(A/N: Well, I don't suppose anyone here remembers me from old-school Super Smash Brothers fics? No, I didn't think so. My fics will be way down at the bottom there now, but I was intrigued by the appearance of a M: tG category since I abandoned fanfics in the fall.
Sorry about the run-on there.
I've been playing Magic since around the release of Urza's Saga (mmm…Morphling…) but I have never paid much attention to the novels. Therefore, in case I make an error, don't be too upset.
By the way, when you see "he concentrated: spellname," that obviously means he is about to cast that spell. I think that's it…enjoy!)
Anachronism
Raonull stepped forward, clutching his scalded arm. He had expected a challenge from this embermage, but he had not expected such a vicious attack. After a few preliminary spells to test each other, his opponent, Purcell, had launched a huge Lava Burst at Raonull's sword arm.
Raonull despised the Cabal for this. With his extensive skill in all five colors, he could easily negate Purcell's searing blasts, but the Patriarch had predictably forbidden a quick victory.
"Time to burn, weakling!" Purcell shouted, using all his mana to summon a deadly fireball. Raonull could see the vitality leaving Purcell's face as the embermage poured more and more power into the finishing blow. Everyone in attendance except Purcell, a newcomer, knew that the fight would not end this early. The Patriarch would intervene, if necessary.
It was not necessary. Raonull cast a spell that allowed him to search his inventory and delved deep into his repertoire, finding the perfect spell for this situation. He knew that his white spells would provide the necessary solution, so he racked his brain for knowledge of Samite and Cho-Arrim healing techniques. Purcell, assuming his opponent to be in a state of prayer rather than concentration, launched his fireball directly at Raonull's head.
Ignoring the impending attack, Raonull finally selected the proper spell. He concentrated hard: Samite Ministration.
In a dramatic flash of light, the fireball dissipated into tiny sparks. Purcell watched in horror as the force of the ball was transformed into light and energy for Raonull. Noticing Purcell's look of utter dismay, Raonull could not help but taunt, "Nice try, firebrand."
Purcell roared in anger and prepared another spell, but priority had already passed to Raonull. Tapping into his black mana, he summoned a creature so noxious that he had to pay much of the life he had gained to sustain it. He concentrated: Minion of the Wastes.
Borrowing a small amount of red mana, he infused the creature with enough energy to attack immediately with the help of a Mark of Fury. Acknowledging the audience's cheering with a wave, Raonull sent the monster trampling over to Purcell's side of the arena. The embermage desperately released the energy he had been charging as a small blaze, but the monster would not be stopped so easily. With a blow that echoed through the stadium, Purcell soon found himself intimately familiar with the structure of the arena's walls.
The crowd roared in approval. Raonull raised his sword, which he only used for decoration most of the time, and headed back outside. Suddenly, the champion felt Psychic Venom poisoning his green mana. He turned around to see Yogini, Purcell's partner, who had been nursing her blue magic. Already at low life because of the minion, Raonull reluctantly resolved to avoid green magic.
"You will pay for humiliating my partner!" she shrieked, summoning a colossal Tidal Kraken to charge.
"Maybe another time," Raonull replied, bored. He casually used some black mana to strike Terror into the monster, but suddenly felt his power disappearing.
"Are you sure you want to do that?" Yogini taunted, employing a counterspell to save her creature.
Raonull shook his head. "You blue mages and your counterspells," he muttered, invoking Multani's Presence to negate the disadvantage of countered spells. Seeing the fury in Yogini's eyes, he concentrated briefly on Soul Feast to distract her; she triumphantly countered that spell. Then, he moved in for the kill. He concentrated: Time Walk. Slowing down time would allow him to compose himself and regain his strength. He Disenchanted the offending Psychic Venom, then used his safe green mana to summon a Verdant Force.
Yogini looked on in despair as the elemental loomed over her, but she was out of counterspells and could do nothing to stop it until time resumed its normal course. With his Mark of Fury, he sent Verdant Force to battle with the Kraken.
A saproling appeared, and Yogini assumed priority was hers again. She had just learned the Time Warp spell, but she furiously reflected that she could do nothing to stop the elemental from destroying her. Denying the audience the pleasure of a long battle, she cast Time Warp on Raonull so that she could take her loss and leave quickly.
Raonull tried to shout to Yogini to stop her spell, but it was too late. She had not realized that the Force, outside the effects of the Time Walk spell, would generate saprolings although he himself was still in slow time. When he recognized a Time Warp targeting him, he had no idea what would happen to him. He also felt a sharp pain in his skull; apparently Yogini had accepted her defeat but was determined to make him suffer, and she had cast Psychic Purge. So close to death, the purge hurt far more than it should have, and he chose to undergo Convalescent Care and slip into unconsciousness while he waited for the Verdant Force to defeat Yogini. The deafening roar of the crowd was all that he sensed as everything went black.
Raonull awoke slowly, checking first the status of his mind and mental library. Physical injuries are far less important than cerebral damage to a mage. Ensuring that everything was in order, he tested all of his limbs and digits. Finding no serious harm, he opened his eyes to see a most peculiar sight before him.
"Hey, there, you OK?"
Raonull saw an extremely obese man – if that description even applied – standing over him worriedly. Standing up quickly, Raonull was able to see around the man, and almost fell over in shock. Wherever he was, it was certainly not the Pits. It looked more like a scene from ancient Thran life: machinery and artifacts everywhere. Huge steel constructions blocked the sun, and metallic beasts raced across the roads. The few humans he could see were nothing like the humans he remembered. He saw strange haircuts, bizarre clothing, and shiny trinkets that gave off no magical aura whatsoever.
"I said, are you OK?" the large man asked again.
Raonull, relieved that these people at least spoke his language, answered, "Yes, I think so. Where am I, please?"
"You've got to be kidding me. Where are you? You're in New York City, pal. You're not from around here, are ya?"
Adapting to the dialect, the mage muttered, "Not exactly."
"That's OK, we get that all the time here. Your English is pretty good."
With that, the man walked cheerfully away. Raonull noticed that the man carried an obviously artificial meat product. What kind of deadly animal disease would prompt that dietary change? And this "English"…Raonull had no idea what that was, and whether being proficient in it would be beneficial.
Exploring further, Raonull detected basically no magical energy in this New York City. Certainly, the forests and mountains and so on were present, but their mana was lethargic and not very useful. Fortunately, Raonull carried his mana sources around with him in his mind.
"By Urza!" he shouted suddenly, looking up in the air. A dragon artifact creature soared through the skies, traveling at phenomenal speeds. It was so quiet, no one seemed to notice it. Raonull was not about to let his new home be destroyed by this airborne menace. He would have to battle it, and determine its origin later. He had not heard of such powerful artifacts since the Brothers' War. Grimly, Raonull realized he needed something powerful for this fight.
He concentrated: Shivan Dragon.
(A/N: OK, so I bent the rules a little bit. Anyway, what chaos will the dragon provoke, and how will Raonull get back home? R&R please!)
