The Circle (Fantasy Teen RP, IC)

[Por]

The Circle

As the Dawn of Man came, so did the Dawn of Violence. The Gods (Greek, Norse, Egyptian, all of them) knew that these new creatures needed some way to protect themselves, so they gifted them with magic. As time passed, however, people slowly began to lose their faith and belief in magic, thus the magic became weaker. To keep magic from dying out, the Gods decided to create a group of mages, the Mage Circle. They chose powerful warriors to live forever and practice their magic. There was an Animal Mage, Plant Mage, Light Mage, Dark Mage, Fire Mage, Air Mage, and every kind of Mage in between.

Eventually, however, one of these Mages, the Mage of Shadows, turned to evil, and discovered the Mages were not truly immortal. It was true that they could not die by natural means, he learned that they COULD be killed. So he slowly began to kill the Mages, until there were only five left to defeat him, the Mage of Fire, the Mage of Water, the Mage of Earth, the Mage of Air, and the Mage of Sparks.

These Mages fought the Mage of Shadows for centuries, until finally, they decided that they needed to pass their powers on. This need came from the fact that the Mage of Shadows had fatally injured them all, and they were slowly dying from their wounds. The Gods sent down a Mentor to help them pass their powers on, though to do that, they had to pass their souls on too.

This led to a decade long period of extreme violence as the new born mages matured. When they were eighteen, the Immortal, as the mentor was called, stole them away, training them and teaching them how to fight the Demons that the Mage of Shadows was releasing into this world. This cycle continued for many centuries.

In 1996, the Mages once again passed on their souls, and now, eighteen years later, five teenagers have discovered their powers, and are about to be taken by the Immortal.

---

1996

"It is time." said the Immortal, as he stroked his long, grey beard, "You are nearing death again, you must pass your souls on to new hosts."
"How?" asked Matthew, the Mage of flames.
"Lay on the stone beds." the Immortal replied, "I will guide your souls to their new vessels."

After a few moments of confusion and doubt, the Mages started to wards the stone beds, which looked more like altars than beds. In all actuality that's what they were. Vines slowly rose and held the Mages to the beds, some of them resisting others embracing what was next.

"Mentor," said the Ice Mage, "What about the Shadow Man? What will happen?"
"There will be a decade of darkness until the New Mages mature." the Immortal replied, "It is the price we pay for keeping this world safe."

The Mage sighed as the Immortal stood in the middle of the circle of altars. He closed his eyes, raised his head, and held his arms out to the sides. The Immortal began to chant in a language older than Latin, unknown to any living mortal. His eyes began to glow as the vines began to tighten around the Mages, the air leaving their lungs in visible wisps.

After a few moments, their bodies were nothing more than lifeless lumps, quickly turning to ash. Their souls were traveling through the air, traveling towards the bodies of that would one day be their hosts. They traveled all across the world, inhabiting the new borns, resting, dormant until the day of their eighteenth birthday.

2013

The Shadow Man stood on Mt. Everest, thinking back over the past decade without the Mages. He had plunged the world into darkness, leading the Muslim Extremists into wars against America, causing a rise in teen pregnancy and causing so many diseases. Eighteen years had nearly passed, however, and he knew that his reign of shadows would soon be ending, his ancient foes returning.

2014

"Dude! I can't believe we're doing this!" came a cry from behind Elijah Cooper.
"This is going to be AWESOME!" Elijah yelled back, peering out the door of the plane.

He checked to make sure his squirrel suit was adjusted and looked back at his friend, a gleeful smirk on his face. This wasn't the first time Elijah had done something like this, but it was the first time doing it over the ocean. He was scared, but ready to take the risk, though he couldn't tell if his friend was.

"Hey, you don't have to do this if don't want to." Elijah told him, reassuringly.
"N-no," his friend replied, "I'm excited."

Elijah laughed, turned back to the endless blue in front of him, and jumped. He nosedived for a short while before spreading his arms and legs, filling the 'skin' with air and pulling himself back up. Elijah let out a cry of exhilaration, screaming with joy. He was having the time of his life, feeling the wind coursing through his hair, the salt in his nose. That's when it happened.

A stray gust of wind, or so he thought, blew him off course. He couldn't control the suit, he was at the mercy of the wind. Still, he felt at peace. He wasn't scared, it felt right to just be riding the wind. He sighed and closed his eyes, looking over the ocean. A few seconds later, he opened eyes, shock filling his eyes as he saw a mountain in front of him.

"What, the...." he started.

The wind blew him towards the top of the mountain, and a few minutes later landed him safely in the temple.

"Hello, Elijah." said an old man with a long grey beard, "I have been expecting you."

[Agritum]

2014, London, Millennium Bridge

"The Thames looks wavy today. Oh, I'll never get what's wrong with this river."

Fan Jingfei, first year Engineering student at King's College, raised her eyebrow as her faculty mate Emily pronounced these words. "Tide, it's the high tide. It depends on the moon phase, and on an host of other factors and..."

"What's wrong, Fan?" the redhead Emily asked, glancing at the face of the Hong Kong expat, who was now gazing intently at the river roaring under them. She looked strangely nervous, almost as if she was desperately trying to figure out what was happening below her, as hard as it wa to gaze into the inner workings of it.

"Emily, go on. I'll....take a look at the river, for a while."

"Uh, okay...."

A few minutes after, Fan was alone on the bridge. And there, she saw the tide quickly descend, the water receding away, as if some quick drought had hit the Thames. This was very strange, and unusual, unless.

Fan did a double take as a tidal wave as high as the bridge formed in her immediate distances, flowing through the river bed and roaring at her, too fast to outrun. The Chinese girl screamed, closing her eyes, as the impromptu tsunami came crashing down her. She expected to drown, or be killed by the massive amount of water coming down the bridge.


But nothing happened.

Absolutely nothing. Or rather, nothing that was lethal to her.

Fan was now underwater....speeding underwater, precisely, as the roaring tidal wave carried her towards London's docklands, through the Thames' bed. Her mouth opened, desperately craving for oxygen. Fan felt the water quickly enter her lungs, flooding them. And just that. No drowning, no uncomfortable lack of air.

