It was dark and desolate, the only change to the dreary scenery were the two figures locked in mages combat. One was robed in a deep violet, and the other was wearing a garb of orange and blue, and a mask covered his face. The first man's face was as though the angels themselves had carved it, and his hair concealed his left eye and most of his back. He drew all of his power from the elements that surrounded him. He was deadly, and angry.

The second man's skin was completed hidden from the world and the only thing that made him look as though he was a human were the two beady, shiny holes in his mask, they had to have been his eyes, or what replaced them. Words were issuing from his mask; he was summoning the powers of the void to destroy his enemy.

"Ewan, fool, you know not who I am, do you?" asked the first man.

"Yes, that is true, but I know this; you're the plague that is spoiling the new Empire of Magvel, and you are the common enemy of all," came the immediate response from the man in the mask.

"Well, it appears as though you have the correct impression of me. It is true I am the bane of the emperor Ephraim's existence, and I am the evil that is felt by the great dragons, and they all refer to me as 'The Dark Sage', I use the powers of the earth for purposes beyond your comprehension, I will summon the creatures of the night that will destroy all of the empire, but before then I shall destroy you!"

"Destroy me and you destroy the solemn mage, you destroy the keeper of the void and all life will be thrown into it, including the powers of the earth that give you your strength."

"That is all part of my plan Ewan, all part of my plan,"

"Fool, you forget, if the void has no keeper t will destroy all, and that means you too."

"I know that you Ewan, and Amelia, the high general of the empire, have a child, L'Arachel, and she will do nicely as the keeper of the void until I am ready to be thrown in there, and you know that she will bend to my will, I can be quite 'influential', oh and by the way, you're already dead."
As this was said Ewan fell to the ground screaming in pain, and then stopped, stopped all his breathing and stopped his life.

"Forget your war of the stones, now is the war of the Dark Mage."