CHAPTER ONE - Names
Carlos DarkCaller was a young Necromancer, living in a Massive Fantasy Palace not far away from Wizard City, where Carlos went to school at Ravenwood School. Carlos' home was a very spacious castle, where he lived alone except for his pet dog Prince Diesel, a red and black canine who could cast healing magic for his master.
The first floor of the interior of his castle was his living room, where he had four flowerpots where he kept whatever plants he had at the time, usually Pink Dandylions or Snapdragons. On the left-hand corner of his living room, as soon as you walked in, there was a couch and two red cushioned chairs in front of a wooden coffee table. In the center of his living room was a large fountain. lining the walls of his living room were bookcases filled with many magnificent books that Carlos collected (or possibly stole) on his travels throughout the Spiral.
From the living room was Carlos' museum, where Carlos kept his marvelous paintings and pottery (some he did himself and others he discovered). Ancient tombs were kept in this room as well, and shields depicting the Seven Schools of Magic hung on the walls.
Past the museum was a small shrine to the Dragon King, one of the oldest dragons. You'll read more about him later, so don't feel like I'm not explaining anything. This shrine was comprised of two Dragonskull Markers on each side of a single Dragonmoon Marker. The Dragonmoon Marker was surrounded by four tourches, three blue and one red. In front of the two Dragonskull Markers were insence plates that burned strong-smelling insence to appease the Dragon King. The way into the shrine was a Dragonspyre arch that Carlos discovered in the Wizard City Bazaar.
On the second floor (if one went upstairs from the shrine) you would first find a small room where Carlos had a Dragonspyre Torch behind a small Grizzlehiem table where a Crystal Ball was placed. Beside this table to its left and right were two wooden tables where Carlos kept his paperwork and homework.
Beside this workplace was a lovely kitchen with only a single table. Although Carlos lived alone, he had four chairs around that table. On the left wall (assuming you came in from the workplace) was a large pile of jellybeans in between a pile of boxes filled with food such as vegetables, pumpkins, chicken, and hot dogs. On the right-hand corner were four food carts carrying cabbages and other vegetables. Beside the carts was a bar where a pair of Soda Barrels hung on the wall behind it. The barrels were marked "Root Beer" despite actually containing Mountain Dew. On the bar counter was a single large mug.
Going upstairs from the kitchen would take you to a room with rows of benches in the back and, upon a higher platform, a red chair behind two large books, each being held up by lecterns. This room was decorated with Krokotopian pillars and Dragonspyre torches, with dragon-themed obelisks in the back behind the seats.
Going past the platform, upstairs and to the right would bring you to an outdoor area, where Carlos had his bedroom. Two beds were there, one for Carlos and the other for his girlfriend Destiny, who sometimes came over (she'll appear later, don't worry). Beside each bed was a wooden nightstand; on Carlos' nightstand was a green book with a ciphered title (it read "Jmijhony if qho Pwdogq Igo" to the naked eye, but if deciphered... well, you'll find out later unless you want to decipher it yourself); on Destiny's nightstand was a beautiful sunflower. The room also had a small closet and a large dresser, but beside the closet was a teleporter to a floating piece of land above the castle. Carlos enjoyed going up there to relax after every day.
There's a little bit more to the palace (plus, Carlos also has two other palaces), but I'm sure you want to get to the story. Well, here we go. Carlos woke up one Autumn morning with Prince Diesel curled up at his feet. "Good morning, Diesel," Carlos said.
Prince Diesel barked with excitement. Good morning, master, Diesel barked. What kind of big, bad monsters are we fighting today?
Carlos yawned. "Probably none, Diesel," he said. "Maybe we'll go on a quest in Marleybone or maybe we'll go to the Pet Park. But, first things first; today's a school day for us Wizards."
Ooh! Ooh! Can I come? Diesel barked.
"Sorry, Diesel, not today."
Aww, why not?
"Just not for today, okay?"
Aww, okay.
And so Carlos got everything ready for school at Ravenwood, one of the best wizard schools in the Spiral. He was dressed in magic orange armor and a horned helmet (Ravenwood doesn't have a dress code per se) and wielded a magic sword called the Dragonrider's Fire Blade.
Carlos was a student of the Death school of magic, although he aspired to create a new school of magic. He walked underneath a waterfall in the Commons to enter Nightside, an underground place where the Death School had fallen a few years ago. Inside, Dworgyn taught the Death students their magic. The class used to be taught by Malistaire, a wizard whose wife had died and who decided to take over the Spiral when she did.
Carlos stepped inside the Death school building and sat down. After a minute or so, Dworgyn stood up and addressed the class. "Good morning, students," he said.
"Good morning Mr. Dworgyn," most of the class responded (one kid said "Mrs. Dworgyn" just to annoy him).