"...am I breathing underwater?" she wondered out loud, her voice warped in a bubbly way by the water surrounding her. "Heavens..."

For the next few minutes, the tidal wave finished passing through the bed of the river and reached the open seas, where it promptly morphed in a super-strong current that directed Fan away from the Channel and towards what seemed to be the coast of Spain. Fan passed through several schools of fish, which began following her.

She quickly passed through Gibraltar and entered the Mediterannean, as the types of fish following her multiplied. When she reached the Aegean Sea, even some dolphins had started to swim next to her. Fan smiled, caressing one on its nose, while wondering if this was some sort of dying dream she was having while drowning, the afterlife, or if she had taken drugs without knowing it.

Fan eventually reached the coast of Greece, with the current suddenly stopping. She floundered in the water for a while, unsure of what to do, before a jet of water suddenly sent her flying in the air, towards a coastal mountain. Before she could even scream, Fan found herself surfing on top of a great mass of water coming down the mountain.

It finally impacted on the the grounds of an ancient temple, temporarily flooding them, while Fan graciously landed in front of an old man and of a young boy of her age, wet from head to toe.

"Uh....good...morning?"

[Abserdia]

2014, California, On a small mountain.
"I cant believe i'm doing this..."
"I don't even know if i could get down!" Aaigen chuckles, looking up at the mountain.

Aaigen starts climbing at 12:04 PM.

"Halfway there it looks like... Why am i talking to my self... It would be hilarious if there was a storm right no- Oh."
He heard a loud lightning strike.
"Spoke too soon."

"I should probably eat right no-!" Aaigen screams, his food all wet and soggy.

"I haven't eaten in 7 hours... And climbing up a steep mountain..."

He got to the peak at 2:13 AM. He wished he had a flag though.

"FINALLY! It took forever! So how do i get dow-" Aaigen was interrupted by a lightning strike roughly 4 feet away from him.
Aaigen was struck by it, and fell to the ground.

He wakes up with lightning sprawling throughout his arms.

Aaigen screams and rushes down the mountain towards the nearest doctor.
He's faster then he usually is.

But he was interrupted by a quick change of scenery.

He saw an old man and 2 young people, a boy and a girl.

"WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME?!"

Aaigen wasn't always been the best at entrances.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

It was the year of 2014, and a light rain was falling over the city of Lyon, in France. This, however, did not concern one young woman by the name of Adrienne Desrosiers, who was currently inside of her home, an elegant manor in one of the richer parts of the city. At the present moment, she was in a small reading room she had claimed for herself, wearing a comfortable, casual red dress as she read a small book, sitting on a red velvet sofa placed not far from a lit fireplace, in which flames crackled merrily over the firewood, uncaring about the rain that was falling upon the city, outside and above. Truth be told, the climate was not, at that moment, cold enough to warrant having to keep the fireplace lit in order to be comfortable, but despite that, she always kept it like that. There was something about the flames dancing within the fireplace that seemed to keep her relaxed and content, even if it was not the focus of her attention. Simply seeing their light or hearing their crackle was enough to cheer her up.

All around her, in the room, bookshelves lined the walls, though of course they were all placed away from the fireplace. Next to her, on a round wooden table, was a small bowl of chocolate pralines, though it had remained untouched for a long time by now, as the girl was quite focused on her current read. She was, in fact, on the very last page, and as her eyes finished drinking up the words written inside, she swiftly found an expression that accurately described her impression of the book.

Utterly disappointing.

With both hands, she closed it and sighed. Figures that some book she got as a birthday gift from one of her less cultured acquaintances would end up being below her expectations, but she hadn't expected something of these proportions. Unceremoniously, she tossed the book to the flames, leaning back on the sofa and idly grabbing a praline, thinking of how she would have to assure that she had enjoyed the book the next time she came across that acquaintance, or at least give a milder version of her real opinion while omitting the fact that she had burned the thing.

At that moment, however, something caught her attention. For some reason, she decided to grab a fistful of pralines as she turned her head to gaze at the fire. There was something in these flames, something... special. Magical. Something that demanded her complete and undivided attention.

Slowly, the fire began appearing as if it was moving closer and closer, while the intensity of the light grew stronger and stronger, until she had to close her eyes. She felt a strange but welcoming warmth embrace her, and she felt herself begin moving, though she could not understand much of what was going on and she could not open her eyes. The warmth she felt kept her tranquil, even as she felt herself be taken from where she was and to some place far away from home. Time lost its substance as she traveled, but eventually, she felt herself stop. Something beckoned for her to move, and so she did, walking forward until the light stopped blinding her.

At that moment she opened her eyes, finding herself in a mountain near the sea, with a small trail that led to a temple. The whole experience she had gone through moments earlier had been quite bizarre, but now that she was grounded firmly in reality once more, she fell into disbelief. She looked behind herself, but all she was the horizon and a small cloud of ash in the air, drifting down towards the sea.

Convincing herself that the best course of action right now was to go into the temple, she took a deep breath and began walking towards it, taking a praline on the way there. It didn't take her very long to cross the distance between her landing spot and the temple, and as she approached, she could hear sounds from within. People talking. A particularly loud person, a boy about her age she presumed, even shouted something which made her feel a bit unnerved, though she kept on walking nonetheless. At least she knew that it was probably better to address whoever was inside in English rather than her native French. That was something, and even if it didn't mean much, it made her feel better to know something about the situation.

Finally, she stepped inside the temple, looking around. There, she saw three other people about her age, two boys and a girl. None of them seemed very relaxed, in fact looking quite confused, and so she looked towards the last person in the room, an elderly man with a gray beard who looked strangely calm. Assuming that he was the only one who knew what was going on, she continued walking until she was next to the others, some distance in front of the old man, and then crossed her arms.

"Bonjour." She said. "I believe I have been kidnapped."

