Sphere of the Dark Magus

The night sky of Portland, Oregon was the deepest black, without even a single star twinkling in the distance. It hung over the sleeping city like an opaque veil, the great golden orb of a harvest moon laying low near the ground. A chill filled the damp, autumn air, although there was no breeze at all, only a light, misty fog, which curled it's way through the streets, like a stalking preditor. Perhaps it was just a combination of the starless night and the harvest moon, or perhaps it was the fact that, if one took the time to notice, the fog did indeed curl and slither it's way through the air, while the air itself was completely still. Either way, a cold, permeating, eerie feeling filled the entire city.
This feeling did not escape Douglas McLallan, who sat in a Camaro as black as the sky that hung over it, his eyes set on the large warehouse building across the street. It was just after three o'clock in the morning and he'd been there since twelve, carefully scrutinizing the beige building that lurked in the shadows between two larger buildings. He was quite average-looking, not the type one would expect to be in this line of work. Then again, that was the idea. The 1*B.I.P.A.D. agent watched the scene carefully, his hand resting on the black, slender rifle that lay across his lap. A flicking sound to his right caused him to stir and he glanced over at his partner, who was lighting a cigarette.
"Those things'll kill you, Vegas," Doug said.
"Ah, shut up, Doug," Vegas joked, "so will this job and you don't see me quitting."
"You don't see anyone quitting, for that matter. It's not like the 2*G.U.G. would let them anyway."
"Point."
After a short pause to enjoy his cigarette, Vegas asked, "is your 3*synaptic inhibitor powered up?"
Douglas checked it. "Yep. Full power gauge. What are you going to bring?"
He considered it for a moment then, letting out a stream of smoke from his nostrils, he replied, "I'm thinking," he drew two large pistols from holsters at his sides as he spoke, "that I'll go with my 4*photon disruption repeaters."
Douglas looked at him skeptically. "You really think we'll need that much firepower? We only picked up a slight energy disturbance."
"Yes, my friend, but what you refuse to accept is the computer said that it picked up traces of what may be arcane energy."
Douglas rolled his eyes. "The computer said those slight traces resembled arcane energy, which, by the way, hasn't even been confirmed to exist."
"Hah! Do you believe everything they tell you? You're as naive as all of them," he motioned around to the city outside. "Isn't it obvious? The person who attacked the G.U.G. council members was a wizard and the powers that he used were arcane magic. Are you really so dense?"
"Shut up!"
Vegas continued to laugh.
"No!" Douglas shot him an incredibly serious look. His next words were in an low voice, "shut up!" He looked back over to the building across the street.
Vegas followed his gaze to see several men in black, hooded robes slipping into the side door of the building. Some of them were carrying normal, wooden staves. Others were carrying ornately carved golden and ivory staves, some set with large crystals at the top. Douglas glanced at Vegas warily, a look that was returned in full.
Douglas swallowed, a few beads of sweat trickling down the sides of his face. He'd delt with aliens, shapeshifters and even werewolves, but never arcane spellcasters. He had the feeling that this mission would be a bit more difficult.
He reached down to his belt and removed a small rectangular 5*box. Lifting it up to his mouth he depressed a button on the side and spoke, "routing station seven one four, come in please. This is agent Beowulf Sixty Thirty-Eight."
He waited. After a moment there was a reply.
"Beowulf Sixty Thirty-Eight, your voiceprint and thumbprint match. Please prepare for retena and brainwave scan."
Douglas held up the box at eye level and it immediately emitted a shining beam of light. The beam encased Douglas' eye, then moved to his forehead. After a few seconds, the beam turned green and dissipated.
"What can we do for you, Beowulf?" Asked the woman's voice.
"Connect me with department forty-seven D. The director please."
"One moment," she replied.
There was a click and then, "Cafford."
"Director, this is Beowulf Sixty Thirty-Eight," Douglas began. "We're calling in to report on what we've found at the site of the minor energy disturbance. When we arrived, our computer detected trace signs of what might have been arcane energy. We've been scanning and watching the building for hours and so far have found nothing. However, just a few minutes ago, six men wearing black, hooded robes and carrying staves entered the building. Our scanners indicate that the men and the staves radiated a large amount of what appeared to be arcane energy.
"It is possible that we've found some proof of the existence of magical energy. We request backup and further orders, if any."
There was an immediate answer. "Backup is already on it's way. However, we may not have time to wait. It sounds like something is about to go down and we need to know exactly what's going on before it's over. Enter the warehouse immediately, but with all stealth. Bring a scanning recorder and whatever surviellance equipment or weapons you need. I want a report waiting for the backup team. Try to avoid engaging any hostiles at all costs. Cafford out."

