Magic had grown tired of mankind. Magic wasn't something simply created to be used as a tool for the use of a mage only to be discarded when it was no longer willing to do the bidding of men. It was so much more than that. In the land of Norimor, it was alive!

However, Tifius Tenir, the High Elf didn't care much for the living. He resented much of the living. He had been taught he ought to watch the world burn if it meant his family would be rightfully seated upon the throne of Phoenix Sworn.

Soon, the day would come where he could prove the worth of a Tenir to the world. That day was only getting closer as he rushed to get ready for the morning of departure from the slums of Ruinwind. He finished his morning routine and then headed into the makeshift throne room that had been built centuries ago in the year the Tenir's had been overthrown.

Tifius bowed before his mother who sat atop the big chair (it couldn't really be called a throne). "Your Highness, I have prepared everything for the trip. I only ask that you spare a cobblebrute to accompany me."

"Tifius, get up. We have talked about this. There is no need for you to give me such pleasantries, you are my son," Queen Ylsa commanded and Tifius obeyed. The Queen had just recently had her 106th birthday but she looked no younger than 40 with long blonde curly hair that flowed all the way down to her waist.

Tifius also maintained a long width of hair, however, his long straight blonde hair ended halfway down his back. Both of their eyes were green. However, there was no sign, Tifius had ever been related to his late father. He had been her firstborn and their siblings looked even less like what you would expect from the Queen and the late King. But that was largely ignored.

"And of course, I will send a cobblebrute with you. Although, I hope you can stand up for yourself or send you to this championship is a pointless tactic. I have a lot riding on this, you may choose to back down but if you go and you fail, you will be punished."

"I am willing to accept my fate, but I must say I believe in myself!" He truly did, but he had no clue what sort of mages laid behind the Ruinwind. They weren't plentiful in the slums. He only had his own powers to go by. Although, he trained rigorously, day and night since his early childhood and he was in 30's then. He was oblivious to just how ready he was.

"For the sake of my throne and for your sake, I hope you are right about your strength. Troy, go with the boy!" She commanded a cobblebrute.

Cobblebrutes were a family of Orcs

that had served the Tenir's since they had been liberated from slavery shortly after the Elf War by the Tenir's themselves.

Troy was the weakest of them.

That is not to say, he was weak, he had his strengths. He was certainly better with a battle ax than any of the rest of them.

"I thank you, mother dearest."

Troy fell in by his side and they

departed to fight in the Championship of Mages. The first Phoenix Sworn that had been held in a whole century. The prize was the legendary Golden Gage, a gauntlet that when welded properly by a mage could increase their power tenfold.

Violet Duval was nothing more than

a simple human mage. She had long wavy purple hair and blue eyes, pale white skin, a dozen freckles and she liked to wear revealing clothes. She had the curves and the body to attract attention and she quite liked it, most of the time. When she didn't, she had her ways to get men to leave her alone.

She had just finished up raiding a

goblin cave and was now on her way into town for some hard drink. She was in no mood for "attention" on this particular day. She wandered into Savage's Swine, a bar in the center of Kookar Coast, one of the rare villages not filled to the brim with humans; mostly orcs and hobgoblins lived there.

She sat down and asked for the strongest drink in the place. Bartender brought her a kind of rum. She downed it with a sigh as a tall orc walked over to her.

"What brings you to these parts?" He asked.

"There's alcohol here. I'm only in the mood for the alcohol, I suggest you leave me alone and tell the others to do the same."

"Oh come on, don't be like that. We could be good together and as for the others, I'm sure they could have their fun, too."

She held her crush tight and crushed it with a squeeze before standing up, "You want to say that, again?" 

"Ha! Just a party trick. I can show you real strength." He moved to grab her, but Violet was a master of adrenaline, using her magic to draw on even when she wasn't in fight or flight.

Her speed increased as she bonded with the living magic around her. Most of the magic called Kookar Coast home, however, whatever hadn't been there before I had taken a liking to Violet, following her helping her as long as it could. That was the life of magic and it didn't mind as long as it wasn't just discarded like any other tool.

The Orc screamed like a little girl as he had just seen Violet disappear only to be grabbed from behind by the grip of a bear. "LET ME GO!"

"If you insist" She let him go as her other hand rested on the small of his back. She morphed the magic at her disposal into a burst of wind. A strong gust of wind acted upon the orc sending him up into the air.

He flew through the bar as the wind followed him. It abruptly slowed down as he hit the wall. The sudden end of momentum broke his bones as he fell to the floor.