[Por]

The Immortal looked at the four who had arrived, he never knew why the Mages chose the vessels they did. That wasn't his concern, however, he just had to train these New Mages and teach them about the past. He made a note of how they each arrived, air, sparks, water and fire. The Immortal knew who was still missing, but decided he shouldn't keep these four waiting, worried. He clasped his hands behind his back and slowly began to speak, turning first to Aaigen, the one who had arrived by sparks.

"Calm down, will you?" the Immortal scolded, "You always did choose the most hyper bodies."

His glance bounced to each of the New Mages, taking in their faces, and seeing their element in their eyes. He turned towards Fan next.

"And good morning to you." Finally, the Immortal turned to Adrienne, "In a sense, I suppose you could say that. In another, you could say that you are returning home."

He spread his arms to the side, a soft smile creeping across his old, withered face.

Elijah looked at the others, completely confused, but not really upset considering the two girls in the group. He flashed them a smile before turning back to the old man.

"What are we doing here, and how to we get back?" Elijah asked, stepping up.
"It is best to wait until all of you are here." the Immortal replied, "We are still waiting on three."

[Abserdia]

Aaigen finally calmed down, staring down the old mans face like he just committed a minor crime.

"Three more girls please? I think that guy over there is thinking the same thing."

Aaigen said, Pointing at Elijah with a smile.

"So if your going to murder us, cant you tell us how? Because i think i know what your going to do with those girls."

Have fun with that image.

"Can i choose my death? Maybe a fall to my death, because that's pretty fast."

[Constaniana]

Percy Hughcert was out for a jog, as he often did, wanting to keep as fit as possible so as to be worthy of joining the Royal Marines. He had on the same usual tank top and same running shorts as he usually wore for exercising, and ran along the same route through his family's farm. Percy was quite comfortable with a routine, which he figured would make military life much easier for him go adapt to. It also meant that he was quite cross and alarmed when a sinkhole opened up right beneath him.

The Falklander warily surveyed his gloomy surroundings, noticing there seemed to be a tunnel going off in one direction. Feeling a sense of adventurous curiosity, he began slowly walking down it, keeping a hand on one of the gem-encrusted walls. Percy wondered how a passageway this smooth had gotten here. Was it natural geological activity? Some abandoned mine? No, those didn't make any sense. It had to be something else, which he deduced quite quickly.

A devious Argentine plot to secretly invade the Falkland Islands.

Spurred on by the desire to prove his gut instinct right, Percy began sprinting down the subterranean corridor, barely noticing it curving upwards before his head slammed into the ceiling. However, much to his surprise, the roof gave way, and he found that the tunnel had led him to some strange old building.

"This isn't Buenos Aires," the boy grumbled, looking around him a bit more as he pulled himself out of the hole and moved to stand on the temple floor. His cheeks reddened as his gaze fell on the pretty Chinese girl who was soaking wet, and more specifically her chest. Had that "digging a hole to China" thing people joked about actually worked? "Wait, who are you lot?" Percy asked, scratching the back of his head. The lack of pain in his skull was odd, but he wasn't going to complain about having the power to headbutt through anything or whatever It was he had now.

[Por]

"Welcome," the Immortal said as Percy burst through the Earth, "No, this is not Buenos Aires, and we are your new family. I should probably mention to all of you that yes, your smartphones will work here, but only when you are not training."

Elijah jumped at this, quickly pulling his out and walking over to Aaigen, snapping a pic. He did this with Fan, Adrienne and Percy, convinced that this was going to be the biggest adrenaline rush of his life. Elijah had no idea what was in store for him or the others, but he knew it would be big. Remembering what the old man had said about 'three more', he smiled.

"So, there's only two people left," he started, "Right?"
"Correct," the Immortal replied, bowing slightly.

[Abserdia]

"Welcome," the Immortal said as Percy burst through the Earth, "No, this is not Buenos Aires, and we are your new family. I should probably mention to all of you that yes, your smartphones will work here, but only when you are not training."

Elijah jumped at this, quickly pulling his out and walking over to Aaigen, snapping a pic. He did this with Fan, Adrienne and Percy, convinced that this was going to be the biggest adrenaline rush of his life. Elijah had no idea what was in store for him or the others, but he knew it would be big. Remembering what the old man had said about 'three more', he smiled.

"So, there's only two people left," he started, "Right?"
"Correct," the Immortal replied, bowing slightly.

"Wait, 3 more for what? What are you going to do with us?"
Aaigen said, breathing heavily.

"Are we like, going to save the world from a dragon or whatever? With like, magical powers?"
He chuckled at the thought of that, and looked at Elijah and started laughing hysterically.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Still not quite comfortable with the little she knew about her current situation, Adrienne waited for the old man's reply. However, his claim that they were in fact returning home only made her raise her eyebrow, clearly not understanding what he meant and not willing to believe it in any case. Her home was Lyon, not this place. She had been born and raised there, after all. Confused by all of this, as well as by the way in which she had arrived to this place, she simply stepped back, arms still crossed, trying to make sense of this mess. She caught one of the boys present in the room smiling at her and Fan, and thought, amused, that some people really had their priorities set straight. Deciding she might as well humor him, she flashed him a smile in return, before turning her gaze elsewhere. She doubted the old man was trying to live out some sort of sick fantasy like the odd boy suggested, considering that he seemed far too serious and convinced, not to mention the strange circumstances in which they had arrived: First there was her whole experience with the fire, as well as the ash she saw behind her when she arrived at the mountain. Not far from her, there was another girl who was, for some reason, completely drenched, even though there didn't seem to be any water nearby on the mountain...

And then there was the boy who apparently came from beneath the ground. This was definitely real, Adrienne thought. Still listening to the old man, the French girl sighed. She wondered if her parents would be worried as she ate a praline, the chocolate helping her somewhat.

"I lack the habit of keeping my phone with me at all times while I'm indoors, but I suppose someone will find that helpful." She said after hearing about their smartphones, pausing briefly to smile at Elijah's phone as he snapped a picture of her, before turning back to the old man. "See?" She said, pointing at the boy, before pacing around the room, taking in her surroundings. "So, since I assume you will not tell us much about the situation until the other two arrive... Does this place have a library?" The redhead asked, glancing at Aaigen. "He's probably waiting for the others so he can tell us what's going on." She stated.

