Hind was a simple guy, he was the blunt tool his master used to beat their enemies into submission or death. Searching high and low for rumors on a magical mirror? That was far out of Hind’s skill set. Still his master had given him a mission, and like it or not Hind would see it through to the end.

As Hind sat at the tavern and listened to the old sailors swap stories he had to repress a growl. He was in his human form, and it unnerved people when a man as physically large as Hind was in this form growled like some pissed off animal. It wouldn’t help him gather intelligence if he scared all these sailors sober with one of his growls, but then again the drunken bragging those sailors were doing right now wasn’t helping him gather information either.

“T’was a kraken I’s tell yah! It had tentacles the size ‘f the mast, and a back like an Island! There t’was swinging them tentacles round, break’n up the ship ‘n throw’n good men overboard…”

Hind simply grunted at the man’s recounting of his supposed encounter with a kraken and sipped at his mead. Hind didn’t have the prophetic sight of Lana, nor did he have the connections Tiamat had forged throughout three different realms, and he couldn’t just split himself into an unending army of clones to search like Del could. The best Hind could do is sit in taverns like this were a rough and gruff man like he appeared to be wouldn’t stand out and listen for the latest rumors and news. It wasn’t a good strategy for collecting information and it hardly ever worked.

Hind really wished that his master had just ordered him to kill something.

“Well maybe one of the others has found something…”

The dread bear’s quiet murmur either wasn’t heard by his new sailor friends, or it was outright ignored as they listened to a man’s recounting of how he had once fucked three mermaids at once.

***

Grell was nursing his eighth mug of ale, and even after drinking so much of the swill the pub claimed was alcohol he wasn’t even feeling a slight buzz. The drinks tasted like stale piss and with his constitution Grell wasn’t likely to get drunk even if he drank a hundred of the mugs, but Grell kept ordering more. Not even he was entirely sure why at this point, but he figured it didn’t really matter anyway.

Drinking was just a way to pass time for Grell, something for his body to do while his mind rested. While he was drinking Grell could be alone and at peace with himself, but most of all while Grell was drinking no one was screaming or making a commotion. Bars and taverns were like quiet retreats for Grell, and he appreciated them far too much to disrupt the peace he found there.

Of course to others Grell’s views would seem ludicrous, there was hardly a night when there wasn’t a drunken brawl or loud inebriated singing in the places he frequented. Yet and still to Grell the actions of drunken men were nothing more than harmless amusements that accompanied his drinking, and most times he didn’t even notice what went on in his surroundings while he drank.

Tossing back the last of the drink he had been nursing Grell began to motion to one of the barmaids for a refill, but before he could even raise an arm a new mug was placed in front of him. Looking down at the new mug of frothy ale Grell began to feel the stirrings of fear rise inside him. He hadn’t sensed anyone come near him, let alone get close enough to present him with more drink. For a man like him, that was not something that happened. Ever.

Grell looked up and watched as the young man sat across from him, and as Grell saw the man’s face the stirring of fear inside him grew into a blazing inferno. As Grell saw the unnaturally handsome features coupled with the sharp eyes that seemed ancient beyond the years of their body every instinct inside Grell warned that this man was dangerous. Anyone that caused Grell to feel fear for his life was a monster that most men wouldn’t even be able to imagine in their worst nightmares.

The man wore a pleasant smile as he waved a greeting at Grell.

“Grell the Scourge, I must say my friend you are not an easy man to track down…”

Grell tensed as he pulled on his mana, he had mastered chantless casting long ago, and willed his infamous net of force blades into being around the strange man. Even if his instincts were telling him that this was a fight he did not want to start, Grell wouldn’t just roll over and die either. If he were that sort of man he would not have challenged the three tamer families in the first place, and he wouldn’t have survived the hunters those three families had sent after him all this time. No, Grell was a fighter, and a damn good one at that, so if this strange man wanted his head Grell would make the man work for it harder than the man had likely ever had to work in his life.

The man across from Grell simply laughed.

“Oh no friend, you seem to have come to the wrong conclusion about why I found you.”

The man snapped his fingers and Grell felt each of the invisible force blades that made up his net shatter and dissipate into nothing. If Grell had been scared of the man before, the man’s casual display of a perfect counter to Grell’s signature spell had Grell feeling terrified.

“I assure you... if I had wanted you dead, my friend, then you’d be dead…”

The man’s eyes seemed to glow with a fierce and dark light from within their depths, it was a phenomenon that Grell had only heard of in rumors before. It was said that only archmages who had reached the zenith of magic had eyes that would glow with an inner light as they used their mana, Grell had always thought that rumor was just a myth. Now he was beginning to think it was the gods’ honest truth.

