Dainaira, 1st Day of the Age of the Gold Dragon
In a blaze of blue energy, Thomas, Aerna, and Kao walked out of the portal into the middle of a town square just before sunrise. The three of them looked around.
"Were you not casting a portal to the castle, Kao?" Aerna asked, "And during the day?"
"Yes to both, Mistress Aerna," Kao replied, pulling his hood down to have a better view of the area around him. Why did this spell fail? he thought to himself.
While the two wizards worried, Thomas was in awe. The town around him was just like the towns he dreamed about during his lunches and off periods. The lane in front of him was lined with taverns, signs of all kinds hanging in front of them. Some had drunks out front, sleeping off the night's effects; others had lights and shadows in the windows of people in joyous celebration. Another lane was filled with shops and restaurants from all around the magical world. Signs with all kinds of goods, from books to farm supplies, hung at odd angles. All around Thomas was a new and exciting world.
Aerna wrapping a pale colored cloak around him stole Thomas from his reverie.
"Cover yourself, Thomas," the young woman said, "It's cold this night."
Thomas knew she was lying. It was a nice night. Something in her voice also betrayed her intentions. Little did he know, before he pulled the hood down around his face, two sets of red eyes were watching them from the shadows.
The three made their way down the row of shops to the city gates with no trouble. Kao pulled his hood back and stepped up in front to address the guards.
"Who goes there at this early hour?" the guard asked.
"I am Kao, Chief Diviner of the King and Royal Mage of blue mana," the wizard said, bowing low.
"I am humbled to receive you, Lord Kao," the guard said, bowing in turn, "I'd be more than happy to let you pass if you can produce your identification, of course."
Kao smiled and nodded, reaching into his cloak. He felt around then froze. The wizard patted his chest up and down, a frantic look on his face.
"Oh no," he muttered, "It's in the tower."
The guard shook his head.
"No identification, no passing," the guard said.
Kao looked at Aerna, a defeated look on his face. She sighed.
"He is Kao, and I am Aerna, Royal Mage of white mana," she declared, producing a white medallion from her cloak. Even though it was white, it shined in the torchlight, a sun symbol crowned with a symbol that Thomas guessed to be the royal seal. The guard inspected it carefully then nodded and bowed.
"It is an honor to receive you, Lady Aerna," the guard said.
Within five minutes, the three travelers were on the road to the castle. Aerna giggled softly.
"Today does not seem to be your day, Kao," she softly teased, "Be careful in your navigation, else we find ourselves in the ocean."
Kao stayed silent. He was too deep in his thoughts about his recent string of failures to hear Aerna's banter. Kao's silence shocked her. Even though she had an idea why, it was still unlike him to remain silent. Perhaps the problem was bigger than she thought. Thomas, however, was thinking about something else entirely. He was still waiting for the dream to end, for all this to go away. He also wondered what all the cards and books were for.
The three walked on, thinking about their problems in silence. From the path ahead, there was a very audible snap. Aerna and Kao surrounded Treble, Kao taking the front.
"Do you have any spells that could work at night?" Kao whispered.
"Not many," she said, "A few protection charms, but nothing offensive."
Kao cursed as he took out a rather large spell book. He opened it and inside was pages unlike anything Thomas had ever seen. It had pouches, sleeves, texts beyond galore. It was the ultimate spell book. Aerna took one out that was just as impressive. She flipped through and stopped on one page. She took out a piece of paper and a bag before setting the book down. Quickly, she made a circle around the three of them with the powder and held the paper, focusing on it.
Meanwhile, Kao took out a piece of metal and a piece of paper like the one Aerna was focusing on. Kao focused on the paper and the metal. Then, he threw the metal into the air.
"Golem of the Winds!" he bellowed, "I summon thee!"
Kao thrust the card into the air. The card was surrounded by blue light and then launched the light at the metal. The energy struck the metal, forming around it. The metal then twisted and turned into a humanoid machine. Then, the metal starts to flow, like water, forming into twin scythes on its arms to match wings that grew from its back. Thomas looked at the golem hard. Something was familiar about it. Where had he seen that golem before?
"Golem, defensive stance!" Kao ordered. The golem followed the order.
Then, two figures came out of the shadows. The shorter of the two uttered a word and flames leapt from his fingers.
"Kao, what's the deal?" the shorter said, "If this is about the 5 pieces I owe ya, we can talk it over!"
Kao laughed as he stepped towards the two.
"My apologies, San," the wizard whispered, shaking their hands, "I am fearful of the night for it holds dangers to our guest."
"Oh, yeah, the kid," the shorter man said.
"Hey, I'm seventeen!" Thomas exclaimed, "Besides, I'm taller than you!"
The shorter man came over and grabbed Thomas by the collar of his shirt.
"Didn't your momma tell you to not play with red mages?" he whispered. At this range, Thomas noticed the man's cloak was red.
"You're the red mage of the Royal Wizards aren't you?" Thomas asked.
"Well, at least the kid's quicker than he looks," the red wizard grumbled.
Their banter was cut short, however, by a rather loud roar from a rather large demon that had appeared behind them.
