"Welcome to life Jugan, Dragon of the Morning Star!" the green mage cried as the dragon roared out, the rising sun behind them making quite the scene.
"Now things get interesting," Aerna said, grinning as the light revealed their opponents. Thomas could only gasp. Not 50 feet away stood two drow elves, the most evil race Thomas knew off.
Aerna flipped through her book and took out another piece of paper.
"Kao, I have an idea!" she called.
The blue mage nodded and the golem kneeled in front of the white mage. She placed the card between her hand and the creature and began to whisper words of power. The golem glowed with a soft white aura as Aerna moved back.
"Go get 'em, Kao," Thomas said, excited to see the new spell.
With a grin, Kao looked up at the green mage.
"Ready, Lian?" he called up.
The green mage nodded. With a gesture from his master, Jugan moved down and surrounded the golem.
"Jugan, defend Kao's creature!" Lian ordered with his soft voice.
Jugan roared again as he and the golem charged. The demon bared its teeth and slashed at the weakened golem. Just before the attack hit, Jugan blocked the demon's claws. The golem hopped over and attacked the demon, slashing it down the right arm. The demon screamed as its arm when limp. It tried to strike at the golem, but Jugan's snake-like body twisted again and blocked the golem. He returned with a blast of hot air, sending the demon flying in a heap. With a lot of effort, the demon got up, growling in frustration.
"This has gone far enough!" the black mage shouted, also struggling to get to her feet. She spoke a few quick words then pointed at Jugan, her hand surrounded in black mana.
"With my black heart, I steal your strength, Jugan!" she cried, the black aura extending off her hand. The aura surrounded Jugan, freezing him in place. The dragon cried, then fell down, twitching and coughing before dying.
"Waste not, want not," she said, grinning, "I give the energy I've stolen to Reiver Demon!"
The demon's wounds glowed with black and green energy as they sealed. The demon howled and grinned, all the damage undone. The golem charged and got a lucky punch with its pincer arm in the demon's chest. But the demon just grinned as it slashed the golem's stomach three times, and then kicked it away. It landed face down in a heap next to the dead Jugan. Kao screamed and flew backwards, mimicking the golem's movements.
"Mighty wizards of Dainaria," the black mage called, "I, Lyr'aia, demand your spells for my employer as payment for your defeat!"
San and Lian began to look through their spell books rather quickly, looking for a spell to cast.
"That won't be necessary," Aerna said, smiling, "Will it, Kao?"
The blue mage pulled himself to his feet, clutching his stomach.
"No, it won't," he said, "Now, golem, stand."
Without missing a beat, the golem rose. Lyr'aia gasped.
"How!" she cried, "The demon scored direct hits! Surely it must be dead!"
"My spell," Aerna said.
It was then that Lyr'aia could see the mark of white mana glowing on the golem.
"My Spell of Faith's Test let the golem defend three attacks then take that damage and turn it into offensive power!"
The golem held up its scythe hands to reveal spikes sprouting from their hands that looked very similar to the demon's claws.
"Don't forget about Jugan," Lian said, landing without a sound.
"What do you mean?" the drow asked with a streak of fear on her face.
"Jugan is only a spirit," he said calmly, "His body is mana, hence the long ritual to summon him. Observe."
The green mage touched the dragon's corpse and focused. The body glowed green and disappeared. In the dragon's place was a glowing ball of energy.
"Jugan cannot be completely killed. He is life incarnate. That life cannot be simply willed away. His strength lives on, even after the vessel that carried it has perished. And now, I grant that strength to Kao's golem."
The ball of light rose up and combined with the golem. The golem grew antlers like that of Jugan, as well as regenerated its missing wings. The metallic skin grew scales and the claws became more distinct. Where a battered creature once stood, there was a powerful beast, combined with the strength of the mages.
"Golem, destroy the demon!" Kao ordered.
The golem flew at the demon quickly, purring as it went. The blue mage began to cast.
"Golem!" she called, blue mana flowing from her hands, "Answer my call as my servant!"
The golem fell, twitching as the spell took effect. Kao shook his head.
"Here's a little tidbit for you two," he began, taking a wand from his sleeve, "It might seem wrong, but sometimes, divining the future means controlling it. Aura of Magical Release!"
Kao fired a bolt of blue energy as the golem. The energy formed into a bubble that the drow's spell couldn't penetrate.
"The fate of my golem is written," he said with a grin, "He cannot be the target of a wizard's spell now, even my own. Golem, finish this!"
The golem tackled the demon back then flew around and kicked it from behind. The demon clawed the ground, stabilizing itself. It tried to slash the golem, but the golem was faster, slashing both its arms to ribbons then slashing the demon's neck, finally ending it. The black mage fell over, blood running from her neck. The blue mage looked at her fallen companion, then at the golem.
