The Trees Are Speaking

**Date Started:** September 30th, 499XR
**Date Completed:** Ongoing
**Previous Role-Play:** The King's Festival
**Users Involved:** User:Shen Yi,User:Njalm2,User:Shouri01,User:GalaxiaWW, User:Dal101, User:HoloArc, User:GeminiVIII,

**Setting**: Clover Kingdom
**Characters Involved:**
* **Royalty**:
* **Captains:**
* **Vice Captain:**
* **Other:**Skar, Colby Monterey,Haruhi Rephalia,Lieser Bernkastel,Wesley Umbra, Richard Felix,Kaiser Gawain
* **Joker**:Maman Brigitte, Avalon Umbra,Enten Joro

## Act I

To think that he managed to build the largest bandit clan in Clover Kingdom. At one point, these savages and warmongers spent their time in smaller tribes chasing after quick profits. They would swiftly ransack forsaken towns at random intervals in order to retain a invisible power over the forgotten people of Clover Kingdom. But there was a reason that they were forgotten. The treasures and rewards from such tribulations would only last so long. And such, these rogue mages found themselves in the same predicament of the very people they tormented. If only they could cross the border and reach the land of commoners. Although heavily guarded, the treasures would allow them to better mount their defenses and survive for a longer period. Hell, a few cycles and they would eventually become strong enough to take on the King himself! And that was the reason for him gathering the massive legion that flew behind him.

The massive man, known only as Skar, spent the last year gathering the tribes together. Gifts of peace. Forcefully implanting truces between tribes. This man was a peacemaker and a leader to people who could barely write their own name. Perhaps if Skar wasn't filled with his own overwhelming demons, he could have lead these people to becoming a town of their own. But Skar wanted power more than to *actually* help. Once a man of noble birth, the King of the Wild had been banished during his earlier years after questioning the king's legitimacy. The King of Clover was a fool who paraded around under the falsehood of nationalism. He couldn't even give this country the royal family it deserved! The blight of this country brought upon by a foolish addiction to archaic monarchal practices.

This attack was just a step for the King of the Wild. Claim this village and use it as a fortified stronghold. The town of Welter happened to be one of Clover Kingdom's most important mining towns. The resources they were able to gather from the earth allowed it to flourish due to the nobles and royals that would spend countless riches for a chance to shine in vainness. Plus, the vicinity to the Spade Kingdom would allow Skar to establish a backing from one of the False King's enemies. After all, the enemy of his enemy was his friend.

The massive army of bandits flew over the forsaken land atop their brooms. They used the night as a shroud for their movements, transforming into a cloud of black cloaks and shining weapons that radiated moonlight. In preparation of this moment, Skar assured that his massive legion would refrain from wasting resources on small raids. Rather, they managed to procure enough magical tools and healing items to increase the chances of victory. Plus, although a prosperous town, their shouldn't be too many Magic Knights. The stars were aligning atop him for this to succeed.

The town slept peacefully. The nobles and royals of Clover Kingdom had just finished their annual shopping and filled the town of Welter with endless riches. The commoners of this region who owned the mines found that this year's profits were actually higher than the previous. Perhaps due to the mysterious lack of bandit activity in the area, it allowed them to invest more manpower into retrieving the sacred gems that people spent countries on. Plus, without the recent threat of wild men, they could reallocate their forces to minor magic knights needed to protect their business from stragglers and wild animals.A true blessing that was really a curse in disguise. For the ominous cloud that approached the town was the product of this peacefulness. One could say that their righteous leader herded this miracle for the very purpose of increasing their treasures upon completion of this massive raid. And what better time than when the cattle were asleep.

"There's a cloud coming." One of the town's guard said to his companion. They wore their signature Magic Knight cloaks as they sat down to a friendly drink.

"There shouldn't be. The Weather Forecaster said that tonight would be a clear sky. And you know Weather Forecast magic is rarely wrong." The skeptic mage replied. He stood up and approached and telescope. "Oh...My...Go-" His words had been cut short, for his head was lopped off. It fell and tumbled to the other man who tried to dash towards the alarm. But he found his body also cut into pieces. The other guards who noticed the cloud managed to sound the alarms. But it was far too late. The mass majority of the bandit army made it over the walls of the town and began their heinous raid.

They fell from the sky with crazed yells and horrific screams. Savaged beast wielding various times of weaponry and magic items that allowed them to cause extensive damage. The sound of destruction mingled with the scream of torture. Women and children tried to find hiding while men, barely armed, fought this overwhelming force. But the commoners stood naught a chance against the men of the wild. Within seconds, fire began to spread along the outside of the town of Welter. What use would it be to burn down their stronghold? Skar made sure that his Fire Mages created a barrier of flame to stop people from escaping as well as keep uninvited visitors out.

The King of the Wild jumped off his broom and started towards the town square. This would be a night that would go down in legend as he beginning of his reign..

The earth rumbled and groaned, splitting open in several spots near the edge of the town. Several bandits watched onwards as a cloaked figure played out his magic. Eleven rifts formed in the ground, ten around the size of a man, and one that was much larger. From the rifts, men of stone and earth arose. Each had inhuman features, blades and weapons jutting from their forms in weird locations. Yet at the same time, they moved almost as if they were alive, not just mere constructs of the earth.

The last one was much larger, almost twenty-five feet in height. A beast and brute of stone, he rose towards the trees, his arms the size of the torsos of the men around him.

"Earth Magic: Rise of Valhalla..." The cloaked figure said quietly as his magic finished. Turning towards the bandits, "Our deal is finished then. You may use these golems as you wish. While they can't use magic, their skin is as hard as diamond. You'll find most can't even scratch their hide."

With that, the cloaked figure turned from the bandits, disappearing off into the darkness.

The rest of the bandits looked to the two remaining figures that stood in the shadows. They shivered in the presence of the mysterious duo. To think that the rumors were true. And only a former noble, such as Skar, would possess the connections to get in contact with the authority figure of this dangerous cult. As for why they were helping the bandits, they had no idea. Skar simply said to procure a passageway for their arrival. And as they laid around a body of guards, the man fulfilled his contract. The bandits took out a large pouch of gold and tossed it to the woman before him.

"H-here's the payment." He said shockingly. "A-are you guys going to help or?"

"Thank you." A woman covered in a cloak with a skeletal mask caught the pouch and placed it into her bag. Her feminine body complimented by a breathable robe. She exhibited an ominous aura which radiated from her. It was thick enough to choke the surrounding bandits. "Not really." She said with a calm and refined voice. "Well I'm not. I don't know about him." She wasn't here to kill. In fact, she was actually shocked that the man they recognized as the closest thing to a leader simply left. But he wasn't much for fun. No. They were here to help cause some chaos. A little test to see how well the royal capital could mobilize. After all, their organization would began to move their own plans.

The woman looked to her companion. "Are you heading back to Nine Cloud? I'm not in the fucking mood for this. Plus I don't sense any impressive magic here." She noted that the bandits had quickly ran off to join the chaos at the bottom of the hill.

"Oh hmm, I thought I sensed something interesting here. A familiar magic." Her companion replied. A tall man dressed in loose fitting layers of robes. Fingers barley peeking out from the teal sleeves. His unkempt charcoal black hair fell in wisps across his face as he teetered back and forth. "If you really must be leaving me it'd be so sad, but I think I'll manage." A mock smile formed on his teetering head as he peered down at her through his bangs.

"I will say though you look very cute in that mask. Is it new?" A playful wink was all he left her with as he began to coast towards the burning town, eager to find that very familiar magic he'd sensed.

He reached the center of the town with ease, pushing by the various bandits in his way. It wasn't like they really minded him. Too busy raping and killing to mind him floating through the crowd. Though as he turned his head he saw a couple bandits beating something, an animal. One of the town dogs trying to save their masters from them. It was unsettling.

"Ahh hello there, you're Skar's men right I'm here to help a bit, cause some chaos you know." He waved his arms in mock celebration, tossing his hair back for effect. "Now it seems to me you're beating this dog here right, that isn't a villager. I reckon that collectively you could all be murdering about ten people right now."

"Well ya see Mr this dog here bit Jim and we was beatin it for that." One of the Bandits replied.

"What do ye even care anyways?" Another chimed in. "You go kill some people."

He walked towards the group calmly waving his right hand through the air as if he were conducting a waltz. "I am going to don't worry. But I must say that this animal here is just acting as the universe intends it to, on instinct that is. You attacked its friend so it attacks you. Eye for an eye and such. It's pure though, chaotic. You're all structured and cruel and oh so pitiful." He passed them by now, stopping as he stretched out his right hand. "It's been obvious for a while now that you're the ones who belong in chains."

