Terintania wrote:Does anyone else feel like strangling Cara a bit?
It would be funny if the person who tried to set a trap, if it was a person or a trap, was a girl
I personally like Cara.
Olthar wrote:Mavorpen wrote:Definitely could have written more, but got lazy at the end.A man dressed in a black cloak that shrouded his face in a shadow grinned to the guard that stood before him. Before the guard could question him, the cloaked man pulled out a parchment, rolled up cleanly and held together by a ribbon that held the king's mark. The guard snatched the parchment, unraveled it, and nodded at the man. The guard opened the door and gestured for the man to enter. After doing so, the door slammed shut behind him.
The cloaked figure pulled down his hood, revealing bright silver hair that reached down to his waist and a rather hard-worn face. He was a noticeably older gentleman with a thin physique, but most knew not to judge this man by his appearance. He had a rather long nose that was bent slightly downwards at the tip. He took 10 paces and stopped, bowing to the man in front of him, as was the customary thing to do. "Hello, King Hakuryuu. You called for me?" Normally one wouldn't address the king in such an informal manner, but it was obvious that these two men had a special relationship.
The king chuckled and stood up from his thrown, approaching the cloaked man and clasped him in a friendly hug. "Indeed I have. I must ask a favor of you, Darastrix." Darastrix smiled. His smile was warm and loving, the result of running a school for Mages for decades now. "Anything, my King. You know I am here to serve you and the Order."
Hakuryuu replied with a smile of his own, a smile that had a more mischievousness vibe to it than anything else. He had bright red hair that reached his shoulders and a goatee on his chin that was small relative to Darastix's beard. He also wore clothing reminiscent of a kimono, a sign of his royal status, as well as a black cape. "I would like your school to join our war efforts." Darastrix was visibly taken aback upon hearing this.
"But my lord, the counsel said—" He was silenced by Hakuryuu's hand being raised almost instantly. "Forget what the counsel said. We need your strength if we are to win this war. So, will you lend me your power?" Darastrix didn't answer for a full 5 seconds, then he spoke. "To be honest my king, even if you disagree with the counsel that mages are not to be trusted, I do not think that we are prepared for this war. We are after all, a school that has dedicated itself to research for knowledge and the betterment of Martvir, not for war."
The king gestured to the door that Darastrix entered. "Let's take a walk." The two exited the large castle the king resided in and strolled through the numerous gardens leading to the palace, all the while engaging in conversation. The king continued from where they left off in the throne room. "I understand your concerns, but you must understand that Mages provide a number of services in this country. You accepted the proposal for Mages to make up a special police force, due to your abilities that the rest of us do not have."
Darastrix nodded. "That is true... but said police force rarely engages in actual combat. We have merely made it significantly easier to track down criminals, as well as hold them to ensure they do not escape once captured." The king suddenly drew his sword and attacked Darastrix. Instinctively, he surrounded himself in a barrier made of pure energy, forcing the sword to simply rebound away. Before he could open his mouth to protest, the king swung again with an overhead, this time with much more strength behind the attack. Darastrix rolled to the side and touched a finger to the ground, quickly creating a stream of ice that grew and morphed itself around the king once it reached his foot, immobilizing him.
Realizing that he had just technically attacked the king, Darastrix quickly began stammering apologies as he released Hakuryuu from the ice prison. "My deepest apologies, it's just that...you surprised me." The king laughed and shook his head. "Do you not realize what you have just done? You have just proven your doubts about yourself wrong in merely a few seconds!" He put his hand on Darastrix's shoulder and looked him in the eyes. "Mages are powerful, my friend. Through constant study and experimenting, you have discovered the how to serve your Cathedral in solving many different problems. Please, assist us with another problem: war. I humbly request your help. I am asking as a friend."
Ten Years Later...
"How many Mage casualties today...?" A multiple-page note full of details concerning all of the causalities, advancements, amount of supplies, etc. entered Darastrix's hands. He sighed as he read over the number, refusing to repeat it both out loud and in his head. Yet again our casualties are more than twice that of the Knights and the The Magus Ensis put together, he thought to himself with a solemn expression. Even though it had been only 10 years since the beginning of the war, Darastrix now had bags under his eyes and significantly more wrinkles due to stress.
Deciding that he should discuss this with the King, he stood up and exited the rather small tent that he had been given to live in temporarily as he lead his "army" of Mages. He walked across the large mobile base that had been created for the war. The base was protected by four enormous walls with a lookout tower at every vertex. A dome surrounded the base overhead, and was hardly visible unless you knew said dome existed and were attempting to see it. Upon reaching the tent (well, it might as well have been an actual house due to being roughly the same size as one), he noticed that the door was wide open. Knowing better than to enter without announcing himself or seeking permission to enter, he was about to knock on the metal wall that the door was hinged against.
Suddenly, he heard laughter. That laugh...he recognized it. That laugh undoubtedly belonged to the King. An unfamiliar voice rang out. "Can you believe how easy this war is?" Darastrix's fists clenched into a fist. Easy? Thousands of my students have died!
Another, deeper voice grunted in agreement. "Yeah. Those Mages are great shields." Darastrix felt himself taking a step backwards, his face full of both confusion and horror. Shields...? No, he must have meant something else.
A third man released a guttural laugh. "Who knew that our King's choice to let those Mages take the front lines would work out so well! At first we thought they would just get in the way or flee like the cowards they are, ruining our battle formations and such." At this point, Darastrix fell to his knees, barely processing anything that was occurring around him. That can't be... Hakuryuu would never—
Then, the king spoke for the first time. "Easy, Kouen. There's no need to place me on such a high pedestal. I just recognized what any sensible person would: that Mages are a useful species after all." Darastrix collapsed onto his hands, tears in his eyes. Why...? Why did you lie to me? You told me you needed my strength, that you were asking for my help as a friend, an equal. How can you consider me an equal if you look down upon my people as filthy livestock!?
Not bad.
Thanks.
I'm probably going to make another about how eventually the king gets overthrown, Darastrix becomes the new leader and creates the Magi Order, yadda yadda.