[Rupudska]

2014, Cleveland, Everton Steel Co. blast furnace

Theresa loved the Rust Belt. She loved exploring the ruins of the old manufacturing facilities, the refineries, the forges... Some people found such locations creepy.

She, however, found them relaxing. She could never figure out why though.

Today, she was exploring an old blast furnace. She knew them like the back of her hand, but she always loved to come here. She knew it like the back of her hand, too.

Which made the discovery of a perfectly round, perfectly smooth downward sloping metallic tunnel just being there extremely strange.

"New construction? Here? At this time of year?"

She was suspicious, but some sort of curiosity drew her into the tunnel like a magnet. As she walked down, the echo of her footsteps grew ever longer. And with no light, it soon became pitch black.

Good thing it didn't seem to have any branches.

Eventually...

---

The tunnel started to slope upward now. The formerly dark tunnel started to lighten, and Theresa soon found herself emerging among old ruins and far younger people. The weather was much better than in Cleveland. If she had to describe it, she'd say it was Mediterranean.

"Where is this place?"

[Por]

The Immortal smiled slightly as Elijah went about taking pictures, realizing just how much technology had advanced between the ages of the Mages. He turned to Adrienne, as he heard her ask him about a library. The old man smiled a weary, but kind and happy, smile and gestured to a building off to his right.

"We have an extensive library, containing works that the modern world believes to be lost." the Immortal replied, "Anything that has been 'lost', destroyed or simply gone can be found in there, in languages long forgotten."

He then turned to Theresa, who had just arrived.

"All will be explained shortly." the Immortal replied with a smile and slight bow, "We await only one more."

[Constaniana]

Percy frowned as the old man mentioned the fact that smartphones were functional in this place. His running outfit didn't have any pockets at all, and the lad wasn't going to bother with something silly like holding it in his hands as he ran, so he wasn't too concerned with his mobile at the moment. He gave a surprised, embarassed look as the over-excited boy in the funny jumpsuit eagerly whipped out his phone and took a photo of the Kelper, along with pictures of the other youths present.

"Oh, so we're a family now?" He asked, more confused than before. He looked over at the laughing short boy and furrowed his brow, "So is he going to be the crackhead cousin?" Percy asked the Immortal, pointing at Aaigen, before a girl with short hair arrived in a similar fashion to him.

"Well, it's not in Buenos Aires, for one thing," Percy answered.

[Abserdia]

Aaigen stopped laughing and glared at Percy.
"Actually i think i'm the wise younger brother. Oh, excuse me! The HANDSOME wise younger brother!"

Aaigen pointed at Elijah and said.
"He's the annoying older brother."
He then pointed at Percy.
"And you are that crazy cousin!"

"You cant have a family without crazy cousins. i think, i barely have a family."

"So one more, right? Can we have some food or whatever? But do you have ranch? Ranch is life, man! I cant live without it!"

[Agritum]

Fan felt awkward. Not only was she wet from head to toe, but she was also surrounded by fellow pesky youths, especially those two boys who kept glancing at her chest in an uncomfortable manner. The whole thought of being completely soaked in presence of so many strangers nearly crushed her. Fan tried to dry herself as fast as possible, trying to find a leaf to absorb the remaining water as soon as possible.

Before she could even do that, Fan felt her clothes...moving. Just for a few seconds, tough. They quickly released a large amount of water, instantly drying Fan by virtue of all the water molecules in the fiber being expelled so fast. Sure, now they felt kinda stiff, but better than nothing. Even then, the very rational Fan was dumbstruck at the phenomenon.

"Excuse me, sir, but who are you exactly, and what's your reason for detaining me and the others here? Please, don't tell me I have to wait for another person. I need to know what happened, quickly, and notice my parents back in London that I'm okay, that I didn't drown in a tidal wave and that I am..."

Fan observed the vegetation and the weather.

"....somewhere not in Britain or China. And may I know who else are we expecting, and why I happen to have an uncanny propensity to interact with water? "

[Abserdia]

Fan felt awkward. Not only was she wet from head to toe, but she was also surrounded by fellow pesky youths, especially those two boys who kept glancing at her chest in an uncomfortable manner. The whole thought of being completely soaked in presence of so many strangers nearly crushed her. Fan tried to dry herself as fast as possible, trying to find a leaf to absorb the remaining water as soon as possible.

Before she could even do that, Fan felt her clothes...moving. Just for a few seconds, tough. They quickly released a large amount of water, instantly drying Fan by virtue of all the water molecules in the fiber being expelled so fast. Sure, now they felt kinda stiff, but better than nothing. Even then, the very rational Fan was dumbstruck at the phenomenon.

"Excuse me, sir, but who are you exactly, and what's your reason for detaining me and the others here? Please, don't tell me I have to wait for another person. I need to know what happened, quickly, and notice my parents back in London that I'm okay, that I didn't drown in a tidal wave and that I am..."

Fan observed the vegetation and the weather.

"....somewhere not in Britain or China. And may I know who else are we expecting, and why I happen to have an uncanny propensity to interact with water? "

"I don't think he knows who's next. He did bring that guy over there here."
Aaigen said, pointing at Elijah.

"Maybe there isn't another one! What if he's just joking around!"

"And why did i have lightning going through my arms? Did anybody else feel something like this?"
Aaigen started to look around the place, trying to find an exit.

"Where's the exit old man?!"
Aaigen started to get mad, because he already has spent more than an hour doing nothing at all.

"Does anybody in here feel hot?! Because i do."

[Por]

"Calm yourself, Aaigen," the Immortal replied, "I thought I felt the ice weakening, perhaps his soul has passed. If not, then he can catch up, most of you are here, so we will begin. Please, follow me."

