Gaius spent the whole week poring over the endless tomes in President Benedictus’ personal library. Given normal circumstances, he would be completely beside himself with delight to devour the buffet of arcane knowledge displayed so enticingly in front of him.
But not this time.
The Sorcerer visited the library every day with only urgency in his eyes, intent to finish the previous day’s book and move on to the next. He was unusually worried for a little girl that he had never met before, even though he had already been assigned a more crucial mission from a much more important person.
Can’t believe I’m using True Vision for something like this.
Arcani filled Gaius’ eyes as he scanned the library, searching for the book that would most probably help his cause. The magic guided his vision and landed on a thick book that read ‘History Of Arcani’.
Confusion flooded the boy. Why would a history book be relevant to his mission? Gaius shrugged, putting common sense aside as usual and flipped the tome open.
He squinted. Not even True Vision could decipher the numerous scrawlings and strikethroughs over the printed text. Whoever vandalised this book clearly did not agree with the author. A familiar name caught his eyes.
“General Theodore Faustus, the first Warlock and… original magi?” Gaius muttered to himself. Social Studies had taught him that General Theodore was merely a heroic figure who led a vastly undersized army to a one-sided battle and still won. But arcani was discovered years before his rise to power. Why did the handwritten scribbles claim that he was the founder of magic?
The boy flipped the pages, hastily reading through an extremely abridged version of history about how the General’s betrayal of his meta friend gave rise to magi-kind via a demonic being named ‘Abaddon’. Gaius reached the end of the printed text quickly, and found himself reading an entirely handwritten continuation of the story.
“-Abaddon, growing ever more powerful, continued to demand more and more inhumane sacrifices from him. The general knew that he would not be able to meet its demands, and magi-kind would eventually be crushed under the weight of his sins. Working secretly with the most powerful magis in Surone, they inscribed a counter spell drawing on the collective power of the world’s magi to seal away the demon permanently. The lengthy spell was embedded in three tomes-”
The word ‘three’ was underlined.
“-and sealed behind a wall of arcani embedded into the books. Fortunately, General Theodore and his advisors managed to complete the incantation right before Abaddon found out about their contingencies. A fierce battle ensued and the demon was finally banished from the plane of the world, but not before separating the tomes and scattering them. Should the three tomes be united once more, the final spell can be completed and Abaddon’s gateway to Earth will be destroyed permanently.”
“What?” Gaius sputtered out loud in the empty library. He shook his head in confusion again. Either the vandalizer had an extremely vivid imagination, or social studies class had been one big lie all along. He could not decide which was more implausible.
But this was the President’s personal library, which meant only he should have had access to the books in it. Gaius’ eyes narrowed in suspicion. What exactly was the President’s intentions with the spellcraft? Could the three tomes in that story be the same three tomes that he was seeking? And what have these spellcrafts got to do with Titus?
Gaius slammed the book shut before the multitude of questions building up in his mind crushed him. He checked his phone once more; Benedictus had not yet contacted him. He still had time.
Perhaps it was time to pay a direct visit to the Guardian Council leader.
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A loud wail echoed along the empty corridors, making it sound more like a continuous, pulsating wall of sound rather than the intermittent ringing alarm it was supposed to be. Commotion muttered in the distance, though it was too far away to make anyone behind the steel doors budge.
“Probably just another attempted gaol break,” they thought in irritation. Some of them covered their ears with stolen wads of toilet paper, hoping that the sound would stop quickly enough for them to enjoy what was left of their afternoon nap.
The alarm ceased soon enough, and peace blanketed their gaol cells once more as the magi prisoners rolled over on the hard wooden beds in relief. The familiar sound of footsteps drifted to their ears once more, indicating the resumption of the guards’ patrol.
A loud clang from outside their cells jolted them awake instead. The prisoners backed away from their cell doors warily as the protection spell shimmered and dispersed into the air. They flinched as their doors crumpled upon themselves and were ripped off their hinges.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Greetings, fellow magis. Great day to be free once more, isn’t it?”
The criminals stepped out of the cells, looking curiously at the magi in pure white robes standing in front of them. He was accompanied by a group of red hooded Necromancers carrying charmed briefcases.
“Ain’t those people ‘The Ruby Skulls’?” one of the criminals commented.
