Prologue

The dark night air was filled with the vivid smells that only one of the city could have known. The clotting smell of car smoke, mixtures of foods and the clogging smell of human sweat could make anyone feel at home. But there was one smell that no one else could have known that was possibly there. Unless you were looking for it, and you had the trained nose.

Aton sat on his balcony smoking his pipe. He was wearing his combat clothes consisting of a customized coat, tight long-sleeved black shirt, black belt, black gloves and black combat boots. The coat itself was a spectacle to see, with no zipper or buttons, but shoulder guards and a V-shaped opening that showed the black undergarment. It was quite long and came down to his boots and flared out ward like a large coattail. The bottom of the coat was patterned into many tooth-like edges.

The person himself had fair hair that was combed to the left side just above the left eye. He had an oval face with deep brown eyes that made him look older than one of sixteen. He chewed on the end of his pipe and exhaled a breath of smoke. He sucked in again and released several smoke rings when he caught the slight scent of demon. Aton grinned and set the pipe down before jumping off the balcony.

A regular human would have been terrified and die from the fall, but a trained mage such as Aton took pleasure in such exhilarations. Aton was not human, not in the least; no, he was a Merlinian, a race of magical human-like people. What told him apart was his strangely older face and body build that one of 16 could not usually have, but magic, the manipulation of Arcane, has a way around it.

Aton condensed magic under his body and propelled himself ahead. The smell of demon grew stronger, as he drew near an old building. He landed, the coat flapping. He climbed through a pile of debris that had collected at the doorstep. He looked inside and was immediately batted into a pile of wreckage. A primordial roar and a loud snort came close to where Aton lay, blood seeping out of his head.

"You big bastard," he said spitting blood as he sat up. A pair of red eyes stared at him, several feet above him. Aton drew magic into large, black, transparent, swirling balls around his hands and sent streams down his arms. Jumping up, he punched the beast through a wall into the moonlight. The coiled body of the red, horned monster twitched. Aton focused the balls of magic to form blades. Aiming for the belly, he slashed upwards. The demon roared as the blades hit home and twisted itself onto its back to kick Aton.

Aton lifted his arms and blocked the kick, but the force sent him back several yards. The demon was now back on its feet and rushing at him. Aton gathered magic in his right hand from his swirling Arcane Glove into hand-sized sphere and held it out like a gun. The sphere was pitch black and seemed solid. The demon paused in his charge and stared, confuse at the lack of surprise from its enemy. That was when Aton released his Arcane Ball. It instantly transformed into a black laser beam and enveloped the demon.

When it stopped firing, the demon was a charred skeleton. Aton walked over to it and touched it, using magic to trace it back to its origins. He blinked in surprise. It was a summon, meaning that this was not natural. He felt something ebb from behind him and he sprang to the ground. And the demon exploded.

2: The First Day

Chapter 1

May woke groggily from her sleep. Her brain felt like ten different car wrecks. May was 15 years old, with long chestnut brown hair and an almond shaped face. She rubbed her face and brushed hair behind her ears. She got off her bed and stumbled into the shower and flicked it on, using as little energy as possible. She got in and let the hot water find their way to the ground. She finished her shower quickly and got dressed. She put on a white shirt and blue blouse, adding a red, flowing bow tie and twisted her hair into a ponytail, but left two small strands of hair hanging on the sides of her head and hurried to school.

The first day is always stressful, but for May, this was a whole new lifestyle. She had moved again, this time to the big city, New Kroy. It was humongous, but May had managed to meet a lot of people her age and become friends with them. She looked forward to seeing what the day had for her. She would not be disappointed.

May walked to school, school bag in hand. As she reached the building, she realized that this was the first she had seen it up close. It was a very modern-building, resembling a college more than a high school, glass and metal mixing together for a result of everything a teen would ever enjoy out of a school. She walked through the ornate gates and grabbed her schedule. She scanned it and noted that her first period was Chemistry with a Mr. Enacra. Room 372.

She stepped cautiously through the campus and saw the 300 wing. She stepped into a white hallway and saw the classroom on her right. She stepped and was greeted by the smell of smoke.

He was tall, broad-shouldered and wearing a three-piece suit, hair was messed-up and sticking at random ends, and a pipe in his mouth. He rang of authority and had the height to back it as well. Never had May seen a teacher at the height of 6 feet and above. Or one that smoked in the classroom…

He barely glanced at her but said a quick, "Sit", and returned to his reading. May warily looked round the circular room and sat down next to a girl who had her head down on the desk. A few minutes later, the bell rang and the girl's head shot up. She hand short bangs and sleepy expression etched in her face.

"OK you guys!" Mr. Enacra shut his book with a loud thump, "I know you're all science lovers, so let's get to business. I am the wonderful, Mister Cigam Enacra. Chemistry is the science of matter. In this class, you will learn about anything that has to do with bonds, chemicals and other such products. It will be dangerous so you all must listen to my every instruction. Now everyone get something to write on and with for notes!" His eyes glanced across the classroom and rested on May. She suddenly felt uncomfortable and looked down.

The bell rang, and most of the student's brains were filled with atoms and molecules. As May left the classroom, she noticed that Mr. Enarca was whispering to the wall. A soft blue glow began to ebb from the wall. May, incredulous, tried to step back into the classroom, but the door suddenly slammed in her face. May stared at the door and realized Mr. Enacra hadn't gotten up.

Mr. Cigam Enacra sighed as he watched his students file out. Aton felt hot under his 3-piece business suit, but it was a nifty disguise. His knowledge of magic was similar to the wonders of science, so he found it easy to be a professor of high school Chem. Although he had to forge his license and teacher credentials, he was a leading expert on chemicals. His fake name, Cigam Enacra, was actually Magic Arcane spelled backwards. He whispered his name to the wall and began the transmission.

"Hello High Warlocks. How you been?" Aton grinned at the blue wall which he had transformed into a screen.

"We await news Black Mage. How is New Kroy?" a light, female voice ringing with authority asked.

"Demon numbers have been fluctuating rapidly. I believe they are being summoned, not accidentals from the Void," Aton responded, rising to his feet, "I believe the summoner is none other than a Lefayan."

"Are you positive these are summons?" another voice asked with a hint of contempt. Aton gazed at the shadowy, bald figure in the corner who had spoken.

"The Red Warlock thinks I am wrong does he? Feast your eyes on this," Aton lifted his suit sleeve and revealed his arm. Instead of an arm coated in flesh and skin, there was just bone.

"No demon explodes like that," Aton said lowering his suit sleeve, "I am still healing as we speak. Be warned Warlocks, they are growing more vicious by the day."

"Is that all?" a third voice asked, with a drawling tone.

"No. I have a girl, named May. Her blood is of Lefayan descent, but she appears to be human and has no magical ability," Aton reported.

"There is no question about it," a firm voice said quickly, "She must be removed. Immediately!"

"May I remind the White Warlock that she has no powers whatsoever," Aton retorted.

"We will discuss the matter at hand," the first voice said drily, "For now, watch over her, and find the Lefayan summoner. These are the words of the Cyan Warlock."

"Yes ma'am. Aton out," the transmission closed down and Aton returned the wall to its original settings. Time to get crackin', Aton thought to himself as he relit his pipe.

 

3: War Locked Warlock

Chapter 2

            Once more adorned in his combat coat, now with an added black plate mail on the arms and gloves with metal bracers to prevent further arm-loss, he leapt from building to building to watch May. She liked to eat so much that it began to make Aton hungry, so he had poured some magic into his stomach to fill it up. Hardly delicious, but nourishing.

            He sniffed the air for any demon signs. None. Aton sighed, contented to rest, when he saw May get up from the table she had been eating at, paid the bill and walked off. Aton cursed and, coat flapping behind him, flipped off the roof he was on to the one below it. May took a bus downtown, while Aton created a ball of arcane big enough to accommodate him and took to the air. He lay on his back and looked up into the black sky and remembered his training. If you don’t smell a demon, go look for it! Don’t give the bastards to attack you! Take the fight to their houses and by the gods of Arcane, burn ‘em down! His trainer always had been a bit stir crazy, but he had been brilliant to the end. The last Lefayan conflict had ended in his trainer’s life. Seriously, there’s always a problem with two races of magic.

            But he couldn’t just dump his mission to fight demons. What if this charming girl was a Lefayan sorcerer that could get to him? Aton lounged on his back looking into the dark sky. The swirls of the dismal night-clouds blocked most of the moon’s light making it so that Aton almost couldn’t see it. Almost.

            A lightning bolt of Red Arcane struck the swirling black arcane ball Aton had been in. Flipping out and making a little swirling Arcane block to stand on, Aton looked his attacker in the face. He was a tall, slender man with gleaming ice-blue eyes and the standard robe that Aton associated with the Lefayans. He wore gloves that bore a glyph Aton noticed meant ‘warlock’. In addition, on top of the robe, the Lefayan wore a large piece of ornately-carved metal that sat on his shoulders. Two thick strips of ribbons flowed from it, one for each shoulder. Aton knew these were ‘banners’, the other way of telling a warlock and his given title. Although, Merlinian banners had two ribbons on the front and two ribbons on the back.

            “So, the Lefayans didn’t send me any Lefayan, eh. They sent me the famed ‘Flowing’ Warlock,” Aton rushed his foe, swirling blades of Black Arcane around his hands. The Flowing Warlock sidestepped the attack and spun to face his opponent.

            “And you are undoubtedly the equally famed ‘Black’ Mage. A shame really,” the Warlock created a crackly spear from the Red Lightning Arcane, “Everyone knows Mages are powerful, but Warlocks outclass even the best of them.”

            “We’ll see,” was all Aton said before launching himself into battle. The tall bastard didn’t get his name, ‘Flowing’, for no reason. He was an expert at dodging and dealing blow at a frightful speed. Aton wondered how May was holding up while he was fighting. He decided she was fine as ducked an underhand blow. Twisting his hand slightly, Aton disarmed the warlock and fired an Arcane Ball in his face. The warlock opened his mouth and spewed arcane bolts that altered the attack’s course. The warlock wrapped Aton in tight ropes of arcane and kicked Aton out of the sky.

            “Damn,” Aton cursed as he caught his breath. He manipulated his power to send a massive pulse of arcane to flow from his body. The ropes vanished almost instantly from the outburst and Aton channeled arcane to his feet to keep him floating. The warlock appeared above him and brought his foot down on Aton’s head. Barely catching it, Aton sent a wave of arcane to solidify on the Lefayan’s foot making it impossible for him to lift it.

            Aton repeated the tactic on the warlock’s arms with partial success. He managed to seal the right arm, but received a blow to the stomach and to the face.

            “Very good,” the warlock said, raising his left arm over his right arm and destroying the weights, “But still, I have two arms.” He grinned and sent Aton flying with a vicious kick. Gasping for breath, Aton noticed he had landed in a field and devised a cunning plan. He morphed the arcane around his hands into blades again. The warlock smirked as he watched Aton run on the ground, attempting to flank him, but he had to admit, the Merlinian was going very fast. A dust cloud rose over Aton’s head and the Lefayan all sight of him. A burst of Arcane seared the Lefayans robes. The bastard wants to blind me? The warlock almost laughed. He plunged into the middle of the dust and landed with a resounding crack from the ground. He saw Aton standing lighting his pipe with a match.

            “Smoking your last smoke?” the warlock sneered.

            “Mmm,” Aton nodded appreciatively, “Do you smell that? That strange smell of staleness? Of power?” As a matter of fact, the warlock did. It smelled all too familiar. He tried to move, but instead fell to his knees, feet bound by coils of arcane.

            “You transformed your arcane into gas?” the warlock began to sweat profusely.

            “Don’t worry, it’s not poisonous,” Aton continued to puff on his pipe, “but it is flammable…”

            “You wouldn’t…”the warlock seemed scared, cockiness drained of his features.

            “All you have to do is tell me where the demons are coming from,” Aton kneeled to look at the defeated warlock.

            “Th-the Demon…Warlock,” he faintly murmured.

            “You have a warlock with that given title? Sounds fun.”

            “He’s powerful, more powerful than me…you will always have to watch your back.”

            “Yeah thanks for the info,” Aton stood up and was ready to send the warlock to the Merlinian cells.

            “Wait!” Aton looked around at the warlock who had managed to find the strength to yell.

            “What?”

            “How was I defeated by a Mage? A Warlock defeated by a Mage is unheard of!” the warlock seemed to have gained some sense.

            “Am I a Mage?” Aton smiled and showed the Warlock the palm of his glove, “Yes, you read right. I’m supposed to be Aton, the Black Warlock, the youngest in two centuries. I let you punch me around a bit and held back on my attacks. Besides, I don’t like the way ‘Black Warlock’ sounds, so I use the title ‘Black Mage’. It also works for incognito purposes.”

            “So I have not lost my honor. I will go as a warlock defeated by another warlock.” The Flowing Warlock seemed almost happy.

            “Yeah but don’t tell your buddies, or I’ll show the full, unrestrained power of the Black Mage,” Aton smiled and sent the message to the High Warlocks, “Now sit tight and wait for your captors to pick you up.” He didn’t have to wait long. Within two minutes, the White Warlock had come. He had a circular face with relatively flat hair and a smirking mouth. True to his title, he robes, gloves and banner was completely white.

            “Good job, Aton. Another Lefayan in our hands,” the White Warlock said, “Although, a Warlock of the High shouldn’t keep running around unguarded.”

            Aton laughed, “Oh, Aleron, I’m young and free. I don’t like being cooped up watching the mages have all the fun!”

            “Whatever, but I want you to get back to your assigned mission now,” Aleron replied.

            “Oh yeah,” Aton put the pipe in his mouth and checked the time, “She’s probably sleeping. It’s one o’ clock.”

            “Fine. Get some sleep. You have a long report to give the High Warlocks tomorrow,” Aleron said as he walked off, the Flowing Warlock floating next to him on a cloud of stark white arcane.

            Aton turned on his heel and walked away, realizing at that moment that he forgot to punch his brother goodbye.

Chapter 2

            Once more adorned in his combat coat, now with an added black plate mail on the arms and gloves with metal bracers to prevent further arm-loss, he leapt from building to building to watch May. She liked to eat so much that it began to make Aton hungry, so he had poured some magic into his stomach to fill it up. Hardly delicious, but nourishing.

            He sniffed the air for any demon signs. None. Aton sighed, contented to rest, when he saw May get up from the table she had been eating at, paid the bill and walked off. Aton cursed and, coat flapping behind him, flipped off the roof he was on to the one below it. May took a bus downtown, while Aton created a ball of arcane big enough to accommodate him and took to the air. He lay on his back and looked up into the black sky and remembered his training. If you don’t smell a demon, go look for it! Don’t give the bastards to attack you! Take the fight to their houses and by the gods of Arcane, burn ‘em down! His trainer always had been a bit stir crazy, but he had been brilliant to the end. The last Lefayan conflict had ended in his trainer’s life. Seriously, there’s always a problem with two races of magic.

            But he couldn’t just dump his mission to fight demons. What if this charming girl was a Lefayan sorcerer that could get to him? Aton lounged on his back looking into the dark sky. The swirls of the dismal night-clouds blocked most of the moon’s light making it so that Aton almost couldn’t see it. Almost.

            A lightning bolt of Red Arcane struck the swirling black arcane ball Aton had been in. Flipping out and making a little swirling Arcane block to stand on, Aton looked his attacker in the face. He was a tall, slender man with gleaming ice-blue eyes and the standard robe that Aton associated with the Lefayans. He wore gloves that bore a glyph Aton noticed meant ‘warlock’. In addition, on top of the robe, the Lefayan wore a large piece of ornately-carved metal that sat on his shoulders. Two thick strips of ribbons flowed from it, one for each shoulder. Aton knew these were ‘banners’, the other way of telling a warlock and his given title. Although, Merlinian banners had two ribbons on the front and two ribbons on the back.

            “So, the Lefayans didn’t send me any Lefayan, eh. They sent me the famed ‘Flowing’ Warlock,” Aton rushed his foe, swirling blades of Black Arcane around his hands. The Flowing Warlock sidestepped the attack and spun to face his opponent.

            “And you are undoubtedly the equally famed ‘Black’ Mage. A shame really,” the Warlock created a crackly spear from the Red Lightning Arcane, “Everyone knows Mages are powerful, but Warlocks outclass even the best of them.”

            “We’ll see,” was all Aton said before launching himself into battle. The tall bastard didn’t get his name, ‘Flowing’, for no reason. He was an expert at dodging and dealing blow at a frightful speed. Aton wondered how May was holding up while he was fighting. He decided she was fine as ducked an underhand blow. Twisting his hand slightly, Aton disarmed the warlock and fired an Arcane Ball in his face. The warlock opened his mouth and spewed arcane bolts that altered the attack’s course. The warlock wrapped Aton in tight ropes of arcane and kicked Aton out of the sky.

            “Damn,” Aton cursed as he caught his breath. He manipulated his power to send a massive pulse of arcane to flow from his body. The ropes vanished almost instantly from the outburst and Aton channeled arcane to his feet to keep him floating. The warlock appeared above him and brought his foot down on Aton’s head. Barely catching it, Aton sent a wave of arcane to solidify on the Lefayan’s foot making it impossible for him to lift it.

            Aton repeated the tactic on the warlock’s arms with partial success. He managed to seal the right arm, but received a blow to the stomach and to the face.

            “Very good,” the warlock said, raising his left arm over his right arm and destroying the weights, “But still, I have two arms.” He grinned and sent Aton flying with a vicious kick. Gasping for breath, Aton noticed he had landed in a field and devised a cunning plan. He morphed the arcane around his hands into blades again. The warlock smirked as he watched Aton run on the ground, attempting to flank him, but he had to admit, the Merlinian was going very fast. A dust cloud rose over Aton’s head and the Lefayan all sight of him. A burst of Arcane seared the Lefayans robes. The bastard wants to blind me? The warlock almost laughed. He plunged into the middle of the dust and landed with a resounding crack from the ground. He saw Aton standing lighting his pipe with a match.

            “Smoking your last smoke?” the warlock sneered.

            “Mmm,” Aton nodded appreciatively, “Do you smell that? That strange smell of staleness? Of power?” As a matter of fact, the warlock did. It smelled all too familiar. He tried to move, but instead fell to his knees, feet bound by coils of arcane.

            “You transformed your arcane into gas?” the warlock began to sweat profusely.

            “Don’t worry, it’s not poisonous,” Aton continued to puff on his pipe, “but it is flammable…”

            “You wouldn’t…”the warlock seemed scared, cockiness drained of his features.

            “All you have to do is tell me where the demons are coming from,” Aton kneeled to look at the defeated warlock.

            “Th-the Demon…Warlock,” he faintly murmured.

            “You have a warlock with that given title? Sounds fun.”

            “He’s powerful, more powerful than me…you will always have to watch your back.”

            “Yeah thanks for the info,” Aton stood up and was ready to send the warlock to the Merlinian cells.

            “Wait!” Aton looked around at the warlock who had managed to find the strength to yell.

            “What?”

            “How was I defeated by a Mage? A Warlock defeated by a Mage is unheard of!” the warlock seemed to have gained some sense.

            “Am I a Mage?” Aton smiled and showed the Warlock the palm of his glove, “Yes, you read right. I’m supposed to be Aton, the Black Warlock, the youngest in two centuries. I let you punch me around a bit and held back on my attacks. Besides, I don’t like the way ‘Black Warlock’ sounds, so I use the title ‘Black Mage’. It also works for incognito purposes.”

            “So I have not lost my honor. I will go as a warlock defeated by another warlock.” The Flowing Warlock seemed almost happy.

            “Yeah but don’t tell your buddies, or I’ll show the full, unrestrained power of the Black Mage,” Aton smiled and sent the message to the High Warlocks, “Now sit tight and wait for your captors to pick you up.” He didn’t have to wait long. Within two minutes, the White Warlock had come. He had a circular face with relatively flat hair and a smirking mouth. True to his title, he robes, gloves and banner was completely white.

            “Good job, Aton. Another Lefayan in our hands,” the White Warlock said, “Although, a Warlock of the High shouldn’t keep running around unguarded.”

            Aton laughed, “Oh, Aleron, I’m young and free. I don’t like being cooped up watching the mages have all the fun!”

            “Whatever, but I want you to get back to your assigned mission now,” Aleron replied.

            “Oh yeah,” Aton put the pipe in his mouth and checked the time, “She’s probably sleeping. It’s one o’ clock.”

            “Fine. Get some sleep. You have a long report to give the High Warlocks tomorrow,” Aleron said as he walked off, the Flowing Warlock floating next to him on a cloud of stark white arcane.

            Aton turned on his heel and walked away, realizing at that moment that he forgot to punch his brother goodbye.

4: Demon Rise

Chapter 3

"Black Mage, due to your recent victory against the Flowing Warlock, you have received a bonus in your pay," one of the High Warlocks said. A slot in the screen spat out a wad of glowing green money. Merlinian money had the power to change into any human bill, which made Aton quite rich in the human world, although, he would have been rich in the mountain lands of the Merlinians as well.

"Your original assignment still stands," said the White Warlock.

"The Demon Warlock must be removed from the picture if we Merlinians are to escape another war with the Lefayans," the Cyan Warlock added, "Although we drove them back ten years ago, our numbers are still recovering. Find him and take the girl to us."

"Whatever you say, ma'am. Black Mage out," Aton replied, lazily saluting. The screen powered off and returned to the wall. The bell rang and Aton waited for the students to file in. He closed his eyes and unconsciously reached for his pipe. Without looking, he located it and lit it with magic. He opened his eyes in time for the bell and began to teach.

May liked school now. She had met so many interesting people and done so many things. Her favorite class was amazingly Chemistry; Mr. Enacra was an excellent teacher. In fact, she had done so well, her father let her have a little time to herself.

"Go out. Buy clothes, get your first kiss, whatever girls do," her father had said, beaming over her perfect A report card. She in turn squealed and hugged her father and rushed to call her friends.

"Oh, what should we do first?" May asked her new best friend and Chemistry partner, Lucy. When May first sat next to her in Chemistry class, Lucy had worn her scarlet hair in short bangs but she had grown her hair out to reach to her back. She was a middle-heighted girl with a quick laugh and an endless amount of jokes, random topics and great ideas.

"Let's go downtown and grab some food," Lucy suggested, snapping her fingers.

"Great idea! I'm starving! But, then, I do love food," May smiled. They left laughing at jokes and as they reached the bright stalls that could only be found in New Kroy's downtown, the conversation had changed to rumors about the teachers.

"Did you hear about Mr. Enacra?" Lucy asked, picking a beautiful bouquet of tulips and smelling them.

"What?" May perked up the name of their Chemistry teacher.

Lucy looked at May and held up her hands and wiggled her fingers. "He does strange things in his room during lunch. He locks his doors and closes the blinds. You know Larry, from our 4th Period Calculus class? He went to Mr. Enacra's room and heard him talking to someone, but no one entered the room after 5th Period!"