The other customers looked around. That was enough for them not to engage further with such a character. Violet scuffed and slammed the gold coin on the counter, leaving extra to pay for the glass she had broken, "Bring out another."

Adrenaline was one of the best powers she had at her disposal but it had its drawbacks. The anxiety that came with using the drug, didn't just go away because she stopped fighting. That was what the alcohol was for. She sipped on this time, savoring it.

Fifteen minutes passed and then the strangest thing happened. A goat came charging into the bar. The hobgoblin barkeep was taken aback when the goat climbed up on a barstool, "BAAA!!!"

"I've got some milk in the back," The barkeep uttered after a brief moment of confusion. The goat looked down at his hooves and then smoke began emitting from his body. The smoke was a light purple; the color of magic. Soon the goat was shrouded by it and when it evaporated, a satyr was standing where the goat had been.

"Oh, sorry about that. I must've forgotten to change back. You must've been so confused. A goat of all things wandering into your bar." He started chuckling. It was hard to tell if he really had forgotten such a thing or if he was simply having a laugh.

The Satyr gathered himself, "I'll take one of your fanciest drinks, nothing too strong though. I have a championship to get to!"

This strange character intrigued Violet. She turned to him and smiled. "Oh hi, I'm Damian Smoke and you might be?"

"Violet Duval, human adventurer." They shook hands and she asked, "are you an adventurer, too?"

"Sort of. I'm a mage and one day, I will be the best the world has ever known. I'm on my way to the Championship in Phoenix Sworn."

"Oh wow! I'm a mage as well but I don't think I am anywhere near strong enough to compete in such an event. I am not really willing to do what is necessary."

"Whatever do you mean?" Damian asked, puzzled by her words.

She blushed, looking down at the floor of the Savage's Swine, "I mean, magic is a creature, I can't bring myself to trap it into a cage or worse kill it." Violet twiddled her thumbs nervously.

"You've got it all wrong. Magic isn't it's strongest when it's merely your slave or your enemy. It's strongest when it's family. However, just like how you can't always get your brother to do what you want and sometimes your sisters will be willing to help you out but not always in the ways you like. Because of this living magic gets a bad rep, it's one I intend to squash!"

Damian gave a menacing grin after such a speech and Violet formed a wide smile, "If it really is how you say, then perhaps we can teach the world to have better habits. I'd like to help. We can show the world together."

"I'd like that. But the world is cruel, it is going to take a lot to change it."

Violet nodded, they finished their drinks and then their story began. One that would forever change the fate of Norimor.

Phoenix Sworn wasn't far from Savage's Swine. Only two days' time if you took the forest into Lycansill. However, Lycansill wasn't really a place you wanted to visit, but it was their only choice if they wanted to arrive on time.

They headed for the woods after they finished up at the bar. Violet always carried supplies to set up camp and Damian had brought what he thought he would need in his pack. He wasn't the brightest, so he hadn't brought much but they made do.

Nothing too eventful went on in the forest that night and in the morning they headed out on their way to Lycansill as Damian explained the distance was too great to avoid such an infamous village.

After such a conversation, they discussed their Rodēn. Everyone in Norimor were born with a couple Rodēn laying dormant in their souls. Once awakened, it would allow you to use magic and it would give that magic form. Damian was a Satyr and as such he had awakened a Rodēn that allowed him to increase his natural charisma. He also had a special Rodēn, one not given to him by his race but one that was special to him.

They arrived at the gates of Lycansill where they were met by two jacked human guards. They each carried a club on their back and wore steel pants.

"Do you promise not to interfere with the order of Lycansill? To pass through and do nothing but pass through?"

Violet looked to Damian. She had always been afraid of going places like this, where the cruel held all the power. Knowing there was nothing she or anyone could do. Evil would always find a way to corrupt humanity, it was just the reality of living.

Damian looked at her solemnly, "We promise."

The Guards nodded and they were allowed to cross into the village. They did so and with every step they saw the inhumanity of such a tyrannical state. They were forced to ignore it.

In Lycansill, the serial murderers, bandits, drug dealers and all other forms of criminals were allowed to roam free on the streets doing as they pleased as long as what they pleased didn't mess with the plans of the elite ruling class.

The Descendants of Rue had always preferred it this way. It kept the populace distracted with their own problems making it much too difficult to start an uprising. Even if they got close to trying something, anyone who was smart knew if they took down the ruling class, they'd have much bigger problems to deal with due to the fallout.