*

1*B.I.P.A.D. = Bureau for the Investigation of Paranormal Activities and Disturbances (This agency was formed in 1961, after an attack on the G.U.G. High Council by a mysterious man, wielding some sort of supernatural powers. The matter was investigated, but nothing was ever found on the man, who had escaped, or his strange powers.

2*G.U.G. = Global Union Government. The three remaining superpowers of the Earth, the United American Government (North America, South America, and the surrounding islands), the Eurasion Confederation (Europe and Asia) and the Paxian Empire (a secretive organization, based in a hidden Antarctic facility) founded the Global Union Government in 1940. Ever since, they have been the true rulers of the Earth. Each of the organizations have existed since 1910, when an underground installation was found deep beneath the ocean in the Bermuda Triangle. It was discovered that the installation had been emitting some sort of advanced energy wave which had led to the destruction of any ship or aircraft coming to close to Triangle. With the discovery of this incredibly advanced facility, the true governments of each country were formed and each of them built upon the technology found at the facility. Naturally, they kept all of this covered up and everything progressed normally. The world came to be as it is today, as everyone, besides a select few, know it to be. Today's governments are nothing more than a puppet show.

3*A synaptic inhibitor is a long, slender rifle which, after charging for 2.7 seconds, emits a beam of microscopic nanoprobes. The nanoprobes enter through the pores of the target and attach themselves to neurons in the target's body. They then bombard the neurons with negatively charged electrons, disabling them and blocking the transmission of nerve impulses. The result is temporary paralyzation. Because of the long recharge rate, the user is usually backed up by quicker, more lethal firepower.

4*A photon disruption repeater fires small bursts of highly concentrated photons, charged with ditarium energy. The photon charges disperse flesh and other matter easily enough, and the ditarium energy damages the surrounding tissue, causing increased blood loss, pain and recovery time. The pistols fire rapidly (ten bursts per second), thus it is called a repeater.

5*A transmitter.

* * * * *

The partially concealed man stood near the back of the large warehouse, behind a platform holding a large, slightly transparent, sphere. The sphere was made of a bluish-black, opaque crystal, which hummed ever so slightly. The air around it rippled and twisted minutely, causing everything within a foot of it to appear distorted. All within in the room could feel the dark energy radiating from it. The feeling that it emitted was one of absolute emptiness. It was like having a hole punched in one's heart by a javelin forged from dispair, leaving an immensely dark void that no emotion could fill.
The voice of the man in the shadows was nearly as cold and empty. "Fools. You stand no chance of defeating me. Why are you even here? You must realize it is a waste of your lives."
"You may be able to defeat some of us," began one of the men in black robes, "but you shall not escape us this time. You die here, tonight, Lao-Hadun Kolraj."
The man was completely undaunted. There was no anger, no fear, nothing in his voice. Calmly, evenly, he stated, "you should not have come here tonight, Moranicus. The Sphere will never be yours. You will have lost your lives for nothing."
"It will be far from nothing if we can take you and that damnable Sphere with us! Ready yourself, Vampire!"
As the leader finished his speech, he raised his ivory staff and the other mages instantly began motioning in the air, chanting. After about two seconds, reddish-white energy appeared in their hands, dividing into five large balls of energy, all of which streaked toward the man in the shadows.
Just before the twenty-five bolts of energy impacted on the magus in the shadows, he vanished. The bolts of energy stopped in midair, hovering there. The six, black-robed wizards looked around hastily, nervously, for the magus. Suddenly, he appeared some forty feet behind the wizards, holding a small crystal spring in his hand.
"Funhaar jhaatzu tomar nalien," he chanted in an unearthly voice, his hands clasped around the crystal spring. Once again, the bolts of reddish-white energy streaked instantly and unerringly toward the magus.
"Lahlor kan kal nordis bhaath!" As he finished the incantation, the air before the magus rippled and the object in his hand turned to fine dust, which slipped through his fingers.
Without even waiting, he began his next spell. He quickly ducked to the groud and snatched up a handful of dirt, as he pulled two other components from the pouch at his side: lime and a vial of water. As he did this, the twenty-five bolts of energy hit the air directly before him. The air shimmered and a nearly-translucent, circlular field appeared, which caught the bolts of energy, causing the field to flex inward. The wizards watched in horror as the field pushed the bolts of energy away from the vampiric magus and returned to the wizards who cast them. As the energy bolts impacted on the wizard's chests, the magus and the leader of the wizards each began casting their spells.
The wizard held out a small, white, ceramic cone and shouted the proper incantation, "paratus glacius baeorin!"
At the very same moment, the magus poured the water over the handful of dirt and lime and squashed it together in his fist, chanting, "petros syntara altera!"
The two casters finished their spells at nearly the exact same time. The clod of mud and lime in Lao-Hadun's hand vanished and the ceramic cone in the wizard's hand shattered into miniscule pieces, scarcely larger than grains of sand. A thin ray of ice sprang forth from the wizard's hand, catching the magus squarely in the chest. The magus groaned in pain as the icy energy spread over his chest, causing his flesh to freeze and crack in some places. Reguardless of the damage and the immense pain that had been inflicted upon him, he did not fall. Quite on the contrary, he smiled.
The reason for his cold, smile soon became apparent, as each of the injured wizards turned toward their leader. He had been turned to solid stone by the magus' spell.

