here's a bit of information, this story actually came from Wattpad, I start writing it with the idea of the reader voting for the different important actions the character would do. I'm re-writing this story here, however this time I'm not doing the whole voting thing, I'm just writing as I want, so the two stories will be I think pretty different,(also it's my first time writing a story on this website so please warn me if something doesn't work with the chapters or the tags or things like that that maybe I messed up) also I'm using inspiring from the magic system of dungeon and dragon to make magic more understandable (only for the main character, but I will also try to explain the magic of the maidens/Salem and also Ozpin)….because, in RWBY, magic was never really explained and I need to define it to write a story around magic however don't worry; I will explain the rules of magic/dnd I will use (which are still a bit different from dnd to fit more the world of Rwby)
also, I'm french, and English is not my first language...sorry if my English is not great, but I'll try my best
somewhere in the world, on the piece of land that will one day be called the continent of Anima, near the domain of light, a place made to worship the god of light where you can find the fountain of life
there is a giant city, with an academy, a school made to teach magic to the young ones, inside one of the dorms, a young man name Maos is waking up.
He is an 18 years old boy, with red eyes and black hair, he wasn't particularly attractive, he was barely in shape, but that didn't matter, his occupation had nothing to do with looks or physical activities.
Maos is a sorcerer in training, not a Magician as there is a difference between the two. a sorcerer can use magic like second nature (wild magic) from their birth, while a magician has to learn magic to use, however, the wild aspect of a sorcerer's magic makes it dangerous even for the sorcerer himself.
he slowly open his eyes, he was waked by the sound of a lot of people walking at the same time
"wh...what ?"
Maos get up from his bed and look at the window
he saw an entire army of magicians and sorcerers, some coming from different continents and kingdoms, they seem to leave the academy, he see some of the people from his class and even some professors in the army
"what in the god of light is that ?"
he makes his staff appear in his hand and changed himself instantly using a magical ring that allows him to rapidly change clothes,
Maos was now his clothes as a sorcerer and not a student as he thought he must have missed an event, his outfit is composed of a blue robe covered by a single leather band that was closing the robe, he was also wearing a belt on top of the robe where several pouches could be, his staff was a wooden staff that was thicker in the top extremity and had a lot of different markings on it (around the size of a fist)...
(basically, the outfit of Maos is a regular battle-mage outfit, you knew a bit about fantasy in general, and you know what kind of clothes he has right now, searches the novice robe in Skyrim without the hood if you want a clear example of what I mean, sorry I don't really know how to describe clothing))
he then leaves his room and runs through the corridor, he realized quickly that he's the only one in the dorm
he kept running to end up at the entrance of the academy and find himself near the archmage of the academy who seem to be watching the student and teacher leaving, ready for war
the archmage was an old man with a great bear, but not completely grey as most of it was still brown, he was a skinny man and his physical prime was gone a long time ago, wearing a gray robe and a staff made of some kind of strange metal and the tip of it being a dark orb with a golden ornament all around the said orb, despite being an old man, this man was known as the strongest magician in history
the entrance of the academy was a giant door made with wooden paint in red and the main alley to access the first building of the academy was filled with statues of ancient Magiciens and sorcerers
"master Osiris!" call Maos as he approaches the old man
the archmage turn around
Maos immediately realize the sadness and disappointment in the eyes of the archmage
Maos go next to the old man and look at the leaving crowd
"where are they going? did something happen? Why do they all seem to go to war ?" asks Maos with a weirdly calm tone
"because they are going to war," said the archmage as he slowly walks back inside the academy
"What ?...with who ?" react Maos as he follows the archmage
"the gods, they intend to steal immortality from the fountain of light" said Osiris
"but that's insane, the gods would never let them! they're all just going toward divine punishment " said Maos
"it's too late, now, they made a choice and they won't stop, I tried to convince them, but no result came out of it" said the archmage
