Wizard Chronicles 3: Orbs of the Gate of Oban

Chapter 3: Mark of the Guilds

White energy encased with blue entrails swirl about the Carson Central campus. The energy fades to reveal a dirt battlefield laded with scars from explosions and arcane weapons lying about the landscape. Kali and Olivia appear on the far side of the field along with Willie and Jesse. Bleachers appears across from them suddenly fill with people who were watching the exchange from the alley.

"What is all this," Kali throws her hands in the air observing the scene before them. "I thought we were still on campus."

"Technically, we still are," Willie steps forward onto the makeshift battlefield. "This is an ancient proving ground once used by the original Council of Guilds. "Jesse, would you cast your Tablet of the Guilds in the center there?"

"Okay," Jesse walks to the center of the battlefield as his card materializes on his communicator. "I cast the artifact Tablet of the Guilds!" A huge tablet appears on an adjacent wall behind the ladies. Jesse rejoins Willie and the figure. "What now?" The figure steps onto the field opposite the bewildered ladies.

"Kali Danielson," the figure points directly at her drawing a look, "your soul is descended from one of the original members of the Council of Guilds. If you would walk to the tablet, the symbol that resonates with your soul will light up thus signifying the nature of your trial." Kali walks to the tablet as it begins to glow. All ten symbols light up as each of them peer deep into the young wizard's soul. Nine of the symbols fade out as one symbol, a red and white fist, remains behind. "Your symbol is that of the Boros guild. Your mana master will take it from here." Willie walks to the center of the field.

"Okay everyone," he notices his crystal glowing even brighter looking at the crowd. "Here is how this is going to go down. By order of the ancient rules of the guilds, the chosen wizard, and in this case her aura blended partner, will have to battle a chosen opponent of the elder's choice. Both of you will have to accomplish two specific objectives in order to pass the trial and receive the chosen mark."

"And what exactly are these objectives?" Olivia quizzes her ex trying to get a straight answer."

"I'm not going to say. You'll figure it out as the challenge progresses. At least you'll be able to use your cards. Now, let the challenge begin!" The guys fly off the field as eight angels appear in front of the girls.

"I hate it when he gets cryptic," Kali flares her white aura as two cards materializes on her communicator.

"He probably can't help it," Olivia admits flaring her dark red aura blending with Kali's white aura. "We're under ancient rules here so he most likely can't say what we're supposed to do."

"Fine. Let's just beat these creatures then we'll figure out our next move. I summon Binding Angel!" The angel appears in front of her. "Attack," the creature charges towards the enemy angels. Up above the battle, Willie, Jesse and the hooded figure observe the events along with the crowd.

"So what exactly is going on here?" Jesse shakes his head at the unfolding battle. Loud gasps echo from the crowd as Olivia is blown backwards taking a shot from one of the angels. "This seems a bit lopsided."

"It's rather simple," Willie leans forward seeing Kali's Akroma, Angel of Fury defeat three of the angels. "Kali and Elena share the same soul and that soul is a descendant of one of the ten leader guilds that existed before the second great cataclysm. The figure next to me is a keeper of the orbs and the one associated with this trial pointed him directly at Kali. Isn't that right," he turns to the figure who removes his hood to reveal a elderly individual in his mid sixties.

"You just about figured it all out," the man speaks with a slight ruggedness signifying his old age. "My name's Rheziah and I'm the current keeper of the Orb of Balsan, the objective in this trial. The orb pointed me to Kali but I didn't expect the aura blend with the other one."

"Yeah, our last crisis kind of brought it to the forefront."

"So if this Orb of Balsan is one of the two objectives," Jesse observes the ongoing struggle, "then what's the second?"

"Both ladies are somewhat underpowered to hold the orb," Rheziah speaks up as to not be heard by the crowd or the ones battling. "So they have to gain new power . . ."

"Meaning they have to become mana masters," Willie finishes seeing the last of the angels fall in defeat. Kali and Olivia stand in the center of the battlefield, back to back, waiting for the next target.