The Immortal led the group into the center of the temple, where a large circle was carved into the floor. At seven, distinct points around the edge of the circle were smaller circles, each with a different carving, which represented an element. The Immortal sighed as he waved his hand over one with ice carved into to, and it slowly disappeared, the other six circles moving to become equidistant from each other. The Immortal stood in the center of the circle and raised his arms.

"Please, take your place." the Immortal said, "I'm sure you can figure out which circle you are to be on."

Elijah looked around, remembering his experience with the wind. He shrugged and moved to the circle with what appeared to be a wind symbol carved into it. As soon as the six were in their places, the Immortal looked around.

"I am the Immortal, the Mentor of the New Mages," he said, "and the one who helps them pass their souls on when the time comes. The last Mages died eighteen years ago, in 1996. I guided their souls into seven young vessels, seven newborn babies, it appears that only six made it. These newborns would grow, just like the New Mages have for thousands upon thousands of years, and when they turned eighteen, they would be brought to the Temple of the Gods, where they would receive the training of the Immortal.

You are these New Mages, if you have noticed, you have had an experience with the elements of Air, Water, Fire, Earth, Metal or Sparks. You are the guardian of that element, the warrior who wields it to face the darkness of the Shadow Man.

As you have seen, the past decade and a half have been nothing but war, getting progressively worse and worse. That was the Shadow Man, a powerful Mage who uses the Shadows as you use your elements. He was one of the first Mages, but turned to evil. The Mages of ancient times fought against him, and were nearly successful, but eventually, the Mages died.

I was a gift from the Gods to guide the Souls of Seven of the Mages into new bodies, who became the first New Mages. Until they were of the age, the Shadow Man plunged the world into chaos, which slowly lifted as the New Mages were trained. And so the cycle continued, Mages to New Mages, Darkness and Chaos to Order and Light.

You are the newest Mages, and under my guidance, you will learn to control your elements, your magic, and fight Chaos. The Shadow Man does not stand a chance."

Elijah tried to hide his smile, trying not to burst out laughing at the old man in the center.

[Abserdia]

Aaigen started laughing, not because he didn't believe the story but because he said Elijah was important.
"So can we just say 5 made it?" Aaigen's laughter turned hysterical, and actually fell to the ground.

He got up shortly after, and said to the old man
"Okay, so i believe you but how do we know this is ACTUALLY true? And what if one of us dies?"

Aaigen started looking around. He felt like Fan has been a little too quiet and started getting suspicious of her. He resisted looking at Elijah because he felt like he knew what was going on. Aaigen has always been paranoid, but not like this.

"Hey "Immortal", what if this Shadow Mage starts hiding from us? Will we spend the rest of our lives searching for him?"

[Agritum]

"Calm yourself, Aaigen," the Immortal replied, "I thought I felt the ice weakening, perhaps his soul has passed. If not, then he can catch up, most of you are here, so we will begin. Please, follow me."

The Immortal led the group into the center of the temple, where a large circle was carved into the floor. At seven, distinct points around the edge of the circle were smaller circles, each with a different carving, which represented an element. The Immortal sighed as he waved his hand over one with ice carved into to, and it slowly disappeared, the other six circles moving to become equidistant from each other. The Immortal stood in the center of the circle and raised his arms.

"Please, take your place." the Immortal said, "I'm sure you can figure out which circle you are to be on."

Elijah looked around, remembering his experience with the wind. He shrugged and moved to the circle with what appeared to be a wind symbol carved into it. As soon as the six were in their places, the Immortal looked around.

"I am the Immortal, the Mentor of the New Mages," he said, "and the one who helps them pass their souls on when the time comes. The last Mages died eighteen years ago, in 1996. I guided their souls into seven young vessels, seven newborn babies, it appears that only six made it. These newborns would grow, just like the New Mages have for thousands upon thousands of years, and when they turned eighteen, they would be brought to the Temple of the Gods, where they would receive the training of the Immortal.

You are these New Mages, if you have noticed, you have had an experience with the elements of Air, Water, Fire, Earth, Metal or Sparks. You are the guardian of that element, the warrior who wields it to face the darkness of the Shadow Man.

As you have seen, the past decade and a half have been nothing but war, getting progressively worse and worse. That was the Shadow Man, a powerful Mage who uses the Shadows as you use your elements. He was one of the first Mages, but turned to evil. The Mages of ancient times fought against him, and were nearly successful, but eventually, the Mages died.

I was a gift from the Gods to guide the Souls of Seven of the Mages into new bodies, who became the first New Mages. Until they were of the age, the Shadow Man plunged the world into chaos, which slowly lifted as the New Mages were trained. And so the cycle continued, Mages to New Mages, Darkness and Chaos to Order and Light.

You are the newest Mages, and under my guidance, you will learn to control your elements, your magic, and fight Chaos. The Shadow Man does not stand a chance."

Elijah tried to hide his smile, trying not to burst out laughing at the old man in the center.

"Uh...."

Fan raised her hand, as if she was following some university lecture.

"Excuse me, sir, but while I can believe what you're saying, given the highly peculiar method that transported me here and that can't really be explained in a reasonable, scientifically way....how are we supposed to control the elements, exactly? Chemistry? For example, do I have control on water, as in, the chemical compound? That would also include steam and ice, given that they're simply different forms of the same compound. Or is there some strange stuff going on and my control of water is...well, much less scientifically sound and more like...New Age woo?" she questioned, a bit awkwardly.

[Por]

Aaigen started laughing, not because he didn't believe the story but because he said Elijah was important.
"So can we just say 5 made it?" Aaigen's laughter turned hysterical, and actually fell to the ground.

He got up shortly after, and said to the old man
"Okay, so i believe you but how do we know this is ACTUALLY true? And what if one of us dies?"

Aaigen started looking around. He felt like Fan has been a little too quiet and started getting suspicious of her. He resisted looking at Elijah because he felt like he knew what was going on. Aaigen has always been paranoid, but not like this.

"Hey "Immortal", what if this Shadow Mage starts hiding from us? Will we spend the rest of our lives searching for him?"

