I have always been fond of the ivory keys of a piano. The feel and the sound they create. They are but one part of a whole device made of many parts, each working together to produce an instrument capable of magical things. Perhaps this kind of pointless thinking is poison to the mind. Perhaps it is something all men do. I cannot truly say I know.

The ivory keys danced as they always did under my delicate touch. Years of abusing Black Magic had dulled many of my traditional senses, but I could still feel. I could also taste, hear and see with little effort. It was simply the concept of my senses which had been eroded like waves crashing against a wall. To know you can feel, but at times to forget how. An odd experience.

I could feel the voices in my head, more crisp and clear to my brain than the sound of the piano, and they pulled me away from the room. Not physically, mind you, but in another way entirely. What was my essence and not a physical being was being dragged through the lengthy halls of the Halls of Obsidian to some other damned place. It was our way of calling each other.

The ways of the Seven Black Sorcerers.

"Will you ignore his summons?" The voice of a spirit sounded out from behind me.

"Ignore is not the right word. I am simply shelving his summons until I find it fit to appear before him."

The Seven that called themselves the Black Sorcerers had no love for each other. We were bound by the Empire that offered us many things, not by any sort of loyalty. He hated I, and I hated he. Such petty creatures we were. I could already imagine the being known as Aragor tapping his metal boot impatiently as he awaited my appearance.

In truth my hope was to force Aragor to come to me. It usually took a while, but among the Seven it was clear that Aragor had the littlest patience for waiting. He also had the littlest patience for pretty much everything. I could remember with clarity the time that Aragor almost killed a man over the wait time of a bowl of soup.

I chuckled like the villain I was. "I can almost see his veins bulging from here."

"His veins are always bulging." The ghostly voice responded with unkind words that made me smile.

Black Magic did things to ones outer appearance, which is why I dressed in so many layers of black and gold. It is also why I wore a white and gold mask to cover my somewhat questionable face. I was once told it was very "owl" shaped for a mask. Of course, I liked to keep my eyes out in the open. Nothing screams welcoming quite like the red eyes of a Black Mage.

It did make going outside a little painful, of course, seeing as how they were red from what I could only assume was my blood vessels bursting in a vain attempt to escape what I could only assume is many magical related diseases ravaging my body. Of course, I was once told by a noble tailor that art is a painful process. Black Magic was no different.

When he finally burst open the metallic door to my lair, I turned behind me to face Aragor from the seat of my piano. He too coated himself in black and gold, though he chose to forgo the robe and cloak combination I admired and chose armor, instead. An imposing man even as Black Magic ravaged his body, Aragor was at least three times my height and frame. I was jealous.

"You insolent fool!" Aragor the Frenzied, which was a lovely little nickname, screamed loud enough to wake the dead resting in my lair. "Why are you intentionally ignoring my summons once more?"

"As I was just explaining to nobody in particular, Aragor, I was merely shelving it until I find it fit-"

"Enough of your foolishness, Defiler!"

With a wave of his arm, my dark sanctuary was lit up from candle to candle. The ominous green glow of my favourite Murith candles did little to make my sanctum look any less threatening to the average person. From the ground to the high ceiling were shelves and shelves of books and odd things. A skull here, a golden chalice there and a few bottles of this and that in between.

My sanctum was the largest room in the already imposing building it was contained in, forming a sort of tower that stuck out of the already intimidating building like a clock tower. It had no windows, for I could see in the dark and thus I had no need for foolish windows. To reach the tallest parts of the room, one needed to slide the wooden ladder around to get what they desired.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

It was as dangerous as it sounded, even to a Black Mage. That's why I simply used magic and left the ladder for people who lacked such a convenient method of collecting things. Like, say, a certain Master of the Post who was constantly on the prowl for exotic books on fairly erotic fiction that I keep on the highest shelf.

It may also be of note that four corpses sat on their knees, two on each side of my piano. These were flesh puppets that were formerly people of ill repute who had met the end of an imperial rope. Though they were resting, they were always aware. Sadly, to my displeasure I had once told them that Aragor was not an enemy and thus they showed no real hostility.

"I come demanding your attention and you muck about. Have you no shame as a Black Sorcerer?"

"It may be because you've come demanding my attention and not just seeking it. Your remark about shame is also somewhat confusing." I gave a small shrug. "I guess it's all the dark magic."

