AN: Hello and welcome back to Soshi Sentai Sorceger, I know I said September but technically it's only a few days after. I like this chapter a lot because there's a lot of world building and character motivations, so hopefully y'all like it too. Anyways, Enjoy!
Soshi Sentai Sorceger
Spell 7: Teacher of Light/Student of Dark
Finternis(30 Years Ago)
He listened to the sound of the breeze as he walked behind along the long road, the only real noise being the breeze and the sound of footsteps. A younger Iatnes ran his hand through his blonde hair, he had to admit he was always nervous to accompany to King Ordor to any of these meetings, but the king of Paxlux meeting the emperor of Finternis was always important.
As he walked besides the regal looking king, his majesty finally spoke, "Iantes you didn't need to accompany me on this meeting, I could've brought my wife or daughter instead." Iatnes shook his head, adjusting the staff he held on his back, "Nonsense your majesty, what kind of royal sorcerer would I be if I didn't go with you."
King Ordor frowned, "Iatnes it's only been a month, you must be still grieving for your wife and unborn child." Iatnes sighed and scratched the stubble on his chin, "Pulmina wouldn't want me just moping around, wallowing away in grief, it serves her memory best to continue helping you."
As they walked through the capital, Schaleir, Iatnes took in the sites. Normally they would need to travel with a royal procession or multiple guards, but the city was usually quiet and Iatnes was enough to defend King Ordor. As they walked, he finally saw something that bothered him greatly.
Sitting against a building was a boy, who couldn't have been more than five years old, malnourished and clearly hungry as he shivered against the building. Iatnes turned towards the king and bowed, "Just a minute please your majesty." King Ordor said nothing as Iatnes went towards the building, approaching the boy, the boy barely looking up at him as he stood in front of him.
Iatnes kneeled down, looking at the boy, "Are you alright young one? Where are your parents?" The boy looked up at him, Iatnes immediately feeling magical potential emanating from him. He cocked his head to the side, his voice barely escaping from his mouth, "Parents?" Iatnes frowned, "I see, an orphan, can you tell me your name?" The boy looked at him and frowned, "People call me worthless, is that a name?"
Iatnes shook his head, reaching into a pouch on his belt, taking out a chocolate bar he'd been carrying around as he admittedly had a sweet tooth. He broke off a piece of it and handed it to the boy, "Here, eat this." The boy quickly snatched it out of his hands and devoured it, almost licking his hands as he tried to get more of the taste. Iatnes chuckled as he handed him another piece, "No need to eat so quickly, I have plenty more."
As Iatnes observed the boy eat, he knew he couldn't ignore this boy, fate had brought them together. As he handed him the last piece of the bar, he heard a voice behind him, "Iatnes, I know what you're thinking but it will never work out. A citizen of Paxlux raising a boy from Finternis, people of two different countries can't even conceive naturally, an adoption will work even less."
Iatnes turned back to King Ordor and frowned, "But your majesty, is it not you who says we need to foster better relations with our neighbors? Something is calling me to adopt this boy, he has strong magic begging to be drawn out, I cannot ignore this chance encounter."
King Ordor sighed before nodding, "Very well, but I can't allow you to move him to Paxlux, I'll make you my official ambassador here in Schaleir." Iatnes nodded and bent down at the boy again, "You my boy are going to become a great Sorcerer, now how would you like to come with us?"
The boy looked up at the two, "Sorcerer?" Iatnes nodded, having come up with a name for him, "Yes, now come with me Kristoff with must get you cleaned up and a proper meal." The boy stood up and looked at him, "Me Kristoff?" Iatnes nodded, "Of course, everyone needs a name, a name represents who you are."
The boy nodded as he began to follow Iatnes, King Ordor following the two. He had to admit he sensed the magical potential the boy had, but yet why did he feel a strange energy permeating from the boy? He shrugged and continued towards the palace, he trusted Iatnes enough to train the boy right.
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Nativus Sanctuarii(Present Day)
Diego sat against a pillar as he waited in the portal room within the Nativus Sanctuarii. He yawned as kept looking at the inactive portal that Iatnes had created for the team to take to go to and from various places they may have needed to go.
He was waiting for Scarlett to get back from school, as she had asked for his help in learning a bit of magic. It was an hour past when she said she would be home, and he was starting to get a bit worried about where she could possibly be. Did Finternis attack that stupid school Iatnes had sent her to?
Maybe she'd been hurt, or worse. He stood up, deciding he'd go see for himself where she was. He made a quick sign at the portal, causing it to glow and expand as he thought of where he needed to go, quickly arriving at the front of the school. As he looked around he heard a scream, a very familiar scream. He ran quickly towards it, finding his sister floating in the air, several of what he assumed were classmates keeping her floating there.
He took a step forward, glaring at the three other girls, keeping his screaming for help little sister in the air, "What do you think you're doing?" The three girls looked at him, one of them smirking, "We're putting the outsider in her place. She doesn't belong here, constantly talking about living in Faiaharto, she's a freak and shouldn't be at our school."
Diego narrowed his eyes at them as Scarlett struggled to get out of the spell, "You better put me down, that's my big brother and he'll put you in your place." One of them scoffed at her claim, "What you mean the big brother that's some important sorcerer? He doesn't look so special." Diego scowled, "I'll give you kids one chance, let her down gently or go flying."
The girls did nothing as Diego sighed, "Fine, just remember I gave you a choice." He put a hand up, powerful winds beginning to pick up as the three girls tried to stand their ground, losing their focus as Scarlett fell out of their spells. Diego lifted his other hand, wind slowly lowering his sister to the ground as the three bullies went flying, landing on the ground several feet away.
Diego took a step forward, his hand still raised, "Here's a lesson to you kids, no one messes with my little sister!" As they got up, pleading looks on their faces, a hand appeared on Diego's wrist, "That's quite enough young man." Diego turned to see an older man, who he assumed was a teacher, "Oh so now a teacher shows up, not when my sister was being bullied."