"Didn't you say that wasn't possible due to the lack of white energy?" Jesse remembers.

"True but this entire battlefield is encased in it. The girls have to realize if they want to survive, they have to tap into the energy that's around them and not rely on their combined powers alone. That's the second objective and the only way to get the orb." More angels appear on the battlefield.

"Didn't we just defeat a group of angels?" Olivia stands strong as two cards materialize on her communicator. "I don't know how much longer we can keep this up."

"I know we're strong but it feels like we're losing power by the second," Kali breathes heavily seeing even more angels materialize surrounding them. "Our combined power can't keep this up for too long . . . unless . . ."

"What is it? I feel the energy drain too and we're not going to last past this round."

"Maybe we don't have to. I remember Willie telling me something a while back after the Halloween fiasco about the way energy flows."

"Huh? I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Just follow me on this. He said that mana is everywhere and in everything. When our natural power isn't enough then use the energy that's around us. I bet if we can concentrate hard enough we can absorb some of the energy that's surrounding us and this battlefield."

"I think you've lost it but since we're low on power, I'm willing to try anything if it means beating these things and passing this trial." Standing back to back, the girls close their eyes and relax letting their combined auras flare to its brightest peak. Energy surrounding the battlefield begins to pour into the girls.

"I think they've figured it out," Rheziah cracks a smile seeing the energy react with their auras. "They're on their way."

"I agree," Willie steps forward seeing the crowd fixated on the scene on the field. "The first objective is about to be completed." Cheers ring across the crowd seeing the unfolding sight on the field. Energy continues to flow into the girls as Kali and Olivia get pulled deep into their collective subconscious.

"Where am I?" Olivia looks around in a panic at the vast landscape encased in her dark red aura. Kali walks up to her encased in her white aura. "What is this?"

"I'm surprised that you're here," Kali embraces her partner observing the landscape. "I haven't seen this one yet." A figure approaches the girls. "Elena?"

"It's me," she stands in front of them in a white dress laced with red entrails with a charm resembling a symbol of a fist around her neck. "It's time to reveal more about me."

"I don't know if I can handle more of these surprises," Olivia admits seeing the charm around Elena's neck start to glow. "My first question is how am I even here?"

"A consequence of the aura blend with Kali combined with the infusion of power you two have undertaken. Now for the revelation: I'm one of the servants from the guild of Boros, otherwise known as the guild of warriors. At the end of this conversation, both of you will become mana masters and keepers of this," she holds out her hands and red and white energy coalesces into the shape of an orb, "the Orb of Balsan. This is the source of energy of the guild and needs to be placed at an altar somewhere on Aceleon."

"Where is this shrine?" Kali asks as the energy begins to evaporate and the scene dims.

"Willie will point you to it," Elena fades out and the scene returns to the battlefield. Both girls are encased in red and white auras with golden entrails. Standing face-to-face, both girls notice an orb hovering between them. The girls touch the orb in unison releasing rings of red and white energy eviscerating the angels surrounding them.

"Looks like they have it," Rheziah folds his arms smiling in approval.

"I thought you had it," Jesse turns to the elder who continues to smile amongst the cheers of the crowd. "That would mean . . ."

"You gave the orb to Elena before she crossed over to our world, didn't you?" Willie surmises noticing Rheziah confirm his and Jesse's suspicions. "You're one slick dude Rheziah."

"That's nice of you to say," Rheziah flies down to the field in front of the girls still holding the orb. "Congratulations, you two. You both have passed the ancient trial of the guilds and discovered new power. Miss Danielson, if you would put your right hand onto the symbol the mark of the guild will be imprinted onto your hand." Willie flies down next to Kali.

"Hold on a second. That maybe how you did things back then but we are not barbarians." He turns to Kali. "Instead of getting a nasty mark on your hand for the rest of your life, just line your communicator up to the symbol and the same thing will happen." Kali walks to the tablet and lines her communicator up to the symbol. Flaring her aura, the symbol reacts with her power imprinting a fist onto her communicator's cover. Standing behind her, Olivia's communicator goes through the same reaction becoming engraved with the same fist symbol.