Almost on command crude shaped blue collars appeared around all seven bandit's necks. Glowing chains all connecting them to his right hand, where they looked around his fingers. Several of the bandits grasped at them but they would not budge, it was as if they were grasped at their very essence. The man's smokey grey eyes were alight as he bit his lip. "I'll jail you now." His soothing voice layered with a sinister intention.

His right hand tugged inwards as the chains rattled, whipping the collared bandits off their feet as they flew towards him. At the same time a hum was heard as he spun as a tail emerged from under his cloak. Black and green with a two crystalline prongs at the end. The prongs began to crackle with electricity as the tail positioned itself directly behind his head. "Execution by Shocking." As the bandits were drawn in the sparks from the tail jumped outwards in a sphere of crackling green energy. As they were pulled into it their bodies began to convulse, skin rapidly losing color as their bodies were fried. He tugged down once again, this time slamming the now crispy corpses into the blood caked dirt. The chains faded and the tail retreated back inside.

He approached the dog now, resting a palm upon it's bloodied face. "Sleep now for tomorrow you'll awaken in a better world." He pressed lightly into the fur and with a somber huff stood back up. *"Suppose I should get moving then.."*

### Rock Monster

"Is that smoke?" A pair of scared eyes looked to the sky as towers of smoke and flame seemed to appear out of nowhere, looming over the farms outside of Welter. "M-Mr. MAGE SIR!" The farmer yelled, now fully grasping the horror before him.

"What is it?" A voice came from within the barn. Wesley Umbra had been completing tasks outside of the capital to make ends meet considering the measly funds his parents gave him. He'd just finished helping with some farm work when his employer had stared screaming. As he emerged from the barn to a much darker sky he saw the pillars of flame. "That's no wildfire..." He breathed. He'd never been in a real combat situation before. Training sure but never something like this. He didn't know what it was or what his charging in might entail but he had to try. "I'll take care of this sir."

"P-please yes my daughter works in that town." The Farmer sputtered, his breathe heavy with worry.

Wesley breathed, his grimoire floating by his side. He held his hand out, grasping the grimoire with the other. Circles of magic forming around his outstretched hand. A sharp breath left his body as he shouted aloud. "Abijam, I call upon thee. Full Summoning" He cried as his arm began to bleed the magic around him spiraled outwards, erupting into an array of amorphous shapes and light. The area behind him erupted with water and in moments a beast loomed behind him. It's leg the size of his whole body, the large serpentine creature roared.

"Yes now just behave, please." He huffed, leaping backwards as he latched onto it's legs, clambering upwards to its scaled back. "Alright now, Abijam. Charge through and destroy that wall of flames." His mana fluxed outward as his command was heard. Water swirling from beneath the monster as it began to slither forwards through the waves, speeding to the raging inferno.

The two arrived with Abijam spinning to a stop before the flames, loosing the wave it traveled in as projectile. "Not enough, fire at will." His mana fluxed one again as the beast let loose another roar. Water bubbled up around it swirling itself into balls before firing at the wall of fire. An artillery barrage of water commanded by a fearsome beast rained on the inferno before them, steam pouring into the air.

The fire had subsided on this small part of the barrier. Large enough to allow for the child and his beast to enter the town. But the path wouldn't last for too long for a nearby Fire Mage fed more mana into the barrier so that it would begin closing. But from within, the screams of the tortured erupted into the night sky. The man atop the beast would have a choice...either jump into hell or try to stop the barrier and allow the villagers a method of escape.

But the brave young Umbra was not the only aspirant to have heard the pleas for help as soon another figure ran up behind him and stood at his side, Richard Felix had travelled to the Mining Town to oversee an auxiliary business operated by merchants affiliated with the Felix Family. It did not please the man that he'd stumbled upon a nobleman of all people but ever the charmer he greeted him with a wide smile that would seem sincere to all but the most experienced judge of character.

In actuality Richard was utterly terrified, he'd been running for his life when the bandits appeared. At first, overwhelmed by fear and terror despite his many attempts at joining the Magic Knights, he had been halfway out of the area when he'd seen that blasted nobleman stoop to defend the people. He'd felt sick to his stomach at his cowardice but Wesley had inspired him to step in and prove himself a protector of the people if a coddled nobleman could be arsed to do the right thing then surely Richard would too.

True, his magic was not quite as visually impressive as that of Wesley on account of his humble roots but Felix was a good three years older and had had his Grimoire for several years; and he would prove his experience this day.

While water and flame collided, Richard gently tugged at the surrounding earth, which responded to each gesture in slight but perceptible ways as he wove a succession of cantrips together without even requiring the aid of his grimoire, closing his eyes to sense slight imbalances in ambient mana and magic in order to locate the Fire Mage maintaining the Wall of Fire, once he did he'd grasp at the earth directly underneath him and in a single motion attempt to have it abruptly shuffle itself to the side to knock the bandit mage off of his feet and break his concentration, and his spell.

Then with that simple if highly effective cantrip he'd turn to Wesley: "Press the attack, I'll cover you!" as Richard's Grimoire appeared out of thin air, opened at a random page as the earth around the two men: muddy and wet due to Abijam's presence, resonated with the Earth Mage's gestures to form a wet but durable carapace around Wesley, which should help stave off the worst of the flames if he were to pursue their shared adversary!

The mage, who was attempting to repair his section of the fire barrier, fell onto his backside. And without concentration, the stream of mana being shared between the four fire mages was broken. Causing the intense wildfire to become naught but small fence. Still threatening, their shared act of bravery allowed a small amount of townspeople to run through the weaker flames with the help of a few straggling magic knights. The path which had been closing before the two remained open. Allowing them to make their way through should they decide.

"The barrier is weakening?! What the fuck is Ar' doing out there?!" A bandit scream as he slit the throat of an older man. He dropped his body as if a sack of potatoes before approaching another group of his comrades.

"Think its the Magic Knights?!"

"Impossible." Another bandit responded. "We've hid several scramblers nearby. We have all night to do what we want!"

And with a shared cheer, the bandits continued to ransack. To rape and murder their way throughout the village. They screamed the name of their king. The King of the Wild, Skar himself. Who, during this time, made his way towards the largest mansion of the village. By killing the lords of this domain, he could easily claim his throne.

Wesley looked in shock as the barrier began to flicker, noting the man who had appeared beside him. "Richard. I can't believe you're here." A bit of excitement and ease filled his voice, seeing the older mage beside him. Richard was far more practiced than Wesley in magic and his tenacity was something to admire. They'd begun to run into each other more and more as Wesley began to stray further from the estates of the nobles.

Rock solid dependability indeed. In mere moments he'd weakened the fire wall, helped rescue many civilians, and he'd provided a very helpful armor to boot. "Abijam." his voice was deeper now, unwavering. The creature seemed to understand the command as it roared again saturating the earth around it with water to provide more mud for Richard, should he need it. In the meantime Wesley had hopped off, charging his way through the fire with the aid of his earthen shell. "Richard come on." He shouted, motioning for Abijam to follow the two as well.

As he gazed over the village he saw a horrible sight. Mosaics of blood lay bare on the wooden walls of houses and bodies in various conditions covered the streets. It was repulsing and Wesley gagged on sight. Then it hit him, that slowly thickening stench of blood. He panted, grasping his knees to keep himself aloft. Who would do such a thing and why?

He wasn't sure but in all this chaos he knew there was one target. The men controlling the flames, one of which Richard had tripped. Wesley locked eyes with him as he began to briskly march towards him. He had no words, only action. Rolling to the side as he closed in to reveal a large jet of water, zooming past him and right at the man. Courtesy of Abijam's maw.

The fire mage attempted to block the jet of water, but found himself struggling to even regain his composure. Upholding such a large barrier was too much for him. And having his concentration suddenly knocked from him meant that he would face a serious recoil. So, rather than erect another fire shield strong enough to block the jet of water, he found himself soaring over several feet. The force of the demon's water being enough to claim the bandit's life in one fell swoop.

Without this man, the wall of flame before Wesley and Richard suddenly vanished. Only two other pieces of the barrier remained. Which was perfect for those who still needed escape. Villagers waited not a second before barging forward. They cared not to thank their hero or the reason they would be able to see the next sunrise. No. They simply rushed forward with a new sense of hope. Still, there was work to be done. For the screams and cries of villagers deep within the town echoed throughout towards Wesley.

"Nice one Abijam." Wesley shouted back to his companion, a hearty roar was all he got back. The villagers dashed by him and out into the smokey night, keeping a wide birth around Abijam as they did. Though it was a little disheartening to not even hear a passing thank you, it really wasn't the time to be getting picky. Welsey steadied his breath and called back to Richard.

"Richard I'm going in, there's people that can't get out in there. You can follow me if you want or you can spread out and see to taking out those other barriers. Regardless I appreciate the help friend." With another hand motion his Grimoire was once again floating before him as Abijam lumbered up to his side.