The teacher frowned, "I don't know who you are, but I assume you're related to Ms. Venti over there, all of you are going to the headmasters office." Diego scowled and continued to scowl as they were escorted to the headmasters office, being more annoyed than anything as he listened to the kids bullying Scarlett merely to receive a few days of detention.
Now here he was, sitting in a chair and being lectured by the headmaster for simply protecting his sister. He crossed his arms as the headmaster stopped speaking, the older woman glaring at him, "Are you listening to me Mr. Venti? You cannot come to my school and assault my students because they're partaking in activities that you don't agree with."
Diego frowned, "Activities like bullying my sister? Stop trying to sweep this under the rug because if I didn't know any better you would agree with those kids that Scarlett doesn't belong here." The headmaster stood up from her desk, clearly not happy with his remark, "I will admit Mr. Venti, Scarlett is not the typical student, but we admitted her here as a favor to your teacher Iatnes, but even my friendship with Iatnes won't save your sister if she misbehaves."
Diego glared at her, "She wasn't misbehaving, she was being bullied." Scarlett shifted next to him, clearly not liking where this was going, "Please I apologize for my brother, he's too protective sometimes." The headmaster frowned and crossed her arms, "Yes I can tell, I'll tell you what, Scarlett won't be in trouble, and we'll make sure to monitor those three students closer.
However Mr. Venti I am going to have to ban you from this school, I can't risk you attacking teenagers again if you don't like what you see." Diego nodded and stood up, "Yeah sure whatever, I don't want to hang around here anyway. Just keep your promise of watching those three." The meeting didn't go much longer as the two exited the office, Scarlett looking at her brother, "Diego you didn't need to do that, all I needed was you to teach me a few spells and I could get them to back off, but you've been busy."
Diego let out a sigh, "Is that why you didn't tell me about this?" Scarlett nodded, "You're either always busy being trained by Iatnes or off doing something to help the world. Plus I don't like to bother you since Iatnes tells me constantly that minor distractions are bad for all of you." Diego felt his fingers curl into a fist, Iatnes barely really taught him and the others anything anyway, only commenting on the things they did by themselves.
Now here he was insisting that his own sister got in the way? Anger was boiling up in him. He turned towards his sister, putting a hand on her head, "I'm sorry I haven't been around much, if I was around more you wouldn't have been getting bullied."
Scarlett smiled up at him, "It's not your fault, your responsibilities are a little bit more important than me." Diego frowned as the two continued to walk, no it wasn't his fault, it was Iatnes, and he would be confronting the old sorcerer with his new found findings.
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Long ago 7 elemental crystals came into being, and 7 countries were born from them. Now after centuries of war the country of darkness comes for the other crystals. The 5 remaining crystals gather 5 guardians to stop the spreading only ones who seem to be able to stop them are…. SOSHI SENTAI SORCEGER!
Sorceger opening: Fire by Koji Wada
A guitar riff starts as each ranger flashes on screen, Hikayasu with SorceDragon behind him, Diego with SorceHawk, Lian with SorceDolphin, Maya and SorceBear and finally Terra and SorceLion. The logo appears on screen before before transitioning into a large stretch of land on The Nativus Sanctuarii
Kusubutteta mune ni nage irero fire, Chiheisen e kokoro tobasu nda
SorceFire is shown riding on SorceDragon, racing with a napping SorceAir on SorceHawk, SorceWater is shown riding on a swimming SorceDolphin and SorceForest and SorceEarth are riding on their running partners. Transition to all 5 in their countries gazing at their crystals.
Kara mawari no kimochi o keri agetara, Saki ni iku ze tsugi no frontier
Each Sorceger is shown performing magic in civilian form, Hikayasu makes a small fireball, Diego is shown sleeping in the air, Lian is creating waves, Maya fires some leaves and Terra creates a small boulder. Flash of the light crystal being taken and a worried Iatnes.
Kanau sa kanau, Hakkaten wo mo sugu da ze
The Sorceger's are shown placing their crystals in the Sorcebattons and revealing they're facing a dark army
Dekiru dekiru sa, Bakuhatsu shite miseru nda
The Sorceger's place the crystals in and perform the movements to transform, before yelling, multicolored lights before they emerge as the Sorceger's.
Burn up'n go
Paxlux the country of light is shown exploding into darkness, before the Sorceger's helmets flash on screen similar to the first scene
Gomibako o tobikoeta saki ni aru mirai, Hikari o matotte get a fire power
The Sorceger's all fight the army showcasing their various magic and weapons before posing together as a team.
Giragira to moeagare hitomi no chikara, Kesenai yuuki de get a fire power
Each Sorceger is shown piloting their SorceBeast before they combine in a flash into a posing SorceOh.
Michi ga michi teru
The emperor of Finternis is shown in the shadows sitting in his throne with Prince Vulkan and Princess Nessa kneeling in front of him.
Frontier e, Hashiri tsuzekeru nda
Final flashes of the other countries
Kimi o tsurete
To end the opening the Sorceger's are shown back in the same stretch of land, posing with the SorceBeasts behind them. The logo being shown one last time.
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Finternis(Mond's Lab)
General Mond gazed deep into a projection of the planet, he was trying to locate where the Sorcegers called their home. He had long figured out that wherever they hid, Finternis couldn't get to and it allowed them to be anywhere in the world just by simple portals.
Mond had figured that if they could find it, and take it over for themselves then Finternis could speed up the invasion process exponentially. As he wasn't having any luck, the door opened and in walked Emperor Wonkle.
Mond turned and gave him a nod, "Emperor, to what do I owe the pleasure of you leaving your throne room to see me?" Emperor Wonkle stepped around the lab, gazing at Mond's various research and dark projects, "You've been held up in here for a week straight, I wanted to make sure my best general hadn't driven himself insane."
Mond let out a chuckle as he zoomed in on a part of the projection, "I was driven insane long ago Emperor, you made sure of that yourself." Emperor Wonkle frowned, "Is that what you call me offering my oldest friend a place at my side? Driving you insane?" Mond shook his head, "No you offered me power, the power no one else could and that prospect drove me mad."