The strange man who might very well be an archmage like those from legend simply adjusted his simple brown shirt and the glow in his eyes died out.

“Now, I came to you because we share a mutual hatred for those dreadful tamers. You hate them for what they did to your village, and I hate them because they are a disgrace to magic and mages everywhere. The reasons aren’t of any importance however, all that matters is that we both would very much like to see those with the ability to tame dead.”

Grell found himself nodding along to the man’s words. He was still cautious of the stranger, but Grell had a feeling that if the man across from him had wished him harm there was nothing he could actually do about it. Instead the stranger had approached him as a friend and seemed want to form a simple alliance against the tamer families.

“What I propose, my friend, is that I empower your assaults with a bit of extra magical oomph. In return there is a very specific tamer I’d like you to hunt down and slaughter for me when your power has grown…”

Grell took the new mug of ale into his grip and took a long drink of the piss like swill. As he put down the drink and wiped the foam from his lips with his arm he considered his options. He could take up the stranger on his deal and possibly gain a much needed ally in his one man crusade against the tamers, or he could refuse and possibly be tortured and killed for angering an archmage. Ultimately it was an easy decision to make.

Grell put on a smile of his own and asked the obvious question.

“Who are you stranger, and who do you want dead?”

The strange man across from Grell interlocked his fingers and rested his hands on top of the table as he leaned back with an easy grin.

“I’m no one of any real importance, you can just call me Max... However, to answer your second question I’d very much like it if you eventually killed an old associate of mine, the man’s name is Ark…”

***

Alice sat on the bed in her room and held her pet in her arms, her cherub looked just like a slightly chubby human baby with platinum hair and small white wings growing out of its back. Alice had been taught carefully on the many aspects of raising an angelic pet, and what her father and the elders hadn’t directly covered she had researched on her own. As such she knew plenty about taking care of her pet, and had even already determined the evolutionary path she would see her pet down.

Angels had high growth potential and held vast amounts of power which is why they were so coveted as pets, but they were also the hardest pets to obtain since most angels and angelic beasts inhabited the divine realm. When the rare few happened to come down to the mortal realm it was usually because they had fallen and lost a part of their holy grace, thus making it much more difficult to tame them or have them grow if one did manage to tame them. The only real way to acquire an angelic pet was to get one of the eggs or hatchlings born of a fallen angel or beast.

That was how the churum that had been given to Alice had been attained, and it was also something that gave Alice a unique opportunity now. Angels and Angelic beasts had to live their entire lives upholding certain ideals called virtues, and if they ever refuted these virtues they would fall. Usually it was a god or the angel’s parent that instilled the virtues that an angel had to follow, but in the case where an angelic monster was tamed at birth or as a newborn the tamer would have a chance to be the one to instill a virtue of their own design into the angelic monster. This was what Alice was attempting to do now, instill a single virtue into her pet that would define how her pet would live and act.

Holding her pet in her arms Alice told it the virtue she wanted it to adopt.

“Aria, there is only one thing that cannot be changed in this world, one fundamental truth that must always be held dear. I, your mistress Alice Luna, am justice. I am rightousness. All I believe is correct and right, and any beliefs or opinions to the contrary are simply wrong...”

Of course the virtue that Alice was implanting in her pet couldn’t be called holy or righteous in any way that would be widely accepted, but that didn’t matter for angelic monsters. Biologically they only needed to uphold their belief in their ideal and devote themselves to their virtue to avoid falling, what the virtue or the context of that ideal actually was didn’t matter in the least.

Alice repeated herself over and over as she spoke to her pet, and as she worked to implant a virtue that would make her pet unswervingly loyal to her and her alone Alice's mind wondered. Things had been, well, not difficult but certainly different for Alice in these last two years. Ever since she had tortured and killed her cousins the looks she got from the servants and members of the branch family had been full of fear and revulsion. Even some of the elders began to avoid her.

Her older brother had explained to her that torturing and then taking the life of members of her family, even if they were only branch members, was something that was typically viewed as an evil act. At the very least it would be a taboo, and most would hesitate to commit such an act. Alice thought that such thinking was ridiculous, of course she didn’t say this to her older brother. To Alice only three people outside of herself actually mattered in the world, and when others took actions that harmed one those people then they deserved death. It was just that simple.

Of course the looks of her family had still bothered her and she had been especially upset by her father and older brother’s reactions, she still didn’t see why what she’d done that night had deserved punishment of any sort let alone a month without dessert. Luckily her little brother had been there for her in that dark time, his smile always made her feel better and all month long he had shared his cakes with her without Alice ever even asking. Because of this her brother Lux’s position in her heart had grown even larger, perhaps even slightly displacing the places of her older brother and father.