"who convince them to go to war? anyone with a brain knows that stealing from the gods is blasphemy" said Maos
"a witch named Salem, she stole immortality from the gods"
"her ? she's been the center of attention since she entered the city, but I never bother to go talk to her," said Maos
"she's been spreading that idea of immortality to every student she met, the rumor went pretty far, I'm surprised and happy you weren't affected by that rumors," said Osiris
"I mean...it's not like there's a lot of people talking to me," said Maos with an emotionless tone
Osiris pinch Maos's head
"ouch!" react Maos as he back down a tiny bit
[heh? I literally didn't feel it, it usually hurt a bit]thought Maos
"That's because you barely try to talk to other people"explain Osiris
"but for once, it was a good thing," said Osiris
for an instance, Maos could still see the sadness of losing his student in Osiris's eyes
"Now come on, I have one last lesson to teach you"
[why last ?]thought Maos
"Are you finally going to teach me a new spell?" react Maos
"no," said Osiris with a smile
"I will teach you how to enchant a weapon" lied Osiris
Moly starts complaining like a child
"but I want to learn another spell!, I've doing practicing magic missile and mage armor so much I can even cast those spells without chanting! which is something even some professors can't do at their level" said Maos
"I already how to make every magic potion; how to make every component with alchemy, I even learned to paint a magic portrait, I even know every Grimm type, I know how to make a magical scroll., I even know how to use my staff as a weapon...but I only know 2 level spells and it's those 2 are the most common spell, everybody sells magic missile scroll!"
"Most people of my age, already know 10 spells"
the archmage suddenly stop walking
"Indeed, do those magicians and sorcerers know how to do alchemy? do they know how to make parchment? can they cast those simple spells without incantation? can they all do all of those skills that you have learned and perfected?" suddenly asks Osiris as he stares at Maos in the eyeI
"I mean...no...since the time I've learning how to make parchment, they were only learning spells," said Maos, who was a tiny bit scared
"Are they like you under my direct teaching ?" said Osiris
"no..." said Maos
"Exactly" respond Osiris
Maos isn't just a student, he's the direct student of the archmage Osiris, the man who only has taken 2 apprentices in his 300 hundreds of life (according to the rumors) so far, the first apprentice was a man named Ozma, and Maos was the second apprentice
Osiris wasn't immortal, but his lifespan was way above any normal human with the help of magic
he is definitely, the greatest magician in history. and also the great priest of the god of lights, he was the one teaching the existence of the gods to the mortals.
Osiris starts walking again while Maos was silent
they quickly reach the Archmage's classroom, it was empty, and even if Maos was the direct student of Osiris, Osiris was still a teacher to many students. but unlike the other students, Maos was going to be taught to spell by only Osiris...however, the only spells Maos was ever taught were level 0 spells as magic missile and mage armor are spells that he learned by simply reading a spellbook by himself
Osiris went toward a wall and do strange hand gestures in front of it, the wall suddenly disappear in smoke and reveal a corridor
[why is he opening his secret laboratory ?]thought Maos, he was never allowed to go inside even though his teacher showed him the door many times
the archmage makes a hand to Maos as he walks inside the corridor
"come in," said Osiris
"Really ?" react Maos as he simply the old man without hesitation
they walk for several second
they end in a small room, with a single table in the middle with a book on it, but the walls of the room were what surprised Maos the most, every wall was like thousands of gems of different colors put together
"the walls ...its made of soul stones?!" said react Maos
"ooh, you know what it is ?"react Osiris a bit surprised
"I read it in a book, it produces by the mineralization of a mage's mana after his death," said Maos
"Indeed," said Osiris
"you see, the insane amount of soul stone provides a shield of protection against every type of magic, it if a mage were to try to see through the wall of this room from the exteriors, the amount of mana would disrupt their power, and make them unable to see for a long time"explain Osiris
Maos look around as he sens a certain powerful spell
"oh, you can feel the magic domain, here's a little test that reminds me of what is a magic domain and what are its properties," said the Archmage
"a magic domain is a pocket dimension, a place where the one who creates it has a full over, nothing can enter unless the mage who owns the domain allows it, according to legend if cast at a high level, even the gods of light and darkness cannot enter nor see through it," said Maos