"This looks good," Kali admires the new symbol and the feeling around her. "This feeling is incredible. It's almost like the world itself is screaming."

"I know the feeling," Olivia shivers with the intense feeling of the surrounding energy.

"You'll get used to it with time," Willie walks to them with a smile on his face. "When it first happened to me it took a while to get used to the power."

"I hate to interrupt this little pow-wow," Principal Maclin walks to the group, "but the bell to end the period is about to ring in the next five minutes. I believe it's time everything returned to normal, don't you?"

"Not a problem there," Willie snaps his fingers and the whole scene evaporates into the wind revealing the campus as if nothing happened. "Does that suit you just fine?" the bell rings ending the lunch period.

"I hate it when you show off like that," Principal Maclin walks away as students make their way toward their next class. Kali joins Willie seeing Rheziah staring into the parking lot.

"That's one strange old man," she whispers to him still holding the orb she and Olivia obtained. "By the way, Elena said that you know where this is supposed to go." Looking down, he notices the orb.

"I'll take you both to the sanctum after school," he tells them both walking to the band hall to get their things. "Hopefully everything will make some sense then."

"I can't make it," Olivia sighs in disbelief, "I have a photo shoot for Wizards Zone Magazine then and won't be available for the rest of the day."

"It's cool. I only need one of you for this anyway." The group goes their separate ways toward their classes in the main building.

The sun starts its afternoon descent as shadows grow around the entrance to the underground altar room in the Aldertown ruins. Carrying two orbs in her bag, Tia lands at the site noticing a crew mulling about. Approaching the entrance, she is stopped by two individuals wearing all black.

"Sorry miss," one of the male guards speaks with a deep tone in his voice. "No one is allowed down the passage."

"Who says?" Tia angrily demands. "I have business down in the altar room."

"We're under orders by Darius Langston to keep people out of the shrine," the second guard affirms keeping his arm in front of the young lady.

"Out of my way," she flares her black aura holding out her right arm. "I cast . . ."

"Fine, we'll step aside." Tia rushes past them and into the shrine. Reaching the altar, she notices Darius staring at the tablet with a giant sledgehammer. "What the hell are you doing?"

"None of your business," Darius snaps not taking his eyes off of the tablet. "This thing was the source of the last cataclysm so I'm going to make sure that never happens again."

"You know as well as anyone that if that thing is messed with, the world could come apart at the seams."

"I don't care about that. I'm under orders to destroy this thing for the good of the . . ." Megumi enters the chamber pulling a card from her deck.

"You need to listen to her," Megumi shouts out getting both of their attention. "There are forces at work that we don't understand yet."

"Stay out of this Megumi. I cast Arrest!" Streaks of white light emerge from under the wizard restraining her. "That'll keep you out of this. This world needs to be reworked in the name of the Osarian Brotherhood."

"You've out of your fucking mind," Tia revolts setting down her bag. "The Illumatros will make sure those fools never accomplish these foolish ambitions."

"Silly, girl. I was never truly part of your little club. My boss is willing to pay top dollar for the symbols so this thing must be destroyed." Raising his hammer, he steps back and starts stepping toward the tablet gaining momentum.

"I cast Naturalize!" a voice rings out getting everyone's attention as Darius's hammer disappears in a cloud of green dust. Two figures step into the light and one has another glowing orb.

"What in the hell are you doing here and who's the chick with the orb?"

"You're one to talk you greedy son of a bitch," Willie glares at his former friend with his arms folded. "What stake does the Osarian Brotherhood have with this thing?"

"He says that he's going to destroy the tablet to sell to his leaders," Tia calls out to him getting his attention.

"Tia Tomlin. Didn't think I'd see your mug again. I'll deal with you in a second but you could at least put the Orb of Rhedall back in its place." He turns to Kali clutching her orb in her chest listening to the conversation. "The stand third to the left of the one where Tia is putting that orb is where the Orb of Balsan goes. Just place it there and walk away."

