In a room with an opulent oval table, many people gathered together to discuss various topics. They were all wearing the same outfit—an all-white robe with a golden trim and a golden symbol on the back. Many of them were wearing sandals and had a wand or staff in hand or near their person. The beings gathered were all of different races, including gnomes, dwarves, humans, elves, and some half-elemental creatures. The conversations continued until a man walked into the room. The room went silent as everyone rushed to their seats.
He strode in, wearing some magical scaled armor with a golden cloak. The armor was all-white with gold trim, matching the rest of the members in the room. He had beautiful golden hair, striking golden eyes, and tan skin. His smile was dazzling. He was a beautiful man. Atop his head was a small golden crown. He held a staff that looked like a golden-white cobra. He strolled past everyone, soaking up their adoration, fear, and reverence until he sat at the edge of the long table. He held his head high, there was an air of condesencion about his movements, his steps, everything. He thought he was the strongest thing to ever exist in this room. He was right.
“Well,” his raspy voice echoed. “I’m glad we all could gather; it has been too long since the League of Order has assembled. I’m sure you’re noticing some new faces and are curious about the old faces.” Others started to murmur as they looked around to see who was new and who was missing. “Yes yes, my friends, we had to remove some weeds from our garden. Worry not as that is order. It is keeping things aligned. As you may know my dear dear mentor has been sneaky. The old bastard before his death somehow found a way to create a ritual to summon an otherworlder. There have been no reports in the last few years of the otherworlder.”
Someone cleared their throat. “Speak your mind, Travulos.”
“Thank you, my lord,” the orc named Travulos said with a slight bow. He stood up to address what was going on. “We have heard rumblings of a being of unusual potential rising out of the Onyx kingdom. A summoner.”
“A summoner,” the man said, leaning forward. “How intriguing, I’m assuming the first summoner in awhile… do you know which city?”
“N-no, my lord, my apologies.”
“It is not your fault, Travulos,” the man said with a smile that definitely made it seem like it was, indeed, Travulos’ fault. He got up and walked over to the orc. The contrast in the skin tone was striking. “Right now we are facing a crisis in information. Our spies have been snuffed out in various places.” He placed his hands on Travulos' shoulders and kept speaking. “It is quite annoying but not unexpected. Keep on the search,” he slowly made his hands down the neck of the orc, “if you find whoever the otherworlder is… kill them.” He snapped the neck of Travulos, killing him right then and there. As he let go of the now limp body, he strode back to his seat and smiled. “Then report back to me. Any other matters that much be discussed before the meeting is adjourned?”
“Uh yes Lord Axel, should we send a group to check out the city in which the summoner was enrolled?” Asked a rather nervous-looking elf.
“Not a bad idea,” Axel said, peering at the elf. She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.
“My lord,” an avian creature said. “I do believe I have a cousin who is working in the Onyx kingdom at a summoner’s guild. I can reach out to see if they know anything about it.”
“Wonderful,” Axel said with a large smile, although his gaze never went off the elf. “What is your name?” He asked the elf.
“I am Asloria, sire,” she said with a bow. “Fourth sister of the Anira lineage.”
“I see, I’d like to speak with you… in private.. After the meeting is adjourned,” he said in a way that was a little too creepy for everyone in the room as they all attempted to hide their shudder. Asloria slowly nodded while trying not to hide her face of fear and shame. “Now, back to you. Yes, reach out to your cousin and gather as much intel as possible. That is all. Until next time, I shall summon you when the time grows closer.” He stood up, “need I not remind you what happens when you fail to do your tasks,” he said, looking at the body of the orc. He then walked over to Asloria, placed a hand on her shoulder, then walked out of the room. Slowly, everyone breathed out a sigh of relief.
Asloria stood up and made her way to her lord’s chambers as she walked through the castle hallways. Asloria reflected on how her life had turned so poor. She used to hang with kings and queens. With people who had real power, not ones who sought it like an angry toddler. Asloria was nearly 700 years old. She saw the rise and fall of the Arbor kingdom from a distance, yet she was never that strong as she still remained a two-star rogue. As she entered the chambers, she saw the man lying on the bed.
