Mages of Marakta- "Moving Out"
 

Undal Septim: The Grand Hall of the Council of Sages

Toron the Sage of Light and Sarion the Sage of Darkness stood alone in a large room in the Grand Hall. A window took up almost the entire wall, and the moonlight illuminated the otherwise dark room. Toron was standing by the large bookshelf near the window, reading through a large dusty tome. His long white beard hung down to his feet, and his wrinkled white robe seemed to glimmer in the moonlight. A mystic aura seemed to hang around him. Even one who had never seen him before could tell he was quite powerful. Sarion was picking through a bowl of fruit on the table nearby. His long black and red robe hung loosely on his hunched body and his straggly white hair was tangled in knots. Sarion refused to take baths. He said that they never made him feel clean. He managed to purchase a spell from a Creator that seemed to erase his bad odor. As Toron read through his book of spells, he was talking about the current events.

“Krimos the Sage of Pyro is threatening war again. It seems the unicorns had escaped from Takin the Sage of Beasts’ herd, and they ate out a large majority of the Pyro Country’s emergency rations of food. Of course, the Pyro Mages immediately incinerated every unicorn they could find. Yet another race is destroyed because they pissed off the Pyros.” Toron coughed, and dust flew around in front of his face. Sarion scratched his head, then put his hand back in the fruit bowl. He continued to search for a piece of fruit while talking.

“You know Beast Mages. They’ll make some more unicorns in no time. No need for them to make a fuss about it.”

“You never know. Remember the whole incident with the Dodo birds getting lose in the Storm Country? They never got THAT population back again. Probably for the best. The species wasn’t one of Takin’s best ideas. Always making the loud noises, and the smell. They at least tasted good. After a few shocks of electricity, that is.” Sarion snorted in agreement. He finally found a fruit he wanted. It was a large red apple. He held it in his hands, and it reflected the moonlight.

“Don’t you ever get tired of this, Toron? The constant fighting and bickering. All the wars, diseases, and general chaos that is this world. You know what the problem is? Too…many…rulers.” Toron looked over at Sarion. He closed his book, and grabbed onto his staff. The staff was made of white oak, a very rare wood. On top of the staff was a fiery diamond in the shape of a brain. It seemed a little crude to some people, but the power it gave him was quite useful.

“What are you saying, Sarion? Please tell me it’s not what I’m thinking.”

Sarion clutched the apple in his gnarled fingers. As he talked, the apple slowly began to decompose, until eventually it was a small grizzly piece of trash that was no good for anything but a compost heap.

“What I’m saying, Toron, is that what this world truly needs is only one leader. With one ruler there would be no more wars. No more fighting. No more chaos. Only perfect order.” Sarion smiled as he watched the apple decompose. Behind him, Toron closed his eyes. He placed his left hand on his crystal, and it slowly began to glow. But before Toron was able to complete the spell, Sarion spoke.

“No need for you to use your mind reading powers on me, Toron. If you want to know what I have planned, then I’ll tell you. I’m going to take over the world, and proclaim myself ruler.”

“You’re crazy. The council would never hand over control of Marakta to you.”

“They have no choice. Either they do it, or they die. And not just the council. Anyone in this pitiful world that would deny me would also die. And on the ruins of the destroyed, I shall rebuild.”

“Please, friend, be reasonab-.” Before Toron could finish, Sarion spun around and stared him in the face.

“I am NOT your friend! Do not dare to presume too much, Toron. I’m not telling you this because I’m your friend. I’m telling you this because, as much as it pains me to say this, I respect you. I respect your wisdom and your power, but I do not like you. I am the Sage of Darkness; you are the Sage of Light. We are enemies by nature. The sad thing is that, besides me, you’re the only one worth your salt on this entire council. While the others go about their days bickering about every little thing, we’re the only ones that get things done. We run this world anyway. Might as well make it official.” Sarion turned and headed for the door. Toron simply stood where he was.

“You know I can’t let you do that, Sarion. I cannot simply stand by and watch you destroy this world.” Sarion stopped where he was. He turned slowly, and stared at Toron.

“You’re right. You’ll end up being more trouble than you’re worth.” Sarion clenched his fist, and a dark aura began to emanate from him. There was a gurgling sound from the shadows, and slowly, three zombies dragged themselves from the darkness. Their faces were drained of any emotion, and they dragged large swords along in their grimy hands. Sarion smiled.

“I’ll just have to kill you now. Good bye, Toron.” As the zombies ambled their way toward Toron, the door to the room was flung open. Before anyone realized what was going on, blinding beams of light had pierced the three zombies. They howled in pain, and then fell to the ground in ashes. Standing in the doorway was a young man. He was tall, with piercing blue eyes and shaggy blonde hair. He wore a long white robe with large gold patterns sewn into it. Silver gauntlets covered his hands, and his right hand was clenched around a staff made of white marble. The diamond crystal on the staff was in the shape of an eye. The man stared at Sarion. He spoke in a calm, yet deadly voice.