Emperor Wonkle chuckled at his comment, "You certainly weren't going to gain that power with that old fool you called a father." As he said this, Mond's eyes widened, "My dear Emperor you just gave me a wonderful idea!" Emperor Wonkle raised an eyebrow, "Do you care to share?"
Mond smirked, "Oh don't worry Emperor, you just made me realize how I could achieve what I want, all I need to lure out that pathetic sorcerer Iatnes." Emperor Wonkle smiled as he saw the look in Mond's eyes, "Very well, whatever resources you'll need you'll have." Mond smirked as he gazed at the projection, a vile plan slowly forming in his head.
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Nativus Sanctuarii
Diego arrived back through the portal as Scarlett watched him look around the room, "Diego are you ok? You've been pretty quiet." Diego frowned, "Go do your homework Scarlett, I need to go find Yasu." Scarlett nodded slowly, not wanting to argue with him due to the tone of his voice. Diego pondered for a moment, where would Hikayasu be at this point in the day?
Probably doing some kind of physical training with Eoti, but he knew the large man had gone off somewhere for the day. Deciding to walk down the hallway, Diego cupped his hands against his face, "YASU WHERE ARE YOU!" He heard a loud crash followed by a loud curse, "IN THE MESS HALL DIEGO!"
Diego walked into the mess hall, finding his best friend on his back, his shirt wet as Diego looked at a bucket having fallen over, "Were you doing something?" Hikayasu nodded, an annoyed look on his face, "Yeah I was standing on a chair to clean something, you startled me and caused me to fall and knock over the bucket, thanks for that by the way."
Diego offered him a hand, helping him up, "What made you even clean the mess hall? I've never seen you clean a day in your life." Hikayasu crossed his arms, "Iatnes assigned me to do it, he said it'd help me learn a little patience which can help with spells." Diego frowned, "Where is the old man anyway?" Hikayasu shrugged, "I don't know, he said he had something to take care of and left.
Said he'd be back later." Diego nodded before putting a hand on his chin, thinking deeply, "Yasu let me ask you, has Iatnes ever actually taught you anything?" Hikayasu thought for a moment, thinking back to the few months they've spent in the Sanctuarii before shaking his head, "Not really, just given a few words of encouragement."
Diego nodded slowly, "And has he come through at all with his promise that he'd help you figure out where you came from?" Hikayasu thought for a second, racking his brain before shaking his head, "Nope, every time I ask him about it he avoids the question. Actually now that I think about Iatnes is really hands off with us, he either just watches or hands things off to Eoti. Why do you ask?"
Diego scowled, "Because I've had enough of it, get the others, I want to have a meeting." Hikayasu sighed and nodded, he wasn't going to question him. He'd known long enough that if something got Diego this fired up then it was best to just agree with whatever his best friend wanted.
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Finternis(25 Years Ago)
Iatnes watched as some practice dummies were flung across the training room, landing near him. He crossed his arms as a now eleven year old Kristoff walked towards them, extending his hand at them as it glowed purple with darkness. Iatnes frowned as the boy surrounded the dummies with darkness, the dummies almost seemingly started to melt from the countless darkness enveloping them.
Not liking the look in his adoptive son's eyes, he held up his hand, creating a shield of light around the training dummies, "That's enough for now Kristoff." Iatnes watched the boy nod and walk over to the side of the room, grabbing a cup of water. He'd been more powerful than he ever dreamed he could be, however the problem was that he easily went towards the spells that were designed to harm or destroy.
Kristoff approached him, a smile on his face, "How did I do Father? Did you see how I effortlessly flung those dummies across the room?" Iatnes nodded before crossing his arms, "Kristoff you started off excellent, however once again you went towards using magic to try and reduce the practice dummies to dust." Kristoff frowned, "I know that Father, but I just can't help it, the more power I put into the spells the more harmful they become. If I want to become more powerful then I can't be afraid of those spells."
Iatnes sighed and nodded, "Yes I know you can't be afraid of those spells, however Kristoff those spells will not help achieve what we aim for. Magic is to protect the peace and order of the world, using harmful spells like that just causes chaos and destruction." Kristoff looked at him, the look in his eyes of an eleven year old boy who didn't understand what his Father was saying, "But can't power help achieve peace? Isn't it only peaceful because you're strong?"
Iatnes started to shake his head, ready to lecture his son further but was stopped as the door to the training room opened. A teenager, most likely fifteen or so entered, dressed in regal black and gold robes, a sword at his side and a sorcerer's staff on the other side. He had what appeared to be a permanent grimace on his face as entered. Iatnes gave him a small bow, nodding at Kristoff to do the same, "Prince Wonkle, what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?"
Prince Wonkle crossed his arms, "My father has requested your presence in the throne room sorcerer, I recommend keeping him waiting." Iatnes nodded slowly, Emperor Friedn had become a close friend in the years he'd been serving as the ambassador of Paxlux. He understood the world had a very fragile peace at the moment and he and King Ordor tried their best to try and maintain although Friedn prefered to keep Finternis as an isolated kingdom.
Iatnes turned towards Kristoff, giving him a small smile, "Looks like training will be cut short today, go back home Kristoff and make sure you eat a nice meal, you earned it today." Kristoff nodded quickly, giving his adoptive father a small smile, "Of course Father, I'll be happily awaiting your return." Iatnes ruffled his hair before walking out of the room, leaving Kristoff to awkwardly stand there with Prince Wonkle. He didn't fear the prince, but he could admit he could feel some bad energy coming from him that made him nervous.
As he turned to leave as well, he heard a chuckle from Prince Wonkle, "You'll have to forgive me but I overheard your conversation with the ambassador. You're strong, but you'll never become any stronger being held back by that weakling from Paxlux." Kristoff glared at him, rage building from hearing his adoptive father being insulted, "Don't you dare insult my Father like that, he is teaching exactly how I need to be in order to maintain the peace of this world as he does."
