Teaser Shorts

Welcome to Teaser Shorts! Where we tease upcoming manuscripts with little tidbits of story. These are not supposed to be parts of the manuscript itself, but they aren't long enough to constitute a manuscript of themselves.

## Into Raging Fire

### Into Raging Fire – Short I

The gates of Geidrich Castle opened, revealing Wiz Ardon and Felecity behind them. Wiz looked outside with a neutral expression. Did he really want to be out there? More than a year now, he'd been shut inside his castle, studying magic with a cat and phantoms of the past as his only company. But mostly the cat. It wasn't like he hadn't gone physically outside before, but this time stepping out the gates signified so much more.

For a year now, he'd d dived in the deep waters of the advanced magical arts with a single purpose. To utilise his skills in the fight against the dark forces that plagued the Crux System. But going out there, perhaps not to come back for a long time, he'd have to interact with other people again. His loneliness so far had been so convenient. He'd liked the silence. Now he'd have to listen to the utterances of the silly people that made up the majority of the world's population. He'd have to pretend to care.

“They will be insufferable”.

Felecity looked up at him, disapproving of his sentiments.

“Oh don't be like that. Only you deserve me well-behaved. You and her. But her I can't see”.

Felecity remained unamused.

“The Nexus Force. I have to return to them, now. I've been away for too long. At least, they're half-decent. But still I'd rather not have to speak with people...”.

Felecity blinked questioningly.

“Theramiere? Yes, I said I need to find him. But I've had one year to think about this. And I know my priorities. I hate his guts, but it's not urgent. As long as he doesn't make any new moves... but I don't have anything else he can take from me. She can take care of herself, I'm sure. If he wants to move against me, let him come. I'm ready for him. It won't be like the last time I met him. It won't be like when he fought Geidrich. I was a naïve apprentice then... And it won't be like when he came to Burkborrow. I'm expecting him now. I won't let him hurt people anymore”.

Wiz couldn't read Felecity's expression this time.

“Well, Felecity. Be a dear and look after this dusty old place while I'm gone. This wizard has to go now. Make sure it doesn't fall to pieces and don't let any adventurers raid it... Well, now. I've got to go. The outside world. One could say it was in flames last time I was there. Well, into the fire I go”.

He stepped out.

### Into Raging Fire – Short II

"You could stand to keep this place cleaner, man", Wiz Ardon frowned examining the dusty, untidy room. Stacks of dirty dishes, scattered scribbled pages and books with worn out covers, a big spill mark over the carpet and a rusty cracked cauldron decorated the place.

The other man, previously occupied in cooking something in an unclean pot, jumped in surprise and turned to look at him with a startled expression, which slowly turned to a kind of cautious anger. He had graying blonde hair and his face gave the impression of someone who was trying to hold onto their younger look, but age was beginning to show anyway. His blue eyes had something dead about them. He looked cleaner than the room, but he'd let himself go as well as his living quarters. He was worse off than Wiz had imagined.

"Who are you? What are you doing in my home?" the man spoke in a vexed, somewhat threatening demeanour. "I will have you know I'm a powerful dark wizard, so you'd better be going!"

"And as you must have noticed from my appearance", Wiz replied impatiently pointed to his hat, "I'm a mage, too. Maybe you should be more worried about how easily I managed to break in, Erwin".

"Don't call me that, you brat! I'm the Maze Builder! I'll show you!" wrath was ignited in the man's eyes, as he charged Wiz pushing him onto a stack of dishes.

A knife materialised in the man's hand, with which he then tried to stab Wiz. The enchanter, however, placed his hand before the knife stopping it a few centimetres away from his palm. With the other arm, he pushed on the man's head, forcing him to his knees. There he stayed stunned; all fight had left him. He only raised his head to look at Wiz with a sad expression.

"You're not the wizard you used to be, Erwin, and there are plenty Rogues in the Nexus Tower that'd be much happier to get their heads clοbbered by me; so why don't you cooperate and stay put to finish this off nice and quick?"

"What do you want?"

