Chapter 1, Deus ex Draco
The man sat there, tied to a metal chair, arms uselessly pinned to his sides. Whoever this guy is, he's in for a night. He thought. The door slams, footsteps approach, and he sees him. Some elder council member, he didn't recognize him. Just another lackey of the body of magi. Those stuck up morons that think they can boss the little magi of the world around didn't mean a thing to him.
"Maxamillion Dolor... my my, you've caused quite the stir as of late. Showing off your powers without permission, freeing exiled magi from the tomb of sorrow." He clicked his tongue. "I honestly don't see how you could cause this much of a stir, you look as scrawny and weak as any other trash that comes to my interrogation room. Why don't we just cut to the chase. You are going to tell me where those exiles ran off to and you are going to tell me now. Do I make myself clear?" The man in chains smirked. This guy is just asking for it. He thought.
"Oh no, I'm so scared. Please untie me, I'll tell you everything you monster." The man pleaded.
"Nice try, I'm not that stupid. I know that you have magi tattoos on your hands, why else would you want me to untie you?" The guard said, annoyed by the man's strange braveness.
"Scary and smart, oh what a force to be reckoned with." The man pretended to swoon. "So tell me, how much is the body paying you for this little play date. Or are you just doing it out of the kindness of your loving heart?" The man joked.
"Alright, smartass, you seriously think you can just get away with insulting our head like that? Despicable, you exiles are all disgusting creatures." The man threw back his head and gave out a hearty fake laugh.
"Oh you big, clever, hunk of a man, you, how could I ever outsmart the likes of you! I guess this is the part where I'm supposed to spill all my evil plans so you can run to your politicians and squeal." The guard stood abrupt and slammed an instrument onto the table.
"You see this, boy!? You know how much pain I can put you through!? How 'bout you crack another joke, just a good one for me. Make me laugh!" The guard yelled, venom dripping from his words. He has a pixie stick? Dang, this will be harder than I thought. The man thought. Pixie sticks are metal rods imbued with a certain one of the 5 majyyks. Fire, water, earth, air, spirit, we all knew these elements all too well. The tattoos on our bodies were how we channeled such energies, tis but the way of the magi. What this grunt wasn't counting on is where exactly my tattoo is. Of course he thought it was on my hands, why wouldn't he? It's such a convenient place, no way I could burn myself, easy to use, and it was safe. I, however, am not safe. The man internally monologued. The strange man leaned in close to the guard.
"I got a good one for ya. What has two legs, squeals like a pig, and is covered in blisters? I'll give you a hint." As soon as the man finished his sentence, his eyes flared and his mouth opened wide. A long stream of fire escaped from the tattoo on the strange man`s tongue. The flames engulfed the poor sap as he ran, screaming from the room. The man quickly melted his chains and ran past the other guards.
"Wait! I didn't tell you the punchline!" As he boasted cockily, 3 guards stood in the way of the exit to the building, all wielding pixie sticks. A guard threw his air pixie at the man, trying to catch him off guard. Rookie, the man thought, almost feel bad for doing what I'm about to do. Almost. He took a deep breath, charging his fire majyk. A spark of embers and suddenly the whole airline of the pixie was aflame, with the guard at the base of it. The fire quickly spread to the other guards, horrible screams echoing off the walls as their skin melted. The strange man laughed maniacally.
"Get it? It's you! The idiots who dared capture Maxy the Dragon!" Yelled the man, not caring that they were dead and definitely can't hear his wittiness. The man allowed their bodies to char, enjoying every last moment of their death, and stepped over them, walking towards his freedom. He loved the way the sun felt against his olive skin, a new day was beginning. Today was a victory for the refugees. Wait, what's that in the distance?