Prince Wonkle chuckled again and shook his head, "I heard the tone in his voice, he fears your strength. But you won't believe me until it's too late, however if you ever break free from him, come to me if you want true power." He left the room leaving Kristoff to stand there in silence, he was lying he just had to be. His father wanted what was best for him, he would never hold him back from becoming stronger. At least he didn't think he would.
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Nativus Sanctuarii(Present Day
It had taken about thirty minutes to gather everyone, but now the Sorcegers stood in their usual meeting hall, Diego being silent as the rest of the team had arrived. Lian sat in a chair, crossing her arms, "So what's this about? I was busy organizing the library when you two demanded we have a meeting."
Diego frowned, "Let me guess, Iatnes told you to do it, saying it'll teach you patience or something?" Lian raised an eyebrow and nodded, "That was the exact conversation actually, where's this going?" Hikayasu spoke up, "Maya, Terra, were you two doing chores for him too?"
The two nodded as Maya frowned, "Where's this going?" Diego scowled, "I'm tired of Iatnes constantly ordering us around and having us risk our lives and claiming to be our teacher when he hasn't taught any of us anything, he's just a useless old man." Lian glared daggers at Diego, "You shut your mouth you lazy oaf, Iatnes is one of the last survivors of Paxlux and one of the most powerful sorcerers in the world, he's earned our respect."
Maya frowned and nodded slowly, "Iatnes has done a lot for this world, we can't write him off just because he doesn't always have time to teach us magic personally." Terra put a hand on his chin, speaking up, "While I don't disagree with what you're saying Diego, we can't deny that Iatnes certainly does aid us in other ways. We wouldn't have stopped Finternis as much as we have if it wasn't for him. He's resourceful when it counts and we can't ignore that."
Diego crossed his arms, "All he does is send us on missions and wait for us to get back, that's it. We could do everything ourselves and stop Finternis without him. I'm done with this old man and his supposed ways to help us." Lian continued to glare daggers at Diego as Maya looked at Hikayasu, "Hikayasu you're our leader, what do you think?" Hikayasu let out a sigh, "I mostly agree with Diego, he hasn't really helped me with anything he promised he would." Lian shot up, narrowing her eyes at them, "How selfish can you two be, do you not realize that Iatnes has more important things to do than hold your hands and train you?"
As she screamed this, footsteps could be heard as Iatnes entered into the hall, "What is all the yelling about?" Diego turned towards him, approaching him rapidly, "I'm tired of all your lecturing when you're clearly too afraid to actually teach us anything!" Iatnes had a look of shock on his face as took a step back from the approaching Diego, "And what has brought this feeling on Diego?"
Diego glared at him, "You've been separating me from my sister, I can barely pay attention to her because you either send her off to a school that doesn't want her, or you have me wasting my time claiming it's training. I told you when you first recruited us that I was doing this to protect my sister and that she needed to be here too, but you're breaking that promise old man."
Iatnes went stone faced as he sighed, "Unfortunately Diego in order to become a great sorcerer and to save the world as a Sorceger you must close your heart to some things. You may not want to hear it but that includes your sister at times, now stop acting like a child throwing a temper tantrum." Diego glared at him, wind gathering around him, "You wanna see a temper tantrum? Because I'll show you a temper tantrum!"
Hikayasu appeared beside him, putting a hand on shoulder, "Iatnes, Diego is maybe overreacting since he gets tunnel vision when it comes to Scarlett but he's not wrong when he says you barely teach us anything. You promised to help me with my magic and find out where I came from, but you haven't really done either, have you even tried finding out anything about me?"
Iatnes looked at him for a moment, before looking at the still fuming Diego and shook his head, "Admittedly not I haven't, I've been much too busy to really give that a proper chance to be on my mind." At this, the remaining attempts at giving Iatnes a chance to explain himself were exhausted from Hikayasu's mind as he began to walk past the old sorcerer, "Fine, then I guess I don't really have a proper chance to be here anymore. Let's go Diego, we don't need him to be Sorcegers or help the world."
The two began to walk out as surprisingly Terra, Maya and even Lian began to follow them. Terra looked at him, "Thanks for everything, but they aren't wrong." Maya bowed at him before shaking her head, "I can't turn close my heart to things, and I can't stay with a teacher who insists that's the way to help people."
Finally Lian passed him and frowned, "I'm not really mad or anything, I'm just curious if those two are going to do something stupid." The five walked out of the room, leaving Iatnes alone, memories flying back of how he came to the conclusion of needing to close his heart to things. He frowned as he decided to not try and stop them, perhaps they were right, and he was a bad teacher.
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Iatnes sat at a table, a bottle of an unknown alcohol next to him, it being half empty as he let out a long sigh, "I've failed, after twenty years of trying to gather the ones who will save the world, and they leave after a few months. I truly am a failure at doing what King Ordor asked." Eoti appeared from behind him, the large man pulling out a seat across from Iatnes, "What do you plan to do about that anyway? I certainly wasn't expecting Diego to be the one to incite this rebellion."
Iatnes frowned, "I'm not sure yet, hell they may be better off without me. I know I shouldn't have made that comment about closing their hearts to things, but it's what I've learned when Finternis invaded." Eoti took hold of the bottle, taking a swig before putting it down, "I think I prefer when Diego is being lazy and falling asleep during training."
Iatnes shook his head, "No I should've known that sending Scarlett away would eventually trigger him. He only gets serious when it involves her." Eoti frowned, "I guess I'll address the presence in the room, why are you so afraid of actually teaching them." Iatnes let out a small chuckle, "Oh there's a simple reason for that Eoti, a massive one but it's simple."
Eoti raised an eyebrow, "And what is that?" Iatnes grabbed the bottle taking a small sip, ""I fear teaching any students after what happened with the last one." Eoti grabbed the bottle, sliding it away from him, "Those kids aren't Kristoff and you know that, I know you blame yourself for that and what happened but if you don't start training those kids then they're gonna end up getting themselves killed eventually."