May gazed at her friend. "Lucy, you're crazy!"

"Thanks," she grinned, "But you have to admit, that teacher has something going on in that classroom!" May refused to laugh.

Aton laughed. 'That teacher' wasn't even a real teacher, but he reminded himself to put a barrier around his door to keep sound from going out. He watched the girls walk all over downtown eating and laughing. He missed the days when he would laugh with his father and mother. Those days before that war. The war that took them. Aton closed his eyes to keep himself from remembering.

"Hello, Master Black Warlock, sir!" a bright voice chirped. Aton looked to the voice's owner.

Aton sighed, all thoughts fading from him, "Hooky, out here, don't call me 'Warlock'. You may address me as 'Black Mage', but nothing more than that."

"Of course, of course, sorry Master Black Mage, sir," Hooky said again. He was a stout person, only twelve years old. He had a large number of freckles and large dreamy eyes.

"What are you doing here, young Acolyte?" Aton asked, rolling his eyes.

"Just came to see you, sir, rumor has it that you defeated the Flowing Warlock! With one punch!" Hooky squealed. Aton chuckled.

"Far from it! I tricked him into thinking my power was only at a Mage level, and I took him down with the threat of gas," Aton recalled. Hooky, although wrong, still thought Aton was so brave, so courageous to fight a Warlock of such caliber. By himself.

Aton smiled. Hooky always managed to make him be better and stronger than he really was. Checking the time, Aton saw that it was already almost 8 o'clock. Looking down, he saw the scarlet haired girl leave and May waving goodbye before heading to a stall that sold little trinkets.

"Ooooh who's that, sir? She's hot!" Hooky said leaning to take a better look at May's chest, "Nice!"

"Is that all you do? Look at girls? You should be worrying about your magic," Aton scolded, smacking the little pervert with his hand.

"Wh-a-a-at?" Hooky said incredulous, "I have been practicing my magic! Watch this!" Putting his hands together he gathered Arcane around his hands and slammed them into the roof. There was an explosion and a giant crater in the roof.

Hooky paled and coughed, "I-I didn't do that did I?" A deep laugh echoed. A large man floated out of the hole onto the roof. He was a tall, brawny, tanned man with small eyes and black hair wrapped in a ponytail. He wore a trench coat and banner that read 'Demon'.

"The Black Mage and a pipsqueak. How delightful," the man cackled thrusting his hand at them. A lightning bolt of blue magic soared towards Hooky, but Aton blocked the magic with his bracer.

"The Demon Warlock. Exactly who I'm looking for. You know I took out your partner. You know I can take you out," Aton growled narrowing his eyes, "Hooky, run!" Hooky took ten seconds to comply. But he got to his feet and ran for all he was worth.

The Demon Warlock snarled, "I'll get him later. You first, Warlock." Aton allowed his anger to burst.

"You think you can come to me and expect to live? Forget it!" Aton formed and fired an Arcane Ball.

"Please," the Demon sneered. Dodging the huge beam of Magic, he fired his own lightning bolts, filling the air with blue light. I can't let the humans see this! Aton thought. He needed to end it quickly. Shuffling his feet he sidestepped the attack.

"Trap!" The Demon yelled in delight. A lightning bolt of Arcane seared Aton lifting him into the air. He managed to see the Demon fire another lightning bolt and feel the lightning bolt pass through his stomach. Thinking to himself, he wondered why he had to fight two in two days, and crashed into the building opposite the roof he had been on.

 

5: Black Nova

Chapter 4

Pain. Aton felt so much of it. There was a hole the size of a fist that passed through his stomach, and the blood seemed to continuously spill. The building had luckily been up for rent so there was no one inside it. Cupping his hands together he formed the ball-like Arcane Glove and turned it into liquid Arcanine. Rubbing the wound with the black liquid, he felt a cool sensation and his head clearing. Looking down, he saw that his healing liquid had done the trick, mending his stomach and skin, but he would need more healing time before he could fully recover. Rising, he saw the familiar blue lightning streaking the entire building.

"COME OUT MAGE!" roared the Demon Warlock smashing part of the building and throwing at the cowering humans below, "COME OUT OR I'LL KILL ALL OF THESE PATHETIC CREATURES!"

"Alright then!" Aton bellowed, spewing Arcane from his mouth. The Arcane took the shape of a giant spearhead and launched towards the Demon. Seeming surprised, the Demon dispersed the magic by making a giant shield from Arcane.

Reforming his Arcane, the Demon created a giant hammer and brought it slamming into Aton's head. Snarling, Aton created and discharged an Arcane Ball that destroyed the hammer in a beam of Black Arcane. Breathing in, Aton heated his Arcane to 100o degrees Celsius and blew a wave of fiery, Black Arcane. The Demon Warlock ducked the Black Fire and used hid Arcane to grab Aton's leg and throw him into the ground. Landing on the pavement, Aton felt his left arm and right leg fracture. Eyes watering in pain, he rose, back aching.

"Mr…Enacra?!" Eyes shooting up, he saw May standing over him, eyes open in terror.

"Get away, girl!" the Demon Warlock ordered, grabbing her ponytail and throwing her into a fruit stall. She cried out in pain and was silent. She's not a Lefayan Sorcerer…but this guy…he probably knows she's Lefayan, but he still would do that…to his own kind…THAT'S TOO MUCH! Aton jumped up and kicked the Warlock into the sky. Ignoring the pain, he poured every drop of Arcane into a giant ball. As soon as he felt he was about to pass out from pain and exhaustion, he compressed the giant ball into a tiny, dense, unstable, Black Sun.

"Taste this Demon!" he shouted at the Warlock, "Eat my ultimate technique, Black Nova!" Cupping his hands together he fired the Sun and watched it soar towards the Demon, hitting him in the gullet. He heard the Demon yell, "My death will be avenged Aton, Black Mage!"

"But not today," Aton whispered as he watched the Sun bubble and explode in a gigantic, black explosion. Aton chuckled softly and the world faded to black.

"Hey! He's coming back!" Aton snapped awake and sat straight up. Wincing, he looked at his bandaged self. He was in a small, white room, on a soft, squishy bed. He saw May looking down on him. An older, hard-set man, with square-cut features, gray eyes and thinning hair walked into the room.

"Hello Aton," the older man said. Aton, no longer energized to feel anything but pain, simply looked up.

"Don't worry, I contacted your brother. He'll be coming. May, could you grab some pillows?" the man watched May leave the room silently, "I'm Dr. Howard Lee, pleased to meet you."

"You know me," Aton's eyes narrowed, "How?"

"My wife. Here," Howard handed Aton a picture. On it was a gentle-looking, raven-haired woman with oval features.

"The Red Lotus Warlock," the Black Mage whispered, "Elizabeth, the only Lefayan among Merlinians. My greatest friend…and teacher. And to think I would teach her daughter…" Aton returned his gaze to the man, "You're a half Merlinian aren't you. Your blood has Arcane in it."

"Yeah. I have next to no magical power, but Lizzy was a very powerful person wasn't she?" Howard gazed at Aton with curiosity, "You know that May has been targeted since birth? Because of her mother? Lizzy couldn't live like that, so she went and fought a huge battle with the lot of 'em and was killed. Since then, I've tried to make sure May never knew anything about magic, that it was a myth, a fairy tale. But I knew that one day a Mage would discover her for what she is." Howard put his head in his hands. "A hybrid."

Aton stared at the man in pity. How long had he suffered for all these years. "Don't worry sir, I'll take care of her," Aton swore. The doctor looked up, seemingly dazed. Somewhere a door clicked and Aleron rushed in.

"Aton!" Aleron rushed to his brother, "Look at yourself! What happened?" May walked in, hands filled with pillows, as Aleron forced Aton to drink a concoction. A few seconds, there heard a loud pop as Aton winced, but at least his legs were healed.

"OK Dad, what's with the people in weird clothes?" May put her hands on her hips and glared at her father.

"You know, Aleron, she's a spitting image of her mother," Aton grinnd.

"Her mother?" Aleron squinted at May, "Lizzy?!"

"Yup," Aton laughed, climbing out of bed.

"WHOA! You were just beat up and couldn't even sit up, but now you're walking?" May seemed puzzled, "Dad, what's going on here?!"

"May, these are your new caretakers. They're here to keep you safe," Howard trembled, "Please, don't make this any harder for me."

"But who are they," May demanded, frustrated. Aton walked over to a table and enveloped his hands in Arcane. Minutes later, he had made himself a new coat, arm plate-mail and a set of metal gloves. Dressing quickly, he explained.

"We are the Warlocks of the Merlinians, a race of people your mother fought with and for, against her own people. My brother is the High Warlock, Aleron of the White Fields, and I am the Battle Warlock, Aton of the Black Sun, although I title as the Black Mage," Aton said.

"Of course, he adds more about himself," Aleron rolled his eyes, "Anyway, your father has hidden you away for a while, but we need to see if you have any magical power, in case we need you."

"Need me? For what?" May asked, dreading the answer that was inevitable to come next.

"War," Aton said, sitting on the edge of the bed, "I've watched over you for the past few months, and over the city. My reports are mentioning instability in the defense of this city and any persons of magical prowess should be evacuated, in case the Lefayans attack."

"You're not safe," Aleron pointed at her and then at his little brother, "And you are wanted by the High Warlocks. You fired you most powerful technique in the middle of a populated area. Do you know that our people are out there, deleting the memory of all witnesses? That there's a building that's half-destroyed?"

"Hey, hey, the High Warlocks are gonna eat me up anyway. Let's get May to Mado and settle it there," Aton countered.

"When was I going?" May asked angrily, walking straight up to Aleron.

Aton stared at her and apologized to the spirit of Lizzy. He smacked May in the neck and caught her before she fell.

"Sorry Howard," Aleron apologized, "We'll be going." The doctor nodded and led them out into the black night.

"Aleron?"

"Aton."

"The Warlock I faced was powerful. More powerful than the one from two years ago."

"So?"

Aton stopped, "So that means that if every Warlock is as powerful as this one, no Merlinian has a chance."

"You'd be surprised," Aleron said and they both slinked away into the pitch night.

"We lost the Demon Warlock," a male voice reported.

"That idiot is expendable, but you are not. Do not fail us, Yin Warlock," the reply came, "You and the Black Mage are destined to fight. Stop the girl from reaching Mado. You must prevent them from finding out about the revival of Akendaku."

"Please keep in mind that the Circle of Five is still out there. That one of them could cross its threshold. That he could find the only Pure Being, Junsui," the Yin Warlock replied.

"We have arranged for it to be found, stop them at all costs," the voice faded off. The Yin Warlock looked through the black night at his opponent. Worry not, I will have removed them soon, the Yin Warlock thought and dropped into the night waiting below.

 

6: That Magical Drive

Chapter 5

"Eat," Aleron ordered. May shook her head, although she was quite famished. Several hours earlier, she had woken up to a massive ruin of what appeared to be a train wreck and a pair of deeply angry brothers.

"What now?" Aton had asked.

"We walk," Aleron had replied. Along the way, they had morphed their robes and cloaks into jeans and shirts and stopped at a diner for food. May couldn't think straight and her neck hurt.

"Why am I with you in the first place?" May asked for the millionth time.

"Because of the Lefayans," Aleron rolled his eyes in frustration.

Aton ate calmly and read the newspaper and said, "Tell her."

"Tell her? If we tell her, she could blab to the High Warlocks. If they find out, no human or Lefayan will be safe. They'll tear every human city searching for it! You know how they are with this kind of magic!" Aleron thundered.

"May's not the type to blab," Aton answered, fire flickering in his eyes, "She was her mother." Aleron murmured a little but nodded in approval.

May's former teacher turned to her and spoke slowly, "Your mother was the Elizabeth, the Red Lotus Warlock, one of the High Warlocks. She was an expert-hider, and hid you from her very own race for five years. When you were young, she left a map in your mind to a secret that could lead to an evolution in magic. The Circle of Five, the only known portal to a dimension known as the Void. In the Void resides a weapon of pure Arcane that we can use to win over the Lefayans. Not wanting the Merlinians to destroy the world to win a war, she hid the secret in your mind. The Lefayans came looking, a fight was instigated, ten Lefayan Warlocks were killed and so was your mother."

"She was an expert fighter, taught us a lot," Aleron laughed.

"Soooo my dearest mother left a map in my head and you want to get a giant laser and slice open my brain like a fish…?" May asked melodramatically.

"That is so like your mom," Aleron scrunched his face in disgust, "Always making reality 'humorous'…" Aton shoved scrambled eggs into his mouth and chewed slowly.

"We should probably find that map now before we get to Mado. Once we're there, we won't have any time to do it," Aton remarked thoughtfully, shoveling more egg into his mouth.

"You want to do the honors?" Aleron asked. Aton grunted and slid an empty plate away. Putting his hands together, he reached for May's skull.

"What do you think you're doing?!" May shrieked pushing the hands away.

"Calm down," Aleron muttered, "People are looking. Besides it'll only hurt for a little while." Aleron snapped his fingers and several chains pinned May's arms and legs under the table.

"Wha-?" May gasped before her mouth was filled cloth.

"Calm," Aleron winked and motioned for Aton to continue. Leaning forward, he poked May's forehead with a finger surrounded by the swirling, misty, black arcane. May shuddered as she felt a strange sensation and the feeling of water splashed on her head.

Aton whistled. "Take a look at that," he muttered softly. In his palm was a glowing, red Circle with what seemed to be a pentagon embedded inside and several connecting lines.

"The Circle of Five," Aleron whispered equally quiet. They stared at it for a second and May watched Aton open his mouth and swallow it. He shivered once and opened his eyes.

"Wow. There was a lot more than a map in there," Aton gulped, "There's even a detailed analysis on how to open the portal."

"Surprise me," Aleron replied. Aton reached into his pocket and drew out a pen and paper. Drawing the portal, he scribbled some stick figures and many arrows.

"Basically, the portal sucks magic from the Earth's core and that's how it maintains itself in this world. Otherwise, it would go back to the Void," Aton said.

"Wait, wait," May interrupted, "The Earth's core? There's only iron and lava there! No magic."

"True, but the sun and the core are intermediate portals for Arcane," Aton countered, "Anyway, by putting a massive amount from our magic we can cut off the portal from robbing the core of its Arcane. The portal will return to the Void and whoever is standing in the designated five-circled slots will be transported with the portal into the Void."

"Way too much magical stuff for the morning," May groused, sipping at orange juice, "Next thing I know there's going to be Harry Potter riding a broomstick and playing Kwindig."

"That would be Quidditch," Aton corrected.

"What-ever," May threw up her hands in disgust, "I just don't believe that there's a bunch of magical creatures roaming the land."

"Just two: Merlinians and Lefayans. Merlinians look just like humans except for our sharp slant in our eyes, but Lefayans have slightly pointy ears," Aleron remarked opening a newspaper, "Damn it, the Lakers lost again!"

"Mike D'Antoni isn't doing too well as coach. Bring back Phil!" Aton muttered and became absorbed in drinking his coffee.

For a pair of non-human people, these two are very interested in humans, May thought incredulous. She stared at the two brothers and how normal they looked with their clothes. They really act like humans! After a while, they finished eating and left the diner. Aleron did the honors of shaping a car and driving while Aton rode shotgun.

"How far are we from Maro?" May asked sleepily.

"It's Mado, and we're a couple of hours away, so get some sleep," Aton replied, "I don't know about you guys, but I need sleep. I mean after fighting two Warlocks in two days really kills me…" Aton fell immediately to sleep, but as much as May tried to get comfortable, she just couldn't.

"Can't sleep?" Aleron gazed at her through the rearview mirror.

"No. And if you have some sleeping potion or something, that could help," May grumbled.

Aleron chuckled, "Well, if you can't sleep, you'll be bored, 'cause there's nothing out here." May pondered this quietly for a minute or two before asking, "Tell me about my mom." Aleron looked through the mirror again, his eyes piercing her thoughts.

"The Story of the Red Lotus it is then. Sit back; this is a long story…" Aleron breathed in deeply and spoke.

"Thirty years ago, Lefayans and Merlinians were in struggle for power over the access to the Arcane hotspots. During this time, a thirteen-year old Lefayan came to a smaller Merlinian settlement on the very edge of our mountainous empire. She was bleeding and had the eyes of a murderer. She was taken under custody by the village and held in prison for a long two years, in which she was interrogated under torture. What they didn't know was that she was a Lefayan with burning hot hatred for her own race.

"For the time she spent in prison, she would secretly practice her magic little by little waiting for her escape to freedom. She was finally freed when the town was attacked by a Lefayans. The next day, a squad came to scout the Lefayan army, but all they found was a little girl in shackles and red with Lefayan blood. The High Warlocks accepted her as one of the Merlinians and she rose quickly as a Mage. Her power was so unrivaled that she fought an entire fleet of Arcane Bombers (it's a bunch of airships that use Arcane to kill people) and won. She would eventually take two young orphaned children as her pupils. Those two would become the youngest Warlocks in fifty years, the Black Mage and the White Warlock."

"Wait," May said surprised, "So you're the strongest person in your Merlinian thingy?"

"Not exactly. Technically, I have a better affinity for Arcane than he does so I'm even more powerful than him, even if I seem weaker at the moment," Aton said, wide awake.

"It's true," Aleron admitted, "Last month, we sparred and he beat me pretty bad, but the most powerful person is the Cyan Warlock, Madeline. She was your mother's greatest friend and ally. Anyway, a few weeks before she took us on as pupils, your mother was forced to retire from her duties because of an incurable cancer known as 'Arcane Suckle'. It took a year for the Lefayans to find out how weak the Suckle had made her, but when they did, they tracked her down to New Kroy and fought her there. She had been a mother for five years and she had become a softer person than before. Even in sickness and sentimentality, she took her enemies down with her. She was mourned dearly, and the Merlinian ranks were almost crippled when she left, but we have returned to our previous strength."

"In her will, she had left me and Aton the information that she had hidden the Circle of Five's location in your conscious and told us to wait ten years before going to retrieve it," Aton said, "What frightened us was when you didn't notice me or Aleron. We had all been great friends when we were training, but we speculated that the map had probably taken a lot of room in your tiny five-year old brain and erased some memories. Although, that was the first time I've ever seen your father. He was never there when we were kids," Aton added thoughtfully.

"We were friends? Why didn't you tell me before?" May shrieked.

"Because it would be awkward," Aton replied drily and noticed a rest stop sign, "Stop here, I gotta go."

"Make it quick," Aleron gritted his teeth as they exited. Aton left the car in a rush and waddled like a penguin to the bathroom.

"Question: Aren't you the older brother? How could Aton be more powerful than you," May asked suddenly.

Aleron flushed a deep red, "Some children just have a higher affinity for Arcane than others. It's not an age thing."

"What do you mean by 'affinity for Arcane'?"

"I mean that he can gather and store more Arcane in his body than I can, making him a very powerful person. We measure the affinity by the percentage of the person's body can gather and store Arcane. For example, 68% of my body can gather Arcane while 76% of Aton's body can gather and store Arcane. All Lefayans and Merlinians are somewhere above 30-80%. The highest ever was an 81% if I remember. Humans are just 0-1% gatherable."

"Hasn't anyone ever gotten higher?" May wondered aloud.

"We think that the weapon in the Void is 100%. Hopefully, or else, Merlinians and Lefayans will keep dying from wars," Aleron replied.

"Where is the portal anyway?" a voice asked from outside. Aleron whipped his head around. He slinked towards the vehicle, his banner flowing behind him. He was the last Lefayan that any Merlinian could meet, the Yin Warlock.

 

7: Black and Yin

Chapter 6

Aleron seemed to tense next to May. He rolled his hand over his shirt and jeans and a White spark jumped between his fingertips, changing the clothes into the robes he had originally been wearing. He opened the car door and went out, standing in the Yin Warlock's way.

"There's nothing for you here, Akumin," he snapped, "Go home to your dogs of Masters and tell them that you found nothing here."

The Yin Warlock merely shrugged. He was a handsome man, with spiky, black hair and wore black robes that were stylish to the Lefayans.

"Oh please, change your clothes into something more 'Merlinian'. Allow me to change into something I feel more comfortable in," the Yin Warlock, Akumin, snorted. He too ran his hand over his clothes which transformed instantly into a ridiculously long, black trench coat, white collared dress shirt, black tie and black pants. He still wore boots but now chewed on a long black cigarette.

What are with these people and black clothes? May thought annoyed.

"Much better," he smiled, smoking, "But I'm missing something…Oh I know." He clapped his hands and a black top hat, "Sorry, you were saying something?" Smiling innocently, he lunged forward, lightning in his palm. May was surprised to see the color of the Arcane was black.

"Arcane Lightning, an Arcane attack favored by Lefayans, versus the White Arcane of the White Warlock," Aleron jumped away nimbly and plunged down on the Yin Warlock with White Arcane flowing from his heels.

Akumin didn't seem to notice Aleron flying down on him; he seemed more concentrated on the astounded humans. Yawning, he streaked the area around him with Black Fire and scorched every human in the parking lot. May screamed in fright as a frazzled body landed with a thump outside her door. Aleron himself landed with a huff and now sported a burned arm and blackened robes.

"Heeey, you look better like that," Akumin grinned, "So much pain on your face…" He took a deep breath in, "And that beautiful smell of sizzling flesh...It makes me almost mad sometimes!"

"Jeez, how crazy can a Lefayan get," Aton walked towards Akumin in his black coat, "Only I can burn my bro like that!"

"The real prey appears! So how 'bout those portal coordinates?" Akumin jeered smugly.

"As if," Aton snorted, "None of your puny Arcane attacks can scare me."

"Yeah, but they hurt, bro," Aleron said rising to his full height, "But I did have my guard down. He can use magic by simply shifting a finger."

"That's new," Aton muttered. A man who likes burning flesh, and can manipulate Arcane by vibrating. Great, another tough opponent…I need a raise, Aton thought bitterly.

Moving in unison, the two brothers sucked their breaths in and unleashed Black and White Flames that licked their opponent. Aleron quickly shaped his Arcane into a cage and hardened it into a solid shape and launched it into to the cloud of sand that had formed. Aton in turn unleashed a hail of swords he had shaped from Arcane.

They stared, waiting for Akumin to attack in turn. A low whistle sounded and Akumin walked out, clothes slightly torn.

"Look what you did to my clothes…" he said simply, "But don't worry, I'll fix 'em later. Right now…" Clapping his hands together, Arcane flowed from him and began to shape themselves into the likeliness of demons. Each one yelled its primate-like roar and stared at Aton and Aleron with a red glint in their eyes.

"Now, demons, don't eat all of their bodies," Akumin waved his hand carelessly, "Make sure you leave Aton's brain!" The demons leaped at the brothers instantly, their claws flashing.