It was an effective method for keeping control. One Damian despised but his goal wasn't to rid the world of evil. He reminded himself of that as he entered the local tavern, Robber's Inn.

Damian walked over to the counter to talk to the Innkeep. He was a burly human wearing street clothes. Damian seemed to know what he was doing when the negotiations started as Violet overheard a little boy and their grandpa talking.

"Are we just going to let those jerks get away with this, again?" the little boy asked, "this is the third time they have killed one of our loved ones. Anywhere else, they would be locked in a dungeon or worse executed." The boy was bursting into tears.

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"I'm sorry, sonny, there isn't anything we can do. But wipe your tears and don't speak of it again. For the sake of our own safety, we have to act as if nothing has happened." The boy wiped his tears, "What about their safety?"

The Grandpa didn't answer his question, he just nodded and silence broke out at the table.

Damian had heard all of this as well as he used his natural charisma to negotiate with this thief of an Innkeeper who had requested 200 gold for just one night. After utilizing the magic surrounding him to charm him, the Innkeeper offered a 37.5% discount on the rooms in the basement.

Damian could see 75 gold was the best deal he was getting to get at a place so appropriately named. He shook the hand of the Innkeep and gave him the gold. He turned to look at the little boy and the grandpa. They were only human. "I am no hero," Damian muttered to himself and then he stormed out of the Inn.

Violet followed after him, dashing to

catch with him, "What's going on? Where are you going?"

Damian gave her a determined

glare as they continued to run. "I am going to take down Chief Rak-K Rue. The Rue family has held this village for centuries with their collection of caged magic. Taking them down is an important part of my plan."

"Couldn't you end up being

late? Isn't winning the championship

important for your mission as well?" She was just barely keeping pace with him as she traveled behind him.

Damian looked back to her and

said, "Arguably more important. Nobody cares about this town. Nobody will notice what I have done here... Except for the people living here. I must take him down, though and it can't wait. He has to be shown who's magic is better!"

With that declaration, Damian

transformed into a goat with another of his racial Rodēn and starting charging forward faster. Violet kept a steady pace behind him. Shortly after that they reached the Chief's Palace.

"Halt! What is your business here!"

A Halfling wearing a suit of red leather armor shouted at them holding his right hand out in front of them.

Violet caught up to the goat and

Damian became Satyr yet again. "I am here to challenge Chief Rak-K Rue to a duel of mages. Damian Smoke and Violet are his challengers. He can choose any partner he'd like to fight with him. If we win, we can give away to whomever we please!"

"And if he wins?"

"He can have our lives to do with

as he pleases." Damian had an air of confidence. He clearly believed he couldn't lose. And as long as his faith never wavered, he never would.

"I will see what the chief says,

wait here." The halfling guard went inside the Palace and came out about a half hour later to present them with the Chief's decision.

"A decision has been reached. You

will fight in two day's time in the pit outside the Palace and it will be a duel to the death!" So declared the halfling guard.

"Nope, it has to be today. I'm in a

hurry!" Damian said with frustration in his voice.

"Then you forfeit the challenge?"

"No...," Damian though for a

moment. He wants to gather an

audience to silence anyone else who would dare to challenge him, correct?"

The halfling guard nodded.

"I will gather the audience today

and we can hold the fight tomorrow at noon inside the pit."

"I will check with the chief." The halfling guard went back inside the palace. It only took him a brief moment to return and in that time Violet had rushed to get word out about the duel of mages by the command of Damian Smoke.

Damian had taken a chance but even if he failed to convince the chief, this would force his hand. "The King has agreed to meet in the pit tomorrow. However, he has said if there is no audience the fight will be postponed. Good day!"

With that, Damian left to help out

Violet Duval. They spent most of the rest of the day talking to people and informing them of the pit fight. Then they went off to bed in the basement of the Inn. They had a big day ahead of them.

Damian woke up bright and early.

He tugged on Violet's shoulder attempting to wake him. She jumped ready to throw hands with whoever had touched her. "Oh, it's just you. Don't do that to a girl."

"How else would I have gotten you

up?" He asked.

She looked out the window, seeing

the sunset outside, "You could've let me sleep. I would've been up by 11."

"It's important to wake up early. This way we can gather lots of magic. We are going to need as many allies as we can get if we are going to win this duel." Damian explained.

"Doesn't magic bond with you by

fighting aside you, though?"

"That is one of the ways it can

bond with you but there is a deeper connection, you can make with magic. You can get to know it."

"How?"

Damian started to move his limbs,

methodically dancing as he sensed the magic around him and called it to join in. "It understands the one language that is a constant between all cultures, dance."