{Character Switch}
Awakening from a long nap, I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to fall back to sleep. Stupid sun, I hate the way it feels on my pale skin. I groaned and sat up in my bed. I forgot to shut the curtains last night. Hope no one was peaking on me in my sleepwear. Like that'd ever happen, not one living person would even bother looking at me, let alone trying to befriend me, and that's the way it should stay. I slowly stood up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. Another boring day in the life of a reg. Regs are what the magi call us normal humans, along with treating us like dirt of course. Guess that's what it takes to stay safe... I walked over to the mirror, looking at the horrible scar on my chest. An ouroboros, a holy symbol of a snake eating its own tail, had been carved into my chest with a knife. Even after all these years it was still tender. Fun father-son memories, what a swell guy. The spirit rune, a dreadful curse my father left me as a child. Stupid magi, I don't care at all about their stupid ways of life. I'd rather just be a reg, like mom wanted. Technically I'm only half reg, the other half being magi, thanks to my father.
My father was not necessarily a good man, hell, he named me Deus. God, he named me God for God's sake. The guy was a lunatic, majyk had trampled his mind like a rose in a stampede. My mother died in labor so I never knew her, all I know is that she was a reg, and like a reg, she wanted her son to be a reg. Dad wouldn't be having any of that, so he shrugged off her dying wish like it was nothing. He pulled me out of school to teach me the ways of the magi, all of their rules, and all about their leaders, the body of magi. The body consisted of 5 people. The 2 arms; the most skilled knights of the magi army, sworn to protect the body. The ear; the magi through which all is heard, nothing can be done in this world that the ear doesn't know about. The tongue; the only magi capable to listen to the words of the head. His job is to speak for the head, as listening to his voice could be very dangerous for regs and weak magi. And finally, the head; leader of all magi. The head was a force to be reckoned with, having mastered all 5 majyyks and actually being able to use them all. He was feared by magi all across the land, even regs knew of his glory. My dad always talked about him as if he were a god. He used to tell me that one day, the head would be challenged to a duel to the death, by another master of all majyyks, as it has always been, and that that challenger would be me. Thus the name. Of course, I never bought into this crap. But then again, it was that kind of thinking that earned me this scar in the first place...
On my twelfth birthday, my father decided that I was ready to get my first rune. Of course, my first rune would have to be the hardest one to survive the training. Many who try to learn it die in the process, and my father knew this. He carved the rune right into my chest with a knife. "You gotta do it the old fashioned way, not any of this hippy ink nonsense" Of course I could barely hear any of his words through my bloodcurdling screams of pain, you'd have thought someone was being stabbed...oh wait, that's exactly what was happening. My dad died from unknown reasons later that week. Yeah... unknown. Looking back the carving of the rune was nothing compared to what came afterwards. Horrifying abominations floated just out of my sight, darkness turned to faces, tendrils came from my closet and hands scraped from the walls. Screams of the damned, all around me. It just wouldn't stop. The only way I made it through all of this torture is by the friends I made within all these visions. Blue lights followed me, at first just looking like flying flames but later becoming whole people. Most of these lights, called wisps, were nice to me. They were just lost souls, left to wander the parts of our realm that most didn't even know existed. That's how I met-
"Deus, are you ok? You look spaced out again. Are you monologuing your life story in your head again?" The strangely luminescent girl lay on my bedside, her white eyes rolling at me.
"What did I tell you about sleeping in my bed Sharlette?" I moaned, my voice dripping with leftover sleep.
"Come now, one nights not going to hurt is it?" Sharlette pleaded.
"You know how I feel on this matter, Sharlette, and you know why it can't happen."
"So I can know what you're thinking at any given time, big whoop. Doesn't mean we can never fuck." Sharlette scoffed
"Just stop already" I was laughing at this point. "Even when you're just teasing me it sounds creepy, how long ago did you die even?" She gave me a pouty face, her long blonde hair falling over one eye.
"It's not polite to ask a woman her age Deus, and for your information I can be any age I want! Ethereal projections and all." Her body blurred and morphed into the shape of a kitten.
"Now you're just showing off." I laughed. Her body changed back.
"Maybe I am. Or maybe I'm just that awesome." She joked. I threw on a shirt and walked towards my kitchen to prepare breakfast, ignoring the horrifying faces looking into my windows. I was used to them by now, but today was a big day.
"Why is it a big day?" Sharlette appeared in front of me.
"Stop reading my thoughts it creeps me out." I groaned
"Can't help it." Sharlette replied with sass in her voice. I sighed and poured myself a bowl of cereal.