"The Disciples of Morgusor, name ring a bell?" Wiz paused for a moment, giving the other time to reply, but Erwin did not speak. "The nine greatest dark witches and wizards of the last centuries; recruited by Morgusor upon his return to do his bidding; fought by the Council of the Enchanters. I wonder. Are you aware that someone's hunting them, killing them one after another? The Curse Bringer is gone. The Plague Master. The Brute. I just found the Soul Collector dead yesterday. That just leaves two of the remaining Disciples. The Demon Caller, who I think will take some more effort to be found. And the other is of course... the Maze Builder".

"What are you talking about? Who's killing everyone?" Wiz could see the fear in the sorcerer's eyes.

"That's what I want to know, too. What do you know about the one true apprentice of Morgusor? A man with yellow eyes. The one who killed Geidrich".

"What? That brat? Couldn't have been him. Curse Bringer sent him away, along with his whole village".

"Curse Bringer is dead, though. He became ill and his curse was undone. The Apprentice of Morgusor returned. And he had his revenge".

"Impossible! He's just a kid. That brat could never had defeated Bringer".

"He's no kid anymore! It's been years, get it? He's grown and now threatens to kill you all. Kill *us* all. Now, what do you know that could help us all survive".

"Morgusor found him when he was just a baby and trained him to be a wizard. I only met him a couple of times, I don't really know much about him. I heard he was the one to defeat Morgusor in the end, though" the Maze Builder explained. "He didn't have yellow eyes, though. I'd remember that" he added after a moment's thought.

"You said that the Curse Bringer sent him away. He did the same to me. And the Witch of Kingston, too. If the Curse Bringer wanted to avoid the new Enchanter whose coming he'd foreseen, then... which one of us is that?"

"What do you mean? Bringer just cursed Theramiere. I don't know about you or any Witch. I don't even know who you are".

"Then, why? Why did the curse affect us all?!"
"I don't know!"
"Crux! You're useless! I will be going then"

Wiz turned around to leave, but halfway to the doorway, the Maze Builder started talking again, "Wait! I remember you now. You're that other brat. Geidrich's apprentice!"

"What of it?"

"Your lot ruined us. It was your stupid master and his friends who reduced me to this state! All because of you. YOU!"

A dozen of daggers or so flew his way, but they were all deflected by an invisible barrier.

"I suggest", Wiz said with a dangerously calm voice. "That you hide as best you can. If he finds you, there's not much you can do".

Then, he was gone.

~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~

The man watched Wiz Ardon walk out of the tower where the Maze Builder lived and consequently disapparate away.

"Playin' Hide and Seek, Wiz? Finally looking for me after all these years? But no need to be impatient now. We are going to meet again soon enough. Properly, this time. So, don't worry; our time will come. Your time. As for now..."

A blink of the eye and he was inside the tower.

"Hello, Erwin!"

### Into Raging Fire – Short III

“He was brought in from the upper levels”.

His head felt heavy, a dull pain covering the upper half of his cranium.

“How did he get past our guard?”

His ears were ringing and upon opening his eyes, the darkness was replaced by a blurry world of no distinct shapes.

“Apparently, he and a woman were reported to just appear there out of nowhere”.

He could hear voices in the background, but his voice couldn’t quite focus on them yet.

“Seriously? What sort of monster is he? A sorcerer maybe?”

He was on the floor, tasting the dirt. *Damn!* He spit. Why was the floor so dirty?

“No sorcerer I know has that kind of power”.

What were they talking about? He thought he recognised some of the words spoken; and his eyes were starting to refocus…

All of a sudden, a blurry figure flew out of the cell, breaking the rails in the process. Before the two Paradox Renegades who had been idling outside could react, the escaped prisoner had pinned them both on the wall by the necks.

“I am an Enchanter”, Wiz Ardon said and with his face contorted in an expression of rage, he applied pressure on the necks of the two Rogues, “Where is she?”

“What? Where is who?” one of them squeaked.

“THE WOMAN! The one they found with me! Bring her to me!”

There was a moment of pause and then, “As if we’d ever tell you, scum!”

Wiz screamed in anger and tossed the two men on the other wall, which broke and collapsed upon impact. Breathing heavily, the enchanter walked past the hole in the wall and down the corridor, looking for more people. He passed by more cells, some of them with more prisoners inside, but none of them was the one he was looking for, so he ignored them. Some called out for his help, others cowered in fear at seeing him, but he did not care. He simply walked on until more Rogues finally appeared.

