Wooo! Chapter five! I'm not actually sure how long this will go on, probably till the end of the current Mod Days storyline. I'll try to keep posting regularly, but it won't always be possible. Enjoy!

Marthus walked into the VMA. It was his fifth day doing classes, and so far he liked it. The principal had said he could enroll in any classes he wished to, as long as he had the time for it. He got some strange looks in the hallway, given that he was a lot older than many of the new students. He had decided to join the military program, simply to have a structured environment for his training. He had also begun the Potions course, given that he was already proficient in elemental and spirit magics, it seemed like the best option.

He had made some new friends, and had been visited by the MODs of the city to discuss his feats of magic. Everyone seemed very interested in it, but he couldn't give them any information beyond what he had already said a million times. It was annoying, but he put up with it. He had recently received a letter from the Lord and Lady inquiring after his health, but he hadn't written a reply yet. School was keeping him busy, and there was no sign of the shadowy man who had attacked him before. Maybe he truly was trapped in the nightmare realm.

"Marthus! C'mon, we're gonna be late!"

He turned and saw his new friend beckoning towards him. Her name was Kiwa, and she was training to be a healer, but she had aptitudes for air magic. They had met during his first day at potions class, when he had arrived late, and she had been the only one not giving him weird looks. She had walked over to him and introduced herself immediately after class. She was the only person he really knew at the school presently, so he saw her a lot.

"Okay, gimme one second, gotta get my textbook out."

"You should have done that ten minutes ago!" Kiwa said.

"I know, I know, you don't have to keep yelling at me though!" Marthus yelled.

"Until you start remembering this stuff, I have to so that I can remind you!" Kiwa shot back.

Kiwa sighed, and began walking towards the classroom. Marthus finally got his bag in order, and followed. He walked in and sat down at his seat. He liked doing potions, it was an alternative way to heal and modify other than by using spirits. He also enjoyed the class because of the more hands-on way to exploring it, mixing ingredients together and imbuing them with magic to get different results. He had created some… interesting things, to say the least of it. After leaving the teacher with a bad temper and much worse hair, he had taken his work down a notch, but he still loved the class.

What about that shadow mage? Why was he interested in Marthus? Marthus wondered why the man hadn't made his next move, it had been quite a while. Maybe it had something to do with Jackson? Or had he gotten mixed up in a larger conspiracy?

"Marthus. Please attempt to be attentive in class. Now, can anyone answer my question?"

"The dust you should use is powdered moonstone." said Kiwa. "This is why you need to pay attention!" she whispered to Marthus after class.

He had been trying, but his mind had been occupied with thoughts of the shadowy man. He needed to investigate this, and quickly. If it was part of something bigger, he needed to get to the bottom of it soon. He hadn't told the police, this man was obviously too powerful for them to do anything about. Maybe he would tell them to place extra guards up at the Minx Castle. It could easily be the target of an attack. Everyone seemed very relaxed, but there was a ball coming up. It would be perfect for an attack. Many officials would be there. Marthus attempted to clear his mind of the thoughts and move on to his next class.

"Hey! You! Yeah you! You need to clear out of this school." A boy that Marthus hadn't met yet stood a few doors away, with some people next to him. "You're unwanted. You shouldn't be here. We all worked hard to get where we are, but you just got in because of some fancy tricks. We don't want you, and you shouldn't be here." The boy turned and walked away, then turned back and spat at Marthus.

Maybe that's why no one is really talking to me. I guess I did sort of cheat the system. I don't know why it's such a big deal though, Marthus thought. Maybe it's just harder to get in than I thought. But I had thought they got in for free… Ugh this is so confusing.

At the end of the day, Marthus decided he would ask Jackson for help finding the shadowy man. He began the walk back to the workshop. When he arrived, the lights were off inside, which was slightly strange. Jackson was usually working at this time of day. He walked inside and quietly tiptoed towards the back room. The first sign that something was wrong was that the door was closed. Jackson never closed the door.

"Come in!" Jackson said.

"Why do you have the door closed?" asked Marthus, walking over to a cabinet by the door and picking up his sword. He walked back to the door, being as quiet as possible. There was almost no vibration in the dust on the floor.

"I just wanted to make sure no one disturbed my… work."

"I'm coming in…"

"Alright, please do."

Marthus whipped open the door, and immediately tossed a small fireball in to illuminate the room. As he had thought, Jackson was gone. No sign of a struggle, it must have been fast. A darker shadow began to disappear, but Marthus dove in at the last minute.

Everything went cold and it was dark. He could hear whispers and screams, but he walked towards the circle of light. Something grabbed his leg, and tripped him. He was pulled back into the shadows, and thrown towards a different circle. Many hands covered his face and head, and he blacked out. The last thing he saw was the man in the helmet standing over him, with a woman behind him. After that was blissful, painless silence.

What did you think? I'm working on building up to the Battle of Minx Castle in MOD Days, but it'll be a while. Please review if you like it! More will be coming!