"The Immortal won't hide, he is too arrogant. He knows that as long as you are here, he cannot reign." the Immortal replied, "Should you die, I will guide your soul into another newborn, and in eighteen years, he or she shall become a New Mage. You will never truly die, because a New Mage can connect with the soul of a previous Mage."

Elijah looked at the others, thoroughly confused.

"This is all weird," Elijah said, "Definitely not what ANY religion I've followed teaches."
"That is because all religions tell only part of the truth." the Immortal replied, "The truth is far stranger than fiction, in this case."

"Calm yourself, Aaigen," the Immortal replied, "I thought I felt the ice weakening, perhaps his soul has passed. If not, then he can catch up, most of you are here, so we will begin. Please, follow me."

The Immortal led the group into the center of the temple, where a large circle was carved into the floor. At seven, distinct points around the edge of the circle were smaller circles, each with a different carving, which represented an element. The Immortal sighed as he waved his hand over one with ice carved into to, and it slowly disappeared, the other six circles moving to become equidistant from each other. The Immortal stood in the center of the circle and raised his arms.

"Please, take your place." the Immortal said, "I'm sure you can figure out which circle you are to be on."

Elijah looked around, remembering his experience with the wind. He shrugged and moved to the circle with what appeared to be a wind symbol carved into it. As soon as the six were in their places, the Immortal looked around.

"I am the Immortal, the Mentor of the New Mages," he said, "and the one who helps them pass their souls on when the time comes. The last Mages died eighteen years ago, in 1996. I guided their souls into seven young vessels, seven newborn babies, it appears that only six made it. These newborns would grow, just like the New Mages have for thousands upon thousands of years, and when they turned eighteen, they would be brought to the Temple of the Gods, where they would receive the training of the Immortal.

You are these New Mages, if you have noticed, you have had an experience with the elements of Air, Water, Fire, Earth, Metal or Sparks. You are the guardian of that element, the warrior who wields it to face the darkness of the Shadow Man.

As you have seen, the past decade and a half have been nothing but war, getting progressively worse and worse. That was the Shadow Man, a powerful Mage who uses the Shadows as you use your elements. He was one of the first Mages, but turned to evil. The Mages of ancient times fought against him, and were nearly successful, but eventually, the Mages died.

I was a gift from the Gods to guide the Souls of Seven of the Mages into new bodies, who became the first New Mages. Until they were of the age, the Shadow Man plunged the world into chaos, which slowly lifted as the New Mages were trained. And so the cycle continued, Mages to New Mages, Darkness and Chaos to Order and Light.

You are the newest Mages, and under my guidance, you will learn to control your elements, your magic, and fight Chaos. The Shadow Man does not stand a chance."

Elijah tried to hide his smile, trying not to burst out laughing at the old man in the center.

"Uh...."

Fan raised her hand, as if she was following some university lecture.

"Excuse me, sir, but while I can believe what you're saying, given the highly peculiar method that transported me here and that can't really be explained in a reasonable, scientifically way....how are we supposed to control the elements, exactly? Chemistry? For example, do I have control on water, as in, the chemical compound? That would also include steam and ice, given that they're simply different forms of the same compound. Or is there some strange stuff going on and my control of water is...well, much less scientifically sound and more like...New Age woo?" she questioned, a bit awkwardly.

The Immortal chuckled quietly, "Yes, it is more like, how did you put it? New Age woo. Steam falls under the Mage of Air's domain, and Ice falls under the Mage of Ice's domain. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be a Mage of Ice, something must have happened as his soul was being guided to the new body."

The Immortal looked at each one individually, "You are the only thing keeping mankind from pure darkness. The Shadow Man was once like you, as there used to be a Mage for nearly everything from Animals to Fungi to Diamonds to Oil. Now, there are only you six, and the Shadow Man, the Mage of Shadows."

Centuries of life shown in the old man's eyes, and Elijah could see the sincerity of his words.

"Each of you," the Immortal continued, "Have been blessed with a long life. Your aging will slow, then stop completely for most of you after a few hundred years. One or two of you may continue aging for another thousand years, but you too will stop aging. You will live and fight the Shadows as long as you are able. This is how it has been since the beginning of the Temple of the Gods, and how it will continue until either the Shadow Man is finally defeated, or the Temple is destroyed."

Elijah shook his head, trying to wrap his mind around this, "So, basically, we're slaves of the 'gods' and all we'll be doing is fighting for the rest of eternity?"

"No," the Immortal replied, "You have free will, you may do as you please. But, like the military or the police force, when the time comes, and the Shadow Man strikes, you must be ready to leave at a moment's notice and fight him. I will help you learn to control your magic, it will take time, but not long. This Circle is how you will travel in and out of the Temple, I bring you here, and I will send you to battle. You may use it at your leisure though."

[Constaniana]

Percy had stepped over to the spot on the circle with some sort of Earth symbol, which he assumed was his "element", as he had been transported here through a magic underground tunnel.

"So assuming my element is earth, or rocks or something, how extensive is my...magic going to be?" He asked, scratching his head, "Does it work with seismic forces, or minerals, or...I don't know, geology isn't really my thing."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Adrienne listened to the immortal speak of the library that he had, looking in the direction he had pointed and hearing him speak of works of art that the world thought had long since been lost. There was a sparkle in her eyes as she thought, excited, of the possibilities. Who knew what kind of books she could come across in there? Works that few other human beings, if any, had ever laid their eyes upon were there for her to read. Assuming that the Immortal granted her free access to it, of course, but that was a secondary matter, and considering that he had been the one to bring them here and claimed that they were now family, it would be illogical and downright rude to deny her entrance to the library. She did not, at that moment, consider the fact that she might be unable to read these so-called long forgotten languages.

Immersed in her fanciful thoughts as she was, she ignored the others for the most part, only snapping out of it as she noticed them all begin moving elsewhere and towards the center of the temple, where a large circle with seven smaller circles laid out around it, symbols carved within. The Immortal instructed them to step onto the circle of their element, and, given her earlier experiences with the flames that had brought her here and the ashes that trailed behind her as she stepped onto the mountain, it was not difficult for her to figure out which one was it. Warily, she stepped inside the circle slowly, but nothing seemed to happen, not just yet.