"You're a bit too big for these streets bud, I know I'm not great at this yet but it's our best bet here." He focused himself as Abjijam disappeared in a bright blue light, but the light didn't fade. It circled around him as magic circles wrapped themselves around his arms and legs, resting on his head and back too. Another breath out as a line of blood oozed from his mouth. "Hang in there Wesley, Contract Summoning stable." He began to rush forwards into the burning town. "Lets go."

Emboldened by Wesley's actions, Richard looked around for another of the fire mages maintaining the wall of fire and gently tugged at the earth underneath him to form a small rolling mound underneath his feet that allowed him to close the distance to the closest enemy, whilst his arms wove trailing patterns of earth in the air that soon turned into concentric bands of debris which in turn gathered into a dozen-or-so spheres of collected matter which formed the basis of his foundational spell: Minute Meteors.

Confidence surged as he drew closer, for with the air saturated by smoke and burning wood it was a small matter to disguise the modest movements of the earth as it resonated with his Grimoire. Senses fixated on his foe, Richard caused five of the floating spheres of dirt to coalesce into two large boulders which were fired at the distant fire mage with surprising precision, whilst his free hand that hung limply by his waist formed a succession of signs and gestures as he once again pulled at the very earth underneath his adversary.

It was a simple cantrip, now as ever, yet its effects were notable given his diligent practice as the ground began to give way quickly at his command before attempting to abruptly shuffle a few paces towards Richard's incoming missiles; with the intent of hurtling the bandit into his assault or at least greatly complicate any attempt to evade them.

This was how he fought, certainly, next to noblemen like Wesley his assault would seem downright pathetic but he didn't have the luxury of enormous reserves of magical power, no, Richard had actually had to work for his talents. Still a twinge of fear coiled in his heart, as it always did.. what if his modest talents weren't enough?

The teamwork between the two allowed the rookies to quickly dispose of the bandits. And with the two of them barging in, their path lead through a town soaked in blood and despair. Chaos and burned remains of what was once a happy life. The smell of destruction continued to grow despite the bandit's numbers dwindling. As they continued onward, they would find themselves in an open field. In the distance were golems of earth continuing to wreck havoc upon this formally peaceful town.

But before them stood a scarred man. One who was leisurely making his way to the largest building in town. From the clothes he wore, anyone would figure him the leader. The orchestrator behind this needless carnage. His armor covered in fur radiated both power and elegance. This complimented his massive muscles and bald head. One would guess that he was once nobility from the magical power radiating from his body.

Wesley coughed, getting close to retching at the thick stench that permeated the air. "Who the hell does this?" His narrowed eyes peering through the now fading smoke in an attempt to spy anyone. All that covered the streets were corpses though, piles of bodies. Then as he continued to march onwards he sensed something, a spike of magic further through the town.

He could see him now, dressed in furs and metal, Wesley could almost feel the bloodlust of this man. Why do all this? What purpose could he even be trying to serve? While Wesley strived to know those answers they were all stupid questions. Even if he got answer it wouldn't make up for the blood that was shed here. Despite his impulse to charge in and attack it seemed far too rash. Wesley knew he couldn't approach something like that without some forethought.

He held a hand out as Richard approached his position. "We need a plan man."

Richard nodded in assent before he explained the specifics of his plan to Wesley shortly, keeping his voice low to ensure that their enemy didn't catch wind of the plan beforehand whilst he gently tugged at motes of dancing dirt that whirled up from the ground to form lumps of a brown mud-like substance that soon caked Wesley's body in various places. Humming with rejuvenating mana that would begin to heal any injuries sustained as soon as Wesley got them. It was poorly suited to handling severe injuries but then again even small cuts could end a battle if suffered in large numbers.

He then immediately commenced with the first step of the plan as he focused his attention on Skar and with visible exertion he'd seek to rip the earth away from under him with great speed and force in an attempt to have him nosedive to the ground and leaving him wide open for his partner to follow through.

Extensive practise with the Earth Shuffle was the reason that even after employing it to such an advanced degree that Richard could still follow up with a second spell, a simple but extremely effective Trap of his own making. It manifested a few short paces away from Skar, as a dormant brown pentacle in the ground that would seep up residual mana from the battle to come.

"I will support you as best I am able; move in immediately to bring him down - my firepower is a far cry from yours after all!"

Wesley nodded, a silent agreement to their scheme as the mud encased various parts of his body. Temporarily the blood that leaked from his arms and mouth began to subside. It was marvelous to watch Richard work, able to take on so many roles at once. His versatility was unlike anything Wesley had seen before.

"Don't sell yourself short, your control is leagues beyond my own." He glanced down at the droplets of blood leftover on his arms. "We got this Richard." He gave quick nod and the curtain opened on the first act of their plan.

Richard weaved the earth expertly and Wesley grinned as he saw the earth begin to move below the imposing enemy before them. Quickly capitalizing on the moment he dashed inwards, keeping his arms close as he concentrated. *"Come on Wesley you got this like you practiced, balance is on you. Keep those knees bent and flow with the mana. Move as one."* Wesley dashed towards Skar, certain of himself.

He wasn't far away and as Wesley reached him and Richard pull the rug from under his body, he made his move. The circles around his right arm broke from it, forming a larger circle above it. He took aim and thrusted, magic crackling as a large tail, about the size of his body emerged from the circle. It was blunt but the force behind it would be enough to crack bones. The tail jutted out at Skar, aiming to hit the man as he fell.

One minute, victory was there before his eyes. And the next he was face flat against the disgusting earth beneath him. The wild king known as Skar felt the noble presence and the earthen bug which decided to stand against destiny. As he stood up and realized that these were rookies, a demonic grin formed upon Skar's ruined visage. What a better *fuck you* to the king than to kill a few of his children? "I'll be sure to send your severed heads to the false monarch atop that throne of lies!" Skar said with a horrific laugh. But first, he needed to take care of the runt who decided the best option would be to charge in with such a large spell without first surveying the situation.

Skar threw his hand up and with a deep breath commanded his Slash Magic to obey. Mana became a blade which would fly towards Wesley's tail at a ferocious speed, with the purpose of using his tail's momentum against itself. He followed with another gesture, this time one which resulted in his finger bent next to another. His control over magic betrayed his image as a circling ring of magic began to spin towards Wesley's chest.

Richard spun into motion as soon as the trap was placed, cursing underneath his breath as he caused motes of earth to spring up around Wesley and quickly assemble into a crude but durable carapace of hardened rock around his upper body in a manner reminiscent of plate mail.

However, while its defensive properties were certainly impressive it took a heavy toll on Richard to spontaneously cast such a potent defensive spell and his breathing was beginning to grow laboured as he refocused his attention once more on the ground underneath their foe's feet. In the past four years that he had participated in the Magic Knight Exams he had learned from each successive failure and one thing he knew was to recognize his betters and he was keenly aware that this individual surpassed them both in both experience, skill and power and so he focused most of his efforts on ensuring that Skar could never act unimpeded in any way shape or form.

Whenever he'd spot the other man raise a hand or sense the telltale signs of a spell being formed, Richard would seek to shuffle the earth underneath him in a number of different directions in order to complicate any action he might wish to take. Hoping that for each sudden movement he might create an opening for Wesley to overcome their foe in one fell swoop even as he could feel his reserves of mana draining steadily.

The blade cleaved the tail, leaving a trail of sparking blue mana as the cut portion faded from reality. Under his breath Wesley let loose a string of swears, attempting to reposition himself for the next blade, however it was Richard that covered him. Earth moved to protect him, another layer of armor to steel him against this foe. The blade collided with the armor sending Wesley sliding back across the earth as he braced himself.

Having watched Skar cast a spell or two Wesley could see that even mere finger motions could send these malicious blades at them. He needed to strike this man man where he couldn't expect it and in a short time too. He ran his options quickly in his head, noting the earth feeling slightly softer beneath his feet due to the constant manipulation from Richard. He knew Richard had his back and so Wesley confirmed his gambit. Beginning to run towards Skar. He still held the partial tail, sticking slightly from the circle above his right arm. However, one of the circles around his left arm expanded now floating beside his forearm as he ran, clearly preparing something.

The one thing he could assume about the man from his words is that he underestimated them. From his tone it sounded like they were no more than child fodder to him. From Wesley's motions it looked as if he was trying the same thing again, charging in with a big attack. The man had destroyed his last attack and almost cut the armor with another. It he could assume he'd just send another blade at him. That was his Gambit. When Skar sent another blade to finish him Wesley would drop down into a slide, extending the partial tail from his left arm aimed behind him.