"You bastard," Aleron hissed, White Arcane flowing from his palms. With a twisting motion, the Arcane shaped into a spear and launched at the Yin Warlock. Turning around, Yin threw a bolt of lightning from his hand and shattered the spear into fragments.

` "Aleron put up a barrier," Aton said bringing his hands together. The Arcane began to swirl into a compressed ball that all recognized as the Black Nova. Yelling like a savage, he rushed through the crowd of hungry demons and launched it at the Lefayan.

May watched the Sun leave Aton's hand, dissipate into misty Arcane and disappear.

"What?" Aleron seemed shocked and was kicked in his face for being distracted. The Yin Warlock stood in Aton's face.

"Surprised?" Akumin lashed his hand and smacked Aton, sending him flying into the car that May was watching in, "Give me the portal map and you can walk away from here without actually dying." He closed his eyes and smiled as the bloody body of Aleron was dragged towards him.

"Mm, his blood smells delicious," Akumin seemed to have a ravenous look in his eye.

"You monster," Aton spat as Akumin grasped him by the throat, "I'm not giving you the portal so you can use it to revive Akendaku!"

"Ohhh, so you know about Akendaku, eh?" Akumin seemed bored.

"I know how you plan to use him to gain a 100% Arcane affinity, but I won't let you!" Aton kicked Akumin in the chest with a magic-infused kick and was surprised to see no recoil from the Lefayan.

"Is that what you think? Do you really believe that a great demon like Akendaku could possibly be trapped in this world?" Akumin laughed and lifted Aton higher, "Let me tell you something. I am the Demon Lord, Akendaku, in the FLESH!" Laughing manically, he continued, "I am bound to this world by that damn Void King, Junsui! But you know how simple it is to hide that you are in fact a Pure Being from you idiotic creatures?"

"A Pure Being?" Aton gurgled in disbelief.

"That's right you cretin!" Akumin wrinkled his face in disgust, "And these demons," he motioned to the crowd around him, "They're real too! In two months' time, there will be a solar eclipse that will cause the Circle of Five to open and my demons will retake the Void and this world!" Putting a gloved hand on Aton's struggling forehead, he extracted the little circle of the map and smiled.

"Goodbye, Black Mage. I hope we meet again!" Akumin threw Aton away, made an intricate circle on the ground and was gone with the wind. The demons seemed to poof away as well.

May trembled with shock. Aton! Aleron! Climbing out of the blackened, dented vehicle, she checked for Aleron's pulse. Instead, he caught her hand and got up. He was holding a hand on the gaping wound in his side.

Leaning on May, he limped to where Aton lay face down in the asphalt. "Aton…" he whispered and proceeded to kick him.

"Wake up you idiot!" Aleron yelled stomping on his brother's back.

"Stop, stop, stop! He was badly injured by that freaky guy!" May screamed. Black Arcane exploded from Aton's body as he leapt onto his feet with an angry yell.

"Who the hell was dancing on my back?!" he screamed in anger, the misty Black Arcane spiking outward like an aura of black Hellfire.

Leaning in close, Aleron yelled, "Me, dumbass! You got your ass kicked by that guy!"

"Hey faggot, you got beaten by a bunch of weak-ass demons! How the hell did you make it into the High Warlocks?" Aton shouted back, blood spilling from his arm onto the ground.

These guys were nearly dead a minute ago and now they're screaming like they just woke up. I liked better 'em half-dead, May thought silently, watching the two brothers argue.

"The bastard ditched in a Teleport Glyph. Lucky he didn't use an Attack Glyph against us," Aton said.

"A Teleport Glyph?" May asked.

"We use certain circles for our magic that we call 'glyphs'. This is a Teleport Glyph, but the ones that are mainly used are Attack Glyphs that we use to launch attacks that we can't contain by ourselves. Attack Glyphs are basically two circles; one large circle and a slightly smaller one inside it. There's usually a certain shape in the center, or a letter. Akendaku can use the Demon Glyph, which he didn't so we're still alive," Aton replied.

"Let's just heal ourselves up and get to Mado!" Aleron grunted and began to swirl his Arcane into a liquid of some sort, which he gulped up. May watched his wounds stopped bleeding and the skin began to knit together again.

"Whoa!" May gasped, "Speed healing!"

"No, Arcanine, the basic name for Arcane liquids. We concentrate our Arcane and give it certain properties which can heal or poison, usually the former. Anyway, it costs a lot of Arcane to make," Aton mumbled.

"Oh…" May watched quietly before saying, "So I guess this ends our need to find the Circle of Five then."

"Eh?" Aton seemed surprised at this, "What? I know exactly where it is!"

"Really where?" Aleron asked.

"It's here," Aton shaped a map from Arcane.

"Oh no. Not there," Aleron groaned.

"That's what I thought!"

"Where the hell is it?" May screamed.

"Calm down!" Aton exclaimed, "It's in Russia."

"Excellent Yin!" a voice resounded, "Now Akendaku will successfully revived without those fools meddling!"

"Please don't fool yourselves with a foolish hope my dear High Council," Akumin snorted, "In fact, I recommend you all bow down to me now while I still let you all live."

"You believe you can kill the High Council, the strongest Warlocks in the land, with nothing more than your power?!" a High Council member shrieked in delight, "Prepare to be dead wrong!"

"Good pun, but, would the High Council go against every Lefayan man and woman who has already pledged their allegiance to the true ruler of the world Akendauku," Akumin began to morph into the clothes he had fought Aton in, "of whom stands before you all!"

Each member roared their shock and disbelief, "You! The Demon Lord Akendaku! What a farce, what a terrible lie!"

Rather than answer them outright, Akumin lifted his arm and Arcane began to flow from it. The Arcane began to shape itself into an intricate circle with a smaller circle inscribed inside it. It contained many interconnected lines and in the direct middle, a demon head.

"The Attack Glyph 'Demon', it really is Akendaku," a Council member whispered.

"Damn straight," Akumin yelled, "First order of business, I'm taking over! Second order of business! Get every Lefayan able to fight and get them ready for war!"

"Of course, of course," the Council whimpered.

"We will crush the Merlinians and in turn, Junsui's chosen soldiers! Rise my demons, rise and eat the flesh of your oppressors!" Akumin's maniacal laugh was joined by his subordinates as demons began to break from the ground, "TO VICTORY OR DEATH!"

"Annnnnd we're here!" Aleron said stopping before the edge of a deep cliff.

"This is Mado?" May said shocked, "THERE'S NO-" she stopped abruptly as they began to sink into the earth. The earth completely swallowed them up and blotted the sun, but strangely, there was still light.

"Oh my-" May breathed, taking in the city.

"Welcome, my dear, to our capitol, Mado!" Aton said grandly.

 

8: Mado

Chapter 7

May gaped in amazement at the wondrous sight that lay before her. It was incredibly bright and light seemed to radiate from the city itself. There were the sounds of music and laughter that May could easily hear.

"Kinda makes Disneyland look like the dump, eh?" Aton grinned at May's face, "Before, it used to be dead, empty space."

"Space?! What do you mean, space?"May looked around again. It was indeed a black sky, but there were no stars in the sky.

"You see, we're not underground," Aleron grinned, "We're in an alternate dimension. This was once a demon breeding ground, but it's long been a Merlinian-held territory."

Aleron seemed to be preoccupied with something else on his mind, "Let's get moving. We got to get to the High Warlock meeting that should start soon." Aton gazed in disgust at his brother.

"Already all politics, huh," he sighed, "Oh well, I gotta talk to those bottomless idiots anyway." He turned to May and asked, "You wanna tag along? Otherwise we can just leave you to wander the city. You'll probably get lost, just saying."

"Ummm, sure?" May was unsure if she wanted to meet any politicians, but what other choice did she have? She could get molested in this place!

"Yeah, you might want to walk close to us…Warlocks are kind of revered. You know how it is, we're only 1% of the entire Merlinian society," Aleron warned. As they walked deeper in the city, sure enough, people began to greet Aton and Aleron with happy shouts and celebratory.

"Hey, look who's back! Aton, you son of a bitch, how you been?!" a voice seemed to pierce through the cries of greetings.

"Mel! I been doing good!" Aton yelled back as he whispered info at May, "That's Melr, the Golden Ray Warlock, or the GR Warlock for short." Melr approached and clapped Aton on the back.

"Heard you almost lost to the Demon Warlock! Sounds like you're losing your touch!" Melr laughed, a loud boisterous thing, "And your height!" Melr was, compared with Aton, the taller Warlock, standing at 6'2" while the former only stood at 5'11". He had wavy-blond hair, brown eyes and a small mouth. He wore his banners, which occurred to May that all the Warlocks did…except Aton. Aton was also the only magical person who wore that long coat and not robes.

"Shut up! You're getting taller you giant pig! What the hell have you been eating?!"

"The usual. Everything you're not," Melr then greeted Aleron with a laugh and turned to May, "Hey there! Aton went out and got a girl!"

"You jealous," Aton bantered in response and grew somber again, "Anyway, we'll catch up later, I got stuff to do."

"Oh yeah. Lunch tomorrow then. See ya!" Melr waved them away and walked off. They walked on and kept stopping to greet an old friend or teacher. Finally, though, they reached a large domed building that seemed to be a center of activity. There were many people speaking at the steps leading up to a set of large doors.

"Here we are, at the very center of Merlinian Operations, the Nilrem Dome," Aton informed May. He sighed dramatically, "And my doom…"

"Shut up, we gotta move faster if we wanna make that meeting," Aleron chided, checking the time. Pushing his brother up the steps, Aleron entered the domed building and rushed down a hallway. May ran to catch up with them and after a few minutes of running, they arrived at a huge wooden door that was engraved with hundreds of glyphs. Sucking in breath, Aleron touched the door and white arcane surrounded his hands. The door absorbed the arcane and opened, revealing a large chamber inside. Inside were many people, fourteen of whom were in large chairs that encircled the entire chamber. Aleron walked off and sat down in an empty chair as the chatter died down. Aton, leading May, walked into the center of the room and stood there.

"Your name," the old typist in the room asked.

"Aton, the Black Warlock, although styles himself as the Black Mage," Aton spoke firmly.

"And you?" the old man pointed at May.

"Ummm," she hesitated, unsure what to say, "May." The typist recorded the names into a wall with arcane and retreated into the shadows.

"Proceed with the report," a man boomed.

"I, Aton, the Black Mage, was stationed in the human city of New Kroy," Aton began.

"Skip the formality and get to the part about why there is a human among us!" a voice muttered from one end of the room.

"May is not a human, sir," Aton spoke sharply, "She is a Lefayan." There were many sharp gasps and several people stood up and began talking rapidly.

But one musical voice spoke up then, "Everybody sit down!" The hubbub stopped and stared at one corner of the room. Seated there was an older woman of 48 with blond hair and piercing ice-blue eyes.

"Even in older age, I can recognize those mischievous eyes anywhere. This is the daughter of Elizabeth," she announced, almost triumphantly. This sparked another round of talking that lasted almost a minute before the woman raised her hand, "Aton continue."

"Thank you, Cyan Warlock," Aton looked grateful and recounted the almost fatal fights against the Demon and Yin Warlocks. When he revealed the identity of the Yin Warlock, the High Warlocks gasped in shock and anger.

One man shouted suddenly, "And what does the girl have to do with it?"

"May is a person of magical descent. She could help defend our borders. For all you know, she could turn the tide of our war," Aton remarked.

Aleron stood up then, "With Akendaku now known, we believe the possibility of an all-out attack on our settlements. We must move quickly to remove the Lefayans before the entire situation crumbles. I propose the immediate call to arms."

"All in favor of a call to arms?" the Cyan Warlock asked.

"Aye," was the unanimous proclamation from the other members.

"Aton, your new orders are now incredibly hard," the Cyan Warlock glared at Aton, "You are to stay in the city and rest." Aton roared in anger.

"You want me to rest?! Respectfully, ma'am, I am a Warlock! I should go lead some men to attack the Lefayans!" Aton argued.

"No, your orders are clear. Stay here," the Cyan Warlock almost smiled, "I will take charge of the girl's quarters. Tomorrow, you, Aton, will train her." Aton opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. The Cyan Warlock laughed and stood up and left. The meeting was over.

May looked once more at her new apartment room. The Cyan Warlock had promised her safety, and the access to good food. May decided to explore the city, but heard scuffling outside her apartment. She opened the door and felt a blast of warm air…and Aton fiddling with a bottle of pills.

"Hey! What are you doing here? What are those?" she grabbed the bottle and read its label, "'MAGIC SUPPRESSANTS'. Why are you taking suppressants?"

"None of your business," he replied and took back the bottle. He opened it and pulled out a few pellets and downed them. The air suddenly grew cooler as he swallowed, "It's time to train."

"Eh?!" May shrieked.

"Yup. Let's go."

"But it's seven o'clock!"

"Perfect," was all Aton said. He grabbed May's wrist and snapped at the ground. Then May noticed the circle Aton had drawn. It looked similar to the one Akumin had used. May felt a pop of air and was suddenly in a strange room. There was a counter with pellets and Aleron was standing in his robes.

"Hello May," he smiled, "Pleasant to see you again. Aton, you ready?"

"Yeah," he replied. Grabbing some pills, he explained to May what they were doing. "We're going to have you swallow these. The pills will force any of your arcane to come seeping out of you. This will allow us to measure your Arcane and tell us your arcane color. It's going to tickle." Forcing her head back, Aton made May down a bottle of pills. They were little pellets that looked like aspirins, but a seep scarlet.

May felt the tickling sensation and began to scream with laughter. As tears ran down her face, she heard Aton say amazed, "I don't believe it."

"I do," Aleron said, equally shocked, "Her color is impossible not to know."

"What-is-it?" she shrieked, chuckling.

"It's, um, Black…" they said in unison.

Akumin sat with glazed eyes, watching with little to no interest. For two hours, he had watched the Warlock assembly bicker about the placement of magicians at Merlinian villages. Finally, he was so fed up he activated his Demon-glyph and killed the guards in the room to get the attention of the room.

"The Merlinians can be destroyed simplistically," he growled menacingly, "First, we remove their leadership." He stood and began to draw on a paper, "I call for the immediate deploying of magicians to every major city of the Merlinian State. This will draw out the Warlocks, and we will take them by surprise-" he raises a gloved fist, "-and destroy all of them. The Merlinians will not survive a major blow like that."

"When will this attack be, Demon Lord?" one spoke up.

"On the first of January. It will be the Festival of the Dragon, I believe," Akumin smiled menacingly.

"Festival of the Dragon?!" the Warlock blanched, "But it is an important holiday for both of us! It is a proclaimed cease-fire day!"

Akumin flipped the table over in anger, "It is a mere Merlinian holiday to celebrate MY defeat at the hands of the Dragon-Void-God, Junsui! It is not your holiday as much as it is to a pig!" he roared with self-righteous authority, "You will send those men and you will lead them, even to their deaths!" He remained standing, glaring at each and every one of the Lefayan Warlocks.

"We have one month gentlemen. Make good use of it, or I'll have all your heads on a platter," and with that, the Demon Lord left the room.

Back at the Nilrem Dome, Aton was training May in a fast-pace method. It was a simple 'You-Ask-Me-I-Answer' type lesson at the moment.

"Why do so many people salute you?" May had asked inquisitively.

"In the Merlinian magic hierarchy, Warlocks are the highest. There are three sub-groups: the High Warlocks, the Battle Warlocks and the Guard Warlocks," Aton explained, "I'm a Battle Warlock, so I command a lot of respect. As you already know, Aleron is a High Warlock, of which there are only 15."

"Where does Arcane come from?"

"The Void, created by what we believe to be excited particles of energy."

"What is in the Void?"

"Possibly, a large-scale weapon and a being that the Merlinians revere, Junsui,"Aton answered, "Ok, I think that's enough questions for today." He gulped down a glass of water and looked at May, "Time for the real training. We need to get you able to summon your magic without the use of pills. Think about a river right now. Think of how it flows. Now picture your arm as that river. Concentrate."

May breathed in and out, doing exactly what Aton had told her to do. She felt a strange sensation on her arm and heard Aton let out a whoop. She opened her eyes and saw a small wisp of Arcane flowing from her arm. She concentrated a little more and saw the Arcane explode into a torrent. It stopped suddenly, and she felt strangely empty.

"Ok, you ran out of Arcane. It's perfectly natural, but you'll need a couple hours before your Arcane fully returns. You did well, May," Aton smiled and rose, "Go home, we're done for today."

"Sweet," May sighed exhausted as she left the room. She trotted toward her apartment, which was actually very close to the Nilrem Dome, but she suddenly noticed the lack of magicians hanging outside the Dome. There were usually crowds of them, but now, there were only three people, and they seemed to be leaving as well.

May tentatively approached them and asked, "Excuse me, but where is everybody?"

One of them, a young woman, answered, "Everyone's going to the Arena."

"The Arena?" May was confused, "What's at the Arena?"

"Today's a very special match," another person, a man, replied, "Two of the strongest magicians are going to duke it out, and I need to see this. Why don't you join us?"

"Erm," May thought it over, "Um, sure, why not?" Personally, she didn't feel the need to watch two people fight, but she didn't know what else to do.

The Arena was not very far from the Dome, only a few blocks away. It was a large coliseum-like arena with large pillars as support and watch towers ringing the stadium. May and the group entered through an arch and proceeded to climb a flight of stairs. When they reached the top, they exited into an open platform which overlooked a gigantic field. They sat down and waited for the match to begin. May talked with the group and learned the names of them: Mark, Ellie and Tare. They were excited for the match and talked nonstop about the field design and the features that could be used as an advantage over the other.

"So, who are you betting on?" Tare asked.

"I'm totally going with the Younger. He's one tough cookie," Ellie giggled.

"Are you kidding, the Elder is pretty good himself," Mark argued. May listened to the argument with little interest; she was more focused on the young man approaching the center of the field.

The man reached the center and threw his hands up. The lights dimmed and he began to speak in an amplified voice.

"Welcome, citizens of Mado!" he cried, "I thank you all for coming to this special event. As you all know, the magicians of the Merlinians are unrivaled in their battle prowess, but there are two who have long been ranked in the top!" The crowd cheered eagerly in response and the man went on, "And we all know that this is not even the first of their long streak of battles! I now proudly present, the youngest Warlock Brothers in Merlinian history…" May felt her heart sink in expectation, "…ALERON, THE WHITE WARLOCK AND ATON, THE BLACK MAGE!" At each end of the stadium, two gates suddenly sprang from the walls and opened, revealing the brothers. Aleron was dressed in his white robes and Aton was dressed in his black coat. Their faces were determined as they walked towards the center of the field. Ellie squealed in delight and screamed, "WE LOVE YOU ATON!"

May watched in horror as they reached the center of the field, shake hands and take a few steps back. They raised their fists as giant clock above began to flash a countdown. 3, 2, 1. And from somewhere distant, a bell sounded and the match began.

 

9: Sibling Fights

Chapter 8

May watched horrified from the balcony. There were many little television sets that played close-ups of Aton and Aleron as they brawled. A middle-aged man with bright red hair was announcing the two brothers' every move with energetic shouts and cries.

"And there it is, folks, the power of two Warlocks! Aton is doing some beautiful work with those Arcane Blades, but Aleron has pretty good parry as well!" the announcer shouted, "Aleron deals Aton a powerful blow, and wow, I almost didn't see Aton move to block that one!"

"Is this always how they fight?" May asked, surprised at how high-pitched her voice sounded.

"Are you kidding?" Mark snorted in derision, "They're just getting started!" It was true. Meanwhile on the field, both the contenders had broken away from each other and were attacking with gigantic blasts of magic that streaked the field with charred bits of grass and caused the air reek of an acrid smell, similar to brimstone. May began to notice that Aton was more on the defensive than he probably should have been.

"Last month, we sparred and he beat me pretty bad," Aleron had said during the trip to Mado. Something didn't seem right to May, but she was soon distracted as the fighting in the arena grew more intense.

On the field, Aton felt aware that the match was taking too long to finish. Too much power had been used in the first few minutes of the match, and Aton was beginning to feel empty. Huh, I guess I shouldn't have taken those suppressants before the match, Aton mused, as he dodged another of Aleron's magic bolts. Not wanting to waste anymore power, Aton bit his cheek, reached into his mouth, and withdrew a finger with smeared blood. Sensing heat, Aton sent an Arcane Ball flying into the ring of explosive Arcane that would have sliced him in half. Aton was annoyed by the attack and encircled himself inside a protective sphere of magic.

Taking his blood smeared finger, he drew a teleporting circle onto his opposite hand and sent a spark of Arcane flying into it. The spark jumped slightly and lit the circle like a fire. The bright light expanded and popped; the circle had gone and had left behind Aton's pipe.

"Aton has wrapped himself into a defensive barrier! Aleron refuses to let up his attacks!" the announcer was shrieking. Mark and Tare sat as still as stone, eyes fixed on the Black Sphere that Aton was hidden in.

"Come on, Aton," Ellie whispered, eyes beginning to tear up, "You can't lose…you can't."

May wrapped her arms around the quivering young woman as the announcer began to speak furiously, "Aton is still holding out in his defensive bubble and it seems Aleron's tired of waiting. He takes the stance that can only mean…the White Halo!" There were gasps and even the sounds of a few glasses shattering. There was nearly complete pandemonium on the balcony.

"Wha?" May gasped as a large tan-colored glass wall began to slide downwards, clunking at the foot of the balcony's edge.

"The glass is for our eyes," Mark whispered to her, "The White Halo is Aleron's especial technique. It's nearly blinding if you don't have certain glasses. A giant glyph will appear under the opponent and fires a wave of power upwards and-" Tare clapped his hands, "-bam, instant destruction." Sure enough, Aleron lowered his hands as white energy shot from them, painting a bright, glowing circle that resembled a halo and closed his eyes.

May shivered and wrapped her arms around herself, surprised to see how pale her skin was. Although it couldn't blind her, the glowing circle made her eyes water at the sight of it. It seemed to May that it was growing brighter and brighter as the sky grew darker and darker.

"It's about to fire," Mark was unable to keep the glee from his voice and clapped in joy. By this time, it looked as if a mass of squirming white electric eels were wriggling their way around the halo. Without a doubt, the halo was now charged fully with power, and Aleron opened his eyes.

White, black! Red, blue! So many colors married each other and smashed into the glass, nearly blinding May. As she shook her head to escape the lights, the roar of an explosion and a slight earthquake rocked the balcony.

"Well…it looks like it's over" whispered Tare clutching the sides of his seat, shaking ever so slightly. As Ellie stood up and stalked off, May could see tears streaming down her face. It suddenly fell on May that many of the other spectators had gotten up and begun to leave. Their face ranged from sheer happiness to dark anger or tears. So much dust was swirling outside the glass that May wasn't able to see the field at all.

Looking towards the quivering Tare, she said, "Let's go Tare; everyone's leaving…" Tare continued to stare through the glass, but got up and began to laugh!