Alice had of course altered her behavior since then regardless of her thoughts on the matter, her father had asked her to do so after all. Her older brother Luke had even given her helpful hints and tips to as he had said then “Seem more normal”, and sometimes when she followed those tips the newer servants would even smile back at her.

There was a time when Alice had wondered if everyone was like her, if everyone had trouble understanding why all these random people around them actually mattered. She had asked every one she knew and cared about, the only clear answer she had gotten was from her little brother. Lux had laughed at her question told her “Nope, you’re special, sis!” and then asked her if she wanted to play with him in the garden. Alice liked the way her brother had phrased his answer then, he had used the word “special” instead of  the word “different” her father had used or “strange” like Luke had called her.

It was little things like that which let Alice know that her choice of Lux as her favorite person was the right decision, it was like her little brother just naturally understood her on a deeper level than anyone else.

Alice felt a smile, a real smile completely unlike the one she practiced in the mirror every morning, bloom across her face as she thought about her little brother. She decided that she would go find him in two hours to see if he wanted to play with her, she would even bring Aria along too as the pet was growing its own place in her heart lately.

“Aria, listen closely and remember my words. Aria, there is only one thing that cannot be changed in this world, one fundamental truth that must always be held dear. I, your mistress Alice Luna, am justice. I am rightousness. All I believe is correct and right, and any beliefs or opinions to the contrary are simply wrong...”

***

Ross Luna was a man whose mind thrived on the battlefield. All Ross needed to be happy was to be put in charge of fighting men and given an enemy to face. Strategic and tactical assaults were what Ross lived for, and for him there was no greater pleasure than to see the enemies of his family driven underfoot by the iron boot of the Luna family’s forces. The number of dissidents he had removed and rebellions he had crushed was a thing of pride for Ross, and the invasions and border skirmishes he had participated in were some of the highlights of his life.

Nominally he was a general serving under the king of Avalon, but in truth his only loyalties lied with the Luna family. Still the Luna family had to make a point of showing they we willing to submit to the mundane powers of the world like all the other mage powers, even if that display was insincere and clearly only for show. As such they sent Ross, one of the families greatest military minds, to serve the kingdom and demonstrate the family’s willingness to cooperate with the nation.

Ross didn’t care about all the political and social posturing that had resulted in his post however, all he cared about was that he was leading soldiers and working for his family. It was a simple viewpoint, but it was one that Ross felt made things easier to understand and made his role clear. If the family said serve the king then he would serve, and if one day the family asked him to lead an uprising against that same king then he’d march his forces right into the palace and take the man’s head.

This was the mentality that Ross held, and it was not a unique one. Most of the men and women that were sent to serve a nation from one of the magical families held a similar view to Ross. Ironically enough, the nobility of the various nations actually secretly endorsed this standpoint as it served to check the power of their sovereign rulers.

Of course none of this mattered to Ross at the moment, instead the man was focused on how he was going to handle the information he had just obtained.

“By Luna, what could have possessed them to do this?”

Ross tiredly rubbed his temples and tried not to think of the inevitable strife that was sure to sweep through the mage world once this news became common knowledge. It was sure to upset and many of the relations between mage communities, and it would likely cause a stir in the players hiding away in secret and waiting for an opportunity to strike at one of the seven major powers of the magical world.

“And because of the alliance our family will be forced to step in if the Yan family calls for our aid…”

With the Hart family openly declaring war on the Yan family it was all but certain that the neighboring Silf Empire would be destroyed, and regardless of who came out the winner in the end the magical world would be filled with unrest for a long time to come. At worst one of the seven great mage powers would fall from their place at the zenith, or even die out.

Ross leaned back in the armchair he had been relaxing in just a few minutes ago and tried to push down his rising excitement. Rationally he knew that this was horrible news, and he really should be worried about all the negative consequences this could bring down on the kingdom of Avalon and his family. Yes, Ross knew that he should feel that way, but instead he was far more excited about what would be coming soon.

Ross was a military man through and through, and the only place he felt alive was on the battlefield. His family would survive whatever after effects came from this mage war, of that he was certain. As such what Ross saw in his future was years of glorious battle and warfare, it was hard for him not to be happy at the thought of such a thing.

“Idiots, the lot of them…”

Grumbling with only the smile growing on his face belying his true feelings on the report he had just read Ross began to move back to his desk. He would need to get a report back to Lunar Rest, the Luna family would have to start preparing for the upheaval to come as soon as possible to mitigate the damage they would take.