Iatnes shook his head, "I can't be sure that's the problem, they all have their personality quirks. Then there's Hikayasu, he has more latent potential than Kristoff, miles more. If he could figure out what was blocking him then he'd be one of the strongest sorcerers in history, and we can't know what he'd become." Eoti crossed his arms, "I don't think you're giving the kid enough credit then. He may be rough around the edges because of his upbringing, but he steps up when needed."
Iatnes let out another sigh, "I'm just afraid of the future for them, for all I know I could end up training the next rulers of the world." Eoti stood up, shaking his head at Iatnes, "If you really believe that, then are you really upholding the beliefs of Paxlux? After all, you citizens of light always move forward for the betterment of the future." He walked out of the room, leaving Iatnes in silence.
Had he lost sight of the values of Paxlux? Did the past really scar him that much that he would be letting down the king he served dutifully? He wasn't sure but he knew one thing, he needed to overcome his fears or his fears would consume the students he needed to train.
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Finternis(21 Years Ago)
Fifteen year old Kristoff walked through the halls of the dark palace, Prince Wonkle or soon to be Emperor Wonkle had summoned him for whatever reason. The two had formed a somewhat uneasy friendship behind his father's back. Kristoff a year or two ago had reached the peak of what he could learn from Iatnes, due to his unwillingness to really allow him access to stronger spells.
If he wanted to be able to maintain the peace his father had taught him was so precious, he needed to be stronger. So of course he went to Wonkle, he was older and powerful when it came to magic, so as much as it annoyed him that the young man insulted his father, he needed him. Wonkle would soon be Emperor, his father Emperor Friedn was on his deathbed and Wonkle was preparing for his ascension.
Kristoff arrived at Wonkle's study, finding the Prince already waiting for him, "I trust you didn't tell your blithering father where you were going?" Kristoff glared at him, "He's currently meeting with your own father, so no I didn't inform him of what I was doing." Wonkle smiled at him, "Good, now come I want to show you something."
Kristoff raised an eyebrow, "Oh where are we going?" Wonkle smirked as the two walked down a long corridor, "Do you know why the elemental crystals don't leave the chamber they're contained in? There's a rather big reason they're kept in the chambers." Kristoff shook his head as they reached a large set of doors, "My father has never told me, I asked once and he said it was reserved for royal families."
Wonkle nodded, "Well that's half true, it's also because the pure power that radiates from them is overwhelming for the regular people, said to either drive one insane or fill them with an almost superhuman resolve." He pushed open the doors, revealing the chamber to the crystal of darkness.
Kristoff's eyes went wide, "Then why are you taking me into it?" Wonkle stepped inside, "Because I like you Kristoff, despite your upbringing of light, I believe that you and I can work together, and to do that I want you to experience the power of the crystal that I plan to use one day." Kristoff gulped, he shouldn't follow him into the chamber, but yet his curiosity was getting the better of him.
He stepped in, following Wonkle into the chamber, immediately hitting him like a truck. The sheer power that radiated from the crystal, the darkness within the room, it almost burned into his skin as he caught his breath. He fell to his knees as he looked up at the purple crystal, in awe of its power.
Wonkle appeared next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder, "You see Kristoff, I believe that the world was born in darkness, before everything came into being there was only us, only the dark and shadows. Now we've become weak, allowing the other elements into this world, Finternis has become weak from being isolated when we should be ruling. I want to return the world to darkness, I want this planet to return to Finternis!"
Kristoff let out another labored breath, his eyes still fixated on the crystal, "That would destroy the fragile peace, it would mean death and destruction in the world." Wonkle snickered at his comment, "Would it? Was it not you who once asked if it takes power to create peace? The countries fight themselves constantly and already threaten to destroy each other. Bringing them all under darkness is just creating peace, even if it through force. You are strong enough to help me with that, do you not want peace Kristoff? Join me in my crusade, my father isn't long for the world and once I become Emperor my plans will be launched, I don't want you against me."
Kristoff continued to look at the crystal as his words echoed through his head, feeling something in his mind snap as he smiled, "Can you really give me that strength? The strength to create that peace within the darkness?"
Wonkle nodded firmly as Kristoff stood up, "With you as my most trusted general, we can conquer this whole world and return it to the peace within darkness." Kristoff said nothing as he began to cackle, his laughing echoing throughout the chamber as Wonkle simply smiled. The power of the crystal had claimed another mind's sanity, but that was fine, afterall he needed his general lacking in sanity.
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Shinkuhono(Present Day)
The Sorcegers wandered throughout the Hokorobi district, none of them having really talked since leaving the Sanctuarii. Maya finally spoke up, looking at the silent Diego and Hikayasu, "So what's the plan here? If we're striking out on our own then where are we going to be staying?"
Both stayed silent as Lian rolled her eyes, "You two were so quick to storm off you didn't even consider it did you? I know what Iatnes said was a little wrong, but none of you really listened to him fully. Yes his advice about closing your heart to things isn't a good thing but in this war it's not always wrong." Hikayasu let out a sigh as he turned towards Diego, "As much as I hate to say it, Princess may be right, we stormed out of there way too quickly and we should probably head back."
Diego crossed his arms, "Maybe you're right, but it's not because I want to listen to the old man. We just don't have any food or money." As Diego took a step forward, a large cage of darkness surrounded the other four Sorcegers, leaving them unable to move.
Diego jumped back as he heard a cackle, "Oh well, four out of five isn't bad." Diego looked to see General Mond standing there, a whole group of Dundatins behind him, "Ah hell not you, can't you just stay in Finternis for once?" General Mond smirked at him, "I just couldn't resist listening to you kiddies talking, sounds like you have some issues with the old man." Diego glared at him, "Don't you know it's not nice to eavesdrop?"
Hikayasu struggled to move, "Diego run! Go get Iatnes and Eoti!" Mond smirked, "Yes do go get Iatnes, I want to see him actually. Has he ever told you how we know each other?" Diego grit his teeth, "I'll be back to save you guys, don't worry."
