sage."
"The Dark Sage has summoned me?" replied Rohan, "I wonder what it could be....."
Celeste simply shrugged her shoulders.
"But you know how the Sage works," she said, "He'll only say what needs to be said, when it needs to be said, and only to the one who needs to hear it."
"A mission, perhaps?" questioned Rohan.
"What ever it is," answered Celeste, "you'd better hurry. You don't want to keep him waiting."
Rohan acknowledged Celeste with a nod before stepping into his doorway. He then turned to Celeste, a questioning look about him.
"Celeste," began Rohan, "when you said "him," you didn't mean the Dark Sage, did you?"
Celeste's face became a melancholy expression after Rohan had said those words. Rohan shut his eyes and sighed once before stepping out of his living chamber.
The Temple of Sages was a magnificent place. In the land of Orbos, where technology only influenced a handful of cities to any great extent, the Temple of Sages was a place where technology bowed its head before the power of wizardry. Shimmering walkways that looked as if they could only be made of glass, in bright shades of yellow, green, red, blue, orange, and every other color one may find in the sky at any given time, rose up and twisted and overlapped and branched out into every chamber within the temple. The inside of the temple was hollow, contrary to these paths, and one enormous column, stained in bronze and decorated in elaborate inscriptions, that rose up from the center of the temple all the way to the top where the light from the outside shined through. Below, several forms of life sprung forth and flourished. Many varieties of trees, grasses and flowers, as well as several species of birds and insects lived harmoniously, with each other as well as the magicians, within their environment.
Within the articulately designed walls of the temple, also stained in bronze, was where the magicians sharpened their skills and lived out their daily lives. A total of four-dozen open gateways, sprawled out along the walls of the temple, opened up into enormous hallways that contained another dozen rooms and then lead to another path that lead to another hallway with another dozen rooms, until finally they would lead to the gateway that lead into the Observatory, where the Dark Sage resided, which was built inside of the center column, high above the rest of the gateways.
As a matter of fact, if magicians did not possess the ability to Drift, a magician's gift that allows them to glide and even hover over the ground at low altitudes, anyone within the Temple of Sages would have to walk a great distance to reach their destination.
Rohan looked up at the gateway overlooking his living chamber, which was located on the Western side of the temple at the ground floor. This was the gateway that lead to the Observatory. The light reflected off of Rohan's eyes, as well as the purple bangs that escaped from underneath his headpiece. He Drifted from one walkway to the next with little effort, climbing higher and higher until he finally reached the gateway to the Observatory.
Rohan walked along the red carpet that led to a pair of ebony doors, lined in gold, that were linked in their center by a large, green orb. The long, dark hallway was lighted by a series of golden torches that lined each side of the carpet.
Rohan walked up to the doors and raised his left palm to the orb. The orb shined brilliantly, and then the doors themselves shined as well. The light, as well as the doors, vanished, revealing the dwelling place of the lord of all magicians, the Dark Sage.
As soon as Rohan entered the Observatory, the doors returned in the same fashion that they had vanished. Inside, he took in all that there was to see. The walls of marble, accompanied by the numerous stacks of books that reached high into the Observatory, along with the light, emanated from a spell once cast on the ceiling, colored the room in the most peaceful of blue shades. In the center of it all stood the result of a spiraling stairwell in the form of a tall, marble column, at the top of which existed the thrown of the Dark Sage, as well as the device known as the Eye of Eternity.
The Eye of Eternity was a massive, enchanted telescope that allowed whomever that looked into it to see the entire world of Orbos from one location. It was made of a series of platinum cylinders that decreased in size as they extended downward from the ceiling, and was suspended by a spell over the throne of the Dark Sage. At the end of the bottom cylinder was a glass lens with a hieroglyphic eye displayed on its face.
Rohan Drifted up to the top of the stairwell and bowed his head as he kneeled before the Dark Sage. The Dark Sage, ancient, his eyes filled with the wisdom of the ages, looked down at Rohan from his throne.
"Arise, Rohan," he said, his voice deep and raspy.
"You summoned me, Sire?" asked the young magician, rising to his feet.
"Yes," answered the Sage, "As you know, the Purn Empire is expanding. The Royal family of Yur has requested our services, and I have chosen to send you to their aid."
"Yes, Sire," acknowledged Rohan, "When shall I depart?"
"Their orders did not request immediate assistance," answered the Sage, "but make haste all the same."
"Yes, Sire," acknowledged Rohan, "Will I be accompanied on this mission?"
"You will," answered the Sage, "You are to gather Celeste and Celtian before you depart."
"Understood," said Rohan.
Rohan bowed his head once before he began to Drift back down the stairwell. He stopped, however when the Dark Sage addressed him.
"And, Rohan," said the ancient Sage, Rohan turning to face him, "tell him that I said hello."
Rohan nodded once more with a sad grin before Drifting back down the stairwell and exiting the Observatory. Once outside, he leapt from the walkway and Drifted down to the ground where Celeste was waiting for him.
"What did he say?" asked Celeste.