"and that's exactly why I made it, to avoid being spied on by the gods," said Osiris
"huh ? but aren't you the great priest of the god of light ?" react Maos
"before being a priest of the god of light, I am human," said Osiris
"I'm taking the opportunity of the academy being almost empty to tell you this"
Osiris suddenly had a cold tone
"as you know, I used to have another disciple, named Ozma," said Osiris
"yes, his statue is near the entrance of the academy" responded Maos
"he died long ago, but his wife still lives, her name was Salem, she wanted to ask help for the gods, this was hundreds of years ago"
"li-like the one from earlier ?" slowly realized Maos
"It's the same person, she is immortal. I do not know how she became immortal, but I think it's the same reason as me" explain Osiris
Maos back down a bit
"she's immortal too ?" said Maos was mostly lost, but he was rather calm about it, and he seem less surprised by this news than the other
"I figured you knew," said Osiris
Maos start to explain, in a very calm tone, almost robotic
"I look in so much spell book...basically your hand writing in way too many of them, even some that are centuries-old...and some even older than mere centuries...I know the limit of alchemy and magic, I know someone can increase their lifespan with it...but not to that extent,lich wouldn't exist if it was the case...but I didn't associate it with the gods...even though it was one of the theories"
"And what was your theory ?" questioned Osiris
"that you were old enough to not be bound by the magic spell level limit forced on a mortal by the god of darkness, and that at a higher level than 9 could allow someone to be immortal, I was so wrong...I wasn't expecting the great priest of the god of light to be a thief" said Maos
"you are not that far from the truth, I am bound by the spell level limiter, however, I did use to be able to cast spells at a higher level than 9, but not anymore, this isn't the gods' fault but mine," said the Archmage
"higher level spell actually existed in the past ?!" react Maos as he almost hit the table in the middle of the room, but the table magically moved and dodge his hand and Maos fall on his knee, but he brought back up with the telekinesis of Osiris
"Indeed," said Osiris as touched his beard a bit
author's note: this is purely inspired from dnd lore, long time ago, mortals could use spell above level 9, but because one guy messed it up by using a spell that allow him to become a god, everything got messed up, and after the event got to fix, the gods decide to put limits on the magic level to make sure, some guy doesn't break reality itself again, in this story Osiris is the guy who messes it up
also here is a bit of explanation, on spell level. there are from 0 to 9th level spells,
level 0 is like a sword attack in terms of damage, but magic is still more versatile
while level 9 is more like being able to stop time or make a meteor swarm
"However I lost the ability to cast such a spell, the gods create the spell level restriction because of me"
"real-really ?" who was slowly losing his mind
"long ago, I was obsessed with immortality and I was so strong I lost the value of life, anyone that would die in my presence could simply be resurrected with a mere spell, while I can still do that...before I could raise a whole army back to life in a single spell and not in the form of undead, entire cities could be built with a movement of my right hand!"
"of course, at some point..while being the strongest, I was still getting older and older, alchemy and magic still had their limits and the actual spell to make me young again would have the extreme drawback of making me lose my magic power...till I thought of something...I used the spell wish"
"Isn't the ultimate spell a mortal can use? the spell that allows a mage to alter the law of reality itself and bend them to his will, to achieve whatever he wishes for" said Maos
"indeed..and I made the mistake of trying to cast it at 12th level," said Osiris
"12th level ?!" almost scream Maos
"of course, it went wrong, casting the spell wish is already hard enough at level 9, casting it at a higher level was useless to make myself immortal and pure madness, however, i was arrogant, and the whole world was affected by the spell, I erased the concept of death with that spell...death was no more...and of course, the chaos that it causes was nothing but pure madness, people were killing each other again and again, knowing they wouldn't die...old man in death bed were still aging...but never dying"explain Osiris
"as a result, everyone lost the value of life in that time, and so the gods had to intervene and brought back the concept of death...and as punishment, I was made immortal by the god of light and darkness...in the end...I did have what I wanted, I end up being young again while keeping my power...but I deeply regret it, immortal life is no life at all, some people may think they have the guts to endure it, but believe they are wrong..."