***

Today was the best day of Meg’s life. For her ninth birthday her Mommy had gifted her a baby phoenix, the phoenix was the son of her Mommy’s own pet. Rah had been pretty reluctant to have a child just so that she could have a phoenix as her first pet, but Meg’s Mommy had convinced him. Meg still wasn’t entirely sure how Rah was able to have a baby all by himself without a girl phoenix to help him, but she didn’t mind that at all since it meant she could have a phoenix of her own.

Holding the chick close Meg stared at it with a wonder and joy that almost unnerved the young monster. As Meg caressed the chicks super soft feathers she tried really hard to pull on the mana in her mana pool like her Mommy had taught her. After ten minutes of trying to get her mana out to tame the little phoenix chick she was holding Meg began to tear up. She couldn’t do it, she just couldn’t do it.

In that moment Meg’s day went from the best day ever to not so great, it still wasn’t the worst day though. The worst day was when Mommy cried because she wasn’t as good as dumb old Racheal at finding her mana pool. Her Mommy had said it was the setting sun’s fault, but Meg didn’t see how the sun going down made a difference in things. Still Meg’s Mommy had said it, so it must be true.

As Meg started to cry she felt her Mommy’s arm wrap around her. Looking up Meg saw her Mommy smiling down at her, and suddenly she felt better. Her Mommy told her it was all ok and that she’d be able to tame her pet soon.

“Don’t you worry honey, it’ll happen! It’s just taking you a bit longer because of that Setting Sun curse, but that mean old curse won’t keep my baby from taming! Just you watch, by tomorrow this little guy will be your pet and you’ll be a genuine tamer just like Mommy!”

Meg wiped away her tears and smiled at her Mommy. Turning back to the confused phoenix chick in her hands Meg focused on reaching out for her mana once more.

***

Leon Hart was channeling his mana through his longsword as he meditated. In his mind’s eye he envisioned the blade of his sword being coated in a covering of scorching white flame, flame that would consume all it came into contact with except for the sword itself. As Leon felt a tugging on his mana pool a blazing heat was being emitted in front of him.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Opening his eyes he saw that his blade was cloaked in white flame, Leon smiled at his success and stood. Holding out his blade the thirteen year old boy felt a familiar excitement build in his heart.

All his life Leon had idolized those righteous and noble heroes in the stories, the boy had always dreamed that he could one day be just like those heroes. He wanted to defeat evil alongside faithful companions he’d make along the way of his adventurous journey, he wanted to marry a princess, and most of all Leon wanted to inspire others just as he was inspired by heroes from fairy tales and legends. Leon’s dream was a pure and honest thing, and it was a goal that his parents as well as the elders of the Hart family encouraged.

The sort of heroes that Leon idolized and hoped to one day become were masters of swordsmanship and various schools of magic, given that the Hart family pursued excellence in both martial and magical might Leon’s dream was one that was viewed favorably by the family. No one discouraged Leon as he grew up, no one refuted his dream or told him it was unrealistic, for all of Leon’s life he was told to follow his dream and work towards being the hero he wished to be. This of course led to Leon developing a rather warped perception of how to act in certain situations, but the family at large had not thought that would be a problem. Most in the family felt that when Leon came of age a time would present itself to explain to him that some things couldn’t be done, and that not everything he felt was right and just actually was in reality.

Leon was a boy whose naivety bordered on delusion, and he had grown up without anyone ever taking time to correct his delusions. In fact many members of his family had actively encouraged Leon’s delusions, even feed into them with further tales of heroism in the hopes that it would push the boy to grow stronger as quickly as he could. Leon was a rising star in the family, and the unique circumstances of his childhood development led to him having the drive to push himself far harder than his peers. Leon was a prodigy in many ways, yet he had never had someone explain to him how the world really worked.

And now Leon would be going to war.

There was no doubt in Leon’s mind that the cause his family was fighting for was just, whatever that cause might be. There was simply no way that those Leon would be sent to fight could be anything other than evil, after all Leon was a hero and heroes only fought the forces of evil.

Swinging his sword that was coated in white flame, white for no other reason than Leon thinking it was a more heroic color than that of normal flame, Leon smiled to himself. He wouldn’t show any mercy to the enemies he would face, after all a hero couldn’t be soft on the forces of evil…

***

Ben was damn good at what he did. He was the pride of his mother and father, and the rising star of the Winter clan. Everyone acknowledged that he’d be the future pillar of the clan, and some even whispered about him becoming the next clan leader once clan head William passed away. Ben knew what people said, and he let it all go straight to his ego.

There was no doubt that Ben was proud, in fact his pride bordered on unchecked arrogance. Many within his clan would like to see Ben humbled, if for no other reason than to teach the boy a valuable lesson and correct his development. The older members of the Winter clan knew all too well how poisonous a young talent’s unchecked pride could be to the development and survival of said talent. Even Ben’s own parents were concerned and wanted Ben to be humbled and reign in his pride, unfortunately the boy seemed undaunted by even the harshest failure.