* * * * *

"Holy mother of God," muttered Douglas at exactly the same time as Vegas whispered something a quite a bit more colorful. The man with the ivory staff had turned to solid stone. Even his cloak and his staff were part of the statue that now stood there, arms spread, eyes wide with mute horror. Douglas suddenly wondered how many of today's statues were once living men. He had once investigated an old keep in Britain that was said to be haunted by the ghost of a magician from the seventh century. It was perhaps the most disturbing place he'd been, until now, of course. He had noticed that all of the statues in the keep were organized in one room, which held nothing else but the statues themselves. It had reminded him of a trophy room. They all bore a terrified visage, as if they were anticipating death's icy grasp. He had never seen anything like it before and never again until now.
Douglas checked his synaptic inhibitor once again, just to be sure it was charged and ready. He didn't know what sort of spells the wizards and their enemy could perform, but he did know that he had the most unpleasant tingling sensation in the back of his mind. It made him feel as if someone was in his head, as if cold, incorporeal fingers were probing his brain. He was certain it had something to do with the man the wizards were after and, in Douglas' book, that made him dangerous. A few drops of sweat trickled down his nose. He was more nervous than he had first realized.
Almost immediately, the five remaining wizards began chanting and making strange motions. Douglas fixed his eyes on them, waiting to see what would occur. A billowy white cloud appeared before one of them and shot forward, hitting the enemy. It engulfed him for a moment, then quickly dissipated. The enemy glowed briefly, then the air before him rippled. Immediately afterward, the other four wizards finished their spells and a column of pure flame blasted out from their hands, impacting on their enemy. A horrible smell of burnt flesh filled the room, but the man barely grimaced and sidestepped out of the flames, his flesh smoking. He was moderately burned, but it seemed to impair him not at all.
"Now bear witness to my true power," the man said. "Behold, I am Lao-Hadun Kolraj, the last Dark Magus of the Fifteenth Order and the Holder of the Sphere."
Suddenly, the crystal sphere near the back of the room began to pulsate and glow an incandescant blue. The wizards noticed this immediately and had apparently been expecting it. Each of them waved their right hand and muttered a single word and were immediately immersed in clouds of smoke. When the smoke cleared, the five wizards had somehow turned into thirty; there were now six of each wizard and each were surrounded by shimmering, blue orbs. For a moment it seemed that the wizards had an upper hand, but only for a moment.
Lao-Hadun Kolraj, who was now outlined with a blue glow like that which the sphere emitted, began chanting and waving his hands rapidly. All hell broke loose. Red beams of magic blasted the entire area that the wizards occupied, dispelling whatever magics they had put into place. The duplicate wizards vanished instantly and the beams pierced through the blue orbs, causing them to dissipate entirely. The wizards were horrified, they couldn't even begin to respond. Douglas and Vegas watched in mute terror. It appeared that the battle would be over in mere seconds.
First, ten flaming bolts sprang forth from the magus' hands, targeting two of the wizards. They each caught five directly in the chest causing their robes to burst into flames. They each let out a cry of agony as they fell to the ground. They were dead in seconds. Next, with a few more words and a mere wave of his hands, another of the wizards was engulfed in a pillar of white hot flame. He didn't even have a chance to scream and when he tried, the flames filled his lungs. His flesh melted away and his bones were burnt to ashes which fell to the ground.
Suddenly, Douglas heard a slight mechanical whine to his right. His head snapped up and he saw Vegas powering up his repeaters. "No!" Douglas hissed. "Do not engage!!"
Vegas pierced him with an incredibly cold stare. "He knows we're here. If we don't do something now, while he's distracted, we stand no chance!" He shot back. Not even bothering to wait for a response, he leapt out from his cover and fired his pistols. The shots missed the mark and burned through the ground around the magus. Lao-Hadun turned quickly, holding out his fist and whispering a word. A great fireball burst forth from a ring on one of his fingers and hit the ground about a foot to the right of Vegas. There was a great explosion and rubble was blasted away as the explosion spread to nearly a thirty foot radius. Vegas dove with all of his might and the force of the explosion sent him flying through the air. He landed hard behind a row of large crates, smoke pouring from his body, and lay still.
Douglas let out a shout of anger and leapt to his feet. The synaptic inhibitor's targeting system locked on and he squeezed the trigger. Just as the magus was about to attack, the beam caught him on the shoulder. He stumbled back slightly, his arm weakened, but he managed to control it and did not lose control if it. The two remaining wizards behind him cast spells, sending large strokes of lightning toward the magus. There was a loud crackling sound as the lightning passed through the magus and he let out a cry of pain. Still, he did not, would not, die.
The magus sent forth a stroke of lightning of his own, only it was directed for Douglas, not the other wizards. At the very last second, Douglas dove behind the crates he had been hiding behind and the lightning crackled by him, bounced off of the far wall and rebounded toward the magus. He sidestepped it easily enough and let it slam into the wizard behind him, who was not quick enough to move aside. With a loud crackle of electricity, the wizard convulsed and fell to the floor, smoking.
The remaining wizard was frozen with fear, not even daring to breathe. A powerful negative energy began to form in the magus' right hand, causing it to glow black. He advanced slowly on the wizard, the energy in his hand pulsating and humming. From the look on the wizard's face, it seemed as though the magus held death itself in his hand. Perhaps, thought Douglas, he did. He couldn't let that happen.
Douglas jumped up from his place and fired the inhibitor. The beam struck the magus directly in the back and he stumbled slightly. It it appeared as though he was having trouble controlling his legs, but the effect lasted only a moment. His concentration was broken and he had lost the energy on his hand. He spun around and, faster than Douglas ever could have imagined, he was upon him, having crossed a span of fifty feet in less than a second.
Before he could even react, Douglas was knocked to the ground by a powerful blow to his face. As he looked up through his blurred vision, he could see the magus standing over him, leaning down toward him. For a moment, his vision cleared and, for the first time, Douglas got a very clear look at the man's face. His face was deathly pale, his eyes dark, sunken in, his hair a deep black, but very light and wispy. His lips were curled back, his teeth bared. Suddenly, horribly, recognition sat in. Vampire ...