Usually magic was nothing but an

invisible living force, however with the help of humanity transformed into something and if you were truly in sync with your magic it would manifest as pure untainted magic. A purple aura began to radiate from Damian. He was a true master of living magic.

Violet Duval was nothing like him.

She could never be as strong as he was, nevertheless she joined in. They went off throughout town dancing and gathering magic for the duel.

They stopped at 10 to give themselves and their new allies time to recharge their stamina. Once they were ready they headed back out for the duel.

They made their way to the palace and then the halfling guard led them to the pit outside and behind the palace. There were four rope ladders to the bottom of the pit. The pit had been dug centuries ago. It was the way challenges to the ruling classes had always been dealt with. It hadn't been used in decades.

Chief Rak-K stood on the other side of the pit and the halfling guard walked over there to join him. A crowd had already gathered and more people were coming still.

Chief Rak-K looked mostly human, he had a large stomach despite his muscular arms and chest. However, he had ram horns and his legs were that of a ram as well. He was what they call a Raytyr.

The four combatants climbed down into the pit. The pit was 20 feet deep and 1000 square feet wide. Once each of their feet were touching the ground and they turned and faced each other the fight would begin.

Both Chief Rak-k and the Halfling carried a pouch on their side; caged magic.

Violet and Damian touched the ground. They let go of the ladder and when they turned around, their opponents were already facing them. A rush of adrenaline consumed Violet as purple steam arose from her evaporating sweat. She rushed forward.

Damian Smoke threw his fists in the air. His special Rodēn was the ability to change the material makeup of his body into any other solid.  He had wanted to turn his body into rubber but his magic had other ideas. He turned to Ice as his fists launched off his body.

As Violet got close to Chief Rak-K, he pulled out a tiny cage with a glowing purple sphere in the middle of it. He quickly attracted it to his chain necklace, starting to draw from it as his form started to change.

From the legs up, his body was vanishing and turning into strong winds that swirled around Violet Duval. His head vanished into the winds and the winds sped up around her. Her adrenaline was pumping without the use of her magic now. She wasn't used to fighting other mages.

Damian's Ice Fists pierced the strong winds as the cold molecules started to mix in the air. Chief Rak-K's hurricane was slowed as  Damian caught up to his fists, melting them back into his form.

The halfling guard pounced and slammed right into Damian shoving him out of the winds. The halfling wore a chain holding caged magic. As Damian looked around him, he realized there was no longer just one of the halflings, there were a baker's dozen of him.

Damian took control of his form once more or rather his magic did as he turned from ice to burning volcanic rock. He lunged up and kicked the halfling hard slamming him into a few of his clones. He landed on the ground and punched another of the halflings in the face. But no matter how many he knocked down or set on fire, more appeared.

As fire lit up the clones, so did it light up the floor of the pit. The fire mixed with Chief Rak-K's wind making it explosive. Violet called to her magic and it listened to her turning into stone barricading her from the explosive winds.

Violet's special Rodēn was the power to morph her magic into any one of the four elements. The explosive winds exerted its force onto her barricade as the stone started to crack.

In an instant the barricade changed, it shifted from stone into water. A high pressure flood covered the pit putting out the fires. Chief Rak-K's real body fell from up in the air. 

Violet turned her adrenaline up to a 100 percent as the water vanished turning back into magic. Chief Rak-K landed on the ground and Violet bombarded him with punches, exerting her force on his torso. The magic near her turned to stone and rocks crushed against his face. The fight was pushed all the way to the far north wall.

Meanwhile, Damian was up against hundreds of halfling clones. He thought had gotten close to finding the real one when dozens of tiny cages were thrown onto the ground and then he was no longer just up against a baker's dozen. Finally, his magic listened to him as he turned into rubber stretching his fists and launching them into several of the clones. If only this had happened earlier he might have been able to avoid the fight against the hundreds.

Violet's adrenaline started to run out as she hit a slight in her punches. The Chief used this moment to reach into his pouch and pull out a tiny cage. As her fists were about to connect with his stomach yet again, he crushed the cage and a white light escaped his hand.

Her fists fell through the air as Rak-K became a tornado. She was caught in the tornado as she was encased in stone. Otherwise, she would have been ripped apart.

This was dead magic. The tornado died out after about a moment as the stone encasement fell. Dead magic was fleeting.

A human-sized stone crashed into the ground as Chief Rak-K used what was left of the dead magic to land himself safely on the ground.