The boost would fire him forwards along the soft earth, allowing for a relatively smooth slide towards Skar. In those few seconds he assumed Richard could buy the ring he'd been prepping by his left arm would swing in front of his chest and a small Abijam head would emerge. From its mouth it would fire a small but extremely concentrated blast of water, easily able to pierce flesh and bone. The strike would be directed into his armpit, a place no one ever thought to guard. If it hit it would surely disable his use of that arm and with perfect accuracy it would pierce his skull, hopefully ending the duel. It was risky but there was clearly not time to dance around against such a dangerous opponent.

Once again, Skar found himself slammed against the earth from the minute manipulations. And thus it messed up the concentrated he needed to properly defend against this rookies strike. Ultimately ending with Skar falling into the elaborate trap which was set up by Wesley. As he rushed to launch another offensive slash, he found that the runt managed to evade and create an opening. However, Skar felt the magic gathering towards his flank and decided to focus entirely upon what he figured was a spell charging. And for good reason as the runt thought to disable him through a small blast of pressurized water. It clashed against a blue stationary line of blue mana near Skar's person.

Skar perfected his slash magic to a level which would allow him to create cuts in his surrounding that bifurcated everything which came into contact with it. Exponentially lessening the blast of water's cutting power. While the child's plan held some weight against Skar, attempting to pierce or cut him was like using fire against a wildfire. Still, the runt possessed some ability of planning.

"I would probably commemorate you on getting this close if I wasn't so annoyed." Skar said with a angered growl. He raised his hand and fired a concentrated blast of mana at Wesley meant to increase the distance between them. "I'll have to come back for you after I deal with your support." The angered man turned to Richard and started his menacing stride.

"People often overlook the importance of support mages. However there have been entire wars lost due to that mistake.The fact you're willing to stand back means you have a bit of combat experience. But you're not noble. Tell me boy, why do you waste your time fighting with him? Surely you know he thinks of you as nothing more than a peasant."

"Wait a minu.." As the blast hit him dead on. He'd moved his arm to brace himself, the armor doing it's work as it blocked most of the blast. He was sent skidding backwards across the ground as the earthen carapace broke off in chunks, having protected him the best it could. He pushed himself from the ground watching Skar as he stalked towards Richard. His words were hurtful and in Wesley's opinion untrue. How dare he say that, Wesley didn't mind Richard in the slightest but would he have? His parents basically casting him out as far as they could while keeping him in the family had changed him. Nobles didn't usually have his experience. They didn't have to sneak around to train or get money. It was often just handed to them. Thinking about it now Wesley was kind of a dick before he got his grimoire. He'd been just like some of the others, often worse.

But he wasn't that person anymore. While his change might have been entirely circumstance based, he cared about everyone now. It wasn't exactly redemption for who he used to be or would have become, it was a long road to travel. Now though more than ever he needed to protect his friend and ally. As Wesley pushed himself to his feet he ran his options. Along with monsters his grimoire also detailed the types of summoning available to him. Contract, which had clearly been proving mostly ineffective against Skar. Full, which had been useful at the start but considering the nature of his opponent and his current level of control, wouldn't be strong enough. Finally there was soul, an internal method of summoning that involved summoning the monster into himself. It was vastly dangerous for inexperienced mages like himself but it combined the versatility and power of the other types into one. *"Richard can hold his own for a bit but neither of us is gonna beat that guy on our own, I've got to do it."*

Wesley steadied his breath magic pooling in his body as the circles around him vanished. His arms, eyes, and chest all began to drip blood as the continued to pool magic. He was over-channeling at this point, pushing more magic into his spell than should be there to make up for the lack of refined mana control. It was essentially the mages way of brute forcing it, allowing for more powerful spells at the cost of damage to their own bodies. However, this was necessary, it had to be done and it would be even if it hurt a lot.

"Abijam hear my call. Come forth and merge with me. one body, one mind, one being. Soul Summoning: Abijam."

The mana around him surged, coating his being in an expanding bright blue aura that came as quick as it went. The surging mana departed to reveal a vastly changed Wesley. His body was still human shaped but he was certainly changed. Half of his face was covered in blue scales, extending up and out into a horn on his head, both his eyes were colored orange with pupils for slits. His mouth had a mishmash of human and sharpened teeth some jutting down past the lips. His left arm was like a smaller version of Abjiam's and his right was partially clawed and dotted with scales. A crystal looking blade also extended from the back of his left hand, it was jagged and uncomfortable looking. His torso was mostly exposed with a ripped shirt and armor that looked like it belonged on a creatures back covering most of his chest. Jutting from his shoulders were two crystals merged with the scales, crackling with electricity. His feet were mostly like Abijam's save for random patches of skin and a tail hung down not from his waist but the middle of his back.

The form was misshapen and rushed, it was clear that over-channeling did not mean it would come out completely ok and just hurt a lot, he knew that now. However, he could not help but let out a pained scream as the act took it's toll on him already. It felt like every part of him that wasn't skin was on fire and he could hear a voice yelling in the back of his head. He couldn't understand it but its words caused his body to wince in pain. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck." He shouted attempting to lighten the horrendous burden he'd undertaken.

It was terrible to exist for Wesley but he'd done it an damn it he was going to make the most of it. "Don't talk like that you bastard." He yelled through misshapen teeth. The first few steps he took hurt a lot, hell he was surprised he could even move. The next few were better now, if he just pushed the pain away he could do this. He was running much faster than he ever had, reaching Skar so quick he almost didn't have time to ready himself. But he did as he jabbed his left hand, blade and all at Skar's back.

Richard readied himself to confront Skar directly, as portions of the surrounding earth flew up into the air and began to rotate around him like a minefield, looking over at Wesley he noticed the enormous amounts of magic he was emanating and for a moment he worried about his safety, but there was no reason to waste time with that now. No, he needed to come up with a plan and quick, especially considering that it seemed like Wesley was really giving it his all at this point.

He did not think that they would stand a chance against Skar if all they did was attempt to overcome him with raw power, and he assumed that Wesley knew this too and yet he was pressuring himself to this degree. Whatever Richard thought of the boy, he could not deny that he was impressed with his persistence and the current wellspring of power that now surrounded him made him invaluable to his ploy.

Ever since he first participated in the Magic Knight Exams, Felix had time and again been crushed by nobles – by people who in most cases had not spent a single moment training their entire life. It was an injustice that incensed him and that envy and resentment had eventually manifested into a specific spell – Flowering Earth.

Its effects were notable but fairly simple, placed at a nearby location it would absorb portions of the mana spent casting spells in its vicinity to empower itself, like roots sapping nutrients from surrounding foliage. Depending on the strength of his opposition, this spell only grew in power and so it was uniquely well-suited to fighting opponents with massive magical power as they by virtue of simply casting basic spells would rapidly empower it.

Such had been the case in this battle as well, for with every spell Richard, Skar and Wesley cast the Trap had taken its share and now it had reached a highly respectable amount, all it needed now was a single surge of mana from one desperate attack and his companion provided the necessary fuel to push it into the levels of power it required.

Fortune smiled on them both it seemed, as Skar had unwittingly placed himself in the middle of its expected area of effect – but to his chagrin so had Wesley, but he could not allow that to stop him. At least Skar would form a human shield of sorts and hopefully take the brunt of the damage.

Waiting until the precise moment that Wesley was upon Skar and the moment where his attention was most divided, Richard formed a single crest in the air and shattered it with a wave of his hand and a spoken phrase: “Flowering Earth – Release!”

Almost simultaneously to the last utterance a large crest of yellow appeared on the ground underneath the two other combatants, expanding to triple its original size before the earth rumbled and the earth was upturned into the form of a very large stalagmite that appeared so spontaneously and with such explosive force that it threatened to crush, maim and impale Skar and catapult him several dozen meters into the air besides. Its saving grace was that it originated from a point behind Skar and so Wesley should have a greater chance of spotting it than his adversary, at least so Richard hoped.

Impossible that these two rookies could utilize such magic at this level. Although Skar wasn't that impressed with Wesley, a noble of his power was nothing more than a yellow sunflower, he was more so shocked at Richard. The earth mage represented everything that was wrong with Clover Kingdom. As a former noble, Skar remembered countless battles agaisnt the *peasants* and *commoners* whose magical pursuits called upon passion rather than genetic supremacy. Constant training and refining lead to magical discoveries which would allow them to even surpass the nobility of this kingdom. Hell, Richard's spell spoke of countless failure. Endless defeat. And enough experience to fill several libraries of knowledge. But now was not the time to admire. His mana skin wouldn't be enough to protect him from the dual strikes of these amateur mages.