* * * * *

Osheran, a Wizard of the Eighth Order, member of the Council of Arcane Regulation, stood in mute horror. His companions were dead, he was injured and, for the first time, he realized, there would be no destroying this monster. He and the two who had interfered would die. He looked from the statue of his leader, Moranicus, to the vampire magus who had caused all this destruction. He had pulled the unconcious man to his feet and was feeding on his blood. He would, no doubt, be strengthened by this.
Osheran sighed. He had no chance of defeating the magus, his life was forfeit. "Ah well," he muttered, "at least I can try to contribute since I'll die anyway." He drew a long, black-bladed dagger from his belt and walked over to the glowing Sphere. As he neared it, Lao-Hadun suddenly released his meal, letting him fall to the ground, and dashed toward Osheran. He got there a second too late.
With a roar of determination, the depleted wizard drove his dagger deep into the Sphere. The air crackled with energy and the whole building began to shake. Cracks formed along the surface of the Sphere and powerful energy shot through the brave wizard's body. His body began to smoke and he roared in pain, but he would not release the dagger. He drove it deeper and deeper into the heart of the Sphere. More and more cracks formed, it seemed that, surely, the Sphere would shatter at any moment.
The magus was frozen in place, seemingly in pain. He could not approach Osheran, though he strained for all he was worth. This seemed to go on for minutes, hours, yet nothing gave in. Suddenly, finally, with a mighty, earth-shaking roar, the Sphere exploded, sending forth a shockwave of dark energy. The wizard was hurled across the warehouse, his body disintegrating as he went. He did not cry out in pain, rather, the look on his face was of complete peace. By the time the shockwave hit the far wall of the warehouse, nothing was left of the wizard's body. The magus collapsed to the floor, no longer under the protection of the Sphere. Without the Sphere's power, his wounds overwhelmed him and he fell into a deep torpor.