Ben had developed a rather unique self-image, and even at the young age of eleven it didn’t seem like that self-image or the world views that had formed because of it would be easy to erase. Ben knew he was not the best. He was very clear on the fact that there were many in the world that were better than him at a variety of things, yet the boy had somehow decided that these people who were better than him would simply be stepping stones on his path to greatness. Ben would acknowledge the superiority of his betters and he would strive to overcome them, and all the while he would maintain his pride in himself. So what if he lost, in Ben’s mind as long as he survived through his loss he could always come back and challenge his obstacles when he had grown stronger. It was this very mentality that both frustrated and encouraged his teachers and family.

Ben approached every training session with a fervor that few of his peers could match, and because of this he exceeded even the broadest estimations of his growth potential at every turn. Ben was already a novice mage at his young age, and his mastery of the clan arts grew daily. The elven year old boy had exceeded the combat potential of most mundane adults and was already beginning to step into the realm of martial experts and recognized mages. It was a rate of growth that was almost unprecedented.

Maybe that was why Ben now found himself surrounded by those who wished to see him dead.

Clutching his throwing needles between the fingers of his left hand and maintaining a loose grip on his short blade in the right Ben stared down his seven opponents. He had been called out to this clearing in the forest with a note, and Ben, assuming it was yet another challenge from one of his clan siblings, had come without hesitation. He hadn’t expected an assassination attempt like this.

As Ben eyed his opponents for an opening his mind raced. This could easily be a test set up by one of his instructors, but it could also simply be a trap laid by one of his peers who wanted Ben dead. Regardless these seven assassins were outsiders, and as such the winter clan would not care if they all died here in this place. Sadly the clan’s apathy would also hold true for Ben himself as he had not yet earned the right to use the Winter name and would not be an official member of the clan until his coming of age ceremony in a few years.

Ben’s eyes flashed as he saw the opening he had been waiting for, the forward most assassin had misstepped while adjusting their stance. With a whispered word Ben rushed forward.

“Wind.”

As the spell took form the very air began to make cushions under his feet. Ben stepped off his newly made magical foot holds and began to leap through the air using the footholds of condensed wind. Flicking out his left hand he threw the three needles he had been clutching at the assassin waiting in the trees at the forest line. Without checking to see if his throw had ended the life of the one in the trees Ben’s airborne charge had put him in front of the assassin who had misstepped.

One swift swing of his short blade as he passed by was all it took, the assassins head fell and Ben had one less opponent to worry about. He didn’t stop his charge, there wasn’t even a pause in his movements as he focused in on the next assassin.

This one was ready for him and as he swung his blade it was meet by the assassin’s longsword. Ben knew that while his sword was of better make and design than the crude longsword of his opponent it was not a weapon meant for open clashes, his main sword, a specially forged katana, would have been better suited for that purpose. Turning his blade slightly he let the force of his opponent’s swing carry him away from the potential clash and the assassin themself without marring his short blade.

As Ben felt the solid wind beneath his feet begin to dissipate he tucked his body into a roll that landed him on the ground whilst simultaneously avoiding the knife of the assassin who had been sneaking up on him from the side. The assassin who had missed their chance for sneak attack momentarily lost sight of Ben who had gone low into a crouch, it wasn’t even a second later when Ben’s blade had stabbed deep into the assassins gut and cut down in one swift motion to their loin.

Ben pulled his blade free of the now dying assassin and sprinted to the left to get some distance from the crowd of assassins he had charged his way into. Taking a breath as he moved suddenly to the right to avoid any potentially thrown blades Ben took a mental count of his opponents. He had killed one, potentially killed another, and fatally injured one more. That left him potentially five opponents, maybe four if his needles had disabled that assassin in the trees like he had intended. Trusting in his skills Ben came to the conclusion that he had four opponents left, four opponents were manageable…

Turning and stopping Ben held his short blade close to his chest and began to still his mind. Reaching his left hand into the pouch at his waist he pulled out a few more throwing needles and held them at the ready as he watched the four assassins rushing him quickly close in. With one word his preparations were complete.

“Swift.”

With the spell cast Ben perceived the world slowing down and as the first of the assassins’ blades reached him the boy had a smile on his face. Not all opponents had to be defeated, after all escaping and coming back another day was the very essence of a strategic retreat.

Ducking the blade that to him seemed to be moving at half the speed it should be Ben dodged through the four bodies that had rushed him, swinging his blade at vital spots that presented themselves as he moved. When the magic faded Ben had managed to move past the four assassins with only a few cuts to show for it.