There were five of them this time, all Space Marauders, and they opened fire at him as soon they caught sight of him. However, as the Maelstrom blasts approached him, they broke apart and dispersed into little lights, akin to fireflies in the night and no more harmless than them.

Wiz took the newcomers in for a moment, but then lost interest, “Just useless grunts. Bugger off!”

The Renegades were pushed onto the walls and rails by an invisible force, allowing Wiz to pass. Ignoring the panicked cries of prisoners and jailers alike, Wiz stood there considering what to do.

“I need to be faster”, he spoke out loud right before he jumped.

With a long leap, propelled by his magic, the next instant found him breaking through the wall at the end of the corridor. Losing no impetus at all, he continued soaring through the prison, breaking wall after wall, surprising everyone he passed by- although they were just a blur to him and he was just a blur to them.

In a few seconds, he came upon the last wall and suddenly found himself hovering in the air, clouds just barely above him. Turning back, he saw Nexus Tower, from which he’d moved away dozens of metres already due to his momentum. At the level he’d come from, a good half of that side’s wall had blown up, with the Tower’s contents spilling out from the huge hole. Debris and people, a lot of whom were spinning unable to decrease their angular momentum, were floating in the air in a sparse cluster. The entire prison had been forcefully poured outside with him as if it was a liquid held in a container that’d just burst open.

Wiz swiftly proceeded to examine the helpless floating people one by one, sparing no more than an instant on each.

“You! You will do!” he finally declared after checking multiple people.

Without delay he shot back, picking someone up on his way and causing the debris and people behind him to follow him again back inside. He landed on the Tower’s floor by the outermost wall he hadn’t broken, leaving the person he’d chosen down. A roar came behind them as the debris connected once again into one, albeit in a messy jumble.

“What are you doing? You’re going to kill everyone!” the person, a black-haired girl in a Shinobi’s outfit, exclaimed.

“Oh, they’ll be fine! Be more worried about yourself”.

“What do you want?”

“Ellwen, tell me! Where do you have her?”

“Who?”

“Haeneth Lanoris! Tell me where she is, now!”

“No one by that name was admitted here”.

“LIES!” Wiz grabbed the woman by the shoulders, his wrathful face, right before hers; she tried to retreat as far back as she could, but Wiz’s grip on her was too firm. “She was captured with me, she has to be here! Tell me the truth!”

“I’m sorry, but really, I don’t know anyone by that name to be kept here!” the girl replied with fear in her eyes.

“What’s your name?”

“My name?”
“WHAT IS YOUR NAME?”

“It’s Sarah Deihron!”

“Good… Now, I have your name. I can curse you and your family, if you’re lying to me. You hear that? If you don’t want unimaginable suffering to strike you and your family, then you might want to reconsider any lies you’ve told”.

As soon as his words registered with Sarah, an expression of horrified realisation was reflected on her eyes.

“I… I… there’s no lie”, she answered, her voice more high-pitched.

“Then, I just need to look in the other Rogue prisons until I find her”.

Wiz let Sarah go and opened a hole in the wall to go through. Sarah gave a sigh of relief and allowed herself a few seconds to let her breathing go back to normal. Wiz had almost reached the other end of the neighbouring room when Sarah walked in after him.

“Wait! If you continue like that, you’ll destroy the whole Tower!”

To her surprise, the enchanter heeded her and stopped in his tracks. He turned around and glared at her. His wide bulging eyes were bloodshot, his pupils contracted to little beads. His face was a mask of rage, with pulsating veins visible under his skin. His right eye was twitching and a dark aura was emitting from his body. With that demeanour, he looked back at Sarah, who stumbled backwards, immediately regretting her actions.

“What did you say?” Wiz’s voice was almost a whisper.

“I… I said that… you… you shouldn’t… destroy...”

“You do realise that I’m not in the best of moods right now. Crossing me could get you killed. And yet you dare talk back to me?”

The Shinobi nodded apprehensively, not quite sure what she should be saying. Wiz continued glaring at her for a few moments, then a grin formed on his face, although in his state, it only served to make him appear more maniacal.

“Fine… I guess I should find a safer way to do this. See you later, Sarah”, and having spoken his last words, Wiz flew through the ceiling.

And thus a new player entered the battle of Nexus Tower.