* * * * *

"Move in," came the voice through the comlink. Corporal Thomas slammed through the doorway, stepped aside, and waved his men through. His squad ran into the warehouse and took cover behind a wall of crates. The corporal followed, his rifle ready, and ducked down beside them. With a few motions of his hand, he sent two of his group forward, to check the other side of the warehouse.
After a few moments he said, "anything to report?"
"Y-yes sir," came an awed voice. "Everyone here is either dead or unconcious ... they were killed by massive energy discharges, some even disintegrated. The area is secure, you should come check it out for yourself Corporal."
"Roger, Adams. I'm on my way. Watch the bay door."
"Understood."
The Corporal stood, motioned to his men to finish securing the perimeter, and walked over to his recon team. As he observed the carnage, his eyes widened. "Get me a scan of the area," he nearly whispered.
"Yes sir," said Adams, who withdrew a scanning device from his belt. He flicked it on and waved it through the air. After reading the results for a moment he reported, "the scanner has found a large concentration of what appears to be ... arcane energy in the air."
"Arcane energy? Magic?"
"Yes sir." The man waved the scanner around once more. "Sir, I've picking up three life signs, all weak." He pointed to the west side of the warehouse, behind some crates, and to a badly burned man wearing black, tattered robes, only about twenty feet away. "There and there, sir."
"Get the medical officer to check that one, I'll investigate the other two," began the corporal. "Daleson, you're with me."
The corporal led the officer over to the crates and cautiously turned the corner. He found the two B.I.P.A.D. agents, about thirty feet apart, both laying face-down, unconcious. He rushed over to them, shouting, "get the medical officer!"
He knelt beside the nearest first, McLallan, and turned him over carefully. He pulled an injection device from his pocket, loaded it with a stimulant, and fired it into the agent's veins. "Agent McLallan ... Agent McLallan," he said, as the man began to awaken. "McLallan, what happened?"
"T-the mmagus," Douglas began, weakly, "killed them ... almost killed me ..."
"Did you kill him?"
"Whaa? No ... I passed out. Wasn't he here?"
"No, the scanner didn't detect any other life signs besides your's, Vegas', and a man in black robes. Is he the-what did you call him-magus? I had assumed he was one of the six wizards you spoke of in your report."
Douglas struggled to sit up, an urgency in his no longer slurred voice, "the magus was a vampire! The scanners wouldn't pick him up!" He fought to get to his feet, but the corporal held him down.
"I'll take care of it."

* * * * *

To: Alan W. Gale
Director of B.I.P.A.D.
Case: #7922a
Investigators: Brown
&
Starling
Original Case Agents: Beowulf6038
&
Saxony5052
Final Report of 7

There is still nothing to report on Lao-Hadun Kolraj, the Dark Magus responsible for the massacre on the night of May second. He has not been found and, after extensive investigation, we have determined that he had to have left the premises before the backup squads arrived. All members of the team have testified that the body of the magus was not there, nor was he seen leaving.
Agents Beowulf6038 and Saxony5052 have fully recovered from their ordeal and have been reassigned to a different case. Beowulf has suffered no ill effects from the vampire attack and Osheran, the captured wizard, has testified that he is in no danger of becoming a vampire. From what we have gathered, it would seem the wizard has extensive knowledge on the subject, however, the most we could get from him, is that the agent would have had to consume some of the vampire's blood to have become one himself. Such statements have already been filed in a seperate file, in case the time arises when they will be needed.
As to the wizard himself, he has refused to tell us anything aside from his name and the aforementioned information about vampirism. We have recieved numerous messages from an organization the wizard prisoner refers to as "the Council". All have been untraceable and completely non-hostile. They have requested the release of the wizard Osheran Alooren as soon as possible. That have also stated, albeit by way of heavily disguised innuendos, that we do have a time limit to comply, or there will be reprocussions. We have already arranged for the wizard's release at three days from now, pending your approval.
Aside from these issues, not much else has changed since the last report. However, there is one last thing to note. Despite the continued efforts of our scientists, we have had very little success in returning the wizard statue back to his natural form. It has become apparent, from "the Council's" lack of interest in the statue, that they do not believe they can reverse the spell either. However, our scientists are still adamant that they can reverse the effects. They have been given one more month to do so, before they will be removed from the project. Their progress will be sent to you by them in a seperate report.

End of Report
July 12, 2001