May jumped at the sound and looked at Tare as he called out, "Come back! Come back! The match continues; watch the dust!" As the spectators turned to look through the window, the dust was swirling like water going down a drain. The dust settled quickly, and left a spectacular scene to see. Aton had survived.

It hadn't been hard actually. All he had done was smoke his pipe. As he had sucked in on the sweet-smelling smoke, he felt the smoke battling the magic suppressants he had taken, forcing them to recede from his body and his power to rush back like a faucet that had been turned all the way. As he hardened the Arcanic Barrier he had set up, he guessed from the hubbub outside that Aleron was about to fire a super-attack, probably White Halo or Angel Hail.

He jumped as the barrier began to melt from the strain of holding back the White Halo's explosive power. The explosion nearly hit Aton; only the tips of his coat had been scorched. Now once again his true powerful self, he wrapped himself into an Arcane Aura that made him look eerily like a jumping black flame.

Aleron stiffened in surprise, his face hardening as if he had looked into the eyes of Medusa. Aton chose this moment to attack.

Producing magic above his brother, he shaped it into a hammer. As Aleron leapt away, he transformed the hammer into rope and lassoed his brother. Aleron shattered the ropes like glass as he pulsed his Arcane. Sucking in air, Aleron and Aton released their Arcane Fire attacks and watched the two colored flames explode as they negated each other. Using his Aura as an extension, Aton formed a giant clawed-hand and swiped his brother into the other side of the stadium. Without pausing to let his brother recover, Aton launched a series of Arcane Ball barrages that left a smoldering hole in the wall, and a large dust cloud. Aton removed his Aura and wrapped it into a Black Nova that he sent flying into the wall.

After a brilliant explosion (and another large cloud of dust), Aleron stumbled out of the cloud. He was breathing heavily, his robes and banner torn, burns on his chest and face and a scary river of blood flowing from a gaping hole in his leg.

Wrapping his Arcane into a blade around his fist, Aton did not hesitate as he ran and stabbed the long misty-looking blade into Aleron's gut. Aleron looked at the blade sticking in his abdomen, and then at Aton in surprise as he hit the ground, blood spewing out of midsection.

The reaction was immediate; applause filled the stadium as a pair of Healers came to fix up Aleron, who had already passed out. Aton smiled to the crowd that had watched in safety in the balconies. He raised a hand and then followed his brother to the ground.

Meanwhile in the balconies, Ellie had fainted in happiness, while Mark gaped like a fish in the market. Tare pumped his fist in the air and yelled, "VICTORY!" at the top of his lungs.

All May could say was, "Idiots…"

"The Great Demon Lord, Akendaku, the Yin Warlock and now calling himself Akumin has overthrown the Lefayan High Council," Madeline, the Cyan Warlock, threw a stack of paper onto a table.

"Shouldn't we wait for Aleron?" the Red Warlock asked cautiously, while scratching his bald head, "I do not think he would want a meeting to start without him."

"Oh really, Greaf, when did you care about the White Warlock," asked Kanh, the Wilting Warlock, sarcastically, examining his nails.

"Well, you don't exactly like anyone you narcissistic bastard," Greaf growled, rising to his feet.

"What was that you bald-headed freak?!" Kahn rose to his feet as well and the two began to shout insults at each other.

Suddenly, a pair of hands wrapped their fingers around the two warlocks' bodies and lifted them ten feet into the air. Giving shouts of surprise, the two warlocks struggled to break free.

"I'll let you loose when you two boys are quiet and will let the adults talk," Madeline gave them both a poisonous smile and turned to the rest of the 11 members of the High Merlinian Council, "Akumin is a Demon of terrifying power, and if records and legends hold true, he is capable of leveling an entire city with a flick of the hand. Not only that, but now that he has reinstalled himself in a position of magical power, he can perhaps conquer our mountainous settlements on Earth, and perhaps, with the right force-" Madeline paused to recalculate her notes, "break the magic barrier guarding this alternate dimension and conquer Mado."

There were cries of outrage and shock. "Impossible!" Yuko, the Naught Warlock exclaimed, "Mado is our most protected and largest city in all the Merlinians States. It can't possibly fall!"

"But you forget," Rey, the Judo Warlock, muttered, "Akumin, or Akendaku, is the Demon Lord. He did not reach such a title by kissing and being cute."

"Aye," the Materu Warlock, Maher, agreed, "Akumin did fight Junsui to a near stalemate nearly two millennia ago. If he was powerful enough to fight and nearly defeat the Void God in battle, we Merlinians have very little chance to fight back."

The Dread Warlock, also the Naught Warlock's twin brother, Gillian, replied, "Better to die fighting than to cower behind a wall."

"Then we mobilize our armies," Madeline announced to the room, "I appoint the Reich Warlock, Lear, as the commander-in-chief of the entire Merlinian forces. I also appoint Aleron, the White Warlock, to lead the 31st Magic Gunnery, Aton, the Black Mage, to lead the 1st Magic Elite Platoon, Greaf, the Red Warlock, to lead the 5th Magic Battalion, Kahn, the Wilting Warlock to lead the 17th Magic Bomber Division, and Gillian and Yuko, the Dread and Naught Warlocks to lead the 17th Magic Gunnery. Their mission is to launch a preemptive 'first strike' on the Lefayan city, Lare. We will launch the attack on February 12th, prepare yourselves." She released Kahn and Greaf from her Arcane grasp and sat down.

"All in favor say, 'aye'," the Reich Warlock commanded.

The unanimous aye was the aye to change history as magical races would know it.

Akumin snapped his fingers for fire to illuminate his way through the treacherous maze of tunnels. His mind darted back to when the city that were the ruins here was called Kroy. When he had launched a holocaust of flame from the Pacific into Kroy, the largest city on the west coast, the largest in California from a tiny underground cavern in his sleep. Oh how those screams had awakened him. Half of himself at any rate. He approached the ruins of Old Kroy, and fired a beam of Arcane down deep into the very mantle of Earth and leapt into the hole he had made.

He landed onto a smooth granite floor and made his way into a miraculously lit, giant cavern. In the direct center was an urn. Beautifully decorated, it had two handles in the shape of wings. Looks could be deceiving, as Akumin had spent millennia trapped in it. In fact, half of his power was still contained in the urn.

"And now…to break myself free," he whispered menacingly, lifting his hand and smashing the urn. He waited for a second waiting for the power to rush in like a river. Nothing came, but a mental note, 'Akendaku, you now know half of you is still sealed. Somewhere out there is a part of you. Good luck – Junsui.'

With a scream, Akendaku pulled off his hat and burned it in fury. Growling, he leapt from the cavern, leaving nothing but a hole and a shattered urn.

 

10: The Orders

Chapter 9

"Magic manipulation is a lot similar to the Green Lantern's power. It's all about the amount of Arcane used and the imagination behind it that makes it powerful," Aton explained.

"Oh, so, you give your attacks names because…?" May asked.

"…Because it makes 'em sound more awesome…" Aton replied with a blank face. It was December 24th and it was snowing. How it could happen in this alternate dimension, May would never know.

Three months had passed since May had left her home in New Kroy, but she had gotten used to the new city of Mado. Since the match between Aleron and Aton over a month ago, Aleron had survived and recovered quickly, but was a bit embarrassed about his loss. "Oh crap; I'm going to get teased like hell again at the next Council meeting," he mumbled when May visited him. When she asked Aton how he had won, he replied simply, "The soothing qualities of good ol' pipe smoke." She didn't feel the need to inquire further.

The chilly winter air had begun to set in and was cold enough to make Aton wear a fur-lined version of his coat. He rubbed his hands together and lit his pipe with a spark of Arcane Fire.

"Argh, how much longer is Aleron going to take?" May huffed, wrapping her coat around her quivering body. The chill had nearly given her frost-bite the night before and Aton had had to use magic to slowly unfreeze her fingers.

"Just wait," Aton replied cupping his right hand around his pipe, "Besides, this perfect. I need to teach you this stuff, anyway. Education first, you know."

May nodded gloomily

"Cheer up. We'll be done soon…As you know, there are three forms to all things in the world: Solid, liquid and gas, right?" May nodded her affirmation. Aton waved a finger, "Well, Arcane has those three, plus another which we call 'Pure' form."

"Pure form?"

"It's the mist-looking stuff that comes out when you call for your power. It's able to be turned into the other three forms. We use liquid Arcane, Arcanine, for healing purposes; solid Arcane, Arcanium for building and clothing; and Arcanic Gas for poisoning and other such things. Pure form is used universally for our attacks, like the Arcane Ball, or the White Halo. I use it for my Arcane Shaping," Aton chewed on his pipe with a bemused expression.

"Shaping?" May winced at the 'Are-You-Just-Stupid' look that Aton gave her. He explained quickly that Shaping was a basic term for the creation of inanimate objects from Arcane.

"For example…blades!" Aton swept his left hand across his right arm and left a long blade attached to his bracer, "You see the Arcane swirling inside my blade? That's a tell-tale sign of Pure form."

"Well, why don't you solidify it?"

"By turning the blade into Arcanium, you remove all ability to increase the Arcane content of the blade. Watch," Aton solidified the blade into a metal and created a block of metal from magic. May watched with hint of caution; there was a blade that could cut her to ribbons in front of her.

Aton proceeded to bring the blade down on the metal block. The sword cracked and shattered. He released his magic on the sword and it transformed back into the gas-like Pure form and faded away.

"See how it broke?" Aton asked as he created another blade along his bracer, "Now, when I cut it in Pure form…" He again struck the block, but instead of shattering to pieces, the blade simply stopped on the block. Aton turned and looked at his amazed student, "Lesson One: Pure form weapons can't break. Lesson Two:" May gazed at the sudden rush of magic that the blade seemed to suck in, giving it a deeper shade of black. Aton lifted his arm and sliced the block straight down the middle.

"…you can increase the amount of Arcane in Pure form weapons." Aton once more released his magic and the block and sword vanished, "Get it?"

May nodded.

"You weren't even listening were you…?"

"Nope," May yawned, "I'm sleepy, so I'm going to sleep."

"A bit redundant are you?" Aton muttered to himself as he toyed with his pipe. At this rate, I'm never gonna find the Circle of Five,he thought gloomily as he watched May lean back and rest her head in her hands, Wonder if Akumin knows how to read it…

"God damn that witch!" Akumin slammed his fist on the elaborately carved desk, which shattered into large pieces of wood, "She purposely coded it so I couldn't read it!"

"She must have known that the Circle of Five was what we were after!" a giant of a man exclaimed, slapping a beefy hand across his thigh, "We should have ripped it from her very mind that night!"

"Perhaps we should have, Terra," Akumin chewed the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood.

"Sir, is it not true that the Circle of Five has a certain reaction in the umbra of an eclipse?" a young magician piped up, hands on his knees.

Akumin glanced at the young man; blond-haired, medium height, quick eyes, clearly ambitious. "Yes."

"Then I propose we have men stand by every possible area in which an eclipse could pass overhead. If we do that, we could locate the approximate location of the portal," he announced to the other men in the room. The proposal caused a slight uproar.

"Station men all over the world?" Terra cried, "God damn it, Ghalen, we're stretched out as it is! With the upcoming Festival Attacks, we don't have the troops for such a venture!"

"QUIET!" Akumin glared at Terra as he fell silent, "We have more than enough troops." Spitting blood onto the ruins of the meeting table, Akumin drew a Demon Glyph onto the blood and activated his magic. "Lefayan Councilmen, I give you a new army!" From the glyph, a huge clawed hand appeared, grasping the cemented ground of the floor. A red demon pulled itself up and stood at attention, muscles rippling under its tough hide.

Loud growls emanated from the portal as more and more demons began to arrive, their numbers slowly filling the room. Akumin barked a short growl and the demons left the room almost immediately, only pausing to look at their strangely garbed master.

"They will be our guards, our army, our new weapon," Akumin clenched a gloved fist, "Prepare yourselves. The Dragon Massacre begins in a week, my dear sirs! And I have discovered that the Lefayan power is insufficient to take down even half the Merlinian State! So our new addition to our plan is to assassinate every single one of their Warlocks!"

"All of them?" Terra was shocked into silence, "But, they are the Merlinian Elites! Their very best!"

"No Merlinian will suspect another Merlinian of foul play," Akumin smiled, "My demons will assassinate, and the Lefayans destroy. 'Tis a true plan of destruction!"

Aleron finally trotted out from the doors of the Nilrem Dome, and spotted the other two sitting on the steps, their laps filled with drool. He walked up to Aton and kicked him down the 25 steps of the Dome, headfirst into snow.

"What the hell?" Aton spluttered, snow flying from his mouth. Aleron wore a grim expression on his face as he handed Aton the paper. Aton looked at the tiny slip of paper.

Orders

ALeron, white warlock: Command 31st gunnery: Fort Abern

Aton, black mage: command 1st elite platoon: Fort Abern

Await new orders at later date

"Fort Abern?" Aton looked at Aleron, his cheeks set in a frown, "That place is a hundred miles away!" Aton burned the paper in disgust and drew himself up, brushing away the loose cotton-like snow.

"We're sure as hell not going to complain to the rest of the Council," Aleron glumly stated, "So go pack your clothes and start wearing something more war-like. The higher-uppers don't appreciate cloths and fabrics in war." He shot his brother a sidelong glance and strutted away, "I'm packing!"

Aton frowned and threw his hands into the air, "Great! I'm moving again! How am I supposed to get back to Earth at this rate?!"

"Eh?" May wondered aloud, "What do I do then?"

"Well," Aton chewed his cheek in deep thought, "The Cyan Warlock told me that I have to watch over you, so I guess you're coming with me. No arguments; we leave in about an hour or so." He paused for a second to judge her reaction, and narrowly avoided a small stream of flame. Oh, wow, he thought exasperated, She suddenly can perform attack magic.

Melr was feeling higher than the sun today. Walking through the Market Abbey of Mado, he found some girls and scared them all away without even trying.

"I wanna get some chicks, put 'em down," he sang off-key, not noticing the dirty stares some of the other shoppers gave him, "and do it agaaaaain tonight!" He spotted another looker in the crowd of shoppers and proceeded to sally up behind her. He opened his mouth and said, "Uuuurgh!"

Aton grabbed him by his backside banners and dragged him screaming out of the Abbey. "Aton! You bastard! I was about to get another one!" he cried, tears streaming down his face as he clawed the ground,

"Yeah right," Aton snorted, "When you get a wife, I'll give a thousand credits…"

"Where are you taking meeeee?"

"Get a drink." Ten minutes later, they sat in the sitting room of the Farne Club. It was a lavishly decorated place, with seats made of a velvety cushioning and fine silk drapes everywhere.

"Thank Junsui for the lowered drinking age," Aton raised his glass of whiskey for a toast.

"And screw Aton for many ruined chances with women," Melr toasted with a chortle. They downed their glasses and Melr turned his sights on Aton.

"What," Aton asked as he wiped his mouth and motioned for a refill.

"Last time I saw you," Melr thought back, "You were a lot shorter. And less broad."

Aton chuckled and sipped at his newly refilled glass, "Well that was two years ago. I finally went through Exodus while I was on Earth. Painful days granted."

Melr downed his glass in seconds and brought himself fully around to face his friend, "I heard you almost died from that Demon Warlock in New Kroy. Wouldn't your teachers be turning in their graves?"

"Errr," Aton flustered, "Lucky shot?"

"Hmmm, Elizabeth and Master Abern wouldn't have been so amused," Melr commented, "Both killed by superior Lefayan and Demon forces, and yet you can't even fight one Warlock; I thought you were good."

"Maybe not, but still higher in ranking than you. If you focused more on the tests, you wouldn't be a Guard Warlock."

Melr sighed, "The tests are boring. I like being the way I am. A wall; unmoving but there."

"Whatever. I'm leaving for a command post in an hour," Aton said as he slid a piece of paper towards Melr, "And you're my second-in-command."

Melr didn't even bother looking at the paper, "You bastard!"

"Yup."

"B-but," he spluttered furiously, unable to find a word bad enough to describe Aton.

"Get packing," Aton laughed and with a pop he was gone, leaving nothing but a smoking teleportation circle and a mooning Melr.

May sighed and groaned as she packed, shoving things into a bag. There a sharp knock at the door and May walked out to open it.

"Ellie!" May exclaimed as she hugged the wide-eyed Wizard.

"May, I stopped by to give you this!" she handed her a small package, "It's an old Arcane textbook; I've had it for years and it's only a bit dusty!"

May gave her another hug and sat on the bed and flipped through it, "'Of all attack magic, they are derived from two categories, Beam-type and Projectile-type.' Wow, I'll ask Aton about it later," May muttered.

Ellie noticed the bags, "Going somewhere?"

"Yeah. Fort Abern," May sighed and lay back onto her pillow, "I've been moving around for weeks! And now I have to move again! I wish I could just rest myself sometimes."

Ellie grabbed her hand, "But May, life is a learning experience, the only one you'll ever get! It's good to make great use of it." She winked slyly, "Besides, with Aton, you can never go wrong."

"Right." May said dazedly, "Right."

"Acolytes, Wizards, Sorcerers, Mages, Prime Mages, Guard Warlocks, Battle Warlocks, High Warlocks," Akumin muttered mostly to himself, "The classes of Merlinian social status. Your orders are to wipe out these three." He raised a gloved finger and highlighted the three 'Warlock' classes. The smell of demon soothed Akumin, but repelled a few of the Lefayans in the room. "My top assassins: blend in with the Merlinians and cut their ruling classes away. There are only one thousand Merlinian Warlocks currently, so there are ten Demons to one Warlock."

Akumin paced the room, "We will have one hour to pry open the portals into the Merlinian dimension, so complete your tasks quickly and efficiently. Good luck."

"What are you wearing?" May had demanded, "That looks like an armored coat!"

"War-style," he had replied with a smirk. Aton had agreed to shed his cloth coat as per war regulations, but replaced it with an armored version. It sported a breastplate with connected shoulder-guards, a single pair of thin banners that joined at the neck to form a pentagon-like shape and, of all things, a long billowing cape. His 'coattail' had transformed into dozens of small conjoined plates that ended in the signature spiky-jagged pattern. "War-style," he had replied with a smirk.

Aton was in a cushioned chair, pipe in one hand, a crystal flute filled with a delicious wine that had been speed-fermented with magic in the other. The shuttle had leather upholstered seats and smelled of forest; crushed pine and leaves.

Melr was in no way enjoying the trip, but jumped ecstatically at the busty attendant and received a glass-shattering kick in the groin from Aton. He moped and pressed a hand of magic to his injured pride.

May sat leg crossed over the other, her pink lips pressed into a slight smile. She's learning quickly, but she doesn't remember what her mother taught her. Her memories of those days are gone, Aton thought sadly.

"Fort Abern, named after the Master, huh," Aleron remarked conversationally.

"Mm Abern died on the sight," Aton thought back nestling in his seat, "Against Demons."

"'And over the site of battle, the two-hundred foot walls rose, marking the Fort as the site of the fall of one of the most influential Saints in history,'" May read aloud from a pamphlet, "Saints?"

"A title for our wisest and strongest Warlock, similar to that of the term, 'Lord'," Melr winced as he tried to move a leg.

"Basically, our biggest badass," Aleron mused, "The Cyan Warlock is the current Merlinian Saint."

"And when she passes on the title," Aton grinned, "One of our Warlocks gets a chance to be the cover-boy of the Merlinian magicians."

They chatted continuously until the rolling green plains below them became a rocky, monotonous terrain. Aton became suddenly aware of an immense pressure on his chest. Magic, he thought, what's left of the battle.

The shuttle approached a foreboding cliff-face and landed onto a teetering ledge and quickly flew around it, revealing the one of the greatest Merlinian strongholds. Embedded into the cliff was the Fort Abern, the last resting place of Master Abern.

 

11: The Dark War

Chapter 10

"Welcome, sir," a Wizard bowed, "We have long awaited the Black-and-White brothers."

"The pleasure was ours," Aton smiled at the irony, "I look forward to seeing the Platoon."

"And I, the Gunnery," Aleron added, "May we see your commander?" The Wizard bowed again and escorted the group to a set of oaken doors with gold furnishings. He opened a door and led them inside.

Aton noticed a large, heavy-set man with broad shoulders and a thick golden mustache and beard. His beady, narrow eyes gazed at the group and he stood up, "Fron. Leave us."

"Yes," the Wizard bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Aleron walked over to the man and extended his hand for a handshake, "The Ring Wrath Prime Mage. Your record is fabulous, if I may say."

The Prime Mage gladly accepted the hand and returned the compliment, "But yours, sir, is greater than I. Twenty-two and a High Warlock is an accomplishing feat." He released Aleron's hand and reached over to grasp Aton's, "And the Black Mage; sixteen and a Battle Warlock! Your bloodline is powerful indeed."

"I thank Masters Elizabeth and Abern. Harsh lifestyles and hard training has shaped us," Aton replied, "Please, meet the rest of our entourage. May, my Acolyte, and Melr, my friend and a Guard Warlock."

The man shook Melr's hand and stared, puzzled, at May. "Your Acolyte?" he frowned, "I always heard rumors that the Black-and-White brothers wouldn't take students."

"True they were," Aleron stated, "But her bloodline is a great one."

"I see."

"Now," Aton interrupted, "I wish to see the affairs of the Platoon."

"Of course; it would be my pleasure."

Aton leaned and whispered into May's ear, "Leave us. This is going to take a while." May nodded simply and left the room, seething silently with rage. They're leaving me alone again!

The dimension of Lefay was a large, but not as large as the Merlinian Dimension, much to the displeasure of Akumin. Soon, he would say soothingly to himself, the end is soon. And that end was about to begin.

"The preparations are completed earlier than I expected," Akumin remarked to his new aide, Terra.

"Do we move up our agenda?" his aide asked with a bloodthirsty glint radiating in his eyes.

"Yes, prepare the assassins, prepare the armies. We break the portal tonight."

Training was still priority in Aton's book. Ordering a Wizard to escort May and him to an enclosed training room, he began his lesson as soon as the door closed, leaving them both alone in a dank, dimly lit chamber. After explaining the two categories of attack (Beam and Projectile), he set her to work, overseeing her practice.

Aton watched May feeble attempts to form an Arcane Ball. Every time, her Ball was too dense with power or her Ball was weak and ghostly. Her mastery over Arcane Bolts was impressive (she, too, was impressed), but her Beam-type attacks were abominable. At first, Aton was all smiles and full of confidence, but slowly, his patience wore thin, and he finally snapped.

"No, no, no! You can't allow your power to fall in like that," he growled, when she lost control of the Arcane Ball and it imploded, "Your mother must have taught you this! Argh, when I first accepted the fact to train you, I at least thought you would have at least a piece of your old training!"

"Oh really," she retorted back, "What would you know about anything?"

Aton's face grew less red until his face was back to its normal complexion before he replied, "Don't you remember your mother? Your training?"