She then listened to the Immortal explain himself, telling the young men and women inside the room of their roles in the world and of his own. As he spoke of war, Adrienne thought of her mother. The few times she was home, the French girl heard her speak of the war, of how it seemed to be threatening everyone, of how it seemed to only get worse and never better. It made her mad, to think that all of this was done by a single man who had such wonderful powers and only wanted to use them to bring destruction.

On the whole, the redhead didn't find the story too hard to swallow, considering what she had seen thus far. A boy that seemed to have come from beneath the earth. A girl that popped out from a metal tunnel that had come from god knows where. Her own experience with fire, which had brought her here. The story, it was strange, yes, and hard to believe, but it also explained so very much, and truth be told, she was not too adverse to this training the Immortal spoke of. If she had some sort of power, what harm could there be in learning to use it? Was that not why she had it after all? Thus, she didn't seem to be very troubled by all these sudden revelations.

His next several words were a tad harder to understand. Was she... Immortal? All of the people in the room, were they immortal like the Immortal himself? Would they never die? Would they... Outlive their families? Many of those thoughts were not entirely welcome, and for one such as her who has traveled far and wide through the realms of imagination, immortality didn't sound as desirable as it did for many others. She tried not to think of that too hard, for all the previous reasons, but above all that, she tried not to think of it because, if what the Immortal said was true, and she had found no reason to think he was lying or delusional thus far, then she didn't have any say in it. It was done.

"So..." Adrienne spoke up at last, calmly. "What happens to our families, then?" She asked the Immortal.

[Por]

Adrienne listened to the immortal speak of the library that he had, looking in the direction he had pointed and hearing him speak of works of art that the world thought had long since been lost. There was a sparkle in her eyes as she thought, excited, of the possibilities. Who knew what kind of books she could come across in there? Works that few other human beings, if any, had ever laid their eyes upon were there for her to read. Assuming that the Immortal granted her free access to it, of course, but that was a secondary matter, and considering that he had been the one to bring them here and claimed that they were now family, it would be illogical and downright rude to deny her entrance to the library. She did not, at that moment, consider the fact that she might be unable to read these so-called long forgotten languages.

Immersed in her fanciful thoughts as she was, she ignored the others for the most part, only snapping out of it as she noticed them all begin moving elsewhere and towards the center of the temple, where a large circle with seven smaller circles laid out around it, symbols carved within. The Immortal instructed them to step onto the circle of their element, and, given her earlier experiences with the flames that had brought her here and the ashes that trailed behind her as she stepped onto the mountain, it was not difficult for her to figure out which one was it. Warily, she stepped inside the circle slowly, but nothing seemed to happen, not just yet.

She then listened to the Immortal explain himself, telling the young men and women inside the room of their roles in the world and of his own. As he spoke of war, Adrienne thought of her mother. The few times she was home, the French girl heard her speak of the war, of how it seemed to be threatening everyone, of how it seemed to only get worse and never better. It made her mad, to think that all of this was done by a single man who had such wonderful powers and only wanted to use them to bring destruction.

On the whole, the redhead didn't find the story too hard to swallow, considering what she had seen thus far. A boy that seemed to have come from beneath the earth. A girl that popped out from a metal tunnel that had come from god knows where. Her own experience with fire, which had brought her here. The story, it was strange, yes, and hard to believe, but it also explained so very much, and truth be told, she was not too adverse to this training the Immortal spoke of. If she had some sort of power, what harm could there be in learning to use it? Was that not why she had it after all? Thus, she didn't seem to be very troubled by all these sudden revelations.

His next several words were a tad harder to understand. Was she... Immortal? All of the people in the room, were they immortal like the Immortal himself? Would they never die? Would they... Outlive their families? Many of those thoughts were not entirely welcome, and for one such as her who has traveled far and wide through the realms of imagination, immortality didn't sound as desirable as it did for many others. She tried not to think of that too hard, for all the previous reasons, but above all that, she tried not to think of it because, if what the Immortal said was true, and she had found no reason to think he was lying or delusional thus far, then she didn't have any say in it. It was done.

"So..." Adrienne spoke up at last, calmly. "What happens to our families, then?" She asked the Immortal.

"They will receive letters saying that you have been accepted into a prestigious academy, and have already been taken there." the Immortal replied, "It will be complete with a seal of approval from your home country. This isn't the first time we've had New Mages. After you learn the basics of your powers, you will be free to go visit them whenever you wish, but know that you may be called back at any moment.

There is also the matter of your longevity. Once they reach a certain age, they will likely notice you have stopped aging. Once that happens, you will not be allowed to see them again until they reach their last breaths, as we must keep this Temple a secret. It is the oldest secret on this Earth, and no one can know about it. I can arrange for you to see them in passing, or set up a sort of 'pen-pal' like program for you. You will outlive them, most likely.

Of course, there IS the off chance that you don't, which happened recently with the last group of Mages. They were careless, and did not take their responsibilities seriously. They helped end the Nazi regime, led the globe into a relatively more peaceful era, then were taken out of this world not long before you were born.

It is of great importance that you take this seriously, as there is a risk of losing a Mage each time I pass the souls on."

"Excuse me," Elijah said, "About these 'souls', are all of these old Mages inside us, or something?"
"Yes," the Immortal replied, "There are at least five hundred and twenty Souls in each of you, not counting your own. These are the Mages that came before you, and should you need any help, you may contact them by meditating. They will give you guidance, and tell you of their experiences. Now, are there any more questions? Because you have much to learn."

In a Dark Temple Deep Within a Cave in Brazil

"So, the time has come," the Shadow Man said to himself, realizing the date, "I'm sure that infernal Immortal has already taken the New Mages, and my reign is almost over."

His hand found his forehead, humiliation and despair traveling through his mind. That's when the paper was slipped into his hand. The Shadow Man jerked his head up, looking at the paper then at his shadow, which was smiling evilly. The Mage smirked, looking down at it and reading the words scrawled across the parchment.