“I do not wish to start a war with the Dark Country by killing the Sage of Darkness, but unless you leave willingly, I will be forced to take drastic measures.” Sarion took a step towards the man. In a flash of light, a small crater formed in the floor directly in front of him. The man narrowed his eyes at Sarion.

“Don’t push it.” Sarion gave the man a nasty look, then walked backwards into the shadows. Before he became engulfed in the darkness, Sarion took one final look at Toron.

“My plans have already been set into motion, Toron. You cannot stop me, and neither can your guardian. The world will be mine.” Sarion then entered the shadows, and disappeared. The man in the white robe hurried over to Toron.

“Toron, are you alright? I was watching you with my Eye of Odin crystal, but I was not able to hear the conversation. Is something the matter?” Toron looked up at the man.

“Samuel, gather the council. We have business to take care of.”

The Meeting Room of Undal Septim – One Year Later

It’s been exactly one year since Toron and Sarion’s conversation, and many things have happened. The entire Council of Sages had agreed upon what needed to be done. Each country would hold a tournament for their mages. The winners of the tournaments would be gathered together to form a party that would attempt to stop Sarion’s plans of world domination. While the tournaments had been held, Toron labored over his spell books and ancient manuscripts. He was not only the Sage of Light, but was also one of the most powerful Creators alive. Sarion had a nasty habit of somehow living through any attempt on his life. Some believed that he owned a cursed artifact that protected his life. Some thought he knew a special spell. Others thought that he was simply immortal. Toron’s job was to find a spell that could defeat Sarion. After months of searching, he finally found what he needed. By combing a long list of spells and jinxes, he created a spell that Sarion stood no chance of defeating.

The meeting room was the place where the plans would be announced. The room itself was two stories high. The bottom floor had a large table in the center, which was currently covered with all assortments of food. The walls were lined with paintings of Sages past; from ever since the first Council of Sages had been established. The tournament winners and their companions were all standing or sitting in the area around the table. A balcony was placed on the wall high above the heads of the people below. Standing on the balcony was two people: Toron and Samuel Orion. Toron was looking down at the people below, and Samuel was standing behind him. Samuel had won the tournament in the Light Mage class. Everyone knew that he would. He was raised and trained by Toron himself which, when combined with his already natural talent for magic, made him a very powerful mage despite his being in his twenties. Samuel was Toron’s self-assigned bodyguard. He was very loyal to the old man, and considered him his father. He did whatever the old man told him, even if he didn’t agree with it.

“All the mages are present, Toron. We should begin the meeting soon.” Toron nodded slowly, and looked down at the people below.

“Samuel. Look down there. Tell me, what do you think of this?” Samuel walked over to the edge and looked over.

“Honestly, I think it’s a joke. Putting mages from all different schools is simply asking for trouble. And as for the champions, there didn’t seem to be any point to it. I mean, look at the two Gaia mages. Gaia mages are so peaceful; they couldn’t even find themselves a winner. It was in the final round, and they both gave up. So we have TWO champions from the Gaia mages. And all we needed was the tournament winners. But for some reason, most of the people brought others along. And what’s with that mage down there in the corner? He doesn’t have a crystal on his staff. It’s a clock. He doesn’t even belong to a school. And that Beast Mage that you hired for a guide brought a wolf into the hall, even though he was directly told not to.” Samuel frowned. Toron looked up at him, and laughed.

“Good. I knew you would approve. That man in the corner may not belong to a school, but he’s one of the best mapmakers in the world. And he isn’t too shabby with his Time magic, either. And if I were you, I wouldn’t start complaining about them bringing other people along. You’ll be bringing along another person, also.” Samuel frowned even more.

“What? I intended to go on my own. I can protect myself.”

“I know you can. That’s why I’m sending Riordan with you.”

“What! You’re sending Ray along? But he’s only a scholar! He’s had no experience in battle at all! He wasn’t even allowed in the tournament!” Toron looked up at Samuel, and gave a stern face.

“Which is exactly why I’m sending him. It’ll do him good to get some field experience, and I figured that since you’d be running around anyway, might as well send him with you. That way, if he gets in over his head, you can bail him out. End of discussion. Besides, you should be glad he’s coming along. His eyes glowed when I told him that he was going with you. I don’t know if he enjoyed the part about having to actually get in fights, but he admires you. He’s in his room packing as we speak.” Samuel leaned on his staff and sighed.

“You keep tossing in the surprises, don’t you? You’ve thrown everything at me but a Dark Mage.”

“Well, funny of you to mention that…” Samuel closed his eyes tight and rubbed his forehead.

“Please tell me you’re joking.” Toron slowly shook his head. Samuel opened his eyes again.

“You mean to tell me that you invited a Dark Mage, and it just happened to slip your mind?”

“It was on an extreme need-to-know basis. All of the Sages knew about it, the Dark Mages that participated in their tournament knew about it, and the mages that stand below you just learned of it yesterday afternoon when they all arrived. We needed to make sure that Sarion didn’t know that we were calling in Mages from his own school.”

“And why, might I ask, am I the last person to hear about this.”

