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1. Beginnings

Madakos Isilik had relatively low mana, in a society where having lots of mana could change your life; the Human kingdoms in particular valued magic extremely, Sumar, Ilar and Lin all would heap massive rewards for being a strong magic user. There was of course aristocracy and merchants who did business in the background, but many aristocrats were related to the magically gifted, and new magically gifted people were often awarded lands. Madakos was not such a person, his father had a small hut in Lin, a sharecropper who needed assistance. Madakos had other siblings, one worked as a clerk in Lin and sent silver coins to his father Aspar. With Madakos approaching the age of 27, he wondered if this was his life now, to drudge for others until the end of time.

A medium height, black hair, multi coloured eyes that would seem green to any who didn’t stare too long, smelling of sweat or the smell of freshly washed clothes, which usually devolved into him smelling of sweat again.

“I’m sure you’ll get married soon, I can organise something if you like?”

“I’m ok,” Madakos laughed, “I wouldn’t mind organising my own marriage.”

His father smelled worried, he had a downcast eyes, he knew he couldn’t do more, he could only do so much; his mother was worse, she did what she could and could quite clearly be seen worrying, but that was better than not worrying at all. Huts made of thatched roofs were hardly expensive, his older brother Alex sent a few coins that the Isilik family could have more than meagre rations. This whole situation was a shame for Madakos, who being 27 years old seemed to almost slot into the monotony of his destiny. Till the land, grow the crops, sell a bunch, live off the rest, do chores, eat, sleep, maybe have a wife, and then in the end die. Madakos seeing the end in sight decided to choose something different. All stories have a beginning, middle and end, and all lives share common beginnings and endings; Madakos therefore quibbled his middle, much to the detriment of the world around him.

942 cc (common calendar), a bright late winter/early spring day, he had finished tilling the land, his calloused hands and feet used to tiredness, a hard existence made harder by a lack of rain the previous year. The Kingdom of Lin was the political border, a government run by the Archbishop, an ecclesiastical government rather than a feudal monarchy like Ilar or Sumar, but nonetheless it was feudal in nature. Walking down the flat ground away from the farm, there was a forest, it was technically prohibited to hunt there except for days in the year when the Lord was feeling generous. Strapped boots felt the pain of standing all day, the dirt caulked in the soles of his feet, the smell of sweat that was so common and constant that it was not even noticed by Madakos; he could taste his own spit, and the smell of flowers, swivelling to see a wolf staring at him, his shirt a thin linen shirt, his trousers likewise thin and linen suddenly felt like it was not enough. The wolf was not interested and scampered off, a sensation other than monotony, other than tiredness: fear. The fear was greater when the wolf disappeared, for where could it be? That made Madakos turn his head around, wondering where danger would lie.

It does not matter, I don’t even know why I’m here. Destiny, I can’t live the same way, I can’t continue like I am.

Maybe five minutes, maybe ten, Madakos walked to some strange cave, a hillock, overgrown moss making it look like it was shrubbery from afar, but there was an entrance, an entrance dark to the eyes and smelt of dampness. There was scrawl on the walls, spiders crawled on the entrances, there seemed to be a dark purple glow to some of it. The air outside was considerably warmer than in there, and despite this he drew sweat on his scalp, he felt the pressure of the structure, a nervous sweat formed on his legs as well. There was only one legible phrase in the entire building:

“Give all mana?” Madakos read aloud.

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He had a minuscule to give, and wondered whether it would even do anything, and he did. He fell down on his knees, feeling the mana drain from him, and then a sharp pain and purple writing appeared before him like an instruction manual.

MY NAME IS NERIDIM THE FIRST WARLOCK, IF YOU ARE READING THIS, I AM DEAD. I INVENTED A MAGIC SYSTEM THAT IS INFINITE. THE KINGDOM OF LIN, AND THOSE INFERNAL UNDEAD CONSPIRED TO KILL ME. IN THE YEAR 200 OF THE COMMON CALENDAR THEY DID SO; THIS IS MY WILL AND TESTAMENT. AVENGE ME.