"I remember my mother," May snapped and added, "She was a hard woman who was busy with work; a doctor. She never seemed to even show an ability of magic!"

Aton nodded. Confirmation. Her mother added the coordinates to her brain cortex, but at the cost of about ten years worth of memory, Aton calculated, If I remember correctly, there was a man in Abern's company of men. A Prime Mage that specialized in this kind of work…

Aleron strolled through the hallways in an attempt to find his brother. That kid never could sit still. He groaned at the thought of his brother jumping off a cliff again for fun. He quickened his pace and tried to find May.

"Well hello there, handsome?" Aleron jumped and turned to the voice. He saw a young-looking, mysterious woman in a white jumpsuit purred from a windowsill where she had been sitting. She had a flowing river of long auburn hair, metallic blue-gray eyes full of devious intelligence and red lips parted in a seductive smile.

"Good evening, madam," Aleron tried to smile, but grimaced. Another obstacle. Great. "Excuse me, but I must depart."

"Oh, couldn't you stay?" the woman leapt from her window and wrapped her arms around Aleron's arm, holding on tightly.

Aleron fidgeted uncomfortably. Very close interaction with the opposite sex was not his forte. But he was somewhat charmed by this woman.

"Another time," he smiled weakly as he tried to walk away, but she continued to cling to him.

"Athena!" the Ring Wrath Prime Mage scolded, "Let go of him!" The girl's face fell into sullen submission as she released Aleron and slunk to his side. "Forgive me. My daughter likes to, ah, dote on men."

"No harm done," Aleron tried to smile, but grimaced, "Tell me, have you seen my brother?"

The Ring Wrath thought back and remembered, "He said something about visiting an old hermit. A man known as Besho."

"The Intel Mage," Aleron breathed, "He's still here?"

"Yes sir," the Ring Wrath confirmed, "And he's been there for a long time…"

"Master Besho," Aton yelled, rapping on the door to a cabin several miles from the fort, "I know you're in there!" From inside, Aton heard a grunt and the door swung open to reveal its owner; a short, stringy man with snow white hair and a beard as long as he was.

"Aton," the man said, "As I live and breathe, an old memory has decided to drop in on me." He shook his head. "The High Warlocks have no right to have kids like you join the ranks at such an early age. Look at you; it was only two years since I saw you, when Abern was alive, and when you were but an Acolyte. I take it you passed the Warlock initiation and trial. What rank?"

"Battle Warlock. Almost killed the Warlock who I had to face," Aton almost smiled at the memory, at the exhilaration of winning, of passing.

"Well come in, come in," the elderly man stepped aside to let him in, "My, my, how the Exodus causes the young ones to grow." He chuckled.

When they both had settled into a chair and had glasses of wine in hand, the conversation began.

"Tell me youngling, what brings the Black Mage to my doorstep?" the old master queried setting his glass aside, "Warlocks don't drop by for tea and cookies often."

Aton fidgeted, trying to get more comfortable in the overly soft chair-cushion, "You remember Master Elizabeth?"

"Ah yes," Besho closed his eyes and recalled, "Another of your former Masters. If I remember correctly, she married a half-Merlinian by the name of Howard Lee and had a daughter, May. She was killed by a hit-squad team of Lefayans while she was in the throes of death from the alleged sickness, Arcane Suckle. Correct?"

So this is the photographic memory of the Intel Mage. No wonder Abern held him in such esteem. "Correct. Before she died, she implanted something into her daughter's brain, but ten years worth of memories were lost or replaced," Aton said, "I wondered if it were possible to return those memories."

Besho thought for a long while as he consulted his memory. "There is a way. The brain is full of memory. What I suspect is that May's brain pushed backed her memories, or replaced them with false ones, in order to have room for the storage of whatever Elizabeth may have put in her mind." Besho frowned. "Whatever it was, it must have been an immense file to be able to replace that many memories. In order to regain those lost memories, you could force them out with extreme emotion."

"Emotion, eh?"

"Adrenaline can cause recall in some cases," Besho stroked his beard. Besho gave him tips on rumors he had heard while he had still been in service. "Lefayans are not quite as still as they seem. Demons are relatively stupid, but the Lefayans are beginning to learn how to create Arcane demons at a lower magical drain. Their armies are underpowered, but can still give you a run for your money."

"I know."

"Be careful Aton. I've seen things, foremost among them, my best friend and my commander being torn to pieces while all I could do was follow his last order and run," Besho grimly stated as he escorted Aton to the door, "Watch your friends and keep them safe."

"I'll try. Thank you Master," Aton bowed respectfully and left the cabin. Besho watched him until was but a speck on the dimming horizon.

Now there's a boy with style, Besho thought, a true heir to the Merlinian Saint. He's copied your dressing style exactly, Abern.

Aton was hungry. He had finally finished inspecting the platoon of troops he was to help lead; they were excellent soldiers. He entered the officer's mess, anticipating a delicious meal when he was immediately jumped and wrestled to the polished, marble floor.

"Hello, sir," Melr said through gritted teeth, "I hope you're enjoying yourself."

"Immensely," Aton rolled his eyes, pushed Melr off and sat down at a nearby table. "How was your day?"

"There's, like, no women here," Melr mumbled, "All the girls here are way too strict for me."

Aton shook his head. "What did they do this time?"

"They kicked in the face," Melr's face smashed his face into the table, "What is with women? Can't they see I'm obviously a sexy, fine specimen of a man?"

"Apparently not." Aton waved for a server who brought him a steaming plate full of perfectly cooked tilapia with a medley of vegetables and a scoop of piping hot white rice.

"At least try to appreciate the food," Aton remarked spooning fish into his mouth, "It is pretty good. Is anyone joining us tonight?"

"Me," Aleron slid into a seat across from Aton with a plate. "I got word from Mado."

"What?"

"Apparently, there's a strange magical pressure that's condensing in the area. Mado wants an expedition to find the source," Aleron pointed at Aton. "They want you to lead the expedition."

Aton swallowed, "When can I start?"

"We've arrived," Melr said obviously.

Aton squinted into the dark, misty fog. "I can't see anything! Damn these dark nights!" To the men behind him, he yelled, "Surround the area. Let nothing slip past you!"

Aton felt as if something were breathing onto his back and whipped around. Nothing but fog and rocks. And suddenly, blood splattering on the rocks in front of him with sharp thuds echoing around him.

"Aton!" Melr hissed.

"I know. We're not alone out here," Aton formed his blades and stood waiting for a sound. He felt a tremor in the earth under and he leapt, narrowly escaping a clawed hand. Melr leapt as well and fired an Arcane Bolt into the hole. A tiny explosion and a large demon was thrown into the air, burned and completely dead.

"Demons." Melr cursed.

"Keep in the air," Aton advised, "Long-range magic. I don't want to go face-to-face with a demon tonight. I just ate." Aton dissipated his Blades and reabsorbed the Arcane before it escaped into the air. "Focus your magic around your eyes! Things are gonna get real bright in a sec!" He charged his magic and fired into the sky, igniting a large flash that revealed several crawling creatures rolling on the ground blinded.

"I see 'em!" Melr grinned and blasted them away with several Arcane Bolts. The little oval blob-like balls flew towards their intended targets like little homing missiles. On impact, they exploded, killing the demons instantly.

"Not bad shooting," Aton remarked, "Keep on your guard, there may be more of them."

"Good thinking." Aton whipped around, surprised. That wasn't Melr's voice. In fact it sounded more like…

"Remember me? Thought I was dead?" the Demon Warlock snarled, "You Merlinian fools shouldn't believe what your eyes see." Aton blinked. It was certainly his old foe, minus the arrogance and twice the anger. The scars didn't help much either.

The Demon Warlock noticed his stare. "Like my scars do you? I didn't just lose my face; I lost my arms, my legs and my pride," he growled. "Thanks to you, I'm a laughing stock in the Lefayan world." He pantomimed a high-pitched voice, "Oh Tleyer, how could you lose to a sixteen-year old brat?"

"I'll take it they regrew your arms and legs, then?" Aton formed his blades again and anticipated the coming battle, "And that you didn't steal some new limbs from some poor unsuspecting fool."

"They had them regrown," the Demon Warlock hissed, "The pain was almost unbearable. Perhaps you would like to have some limbs lost tonight."

"And you might want to stop your macho repartee," Melr snarled, "If you didn't notice, we outnumber you two to one."

The anger-stricken man threw his head back and laughed. Aton felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his belly. He didn't come alone!

Lifting his arms, and with them, his bracer-attached blades, into a battle stance, "Come on Demon. No need to get hurt."

The Demon Warlock was too hysterical to listen. "You want to talk of peace? Too late Black Mage. It's time to die." As he spoke, dark shapes sidled to his side and formed a circle around the friends. They stripped off their dark outer robes and revealed themselves. To Aton they were the epitome of Lefayan arrogance. This was probably an invasion – no, this was an invasion – but yet, their soldiers managed to wear their stylish, flowing robes into battle.

Surveying the crowd, the friends went back-to-back. "Most of them seem to be Prime Mages and Sorcerers," Aton pointed out the lengths of their robes. "Nothing too much. There's only about fifty of 'em."

"Only about fifty." Melr rolled his eyes in amusement, "Of course. We're only outnumbered."

"But not out-skilled," Aton countered. Then, to the Demon Warlock, "You'll never be able to kill us with a small band of rookies, Demon."

Smiling, the Demon pointed downwards and called back, "Who said small? Who said 'rookies'?" Aton followed his finger and paled at the multitude of grinning faces looking right back at him.

"Hmmm," Melr mused. "That could make things a bit more serious," He added obviously.

"A tad bit," Aton admitted, "But we can still win. I have a plan."

"Care to enlighten me?" Melr lifted his arms into a fighting stance.

"Here's the plan: I'll light a flare and we'll run for it."

"Pure genius," Melr said sarcastically, "Have fun running in that armor."

"Hey, we can make it," Aton retorted, "There's only Prime Mages. The plan will work if we just give it our all."

At that moment, several large blue magic circles appeared in the dark sky and over a dozen airships appeared. Their large underside swivel guns aimed at them, bright with magical power.

Melr looked at Aton. "Got a Plan B?"

 

12: The Lefayan Invasion

Chapter 11

The airships had finished aiming at Aton and Melr and were prepared to unleash a magical hell upon them. Surveying the area, Aton had little hope of survival, but he decided on one crazy plan that was sure to blow Melr's mind.

"Jump into the crowd!" Aton roared as he sailed into a pack of startled Lefayans.

"Are you crazy?!" Melr screamed to his falling friend, "We'll die down there!"

"Better to fight these guys, where their airships can't kill us!" Aton body-slammed into a burly Lefayan and sent him crashing into his comrades. Whipping his bracer blades around, he underhand decapitated a demon and ripped open a Lefayan's belly. Without waiting for the bodies to drop, Aton lunged at two more magicians and caught them both in the neck. He released those corpses and twirled in a large circle, gutting the Lefayans like fish with the jagged ends of his armored coattail.

"Aton!" The Demon Warlock appeared as if from air and lunged at him like a lion after antelope. He raised a large magic lightning bolt and stabbed at Aton. With a clash of sparks, their weapons met and the Demon Warlock howled and struck again and again. Aton evaded his blows, careful not to touch the edge, in fear of being zapped by thousands of volts of magical energy.

"Master!" three Lefayan Mages rushed to help their commander and stabbed at Aton. The Black Mage kicked his opponent away and parried all their blades. With a flip, he caught one of the soldiers in the jaw, shattering it, and dismembered another. The last Lefayan tried to creep away, but was stilled by the stare of the Demon Warlock.

"Aton! You have no right to kill my men!" the Demon spat.

"Just as you had no right on mine." Aton eased into a loose stance, as if inviting the duo to attack. Which they did.

In the Merlinian State, it was traditional for a young Acolyte to learn the styles of at least one of the ancient weapons: Blade or Bow. From the age of three, Aton had practically lived with swordplay. His father, before his death, had forced him to study the art; Master Elizabeth trained his blade; and Master Abern helped him perfect his style.

Aton preferred bracer-attached blades, but preferences come with a price; he was unable to apply fancy weaving patterns and was limited to simple, direct sword strikes and stabs. He released his left blade and let it flow away in misty magic. To his opponents, it seemed like Aton had given them an opening, but there was a reason. Aton's left blade was extra weight, and inhibited his fighting style. If you had asked Aleron or Melr on how this worked, they would say simply, 'Run. No one has enough practice against his style.' But his opponents didn't know that.

As their weapons began to slash downward, Aton twisted to the left and struck at the Demon Warlock's lightning-bolt, and twisted his arm back in time to block a blow from the Lefayan soldier. He twirled, cutting their legs with his razor sharp coattail and forcing them to step back. He lunged forward and hacked at the duo's defenses, further pushing them. He deflected a blow from the Demon Warlock and stabbed him in the leg and pulled his sword out in time to catch the sword from the other Lefayan. He slid towards the soldier and, with a flurry of heavy sword blows, disarmed him. Literally. With little effort, Aton severed the man's head, before turning back to the limping, bloody Demon Warlock.

The battle had cost the warlock dearly; he had lost his eye, he couldn't move his left leg and he had lost at least one-fifth of his troops to two boys. It was humiliating, and Aton expected a fight for revenge. But unexpectedly, the Demon hugged Aton in a tight embrace, squeezing him like a lemon.

"What the hell?!" Aton swore.

"Kill him!" the Demon screamed and Aton realized there was no Lefayan army near him; just airships.

"Shi—" The swivel guns turned slowly, and fired.

"Come on, then!" Melr screamed manically. "Show me what you Lefayan bastards can do!" He drew back an arrow on his Arcane Bow and skewered a Mage that ran towards him, magic swelling in his hands. Dropping low, he fired, in quick succession, ten arrows, and watched them sink into their targets' chests. In many circles, Melr was an oddity, and for many good reasons. First, Melr was one of the few who preferred to hold his bow in his right hand and create arrows with his left. And secondly, Melr's bow was strange; it was curved, but a handle that ran parallel from the main portion of the bow, as well as six, symmetrical spikes that protruded from the front.

Overhead, the airships sailed past him, and Melr worried. What will happen if they get to Fort Abern? They'll be surprised attacked if we can't escape! He worried for not too long as he heard they noise of magic cannons firing. They were close.

"Aton!" Melr's heart skipped a beat and he began to run. Only two Lefayans got in the way. Melr leaped over them, with a magical boost, and shot both in the head and rolled to his feet. Where he had seen Aton fighting was now only a blackened crater and a few airships flying above.

"No." Melr was in disbelief, "Aton! Aton!" He ran down the slope of the gigantic hole and began to search. "Aton! Can you hear me?"

"Even if I could, I'm not sure I'd want to," came the dry response. An orb of the darkest arcane Melr had ever seen landed next to him and dissipated.

Aton was remarkably unharmed, but as annoyed as Melr had ever seen him. The Demon Warlock was over his shoulder.

"You wouldn't deign to tell me how you survived, would you?"

"Sorry. Trade secrets," Aton smiled, but his eyes were dark and gazed into the shapeless sky where dozens of glowing portals opened and airships surged through them, their swivel turrets glowing with power.

"An invasion," muttered the Black Mage, "And we couldn't stop it."

"What?" Melr snorted, "You thought we could stop an entire invasion? By ourselves? I don't know if you noticed, but there's only two of us, and over a hundred airships up there! Each armed to take out almost any kind of army! We did our part." He pointed at the Demon Warlock and added, "We at least did damage to their army and captured one of their leaders."

"You're right," Aton hefted the immobile body of the Lefayan, "Let's get back to the fort. We might make it in time for the battle."

Melr rolled his eyes and lifted his exquisite bow to his shoulder, "Let's move it then."

May sat curled in a leather chair in her fire-place lit room, adjacent to a large glass window with a tub of ice cream in her left hand and a spoon in the other. I wonder what Aton is doing, she wondered to herself. Her irritated side responded, Not thinking of you, moron. Get your head straight. She sighed and fogged up her window. Thinking aggravated her headaches, which had been happening a lot more since she first met Aton. It feels like a prisoner struggling in his chains. She smiled at the simile, but remembered what Aton had said all those weeks ago. Something about her memories, how they had been affected by her mother.

"A stimulus," she blurted aloud suddenly, surprising herself, "I need a stimulus." She threw her tub out of her hands and zipped about the room searching for something. What am I doing? She felt ridiculous but continued to paw at the bookshelf that was in the room. She didn't know what she was looking for until she had pulled it down and read the title.

"The Studies of Arcane, First Edition," she murmured. The exact book Ellie had given her. Subconsciously, she leafed through until she was at a page with dozens of magical circle runes. Her eyes scanned the page and settled on one particular circle, this one full of crescent-moon like shapes embedded inside.

She grew aware that she was reaching for her magic, but seemed powerless to stop it. In fact, she felt like a prisoner of her own body. She panicked, What's happening? Her body released her magic which condensed into a rune similar to the one on the page and a beam of light from the center touched her forehead.

With a gasp, she took control of her body again, but somehow she felt different, and as she cradled her head, she heard a female voice call out, "May." She turned and a ghostly image of a woman grinned at her. She looked familiar and all at once, she suddenly felt like thorns were being jammed into her brain and then…bliss. Her brain seemed to click as memories began to open themselves to her.

"May." May turned back to the ethereal person behind her and her eyes brimmed with tears as she recognized the woman.

"Mother."

"Would it be that I were alive," the woman seemed to ignore her, "I think I would hug you, kiss you, and then kick your butt. But since this is a pre-recorded message, you lucked out." May winced; her new memories could concur that her mother always had been a bit 'gung-ho'.

"May, if you are seeing this, I'll take it you have re-met Aton and Aleron and that you're back in the world of magic. I have no doubt those boys are now in Warlock positions by now, if you are 16 right now." Elizabeth scrunched her face, "And no doubt Aton is probably irritated with your lack of magical ability." How she could foresee so much was beyond May at this point. "That was also my doing, just as this entire magical circle recording was my doing." Her face hardened, "May I want you to know this. The things that I put in your brain about the Circle of Five; they're fake. The coordinates and how to open it are fake. I knew Akumin would go after you once he found out Aton made contact. So I planted fakes. Listen closely, May, for this is the truth about the Circle of Five…"

The corridors were long and curved, kind of like a snake, and Aleron loathed snakes. It was almost midnight and Aleron was one of the few awake guarding the fortress. He didn't mind the duty at all mostly because being alone gave him time to think. His thoughts first dwelled on the size of the fort and whether he could upgrade a few of its defenes.

"Master Aleron?" a voice questioned from the shadows. He turned to find a youthful guard saluting him.

"What is it?" he snapped, irritated by the interruption.

"Congratulations," the man reached out and stabbed Aleron, "You are our first victim." Aleron spluttered at the knife that protruded from his chest. He yanked it out and let it clatter to the floor.

"You son-of-a-bitch," Aleron mumbled before sinking to the blood-slicken ground.

"The head of the snake is cut," the guard said into his wrist as he shed the guard armor into Lefayan robes, "The airships can now release their soldiers." He then turned to leave…and was grasped around the neck.

"And the Lefayan scum takes one for the team," Aleron snapped the Lefayan's neck and dropped the slack body. Aleron had been lucky; he had seen the knife fast enough for him to quickly replace his body with a clever Arcane double. "And good riddance." Aleron spat on the body and found the alarm located conveniently on a side wall. "Time to wake everyone up." He grinned and pushed down on the switch.

"Goodbye, May. Remember that I love you," Elizabeth faded away with a smile on her face. May felt calm, as calm as she probably would ever be. She could feel her magic now, and she understood exactly how to use it. Thanks Mom.

Her calm was broken by a sudden high piercing noise that rang throughout the fort and the room's lights suddenly changed to deep red. Over the speakerphones outside, May heard Aleron's voice, "All men: Rouse yourselves! Airships are coming! All cannons are to be prepped and ready to fire! Prepare to engage combat!"

May smiled and reached into the wardrobe and pulled out a set of Merlinian robe-armor. "What perfect timing," May chuckled, "Looks like I get to see some action…"

"Damn it, can't this orb, go any faster?!" Aton cursed and poured more magic into the speeding sphere.

"We're already almost there, Aton," Melr looked at his friend, "We'll be there in two minutes."

"Let's see if we can't shave that to one," Aton roared and allowed magic to flow out of him like water out of a dam. Melr rolled his eyes and allowed the magic to flow out as well and they sped faster into the darkness of night, praying they'd make it in time.

The first of the airships sailed into range about two minutes after Aleron's call-to-arms and were greeted by a steady fire of magic.

"Master Terra," a young Wizard aboard the lead warship said, "We seem to be taking heavy fire from the groundside troops." The bald, dark-headed Lefayan warrior didn't seem to mind.

'Prepare the Prime Mages to take their troops down there and take out those Merlinian scum!" Terra commanded, "Get our turret and cannons firing!"

"Firing now!" the Wizard keyed in the orders to the Lefayans in the gun deck. The swivel turret and a series of tinier, but powerful cannons blasted the fort's walls.

"Excellent," Terra smiled, "Excellent. So begins the invasion."

Aleron gazed into the sky, and turned to the Ring Wrath Prime Mage, "Illiad, do we have any air support."

"Yes, but it will take at least ten minutes for them to get here." An explosion rocked the ground near them, splattering them with mud and dirt. An airship sailed over them, and several egg-like pods sailed to the ground and opened, revealing groups of Lefayans magicians.

Aleron instinctively formed a blade and charged to the closest pod as it opened and cut down the entire squadron of troops.

"Come on!" Aleron rushed to the nearest pod and readied himself for the fight.

May had only just stepped outside into the night when an explosion rocked her onto her knees. She shaped her magic into a blade and spotted Aleron fighting a small bunch of Lefayans. She managed to impale one of the Lefayans and slice the legs off another before Aleron had defeated the rest.

Aleron lifted an eyebrow at her and she winked. Dancing over to another Lefayan, she surprised him with an Arcane Bolt in the back and sprinted towards another group of invaders. She stabbed one in the chest and whipped around to gut another. Using her magic she levitated into the air and charged an Arcane Ball. She fired it and a beam of black magic engulfed the group of magicians, obliterating them.

She wasn't aware of a Lefayan soldier floating behind her, but she saw his magic glow behind her. She twisted around in time to see him lift his blade up, and then gasp when a blade exited his chest.

"Good to see that you can use an Arcane Ball now," Aton remarked using his foot to push the Lefayan of his blade.

"I would like to say it was because of your training, but I'd be lying," she retorted, "Thanks for the save."

"You're welcome," Aton said, "Now I'm going to take a guess."

"Please do."

"You recovered your memories didn't you?"

May was shocked, "How could you tell?" Aton laughed.

"You fight like your mom!"

Madeline sat in her private office in the Nilrem Dome, meditating in the darkness. The party she had sent out to investigate those random magical fluxes hadn't returned yet. She began to pace after ten minutes and then she called for her aide at twenty minutes.