"This isn't over!" the blue mage screamed, disappearing into a portal behind her.
The demon faded into non-existence as the golem turned to its master.
"Good job," Kao said, smiling. The golem nodded.
Thomas studied the golem hard. He could've sworn he saw that monster somewhere. But where?
Kao and San walked over to the drow mage. She was mortally wounded, but still alive. Kao kneeled next to her.
"Why were you sent here, drow?" Kao asked, his voice low.
"That is of no concern to you, Dainarian," she spat, blood running out of her mouth, "My employer is powerful. He will have you, wizard. He will use your very power against you."
The drow choked and died. Kao ran his hand over the drow's eyes and closed them. He then reached into the dead drow's robes, removed her spellbook and other talismans of power, and placed them in his robes. The two wizards rejoined the group. San pulled his hood back. Thomas' eyes widened. San was a goblin.
"Even though the sun's up, it's still pretty risky out here," San said, "Let's be getting back to the castle. It's not far."
San looked at the faces of the wizards then Thomas. He looked flustered.
"What's your problem, boy?" he asked, sounding offended.
"Nothing," Thomas said, his face losing the shocked look, "I just didn't expect you to be a goblin."
San began to mutter something that sounded very much like a spell but stopped when Kao placed a hand on his shoulder. The wizards covered themselves once more then began walking, Thomas still being held by Aerna. The last hour of their trip was uneventful, except for Thomas. He couldn't get over what he had just seen. They were wizards, real wizards. What did this mean for him? What would this prophecy entail he do? And where had Thomas seen that golem? When the time came, Thomas would settle these questions. Until then, he would let the beauty of the landscape take his mind to a less troubled place.
Necaria, First Day of the age of the Gold Dragon
Necaria was the polar opposite of Dainaria. While Dainaria was beautiful and full of life, Necaria was dark and empty. It was the largest of the five great kingdoms, taking every inch of ground with a battle to the death. They wanted the whole world, even lands beyond the five kingdoms.
The king of Necaria was an evil man named Mol'ra. For the 150 years he ruled, no one had ever seen his face. Not even his soldiers, advisors, or drow assassins. In this morning, one of his assassins stood before him. Worse for her, she stood before him with no partner or heads for his trophy room.
"Why did you fail, Shar'dra?" the king said in a low, wispy voice, "And where is Lyr'aia?"
"My king," the drow wizard began, kneeling at the king's throne, "Lyr'aia died in the line of duty."
"I see," Mol'ra replied, still calm, "Why did you survive?"
"I did not summon a monster to fight, my lord."
"I see. Did you use your magic to the best of your ability to save Lyr'aia?"
"Yes, my lord."
"I do not believe you."
The drow looked up, her red eyes filled with fear.
"What? I did all I could, my lord!"
"No, I think that you did enough to make it look like a struggle, to make Lyr'aia feel safe. But, you let your past with her get in the way of your mission and you let her fall."
"My lord, I was upset when Lyr'aia stole my place in the academy. But I would not let personal feeling get in the way of a mission!"
"Yes you would. You're drow."
Without a sound, Shar'dra began to levitate, her face contorted in pain. Black mana surrounded her body and then she withered away, an armored skeleton falling back to the ground.
"Dispose of her," Mol'ra ordered, "And prepare another group to go to Dainaria. I want to know what they're up to."
Two guards gathered the drow's remains then hurried off.
Castle Dainaria, Mid-day
Thomas looked out of Kao's tower over the land of Dainaria. It was a strange mixture of beauty and revolt. While there were many beautiful trees and fields, the land still showed signs of many war campaigns. From the look of it, they had been hard on the land.
Kao sat against the opposite wall, working with many devices Thomas had never seen before. Right now, the blue mage was swirling a wooden rod in a green potion. The potion slowly shined with blue mana, as did Kao's eyes. For several minutes, Kao stared into the potion without blinking. In fact, Thomas realized he wasn't even breathing.
Then, the potion turned black and the blue mana dispersed. Kao shook his head, rubbing his forehead. He put the wooden rod back into a drawer, then sat for a moment, lost in thought.
"Something about you does not fit, Thomas," Kao said slowly, his eyes locked on something on his wall, "Your future makes little sense. All I can see is blistering heat then constant cold. As I said, it makes little sense."
"Heat, huh?" Thomas asked, thinking for a moment, "Well, I always did like the summer best."
Kao chuckled. He arose and went to his table, pouring over the black wizard's spellbook. Thomas looked as well and saw pictures of rituals and spells. None of them looked terribly pleasant.
"Why are you looking at those, Kao?" Thomas asked, "Those look like black spells."
"They are," Kao said, "But there are some black spells that are useful for divination as well."