"We are to collect Celtian and then depart for Yur," answered Rohan.
Celeste nodded, and the two made their way to the only ground-floor gateway on the Eastern side of the temple. There, they walked down the hall along a bright yellow walkway that eventually lead into Combat Training.
Though magicians were the primary inhabitants of the Temple of Sages, it also served as the home to its share of other creatures. Celtian, an Elf that had served as the head of a special unit of Mystic Swordsmen, was sentenced, two years ago, to be retrained by the temple. He was a Blonde Elf, and his face bore decorative, black scars that ran from his bright green eyes down his cheeks. These scars symbolized mourning in the Elvin Swordsmen's tradition.
Combat Training was a room that consisted of a vast, grassy field, with a single, lush, green tree, its branches stretched out nearly to the edge of the field, in its center.
Celtian stood, ready for battle with his Broad Sword before the blonde swordsman, Dane, a Dragon Warrior, a race of warriors, more accurately, humans, that were infused with the power of dragons, armed with a sword that was forged from a dragon's horn, at the base of the tree. The wind blew softly over the grass, and the warriors' hair moved slightly with it. The light from above, shining through the leaves of the tree, reflected off of the warriors' swords and onto the grass as the two stood perfectly still in a classic stare-down. A cricket leapt from a blade of grass, and with that, the two had at one another.
Celtian made the first strike with an overhead slash that Dane dodged before attempting to land his own attack, one that was stopped by Celtian's sword. The Elf's blade sparked off of Dane's as he drug it across the razor- sharp edge and struck once more at the other swordsman with a sideways assault, one that was stopped by Dane's sword. Celtian then struck again from the opposite side, with the same results. The Elf then slashed at Dane's feet, and Dane spun as he jumped out of Celtian's range, landing with his feet spread apart. Dane then charged Celtian before using a technique where he ducked down, and then leapt into the air once he was within arm's length of Celtian, spinning with his sword tipped down. The two swords came in contact a total of three times before Celtian's sword was thrown from his hands and he was knocked off of his feet. Dane landed with the tip of his sword pointed at Celtian, and when Celtian's sword stabbed into the ground, the duel was over.
Dane sheathed his sword and held out his hand to Celtian. Celtian took Dane's hand and was pulled to his feat.
Rohan and Celeste had watched the duel and started over to the two warriors now that it was safe.
"Don't tell me you're getting rusty, Celtian," joked Rohan as Celtian walked over to his sword.
"He was just lucky," responded Celtian, coolly, pulling his sword from the ground before sheathing it.
"Don't worry," said Rohan, "you're bound to get plenty of practice real soon."
"A mission from the Dark Sage?" asked the Elf.
"Mmm hmm," answered Rohan, "I think you'll be happy. It's a mission to Yur."
"Yur?" asked Celtian, surprised.
"That's right," responded Celeste.
"There's only one thing that I need to do," mentioned Rohan, "then we depart."
Celtian nodded in acknowledgement, Celeste waved goodbye to Dane before the swordsman went back to practicing, and the Elf and the two magicians continued out of Combat Training and out into the temple. They eventually made their way to the center-most, ground-floor gateway on the Northern side. There, they entered a vast graveyard, all of the graves marked with a white headstone that bore the likeness of those whose graves they marked. In the center of this graveyard stood a tall, bleached, five-sided obelisk, a tall, white, stone statue of a different magician standing on each side, with a headstone much larger than the others set beneath each statue.
Rohan stood before the statue of a Dark Magician, looked up at its face, and then looked back down to its headstone with a sad smile.
"Hello, brother," began Rohan, "Sorry I'm late. I've received a mission to Yur. You know how it is, people get worked up over the Purn's expansion and, once again, the temple's got to lend a helping hand."
Rohan kneels down to wipe the dust from his brother's headstone, where it reads the name, Magus McKaine.
"I'd bet you could make it all right, Magus," continued the Dark Magician, "What happened to you? You just left the temple on a mission one day, and when you came back you were..."
Rohan looked away and shut his eyes to hold back his tears. He refused to cry in front of his older brother, because Magus never cried in front of him.
"I wish you were here, brother," said Rohan, "It gets really hard around here sometimes and I don't know if I'll always be able to handle it on my own. Not like you could. Nothing was ever impossible for you. You were the best."
Rohan paused for a moment before continuing.
"Celeste is doing ok," said Rohan, "She still cries every once in a while, but you know how it is. She puts up a strong front for everyone, but I could always tell when she was sad. She misses you, too."
"Rohan," called Celtian from the entrance, Celeste standing next to him, "I hate to interrupt, but..."
"I know," answered Rohan, "I'm almost done here."
Rohan stood up and looked at Magus's headstone.
"I'd better get going," he sighed, and as he began to walk away, he suddenly turned and said, "Oh, yeah, Grandpa says hello."
The two Dark Magician's and the Elvin Swordsman made their way outside of the temple and departed for Yur, unaware that this seemingly ordinary mission would lead them into an unfathomable quest of great discoveries, dire perils, and a secret that would change their lives forever.