"Trisha," she said into a phone, "Please prepare another batch of soldiers to accompany me to the outskirts." She received no reply. "Trisha?"

Her door burst open and a dozen Lefayans rushed in armed to the teeth with magic.

Madeline bypassed shock and headed for anger. "Who the hell do you think you people are," she growled, "to think you can face the Merlinian Saint?" Without a pause for a response, the Cyan Warlock's cyan arcane grasped all her enemies and flung them down the hallway. She flicked a switch under her desk which triggered an alarm. Or, at least, it was supposed to.

"Damn Lefayans, they must have shorted out the system!" she opened her window and fired a cyan flare into the sky, but by then, it was already too late. "No." she whispered as a warships glided around the city, firing into buildings.

The war had begun.

 

13: The Demon Necklace

Chapter 12

Aleron concentrated intently on the flow of Arcane that he siphoned into the cannon. His hand was sweaty on the conductor rod, and he barely held on. Beside him, Iliad, the Ring Wrath Prime Mage, was also helping to fill the cannon's magical tank. The bright red glow on the spherical-cannon screen flashed green, meaning the cannon was filled. A Wizard adjusted the cannon's aim and fired it by flicking the screen. A bolt of blue-white Arcane sailed through the foggy, black, night sky and splashed on the nose of an airship.

"Direct hit!" Iliad breathed happily as the aircraft tipped and swerved away.

"There's still more," Aleron growled, and he was right on that count. The warships were so numerous, it reminded the White Warlock eerily of a pack of hungry sharks. And we're the poor, vulnerable prey, he thought grimly.

Arcane Bolts are the number-one most used magical attacks in both Lefayan and Merlinian ranks. The small energy cost, rapid rate of launch and the explosive power made it widely-used, and it was used diversely by Aton.

Without much aim, Aton fired off a dozen of them and let them fly into the chests of their targets and explode. They reminded him of homing missiles. Behind him was May, relishing in her newly-remembered powers.

"Good to see you, the real you, back," Aton glided to her side.

"It's good to be back," May smiled. "My memories are back, but they're still a bit jumbled."

"We'll have a long talk later."

"Promise?

"Promise." Aton gave her a quick hug and said, "Now let's get moving; don't want any more Lefayans trying to kill us while we chat."

He broke the embrace and landed deftly on one of the battlements, followed closely by May.

As they ran, May said, "I think I can say my training is done!"

"I wouldn't say that!" Aton replied and came to a screeching halt as he narrowly avoided being struck by an egg-pod.

"I've got this one, Aton!" May ran forward as the entrance to the pod opened. She released her Arcane Lightning and let it bounce around inside the pod, electrocuting anyone inside it. She turned, "See? I'd say training is complete."

Aton began to smile but noticed movement behind May, "May! Move away!" It was too late. May was grasped by the neck and thrown like a leaf onto the battlement's side by a large dark-skinned man. "May!"

"How precious," the Lefayan said, "Aton Dracon is crying over some poor girl who got in my way."

"Why you-" Aton growled, "Terra. I didn't know Akendaku allowed brain-dead monkeys into the Lefayan High Council."

"Hmph, what arrogance," Terra snorted and raised his hands in a welcoming gesture, "I'm waiting." Aton spared a glance at May's prone body and steeled himself for the battle ahead. This would not be easy.

Six Years Earlier: December 31st

"Lizzy, what a pleasant surprise," Madeline opened the door fully, "What brings you here so late? Shouldn't you be indulging the birthday girl?"

Elizabeth Lee was looking frail, her face a paler shade than the regular rosy complexion that suited Liz better. "May is fine. She and Aton are busy doing heaven knows what. She won't notice I'm gone," Lizzy coughed into her handkerchief and was instantly ushered into the fire-heated chamber.

"So, are you going to answer my question, or not?" Madeline demanded as soon as Lizzy was comfortable in a rocking chair with a cup of soothing, green tea.

"In a moment," Liz smiled, "I see you've been truly promoted."

"Mm, being a High Warlock Saint isn't without their perks, you know," Madeline smiled viciously, "You never had time to enjoy them, I guess. With you and your disease, your husband living out here in Mado, and you living in the countryside, it's no wonder."

"Howard has to do his business and I need to have some room to train two ten-year olds in magic," Lizzy sipped quietly.

"And now, to business," Lizzy set down her tea cup, "Madeline I want you to give Howard this." She handed over a letter, "It contains some documents and letter that explains some things to him."

"I'll get it to him," Madeline promised and set the letter aside, "Anything else?"

"Well, I have a little gift for you," Elizabeth smiled and pulled out a sparkling blue necklace, and dangled it in front of her friend's face "Beautiful isn't it?"

"Spectacular," she breathed, "You'll never see that in a jewelry store." Elizabeth slid it onto her neck and gazed at it.

"Next, I need you to give this to my student, Aton, when I'm no longer in this world," she handed a rectangular package to Madeline, "It was his father's. I was asked to keep it safe, and I have, but now, it's time for it to return to the rightful owner."

"Give it to him yourself then," Madeline tried handing it back, but Elizabeth refused.

"It's not the right time for him to have it yet," Liz said.

"What is it, anyway?" Madeline shook the package.

"His father's pipe."

"Oh yes," Madeline remembered, "They just removed the smoking prohibitions, as long as they're smoking magic grass."

"I heard," Liz stated, "But that's not the reason for my returning the pipe. Anyway, my last request is for you to protect this dimension. I won't be here much longer and I want you to continue my legacy. Tell Abern to begin upgrading the defenses, eh?"

"I'll do that," Madeline smiled and watched Lizzy stand up and leave.

Present Day: December 26th

Madeline watched the last promise she made to her best friend go up in flames as a large ball of energy smash through the spiraling tower of the D'Lerim Spire and exploded, sending large slabs of magic-carved stone raining onto the people of Mado. She fingered the bright blue necklace that had been the last gift to her by a friend and rushed through the streets and ordered all women and children not participating in the ensuing battle to evacuate.

She found the Dread and Naught Warlock brothers commanding the city's forward cannons at the city's walls looking as grim as she had ever seen anyone.

"Gillian! Yuko!" she shouted, "What's the situation?"

"Terrible ma'am," Gillian wiped a bead of sweat from his face.

"There are a lot of airships and plus, a lot of cannons were destroyed in the initial surprise attack," Yuko added.

"Lear is busy gathering are magicians. Prepare yourselves boys. This is a battle for survival. Follow me, it's time for an emergency meeting," Madeline ran across the battlements as the cannons pulsed and fired their magical load at the dark, elliptical shapes in the sky.

She lifted her hand into the air and a blue light streamed out, calling the High Warlocks to her. After a few minutes, the entire council, save Aleron, were assembled in a circle.

"As noticed, we're under attack," Madeline began.

"So what do we do?" Kahn, the Red Warlock demanded, "Are we going to fight it out? Or do we escape like cowards?"

A silky, soft, laughing voice echoed around them, "I wouldn't call you a coward for running from me…" In the center of the circle, Akumin appeared from the darkness in a flash of light, his trench coat flapping. He was holding his top hat in his hand, with his head bowed in mock respect.

"Akendaku," Kahn snarled.

"None other," Akumin acknowledged, "You wouldn't consider peaceful surrender? No? Well, I wouldn't."

Lear spoke up, "You have guts to attack us Demon."

"I don't need guts," Akumin yawned, "I only need the bloodshed." He put on his top hat, "Well, we all know how this is going to go down." Arcane sparked and began to flow across his fingertips, "Let's do this."

Lear attacked with stream of magic that Akumin dodged and caused a pillar to explode.

"What do you say we take this outside?"Akumin asked unfazed by the sudden flurry of attacks that trained in on him.

"We are outside," Kahn growled.

"Tch, no sense of humor," Akumin grabbed Kahn by his banners and threw him clean through the wall to the outside plains surrounding Mado.

"Kahn!" Greaf growled at Akumin and launched himself at the Demon and they, too, flew through the wall. The rest of the High Warlocks followed the clashing pair. Greaf released his magic and it began to eat away at Akumin's clothes.

"No, no, no!" Akumin grabbed the Wilting Warlock and open-hand slapped him across this face before stabbing him in the leg with a conjured blade, "It took me a long time to find clothes I actually didn't have to make!" Rey intervened in time before Akumin could bring down the blade on Greaf's heart.

"Good!" Akumin praised, dodging a magic-infused punch from the Judo Warlock, "Good one, Rey! Here have one at ya'!" Akumin winded the warlock and kicked him away, meeting the Materu Warlock in a tense sword battle.

"Maher's pretty good," Akumin announced, "But is that all you have?"

"Are all the lines you can speak clichés?" Maher panted, barely able to hold the Demon Lord from slicing off his head.

"I've been stuck in a vase for ten millennia and the first things I learned were clichés," Akumin admitted before being barraged by a hail of Arcane Bolts from the Cyan Warlock.

"Now, now, wait your turn," Akumin sent a hand of magic at Madeline and slapped her away with ease, "OK, who's next?"

"Us." Akumin turned to find a humongous ship staring him in the face.

"Ah yes," The Demon Lord nodded, "The Dread-Naught Battleship magic combo." He spread his hands out from his body, "Hit me with your best shot."

"Your wish is my command," the twins responded with a purr, "Fire at will." From the depths of their golden magic, many large cannons sprouted at the Demon, aimed straight at him and belched fire.

The Demon Lord disappeared in haze of dirt, smoke and fire and the Dread-Naught brothers released their giant battleship and let it fade away.

"Watch out," Madeline wheezed, blood gushing from a wound above her left eye, "He might be alive."

Kahn had been lifted to his feet by Lear and Rey was completely unconscious. Greaf was wincing from the bloody hole in his leg and barely had enough magic to heal himself.

"Watch out," Kahn rasped and winced in pain as his foot struck a rock, "Akendaku probably has a lot more tricks."

"Look who finally gained the more cautious side to himself," Greaf rolled his eyes from his position on the ground, "If you had been paying more attention, maybe he wouldn't have thrown you through that wall. And maybe, I wouldn't be carrying you."

"Shut up, you," Kahn groaned and his head lolled back as he fell unconscious. Greaf put him down next to Rey and heard a crackling noise.

Then, a cough rang in their ears, "God damn, that was tasty." The smoke cloud was pushed aside like a curtain to reveal a large monster. It was over eight feet tall and jet black with glowing red eyes and thick powerful, muscular legs. It was bipedal with arms that ended in large, sharp claws. It had a snake-like neck and its head was large and streamlined with a crest that would make Triceratops's look puny and insignificant. It had horns that curved forward and its tail whipped around its face.

"I haven't donned this form in millennia. Congratulations on forcing me into this state. That magic did just the trick. You are the first to see this since your ancestors and the Void God," Akumin's voice said as the demon dropped down so its hands were now on the ground. To the warlocks in front of him, it looked like he was about twenty feet long, tail to head.

"Attack!" Madeline hissed as quietly as possible and jumped into action…

…or at least, her feet managed to get off the ground before she was smashed right back down. She didn't even have time to gasp for air before she felt the warm splatter of blood on her robes. She saw her fellow warlocks and friends instantly cut down, ripped to shreds and vaporized in front of her.

"No," she moaned, helpless as the dark figure stood over her. The dark shape shifted and tranfrormed back into the Lefayan body of Akendaku.

"I'm not going to kill you because you have willingly given me this," he reached down and grabbed the necklace from her neck and ripped it off, "And as an extra bonus, I'm going to tell you a story.

"Ten millennia ago, the Demon Lord lost the war to the Void God, Junsui, and was sealed into two items. His being was trapped in a vase and hidden underground until a century ago when he gathered enough power to free himself. The majority of his true power was sealed into something, can you guess?" He paused and dangled the necklace, all the while rocking it back and forth hypnotically. "That's right, in this necklace. Finally, I will be myself once more." He opened his mouth and dropped the entire necklace into his mouth. Madeline watched in horror as black-red Arcane began to flow from his eyes and skin, enveloping him in a cocoon of magic.

When he re-emerged, he didn't look very different except he seemed to be glowing and his eyes were a deep shade of red.

"Worry not, my dear Merlinian Saint, I will not destroy your dear cities today," Akumin hissed into the wounded Cyan Warlock's ear, "But remember, I will return, and that time, I will destroy you." He stood up and, with a tip of his top hat, disappeared into the ever growing shadows, leaving the High Warlocks to die.

His defense is tight! Aton grimly thought. With a swish of his cape, he hoped to momentarily blind his opponent and stab him through the chest. Unfortunately, things went amiss when Terra decided to slice off the entirety of his cape and force Aton to go on the defensive once more. Crap, I'm going have to make a new cape…Oh, well, might as well upgrade my armor too…

Aton prepared to face the brutal attack by Terra when a dark shadow grabbed the Lefayan's arm. He was lifted up into the air by a pressing mass of red-streaked black arcane. Aton grunted as he tried to free his limbs, but to no avail; he was stuck.

"Now, now Terra, playtime's over. It's time to leave," Akumin spoke quietly, "Our mission is over."

"Yes, my lord," they both turned to leave, but an arrow whizzed past their heads and landed with a loud thunk on the ground.

Melr stepped in front of the pair and exploded in anger. "In what damn universe is it alright to waltz right in, fuck up all everything we've worked for and then leave?" he shouted, and loaded another arrow into his bow.

"Melr," Aton yelled, eyes wavering to this lifeless form of May, still curled against the battlement wall, "Watch out, he's-"

"I know who he is Aton!" Melr yelled, "He's the bastard who gave the order to kill all the Warlocks. He's the bastard who killed nearly all the High Warlocks!"

"Yes." Akendaku grinned, revealing a set of feral teeth, "They were a lively bunch. Were."

"You son-of-a-" Melr readied to fire his arrow, but Akumin simply laid a hand on his bow and dispelled it.

"Enough of this," Akumin snarled and threw Melr aside like a rag doll, "I have killed enough today." Together, the Lefayans disappeared into the shadows and the airships and soldiers vanished as well. The magic around Aton's body disappeared and he tumbled to the ground.

The medic tent was very busy that day. Many Merlinian soldiers had been killed or severely wounded and the fort was still littered with blood and bodies.

Aton had from his dirty armor to a white doctor's coat and was busy attending to the deep gashes of a Merlinian soldier. After he had finished applying the man's wounds with the healing magic substance, Arcanine, he left the rest to the nurses and took to the area May had been put under. Aleron was watching over her and Melr, who had fractured both his legs when Akumin threw him.

"How's she doing?" Aton asked and wiped sweat from his eyes.

"Her condition is stable, but she's in a bit of a coma right now," Aleron diagnosed, "She should be awake soon." Aleron studied his little brother, "It's been six years and you still…?"

Aton waved a hand and pulled his pipe from his pocket. He conjured a chair and sat down heavily, "Melr. How many people were killed in the Merlinian States?"

The blond haired warlock grimaced, "Over a million Wizards, Sorcerers, Mages, Prime Mages and Warlocks were killed." Melr took a deep breath. "And seven of the High Warlocks were slain by Akumin."

Aton gripped his pipe tightly, "Seven? Who's still alive?"

"Aleron, obviously. Madeline, Maher, Rey, Kahn, Greaf, Gillian and Yuko," Melr reported sadly.

"What about Lear?" Aton stood up, "What happened to the Reich Warlock?"

Melr was now as pale as a sheet. "Dead." Aton sat back down heavily. Another friend and Warlock had passed. It was almost unbelievable.

"And," Aton looked up. "His sword was also found next to him." Aton raised an eyebrow. Very rarely did one's magical conjuration last long after the wielder's death.

From beneath the cot, May groaned and returned to the conscious world, surrounded by the trio.

"Wha-? Where am I?" She struggled to raise her body off the cot, but Aton pushed her back down with his index finger.

"Hold your horses," Aton said, "You might knock yourself out again."

"What's with the coat?" May groaned and put her hand over her eyes.

Melr snorted, "Are you seriously asking that?" Aton ignored the comment and proceeded to diagnose May.

"Minor concussion, and a lot of pain," Aton remarked, "You'll be fine. Now go back to sleep."

"What happened to our talk?" May demanded.

"Now?"

"Now."

Aton sighed and turned around. "Get up then."

The living quarters of the Black Mage failed to meet any of May's expectations. It was small, dark and lit only by candlelight. May immediately noticed the open closet that was currently filled with the nearly destroyed armor that Aton wore so fondly.

He noticed her glance and smile, "That was the first armor I ever wore. It was a gift to me from Abern…It's also one of the few things that has remained in this world after his death." His smile was tinged with sadness and he turned away. "Sit down, we'll have a lot to talk about."

May settled down in a chair and Aton sat on the bed in front of her, his eyes staring at her.

"Where do I start?"

 

14: Memories of a Fallen Past

Chapter 13

Aton puffed on his pipe and extended his long arms to touch May's hands. "May," he spoke quietly, but sternly, "I'm going to do some magic. What you will experience are my thoughts, feelings and experiences. Be ready to jump into the unknown."

May closed her eyes and said, "I'm prepared." Aton reached for power and seared two magic runes into May's hands. They both flinched as darkness took them and fell back onto the bed.

Ten Years Ago: October 23rd
It was already nearly noon and young, twelve-year-old Aleron couldn't find his little brother. "Aton!" he called angrily, kicking over boxes in the hallway to find the little twerp, "Aton! If you don't come out of hiding, I'll personally 'hide' you!"

"Calm down," Aton opened the door groggily from his bedroom, still in his pajamas.

"Well you little brat," Aleron snarled, "If you don't move it and get dressed, we'll be late!"

"Mom and Dad just died, bro," Aton said, "Can't I mourn for a bit longer?"

Sadness flashed on Aleron's face but he said, "Now that their dead, there's no one to take care of us. So that's when we take matters into our own hands." He then shoved his tiny brother through the bedroom door and yelled, "Now get dressed!"

Aton grumbled at his too-tight and uncomfortable black suit. The color pleased him, yes, but suits and ties just weren't his style. It had taken an hour for Aleron to catch and subdue him before he would don the clothes.

"It's hot!" Aton complained, "And I'm thirsty! And hungry! And I don't know where the hell we're going!" Aleron groaned and proceeded to walk at a faster pace. Aton ran after him and they weaved their way through packed streets of Mado.

Leaping around like a crazed rabbit to avoid the milling crowds, Aton struggled to keep up with his brother. As the roads began to get steeper, Aton finally realized where they were heading. They were on one of the Erim Hills; large, flat-topped wonders of nature that were home to many of the affluent and successful.

As he stepped through the ornate gate that separated the pristine mansion from the rest of the world, Aton felt slightly upbeat. As he gazed at the marvelous yard, he searched for his missing brother.

"Aleron?" he called.

"Who," someone chirped up, "are you?" Aton turned to find the voice's owner and was met by a young dark-haired girl in a bright yellow dress and a floppy, wide-brimmed gardening hat.

"I'm Aton," he responded.

The girl looked him up and down. "You're funny looking. Like a shrimp." She giggled. Aton gaped out of shock and, for a second, didn't know how to respond.

He opened his mouth and replied, "OW!" Clutching his sore head, he turned to face his slightly annoyed brother and a taller woman with long night-dark hair and gleaming blue eyes stared at them.

The girl grinned and ran over to the woman and gave her a hug while the woman smiled and spoke to Aton. "Hi there, Aton. Do you remember me? Your dad and I were good friends. No? Well maybe the words 'Red Lotus' mean more to you, then."

Aton reeled in surprise. This woman was the famed Lefayan, Elizabeth, the famed Crimson Lotus Warlock.

"Last time I saw you, you were a little baby!" Aton struggled not to roll his eyes. Talk about maternal. "Anyway, you and Aleron need a place to stay, and I'm glad to be of assistance. I'll be taking over your training as well, so from now on you can call me Master Liz!"

"Tr-training?" Aton gaped in surprise.

The young girl seemed equally shocked, "M-mom?! You'd take this skinny shrimp as a student? Now him," she pointed at Aleron, "he's pretty powerful-looking!"

"Excuse me?!" Aton reacted angrily.

"May," Elizabeth said in a warning tone, "What did I say?" May looked abash.

"If you want to settle something…" May looked down at the ground, "…you fight it out!"

It took a few seconds for the sentence to dawn on Aton. "Eh?!"

It was nice. Being in training robes was much nicer than any suit that Aton would ever wear. The freedom of movement nearly made up for the fact that he was about to do battle with a she-devil.

The two of them were in an empty, white room with a glass wall disconnecting them from the sitting room where Elizabeth and Aleron sat watching the two prepare to fight each other.

What kind of mother encourages her own daughter to fight? Aton wondered. What kind of crazy family is this?!

"Woo-hoo!" a voice blasted Aton from his thoughts. The voice, he found out, was coming from a speaker.

"Here we go!" Elizabeth shouted, "The fight to see how shrimpy Aton really is!"

"Hey!" Aton shouted, "I'm not shrimp-" His voice was cut off from a sudden lack of oxygen that emanated from the fact that May had socked him in the groin. He doubled over in pain and tried to find a way to move without aggravating his crotch. It was going to bruise; he could tell.

He cursed loudly which caused May to say, "Oh please, is swearing all you can really do?"

Grunting in pain, Aton stood back up and looked deep into May's eyes, which, he realized, was a deep chocolaty-brown. "Let's go, again!" A flash of joy sprouted from May and they both sprinted at each other, magic flowing like water from their fingertips. He noticed her Arcane was a deep, dark blue, deeper than any color he had seen, apart from his own black.

The black magic around Aton's fingers lashed out like whips towards May as he sought to pin her down, but she was quicker on her feet than Aton expected and he soon felt a barrage of Arcane Bolts explode on his left arm. Although his arm wasn't blown into hundreds of bloody pieces, the pain was still vast. The howls of pain, however, did not go so far as the deep recesses of his mind and he rolled away hastily.

His burnt left arm would not be able to do much for him; he knew that. Aton analyzed the situation: May was shorter than him, but he had a useless limb, an extra weakness. He also suspected that she knew more long-range attacks than he did. I don't want to test her on grounds of long-range combat, he decided, I'll have to get close if I want to beat her quickly.

May seemed to be doing an elaborate ritual on the other side of the white room and magic seemed to pouring from her every orifice. Strike before her magic finishes! Think it dammit, make a SWORD!

He concentrated on an image in his mind's eye and a sword with a long hilt appeared in his outstretched hand. Aton lurched forward with speed that probably would have shocked May, had she opened her eyes to look.

"Too late." May opened her mesmerizing eyes and a large magic circle appeared in front of her with a large flower in the center.Damn!

"Blue Lotus: Dance!" Blue petals everywhere, glinting light, and ripping gashes in Aton's flesh! He whipped the blade around and around again, trying to deflect those sharp petals. He let go of the blade as felt the petals rip across his wrist. He panicked slightly, but returned to his senses as petals shredded into his shoulder.

It's over! Aton dreaded. I can't even get close enough to slice her to pieces! And then, the idea struck. If I can't reach her with that length of blade, make it bigger!