The four wizards took action. The golem turned and crossed its arms in front of Aerna and Thomas, the two new wizards took their stand next to Kao, and Aerna dropped a black bead into her powder circle.
"Circle of Life! Shield us from the powers of the black!" she cried.
The powder circle turned black from the spot the bead hit before turning back to white. The demon grinned, staring down the golem. Behind them, Thomas could see two sets of red eyes staring the wizards down. The glare from the fire revealed their black armor, but their skin showed no color.
"Reiver Demon!" one of them, a woman, called out, "Leave none alive!"
The demon jumped into the air, its wings spread, teeth bared as it charged at the group. The golem stood strong as the demon grabbed it and tried to rip its arms off. But, the circle flared bright, sending the demon flying backwards.
"The Circle of Life won't let your demon hurt us!" Aerna called, "We are the Royal Wizards of Dainaria! And you will not defeat us!"
"Royal Wizards, huh?" the woman called, "And you think a trash can and a doodle on the ground will stop us? Shar'dra, show them their folly."
The other person nodded then began chanting. A blue aura surrounded her, stealing Kao's breath.
"Oh no," he whispered, "Another blue mage."
"Counter her spell, Kao!" Thomas pressed, "Quickly!"
"I can't," Kao replied, "I'm a diviner, not a countermage. I found the arts of divination to be more fruitful."
"That and he couldn't counter a spell to save his soul," Aerna added.
"You're a blue mage that can't counter spells?" Thomas asked.
"I have other skills!" Kao yelled, wiping the sweat from his brow, "Golem, block the spell!"
The golem flew at the other blue mage as the spell fired. The golem crossed his arms to block when the spell split around him. The golem looked back and watched the spell enter the circle. The jewel flew up and shuddered, then turned from black to white.
"With my spell, I take away your protection from the black mana and turn it to white!" the wizard cried.
Aerna cursed and began to flip through her spell book. The mage that had been silent through all this stepped forward. His cloak was green.
"I have a solution," he said, his voice calm and steady, "San. Cover me as I cast."
The pulled out a spell book and flipped to a page. He took out a piece of paper and a scale. He read a passage from the book then turned to the east. He concentrated on the scale then threw it into the east. Afterwards, the mage sat and began to chant.
"Demon, kill that wizards before his spell activates!" the black wizard yelled.
The demon lunged at the green mage.
"Kao, send in the golem!" San ordered as he began to cast.
"Right. Golem of the Winds, strike!" Kao ordered
The golem turned and sliced at the demon, cutting its side. Its summoner clutched her side, feeling the demon's pain as her own. The demon turned to counter only to find a ray of fire in its path. Confused, the demon fell back, stalking the golem.
A strike fight, Thomas though, But how effective can it really be?
The golem flew threw the fire, its flowing metal body unharmed, and slashed the demon again. This time, the demon caught one of the golem's wings and ripped it before a column of fire surrounded the demon. Kao screamed loudly into the night, falling to one knee.
"Aerna, do you have to mana for an artifice healing spell?" Kao asked through gritted teeth.
"Barely, but it should be enough," she replied. The golem landed next to her as she laid her hands on the golem's wing. Her hands glowed white and the slash marks began to fade. Suddenly, a black aura surrounded her hands, binding them. Next, another black aura caused the wound on the golem's wing to increase instead of decrease. Kao's back began to bleed from the same spot as the golem's wing fell off.
"Nice try," the black mage called, "Now, to finish you off. Demon, break free!"
With a howl, the demon leapt out of the fire column, a bit singed but very much alive.
"Finish the golem!" its master cried.
The demon flew into the air where the golem could no longer follow then broke into a dive, claws extended. However, just as it began to fall, the sun peaked over the horizon. Instead of its usual bright yellow, it shone green. The green mage began to levitate, his chanting growing louder.
"No! Demon, kill the green wizard!" the black mage screamed, shielding her eyes from the sun's glow, "Kill it! Kill it!"
The demon, in its mid-air dive, heard its master, but found changing direction difficult. The golem sidestepped, slashing the demon further. It crashed into the ground in a heap then rolled and jumped up, flying at the green mage.
The green mage was unconcerned. His whole body vibrated green mana, his cloak thrown back by a gust of wind.
"Arise, my sleeping friend!" he cried to the winds, "Come forth from your ancient slumber!"
The sun emitted a ray of green energy that traveled toward the green wizard. As it got closer, it began to twist like a snake. Just as demon claws came up at the wizard to strike, another set of claws came down to block.
The energy head butted the demon, sending it flying to the earth. Slowly, the energy faded. Where green mana once stood now held a great green dragon, long and flowing, wrapped around its master's aura. Its antlers were pressed against its head, teeth bared at the demon. The green mage smiled.
"Welcome to life Jugan, Dragon of the Rising Star."
(Author's Note- My thanks to those who posted reviews. I have taken your suggestions to heart and I do promise to give you what you want to see. Thanks for the honest feedback. Any more you want to give, please do. I never mind help. Once again, thank you. –Treble)