-----Memnarch'sApprentice-------------------------------
Chapter 2: Karn
"Us? Save Mirrodin?" said JJ.
"Yep." said the face on the ceiling.
"But why us?" said Kirby.
"Well,
first lemme take a more... physical form." said the face. As if on cue,
a huge glob of ceiling dropped down and landed with a shplat on the
floor. The glob then "flowed" upwards, forming into the shape of a
golem about 1 and 1/2 feet tall. A set of eyes and a large mouth were
apparent.
"Let me introduce myself formally. I am Karn, the planeswalker." said the little figure.
A bell suddenly rung in JJ's head.
"Karn? THE Karn?" said JJ. "The planeswalker who created Mirrodin"
"I am he." said Karn.
"Wow." said JJ.
Kirby, who had been sitting around impatiently, suddenly burst.
"Seriously, who are you?" he said, pointing at Karn. "This has to be a trick"
"I assure you," said Karn. "This is no trick"
Kirby
crossed his arms. "I still don't believe you." "I believe a
demonstration is in order." said Karn. "Let me see your favorite
cards." JJ looked at Kirby, and he stared back, skeptically. But all
the same, they pulled their favorite cards. Kirby withdrew his
Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary; and JJ pulled his Sundering Titan.
"Now what?" said Kirby.
"This."
said Karn. "It" closed its eyes and and began to glow. The cards also
began to glow. Suddenly, two beams of light shot upwards. From
Rofellos, green, and from Sundering Titan, white. Then, like one sees
when watching a show on digital animation, a wireframe of each creature
appeared, then the wireframe filled in. They both flashed, then two
real-live Magic creatures were on the floor, about 6 inches tall.
"Woah..." said Kirby. He reached out and poked Rofellos. Rofellos turned and glared at him.
"I
don't think he likes you..." said JJ. "Sundering Titan, come here!" The
Titan turned. Its yellow eye-scanners looked him up and down, then it
lumbered (if something 6 inches can do that) over to him. It gazed up
at him, then kneeled like a royal knight.
"WoW!" said JJ. He reached his hand down, palm up. The Titan rose and climbed into his hand. "This is awesome"
"Yes,
and because you trust your Titan, JJ, it trusts you." Karn turned to
Kirby. "You, on the other hand, need to trust your cards a bit more"
"Uh... okay"
"Karn..." back to what you were saying." said JJ, setting his Titan down.
"Oh, right." Karn cleared his throat. "I require the two of you to save Mirrodin."
JJ and Kirby affixed him with a blank stare.
"You said that already." said JJ.
"Oh, I did?" he said, mildly. "Well, let's get down to the facts.
"As
you may know, I created Mirrodin, then left it in the hands of my
servant, Memnarch." began Karn. "And, he turned a tad crazy, imported
thousands of "off worlders" from other planets, and has been
cultivating them in hopes of obtaining planeswalker status.
"Now,
this would be fine and dandy except for the fact that Memnarch changed
his tactics. He sent his Levelers out earlier than normal, so they
killed Glissa before she could escape. Now, there is no one to stop him.
"To
further complement this situation, he has summoned forth 5 humans from
this planet. To each he gave one of the "Bringer" cards, from "Fifth
Dawn"
"The Bringers?" said JJ. The Bringers were 5 creatures, each
assigned to one element. They were all 5/5 with a high summoning cost,
but, each one could be alternatively summoned by paying 1 of each color
mana. Plus, they each had an effect which could do some serious damage
to an opponent.
"Yes. And, he has powered these Bringers up. They are now 10/10's each." said Karn gravely.
"Uh-oh." said Kirby.
"Yes.
He sent each one of these people, known on Mirrodin as "Summoners of
the Bringers", to the five areas. There, they have enslaved the local
populations and are wreaking havoc." Karn sighed. "I would stop him,
but more pressing matters lie elsewhere. Therefore, I ask you two to go
to Mirrodin in my place, and stop him for good"
Karn looked at both of them. "Will you accept?"
JJ thought for a moment. "Will the time we spend on Mirrodin count as time spent here?"
Karn shook his head. "No, it won't."
"Okay, then I'm in." said JJ. He gathered up his cards.
"And you, Kirby?" said Karn.
"Yeah, why not?" said Kirby with a grin.
"Then it's settled." said Karn. "You'll just need a girl to come with you to ensure that everything is balanced"
JJ and Kirby froze in mid-pose.
"A girl?"
I'm sorry it took so long to get this next chapter out. But, to me, sometimes, writing doesn't come easy. Anyway, until next time!
-MA