“Necromancers? In the presence of a Cleric?” Another sniggered. “I must’ve been locked up for too long; this world’s gone to shit.”
“Very astute of you, but not all who wear white are Clerics.” The White Locust’s staff flashed and the power nullifiers on their necks transmuted into water. “Look alive, gentlemen. There is a war coming. A war that threatens to destroy the very foundations of our society. But none of you care about that now, do you? What you care about is doing what you want once you get out of this shithole.”
The criminals stared at the man intently.
“All of you are here for one reason,” he continued. “Because societal rules have suffocated and punished you for daring to struggle against the chains around your necks. But I say ‘No more!’. No longer will they suppress our incredible magic! Society rejects us. We form our own. And when the revolution crumbles its false walls, we will watch them fall from the safety of our own airship!”
“Says the one who came from outside these walls. If you really are one of us, you’d be in here as well.”
“This place is but a prison for your flesh. But are we not all prisoners of this decaying society?” The White Locust gestured for a Necromancer to open his briefcase. Murmuring spread through the criminals, fascinated by the array of wands in front of them. The White Locust gave them a moment to admire the weapons.
“I come not as your saviour. I come as a brother,” he continued. “Join us, and I will provide you with the tools for your true freedom.”
“How do we know we can trust you?” A man stood up. “What’s in it for you?”
“Camaraderie, my fellow magi.” The White Locust held out a wand to him. “By myself, I am but a mere mortal; too weak to fan the flames of revolution. But together, we can break down these stifling walls for good.”
“Now, you can choose to join me,” he turned back, signalling for The Ruby Skulls to place their briefcases on the floor. “Or you can wait for the government to finish mopping up the blood of your gaolers and send more to incarcerate you again. Your choice, comrades.”
The empty corridor filled up rapidly.
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“Hey. Hey you! Apprentice Sorcerer Gaius Deusdedit, wait up!”
Gaius stopped and turned around, glaring at the blue haired boy calling out his full name and title in public. The boy was a schoolmate, judging from the unflattering green robes that hung loosely off his lanky frame, and he looked slightly familiar. The Sorcerer waited impatiently for him to catch his breath. After all, he would rather not let anyone see him heading to Warlock Vulcan’s place.
“My name’s… Orpheus Caesar, Felix’s friend.” The boy panted. “Have you seen Felix around in school?”
“Ah, the Apprentice Necromancer,” Gaius emphasised the word ‘apprentice’ vindictively. “Glad to see Cleric Nerva healed you up so well. No, I haven’t seen Felix around. I never did anyway. He’s in Meta classes, remember?”
“Felix has been missing school, and I haven’t seen him come home in days!” Orpheus wailed.
“What are you, his boyfriend or something?” Gaius smirked. Orpheus blushed as his mouth slammed shut.
“Honestly, I’m not surprised.” Gaius sighed. “After all that’s happened, he probably just needs a break from everything.”
“I wouldn’t be so worried if that were the case! Have you seen the news lately? There’s a meta vigilante going around targeting meta street criminals.”
Gaius raised an eyebrow as the boy conjured a news article from his phone.
“This meta vigilante has been dubbed ‘Rouge Phantom’ by eyewitnesses due to the colour of his ability. Sounds familiar?”
“He’s taking down criminals one at a time? What good will that even do?” Gaius muttered to himself, before looking up at Orpheus. “Look, Orpheus. Even if that really is Felix, I’m sure he can take care of himself. He’s a Tier Five meta after all.”
“How can you say that? Felix is willingly putting himself in harm’s way!” Orpheus cried out. “It’s only a matter of time before he picks a fight he can’t win!”
“Well, what do you want us to do about that?” Gaius rolled his eyes. “We’re just students. Neither of us have any idea where and when he will strike next.”
“You’re in the Guardian Council, aren’t you? Can’t you ask your leader to do something about this?”
“You want me to mobilise an entire team of Council members? I’m not the president-” Realisation stopped the words from leaving his mouth like a dam over a river. Gaius sighed again. There was no point lying to himself. This problem had already turned personal a long time ago, no matter how much he hated the trouble it gave him. He gave a comforting nod to the fretting friend.
“I’ll see what I can do, Orpheus.”