Adventures of John: Death of Magic
Chapter 7: Among the Rose
"While you say that may be true," Hans began, the Rose leaders looking at him with confused looks on their faces. "You don't know them like I do. It takes the best to beat the be-est!" The music rose to a crescendo with that last note, Hans raising his hands into the air dramatically.
"They're clever, and they're sly." He crept around exaggeratedly at this part, popping up behind the Rose leaders' chairs. "Take a look and they'll poke out your eye. 'They have no magic,' you'll say with a grin," at this part he shook his head and wagged his finger at them, "but that doesn't mean you'll win. They'll kick you in the rear," he pantomimed kicking the back of their chairs, "and send you all back here, and wave you all goodbye!" He stopped for a moment, at this point the Rose leaders looking at him like he was a madman.
"Luckily, you have me," he stated simply before bursting back into song. "I'm slyer, and far more clever. Beat me again? I say never!" He stepped onto a chair, one leg on the chair and the other on the table, his fist raised triumphantly into the air. "My plan is brilliant!" He rose from the chair, standing on the table with his hands on his hips. "My dream is bright! This plot is resilient, I know I'm right! When all is said and done, they'll be dead and I'll have-"
"What on earth are you doing?!" the mage lady finally exclaimed.
"I'm… explaining my plan, Magus Madeline," Hans replied, confused.
"You were singing!"
"…And?"
"Is that a thing people do here?" she asked, sounding almost revolted. "Just, randomly burst into song?"
"Do people not do that where you're from?" Hans sounded just as confused as she was disgusted. I, of course, could barely hold in my laughter at the situation. It's not often that you get to see the hilarity that ensues when a musical world and a non-musical one collide.
"No, they do not, and I would greatly appreciate it if you refrained from any singing in the future," she hissed, pulling on a pair of silver gloves. "Now, if you don't mind, I have some business to attend to. Guards, please escort 'King' Hans to his tent. Generals, you know your duties." She left the tent swiftly, followed by a not-so-happy Hans with a pair of guards on either side.
"Well, now we know what is happening," I told Merida. "This is seriously bad. We need to get out of here before-" I turned around to see that Merida was gone. "Waffles," I muttered, poking my head out of the tent. "You can't capture Hans if you can't touch anything!" I shouted.
"There you are." I suddenly felt a sharp pain tugging at my insides and I turned around to see Magus Madeline, an ornate jeweled gauntlet stretched out towards me. "I felt your presence in my command tent, spirit," she hissed. "Nothing gets past me, not even specters. Now, why don't you submit before this gets truly painful. I have the feeling that you will be a great addition to our forces once we shackle you. You would be the perfect spy, certainly."
"Sorry to disappoint you Miss," I stated, becoming corporeal once more, the painful tug vanishing. "But I am no specter or spirit. Though I am the most powerful being you are ever likely to meet in your miserable life."
"I doubt that."
"Of course you do." I sighed, leaning against one of the tent poles. "A demonstration is in order then." I flicked my wrist and she was tossed fifty feet in the air, falling back down. She hissed out a spell and her gauntlet glowed, her fall slowing and allowing her to land unharmed.
"I've done more impressive in my sleep," she told me, her eyes steel.
"Then I guess I'll have to step it up a notch." I stomped my foot on the ground and tremors ran through the entire camp, spires of rock rising to cover and hold down her arms and legs. "You have no idea who you are dealing with here, little Miss Murder."
"I know exactly who I am dealing with," she spat back, a burst of sapphire energy freeing her hands. "I am dealing with a child who has lived their whole life feeling like they are better than everyone else because they were born with magic while everyone else was left with nothing. You think that just because you have magic you are superior. You never had to struggle for anything, because you always had your magic to help you. Well, you won't have your magic for much longer."
"Lived with magic my whole life?" I laughed, though the irony tasted somewhat bitter in my mouth. "You really don't know who you are dealing with. The power that I have now came with a price. I was born with magic in a world where magic is already all but dea. You think I don't know what it is like to struggle?" I snapped my fingers and she rose into the air, suspended in a bubble of golden energy. "You know nothing."
Her sapphire power was useless against the golden prison, her energy dissipating before my superior magical strength. Unfortunately, I had forgotten about the fact that there was an entire army here. A dozen other Rose magi blasted me with azure energy, distracting me enough for Magus Madeline's prison to falter. I sent out a blast of energy that knocked them all to the ground, but now I was surrounded by over a dozen magi trained specifically to fight opponents with strong magical abilities.