Draining all of his magic into the idea, the hilt formed and the blade simply shot straight through the cloud of blue petals that May sent to stop the ever-elongating sword. Aton realized the sword was about to pass through the surprised May's chest and he twitched slightly so the blade only cut a deep gash in her arm.

"That was close," Aton said sheepishly, blood trickling down his face as he sat down heavily leaning on a nearby wall. The blue knife-like petals disappeared and May walked toward the panting young magician, clutching her bleeding arm. Aton expected, at the very least, shouting and thought up twenty or so comebacks, but May surprised him by sitting down next to him.

"Good one! I guess we're 'classmates' now!" she said warmly and grinned at him with something that looked like excitement flaring in her eyes. She extended a hand, "Friends?"

Aton took it, exhausted, "Friends." And he passed out from blood loss.

December 2nd

"Magic is in the cells, located near the mitochondria," Master Liz pointed her long stick towards the kidney-like energy producing organelles. "The organelle is called simply Zauber. Zauber are in a certain percentage of your cells, hence the reason Aton, for example, is 76% 'magic'."

Aton rolled his eyes towards the equally bored May, who was doodling on her notebook. She caught his glance and winked slyly, as she slipped him a message.

"Can't wait 'til we cover teleporting circles. Would make note-passing easier." He grinned and wrote down some notes on the magic-storing organelles.

December 31st

"Happy 6th birthday May!" Aton hugged her and Aleron shot some sparks from the tips of his fingers.

December 31st: Nighttime

Aton walked tiredly from his room towards the bathroom when he heard some mutterings from Lizzy's bedroom. A male voice said faintly behind the closed door with some buzzing as though he were in a storm, "Happy birthday May! Sorry I can't be there."

May's voice replied, "Thanks Dad."

January 21st

"Now guys," Elizabeth announced, "I'm taking Aleron to the Nilrem Dome for his exams! I'll see you two in about eight hours!" At this May and Aton grinned at each other.

8 hours Later

"What happened to the house?!"

August 12th

"Happy birthday Aton!" May grinned and launched blue petals into the air.

6 Years Later: January 21st

"Aton!" May called out and ran over to hug him tightly, "Good luck on you exams today."

"Yeah! I'll be saying the same thing to you tomorrow, eh?" Aton smiled and waved at her as he set out with Elizabeth.

Six Hours Later

"Aton," the test examiner said, "You have passed with perfect scores. Congratulations! Now if you will step into the arena, we will now test your abilities of magic to see where you will be placed in the Merlinian ranks."

Thirty Minutes Later

"Ladies and Gentlemen," the head judge, a fat and jolly old man with little hair except his beard, announced to the crowd, "I present, the newest Battle Warlock; The Black Warlock!"

"Please, I would like to be referred simply as 'The Black Mage', thank you," Aton bowed deeply.

The Next Day

"Killed?!" Aton stood up shocked, knocking his chair backwards, "What do you mean, killed?!"

Aleron sat somberly, his circular face remorseful, "I was the first one out there. Liz is dead. We guess she must have known her death was coming because she left us this." He handed Aton a letter, which Aton slapped away.

"If she's dead, where's May?" he asked angrily, "Where is she?"

"Like I said," Aleron said calmly, "She must have known she was going to die, because May was already gone."

"Gone? Where?"

"Away. With her father."

"Her father? I've never met him, and the only time we met was when May would talk about him."

"Well they're good as gone," Aleron sighed and handed the letter back to Aton, "And you really should read this."

Aton tore at the seal and read the contents of the letter. "Circle of Five?"

"She's got it hidden all right. Most likely on May."

"What's the point?" Aton sat back down in his chair and put his head in his hands. "She's gone isn't she? And I don't think she's ever coming back."

January 31st

"Aton?" a middle-aged Warlock approached him as he knelt by the freshly dug grave of his late teacher, soaking in the rain. She was dressed plainly with a raincoat and umbrella. Aton looked at her through a haze of pain and sadness, "Yes, Madeline, ma'am?"

The Cyan Warlock rummaged around her bag and handed him a package. "Elizabeth told me to give this to you. Before she died." She gave a small half-smile filled with sadness and said, "Come on Aton. It's time for you to move on. You need a new teacher yes? To finish your internship?"

"You're going to do it for me?" Aton clutched the wet package to his chest.

"No. A man has set his eyes on you, and would gladly help finish up your internship. Master Abern."

May 1st

"Tell me Aton, have you ever heard of bracer blades?" the light-voiced, tall Abern asked.

"Bracer blades?"

"Yes. I've watched you use a blade, and, no offense, but your wrist seems to be your weak point when you wield a blade."

Aton thought back to his fight with May, all those years ago. "Well, it's a bit of a sore spot."

"Then let me teach you this, then."

Four Years Later

She walked into the room, her hair in a large ponytail, except for a lock of hair on both sides of her almond shaped face.

Could it be? Aton thought incredulously, A Lefayan? No, there's Merlinian in those features, and a little human. Something familiar about this girl. May…?

After the Demon Warlock Fight

Aton woke up after a time and realized he was in a room. A man rushed in and said his name. The man took his pulse and something in his mind said, Aton.

"Who are you?" Aton shouted with his mind.

"I am May's father, Howard, and Elizabeth's husband. Have you come to take May?"

"May?" Aton asked in wonderment. "So my guesses were right. She is the May I knew."

"No." the voice said. "Her mind has been tampered with. Her magic suppressed. She remembers nothing of that world. But, if you have come to take her, take her directly to Mado. Don't stop, evil forces are waiting. I have already contacted Aleron."

Present Day

May gasped and the runes on her hands disappeared. Aton, next to her, got up groggily as if from a dream.

"Get it?" he asked, sleepily.

"Yeah," May wiped her tear-brimming eyes, and embraced her childhood friend, "I'm back Aton."

 

15: Exodus

Chapter 14

"Ma'am?" Aleron asked the slightly dazed Merlinian Saint, "Madeline, what's wrong?" On the buzzing screen, the middle-aged woman shook a bit and looked back at the group of four standing, watching her.

"I'm sorry," she said faintly in her crystal voice. "It's just these wounds I've sustained. They're a lot harder to heal than I thought." She grimaced and lifted up her arms that were still wrapped in white bandages. She brought them back out of sight and spoke again, "We've suffered terrible losses.

"Of the 1000 Warlocks that were active, only 213 remain. 70 of those are injured, 6 are critically injured."

"1000 warlocks?" May rounded on Aleron, "You told me Warlocks made up 1% of the entire population! I don't think Merlinians were so few!"

"1 percent of the population?!" Madeline laughed, "I should be so lucky! Warlocks have to meet certain qualifications that few possess. Even in the Golden Age of the Merlinian State, there were only 3000 active Warlocks; that was the most we've ever had."

Aton spoke up, "So ma'am, what do you plan for us to do?"

Madeline seemed to hesitate for a fraction of a second, but then replied, "Aton. As much as I know you hate it, I have appointed you to the High Warlocks…congratulations High Warlock Aton."

Aton was shocked into a submissive silence. High Warlock. "Ma'am, please, I'm not a decision maker! I'm a fighter!"

Madeline grimaced, "The time for long debates are over. The time for action has come, and Aton, I want you to be on the front of it. That's why I'm appointing you to the Council. Besides, it's better for morale if you were on that board."

Aton grumbled, but he knew what she said was true, so he just let it be. Madeline continued, "On another note, Happy Birthday, May! 16 years old, excellent!"

"Thank you ma'am."

"I've seen videos on your stunning debut at Fort Abern, and Aton and Aleron have both made reports on you, so, as a present, I've had you promoted to a Guard Warlock!"

Next to Aton, Melr gaped, "You mean she's on the same level as me?"

"Well, no. Which is why I'm promoting you as well, Battle Warlock." Melr whooped, elated. Aton grinned cheerfully and clapped him on the back. Damn, there's a lot of promotions today. What is the Saint planning?

"But…" The smile faded from Melr's face as Aton thought, Called it. "There is still much to do, and I have new assignments for you." Melr gulped and Madeline began, "We need to offer a position of 'Battle Warlock' to a certain person. A bounty hunter." Aton suddenly got a sinking feeling in the deep recesses of his gut.

"Madeline," he spoke up, "This bounty hunter. Is he known as the Silver Scythe?" Looking moderately pleased, she replied curtly, "Yes. Petrarch Hakin is the one we want. I believe you've encountered him before on a number of occasions."

"Ma'am," Melr suddenly said, slightly annoyed, "I don't believe Petrarch is right for the job. He is a very fickle person, as you well know."

"We were already aware of that," Aleron sat down in a chair, his eyes closed and his face in a bemused expression. "But power is what we need, and that bounty hunter is pretty good."

"Ummmm," Aton turned to look at an entirely confused May. "Who the hell is this Petrarch guy?"

Aton grinned inwardly at May's return of language before answering, "He's a grim figure, if you catch my drift." Winking at her, he turned around to face Aleron.

"If you guys think it's going to help, fine," Aton folded his arms, "But don't say I didn't warn you."

"Hmph," Aleron snorted before Madeline brought the group back around to face her thoughtful expression.

"May, I'm giving you this assignment: Find an elderly man in the settlement of Gedo back in Earth. Aton, I would like you to accompany her."

"Yes ma'am," they both said in unison.

"Fine, you all have until the fifteenth of January to complete your missions. Aleron, if you would oversee the care of Fort Abern…"

"As you wish." The screen flickered off and they all stood up and left the room.

"Gedo's on Earth, which means that'll give me a chance to visit Dad!" May said cheerfully.

"We'll leave tomorrow," Aton checked a schedule; we'll have to walk most of the way there though." He pointed to the words 'Gedo', there aren't any stations between the Master Portal and the village, and the terrain is too rough for vehicles."

"Looks like camping most of the way," May stood on her tip-toes to look at the paper, but she was too short to see much.

Aton rolled his eyes and gave her the paper, looking down on her, "Damn, didn't you drink your milk?"

"Hey, you now I did," she pouted and Aton ruffled her hair.

Walking ahead of her, Aton put his hands in his pockets, "Well it is your birthday, so why don't we go find something to do? Anything you want." He paused to wait for her reply.

Aton heard a gasp, and turned around with a smile, but it quickly faded. "May!" He caught her right before she hit the ground and winced as his skin was scalded. Hot! He silently screamed as steam hissed out her body and he lowered her to the floor.

"Someone! Call a doctor!" He looked at May's supine body and he met her deep-brown eyes.

"Aton" she mouthed and her eyes drew shut.

"Back in the infirmary again?" Doctor Hu squinted at the two magicians and scribbled something on his notepad.

"Well, what's goin' on, Doc? You're the one who's the healer here. Enlighten us." Melr grimaced as he drank something amber from a clear bottle.

"First of all," the doctor squinted at Aton and Melr through his clear spectacles, "NO DRINKING OR SMOKING IN HERE!"

"Why? It's not like it's bad for the patients. Either way, we're nowhere near them." Melr motioned circularly around the doctor's office.

"Ever since they patented that 'magical alcohol' and 'magic grass' baloney, all the patients have been drinking and smoking excessively! Once upon a time, this stuff was poison to the body, but now, now it's all 'good for you'! Well, you know, too much of a good thing is bad, and you know what..." they let the Doc rant for a while.

"Doc, we've heard the lecture before," Aton pointed the stem of his pipe at him, "But May, please?"

The doctor ran his hair through his stringy hair and sighed, "It's Exodus."

Melr shot a questioning glance at the doctor, "At age 16? Allow me to say 'bullshit' Doc."

The Exodus, as they all knew, was a short period in time when a magician's body would grow and change, so as to better control magic. Magic would enter and exit the cells' nuclei and force them to multiply rapidly. It usually happened at the age of 14 during the puberty years.

"If what you told me about her and magic suppressant is true, then it certainly is possible for a girl of this age to have it now," Hu said and pulled out a sheet from inside a large folder he had set down. "I believe that the magic suppressant she must have taken daily was blocking her magic, so that the magic never managed to flow freely and allow Exodus to occur."

"I see," Aton chewed on the inside of his chin. "Will she be alright, Doc? How long will the Exodus take?"

Doctor Hu tapped his pen against the armrest of his chair. "There's no saying when it'll be over. This has never happened before. Very few people would use magic suppressant repeatedly for such a long amount of time. Only you, Aton, have used magic suppressant for a long periods of time."

Melr grunted audibly and shifted in his seat before asking, "Then it'll probably be for about two weeks, right? That's the normal amount of time Exodus takes, isn't it?"

"I don't think so; I think it might be over in about a week. I think Exodus will occur much more rapidly. Already, May has grown a few inches and is already wrapped in a cocoon of magic. These occurrences usually happen in the second week of Exodus. No, I believe she'll be faster in the changes than normal."

"In either case, I have to take on the mission by myself," Aton sighed and stood up, stowing the pipe away in his pocket. "I'll see you all around." He stood up and left the office and closed the door gently.

Aton crossed over to the infirmary next door and found May's cot in a corner of the large room. He knelt down beside the prone body and reached into the torrent of the swirling black magic cocoon and held her hand.

"Happy birthday, May."

A small asterisk of light, bright in the darkness of pain shone through. May, curled up in nothingness, could feel power in it, but had no idea what it was.

"May." A voice kept calling her name, ever since she entered this ball of pain.

"What?!" she cried, "What is it that you want?!" The light bobbed lively, intensely bright in the darkness.

"Do not be afraid, young one. But I can only bring dark tidings." The light blinked, momentarily encompassing the void in darkness. "He is growing stronger each day. You must stop him. His motives are much more malevolent than the Merlinians believe."

"What? What is going on?"

"I cannot say at this time. Watch your backs, and tell Aton that he will have to make his choice. And soon." The light began to fade.

"Wait!" May called, "Who are you?"

The light continued to fade, but it said one last word. "Gard."

She looked blissful, Aton thought to himself. He sat in a chair he had created from magic and was sitting by May's bedside in a vacant hospital room with a set of massive windows. Her fever was gone, and rosy color had spread in her cheeks.

"A healthy recovery, I'd say! She'll be awake in no time!" Hu had said. And that time had come. May quivered a little and let out a small sigh.

Aton leaned over and stared at her as she opened her eyes. "Hello May."

"Aton…" she whispered, her voice slightly raspy. She lift herself into sitting position and turned to face the relieved boy.

Aton smiled warmly, hiding the deep recesses of his thoughts. "You missed one hell of a party. At least, what would've been your birthday party." May grinned weakly, as Aton continued, "Couldn't save the cake, but I still got pictures, and I got your presents too." He winked slyly and walked over to the window and swung it open.

He turned around and held his arm out. "Remember when we were kids and we found a little bird in the garden?" He saw May nod and say, "Little, cute Kurotaka."

Feeling the breeze against his head, Aton whistled and waited. A few seconds later, he was responded by a fierce cry, one belonging to a large, powerful-sounding bird. A large black mass flew in through the window and landed silently on Aton's arm. "Not so tiny now."

The bird was big; it spread its wings out fully and each wing was three feet long. The bird itself was at least 4 feet tall and its crested head touched the ceiling. Its feathers were a shiny, deep black and its tail feathers in particular were long and sharply shaped, sort of similar to…

"So that's where you got it from, you moron," May grinned, "You totally ripped off Kurotaka's tail feather scheme."

"I can't help it," Aton shrugged indifferently, "When I found Kuro – no, when he found me – I knew that there was a certain flair to his feathers. So I made a new coat that made Master Abern totally jealous."

Kuro pricked his head and he sort of hopped-flew from Aton's arm onto the bed where he climbed and settled down into May's lap.

"See, he remembers you," Aton said happily and clapped his hands once. Kuro rose once more and left again through the window and the two of them watched him leave. Aton shut the window and walked back to May's bedside.

"He is magnificent," May sighed euphorically, "I can't believe he's a Lord Hawk. He was such a small chick."

"We all grew up," Aton smiled, "And I daresay you grew a little more as well."

"That's a great birthday present, Aton," May embraced him and Aton blushed red slightly and said quietly, "That's not my only gift…"

"Huh?" May let go of Aton, who looked her in the eye with determination coursing through his body.

"The greatest present that I have to give," Aton whispered, hot blood rushing into his head, his stomach twisting itself into dozens of knots. He leaned forward slowly, and their lips touched with a soft note of finality.

 

16: The Return to Reality

Chapter 15

It was nighttime when the Demon King arrived to his destination. In front of him was a huge abandoned factory that had been built into the side of a mountain. A mountain where Akumin had once lived. Where he had once plotted the destruction of his enemies, until he was defeated by the accursed Junsui. He stepped into the factory with an angry glare at the building he believed to pervert the magical aura of his former quarters.

A hiss and a spray of water caused the Demon King to growl angrily. As he walked through the abandoned factory, he paused to gaze into the blue-gem necklace that he had taken from Madeline.

"This color…" he said darkly, "Is not becoming of me." He rubbed the surface of the jewel and it turned into a fiery red, much to his satisfaction. With a dark smile, he removed the gem from the necklace with a soft tinkle and threw the unneeded necklace away. He began to sing a low dark song, a song from an ancient tongue, spoken in ancient time. As the song progressed, the gem began to quiver until pitch-black magic flowed outward from the gem, forming a smooth, crested spear-staff of black. The gem sat wedged at the top of the staff like a king and glowed eerily.

"Prepare yourself, Junsui," Akumin whispered, a peculiar red gleam shining in his eyes, "A God has returned." The light in his eyes burst forth and the entire factory building collapsed and left only a giant, triumphantly roaring monster in its wake.

"How do you feel May?" Hu adjusted his spectacles and looked at May like she was a prize specimen.

"I feel…" she looked up at Aton, "Happy." Aton resisted the urge to kiss her again and simply ruffled her ponytail.

"Okay…well, I just need to measure your height and you're free to go," Dr. Hu pulled off his spectacles and produced a ruler from his cabinet. "Stand up, please."

May stood up and Aton could stare directly into those chocolate-colored eyes. "Hey, you're as tall as me now!"

"Yup. Five feet, eleven inches." The Doc dissipated the ruler into magic and reformed it into a pen and scribbled something down on the notepad on his desk. "Alright, you can leave now."

"Thanks Dr. Hu," Aton bowed to the doctor and gently pushed May out of the office. Once there were in the hallway, Aton sighed and said, "Time to get back to work."

"Yeah…" May turned to face Aton, "I have to tell you something."

"What?"

"I had a dream while I was passed out," May said, remembering. "I was in a land of darkness and there was a bright light."

"Oh." Aton yawned slightly.

"It said its name was Gard…"

"What?"Aton snapped back to reality.

"Yeah. He told me to tell you to make your decision soon," May shrugged, "What does it mean."

"It means it's time to make my decision," Aton said grimly. They walked together for a bit in silence while Aton stared ahead with somber look upon his face.

"So, how did the recruiting mission go?" May asked clearly to break the tension.

"Easy enough, excluding the part where I was shell-shocked from your sudden collapse." Aton smiled, returning from his deep thoughts and reached out and held her shoulder. "You have a transmission from the higher-ups – I mean, my colleagues in the Council – so you go up to your room and call Madeline."

"It'd be easier if you let go first," May indicated to her shoulder, causing Aton to grin sheepishly and let go.

"I'll come a-knocking when I'm done with some stuff." Aton stared after May until she was gone down the hallway. He then set out for the downstairs and looked around until he found what he was looking for.

"Ahhh, Master Aton, welcome," a stubby man bowed low and indicated towards a large furnace.

"Thank you Holgen. Are we ready to begin?"

"You're sure this is what you want?" the short furnace master, Holgen, asked, "It will be difficult to weld all the pieces into such a smooth pattern. It may take weeks to get it successfully; we have never done this before."

"Luckily I have, so I know what to do," Aton said assuredly. "Just leave that to me." He set down the battered coat-armor that he had worn during the battle.

"If it is black armor you want, we will need your magic for the metal," Holgen said gruffly.

"Of course," Aton said and began to concentrate on hardening magic until there lay a sizeable chunk of coarse dark metal.

"Now, let's get to work!"

"It's good to see you safe and sound May," Madeline sighed, and fidgeted with her bandages. She somehow looked older than she did when they had met in the Nilrem Dome only last month. War, it seemed, was slowly taking its toll.

"You haven't healed yet, Ma'am?" May was concerned.

"I'll be fine," Madeline waved away May's complaints, "I have a great many things to tell you about, so let us begin.

"Well, as a Warlock, you have to choose your title. Do you have anything in mind?" Madeline leaned forward a little and studied May.

"Can I think about it?"

"I'll need the answer by the time I'm done with this conversation," the Saint warned and continued, "I wanted to talk to you about Earth."

"Earth?"

"Yes. For the past year, there have been large magical spikes in the planet's crust, and I want to know why." The live feed split into split-screen mode and a visual image of Earth with a surrounding yellow cloud appeared next to Madeline's face. "The amount of Arcane that surrounds the surface of the Earth has always been very stable, but the amount has recently been increasing exponentially, particularly in the city of New Kroy. That's why I had Aton transferred there. He believed it was demons who had found a way to escape the legendary Void Demon Jail: Grumman."

"But he was wrong. The only demons were fake magic imitations created by Lefayans," May mused.

"Exactly. He dealt with them and in the process, found you and made taking you back to the world of your childhood the top priority. The job he started isn't finished, and the Lefayan Warlock he captured has implied as such."

"So you're sending him back."

"Yes."

"And you want me to go."

"I believe Aton will do his job better if you're there. You night as well know that his feelings for you are not exactly platonic."

"You could say that," May breathed, the phantom touch of Aton's lips still tingling hers.

"Please alert Aton straightaway and prepare for your departure. A portal will be opened for you in thirty minutes." Madeline once more stared at May intensively. "Now, May. Have you decided on a title?"

"Yes, I think I have."

"And you would be called…?"

May stood a little straighter and said, "As the daughter of the Red Lotus, I choose the title 'Black Lotus'."

Madeline nodded once, accepting the name and after typing it onto a little handheld device, she glanced back at May, "Black Lotus. An apt name for one such as yourself. A flower in its prime, and Black to finish with another in your heart." May blushed, and Madeline continued, "I've put the name in the record, and you will be viewed and called as 'the Black Lotus Warlock' from now on. Acceptable?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Then goodbye for now May." Madeline moved to switch off the communication but May stopped her.

"Wait, ma'am."

"Hm?"

"I haven't seen Melr around the fort in a while. Hasn't he already completed his mission?"

Madeline sighed and rubbed her eyes wearily. "Melr is in a heap of trouble. He has landed in the middle of a war, and he requested that we don't interfere. I granted him his wish on the grounds that he has crushed the opposition and brings our new recruit to us within a week. He still has two days."

"A war? Between who?"

"Between bounty hunters."

In the Merlinian-Lefayan War, there were the armies of each side, fighting for their nation and their government. Forever in the shadows of the public eye, however, were the bounty hunters.