“Because you aren’t exactly secret about your dislike of Dark Mages. There were times when others wanted to tell you, but I kept them quiet. I wanted to wait to tell you at a time where you couldn’t do anything about it.”

“And why did they agree to this? Sarion is their Sage. Why would they betray their leader?” Toron stroked his beard before answering.

“I forgot the exact reason. I think the winner of the tournament mentioned something about hating the way Sarion smells, or something along those lines. Besides, haven’t you ever heard the term ‘Fighting fire with fire”? Well, the best way to get inside Sarion’s mind is with a Dark Mage. They’re the only ones twisted enough to be able to comprehend Sarion’s actions.”

Samuel walked back from the edge of the balcony and leaned against the wall. The throbbing in his temples continued. He began to rub them with his fingers. He could have just cast a spell to make it go away, but at times like this, it felt relaxing.

“I have a bad feeling about this.”

Jace was sitting at the meeting table, half-asleep and rocking back and forth, trying to stay awake. It was exciting that he had actually made it this far, but something had just kept up all night and he didn't know what it was. Maybe it was the fact that he was going to try and stop one of the most powerful sages on the council, he didn't really know.

He slowly got up and grabbed his staff, which was made out of maple. After walking around for a few minutes, he seemed to wake up a little. He began pacing the meeting hall, trying to stay awake. After that, he finally looked at the people around him. A very mixed group, which seemed odd because they all seemed to have brought someone along with them. He was the only one that didn't bring anyone from his country, which showed that he was alone. This wasn't much of a problem though, he was used to it, but it would be interesting travelling with people from around the world.

Sedran was leaning was sitting back in his chair watching his crystal spin slowly atop his staff. This was gonna be interesting, going against Sarion, with this rabble. One of them had no battle experiance, two were too peaceful to fight and another was practicly an animal. He'd have to see who was strongest in a real battle situation.

ooc: I think I'm also the only storm mage

(OOC: Actually, lazy, I'm pretty sure I'm the only Hydro Mage, so you're not that alone)

Jude poured over his books, like usual, trying to gain any available last minute information on his current surroundings. Some of the best mages in the world were above him, and the most motly crew engulfed him, including a number of Dark Mages. Jude eyed these suspiciously, he wondered where their alleigances would stand when faced with the Sarion...but he quickly looked back at his books to avoid drawing attenion.

(2 hours ago)

"I assure you dear lady my magics are without side affect, I can restore your youthful beauty with no problem at all it just takes some concentration on my part."

"It will be good to be young again." a wealthy women in her sixties said.

Ken gently touched the brass bound hour glass, he closed his eyes and visualized the hours, days, months, and years melting off the wealthy women. the ruby quartz sand began to glow Kenyu pushed the hour glass forward then turned it. a single glowing grain fell into the center. the grain flared bright illuminating the women in front of him. The hour glass slowly began to spin in the brass holder. faster and faster. The red light from the glowing quartz striking the women as a strobe. the women seemed to age in reverse, 55...54...49...40...35...28...21...

Kenyu grabbed the hour glass. the sand which had started at the top was now at the bottom the last grain fell to the bottom and glowed no more. The women blinked she looked at her hands, her hands were youthful. She looked at a nearby mirror. She was now a young maid in her teens.

"Amazing." she said. "Have a drink with me Lord Mapmaker."

"I'll just be taking my payment." He grabbed a monogrammed silk bad and hid it in his map bag. "I have an appointment I'm late for."

"Are you sure." the girl said seductively.

"They plan to pay me quite well," he said. "But I will take you up on that offer, another time dear lady." He kissed the beautiful maids hand picked up his map bag and walked out of the parlor

____________________

Kenyu sat in his corner. he picked out the bag and opened it. He pulled out the uncut diamonds and let them flow into the bag. He smiled, selling these to the mages would keep him in ink and parcment for six ages of men.

Kenten sighed. It was clear the builders of this table had not expected for one of the tournaments to end in a draw, and even more clear that they had not expected giants to be sitting here.

But that was not the reason he sighed. It was also clear that there was much distrust in the room. In a few moments, when the council started its debates, things would quickly go downhill. He hoped that the ageing Sage of Light would be able to quell the arguements that would surely begin.

He quietly twiddled his granite/emerald ring. There were almost a hundered spells he knew that could make use of the components in the ring. He hoped he would not need them.

Zak had been sitting next to the Pyro mages, bored out of his skull, when he suddenly got an idea for a new spell. As he finished forming the spell in his mind, he asked the Pyros to look under the table. Using his crystal's power, he started casting the new spell. Under the table his name was written in fire, and started spinning. When it was spinning rather violently, it contracted to a finite point and exploded with a bright flash, mostly hidden by peoples legs and the tabletop. After the display, Zak went back to being bored out of his skull, waiting for the Sage of Light to start the meeting.

(OOC: Gonna wait for a majority of the people to post before the meeting starts. Talk amongst yourselves if you want.)

"Any body wanting to make a deal for some uncut diamonds?" Kenyu said loud enough for the others to hear. "I know where to get my hand on some very high quality gems." Ken's dark eyes glowed from beneath his hood.