"It's over," Madeline stated matter-of-factly. "You can't defeat us, wizard. No mage can defeat a dozen Rose magi working in unison."
"I am so much more than that," I hissed, allowing a bit of my power to seep out, lighting my clothing back to their usual red and gold, my armor taking on a faint radiance. "I have saved entire universes and battled forces you cannot even imagine. I have killed gods."
She smiled thinly, arching an elegant eyebrow. "Killed gods, have you? So have we." All of them focused their energy towards me at once, blasting against my hastily erected shield. I dug my feet into the ground and poured more energy into the shield, stopping when I felt the tremors beneath my feet. I reached out with my senses and realized that this place, for whatever reason, was already awash with magical energy. This direct clash between my power and the Rose's, both of which originated from a universe other than the one we were in, was destabilizing the cavern. If we kept this up much longer the cavern would collapse, killing everyone in it. Including myself and Merida.
I stopped putting energy in the shield and let them shatter through it, their power wrapping around me in a magical prison. "Not so powerful now, are you?" Magus Madeline asked with a sinister smile.
Oh, you just wait, I replied inwardly, staring daggers at her. You haven't seen anything yet, lady. I felt cold iron against my skin as manacles clasped around my wrists, my magic slowly pouring into the runed chains. I looked around and caught sight of Merida hiding in the shadows. She put a finger to her lips and vanished, as if she had never been there. Good job Merida! I laughed inwardly, sending my thoughts towards her telepathically. It seemed that even without my spell protecting her she could move about unseen. Keep out of sight, I'll be out of here soon enough. This isn't the first time I've been locked in magic-limiting manacles, and the last time they had been forged by gods. This time should be no trouble.
There was no response but I guessed from the fact that she didn't appear again that she hadn't heard me. Either that or she had left me to die. I wasn't entirely sure at the time. Whatever the case, it didn't take long for them to drag me into a cage and lock me securely inside. Or, at least they thought it was secure. When I am the one in the prison, no prison is secure.
The last time I had been locked in manacles like these I had to force all of my magic back to my body, forcing the manacles to feed on my astral form instead. However, those manacles had been designed specifically to keep me from using any magic of any variety. From what I knew about the Rose, these manacles were just meant to keep me from using my powers against my would-be masters until they had broken my will. But that wasn't going to happen. These chains hadn't been forged by Hephaestus and enchanted by Odin himself. They had been forged and enchanted by humans, which meant that they were much easier to destroy.
But I wasn't ready to escape quite yet. There were still some things that I could possibly learn from this experience. People tend to be a little less tight-lipped around doomed men.
"So," I began as a guard walked past. "What's with the massive hole in the ground?"
"That is none of your business," he replied, stopping to glare at me. "Filthy mage."
Your leader is a mage too, you idiot. But I didn't say that out loud. That could ruin my chances at getting any information out of him. "Well, it doesn't look like I'll be doing any magic anytime soon." I waved the manacles at him. "Besides, I already know what it is. I was just wondering if you know. They didn't tell you, did they? They didn't tell you what they're making you dig up. You don't know anything. You're just a poor little pawn."
"I am not!" he hissed. "I am a Rose soldier! Dedicated to destroying magic so that it can never hurt anyone ever again! And I know exactly what is going on!"
"Of course you do," I replied sarcastically. "They tell you everything, don't they? Because you are just SO important. Ha! You are so naïve. They wouldn't tell you anything. I bet you couldn't even tell me what it is if you tried."
"We're digging out something that will be the end of all of you! All you mages and wizards will have no more magic left! We're taking the Mana Heart and we are going to destroy it once and for all!"
Mana Heart? Wait… Ley lines are pathways of magical energy coursing through the world. They are sometimes referred to as veins of magic. But for there to be veins, there would have to be a heart… If this "Mana Heart" was what the guard was insinuating it was, and it even existed, by destroying it they would stop the flow of magic through the world's ley lines. It wasn't just talk this time. They weren't just here to imprison magic users and enslave magical creatures. They had actually found a way to kill magic. I needed to get out of there and stop this, before they really did manage to end everything.
Author's Note: So, that song, right? I always knew Hans was a pretentious idiot, but it was still hilarious to see the reactions on Magus Magda and the other Rose leaders' faces when he started singing. It was definetly one of my favorite parts about this adventure. Well, that's all for now. See you all next week.