*So this is the rare Monster Magic? Not bad. I probably won't be able to ignore you for too long* Skar thought to himself. But these two, no matter their magic, was just that; Amateurs. And so, Skar decided to take the role of educator himself and show one of the most valuable lessons they could ever hope to learn in their short lifetime. He took a step to the side and allowed Wesley's sword to pierce him through his back in a nonfatal location. Surely it was a strike that would kill him in an hour or two. But healers were littered throughout the burning town. He just needed to finish this immediately.

Skar hadn't turned from Richard due to the incredible speed that Wesley exhibited in his burst of magical potency. And such the stalagmite emerged from before the Wild King. Something Skar seized as his own advantage. The purpose of allowing Wesley to strike him was to lower the now angered mage's guard. As the blade's hilt touched the bandit lord's back, he quickly reached around and grabbed Wesley's wrist which he followed with an attempt at turning the pair around. The combination of Wesley's own impressive magic and his mana skin would serve as enough of a defense agains the earth spears. Either Wesley move the two out of the way or he absorbs the brunt of Richard's magic.

"While I find your efforts impressive. The most important thing in the war of magic is proper communication and synergy. Charging into your allies trap is both suicidal and cumbersome! Meanwhile, activating your trap while your ally charges in is treason!"

Richard cursed at their shared folly and immediately set to work on righting his mistake, understanding Skar’s train of thought through experience and simple observation the solution to the problem came unbidden to his mind. Exerting a significant portion of his remaining mana, Richard tugged at a large section of the earth underneath Skar.

As always it responded eagerly to his call, shuffling and moving like living clay to flow in motion opposite to Skar’s own in an effort to forcibly rotate him around his own axis so that he was once again in the direct path of the erupting stalagmite and Richard’s companion Wesley would once again find himself safe behind a human shield.

Yet due to Skar’s skill and strength, not to mention the pressure of casting the spell so quickly and with no preparation he could feel waves of fatigue come over him, he momentarily heaved for breath as he could sense that his reserves of mana would not hold out much longer. If he made many more mistakes like these he would waste away most of his potential and end up a burden to his teammate, he had ‘got’ to pull his act together if they were to have any hope of emerging from this alive.

Underneath him the earth shifted and moved to his whim as he prepared to cast further spells at a moments notice, all while keeping his constraints of mana firmly in mind – at this point he had less than half his reserves remaining and he needed to make it count.

Damn bastard, he'd pierced him but it wasn't enough, Wesley found himself spun towards the emerging stalagmite. Skar's words hurt though, almost as much as the of pain keeping the transformation up. He hadn't been thinking clearly, even though they detailed a plan. It was just the pain, the rush of adrenaline, the blood, all of it culminating in this one burst of instinct.

He was concentrating now though and in the brief moment he locked eyes with Richard he saw the determination in them, he had a plan. Whatever it was he trusted Richard not to kill him and so he dove into his own mind. Thinking, plotting what he could possibly do. This body was new to him but he could feel the newfound strength, the electricity humming in the crystals, the fangs in his mouth. He could do this, he had to do something.

He'd seen what Abijam could do and now that power was within him so he just had to let it out. With a grunt he thrust his right arm forwards, grabbing Skar with his left for leverage. He drove the sword as deep as he could and as he did he concentrated. The hum of the crystals grew louder and louder in his mind as electricity began to surge down his arm. Then with a burst of force it exploded outwards. It travelled down his arm and through the blade, right into Skar's insides. It might not kill him but that much energy coursing through his guts would definitely do some damage.

Skar launched himself off the tip of Wesley's sword in a downward motion so that the mass Richard's trap would come crashing down on the boy. Still the pain of the voltage hindered his full movement and left the stalagmite to crash into a good portion of his body. Leaving a massive downward gash upon his body. The several hour window to see a healer suddenly became an hour due to the two rookies. And so, he needed to finish this immediately. Thankfully he was able to utilize his immense magic to form a protective mana skin strong enough to restrain the fatal amount of electricity. And although his insides were burning, the king of the wild could still press on.

"So. So. Close." Skar teased. He was actually impressed that these rookies could pull off a combination like that. It would've worked with a little more communication and synergy. Skar wasted not a second with his counter. He raised one hand and released a ball of magic. However, upon closer inspection, one would notice that the magic within the sphere seemed to dance rapidly. The ball continued to grow until it was the size of an adult human. He grabbed half of it and split it into two separate spheres which he launched at both Richard and Wesley.

But this wasn't one's average spell. For the sphere would envelope those with magic and surround them in countless slicing blades.

"Why do you fight for a failure of a king?" Skar asked the two rookies. "He can't even protect this town!"

### You're a Bad Witch

Lieser was about to catch the fourth rabbit of the night when disturbing screams echoed through the trees, scaring the poor creature that hopped into the darkness, leaving the young witch alone in the middle of the woods.

"What's going on here tonight, huh?" She thought, cleaning the blood on her sword of the dead animals that were stored in a basket that she carried in her back. She went towards a cliff from where she had a better vision of the area; from afar, she could see the fire and smoke that surrounded Welter and a small group of people covered in bruises that struggled to make their way through the road that connected the town with the rest of the Kingdom.

"Better do something about it." Lieser's sword was enveloped in dark sparks. With a single swing, a crescent-shaped slash left the blade, penetrating the soil around. Instead of cutting the ground, the surrounding earth started to crumble down, except for the area where Lieser was stepping on, provoking a landslide. On top of a large portion of rock, she surfed on the wave of dirt and vegetation that formed, going in full speed towards the town. With one hand holding her hat on her head and the other swinging her sword, she cut trees and evaded other obstacles that could stop her on her tracks or could slow down her progress.

Even though it was used at first as a way to get to the town faster, Lieser had no control over the wave and, when she realized, the entire thing was about to crash into the barrier in the leftmost part of the town. In a quick response, Lieser jumped out, holding herself in the branches of a tree that supported itself in the middle of the disaster. "I have to tone it down a bit..." She said, feeling surprised with the outcome of her little trick.

And as if the goddesses of luck were watching over the young witch, the wave of earth managed to collide with the Fire Mage in charge of that section of the barrier. The wall of fire weakened further, allowing more townsfolk to escape. However, that meant only those who weren't currently being tortured by the bandits within. Still, the weakening fire would allow the witch to enter without any further issue.

"Shit, you're the one fucking with our barrier?" A bandit screamed as several bandits appeared at the newly made entrance. Their swords shining in the blazing fire and their grimoires levitating near their person.

"She's a witch." Another replied.

"We can't go easy on her. But she'll also fetch us a high price if we sell her." The eldest exploded in laughter. Of the handful of grunts, the first three began their assault on the witch. Their magic was as ragged and wild as they were. Still, the small group managed to fuse the elements into a singular arrow that whistled through the air. Wind. Fire. Earth. Water. The spear possessed considerable piercing power.

In her current position, Lieser had no room to escape. Her hands were busy holding herself in the branches of the tree and the ground bellow her was so unstable due to the landslide that she could hurt herself if she jumped out to run into the darkness. Using her sword was out of question too, as it alone woudn't be enough to defend against the conjoint spell of the wild mages. Fortunately, Lieser's magic was perfect for the situation.

"M-A-F-E-O-D-F-B." Lieser mumbled, each letter representing a single word. At the same time, the structure of the elemental spear started to fall apart. The elements that composed it scattered, **m**oving **a**way **f**rom **e**ach **o**ther, ultimately **d**estroying the **f**usion's **b**alance and the spear itself. The remaining of the four elements flew in different directions, avoiding Lieser in the process.

She jumped out of the tree, now facing the four mages from a distance. "Not gonna happen, you perverts."

"What?!" They screamed in unison. Panic struck their faces as this little witch seemed to unweave magic well beyond her current level. Several dashed off into the chaos behind them, for the legends of the witch's forest plagued their mind. Leaving only two large men to stand against this young mage. Still, the fire and wind brothers wouldn't back down against her.

"Knew we should've went with the boss." The younger brother said. "Well at least we know she'll fetch us a high price."

"Ha! The others leaving us all this fun. Fucking idiots." The elder spat. Fiery magic began to circulate his body. "It's a good thing I ain't sign up for barrier duty. Come on brother, lets get her."

"Try not to go too overboard. Burned orders are often sent back to the kitchen."

The eldest charged a fireball well above his head and launched it to the witch. However, the younger brother joined his attack with a whirlwind. Transforming the ball of fire into a massive whirlwind of fire. The ratio of magic transforming it from a regular composite spell into a regular enhancement of the older brother's scorching magic. The end result being a spell capable of incinerating even the strongest of earth magic.

Lieser had no way to defend against the whirlwind of fire using the same technique as before; it was too massive and she was not certain if she could deviate such chaotic creation from its course. Without a proper spell for the situation in her grimoire either, she took advantage of the fire illuminating the dark place to run away from the attack and evade it.