"You can use black mana?" Thomas asked, surprised.
"Some, yes," Kao said, "Don't your wizards in your world use different mana types?"
"There are no wizards in my city," Thomas replied, "The only mentions of wizards are in stories and myths."
"No wizards?" Kao said, looking confused, "But how do you get light and water? How do you communicate with one another?"
Thomas explained his world to Kao. Kao listened excitedly, each bit of information, each shred of knowledge a new adventure.
"Your world sounds fascinating," Kao said, smiling, "Perhaps I could travel with you when you return. These computers you speak of sound fascinating."
As Thomas opened his mouth to speak, there was a knock at the door. A girl, no older than 15, wearing very pale blue robes entered.
"Lord Kao," she said, bowing low.
"Yes, Kaea?" Kao said, waving her closer, "What can I do for you?"
"Mistress Narea has come to your audience, my lord."
"See her in, Kaea."
The woman bowed then left the room.
"Who's she?" Thomas asked.
"My apprentice," Kao replied, "And, also, my niece. She is all the family left to me."
"If you don't mind my asking, what happened to the rest of your family?"
Kao looked down at the table, trying to gather the courage to speak. He was saved, however, by the entry of a figure dressed in black robes. Slowly, the wizard glided across the floor to the table. Thomas felt slight fear in his gut as the black wizard approached, visions of old hags running through his head as she pulled the hood back. However, Thomas was further surprised by a young woman only a few years older than himself. She had long brown hair and green eyes that shone with the light of youth. She smiled.
"Hi," Narea said informally, "I'm Narea. You must be Thomas. It's good to meet you. Aerna was telling me all about the battle with the drow wizards. That must have been rather frightening. I've never seen a drow before, let alone a drow wizard. I'm just glad that it wasn't a whole army. I've read many stories about drow armies. They're very good at war and magic. I also hear that drow literature and music is eerily beautiful…"
Thomas tried to respond, but the black wizard just kept rambling. Kao smiled and gently put a hand on her shoulder, bringing her to silence.
"Sorry," she said quietly, "I have a terrible habit of running at the mouth."
"It's fine," Thomas replied, "I don't get to have many conversations back home."
"There will be time for that later, Thomas," Kao interrupted, "Now, Narea, I have recovered a book of black spells."
"Yay, new spells!" she squealed.
"You may have them," he conceded, "But I do need to use them for now. And for that-"
"You need black mana," Narea finished, nodding slowly. She reached into her robe and took out a small egg-shaped artifact. It shone black, beautiful and eerie at the same time.
"What's that?" Thomas asked.
"It's a mana battery," Narea explained, "It holds mana of a certain color. We wizards use them to power our spells."
"But what about using the land for energy?"
"The mana in the land is tainted," Kao said, "Years of war and use has long since exhausted the mana sources. Only through rigorous rituals and spells can the mana be used. Therefore, we charge the batteries with purified mana. The nicer batteries can hold more than one type of mana, but our batteries are a bit outdated."
"Can't you just make better ones?"
"We don't have anyone skilled in artifice in the kingdom. Out artificer met with a terrible fate some time ago."
Thomas nodded. To him, a life as an artificer would be spectacular. He tried hard not to think about it, though. In time, he would return to the ghetto, his mother, and his life of dreaming.
Kao took the black mana battery and held it in his hand. He then put his other hand on Treble.
"This magic is risky, Thomas," Kao said, "It might be painful the things you will see and feel. Can you handle it?"
Thomas nodded quickly. He thought he had felt pain before. As Kao cast the spell, he felt a terrible swell of dread as the room got very dark. He couldn't see Kao or Narea, both of which stood a few feet away. Suddenly, they disappeared all together. In a large blur, he saw everything at once. He saw a firey demon. He saw forests, oceans, mountains, plains, wastelands, everywhere in the world. He saw kings and queens bowing to someone. He saw the way he died. He saw his sisters laying together, crying. Why were they crying? He focused hard on that and turned to the window. For a moment, Thomas saw what was coming.
As quickly as it started, Thomas was back in Dainaria, the screams of his doomed sisters echoing in his head. He fell to the floor, his body wracking with pain. He screamed, a little from the pain of the shock and the pain of seeing his sisters' last moments.
"NO!" Thomas cried, "They can't be..They're not…"
"Thomas," Kao said softly, "Thomas, get up."
"They're not dead," he muttered, clutching his head, "They can't be, they're so young! They're so young, Kao! It's not fair! It's not fair, damnit!"
"Thomas," Kao said more forcefully. He picked Thomas up and Thomas tried to punch him, lost in instinct. Kao turned Thomas around and restrained him. Thomas cried out in frustration, fighting with all his might to hit the blue wizard, to hit something! But finally, his body and soul surrendered, breaking down into hysterical tears. Kao hugged him, like a brother would, trying his best to comfort this boy. He had seen the visions too. The screams of those poor girls were almost too much for him to handle.