Maos were in shock, completely frozen, it took 15 seconds for him to process everything
"wait...you're old now!"said Maos as he point to the few gray hairs of Osiris
"indeed...after the death of my first apprentices, a child whom I raise as my son...the gods gifted me with mortality and I became the great priest, while I still lived pretty a long life thanks to the leftover alchemy and magic in my body," said Osiris
"lived ?" said Maos
[why does he say it in the past tense ?]thought Maos
Maos stare into Osiris's eyes and he realized as Osiris started smiling
"Indeed, I was getting to it...I am dead, I was killed by Salem in my sleep, she wanted revenge because I choose to not resurrect Ozma, this is how she manage to convince the student without much resistance from me, this is why even the teacher went with her without much resistance"
Maos fall to the ground in shock, as he could easily see through the illusion of his master, the man who almost raise him
"wh-what ?" react Maos
"that can't be!"
Maos throw his staff at Osiris, but it simply goes through him
"no...no"
"I don't believe it! you're the Archmage! you can't just die in your sleep!"
Maos was in denial, trying to find an explanation as tears appear in his eyes and his red eyes started glowing due to a wild magic surge caused by his sudden loss of control, Maos was now covered in a strange green aura, even if he didn't realise it
"Indeed, however, I was poisoned by a fellow teacher and was weakened in my sleep, I did not expect Salem to act so soon, I would have beat her up if wasn't for the poison, and no resurrection is possible as my body was burned to ashes"
Maos start walking around the calm himself as he almost had a panic attack, mostly the sound of heavy breathing could be heard from him
and after a few second
"What is the point of this illusion? it's only temporary isn't it!?" said Maos
"I said it earlier, my last lesson,and mostly my last gift to you" said Osiris as he point at the book
"grab it"
Maos immediately grab it after calming himself a bit
the book starts to glow a mysterious blue light, blinding Maos
Maos could see again after a second and see that book is not here anymore
"wh-what" react Maos as he looks at the illusion of Osiris
« say book of magic,»said osiris
« book of magic »repeat maos
suddenly a book appeared in front of maos,s with strange numbers all over the place, and a list of spells and a different recipes for different things,thousand of rituals, it's seen like the book was never-ending
"What is that ?" asks Maos confused
"I call that the book of magic, this is the work of centuries, I have been making that in secret, something even secret to the gods themselves"
"it contains knowledge of everything that currently exists, and will gather information on this world as much as possible, it will teach you spells and even help create new ones...it contains every ritual currently known to man,it can conjure objects at your will using the different ethereal planes, you will be to create any potion with it, or any weapon you wish with a bit of luck, of course, the book of magic still not perfect but it's close be,
this is the ultimate book, one which contains everything, and I am giving it to you...as I am dead, the next archmage shall be you, this book will allow learning every spell i didn't have the time to teach you,it will even teach you how to control your innate wild magic! »
« This book also contains all the known spells above level 9s, as this basis for this book was created when I could still cast such spells »
« But...even I wanted I wouldn't be able to cast those spells, the gods put a lock on the soul of man to prevent it »
«I am aware,however, it is still important for the next generation to know of their existence, to learn a lesson about the past »
Maos did a smile while his red wee incredibly red, trying to stop himself from crying without much success
« This book is impossible to destroy, not even by the gods themselves, it is now linked to you, it cannot be stolen nor given until you die »
Maos wanted to cry while trying to keep his composure, his father figured was dead and still teaching him for one last time, this was his last gift
"let's go outside, would you? I would like to see the sky one last time" said Osiris as he talks walking toward the exit