Now, with a better understanding of the area, she moved around as she inscribed letters in the blade of her sword with her own mana. "C-C-M-B" They shined in dark, reddish aura. Finding a good angle, she threw it with extreme force, sending it spinning horizontally against the fire mage.

Ironic that the young mage of chaos was fighting on the side of law and order. But that mattered little to the Fire Mage who found himself flung backwards from the force of the sword entering his stomach. He'd manage to catch himself, ending the fire whirlwind prematurely due to the immense pain surging through his body. He wasn't going to survive this fight but he'd make sure to take this bitch down with him. Before his brother could check for help, the fire mage immediately send a flaming dragon up into the sky which spiraled downward at Lieser.

Meanwhile, the wind mage took this opportunity to send forth a powerful gust of wind in hopes of knocking her onto her bum. Thus robbing the woman of her balance and creating a crucial opening that would allow for the fire dragon to slam against her stomach.

With the succesful attack, the first two letters in the sword's blade started to shine. The sword was almost instantaneoulsy **c**harged with Lieser's **c**haotic magic, enveloping it and the fire mage in a dark aura. The last two letters activated in the sequence, disrupting the magic system of the mage and, instead of the mana leaving his body, the **m**ana started to come **b**ack. It not only would prevent the mage from casting spells, but the immediate mana liberated in the atmosphere would be forced to go back inside his body; in this case, the fire dragon. It now moved against the order of its own creator, charging towards his body in the same spiralling motion to be part once more of its creator's mana pool.

Lieser didn't fight the gust, falling on her back on the ground.

The wind mage wanted to finish the job...but watching one's brother incinerated by his own magic would be distracting to the most hardened mage. The scream which tore from his throat was like none other in this world. The smell of his brother's burning corpse. Watching his skin crackle and pop as if some childish treat. He tried to run to him but the flames were too strong. And so, he simply looked to the young witch. "You fucking bitch!" He spat venomously. He charged his mana and waved his hand forward. The gesture sending forth three massive crescent blades comprised of wind. He followed up with an upward spell, a tornado forming from above the witch.

If he did pay enough attention, the wind mage could see the ominous smile that addorned the witch's face. She seemed to enjoy the entire scene; the screams of pain of the burning corpse and the growing rage of its fellow relative. But it didn't last, as the very fabrics of space opened in front of her, revealing a black grimoire with its cover covered in rips and cracks; there was no visible clover on it.

The red of Lieser's eyes shined as the floating book flipped through its pages by itself, moving the air around her in a circular motion. It suddenly stopped in a random page, where dark sparks emanated from the paper. "Calamity trigger", she read. For a second, the entire place was silent; it was like the nature itself knew that these words marked the end of its existence. What followed, however, was the most strondous noise that one could hear.

The entire ground underneath Lieser and the wind mage exploded. The earth cracked in many pieces, sending debris and dust upwards in various direction, followed by an extremely strong gust of wind that moved trees, rocks and even the clouds in the sky away. Even mana seemed to not pose a threat to this spell, as the wind mage's creation vanished in the turmoil. What lasted was an enormous crater that covered about ten meters of diameter. Lieser was nowhere to be seen.

And it was a blessing. The wind mage just managed to avoid falling to his death by using what little magic he had left to carry himself across the chasm. Butbperhaps he should've fell to his death. The man he'd spent his entire life was now gone. They were bandits out of necessity. They only had one another and this lifestyle in a world of genetic favoritism was the only thing he knew.

The mage of wind clenched the dirt in his hand and began to cry. "Just kill me." He pleaded. For he felt it before all others.

"Hi." Lieser stood besides the hopeless mage, crouching with one arm over her leg supporting her chin with the palm of her hand. She didn't make a noise; it seemed like she just appeared out of nowhere. The opposite arm held her sword high, the silver blade reflecting the white light of the moon. Before the mage could react to her presence, the blade fell on his neck, stopping midway through the cut. It didn't kill him, but blocked his throat, leaving the man agonizing without air on the ground.

She let it struck there, reaching for something that was right by her side. "You see, tonight was hunting night. I thought I would only catch rabbits, but..." She approached the thing to her face; it was the burned head of the fire mage. "You guys will be a good meal, anyway." She took a bite of the head's cheek, chewing it for a few seconds while she looked directly into the eyes of the wind mage. "So yummy." Lieser said, before spitting the entire thing into the wind mage's face. "... Just kidding."

She threw the head away, approaching the wind mage's body. "I'm already entertained. See you in hell." She stepped on the sword's blade, finishing the cut. His head rolled a few meters, with blood spitting everywhere. Lieser picked up her sword, cleaning it on the mage's clothes. She looked around and, with no more enemies, headed to city's insides.

### I'M NOT WEAK!

Kaiser walked alone through the streets of the distracted city, his head bowed thoughtfully, reflecting under what he had seen, then murmured to himself, "what was that black cloud that covered the sky?" After walking a little, he felt a strange smell of burning, and then he lifted his head and looked up at the sky, it was when he realized that the city sky was filled with smoke, it was at that moment that he realized that the city was under attack. As he approached the house on fire, he found three men in black robes wielding their grimoires, cornering a woman and her baby. Even though he knew that he didn't stand a chance against them, Kiaser drew his knife. "Cowards, let go and face me like men!" He screamed.

The bandits laughed. "What do we have here?" The one grabbing the women chuckled as he placed the baby on the table. The other bandit tossed the woman over a nearby chair. "Since you want to play hero, why don't we have some fun with you then." With the bandits now focused on Kaiser, they made their way towards the armed boy. Their grimoires following them menacingly.

"I doubt he can use magic. Come on runt, where's your grimoire?!" The smallest one teased as he licked a knife that came from his grimoire.

"Puny little punks think they can stand against us. Let's bring him to Skar!" The bandit on the opposite side threw his hand forward and spikes made of earth flew from his sleeve at Kaiser's stomach.

Kaiser was thrown a few meters by the attack of the bandit, his back slamming through the wall. He rose to a knee, but felt excruciating pain when he tried to fight back. A shocking, sharp sensation which echoed throughout his ribs. "Dammit...they might have broke my ribs." Kaiser mumbled. He gritted his teeth and re-entered his guard position.

"*There's no training today, go enjoy your day, it's nice out.*" Colby would think back to the words of his teacher as he walked aimlessly through town. As Colby wandered town he came across a young boy, cornered and wounded. "W-What the hell?!" Colby would say as he watched in confusing as his day went from calm and boring, to eventful and confusing, to say the absolute least. Colby had little time to think and even less to pick sides, he assessed the situation and took would move based on his best possible judgment, this was not a time for his fear to take over, but for him to take action.

Colby would draw his blade, his grimoire following suit and floating up to his side, flipping through its pages. Colby's grimoire abruptly stopped on a page, as it did so the sword rested in Colby's hand sparked with electricity. "Time to put my training into action, I-I g-guess." Colby shot forward, not even stopping to utter the name of his current spell, appearing in front of the injured boy. In an instant, his blade swung upwards towards the closest bandit, a spark of lightning close behind the blade as it would hopefully slice through the bandit.

The bandits were utterly shocked by the new runt. They were only seconds away from taking care of the useless brat and now they had another problem. This one could actually use magic. And in an instant, their youngest member was bifurcated in the step of thunder. "Fuck!" The eldest scream. "Get him! And kill the useless one!" The earth mage clapped his hand which sent the pages of his grimoire turning. After finding the proper spell, a wave of earth was sent towards Colby. Meanwhile the opposing bandit sent a rain of icicles down upon Kaiser in hopes of finishing the job.

Then, despair, Kaiser looks sideways with an escape route or a hideout, noticing that he has no chance to escape, Kaiser shouts "Dammit, if I die here I will not be able to keep the promise I made to father!"

Colby sprung into action, he knew he would have little time to save both himself and Kaiser so he had to adapt. Just as quick as the lightning he used to cleave the bandit in half, he shot back to Kaiser just before the icicles reached him, snatching him into his arm moving out of the way of the attacks. "S-Stop whining and screaming, this is no time for that, G-GET YOU SHIT TOGETH-THER!" Colby would say setting Kaiser on the floor.

Not turning back at Kaiser for a second glance he began to take action. Once again his grimoire flipped through its pages before swiftly stopping at a spell. "*God, I hope this spell works*". Colby would think to himself before holding his hands out in front of him clapping them together. He would then slightly open them releasing several shots of electricity all directed at the bandits.

"Lightning Magic: Spark Scattershot." As the sparks started off towards the bandits a few would fall of trail colliding with the ground just short of the bandits leaving only four, two aimed directly at each, en route to hit them, each holding enough voltage to potentially kill them where they stood.