Bounty hunters were the men and women the government would turn to when there was a gruesome, suicidal, inhumane mission that they didn't want to send troops on. These people had given up ethics and morals in exchange for a cold heart, a core of deep rage, a thirst for blood and a path of revenge and darkness. They, in no way, were nationalists or fighting for their respective nations; they hated their own homelands almost as much as the opposite side.

Melr ran as fast as he could through the earth exploding around him and pulled himself behind a pile of a wrecked building and slid to the ground, his back against the wall. He panted silently, straining his ears to hear the shouts of his pursuers.

"Get the Warlock, dammit! Forget about Petrarch!" He gulped and pulled at his robe collar. Damn it, he thought wistfully, How the hell did I get signed up for this? And where is Petrarch? He reached into his pocket with his bloodied and darkened hand and pulled out a blackened flask. His hands shook as he unstoppered the cap and he took a swig to soothe his nerves. The sun glared down on him and his face was slick with sweat and blood. The hunters, he could hear, were getting closer.

He closed his eyes, and using the Arcane around him, felt his opponent's positions and marked them. Ten of them: 30o to the left. Four more: 50o to the right.

Taking one last swig out of the container, he swallowed and quickly stood and threw the flask at the ten hunters to his left. He pointed and an arrow of golden flame burst from his fingertip and pierced the flask, lighting the whisky inside. With bitter remorse, Melr ran from his distracted pursuers, thought, What a waste of good whisky, and felt his other pocket to see if the other flask was still there.

One Day Earlier

"I'm sorry, Golden Ray, sir, but this is far as I dare go." The old man was nervous and he continuously gripped the reins and let go of them in a frantic, nervous pattern.

"Don't worry about it, sir. I'm aware of the bounty hunters', ah, intimidation. Thank you for the ride," Melr tipped his hat at the elderly man.

"Do take care, Master Melr. The bounty hunters are very rowdy at the moment. It's the time when they are choosing their project leader for the year," the old man, waved nervously and led the carriage away at a rapid pace.

Melr stared at the dirt path and could see the smoke from the bounty hunters' camps. "Damn it, how come I always have to be the one to tell Arch his new orders?" He stared down the forest road, gripped his briefcase and started down the dirty path. The Bounty Hunetrs' fires could be seen from afar and the smoke rose visibly above the tree tops.

Melr walked wearily, keeping his eyes peeled for movements, and often jumped when there was an unknown sound in the bushes around him.

"Shit," he cursed angrily ripping vines from the trees as he stepped through, "I hate this forest!"

"That's not nice, Warlock." A man dropped in front of him garbed in a long, black cloak with a hood and long, dark locks of hair that covered his eyes and a mask that covered his mouth, effectively making it impossible to see most of his face. He wielded a shiny, glowing silver scythe that seemed to have a malevolent, bloody aura around it. He looked, to Melr, like the Grim Reaper. "The forest is good to those who care for it." He had a dark somber voice that seemed to reverberate around the forest and caused chills to run up Melr's spine.

"Funny that, Bounty Hunter; I always thought you cared for nothing but yourselves," Melr changed into a defensive stance and glared wearily at his opponent, sizing him up.

"We care for the things that shelter us," the hunter reached out with his palm, "Melr."

"How do you know my name?" Melr asked, suspicious.

The man walked towards Melr, causing him to step back and say, "Don't get closer!"

"Oh, come on you damn idiot, don't you know me already?" the voice became lighter, and less somber.

Melr sighed and loosened his stance, "Arch Hakin."

"That's right! Come on, the 'Silver Scythe' Hunter?" Petrarch 'Arch' Hakin shook his head in disbelief and gestured at the scythe, "Jeez, how stupid do they get?" He sat down on a nearby stump and asked, "What are you here for Melr? What do the High Warlocks want with me this time? Another mission?"

"Not this time." Melr gritted his body and braced himself for the words he had to say. "I'm here to tell you that you have been offered a post as a warlock. Guard class."

Melr couldn't tell because of the hood and hair, but he guessed that Petrarch was staring at him in shock. And then, Petrarch laughed out loud, "Amazing! Absolutely incredible!"

"What, what's so damn funny?" Melr growled.

Petrarch was now doubled over, and he struggled for breath and just continued to say, "Amazing!" Finally, Petrarch calmed down enough to point at Melr and say, "To think! I'm supposedly thought of as a monster! A demon! One born simply to destroy, and never to create! Despised by the government and all those who know of the Bounty Hunters! And to think, I've been offered a position equal to yours!"

"Well, excuse me!" Melr retorted, and holding up a gloved hand to show off the marking on it, "But I've been promoted!"

"Ooh, a Battle Warlock," Petrarch eyed the markings hungrily, "V-e-r-y nice. Same as Aton now I take it?"

"No, he's been promoted as well."

"Eh?"

"High Warlock."

"Really? Both the Dracon brothers are now in High offices? But he still calls himself by that stupid tile, what was it…'Black Mage'?"

"He always has, always will." Melr glared at the black garbed bounty hunter, "Well? Are you going to accept or not? I don't want to be standing here forever."

"Just one problem." Petrarch lolled his head, "I don't think I can accept."

"Eh?"

"The path of darkness, as you call it, is…well…dark," Petrarch tilted his head sideways, "I don't think I'd exactly fit in with my background."

Melr sighed, "I thought I'd never need to use this…Arch Hakin, this is an order: Move your fat ass and get yourself to the Nilrem Dome."

Once again, Melr assumed that Petrarch was staring at him with a blank expression. The hunter then sighed and said, "Understood."

"Wait a sec. Just like that?" Melr was now extremely suspicious of the quick response.

"Just like that."

"That easy?"

"That easy."

"You're not trolling me are you? You're not gonna stab me in the back while I'm not looking?" Melr glanced at Arch who was now twiddling his thumbs.

"I made a promise to you and Aton all those years ago that if you had one desire, just ask and I'll fulfill it. Besides," Arch glanced around wistfully, "This place is not what it used to be, and it's high time I left."

Melr sighed and decided to trust him for once, "Fine. I'll trust you. Now let's get out of here. This place is giving me the chills."

"That," Petrarch muttered, "could be a problem."

"What do you mean?"

"These lands you've just entered are all Bounty Hunter owned. Any hunt-ditchers are executed and whoever helps them is also executed."

Melr snorted derisively, "As if they could catch up with us!"

Arch looked back at him and brushed his hair aside and pushed back the hood, his eyes a cold silvery-grey and his voice grew dark once more. "That's what you think. Bounty hunters are extremely powerful. Plus, they have the advantage here. The entire territory is filled with traps, teleporting circles and I already know they have a few airships." Lifting the silver scythe, he carved into the ground a likeliness of the bounty hunters' territory. "If you want to leave, you'll have to go now, before night falls.

"Nightfall is in an hour," he continued, "So I recommend we stay the night."

"About that," Melr pointed at himself, "There's a problem with that; I'm wearing Merlinian State robes."

"No problem," Arch pulled a black robe from somewhere within his robe and handed it to the astounded Warlock.

"What? I carry extra, just in case, jeez." Brushing his hair back into place, he put on his hood and ordered, "Put it on and let's go." Petrarch turned and walked away as Melr gruffly pulled on the robe.

"Spending the night in a Hunter camp; Junsui help me."

 

17: The Path of Darkness

Chapter 16

Melr cursed repeatedly as he clambered through the treacherous forest and, aggravated, burned down a large tree.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Petrarch hissed, the Bounty Hunter glaring at the destroyed tree remains.

"Just how far is this place?" Melr snarled, "I don't like clomping my way through half the damn Amazon!"

"Actually the Amazon is a whole lot smaller than this –"

"Oh shut your trap already!" As they marched further through the hellish mass of green vegetation, the smell of savory, seasoned meat and the ashy smell of smoke grew ever stronger.

"We're here," Petrarch whispered in a low voice, "Don't do anything stupid. Let me do the talking."

"Like hell I will. We both know that makes me more suspicious. I'll do my own talking, damn it!" Melr scowled and parted the leafy blockage, nearly falling into the cliff below.

"Ahhh, did I mention we live in a valley?"

"Thanks for the info!" Melr stepped back and muttered, "But it sure as hell makes it easier for me to survey this unknown territory." He pointed his finger at his right eye and a golden spark of magic raced along his fingertip and flew into his eye. He kneaded it furiously with his hand as it tingled and watered furiously, but after a few seconds, he opened his normally deep brown eye had transformed into a spectacular kaleidoscope of amber yellow and light brown with a rune marking the edges of the iris.

"Magnify," Melr looked down into the deep gorge below them and the rune magnified so he could see the encampment. The camp was quite large and consisted of dozens of tents and a number of wooden shelters all surrounding brightly lit campfires of varying colors. Melr made out a number of people surrounded each fire and sitting on wooden logs, each one with a tense expression on their face. They were all lean and fit, Melr noticed, and exceptionally strong as well.

"There," Petrarch whispered and pointed at the sky. Melr raised his head and strained his enhanced eye to see the tiny dark dot in the darkening night sky that was illuminated by the moon. It was a long ship with a rounded bow and a tall, immense spire-like superstructure near the jagged stern. He made out five spherical domes that were placed equidistantly on a heightened platform deck; he knew at once that they were turrets.

"A Merlinian Battleship," Melr cursed, "Where did you get one?"

"When you took out the Lefayans from the last war, several of your warships were grounded by theirs, and we rebuilt them," Petrarch explained.

"And you wanted to escape without detection," Melr snarled and continued down the steep hillside into the canyon encampment below.

Night had fallen for several hours by the time they reached the end of the valley. The proximity to the enemy camp, as well as the silence, except for the stomps of Hunter guards and the crackling of fire, increased the Golden Ray Warlock's anxiety and paranoia. Although he was garbed in the breezy, coal colored cloaks of the Bounty Hunters, he still felt nervous to even be near a Bounty Hunter camp.

They crept slowly towards the warming fires of the camps and as soon as they stepped into the light, a cloaked figure appeared next to them and the dazzling green light shone off the hunter's hand blinded Melr.

"Who goes there?"

"It's me, Petrarch." Arch moved smoothly in front of Melr.

"Who's he?"

"A new member. Fresh of the boat, if you catch my drift."

The cloaked man nodded and strolled away, and the duo sighed and crept towards one of the wooden shelters.

"In here!" The door squeaked a bit as it opened, but no one seemed to have woken up, and the two treaded carefully into the silent shelter and closed the door silently. They pulled up chairs and sat by the moonlight streaming in from a tiny window above them. Petrarch casually took off his hood, but left the face mask on.

"We should just leave!" Melr whispered annoyed. "I don't like this!"

"Why are you so nervous?" Arch scoffed amusedly, "Don't you usually come here to give me orders from the dear High Warlocks?"

"And then I can hightail it outta there! You know, we associate you Hunters as the low-down trash of society!"

Petrarch glared at Melr, anger hardening his opal eyes, "If I'm trash, why did you come here?"

"Because the higher-ups think you're fit for a position in the Merlinian ranks! They think that you're trustworthy enough to let you come back to society; they think you're good enough that they can just pardon all of your crimes!" Melr spoke rapidly and waved his hand around his head. "Is this what you want? Is this the life you chose? Is this how you're going to continue on as? As a monster? As an outcast? As a murderer?"

Petrarch leaped to his feet and whispered enraged, "You have no idea what I have been through. What I put up with all these years. You think I like to kill? You think I want to?" He tugged at his coarse, shaggy hair, looking deranged. "I never intended to become this, I only wanted to live life as a normal person! But Life has strange paths, oh yes it does! It gave me the path of darkness!" He shook his head and grasped at his face mask, "I wear this, because I never want people to see the whole truth of what I've become! Let them believe what they used to think of me, and not as the monster that was borne through the blood of his victims! This…this is my penance to all those I've slain for the good of no one! This mask is my tribute!"

"Hiding behind a mask does you no good." Melr stood up and faced Petrarch's eyes, trying to penetrate the veil of remorse.

Petrarch did not seem to have paid Melr any mind, and continued, "I – I used to love poetry; my mother would read me them, and I would make up poems for her entertainment. But now –" Arch's eyes drew back into a hazy dream-like quality, "Now all my poems are dark, filled with blood. I shall never be able to walk that path of light ever again."

Melr grasped the insanely-babbling Hunter by the shoulders, "Get it together man! Have a god damn nervous breakdown when we're outside Hunter territory." Arch quietly subsided and collapsed back into his chair, Melr watching the fatigued Hunter.

"They – they know," Petrarch said unexpectedly.

"What?"

"The Bounty Hunters," Petrarch said, "They're coming."

Melr caught on quickly, "Why you –!" He reached to grab Petrarch's robes, but the wood wall next to him exploded into a barrage of splinters and a pair of hands latched onto Melr's body, pinning him in place. The door crashed open and a multitude cloaked Hunters rushed into the spacious cabin.

The lead one spoke to Arch with a jovial congratulatory tone of voice, "Good catch Petrarch. This will make a fine feather in your cap, eh?"

Petrarch sat quietly, but Melr was sure that Arch was still watching him. Melr struggled to break free from the solid grip and failed. He scowled at the assembly of Bounty Hunters before him and snarled with every ounce of contempt he had, "Unhand me you villains! You have no right to detain a magician of the Merlinian State!"

"Now, now, no need to have a tantrum," the Hunter turned his hooded face to Melr. "The Merlinian State is at a low isn't it? I think it was high time to…" the man lifted his hood and grinned like the Cheshire Cat, "…change the situation a bit, right, Petrarch?"

"That was the plan," Petrarch said, voice soft, but with a hint of steel.

"And the recent attack on the Merlinian State," the lead Hunter projected his voice, victory evident in his tone, "has crippled the Merlinians. Thousands of their finest are dead, their armies are in mental tatters, what is a better time to strike than now?" The crowd of Bounty Hunters cheered and proclaimed, "We'll show them who's trash!"

"We will conquer them all! We will destroy the Warlockian leaderships! And – we'll start with this one!"

A sharp, narrowly-pointed dagger was produced from the Hunter's Arcane and he stepped slowly towards Melr. Melr grappled against the tight hands and began to yell, "Petrarch! You bastard, is this what you want? To have another death on your hands? No, look at me damn it! This is madness!"

"Madness?"The lead hunter stepped ever closer to Melr's trapped body, "There is no madness here, sir." He was now in Melr's face, breathing onto the young face, "This is revenge!"

The knife gleamed in the rising sun's light as it flew through the beam of light and landed with a thunk! in the wall adjacent. Petrarch's outstretched hand was filled gleaming silver magic.

The lead Hunter turned and faced Arch straight on, a ruddy complexion painting over his face, "Why did you interfere?!"

The words, to Melr, came slowly, like each word was coming out of his mouth were taking ages to reach him, "I…will not allow any more deaths…" Petrarch leaped into action, swiping his hand at the head Hunter, who was surrounded by the glistening gray Arcane and thrown through the door, ripping it to shreds and destroying the entrance. He spun and an arc of silver crashed through the wall and Melr felt the hands slacken and slump away.

The other Hunters had already recovered from their shock and launched a barrage of brightly colored bolts of superheated, explosive Arcane at the traitorous Arch.

Without flinching, the ex-Hunter spun the magic in his hand into a glorious, shining scythe and twirled the long-handled weapon as the bolts exploded harmlessly on the curved sickle-blade.

Melr bounded from his place on the wall and attacked with a vengeance. Like a demon that had its horns ripped off, he passed Petrarch and launched himself at one of the cloaked men. Smashing him down to the ground, he threw his hand out and shot a bolt of magic at each man with deadly accuracy. Tiny explosions as the bolts hit their mark and the slump of limp bodies assured Melr of his instant victory.

"Feh," Melr got up and prodded one of the dead bodies with his foot, "What a waste of a life."

"Not bad shooting," Arch commented hefting the scythe onto his shoulder.

"Thanks, let's get out of here," Melr jerked a thumb at the shattered remains of the door.

He headed for the outside, but Petrarch spoke, "Melr."

Melr stopped and said, "You made it up Petrarch. There's no need to apologize. The best you can do now is come back with me to Fort Abern. Come back to everything you left behind, all those years ago." Ripping off the black cloak that covered over his white-and-gold Merlinian Robes he continued, "Now let's go stop this bullshit coup d'état."

As Melr walked, he came across the still slightly breathing body of the Hunter who had nearly killed him with the knife. He kneeled besides the mortally wounded man and said, "You were wrong, you dumb bastard. The Merlinian State isn't crippled until you've killed the Dracon brothers." Standing up, he pointed at the dying man and let the magic coalesce on his fingertip.

"As soon as you entered the camp, they were going to kill you. They didn't expect you to live, so the defenses are weaker. Less traps, and the warships aren't patrolling," Petrarch had said, "If we can get to the airfield, we might be able to stop the ships from taking off before the alarm is sounded."

Very easily said, but not easily don. They had split up, Petrarch acting like he was still a Bounty Hunter and telling the waiting Hunter's of Melr's 'demise'. Melr could hear the hoots of joy and pleasure as he stealthily moved around the brightly colored fires, trying to get to the airfield. Well, Melr conceded, I guess it's good they are a bunch of idiots.

However, Melr was forced to eat his words when a low note sounded throughout the encampment. Now there were shouts and bright flashes of light and Melr could hear the Hunters yelling in pain and rage. Looking through the clearing, Melr could see Petrarch slashing and casting streams and bolts of magic at the Hunters.

"There!" one noticed Melr's face sticking out of the bushes, and magic missiles barely missed Melr's face by millimeters. A dozen or so Hunters ran from the camp, trying to kill Melr.

Melr ran as fast as he could through the earth exploding around him and pulled himself behind a pile of a wrecked building and slid to the ground, his back against the wall. He panted silently, straining his ears to hear the shouts of his pursuers.

"Get the Warlock, dammit! Forget about Petrarch!" He gulped and pulled at his robe collar. Damn it, he thought wistfully, How the hell did I get signed up for this? And where is Petrarch? He reached into his pocket with his bloodied and darkened hand and pulled out a blackened flask. His hands shook as he unstoppered the cap and he took a swig to soothe his nerves. The sun glared down on him and his face was slick with sweat and blood. The hunters, he could hear, were getting closer.

He closed his eyes, and using the Arcane around him, felt his opponent's positions and marked them. Ten of them: 30o to the left. Four more: 50o to the right.

Taking one last swig out of the container, he swallowed and quickly stood and threw the flask at the ten hunters to his left. He pointed and an arrow of golden flame burst from his fingertip and pierced the flask, lighting the whisky inside. With bitter remorse, Melr ran from his distracted pursuers, thought, What a waste of good whisky, and felt his other pocket to see if the other flask was still there.

He took a long drought and replaced it into his pocket and ran on, following the smell of machinery that was now dominant in the air. Taking long, cautious strides, he approached the long airfield and gazed in awe at the assembly of both Merlinian and the triangular shaped Lefayan warships. There were about six in total and already three of them were rising into the sky, their undersides rippling the air with magic and heading towards the main Hunter camp.

"Psssst!" Melr jumped slightly and turned to face the jaw-mask of Petrarch.

"What?!" he hissed.

"I brought a few guys along!" Petrarch thumbed at the four men who all lifted a hand in greeting at Melr. "They also wanna ditch."

"Ok," Melr said slowly, "What's the plan?"

"Board one of those and shoot down everything we can," Petrarch said, acting as if that were the greatest idea ever created.

"There's a lot of guards down there," Melr said unsure of the plan.

"It'll be fine," Petrarch waved a hand, "There's no guards inside the ships and I'll distract them, and you guys get on. It'll be fine, right men?"

"Yeah," the others said enthusiastically. Melr mentally face-palmed himself and just put his hands up in submission.

"Fine let's go." They slowly made their way towards the airfield with Petrarch going around attracting the guards' attention. The fight began and Melr's tiny group sprinted towards one of the Merlinian battleships. They approached the vessel without being spotted and climbed up the ladder and into the airship.

"You two," Melr ordered two of the ditchers, "get down to the engines and begin fueling the propulsion runes. You two, head towards the side stationary amp cannons and prepare to repel boarders."

"You got it, sir," the men saluted and rushed towards their positions. Melr, with a sweep of his robes, walked along the outer hull and towards the open door of the spire. He climbed the stairs quickly and reached the top of the superstructure, which held the bridge. He opened the communications rune on a screen in front of the main window overlooking the ship and said, "Are we clear men?"

From the engine room, the two men replied, "We're up and ready sir."

From one of the stationary cannon rooms, the men replied, "Er, sir? We don't know what to do here sir. All we see is this small-driving wheel looking thing with this rune drawn in the middle and a weird looking joystick."

"Yes that's how it's supposed to look like," Melr snapped, "One of you grab the wheel with your hands."

There was a moment of silence, "Okay, holding it sir." From Melr's view, a large rune appeared from thin air and was several inches off the side of the battleship.

"Now channel you magic through your hands. The rune in the middle of the wheel should start glowing in some parts." The large rune on the battleship's side began to glow slightly.

"Yessir it is."

"When the rune is completely glowing, think or say 'Fire' and see what happens." From Melr's view, the entire rune now was eerily bright and Melr heard, "Fire!"

The rune lurched back a little and the glow immediately dissipated and a gigantic bolt of Arcane erupted from it and launched itself towards the battleship next to it, blasting the metal armor to fragments. The amp rune, Melr thought gratifyingly, It's one hell of a weapon.

"Ok, the other guy with you," Melr said, "Is your aimer. That rune can't move so you have to make the magic move, so have him grab that joystick and concentrate. He'll begin seeing images, and have him lock on to something by saying 'Lock'. Then the next time you fire, the magic will arc towards that target."

"Roger."

Melr turned back to the engine room, "Okay men, let's go get Petrarch. Lift off!"

The Merlinian ship creaked and lurched forward quickly, gaining some altitude. As they reached the other end of the airfield, they were still low enough to see Petrarch's scythe flashing and flashes of light from the Hunter magic.

"Land the ship in front of them and prepare the ladder to pick up Petrarch!" Melr said, reaching over to touch the rune that activated the ladder. The ladder touched the ground as the large ship hovered a few feet above the ground. Petrarch made his way slowly to the ladder, fighting off the hoard of boarders. Some of the hunters aimed at the ship itself, trying to damage it.Fools. That's like throwing a pebble at a tank. Melr shook his head at the Hunter stupidity. As soon as Petrarch gripped the rails of the ladder, Melr yelled, "Launch!"

The battleship rose once more at an alarming rate and began to fly away, but Melr had one last gift for the Hunters. "Do we have a lock?"

"Yes sir!" came the reply.

"Fire at will, then." Once more, the rune glowed and fired, the shell of magic arcing towards another of their battleships, and crashing into one of the five dome-turrets on top and blowing the bow to pieces.

"Until next time you bastards," Melr looked out a side window and watched the battleship crumple from explosions and the battleship rose and flew away from the valley, bringing with it the men who had finally regained their path of light.