the book suddenly disappears in thin air, and Maos look at the empty place that used to be
« book of magic »
and the book appears in Mao's hands[i can conjure it when i want]
Maos then follow Osiris, and they both went outside, to the entrance of the academy
Osiris stops in front of Ozma's statue and seems to touch it a bit
"Ozma, I hope wherever you are, that you are in peace, I will join you soon," said Osiris
Maos was not crying anymore, but his eyes were still red and not in a magical way
Osiris looks around and stops at Maos
"a school without a teacher, and only one student, such a disaster...I hope someday people will rebuild it, the new teacher will fill in the ranks, and new students will come here to learn" said Osiris
suddenly a giant light could be seen coming in the direction from where the fountain of light was, the place the army led by Salem went to attack the gods
Osiris and Maos saw the wave of dark energy erase everyone on its way
Maos back down a lot scared for his life a s sudden look of rage appears in Osiris's eyes
"Time stop!" suddenly said the illusion of Osiris
time suddenly stop
"I thought you were an illusion !" said Maos
"This is not an illusion, it's closer to an astral project, a spell I created...I can still do a few spells,a regular illusion would have disappeared since a long time" said Osiris
«I needed to make sure i passed the book of knowledge onto you »
Osiris looked enraged as he look at Maos, the one holding the knowledge of magic and the way to teach it, something that took him several lifetimes to create. the gods now destroy magic itself, weakening humanity as a whole in dangerous full of Grimm
Osiris and Maos both the wave of dark energy being frozen in time, humanity was going to be extinct and for them, it's only a matter of times
"the gods are going to reset humanity, just like they did before...when they put a limit on the spell level a mortal can cast...however this time;...they're completely erasing magic in mankind itself, why going so far as to simply punish Salem ?!" said Osiris
"a power restriction on mortal made sense ...but this...this is just crippling humanity, we'll never evolve to civilization...we may never experience happiness nor comfort, the new academy may never be built !"
Maos rarely felt so much rage from his former teacher
"no...I cannot let that happen...I cannot as a magician and a teacher allow that to happen"
Osiris turns to Maos, the last student, the future of magic
Osiris seems to be almost ready to attack the gods themselves...but he gives a look at Maos
the one who can be considered almost his son
Osiris was about to lose another son and he refuse it
"Maos, you have to survive," said Osiris
"But how ?!, the gods wish to, I don't think we can't stop," asks Moas, he was in panic, humanity was about to be erased
"We cannot stop...but I can help you escape," said Osiris
"It's simple, I have to make a wish stronger than their"
"When you get there, I want you to become the greatest sorcerer you can be, I want you to be stronger than me in my prime, you have to reach spell level of 12th, even above if you can!,the book will help you! and I want you to bring back magic to humanity !"
« but that's impossible! it's impossible for a mortal to cast a spell above 9th level ! »said maos
Osiris throws his own staff in Mao's hand and joins his hand in an almost praying manner, Maos had to drop his own to catch his master's staff
"master Osiris what are you doing ?!" screamed Maos as he back down as he see the time stop spell was slowly wavering
"I can use still use a few spells at level 10th, I just need to use own my soul as fuel and break the lock around it by consuming it" said Osiris
"what ?! no! it's mean not afterlife for you at all, just nothingness!" warned Maos as he grab his master's staff and get up
"I wish, that Maos, my student is no longer bound by the spell level limit inflict on a mortal by the gods," said Osiris as he decide to put his soul on the line to use the spell wish on the 10th level
the spell worked
Moas felt a weight be lifted inside of him, he felt a sudden burst of power inside him
"And then one last wish..., one last spell," said Osiris as he felt his soul being destroyed
"I wish, that Moas will be sent to a time where the gods can no longer rule nor walk among mortals!"