He turned and ran, several Dundatins trying to stop him but were stopped by Mond, "Let him go, he'll bring Iatnes with him, and then I can finally kill that old man for good." Mond snickered as he looked at the captured Sorcegers, his plan was working perfectly, and soon he would claim their base of operations for himself.
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Nativus Sanctuarii
The sound of a crash could be heard as Iatnes and Eoti ran into the portal room, finding an out of breath Diego on the floor. Eoti approached him, helping him up as Iatnes looked at him in concern, "Diego what happened? Where are the others?" Diego caught his breath, "Captured, that bastard Mond trapped them and let me run away so I could bring you back."
Eoti frowned and walked towards the portal, "Well I guess we should go rescue them then." Iatnes shook his head, "Wait Eoti, he's expecting us to rescue them. We cannot simply run in without a plan."
Diego shook his head, "No he's expecting you, why does he hate you so much? He says you two have a history but I don't see how you'd know a high ranking general from Finternis." Iatnes looked away from Diego, trying to avoid eye contact, "Mond is Finternian and myself the last great sorcerer of Paxlux, of course he would hate me and want me dead."
Eoti turned back towards the two, a frown on his face, "Iatnes perhaps if you want Diego to trust you and forgive you then try being honest with him about this." Iatnes let out a sigh, "You're right Eoti. Diego, this isn't easy for me to admit, but Mond was my first student and adopted son once named Kristoff." Diego raised an eyebrow, "Mond? You mean the crazy guy who can't stop cackling like some childrens villain? You trained him?"
Iatnes nodded, "The story I'm about to tell you is one I still have difficulty telling, the tale of twenty years ago when Paxlux fell, and Mond's part in that." His fingers curled into a fist as he mind went back to that day twenty years, the day of the invasion and the day he failed his country.
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Aurum, Paxlux's Captial City(20 Years Ago)
Iatnes walked through the Priamus Palace within Paxlux, Kristoff walking closely behind him as they headed towards the throne room. Kristoff had finished his training and as a reward for his son becoming an excellent sorcerer he had finally decided to bring his son to Paxlux to meet the royal family.
It had been a big deal for him that King Ordor had finally allowed him to bring Kristoff to Aurum. Paxlux was surrounded by a barrier only its citizens could enter, only ambassadors and those with permission could enter from other countries. King Ordor convinced from the stories Iatnes had told him about Kristoff, allowed the boy to visit.
Kristoff looked around the grand corridors, in awe of the palace, "Father you weren't kidding about the magnificence of the Priamus Palace, the vibrant colors are highly soothing compared to Finternis." Iatnes chuckled as he put an arm around his adoptive son, "Now now Kristoff, don't go comparing the two, Finternis is amazing in its own ways. Now just remember, I convinced King Ordor to allow you here because I told him what a remarkable young man you are, so be on your best behavior."
Kristoff laughed and nodded, "Of course Father, I don't want to do anything to embarrass you." As the two walked, the two came across a young woman, about Kristoff's age carrying a blanket. Her golden eyes looked at Iatnes as a small smile appeared on her face, "Iatnes! Father had told me you were visiting but I didn't expect to be able to see you, I was finally able to leave my room after a month of bedrest from the birth."
Iatnes smiled and bowed slightly to her, "Princess it is a pleasure to see you and to know you've successfully given birth to the young prince. Oh where are my manners, this is Kristoff, my son. Kristoff this is Princess Livia, the future queen of Paxlux." Kristoff bowed as Iatnes did before smiling, "It's my pleasure to meet the future Queen of this wonderful country, and apparently the future King as well."
Princess Livia giggled as she brushed part of the blanket aside to reveal her newborn son sleeping in the blanket, ruffling his light hair, almost the color a brownish ash, "I see you learned from your father on the art of flattery. I don't plan to become Queen for a long while, and this little light of my life won't be King for even longer." Iatnes smiled and nodded, "Have you named him yet?"
Princess Livia shook her head, "No I'm waiting on his father to be back from a trip to finally name him, until then we've just taken to calling him our little miracle." Iatnes chuckled, "Well we won't keep you from your day, come along Kristoff." Kristoff nodded as Livia smiled at him, "It was wonderful to meet you Kristoff, I hope our paths cross again." Kristoff gave her another gentle bow, "Of course Princess, until we meet again."
The two began walking again, Kristoff following Iatnes into a large room that had no other occupants in it. As the door closed, the smile on Kristoff's face disappeared, "Tell me Father, why did you really bring me to Paxlux today? Is it because you're feeling threatened by my growing power? Did you hope rewarding me for being a good boy would bring me back on whatever plans you had for me?"
Iatnes let out a sigh as he turned to face his adopted son, "I will admit Kristoff, your attitude has changed this past year. I'd normally ignored your secret friendship with the newly crowned Emperor because he hadn't caused any changes in you, but now you spend more time with him and his wife, planning whatever and I don't like it. So yes I did hope this trip would perhaps improve your attitude."
Kristoff scoffed at his response, "I only had to go to Wonkle because you refused to teach me any powerful spells. If you didn't try to limit my power then my friendship with him would need not exist." Iatnes frowned, "I only did that because you're young, if you try to grasp too much power when you're young your body cannot contain it. Wonkle probably neglected to tell you that, which is why I don't like you speaking to him, he lies."
Kristoff scowled, "You don't like me speaking to him because not only do you fear my power, but you fear his power as well." Iatnes put a hand on his shoulder, looking his son in the eyes, "Kristoff I don't know what he's promised you, but please you must believe that whatever he's told you have been lies."
Kristoff shook his hand off his shoulder, turning away from his adoptive father, "Do not call me Kristoff anymore, I have cast away that name." Iatnes looked at him in concern, "Kristoff what are you talking about?" Kristoff turned around, a ball of darkness coming from his hand as it hit Iatnes, sending him across the room and hitting a wall, "I told you to not call me that, MY NAME IS MOND NOW! General Mond, the most trusted advisor of Emperor Wonkle of Finternis, future ruler of this entire world!"