And that it did. For the bandits erupted into an explosion of lightning as their body began to shut down. Some were killed but the rookie's magic was definitely impressive enough to remove the immediate threat with such efficiency. Despite the surrounding chaos, one would think that this silence would mean the battle for the rookies was over. But the following rumbles followed by the sounds of houses being crushed ruined what should've been a joyous moment.

Three earthen men emerged from around the house. Their earthen body caked in blood and debris. They moved sluggishly but with an undeniable purpose. Their stone weapons strong enough to demolish anything and everything in their path. They were attracted to the magic of the rookies which sparked so bright. The leader of the stone pack held his blade up and slammed it against the young lightning mage with such a force that it shattered the earth beneath him.

The second moved to compliment the first strike with another. This time in hopes of squashing the rookie with its massive foot. However, the third was attracted to Kaiser. And instead slammed his fist against Kaiser's body. Sending the hopeless boy flying towards the massive stone library behind him. It continued forward aiming to finish its job.

Kaiser was thrown from the house to the library when he fell to the ground, he again feels his fractures when he sees the enemy approaching to finish him Kaiser tries to get up to escape, but he felt his leg that prevented him from moving, feeling his close approaching Kaiser just managed to scream "Damn, I'm going to die here!" as he tried to rise persistently

### The Young Priestess

Peace. Tranquility. The young, red haired mage sat in silent contemplation and meditation within the confines of the treeline. In this tranquil state, she was hardly aware of her surroundings anymore. This was hardly Haruhi's favored pastime, but it should help her come to grips with her magic and the god she had elected to champion. She had quickly figured out that it was a strong magic at its base, with a potency which was surprising for someone of her skill. Yet she also learned that it was considerably weaker against anyone else than those who would threaten society, which she feared might drag her down someday. She contemplated these thoughts and many more as she sunk deeper and deeper into trance. Then a sound. A whisper. Faint as the breath of a bug, but it was there.

Haruhi began to slowly snap out of her self-induced stupor as the voice brought her back to reality. She did not know what the voice was saying, but somehow she understood its intent. She turned her head to then hear the screams of innumerable civilians crying out. Haruhi's first instinct, never having faced combat of any sort before, was to run away and call in proper aid. Then came the whisper again. She could still not make it out, but she somehow knew what it meant this time too. *Be kind. Fight for them*. Haruhi felt no other choice than to obey the voice, yet why, she did not know.

Haruhi ran as fast as she could towards the village of Welter, applying some magic to increase her haste through the spell, Royal Dance. Once she arrived she almost froze on the spot. This situation was far worse than she could have imagined. Her grimoire floated beside her as she took one tenative step after the other until she was running headfirst into the fray. Haruhi bore witness to a mother, clinging for dear life to her son as a small group of bandits tried to break them apart. With another Royal Dance Haruhi dashed and phased through the first bandit, locking him in place like stone. Barely thinking about it, she then grabbed a small brick to the side and smacked it into the side of his head, knocking him backward. Not waiting to even give thanks, the woman continued to flee with her child, while Haruhi held her ground. "Not one step further." She hissed threateningly despite her fearful beating heart.

The bandit collapsed from the force of the brick. Impressive that a girl of that size could hurt him *that* much. But his friends quickly came to his aide. One, a bald stave wielding thug, stood by his side. "You little bitch. I'll have you killed...Or put to a better use which'll make you wish I'd killed you. Let me handle this boys. Go capture the other bitch and her brat again." He said with a sickened grin. The other two bandits obeyed their senior and dashed off. But rather than give the small redheaded rookie the chance to give chase, the older bandit waved his stave around sloppily. It took several seconds but he'd manage to conjure a ball of magic with considerable explosive power. He launched it at Haruhi.

Haruhi wanted to pursue the other bandits, but she had tro acknowledge that there was a greater and mroe immediate threat before her right now. As he waved his stave around with seemingly little rhyme or reason, she could only imagine one thing in the works: Magic. Begining her counter, she hastily began to chant her spell's incantation. "Kings both new and old shall come to aid, with hope and justice I commit my raid. Hatred quenched by righteous zeal, your great majesty, be now revealed!" Haruhi cried out, creating a sizable rod of Holy Energy. Both their spells finished around the same time, falling only slightly behind on Haruhi's part.

The ball was launched at her, and she was quick with her retaliation. She allowed the rod to grow in length, expanding its range until it came half of the distance between her and the Bandit before clashing with the orb of magic. This triggered the explosion of the spell, sending a mighty shockwave out, one which only affected Haruhi to a relatively slight amount, with the rest either going back to the bandit or just being made null. Not stopping there, she forced the rod to grow even longer, with the aim to strike the bandit in the face, maybe even breaking his nose in the attempt.

Shocking. Utterly shocking that a little girl of her size could cause him so much damage. The explosion not only knocked the bandit back but also obscured his vision. Allowing her to land a clean shot against the man. He could feel every inch of his nose being smashed to pieces. And as he stood back up, his bloodied face had been twisted into that of a demonic mask. "Damn you...you fucking bitch." The bandit spat venomously. He crawled to his feet and clutched the stave again. "You're going to regret waking up today when I finish with you."

Practice made perfect. And as he waved the stave once more, the energy trail it created allowed him to create a whip of mana. He twirled it above his head, causing the whip to lacerate the nearby buildings and wells. It suddenly transformed into a whirlwind of energy that struck randomly. With each rotation, he came an ounce closer to mastering its power. Thus he continued in an attempt to strike the troublesome girl. The whip aimed at her midsection as well as her chest. It also attempted to slice her arm from her body.

Haruhi saw no other course of action than to stand her ground. Yet, with lacking speed, strength and agility, all she could do was allow the rod to act automatically to these threats. She let go of the magical weapon, which proceeded to hover in place and spin around rapidly, desperately trying to counter every lash and cut. Meanwhile, Haruhi went to work with her next spell. There were too many bandits at once, and by the commotion to judge, not enough help to go around. With the grimoire before her, opened to the page she desired, she began her chant, so fast a one that it almost bordered into slurs. "I call the rightousness of heart and soul, to see my foe as cindered coals." She spoke, doing her best as to keep her focus on her chant while the whip lashed out in anger towards her. The rod was focused towards blocking the most vitally dangerous lashes, whilst the less threatening ones at times reached by the rod, lacerating the young witch. "Fighting the evils who shan't be woken, I call those who can't be broken. From blackest night to darkest caverns, let me call thee starry heavens. The heavens to judge you right, leave and rid yourself from royal sight." She called out at last, bloodied and wounded by the terrible assault. But she had managed.

The mana coalesced with her prayer and manifested as innumerable phantoms which, supposedly, reflected that of kings and queens come and gone. With a single wave, the phantoms began to spread across the nearby block of the town. The phantoms kept themselves within a certain distance from Haruhi, taking care of any villain so brazen to have invaded them, not due to it being a particularly messy area, but because of Haruhi's current level, they couldn't without dissipating. A select few of six phantoms proceeded to haunt and attack the bandit before her, hopefully making him let up on his attacks. And even if he didn't, there wouldn't be much left of him within short anyways beyond either a thrashed criminal or a drained husk of a man. She could now only hope that this would be enough to ward them off. Because if not, she was dried out of mana, she had no chance in hell of beating these men with sheer strength, and she was slowly getting sluggish from the blood dripping wounds.

The red headed priestess managed to scare off the surrounding bandits. And the leader before her, spooked, tripped over a piece of debris which had flew from his previous attack. Causing him to slam his skull against solid earth. It was almost as if whatever deity she prayed to had heard her call. For the area found an eerie silence among death and flames. The surrounding bandits either scared away from the mysterious phantoms or drained of their vitality.

But the unsettling silence was actually a signal of what was to come. For several golems emerged from the surrounding buildings. They were drawn by the massive amount of magic that the young woman exhibited. And even as she lied drained, they would continue in an attempt to squash all potential threats to their creators' will. They moved with a silent strength. Each swing of their stone bodies releasing a horrific roar. Their weapons were crude. A small group of two golems with one wielding a spied club and another a stone sword. They approached Haruhi almost as if ordered by death itself.

And once within range, the larger one raised its massive club and brought it down upon the red headed girl.

## Act II: The Serpent of War

As if one cue the entirety of the town was set alight with splendiferous violet and every civilian found themselves shrouded in resplendent light before they literally vanished into thin air and reappeared a kilometre or so away from the city, and each of them could have sworn they saw something before being whisked away to safety. Namely, an enormous rider astride an eight-legged horse that galloped through the streets of the town, its hooves causing space itself to flicker and flail about madly, its blade tearing through the land and bringing a sudden end to all rebels of the Crown it might find.

Once known as Sir Tenebron, the Captain of the Squad that today was called Violet Orca and a master of Spatial Magic while he yet lived – the entity was none other than the Eidolon Odin, the most favoured of King Guthrie Clover II’s godlike servants.

