Hey!

I've been away for quite some time but I'm semi-back now. School's getting in the way and will keep doing so, so you can expect my posts to be more erratic than ever. Thanks to all of you who have held on for so long, and by that I mean putting up with the three stories and my tendency to be disorganised!

I plan to get back into it a little more and at least finish writing this story. Until next time, please enjoy!

Enjoy or I'll hit you with a baguette!

- Imania

Chapter Three – The Otherworld

The Seventh Mage gave a groan and wondered if he were dead.

Kelke Peatsar lifted his head to look around, but didn't understand a whole lot of what he saw. Brown. Red. Hot. He hated the heat. Perhaps he was in hell? He was the Shadow Mage, after all. It was fitting.

"Why does hell have to be so nasty?" he asked himself. Nothing answered, a fact for which he was somewhat grateful.

Kelke rose gracefully to his feet. Well, that was the theory. In practice, it didn't work like that at all. He more staggered up, and even then it was only half up before something gave out and he collapsed back to the ground. Winded, he waited until he had managed to get his breath back before giving it a second go. Not graceful that time either, but at least there was more of an 'up' involved.

On his feet, the Shadow Mage had more of a look around, then focused closer to home to check that he was all there. He was wearing his black robes, and he wondered why. They were ripped. On closer inspection, he decided that it looked like someone had stabbed him in the stomach with something big and sharp. Bemused, he felt for a similar hole in his skin but found nothing. Something had attacked him, but he'd healed. Magus. Magus had attacked him. That wizard had set something green on him. Something green and very sharp. Broccoli? Peas? Beans? No, not that, and the prospect of food was making the Mage hungry. He had to stop thinking like that.

He wandered around and tripped over something. Something green. Magus' pet frog, that was it. Kelke studied it, wondering if you could eat frogs. Not raw, he finally decided, but it was a near thing. The problem was, what should he do with it if he wasn't going to eat it? He couldn't leave it here. No. Not in this heat. Couldn't carry it with him – too heavy. No time to hang around and wait for it to wake up of its own accord. He'd have to heal it, then. It was the only way. It would take a lot of his already depleted strength out of him, but it was probably worth it.

He knelt by the frog, touching it lightly, and, closing his eyes, tried to concentrate. The magic that was closest to hand was that of the Shadow, utterly not suitable for healing. The magic that was best for that was harder to touch, but he thought he managed all right.

The frog's eyes opened and an instant later it was up. "What art thou doing, Mage?" Frog demanded.

"Oh, hey, I ask thee, is that a nice way to treat someone who's just saved thine pathetic life?" Kelke complained, rising to his feet again.

"What hath thou done with the Masamune?" was Frog's next question.

"The what? That nasty sword? There are no nasty swords around the place. Just you and me. And a lot of rocks."

Frog studied the Mage suspiciously. "What didst thou mean about saving mine life?"

"I healed you."

"Thou hath the power to heal?"

"Don't look so surprised! I was a Sorcerer long before I was a Mage, and any decent Sorcerer ought to know how to heal," Kelke scoffed. "Now, are we just going to stand around here all day, or do you actually want to get some work done?"

"What doth thou mean?"

"What, art thou as thick as a brick? Do you see that mountain, all the way over there?"

Frog studied it. "Yes."

"That's where we're going. That's how to get out of the Otherworld. Unless, of course, you really want to stay here…" said Kelke, turning away.

"No. Not particularly."

"In that case, let's get going. Come on."

"Art thou suggesting a truce of some kind, Mage?"

"Doth thou really think I'm going to throw thee off a cliff? It's easier to get out of here working together, rather than by yourself." At least, Kelke presumed that it was so. "For your information, I'm going to kill you after we've gotten out of here, unless you can convince me otherwise."

The trek was tiresome after the first half hour. Frog was already thoroughly sick of the sharp yellow rocks over which they walked. He remembered that he and his friends tended to talk to while away the long hours of travelling, and he ventured, "How didst thou become a Mage?"

"Art thou trying to get into mine head, Frog? Understand the enemy, and all of that?"

"Take it as thou will. I was merely curious."

"Yeah, sure. We don't usually talk about the Mages."

Frog, sensing something in Kelke's tone, waited patiently. He was rewarded with, "But seeing as you asked, you're going to get the story of all of the Mages. I'm seventh, so you get me last."

"Very well."

"Jandegar's the first. The Mage of the Sun. He's… arrogant, tiresome, too proud, and stuck in his ways. The oldest of us all, of course. Watch out for that rock, it doesn't feel too stable. He was the youngest son of a Lord and kept having dreams about some place to the west of where he lived. He was indulged, of course, because nobody cared about the youngest son. It took real courage for him to strike out alone, and a lot of strength to build Altrisiac by himself. He was the first one with the vision, the first one to know how Altrisiac should look. He managed to get in touch with his power at the same time." Kelke was leading and Frog didn't see his smile, but it came across in his voice. "Altrisiac is beautiful. You should see it."

There was a short silence. "Anyway," said Kelke abruptly, "Jandegar helped all of us get in touch with the Mage power. Well, except for Tarreiz, of course. He's changed now. Changed in a way I find quite delightful. So… twisted. So ripe for corruption."

"Surely thou wouldst not work thine evil on the First of the Mages," Frog said disapprovingly.

"I don't need to. Jandegar will ruin himself quite satisfactorily." Kelke shook his head and said darkly, "He bears some watching, that one, but most of the others don't realise. They'll come to see in time, but perhaps too late."