Finally allowing himself a grin Ben turned and sprinted for the forest, throwing the needles in his left hand back to dissuade any pursuit…

***

David was not having a good year. First there were the rumors of a tamed seraphim running around his city which upon investigation had actually turned up a fallen seraph with an unknown master, then there were the reports of demons preying on men at night, add on to that Mab popping back up and spreading chaos around the outskirts of the territory for no apparent reason, and if all that weren’t enough his cousin had just sent a report about the Yan family and the Hart family going to war. It was enough to make a man lose hair…

“I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do here, Ike…”

David let out a tired sigh as he dumped his worries at his first pet’s feet. Ike was sitting at his master's desk in his human form and trying to keep David from pouring another glass of dragonslayer for himself, a task that was beginning to seem impossible to the poor dracolisk.

“I mean, one of those problems? Sure, fine, I can handle that in my sleep. Two? Yeah, It’d be hard, but maybe I could manage it. But no man could handle all that! Then there’s this fucking mage war that came out of absolutely nowhere, and between two of the seven powers no less!”

David grabbed the bottle of dragonslayer and refilled his glass, he idly heard Ike sigh across from him as he poured and his frown deepened.

“Fuck you Ike, I’m allowed to get drunk if I damn well want to get drunk!”

The green haired man with sharp features, the human form of David’s first pet, just shrugged.

“Sure master, drink away. Of course you’re not going to find the answer to any of these problems at the bottom of that bottle, but drink away.”

David’s frown deepened even further.

“Fuck you, Ike.”

The dracolisk merely snorted at his master’s vitriol.

“I’m not interested master, but why not propose the idea to Kar. The vampire has been waiting for you to grace her nest again for months now…”

The mention of his second pet and their last tryst brought an image of the vampire to David’s mind. She was such a beautiful creature, and so giving in so many ways. David sighed as he felt his mood shift from angry to depressed.

“Kar, Kar, Kar… Why couldn’t Kar birth me children? If she could just give me children I’d have married her by now…”

Ike rolled his eyes at his master’s words. David was undeniably drunk, and it was lucky that Ike was the only one here to see the head of the Luna clan in such a state.

“Master, Kar is undead. She can’t give birth no matter how much she may wish to, and you know this.”

David hiccupped into his glass as he took another swig of the powerful mana infused liquor.

“Kar. She’d be a good wife. If I had another wife I could get Phil and Fray off my back too… Hey. Hey, Ike!”

Ike closed his eyes and summoned his patience.

“Yes master?”

David grinned as if he had just come up with the best idea ever to be had.

“Ike, do you think I should marry Kar? I bet if I married Kar she’d give me a child…”

Ike was glad that his master rarely drank.

“I’m sure Kar would try very hard to give you a child regardless of you marrying her or not, but it still doesn’t change the fact that undead can’t give birth.”

David poured himself another glass as he sullenly muttered his reply.

“She can try though… We can do anything if we try…”

Ike sat and watched as David finished off the entire bottle of magically enhanced liquor, the whole time listening as David ranted about problems that faced the Luna family and his views on why Kar would be a great mother despite being undead. It was a duty that the loyal Dracolisk had carried out many times in the past, and would carry out whenever necessary in the future.

Finally it seemed as if David was beginning to tire himself out.

“…And I’m a Dad now, you know. Never thought’d I’d be a dad, but here I am… One from Claire, one from Mab, and one from Ellia. Why is it only one of my kids turned out normal? Do you know, Ike?”

Ike felt his spine straighten and every nerve spark as David spoke of his children, this was something that the dracolisk really didn’t want to hear.

“You love your hatchlings, do you not master?”

David giggled to himself, utterly disregarding his pet’s anxious tone.

“Yep. I love ‘em. Love ‘em all… Hehehe, even if two came out broken.”

Ike felt his eyes widen at David’s words, but his master continued before the dracolisk could speak.

“Shouldn’t even be surprised Alice is a sociopath, just look at her mother. Then there’s Lux, he was supposed to be a magical powerhouse with his elven heritage, but instead he’s a cripple. Least Alice has unparalleled talent, but I wish it had gone to either of the boys instead…”

Ike didn’t know how to respond to that.

“You… You don’t really mean that master, you’re just drunk that’s all…”

David tried to sit up, and failed, before shaking his head at his pet.

“No! I’m David, you’re Drunk!”

Giggling and wiping at his mouth with a sleeve that had gotten stained from David’s final attempt at pouring dragonslayer into his glass the head of the Luna family reveled his plans to his pet. For some reason David’s drunken mind felt it was important that his dracolisk hear about his plans before anyone else.