However it steered clear of the area where Skar, Wesley and Richard stood and the reason would soon arrive in person, his arrival heralded by an enormous amount of mana so dense that it ignited of its own accord and manifested as towering walls of green-blue flames entrapping the Bandit Leader within.

*«Truly, your obstinancy knows no bounds.»*

Emerging from the flames that parted to allow him passage, King Guthrie moved slowly towards the rebel as he intoned slowly, his cloak billowing out behind him, its edges shimmering with eldritch fire.

*«You are a fool of rare find to think that it is bloodlines and rites of succession that turn men to Kings. Permit me to elucidate the extent of your ignorance, Kings arise from power or they crumble by tradition. Mark you the suffering of my predecessors who were destined to rule yet lacked the strength to lead, theirs is a sorry tale.»*

Raising his hand in an almost beckoning gesture towards Skar, Guthrie allowed his mana to flow freely as the very earth began to tremble and the surrounding structures began to fall apart bit by bit under the oppressive weight of his magical power. Cracks snaked up walls that soon split under the strain. Meanwhile, upon Skar it would seem as though gravity had increased manyfold as a massive well of mana sought to crush him against the ground where he stood, to force him to bow down to his rightful king.

*«You think me mistaken? And if I am? You had best find the strength you need to correct me then.»*

Skar fell to his knee as he'd done many times before. His head forced to lower in the presence of the king he denied. "D-damn you, you f-false monarch!" He attempted to scream. But he found that the thick mana began to crowd even his throat. It was a painful display. One which showed the world how quickly his grand dream would break against the man chosen by the heaven's above. *When did it all begin?* Skar thought. The face of death itself beginning to lead Skar to the next realm.

Flashes of his life flickered before his eyes. *I was proud to be born noble.* Memories of other nobles dancing among one another. Helping the peasants that occupied their lands. *It meant that the heaven's recognized my right to lead the others. I was a shepherd among sheep.* Skar bit down. *But then I met you, Guthrie. You false king. A man who won't continue the lineage of our kingdom's greatest house. You're a disgrace. You're a blight upon the dreams of the royal predecessors*  But it was through the acceptance of this death that Skar's face melted into a slight smile.

"You speak of strength and power, Guthrie!" Skar roared. His mana began to react violently as if exploding from within. He knew he wouldn't win this fight but desired to make sure the false king felt his heart. "But...it...takes...more than that to become a recognized king!" Suddenly Skar's magic power erupted in a series of blades. It attempted to split the very mana which pressed him down apart. Still, he struggled to stand through the immense power of the king. "You're...Nothing more...than a lucky brat!"

The King’s expression remained inscrutable as Skar spoke his piece, there was no trace of anger or fury upon his noble features and his limbs hang limply by his side, even as his magical power whirled around two men in a tornado of mana.. seizing hold of Skar and yanking him slowly into the air while the world around them groaned and screamed in protest at the exertion of mana.

Skar’s final show of defiance was an impressive show of force by all accounts and yet the blades of mana were sheared out of existence moments after being unleashed, suffocated into nothingness by the

«So you opposed me on noble grounds? If only that were true, your men have terrorized my subjects in countless ways – this veneer of reason that you project is but a way to justify your crimes to your conscience, nothing more.»

As if to punctuate this point, the anguished screams of the bandits as they were hunted to extinction by the Eidolon Odin resounded throughout the area. While the forces at play around the King were amplified into a crushing grip that pressed against Skar with the intent to slowly disintegrate him with its sheer quantity.

«Your life is forfeit – and your meaningless resistance with it! For good and all I shall bring this pathetic attempt at rebellion to an end!»

Following these words the entire weight of Guthrie’s mana surged inwards and was directed to a single point in order to completely annihilate Skar where he flew, for with the weight of the Eidolons behind him the Monarch had no need of spells to destroy his detractors.

### A Bond Forged in Hate

As Odin warped the citizens and knights out of the area Wesley sighed with relief, finally free of that nightmare. He'd only briefly seen the face of their savior but the looming Eidolon had already told him who it was. Their king had rescued them all, it was relieving to know that he would be taking down Skar. There was a part of Wesley though that wished he and Richard had been the ones to do it. It was only then that Wesley realized he was nowhere near anyone in the village, he sat alone on a rocky plateau, in the distance he could barely make out a village. He wasn't sure if it was the same one but he knew the immense pressure of the mana there probably meant it was. Why was he here though had the spell malfunctioned? What could have caus...

"Feeling lost little lamb?"

Wesley shuddered as he looked towards the voice, upon a rock outcropping about 20 feet from him sat a man in lavish robes. Charcoal black hair hanging loosely over his oddly calm face. "Who the hell are you?" Wesley had dismissed his transformation as soon as he saw Guthrie but his body was still in pain. Even so he readied himself as he stared down the figure.

"Calm yourself lamb, no point in bleating so loudly. I simply smelled something interesting and wanted to check it out."

"Smelled me? What the hell are you.."

The figure waved his had dismissively. "Wesley please enough swearing, this is not how you greet your elders."

"How do you know my name?" Wesley stuttered, becoming increasingly disturbed.

"It would be rude of me to not at least learn the name of my replacement, wouldn't it brother?" The figure grinned has he pushed the bangs from his eyes. "It's me, Avalon."

"Avalon.." His brother Avalon Umbra, was it really him. Wesley was so confused. He'd only heard about Avalon. A man who betrayed his family and country for inexplicable reasons. The man who had made Monster magic taboo for the Umbra family. The man who had ruined the last couple months of Wesley's life. "You. Do you know what I've had to go through because of you, these past months I've basically been living on my own because of you. Who the hell do you.."

"Didn't I tell you to stop bleating. You waste your breath on hollow insults, replacement." He spoke softly but some sinister tone wafted off his every word. His every syllable unnerving Wesley to no end. "It's not my fault that your parents decided to hate you because of me. You're their mistake not mine. They tried to clone a sheep and ended up with a lamb."

"That metaphor doesn't even make sense." Wesley countered

"Much like your weak accusations." Avalon shot back, not even missing a beat. There was no joy of victory in his statement though. It was almost like he was attempting teach a lesson to a child, or a dog. "Lamb you really haven't grasped it yet, you were created to replace me. If I hadn't decided to step out for a bit you would have never been conceived. It's not very hard concept but mumble something if you're keeping up." He tapped a finger against his cheek as he stared off at the village.

"What do you mean, that's preposterous they only.." He was cut off without hesitation.

"Hate you because of your magic, yes of course the magic of the House Umbra's founder. Yes lamb they hate you carrying on our powerful magic and bloodline." His tone was completely serious, not a hint of sarcasm in his words. As if to accentuate the absurdity of that being a reality. "Lamb you're not very bright but it's fine, most species aren't. Whether you like it or not you were made to replace me and you failed to. But it isn't your fault, no one individual can ever replace another in society."

"What are you doing here then? Gloating? Asking me to join whatever you're up to now? What do you want Avalon?" Wesley roared, nails cutting into his skin as he balled his fists as hard as he could. Attempting to contain the welling rage within him.

"Don't put yourself on a pedestal lamb, you didn't win best in show. I simply came to meet you and you started bleating at me. I was in the area and I sensed a mana similar to mine. I assumed it was you and wanted to know what my replacement looked like." He shrugged, adjusting his robes. "Do what you like from here, I have no ties to you."

"No ties to me. You're my damn brother and here you are antagonizing the hell out of me. Filling my head with lies." Wesley's mana began to well up as the air grew bright around him. "Full Summoning: Abijam." He cried as his mana exploded out revealing the massive blue serpent behind him. "Let's teach this "brother" of mine some manners." He reached his hand out as Abijam began to charge, he moved about an inch. Blue chains and collars wrapped around the beast in an instant slamming it to the ground as it attempted to move to no avail. Completely restrained against the ground.

"I'm not going to have some big scene with you lamb. I've been a mage for over 40 years and we have the same magic." His flat tone only further antagonizing Wesley. "I really don't want to associate with you but the ineptitude that you utilize your magic with is starting to make me feel familial shame. It's honestly quite shocking." His eyes still showed no emotion.

"Abijam come on." Wesley encouraged his beast but it couldn't even move to cast magic.

"Lamb I'm going to depart now." Avalon extended a hand to his side as in what seemed to be a flash of lighting a massive wyvern appeared. It's body a shimmering almost copper like plating, with accents of green upon it. It's wings were prismatic, patterned like an insect they glowed beautifully in the moonlight. Green electricity crackled along the beast, dispersing into the air with each flap of its gargantuan wings. "Please inform your species they are a waste."

Wesley stood in bewilderment as Avalon hopped upon the beast and with a shrill cry, shot into the clouds above.