### Into Raging Fire – Short IV

Once upon a time, a lone sailor was battling the waves lost in the open sea. Seeking advice, he looked unto the sky, beseeching that it may guide the god-forsaken man.

In the morning, the Day Star shone brightly over all. It beckoned to him and he followed. He steered his battered boat towards the welcoming star and he was not led astray. Soon he saw land on the horizon and he gratefully thanked the guiding star for it had saved his life.

In the evening, however, a mist came down and covered all there was to see. As night grew near, the Day Star grew wane and soon it was lost. And then he was left alone to despair.

During sundown, the Twilight Star appeared and pierced the mist’s shadow. The sailor gazed at it and thanked his luck. The second guide had been sent in his rescue. He let the Star of Dusk lead the way. Not long after, his old boat made its way out of the mist and into clear air. The sailor danced merrily in celebration. There was no doom for he who had the stars as allies.

But it was night now and there was no land to be seen. Stars shone in multitude now and the Twilight Star was soon lost among them. The sailor wandered in the darkness for a while as the waves took him, trying to make sense of the stars. But truly he waited for the final guide to appear and show him the true way unlike the false stars.

At midnight, the Midnight Star at last appeared. It shone strangely, different than all the other stars and so he couldn’t miss it. The sailor recognised the sign and followed immediately. As predicted, his new saviour had arrived. Indeed, a little while later the wind blew at the travel-worn sailor and it carried the musics of his home land with it. He was close now.

But the Midnight Star had a dark temper and in the middle of the night, it changed. Suddenly, it pointed in a new direction and the sailor was perplexed. For surely the star had been leading him an entirely different way all this while and the music coming from it. But he did not dare doubt the stars. They had not failed him yet and he would have been lost if not for them. Quickly, the sailor changed course lest he miss the path illuminated by the Star of Darkness.

The music grew quiet and was gone. The sailor was left in silence and in darkness. Before he knew it, he’d entered into mist anew, even thicker than before. All other lights were lost and only the Midnight Star led the way now. But the sailor followed religiously.

He never saw the rocks upon which his poor tired boat crashed. Amidst shattered timber, salty water and sharp rocks, the sailor fell and died. Rising from his body, he was lifted in heaven and there he met the stars. Looking at his three guides, now he addressed them.

“Why, o great stars, have you deceived me? Although from your high point you know all paths, you led me astray. You sought my trust to make me follow you, but then you led me to my death with treachery. Should a man not be miserable then and demand a reason for his grievances?” the sailor said bitterly.

And then the stars replied.

Elemiere the Bright chastised him, “He who washes his hands of fate and leave it unto others should not complain when he loses his way. For he who walks with his own legs not, surely will never go down the path he wishes. What grievances do you have with us now then, you who relinquished your fate?”

Wyramiere the Eccentric simply laughed, “Ha! I have never seen such a fool who deceives himself and now comes and blames us. Did you not know the way yourself after the Third One showed you? Did you not take heed of the music calling you? Were the normal stars not enough for you to figure your way out? And yet you willingly went the wrong way! You are laughable”.

But Theramiere the Dark merely frowned crossly, “Why do you seek to absolve your own responsibility? You are a fool who lets others dictate his life or death. It is only natural we would decide your death. When you are given the choice to save yourself or not, but still blind yourself, you deserve nothing less than the worst. Thus, I served your punishment”.

Yet, the sailor still cried it was unfair and cursed the stars, wishing they had never appeared in the first place. And to this day, it is said he remains on the sky, shining red with bitterness and playing tricks on sailors to lead them to the same fate as his.

– An old Batheian Tale

### Into Raging Fire – Short V

The sounds of battle, screams, shots and the clanging of arms and armour, could be heard in the distance, but Doctor Gereon Finbauer did not take notice of it yet as he worked on his patient. He could tell it was distant, yet, perhaps one or two floors higher than them.

Dr. Finbauer took extreme pride in his work and did not wish to be interrupted before he was done. Of course, there was the matter of the patient’s safety as well and Finbauer was not left uninterested in that, but as with many of his profession in the long years of training and the subsequent desensitisation during practical application, the doctor’s values had shifted slightly.

His assistants in the room looked worried. They did not have the same capacity as he to tune out anything other than what was right in front of him. But because of this ability exactly he did not take heed of them either.