"The book, Defiler!" Aragor raised his voice again. "Tell me of the book!"

The book he spoke of was a bit of an oddity even amongst this collection of oddities. We had discovered it some time ago in a crypt discovered deep within the ground. Supposedly, though we did not know for sure, it was the only known possession of the Mage King who slumbered in that crypt. Naturally, we stole it without hesitation.

The thing that made it an oddity was that it simply had titles and not words. Despite this, it had an immense aura to it as if it was trying it's hardest to suppress an extremely powerful spell. Perhaps even spells. The problem was, we had no idea how to use it. Well, it's not like I had tried very hard to uncover it's secrets up until that point.

"My research is not yet complete. As a matter of fact, I have barely even begun. That is to say, I haven't started."

"I don't care. The Sun Emperor grows impatient with your lack of progress. When the Sun Emperor grows impatient, I grow impatient."

"I couldn't imagine why our lord is growing impatient." I lied through my teeth.

"That may be because you have been intentionally ignoring his summons as you do mine!"

In reality I knew very well that the Sun Emperor was growing steadily impatient with progress on the book. I had simply done my best to ignore any attempt ever made in informing me of his impatience. The foolish man who dressed in golden armor didn't have the guts it took to leave his luxury filled palace to personally face me. Let alone personally critique me.

My guess at the time was the Glorious Empire were suffering a few setbacks in their apparently never-ending quest to consume the land and paint it with their banners. Perhaps it was rebels from within the borders or some sort of resistence from outside. The point was, there was an effort that the Sun Emperor hoped to quell with the contents of a magical book.

I neither knew the real reason for the trouble, nor would I have cared if I did. What I did care about was my peace being disrupted by a fool seeking to answer all the questions of life with dark magic. Not even I, who called himself a Black Sorcerer and accomplished Black Mage, answered all of my questions with magic. Sometimes I also used words.

"What do you plan to do, Aragor?" I asked as I stood from the piano. "Hand the Sun Emperor the book and tell him to throw it at his enemies?"

"It'd serve a greater purpose in my hands than yours, Defiler."

"First of all that is remarkably untrue." I gave another shrug, infuriating my associate of many hated years. "Second of all, I can't actually fathom how to tell you properly that this book is extremely important."

Aragor was a Black Mage like myself, but he was never a particularly normal one. Now each mage both Black and Blue used magic in their own different way. Some used spells like the classic stories you may have heard your father tell you about, and some empowered themselves and their allies with their weaving words and movements. To make themselves stronger.

Aragor used his magic to strengthen himself and then butcher people with his giant sword. It was actually a pretty amazing sight were it not for the fact that he was often just as dangerous to his allies as he was his friends. The point was, Aragor went about his business with the subtly and carefulness of a furious and blind Shenock in the Emperor's vase room.

"I will hand the book over to the Sun Emperor when I am done researching its contents. If you are that eager to gain his favor, why don't you just defame me a little more?"

"I already do." Aragor spat his words with his arms folded.

"Double your efforts. I'm sure he still has a shred of faith in me. Aim for that!"

Aragor stood closer to me and I could see the clear shape of his armor even in the poorly lit green glowing room. Despite the black and gold colouring of the armor itself, he wore a bright red cape down his back. His armor was thick and metallic with spiked pauldrons, and his iron helmet was shaped into a roaring demon. He looked like a very cruel hearted knight.

"I will take your suggestions to heart, Defiler." Aragor snorted "But I suggest you begin working on the book all the same."

"I will do so my stalwart ally." I retorted "But I will do so at my pace. It is after all, still morning."

"It is the afternoon, you cretin!"

Spinning on his heels, Aragor left my sanctum. He did this by slamming the door as hard as he could behind him. I couldn't help but let loose a small chuckle as he did so. Aragor reminded me so much of a furious child who did not like it when things didn't go his way. He was clearly annoyed at being badgered for my apparent failures. That suited me just fine.

After all, I was also a child who did not like it when things didn't go my way.

"I suppose you should begin your research, huh?" I heard the voice of that same bored little ghost and it brought a smile to my lips.

"In a manner of speaking." I spoke as I used my magic to slide my staff from the wall to my hand. "I think it's time we go for a walk."