"Got it," she nods walking to an empty altar stand. Looking around, Willie notices Megumi bound by an array of white energy.

"Somebody please tell me why Megumi is chained like an innocent puppy?" Walking over, a card materializes on his communicator. "I cast Mage's Guile!" the energy is released allowing the young girl to get to her feet. Kali rejoins Willie as Megumi joins them.

"So who are these characters?"

"The one that's pissed over at the tablet is the one we met last night, Darius Langston. The one with the red and blue orb, which I didn't know she even had, is Tia Tomlin; another of my co-workers who helped seal off this place." Energy begins to flow from the orbs as several hooded figures take form above the orbs.

"Gather in the center my children," the figure above the Orb of Rhedall motions the teens to the middle of the room. "We are members of the Council of Guilds; the original protectors of the world you know."

"It's all well and good Ozarian," Megumi speaks up for the group, "but what exactly is the Council of Guilds and what did you do?"

"We protect and keep the balance in the world," a female voice echoes through the room scaring the teens, "but as you've heard last year, we failed in that task resulting in the second great cataclysm.

"We fear that another cataclysm maybe in the near future," another male speaks in a softer tone.

"As I've told most of you," Ozarian affirms the sentiment. "I sense that three of you are descendants of us leaders and I sense a new individual who already has the mark of what we called the Boros clan." Kali steps up showing her communicator with the mark she obtained.

"That would be me," she announces to the spirits showing her marked device. Willie's communicator begins to glow a bluish-white glow as the Orb of Rhedall begins glowing as well. Tia and Kali's communicators begin glowing as well. The tablet symbols also start glowing in conjunction with the orbs. "What's going on now?" Willie looks at his communicator.

"What the . . ." he stammers out as streams of energy streak from the tablet and into the orbs before hitting the individuals with Willie getting hit with a blue and white energy stream, Tia getting hit with a red and blue energy stream and Kali getting hit with the red and white energy stream she experienced earlier in the day.

"Well, I guess the orbs have selected members for the new Council of Guilds," Ozarian admits seeing everyone who got hit struggling to stay on his or her feet. Willie gets to his feet holding his head.

"Did somebody get the number of that bullet," he groans getting his bearings seeing everyone groggy. He looks at his communicator as it's taken a new look. "I guess this thing has changed . . . wait a second," he notices the symbol of a spiral with three triangles on the outside, "this is the symbol on Aceleon's flag."

"I see you've gotten my mark; the symbol of what we called the Azorius Senate. We made the laws that the land had to follow."

"Didn't the game say that most of the decrees that the Azorius came up with went ignored for the most part?" Tia remembers. "Not exactly the picture of authority."

"You're one to speak," Kali turns to Tia with a scowl. "I see your mark resembles with that of the Izzet League." The mark resembled a dragon folding its wings. "You of all people shouldn't dare to talk about authority."

"Who are you talking to me like that? I'm the leader of the Illumatros; the last person who tried to backtalk me . . ."

"Like I give a damn. In case you didn't realize, my mark is that of the old Boros Legion and they enforce the laws handed down by the Azorius. That means I bring the heat."

"Ladies," Willie steps in between the bantering females. "Enough. Like it or not we're all in this together although I have no idea what this even means."

"You have to reform the council, reconnect the rest of the world and rebuild your respective guilds," Ozarian speaks up getting everyone's attention.

"Getting the other seven orbs is paramount," a raspy voice emerges out of a third figure in a red and blue cloak, "meaning you'll have to find them too."

"Let me get this straight," Willie surmises looking at the gateway behind the altar stands. "We have to find the other seven orbs and the individuals they go with to reform the council, use these gates, which we're not even sure are still functional, to somehow reconnect the rest of the world, and travel to all of these countries to rebuild the guilds." Ozarian nods confirming his summary.

"There's more to this isn't there?" Megumi walks up with her hands on her hips. "You did say that there's fear of another cataclysm but it's obvious there's something you three aren't telling us."

"More will be revealed in due time. Now we must part for now. Gather the rest of the orbs." The cloak figures fade into the emptiness of the room. Megumi looks around the room.