Iatnes struggled to get up, "No, please no Kristoff, do not make me fight my own son." Mond let out a loud chuckle as he approached Iatnes, "Do not worry Father, we won't have to fight, because I am going to be kind and allow Paxlux to fall to Finternis first. Consider it a mercy that you won't have to witness the rest of the world falling to Emperor Wonkle's might."
He stuck his hand in the air, summoning a great black staff with a purple crystal on the top of it, glowing with darkness. As the spell he was casting finished, Iatnes immediately felt a chill go down his spy, "You? You destroyed the barrier?" The sound of an explosion could be heard as the glass windows in the room shattered. Mond smirked at the older man, "The invasion has begun Father, and there's nothing that can be done to stop it."
Iatnes summoned his staff, but found himself unable to raise it against his son, "Kristoff, I cannot fight you, but please end this before it begins, before needless lives are slaughtered." Mond cackled, "It's too late, now I must be going to join the Emperor, thank you for raising me Father, for that I'll leave you alive."
Before Iatnes could react another torrent of darkness hit him, throwing him against the wall and to the floor. As his vision began to grow dark, unconsciousness overtaking him, he heard one last comment from Mond, "Goodbye Iatnes, I hope you don't suffer."
Iatnes awoke in a jolt, getting his bearings as he stood up, he could smell ash and death in the air as he heard the sound of screams in the palace. This was his fault, King Ordor warned him about taking in an orphan from another country but he refused to listen. As he recovered his energy, a ball of light appeared before him, King Ordor's voice coming from it, "Iatnes, I'm glad I could finally locate you, come to the throne room there isn't much time."
Iatnes nodded, "Right away your Majesty, I'll come at once." He couldn't worry about Kristoff or that this was his fault, he had a duty to the royal family, he needed to fulfill it. He left the room and headed towards the throne room, having cemented in his heart that from now on he needed to close his heart to certain things if he wanted to continue to be a sorcerer.
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Nativus Sanctuarii(Present Day)
Iatnes finished his story as Diego continued to listen, "After that I was given the duty of putting together and training the Sorcegers, having the occasional encounters with Mond that has cemented his hatred of me." Diego was silent for a moment before letting out a sigh, "Alright I get it, I'd be afraid of really teaching anyone after that. But you can't blame yourself for what happened to him, or Paxlux. You did what was right and you taught him the best you could, that bastard Emperor manipulated him."
Iantes frowned, "I fear truly facing Mond, I still have a slight fatherly love for him, and fighting him just reminds me of my failures of raising my son." Diego shook his head, "Still having love for him or not, you need to overcome this fear and fight him, because the more you avoid this, the more Mond will continue to get away with further atrocities that he loves to commit."
Thinking about his words for a moment, Eoti chimed in, "Iatnes you can keep blaming yourself for something that isn't your fault, or you can open up your heart again and beat Mond by being a sorcerer who listens to his heart." Iatnes was silent for a moment before giving the two a small smile, "If I listen to my heart, right now it's telling me that if anyone is going to put an end to Mond it should be me."
Diego smirked at him, "Well what are we waiting for then? I've always wanted to see what you can do, old man." Iantes nodded at the two as he walked towards the portal, Diego following him to go rescue the others.
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Hokorobi District
It was quiet in Hokorobi as the Sorcegers were still being held in the dark cage, still trying to break free. Hikayasu glared at General Mond, "You better enjoy this now, Diego and Iatnes are gonna come back and kick your ass."
Mond laughed, "Oh I know they will, Iatnes coming here is precisely what I want." As he turned away from the cage, he heard a voice approaching him, "Well then what kind of father would I be if I didn't give you what you wanted." Mond saw the approaching Iatnes, followed by Diego and scowled, "Iatnes, I knew you'd be foolish enough to come here, although I thought we agreed that the son you once knew was gone."
Iatnes glared at him, staff in hand, "Release my students Mond and I'll let you go." Mond smirked at him, "They're only imprisoned because of you Iatnes, because as usual everything is your fault." Iatnes shook his head, "I will no longer blame myself for having kindness in my heart when I saw a young and hungry boy in need." Mond cackled at his response, "That kindness destroyed your country, you old sorcerer." Iatnes narrowed his eyes at Mond, clutching his staff tightly, "What do you actually want, Mond?"
Mond summoned his own staff, pointing it at him, "I'll make you a deal old man, I'll let the Sorcegers go, all you have to do is give up your life and the place that you reside in. I cannot find it even with the strongest magic and you always seem to get around easily, that power would be very useful for Finternis." Iatnes shook his head and held up his staff, "Not a chance in hell!"
His staff glowed with flight as a massive wave of light came from it, hitting the cage and the guards next to it, Mond shielding himself as the cage dissipated into nothing. Taking the opportunity, the others escaped, returning to Iatnes and Diego's side as Hikayasu smiled at Iatnes, "I knew you'd come save us, sorry for storming out back there."
Iatnes gave him a wink before preparing his staff again, "We can talk about this later, for now I feel Mond won't allow us to leave without a fight." Hikayasu nodded as the five brought out their SorceBatons each placing their crystals into it, "FIRE,AIR,WATER,EARTH,FOREST!" They raised the Batons up in the air, "SOSHICHANGE!"
Iatnes didn't wait for them to be ready as Mond summoned more DunDatins, the two locking eyes as Mond shot several balls of darkness at him. Iatnes blocking them before firing a ray of light at him, Mond simply side stepped his spell as he shot several more spells at Iatnes, one eventually hitting him. Iatnes fell to his knees, Mond slowly began to approach, a wide smile on his face, "You always were a bad teacher, how does it feel knowing I've surpassed you?"
Iatnes struggled to get up, "Perhaps you were just a bad student." Mond finally reached him, a large amount of darkness appeared from his staff, "It's good that you've finally overcome your fears of me, too bad now you're going to die alone and surpassed by me." Iatnes tried to pick up his staff, Mond preparing the finishing blow before he was knocked aside from a blast of air, the Sorcegers newly transformed appearing next to him, 'Did you forget about us you maniac? We aren't letting you kill our teacher."