"It's a big day because today is my interview for the new job I desperately need. Money doesn't just appear from the sky you know."
"It could, with the right help..." Sharlette trailed off.
"No." I said simply. I grinned at her and continued to prepare for my big day.
It was very hot out today. Even Sharlette was shimmering from the heat waves. I hope I don't get my suit sweaty, it was expensive as heck. Guess that wasn't the smartest idea seeing I'm looking for money. I wandered down the sidewalk, looking for where I was supposed to be going. Am I lost? No of course not, I just need to find a map. The city was very empty today, I only saw 1 or 2 regs walking down the sidewalk. Strange, it feels hotter than it should be. The sun was behind a cloud at the moment and yet I felt as if a ray was being focused directly on me. Wait...is that building on fire? Oh god, are those policeman on fire? Oh GOD, is that guy breathing fire? I quickly turned away as if I didn't see a thing, but apparently that just wasn't going to happen. My hair swept across my face as a gust of burning hot wind hit it. Fire spread all around me.
"Deus, It's a magi!" Sharlette seemed frightened but knew what might have to come next. We may have a fight on our hands.
"Sorry kid, but I leave no witnesses. Afraid you're just going to have to burn like the rest." The shrill, insane voice belonged to an olive skinned man, walking straight towards me, his tongue glowing with a pentagram, the rune for fire.
"Sharlette, now!" Sharlette wasted no time and jumped into my body through the Ouroboros on my chest. I could feel the dark energy of her spirit filling my soul as I prepared myself for what may be my death.
"Who's Sharlette?" Said the confused man. " Kid are you nutty? Just like a reg to be an insane little turd, im doing you a favor putting you down." As he made his stupid cliche battle speech, I rose from the ground, dark energy swirling around me. I might be able to beat his fire with my spirit, this might actually work. I will survive today, I will not die, I have an interview!
"Spirit magic? But you're just a reg, I'd be able to sense you if you were a magi! What the heck even are you?" He ranted. More idiotic ranting, does this guy ever shut up with the exposition.
You're one to talk. Sharlette`s voice came from inside my head.
Ah shut it. I thought jokingly. I raised my right hand into the air and tried to ball up some of Sharlettes spirit energy to use as a projectile. The more I used the more tired she would be after the battle, she might even pass out. You know what? I'm gonna go ahead and use a lot of energy.
Jerk. said Sharlette.
Yep. I thrust my arm towards the strange man, hurling the dark ball of majyk. He swiftly dodged out of the way of the blast, leaving a gaping hole in the street. I'm not paying for that.
"You fool! Do you really think that you can stop Maxy the Dragon!?"
"Honestly... yeah I think I have a pretty good chance." I replied
"You are absolutely no fun..." Maxy sighed.
"I get that a lot." I rushed forward with a ball of spirit energy in my palm, he dodged and breathed fire towards me. I used my spirit energy to fly out of the way, but not in time to save my suit. The shoulder had been charred, a hole burning into it and red raw skin underneath.
"You idiot! Do you have any idea how much this suit costs?" I said in between gasps of pain. Wow, who knew fire hurt so bad?
"Now do you see that there is no hope for you!?" Maxy laughed, sounding like a dork.
"No, I see a huge bill and a dead body." I exclaimed.
"Wait, what dead body?" As he stopped for a split second to think about my oh so clever set up to a fabulous joke, I flew behind him and pierced his heart with dark energy. He fell to the ground, defeated.
"That one." I internally squealed with how cool that sounded as Sharlette flew out of my body, looking very exhausted.
"You know, as glad as I am that we're alive and everything... I could really go for a smoothie." Sharlette panted.
"You can't drink Sharlette, you're dead." I said, wondering how the heck she could be thinking of that right now.
"A girl can dream can't she?" Sharlette fluttered her eyelashes.
"You were a girl when you died, right?" I asked, remembering the whole ethereal projection conversation.
"Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't. You could always find out some other way..."
"I'm just gonna ignore that, I need to get to my intervie-" noon. The clock tower in the middle of the city just struck noon. The interview started 15 minutes ago. Not to mention I look like I just came out of the world's biggest easy bake oven.
"You know what? Let's get smoothies."