"Um, where's Darius?" she questions getting everyone's attention.

"That snake must've snuck off during the story," Tia figures seeing Willie holding his head next to the Orb of Rhedall. "What's up with you?"

"I don't know," he sighs turning to the gate. "All of this is a bit much. I mean, finding the orbs and rebuilding the guilds. We're not even sure where to start looking." The orb starts to react again seeing two individuals, one male and the other female, appear to the shock of the group. "And you are?"

"I'm not sure you'd recognize me, son," the male stares directly at Willie looking confused. "My name is Davis Johansson," he smiles.

"Dad," Willie stumbles back a bit and is quickly caught by Kali. "How . . . is this possible?"

"The power in the orb has been waiting for you," the female apparition responds looking at Tia. "I've been waiting for you too. My name's Rhonda Tomlin."

"Mom," Tia mumbles trying to keep from crying. "It's been a long time."

"Okay," Kali steps forward with Willie and Tia still in shock. "Why and how are you two even here?"

"We can't stay long but we had to see our kids," Davis admits noticing the three orbs in their respective places. "You see, we are actually still alive. We've been trapped in the void between this world and the Magic multiverse."

"How long have you been there?" Megumi questions seeing the figures begin to quickly fade into the emptiness of the room.

"Over fifteen years," Davis manages to get out as the images evaporate.

"We have to tell you; to free us find the Gate of Oban . . ." Rhonda's voice fades out.

"Oh great," Tia throws her hands in the air in defeat, "now what do we do? We don't know anything about this gate."

"Simple, Tia," Willie admits holding up his communicator with the Azorius symbol. "We do what we always did when we're stumped; we wing it. We'll figure it out as we go. Right now we need to get out of here. I'm on information overload."

"That I actually agree with," Kali leans on his arm with a smile. Everyone starts down the pathway back to the surface as Tia catches up with Willie.

"What about our parents?" Tia whispers to him walking into the afternoon sun. "How are we going to help them?"

"We'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it," he whispers back. "Right now I'll get to work on how we're going to rebuild the guilds."

"I've already started work on finding the other orbs. I'll have my group get to work on finding out who gets what orb." Reaching the surface, everyone goes their separate ways.

Streetlights flicker on as darkness descends on Varayan. Entering Trailview Mall, Willie and Kali sit down at The Snack Shack after ordering a light snack amongst the shoppers and other diners in the store. Kali notices Olivia and Melanie walking by and waves them over.

"You two look like hell," Olivia observes the look on Willie's face not aware of their presence. "What did you guys go through today?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know," Kali tells them not taking her eyes off of her man. "We're still trying to process the things we heard down there."

"Why hasn't he taken a bite?" Melanie looks at Willie staring at his food. "Hello? Anyone home?"

"Leave him alone, sis. He's got a ton on his mind right now."

"It's ok, hun," he takes a deep breath. "I found out something that I don't know what to do with and it's personal. By the way, tomorrow I want to take a look at what happened in the trial and see what it did to your blended powers."

"Makes sense because we need to figure out how to rebuild the guilds." The conversation continues as shoppers rummage in and out of the stores around them.

Outside of Valenia sits houses scattered about in the landscape. Most of the homes on the stretch of road leading into town are at least a half mile apart. Arriving at a black two story house, Darius enters and sees a Caucasian individual wearing a royal getup laced in purple and white sitting at a table in the living room.

"So, what have you discovered," the male speaks softly as to not be heard by others in the home.

"The orbs are still out there," Darius confirms. "They seem to identify the council descendants. Three have already been discovered."

"And who are they?"

"Two of them are my former co-workers Willie Johansson and Tia Tomlin and the other I don't know but she has the mark of the Boros and is aligned with Willie."

"Johansson. Never thought I'd hear that name again. Our supplier will not be happy about this but; nonetheless, once the orbs are collected, you are to steal them and get them to our friends in the Osarian Brotherhood. The Gate of Oban will soon be ours! Ha, ha, ha . . ."