Narea put a hand on his shoulder. Despite her cheery manner, she was terrible at making people feel better. She took the battery from Kao and put it back in her robes.
"I'll take my leave, then, Kao," she said, bowing and leaving silently.
Later in the Night
Kao continued to work long after he had put Thomas to bed. As he went on, more of the truth became apparent to him. He saw the fate of Thomas' world. As the wizard worked, he began to ask many serious questions. How could Kao send Thomas back there? The most time he would have with his family, in his bed, in his life is about an hour, then likely death. How could he ask this boy to risk everything to save his own world when he knew that sending him back to his world would be sentencing him to death? He also had to ask himself if the visions were true. After all, the blue mage had had a string of bad luck with his magic.
Kao was so deep in thought he didn't notice Aerna enter the room. She crossed and sat next to him, startling him.
"Aerna," he said, nodding, "What brings you to my room at this late hour?"
"Worry for you and our savior," she said, "Narea told me of the spell and what happened to Thomas."
"So, you came to guide me?"
"Yes. But also to hear of these visions. Did you get our answer?"
"Perhaps. He will travel with us. At least, as the fates proceed."
"What do you mean 'as the fates proceed'?"
Kao stood and walked to the window. He looked out at the land under the moonlight, a strange beauty settling in over the land.
"I'm sending him back, Aerna," he said at last.
"What?" Aerna exclaimed, rising, "But surely that means death?"
"I suppose. But doesn't he die no matter what? If he stays, we put him through hell then send him back to die. If we take him back, he still dies. Either way, Thomas dies. It's not fair. He's barely had a chance at life."
Aerna walked over to the blue mage and embraced him.
"You see the similarities, don't you, Kao?" she whispered.
The blue mage nodded slowly.
"He's too much like Raon," the blue mage choked out, tears forming in his eyes, "And he will die the same pointless death."
"So, when do you want to send him back?" Aerna asked.
"As soon as possible," he replied, wiping the tears from his eyes.
"Can I have a say?" a voice asked from the door.
The two wizards turned to see Thomas standing there, his hair messy from a hard sleep.
"I want to stay," he said, not waiting for a reply.
"But what of your world?" Kao asked, "Don't you wish to see it?"
"Yes, very much so," Thomas said, "But I can't save it. All I ask is that you let me see it one more time. Then, I'll do whatever you need me to do without fear or question."
Kao looked at Thomas with careful hesitation. The look in Thomas' eye was forceful. It was permanent. He was ready to let go of everything to help complete strangers.
"Alright, Thomas," Kao said at last, "You have a deal."
Earth, December 16th, 10:30 AM
Thomas and Kao stood where the Thomas' apartment once was. His mother's corpse was not accounted for, which almost relieved him that he didn't have to face that. In the tatters of his old bed lay the illusion Kao cast, sleeping peacefully, unaffected by the bombs. Kao dismissed it. Thomas gathered a few things that survived the attacks then left with the blue mage to the portal area. Thomas placed a stone Kao had given him on the ground, a commemoration of the people he knew and loved. In a language Kao showed him, he wrote the names of he and his family on it. Thomas said a quick prayer then looked at Kao.
"Kao, can you teach me magic?" he said, "I know it's a lot to ask. But I need to know. Can I be a wizard like you?"
Kao thought for a moment. Then he slowly nodded.
"I will teach you magic, Thomas," he said.
Thomas looked down at the stone.
"Let's go, Kao," Thomas said.
Kao opened the portal and the two went back to Dainaria. Not long after they had left, a teenage girl crawled up against the underpass wall where the portal had been formed. She was bleeding badly from her mouth and many wounds. Her clothes was little more than shreds, not that they were much before anyway. She picked up the stone and held it. It felt cool to the touch, which was almost a relief to the hellish heat around her. Slowly, darkness took her. She thought she was dying. She could feel her body slipping away. But instead, she fell asleep, the stone held against her chest.
As she slept, the runes on the stone began to glow. The stone sparked, humming very quietly. A white aura surrounded the girl from the stone. Her wounds began to seal themselves, her clothes reform. The dirt on her skin and in her hair faded. Soon, she looked as though she was as foreign to the world around her as the stone. The aura faded and stone went dormant, the runes still glowing slightly.
(Author's Note-I'm sorry about the time it took to get this out to you guys. Work + writer's block long time. Anyway, I do appalogize. Also, the question was asked about the creatures and the battles. That will be explained next chapter. Hopefully, that next chapter will be out in the next two weeks. Thank you for the reviews to all who left one. Please continue to give me feedback. I do listen and take it to heart. Thank you. --Treble)