maos start running at osirs
« master Osiris ! » cried maos
after Maos passed out and with a sudden flash of light coming from Osiris
the spell seemed to have worked as desired
Maos disappeared in thin air
"it worked...it worked !" said Osiris as he realise his projection is fading away, his soul was being destroyed
"Osiris, do you realize what you have done ?!" asks a sudden draconic form appear near him, the gods of darkness and light appear near Osiris
2 draconic figures appear one made of pure darkness with the shape of a western dragon, the other one made of light with the shape of Eastern dragon
"what ? I just happen to value his life," said Osiris with a grin as he look at the gods
"you spend hundreds of years trying to teach me the value of life, I'm just following your teaching"
"but you've been quite murderous yourself, god of light, humanity itself just disappear and you don't even seem to be bothered by it, the same goes for you darkness"
"How dare a mortal, speak to us in such a way?" said darkness as his body start glowing
"you both made the human race remember ? asks yourself, said Osiris with a calm tone
"Brother, there is no need to punish this human further, even if he has opened the lock around the soul of his student, this student was still in training, and he probably won't be able to reach a high level of magic with his current lifespan, nor even with his current knowledge, he is far too young,"said the god of light
[those idiots aren't aware of the book of magic ]thought Osiris s he starts laughing a bit
"What are you laughing at human? at your fading soul? there will be no afterlife for you,"taunt the god of darkness
" Nothing much, I resigned as your great priest god of light !, I refuse to obey the god's will any further, you two see no value in human life nor even in death and yet….you trying to teach us about it….you two are terrible teachers"
Osiris made a big smile
"I'm happy, Maos is in a place where none of you is"
Osiris looks at the statue of Ozma and at Maos's staff on the floor, Maos had dropped his staff during the spell
"Maos, Ozma ...sorry, I won't see you in the afterlife, sadly, you two never had the chance to meet each other, I hope you will in the afterlife"
Osiris then disappear, he was now truly dead and his soul was shattered, nothing was left of him
Maos woke up, he was in a place with only white around him
he looks around
"master Osiris? are you here?"
"he's not here," said a sudden golden figure appear next to Maos, it was the god of light in a human shape
"he passed away peacefully"
"peacefully ? he was killed in his sleep ! his last spell was made to protect me from you, and now he won't have an afterlife ! "said Maos, he was still in shock and angry for good reason, he was still holding his master's staff like his life depend on it
"what do you want god of light ?" asks Maos, he felt like the god of light couldn't reach him even if he wanted to
"to have a talk," said the god of light
"you will appear in a world, where my brother and I won't be because we left right after your master's death, the moon was shattered to piece, this is a world, where magic is nothing but a fairy tale. you will be alone, you won't be able to ever reach a great level of magic, since you have no knowledge, you may reach a certain level, but sadly only your potential descendants will be able to reach a higher level as they will inherit your magic power and your knowledge as a base for their powers, they may even not awaken them.
"for you, an instant went by, but in reality billion of years passed, such was the magic of your master who according to his wish, froze you in time so that you could land into a godless world"
suddenly the god of darkness appeared too
"After we punish Salem, I choose to erase magic," said darkness
"However, it was a mistake, as now, humanity is almost defenseless against Grimm and mostly against Salem, Salem seems too far gone to actually be saved," said the god of light
"then just bring back the magic !" said Maos [wait...they don't know about the book of magic]
[wait...why do they suddenly care about humanity ?]
[and if this is a godless world...how are they here ?]
"which is why we wish to make a deal with you," said light
"We want you to get rid of Salem and help Ozma in his mission, in exchange we'll give magic back to the world, just like in your time, however, while still maintaining the limit of 9th level spell"
"We wish to make you our new representative in the mortal world, like your master before you, and spread our new teachings and ideas to help mankind achieve the goal we set for them, in exchange we shall give magic to humankind again," said the gods of light and darkness at the same time
"..." Maos stay silent for a second as his eyes red were begin to glow
[something is weird here...]
end of the chapter, see you in the next one