The stone faded away turning back into magic revealing a tired bruised Violet Duval. Damian Smoke fought his way through the clones and over to her. "Can't... can't win." These words she uttered to him as she ran low on breath.

"It's over. Give up now I will allow you to keep living on as my royal subjects. Keep fighting and you shall surely die. What is your decision?"

Damian didn't want to give up but he had put something else's life on the line for this. This wasn't his decision to make. He looked to Violet and heard a quiet whisper as she set out to use the last of her Rodēn. A legendary Rodēn only ever wielded by humans, Man's Best Friend.

Damian turned back to face the chief, "Well, what do you choose, life or death?"

"Death!" Damian declared as the Chief broke our into maniacal laughter then from behind him a small husky puppy appeared and it charged right for the pouch hanging at the Chief's side.

"Rak-K! Look Out!" The halfling cried out, giving away his position. Damian launched his fist in the air reaching right for him.

The dog caught the pouch in his mouth and went running with it. Two of the tiny cages fell onto the floor behind the dog as he dashed away from the chief and disappeared into the barrage of halfling clones.

Violet gathered her strength and

stood up, bruised and bloodied but ready to fight on. Chief Rak-K attached a cage to his chain and then crushed the other releasing another burst of dead magic.

Damian held tight onto the

halfling's wrist as the guard started screaming in panic. He retracted his arm as he flew through the crowd of clones. As his arm reached normal size, it turned from rubber to Iron.

His right hand became an iron shackle, keeping the halfling tethered to Damian. Smoke's iron fist started punching him silly as the other clones started chasing after the dog.

However, the puppy seemed to have the speed of a lightning bolt and the stamina of a thunderstorm.

Chief Rak-K charged towards

Violet activating one of his racial Rodēn as his body was shrouded in flames. His muscles seemed to grow as he activated his other racial Rodēn, increasing his natural strength.

Violet readied her magic. She

found her bond growing stronger than it ever had before. She had gotten to know her magic and she had fought alongside her. This magic wasn't just an ally of hers anymore.

Rak-K's strength grew a hundred

fold and his fire turned black as his caged and his dead magic combined. Violet asked her magic to defend her as her elemental powers mixed, earth and water. A geyser of oil hit Rak-K, his fire grew the heat smothering him.

He had almost reached Violet but

now had to use the last of his magic to turn into wind absorbing the fire. As form became Raytyr once more a barrage of stones crashed into him. He quickly became magnetized to the stones, each time he was pushed away from the stones he would be pulled back into them. This is what happened when Earth and

Wind were mixed.

Damian released the halfling from his shackles and the guard fell to the ground unconscious. The halfling's pulse was vanishing from this world as his clones withered away. The magic in the cages drained of stamina. Damian let out one more surge of magic unlocking all of the halfling's cage. The magic flew away free. He did the same with the Chief's cage once the dog handed him the cages.

Meanwhile, the chief's insides imploded with internal bleeding from the bludgeoning. He was released from the magnetic pull as the stone faded away into magic one more time. When he fell to the ground, his pulse was no more. Violet and Damian climbed out of the pit as the Victor's.

She carried the puppy up the rope ladder with her. She would have sent him home but she needed to let her magic rest.

As they reached the top, many of the villagers cheered for the outsiders while others looked at them with disdain.

The little boy and his grandpa stood at the back of the crowd attempting to hide themselves. "Don't be fooled. These mages will be just like the rest of those will have ruled before them," he whispered to his grandson.

Damian stopped them and

motioned for the crowd to let him through. He grabbed the grandpa's wrist as the little boy looked at him with fear in his eyes. "I wish I could stay and make sure this village was well taken care of," Damian raised his voice as he began his speech, "But alas, my mission is something else. So I am forced to give up my throne to the one I know has good intentions. I name this old man, the new chief of Lycansill!" The grandpa looked at him confused. He hadn't expected this.

Damian turned and faced him, "What's your name, old man."

"Jackson...um... Jackson Bumble"

"Chief Jackson Bumble! I expect

you to follow him or I'll be back here to take on the rest of you." He lowered Daniel's arm and let his wrist go as he walked away much too fast for the grandpa to say thank you.

"Time to go," Damian nagged as

he passed Violet and walked around the pit. She followed him as the crowd cleared to let them pass.

A tall human with mixed skin, a

black vest, and ripped jeans gave Damian a dirty glare as they walked through the crowd. Damian glared back telling him now was no time to start something with only his eyes. The tall human turned away from him. Damian and Violet left the city. They would soon enter Phoenix Sworn.