"You're right, my old friend," he growled, "Perhaps we can end these Mages once and for all. We just need to find that Temple."

At that point, his shadow rolled up the shadow of a map on a nearby table, causing the map itself to roll up, and brought it over to the Shadow Man, who unrolled it and scoured over it.

"Perhaps," he snarled, "We should bring them out of hiding. Release the Kivuli into America."

His shadow made a motion that indicated laughter and slowly made its way deeper into the cave.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Adrienne continued listening carefully to what the Immortal had to say, not wanting to miss anything important. The whole deal with the academy letters seemed a bit faulty to her, though. After all, would their families truly believe it? They had been doing entirely unrelated things when they were called here, most likely, she was only certain of it in her case, but still it was something a bit... Sloppy. What if her parents asked any questions? What if they realized it was unlikely she'd have gotten anywhere far in the short time she had been gone? She thought of these and a handful other questions for a few moments... But then, she figured, she was before a man who was called the Immortal and had just revealed that all of them were mages with powers over the elements. He had probably set up things much better and was just making the story short. Plus, hearing that she would be able to visit them freely as soon as she got the hang of her supposed magical powers cheered her up quite a bit. She'd see them before long, she was certain of it, and that made the French girl feel much better about the whole situation.

The talk about their longevity, not so much. It would undoubtedly be a sad thing to be unable to see them after a certain point, but then, she figured, it wouldn't be so bad. The Immortal spoke of pen-pals probably because he was old fashioned, or so she thought, but in Adrienne's mind it was as simple as calling them every once in a while, or talking to them on the net, unless of course there were some hidden restrictions the Immortal hadn't told them about, but she doubted it very much. She understood why seeing them personally would raise much suspicion, but what harm could calling them possibly cause? Thus, she didn't feel too bad about that either, and surely, when the time came, the Immortal wouldn't deny them the chance to see them depart to the afterlife.

But, this was no time to think of such grim events. This moment marked the turning of the page in her book, figuratively speaking, and she was going to face it with the best attitude. As such, even the talk of the previous mages, who died for being too careless, failed to get her spirits down. Perhaps the previous ones had made some mistakes, but she was intent on not making the same ones. Her soul was not going to be lost like what had apparently happened to the other mages, she would make sure of that. And to that effect, as the Immortal had said, she could contact the previous mages. If what he said was true, then she could learn from them. Learn what they did right and learn what they did wrong. She could learn from their mistakes.

With this in mind, she figured there was only really one more thing to take care of before this so-called training.

"I do have one, Immortal, but not for you." The French redhead said with a smile on her face, before clapping her hands together and turning to her fellow young mages. "Since we're all in this together, we should probably know each other, no? My name is Adrienne Desrosiers. Pleased to meet you all." She said pleasantly, flashing them one of her most radiant smiles.

[Por]

Adrienne continued listening carefully to what the Immortal had to say, not wanting to miss anything important. The whole deal with the academy letters seemed a bit faulty to her, though. After all, would their families truly believe it? They had been doing entirely unrelated things when they were called here, most likely, she was only certain of it in her case, but still it was something a bit... Sloppy. What if her parents asked any questions? What if they realized it was unlikely she'd have gotten anywhere far in the short time she had been gone? She thought of these and a handful other questions for a few moments... But then, she figured, she was before a man who was called the Immortal and had just revealed that all of them were mages with powers over the elements. He had probably set up things much better and was just making the story short. Plus, hearing that she would be able to visit them freely as soon as she got the hang of her supposed magical powers cheered her up quite a bit. She'd see them before long, she was certain of it, and that made the French girl feel much better about the whole situation.

The talk about their longevity, not so much. It would undoubtedly be a sad thing to be unable to see them after a certain point, but then, she figured, it wouldn't be so bad. The Immortal spoke of pen-pals probably because he was old fashioned, or so she thought, but in Adrienne's mind it was as simple as calling them every once in a while, or talking to them on the net, unless of course there were some hidden restrictions the Immortal hadn't told them about, but she doubted it very much. She understood why seeing them personally would raise much suspicion, but what harm could calling them possibly cause? Thus, she didn't feel too bad about that either, and surely, when the time came, the Immortal wouldn't deny them the chance to see them depart to the afterlife.

But, this was no time to think of such grim events. This moment marked the turning of the page in her book, figuratively speaking, and she was going to face it with the best attitude. As such, even the talk of the previous mages, who died for being too careless, failed to get her spirits down. Perhaps the previous ones had made some mistakes, but she was intent on not making the same ones. Her soul was not going to be lost like what had apparently happened to the other mages, she would make sure of that. And to that effect, as the Immortal had said, she could contact the previous mages. If what he said was true, then she could learn from them. Learn what they did right and learn what they did wrong. She could learn from their mistakes.

With this in mind, she figured there was only really one more thing to take care of before this so-called training.

"I do have one, Immortal, but not for you." The French redhead said with a smile on her face, before clapping her hands together and turning to her fellow young mages. "Since we're all in this together, we should probably know each other, no? My name is Adrienne Desrosiers. Pleased to meet you all." She said pleasantly, flashing them one of her most radiant smiles.

The Immortal chuckled a bit and folded his hands inside his sleeves, backing out of the circle, looking at the teenagers in the room. He looked over his shoulder, back into the temple, his eyes resting on a pillar in the back, a shadow slowly making it's way across it.

"Hello, I'm Elijah Cooper, glad to meet you all!" Elijah said, with a wink to Adrienne.

He stayed in his little circle, slipping down into a sitting position. He smirked at each 'mage' in turn, making a mental note of their faces and element. Elijah coughed, a bit of a breeze blowing through his hair as he coughed. He wondered how they would be able to learn to control these elements, he knew it wouldn't be easy, but he also knew it was necessary to learn as quickly as possible.

The Immortal walked over to the pillar, touching the shadow and sighing. A wave of cold swept over him, and a look of annoyance and slight fear entering his eyes. The New Mages weren't ready yet, this couldn't be happening yet.