SorceAir offered his hand to Iatnes as he helped Iatnes up, SorceFire handing him his staff, "Well thank you boys I appreciate it." SorceAir nodded at him, "Come on Iatnes how about you give us a hands on lesson on how to kick this guys ass." Iatnes chuckled as he gripped his staff, "I don't know if I'd be as crude about it, but I do suppose my wayward son could use a good ass kicking."
SorceFire nodded as he spun his staff around, "The Bold Sorcerer, SorceFire!" SorceAir let out a blast of air, knocking the approaching DunDatins back, "The Intelligent Sorcerer, SorceAir!" SorceWater twirled her staff around her body, "The Graceful Sorcerer, SorceWater!" SorceEarth slammed his staff down, causing the enemies to lose their balance, "The Strong Sorcerer, SorceEarth!" Finally SorceForest tossed her staff up in the air and caught it, "The Crafty Sorcerer, SorceForest!"
SorceFire nodded at Iatnes, signaling him to join in with them, causing the old sorcerer to smile. Deciding to have fun with them, he lifted his staff up in the air as the crystal on top of it glowed with light, "The Last Sorcerer of Paxlux, Iatnes!" They spun their staves around, "The chosen ones who create magic wherever they go, SOSHI SENTAI SORCEGER!"
Mond growled as he glared at Iatnes, "I don't care if you pose with them or not, you will die today!" He charged at Iatnes, the two exchanging several spells as Iatnes felt himself reinvigorated as the Sorcegers went to work fighting the DunDatins. Mond ran at Iatnes, the two now clashing with their staves clashing with each other, Mond trying to overwhelm Iatnes physically if he couldn't do so magically. Iatnes let out a burst of light, blinding Mond before Iatnes hit him in the stomach with the bottom of his staff, sending him backwards.
Iatnes frowned as he slammed down his staff, "It ends here Kristoff!" Mond scoffed as he stood up, his staff charging with darkness, "Kristoff is dead, and you'll die with him!" The two fired beams of light and darkness at each other, the two beams clashing as the two struggled against each other. Iatnes grit his teeth, remembering everything happy in his life, his deceased wife, King Ordor, his family, Eoti, his students and even the happier memories with his adoptive son.
Channeling the positive emotions, his beam became stronger, hitting Mond and sending him flying back. Iatnes felt his hold weaken on his staff as he fell to his knees, that had taken a lot out of him. He began to hear cackling as Mond got up, "You think you've won? I've been holding back but perhaps it's time to stop."
Darkness swirled around him, completely enveloping the air before he began to form it into a massive sphere. Iatnes prepared for the end, but SorceFire appeared in front of him, his SorceStaff drawn, "I'm not letting you hurt our teacher." He held his staff forward, beginning to concentrate, Iatnes feeling the magic emanating from him rising. Mond growled as his spell began to finish, "FINE YOU CAN DIE WITH HIM!"
He fired the sphere as SorceFire slammed down the crystal on his staff, "SPELL IT OUT!" Iatnes could feel the heat forming as massive flames began to form, SorceFire pointing his staff at the massive sphere, "BLAZING INFERNO!" The sphere became consumed by the flames, a large amount of heat that Iatnes wasn't even sure Hikayasu had been capable of. He was pushing through whatever block he'd had in him, he was tapping into his inner magical abilities.
The flames completely destroyed the sphere, the explosion hitting Mond and sending him to the ground, the fighting dying down as the rest of the Sorcegers grouping up with them, SorceWater helping up Iatnes. As they waited for what Mond would do, he began to cackle on his back, "So that's it Iatnes, you found someone with the same level of potential you saw in me. You better train them well, I won't be holding back as much anymore."
Without even getting up, he vanished into darkness leaving the Sorcegers alone. SorceAir let out a sigh of relief, "Well I'll take that as a win for the day." Iatnes nodded in agreement, "Indeed, come let's return to the Sanctuarii and enjoy our victory." The others nodded in agreement as they left the scene, hoping that Mond wouldn't be a problem for a while.
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Nativus Sanctuarii
Eoti finished patching up Iatnes's injuries as the Sorcegers, and Scarlett gathered around him, Iatnes finally speaking since they'd arrived back, "I owe you all an apology, I had kept from you my secret involving General Mond and because of that I wasn't willing to teach you, and for that I am truly sorry." Diego crossed his arms, being silent until Scarlett jabbed him in the side, causing him to cough, "Listen Iatnes I should apologize too, I acted without thinking and lashed out at you, so I'd say everything is water under the bridge."
Hikayasu frowned, "I don't know if I really forgive you, you promised me you'd help me figure out my origins but you haven't even been trying to help me." Iatnes looked at him and put a hand on his shoulder, "Hikayasu I didn't want to tell you until I had something more concrete, but that's where I was before I arrived back here earlier, I was looking into a lead about a story I heard that may have been connected to you. I didn't want to get your hopes up because the lead turned out to be nothing."
Hikayasu sighed and nodded, "Alright then, I guess I can't be mad since you were actually trying." Iatnes frowned, "Though I need to apologize further to you, I was afraid of teaching you the most because I thought I saw some of Kristoff in you and I feared you'd go down the same path. But now I'm confident that besides the same magical potential, you two aren't remotely the same."
Hikayasu gave him a slight smile, "Well I'm glad you can finally admit how great I am." Iatnes chuckled softly before walking forward, "Now then, since we've gotten this all taken care of, I suppose it's time I properly train all of you. Now I suggest you prepare yourselves mentally, I will not be going easy on any of you." The Sorcegers looked at the sinister smile on their teachers face, wondering if actually training them was something they actually wanted in the end.
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To Be Continued!
Next time on Soshi Sentai Sorceger!
Hikayasu is excited
"I can't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces at my old orphanage after they see what I've become!"
General Mond is speaking to Prince Vulkan
"Your father favors your sister, are you sure she isn't trying to replace you?"
Finally Princess Nessa is pleading with Hikayasu
"You have to understand I am not your enemy, I want to stop my Father as well."
THE END!