“Doctor, what will we do if they find us here?” one of them asked.

“A soldier should not be surprised if they find a hospital in their onslaught. And little would they be interested in the ones already fallen, don’t you think?” Finbauer resigned to reply to get this over with sooner rather than later; but he did not cease his operation even still.

“But this isn’t quite the hospital. Surely, our enemies won’t take a liking to it”, she objected.

“Miss Dalenbloom, I merely find broken people and fix them”, the man in his care suddenly switched a little. “Oh, he’s lively”, he muttered to himself, then continued. “Would you not say that’s what a hospital is?”

And with that he continued to dig around the man’s brain with his tools. Burying chips into one’s head and reprogramming their thoughts was a delicate process and he wished there were no inconveniences. This sudden attack was such a nuisance.

“When we break them ourselves first, I don’t think the Nexus Force will be willing to think that way”, Dalenbloom spoke under her breath, but let the matter go for she saw there was no reasoning with the stubborn doctor.

Finbauer gratefully continued in peace and quiet… As much of it as there could be with the onslaught of raging battle right above them. Perhaps he could now finish as desired. But it was not to be. A Paradox Shinobi suddenly walked in in a rush.

“Doctor! We need to evacuate. Commander Steele has broken through. The Nexus Force is coming!” he informed.

With a sigh, Finbauer let the scalpel fall from his hands, “Pity… I was looking forward to reconditioning this one. Now, I’ll have to let him go”.

Without bothering to close the incision he’d opened on the back of the man’s head or removing the incomplete and dangerously placed electronics from within, he walked away, taking off his white gloves.

“Let’s go everyone. We have limited time to get out”, he said and everyone started moving.

“What about the patients?” one asked.

“Bring anyone who can walk. Those who can’t won’t be able to talk anyway”, a sinister smile flashed on his face. Oh yes, he took pride in his work. And the fact that most of the people in that room were comatose or unable to function properly was all part of his work: whether it was failures during experimentation –Finbauer did not shy away from those, as a man of science he knew many tries were needed to get something right– or incomplete work, they simply lay on their beds, motionless or sometimes convulsing and sometimes muttering nonsense continuously.

He really did feel sorry for them. He wouldn’t get to finish them. And the doctor was one to get attached to his patients once he started his treatment. It was no good that he had to leave them. And he did not want to imagine what the Nexus-Forcers would do to his precious work when they got their hands on them. It would be marred and tainted, although he was proud to admit that he did not apply his skill so frivolously that it could be undone by anyone.

Finbauer then proceeded to contact one of his associates, “Gerald, follow evacuation procedures. Meet me in the launch area in five. Bring all the phase two and three patients”.

With the commotion of his assistants hurrying to move patients or equipment all around him, the doctor walked out with a heavy heart. His home at floor 77 was being disturbed, now he’d have to relocate somewhere else, even safer, and set up all over again. How bothersome. It would be a while till he could properly continue treating his patients.

The sounds of battle were getting nearer now. Commander Steele. He would have to remember him. He had caused much evil lately and the Nexus Tower was in a chaotic state because of him. But disturbing Finbauer was unforgivable. His work was paramount, not only for the Rogues, but for all of mankind.

With that he reached the hangar where a shuttle had been prepared for them and the gates opened. Most of the Renegades on the floor would be left behind to perish or be captured as they were too insignificant for resources to be used in order to make an escape or rescue plan for them. But *he*, he was special. thedude needed him. And he wanted those patients, when finished. The doctor would certainly deliver.

 He boarded the shuttle and many more people followed, of their own will or guided there, in a rush to escape. Some Rogues ran towards them and begged to be let in: there was space inside still. The guards kicked them away and once Gerald and his people had all safely arrived, they started to take off.

 Even as they began to rise, there was an explosion at the door leading to the hangar and then shots coming through, felling the rejected Renegades. Through the smoke several soldiers emerged, of all factions but one. And in front of them all one man led. His appearance was just like what he’d heard. Commander John Steele. Their eyes met for a moment. *A tie this time*, they both seemed to tell each other. Then, the shuttle sped up and left the hangar to the dismay of the soldiers who had not been in time to stop them. And Dr. Finbauer was gone from floor 77. . .