The letters vanished, and another set came up.

“To gather Zira you must meditate or build constructs?” Madakos repeated.

You require 7200 Zira in order to create a construct. The construct will create Zira for you.

As such, Madakos meditated for two hours, letting the weird magical energy fill up inside him, before then attempting to make the magical construct. It had a strange silvery metallic stand wrapping around a special purple crystal in the middle, the energy could be felt pulsating inside of him. It vaguely looked like an hour glass, without the sand, and instead a purple crystal in the middle.

The energy required for combat is large, but unlike mana there is no limits to Zira. Avenge me. A voice said inside his head.

He waited another hour and put another construct, they were both about a metre wide, two constructs inside the cave was all the space he could spare for now, he wandered around in the dark, seen by a man with red eyes, his eyes visible in the dark of night, a crazed madman, a sympathiser with the Undead, who ran at him with a grin and a hatchet. Madakos fumbled for something, a thin shot of Zira went straight through the madman’s head. The grass was now red with the man’s blood, Madakos reached for the man’s brown coat, bugs immediately feasted on the Human, Madakos shook his own head as he fumbled through the coat to find a note in the man’s pocket. Scrawl, but legible.

Kill! Kill! Kill! Must kill. Blood. Kill.

Madakos turned around and there were other madmen who perhaps caught a whiff of the blood. He ran through the forest, feeling the Zira accumulate, but accumulate it did not do fast enough. Running through the forest away from the panting of crazed friends of the Undead. He tripped up on a tree root, immediately bruising his leg, but somehow managed to continue his run, pushing himself off the ground before nearly being stabbed in the chest. Pushing the Dina sympathiser down, before running through the forest. In truth, Madakos was hopelessly lost, having gone deeper and deeper, going into a strange ravine. Madakos was cornered by one of the men before he shot two pathetic shots of Zira that nonetheless singed and slowed down his pursuers. Wolves came from nowhere biting and killing one of the lunatics while Madakos continued running into the night. He found himself in the nearest village, scrambling around, eyes glittering from the forest. His leg muscles felt strained, but the overawing terror made him sprint at a max speed. Madakos ended up near a Lin watchtower, as Undead skeletons clashed with sleepy guards. A light mage used light to dissolve the skeletons; their eyes full of determination as they reflected their brilliant light. Madakos was covered in scrapes, sweat; sweat that smelled of anxiety, the saline quality somehow producing a unique distinctive scent.

Hours passed and he finally found himself on his family farm, after many hours of traversing roads and forests. Madakos approached his father, his father neared him. Worry in his face, his nose crinkled with sweat, a big greek nose and kind green eyes.

“My son your brother Alex has sent a few more coins, we are going to buy a small plot of our own land,” he was proud and worried at the same time, both emotions carrying through in his voice.

Isabel Isilik stared at her son, seeing straight through him, brown haired with a smaller greek shaped nose, thick eyebrows, smelling of herbal fragrances and having a white smile due to various teeth cleaning products.

“You want to say something, don’t you?” The mother intervened.

“I will make my own way in the world now…” Madakos uttered. It will be safer for both of you, if I leave.

Both mother and father were slightly shocked, but there was a smile on both.

“We both love you,” the father said, “always.”

They both hugged him, his mother kissing his head.

“God you’re sweaty and filthy,” his mother laughed, “where have you been? No never mind. You’ll tell us when you want to.”

Madakos welled up, nodding, tears in his eyes.

I will try to make you proud.

The morning air was frosty, but the sunlight shone through warmly producing a bit more sweat. Madakos brought a minimal change of clothes and drank the last bit of water from his flask and refilled it from the well, he strapped a satchel to carry some basic items. He took in the last sight of his home; the hut, his parents, the land and the nearby forests. His destination was westward, to the ocean.