“But I gotta protect ‘em. I’m their dad, after all! Luke’ll be alright, he’s almost ready to go to round ‘venturing. The young ones, them I gotta protect. I’mma send ‘em to a school, it’ll be safer at a school then here! Smart right? I’m so smart…”

Ike had no words as his master began to fall asleep at the desk, wordlessly Ike picked up his master and began carrying the head of the Luna family off to bed.

***

The youngest granddaughter of the Yan matriarch sat at her desk and worked on her latest project, it was a mana rifle that should be able to fire at longer range and at greater power. That is of course if she could get the runic engravings right this time. Lily had always had a fascination with mana guns of all shapes and sizes, she thought it was interesting how they gathered and stored ambient mana for release in small bolts. It was such a simple concept for a weapon, but one with unexpected versatility and depth when a person explored it. Of course Lily was the only one in her family that felt that way, mana guns smaller than a standard siege mana cannon were practically worthless in the eyes of mages.

Mana guns smaller than a cannon typically only had a range of a hundred or so yards, and the bolts or bullets they fired were too weak to do much of anything to a mage or monster. Really mana guns were only effective weapons for mundanes who were unable to use magic themselves, but the guns were also out of reach of those same mundanes. Ultimately even regular muskets, as inferior as the weapons were, were still better than the average mana gun.

Except Lily thought that she could make the mana gun’s better, and she had. Mana guns made with the designs that the young girl devised were deadly weapons with a greater range than most bows and a stronger magical punch than most adapt mages were able to achieve with their best magic casts. The Yan family hadn’t released any of Lily’s designs though, so to the rest of the world mana guns were still considered largely useless.

As Lily used her engraving pen to carve runes into the body of the rifle she was working on the girl began to hum, the tune was whimsical and meaningless yet if another being were there with the girl they would have been utterly captivated. In truth even if the sound of the young girl’s melody had not captivated them, Lily herself likely would have. Her pure high elf heritage ensured that Lily had an ethereal and fae beauty about her that few of the other mortal races could match.

Finishing her work for the moment Lily wiped the sweet from her brows and let herself relax at her work desk. She knew that war would soon be coming to her home, and as the youngest one in her family they wanted to protect her from the coming conflict. She would be sent to the academy run by the Cane family for a number of years under the pretense of expanding her knowledge of magic and showing the world the greatness of her family, but in reality Lily knew she was just being put somewhere her grandmother thought was safe.

Lily didn’t mind her family’s overprotectiveness, it was just a sign that they cared, but she was reluctant to leave her work and tools. Lily had invested much of her ninety eight years of life in this very work room on some project or another, leaving that behind almost hurt the girl physically.

With a sigh Lily got up from the work desk and made her way to the bed that was jammed in one of the far corners of the room. Lily couldn’t deny that she felt a bit of excitement about leaving her home for the first time, but she just wished that the price of meeting new people and having new experiences wasn’t leaving her work room and precious projects behind…

***

John Cane was a teacher. He was nothing special, not some gifted genius of the family or important elder who could influence the decisions at the top. Instead he was simply a man who was a skilled educator, which in the Cane family meant he was destined to work at the academy until he was old enough to retire.

It wasn’t a bad duty, there was plenty of satisfaction in guiding the next generation of mages on their journey into magic and all it had to offer. It wasn’t like there’d be a shortage of students either, almost every mage who was not born into one of the seven powers wished to enroll in Cane Academy and from time to time they would even receive a few students from the other six mage powers as well. Of course this meant that his job put plenty of pressure on him, but John had discovered hobbies to help him destress long ago.

No, what truly troubled him were the stirrings that were occurring in the world beyond the island of Arcana. Rumors of unique new curses, mage wars, incursions from the abyss, monster rampages, dungeon births, and even the movement of many archmages thought long dead. All of it was incredible and terrifying at the same time, and as a man learned in history John could recognize the warning signs of the end of an age. If all the rumors were true and things continued to progress in such a chaotic manner the gods themselves would have to get involved, and no sane person wanted that.

Yes, the entire Cane family was preparing for a potential apocalypse in secret, but John wondered privately if that would even matter in the grand scheme of things. If the gods decided to send down a full divine crusade or, worse yet, descended personally to sort out the world, there was nothing any mortal would be able to do about it. All the preparation in the world wouldn’t save the Cane family if one of the gods set themselves to ending the family.

Not the most pleasant of thoughts to consider, but thoughts that were still present in the back of the minds of John and many other members of the Cane family. John himself had studied the ancient purge of the tamers for his journeyman thesis, so he better than most understood how fucked the world would be if the gods decided to get involved with the mortal realm.