"Ahem," Dworgyn cleared his throat. "Today we will be learning advanced Death techniques, starting with the Skeletal Pirate. Now, the Skeletal Pirate spell summons an undead pirate from another dimension to attack your foe. He will only last in our dimension for so long, so be careful how you use it."
For about an hour or so, Dworgyn went on about the proper way to cast the Skeletal Pirate spell. Tomorrow, the students were all to use this spell in Sunken City, which was right beside the Death School. After the lesson was over, everybody left the Death school. Most of the students teleported to their homes or dormitories, but not Carlos. Instead, he walked out of Nightside and to Ravenwood proper, into the Myth School.
"Um, excuse me... Mr. Drake?" he asked as he slowly opened the door.
Cyrus Drake, the Myth school teacher was behind his desk, with his back turned to the door. "What is it, mister DarkCaller? Do not pester me; I am a very busy man."
"Yes, sir; I just wanted to ask you something."
"Make it quick," Cyrus grumbled.
"Myth school's magic is cast from True Names, correct?"
"...Yes... I see you have learned something this school year, mister DarkCaller. I had just hoped it would be from your school of focus."
Carlos scowled, but ignored the insult and simply asked, "I simply wanted your opinion on the matter of the True Names of mythgods, sir."
Cyrus looked shocked for a moment, then said, "Myth school teaches the use of the true names of beasts and monsters. The gods and goddesses of myth are not to be controlled by mortal men."
"Yes, sir."
"I am warning you... if you know a single True Name of a mythgod, I ask you now to forget it. I may teach the school of Myth, but I would never dare upset Balance. Do you understand, DarkCaller?"
"Of course, sir!" Carlos told him.
"Good. Summoning monsters and mythgods are two very different things. Let us leave control of the Spiral to God, shall we? Now, young wizard, I suggest you leave now."
"Yes... sir." And Carlos walked out of the Myth school and ported home.
When Carlos got home, he walked inside to find his living room covered in vanilla and strawberry ice cream. Prince Diesel slowly walked towards Carlos with his head hung to the ground. Sorry, Carlos, Diesel wimpered. You know how much I love vanilla and strawberry.
Carlos sighed. "It's okay", he said. "Just go to our room, okay?"
So Diesel went to Carlos' room, leaving Carlos to clean up the mess. Afterwards, Carlos went downstairs to his study. It was a messy study, with maps on the floor and broken jars of mysterious chemicals on the crafting table to his right. Carlos also had a pair of two desks where he wrote his research notes on his findings. Between these two desks was a large lectern with an old burnt book on it. Carlos sat down in a comfortable chair and opened the book entitled "On the True Names of the Angels and Devils".
Carlos scrolled through the trillions of pages in this huge tome until finally coming to a page in section H entitled "Historius." Historius' page was, like the other pages in the book, mostly about the mythgod. At the bottom of the page was Historius' True Name.
Carlos looked closely at the name and then said Historius' True Name (which, in this story, will be rendered as "Historius" in itallics). Suddenly, a flash of bright light shone behind Carlos and a tall, gold-robed man appeared. His robe was adorned with green-colored letters from a thousand different languages (some which have even gone extinct). His elderly face was bearded and his emerald eyes shone in the light of Carlos' room.
"What are your wishes, your majesty?" Historius spoke.
"My only command is that you tell me something about Cyrus Drake: how much does he know about the True Names of mythgods?"
"He is very knowledgable on the subject, master; however, he knows not a single name. Once, he knew the name of Tyche, mythgoddess of luck, but after an incident in Krokotopia, he had Merle Ambrose remove her name from his mind via a memory spell."
"I see. That was all I required to know. Return from whence ye came, Historius."
"Yes, master." And in a second flash of light, Historius left. Carlos sat in his chair, pondering on what had happened.
So, Cyrus cannot control the mythgods, I see... Carlos thought to himself. This gives me an advantage against the Myth school. When I build my army, as according to prophecy, perhaps Myth school shall be first.
A few moments later, Prince Diesel came downstairs to Carlos' study. Carlos... Diesel whimpered, Do you still love me?
Carlos turned around. "Diesel, of couse I love you. You're the best dog ever."
You... You mean it?
"Of course, Diesel. Now, come on, it's time to go for a walk in the backyard."
Aww, YAY! Yay, yay, yay!
Diesel barked. Carlos went upstairs to get the leash, but before he did, he heard a sound coming from the Dragon King shrine; A sort of roaring sound.
Carlos... Well done, the voice said. You will soon become Lord DarkCaller, as according to prophecy.
"Yes..." Carlos said to the voice in the shrine. "Thank you, master."
Carlos, I am not your master; I am your aid. I am the one who gave you the book of the prophecy, am I not? I am merely a guide, willing to help you.
"Thank you, sir."
You are welcome, DarkCaller... You are welcome.