Yet ultimately all this was far outside of John’s power and ability to control. John Cane was merely one mage, one who had barely managed to attain a master ranking at that. He would at best be an observer of the changing times and at worst he’d be an unwilling participant, but John knew he would never be a major player with any sort of control or influence. John had come to terms with this, he’d accepted his fate and now he merely hopped that his students would survive through the difficult times ahead.

If John were a more religious man he’d be saying a silent prayer as he looked out at his class, but instead he merely cast aside his morose thoughts and continued the lesson he had planned.

“Now we all know the six main elements that govern magic. The base elements of fire, water, earth and wind as well as the advanced elements of light and darkness, but often times young mages forget to consider the outlier element of null. You will not forget, want to know why? Because if at any time this year one of my students can’t tell me what the seven elements are when I ask, regardless of the time or situation, I’ll be assigning the entire class a new research paper…”

As John waited for the quiet groaning and hushed complaints of his students to pass he thought about when things in the wider world would come to a head. It felt like the entire world was holding its breath, waiting for only a single spark to ignite the entire mortal realm into a chaotic conflict of the sort that had not been seen in millennia.

“Yes, yes. I’d advise you to prepare yourselves for a very long and arduous year of study with many potential punishment assignments for failing to meet my very exacting standards. Welcome to the closest thing to hell in the mortal realm students… My name is Johnathan Cane, but you will only address me as Professor John. For the next year I shall be both your teacher and your tormentor.”

***

“Why Miss Belle, I believe we shall have a most beneficial relationship…”

As he smiled pleasantly at the clearly deranged mage across from him, the man named Maximus Forte could practically taste his future divinity. It was all coming together now, events were proceeding just as he had foreseen those many centuries ago. Each player was finding their place at the board he had prepared for them, and it looked to be only a matter of time now until the gods themselves decided to step in. Yes, everything was proceeding smoothly, all with the exception of one very irritating pest. An immortal time hopping pest, he'd need to remove from this mortal coil.

The mage that appeared to be nothing more than a prepubescent girl gave him a wide smile that might have seemed innocent if her cute young face were not spattered with fresh blood.

“And you promise that tamers will rise in power again if I help you?”

Maximus merely smiled and told the little freak what she wanted to hear. That was something he’d always been good at, telling people what they wanted to hear and drawing them in. perhaps it was a matter of natural charisma, perhaps it was a silver tongue honed over centuries of deceit, or maybe it was both of those things. Regardless Maximus had no problem recruiting tools to follow and obey him.

“Oh yes, the key shall be the three tamer families that already exist. I plan to have those three bloodlines spread throughout the realm and bring about the ancient age of tamers once more. You, young lady, are a vital part of that plan, in fact it would be very difficult to pull my plan off without someone of your skills…”

As the deranged mage squealed and giggled to herself Maximus bit back a retort. He knew for a fact that the woman before him had lived for over two centuries, yet she had altered her appearance and even her mind to remain in this regressed and younger state for some reason. Clearly she was insane, a fact only confirmed by her desire to become a monster herself and be tamed and dominated by some random other mage. Disgust couldn’t even begin to describe what he thought of the mage before him, but she was a rare unaffiliated grand master magus so he hid his thoughts and continued his pitch.

“And of course, while you are helping me I would not mind in the least helping you with one of your own goals. If I remember correctly there should be a number of ways for a mage of your skill to transmorph themselves into a being that is tamable…”

And like a dumb beast the deranged mage simply leaped at the bait Maximus had laid out for her.

“REALLY! Yay! I’ll help you mister, and then everyone can be tamers, and then I’ll be able to find a master, and then we can be all lovey-dovey, and then I can kill things and my master will be the one to get in trouble, and then my master will have to punish me for being a bad girl, and then we’d cuddle all night, and then I’d go kill some people again…”

Maximus had to suppress the urge to lash out and end the deranged mage’s babbling, instead he simply maintained his smile and pleasant demeanor while he contemplated the many ways he’d be able to smite this annoyance as a god. When finally the insane woman stopped her rambling Maximus extended his hand and offered her the scroll he had prepared.

“Yes, yes. But before all that can happen the man by the name of Ark must die. Here, take this. The scroll shall allow you to contact me for a meeting, do NOT use it lightly, understood?”

The deranged mage bobbed her head up and down as she bit her lips and looked pensive. Taking the scroll from Maximus the mage suddenly looked like she remembered something and asked the question that Maximus had known was coming.

“Don’t worry mister, Mary will help out! But first I’ve never heard of an archmage like you, who are you?”

Maximus put on the smile that his last lover had told him could charm a nun out of her habit.

“Me? Why you can just call me Max, dear girl…”