“Well,” he said in an attempted seductive voice. “You’re mine.” The door to the chambers shut as Asloria reluctantly walked in. A few short hours later, the doors to the chamber swung open, and Axel strode out alone. He called for his maids to clean up his room and have it spotless before he returned in half a day. The maids more or less appeared out of thin air and entered into the prince’s chambers. To none of their surprise, they see that lying on the bed was the head of Asloria, the fourth sister of the Anira lineage.
Axel had set up a ritual that forced people to tell the truth. He had spent the next few hours intimidating her to get any information on the otherworlder; when she couldn’t provide him with any additional details, Axel killed her. As the maids cleaned up the blood and removed the head and the dead body, they were reminded of how truly evil their master was. There wasn’t much to clean up but dispose of the head and the body.
Axel was a practitioner of order magic. Studying under the tutelage of M. Velusvius, he became obsessed with summoning beings of order magic. He became an expert in order ritual magic. Axel walked in the hallway in his completely white outfit towards his office. He was frustrated. His damn mentor was a tricky bastard who kept trying to prevent absolute progress.
Axel had learned that order magic was an easy form of magic to control. It wanted to be controlled, it wanted to be used. Axel felt like he was doing a disservice to this specific form of magic by not giving it what it wanted; that is why he became a practitioner of order. He held out his hand as he was walking, a white orb, with golden swirls on the inside, formed. It slowly rotated in his hand. Axel looked down at the orb in his hand, he took a deep breath, then smiled wide. Seeing the beauty of order always calmed him down. It always brought a smile to his face.
“Sire,” a man in a mage robe said with a hand symbol. His index finger and thumb formed a circle, the rest of his fingers were straight out. He touched the tips of his fingers together, forming two circles above a triangle.
“Trove,” Axel said. “What do you have for me?”
“The members of the Greavent Kingdom are still not willing to join the League. The crown prince is vehemently rejecting your claims that there is a threat coming to the world.”
“That’s most unfortunate,” Axel said. The two of them walked into his office. The room was made of completely white marble, there was a large table made from white wood, that had the same symbol, the man named Trove, made. The table was trimmed with gold. There was an extravegent chair that sat right behind the desk. It was all white with a golden trim and intriciate golden designs.
“What are your orders sire?” Trove asked.
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“Hmmm,” Axel said. He was tapping a finger to his chin, his lips were pursed. Then his golden eyes looked up to Trove. Trove was a medium built elf, he wore an all white mage’s robe and had a white wand sheathed at his hip. Trove’s eyes were bright blue, white made his pale skin appear paler. His hood was up covering his head and ears. “What do you suggest general?”
“Do what you usually do,” Trove said with a sinister smile.
“Kill the massess until they capitulate?” Axel said, still playing with the orb of order. “A not that bad of an idea. Perhaps I shall talk to them personally, first. After all, I am quite convincing.”
“As you command, sire,” Trove said making the hand gesture again. He then turned around abruptly and walked out of the room, leaving Axel alone.
Axel looked at the map infront of him on his desk. It was the map of the world. Axel looked at all the places that had a white flat marble. These were the marks of order, the places in the world that his influence reigned supreme. There were many white marbles on the map. He smiled, but his smile turned into a scowl as he looked at the places that he had failed to conquer.
Axel took a deep breath as there was a knock on the door. He used his magic to open the door. In walked a maid with a golden kettle and white mugs. She came and sat it down without a word or eye contact. Axel didn’t say anything to the servant either. He poured himself a cup of tea. He took a sip, then lounged in his throne like chair. He closed his eyes and began to dream.
***
“What do you mean they’re gone?” Professor Bertrum, the birdman summoner’s guild professor, asked one of the officials who was watching the dungeon. Professor Bertrum was a large being. He had the head of a falcon, two large wings that protruded out of his back, he was a muscular olive skinned bird man.
“I mean sir,” the officials said. “The dungeon was completed but the team that entered in first, never arrived out. All the monsters inside the dungeon, as predicted have been released. Arcross is in danger of an outbreak.”
Where could they have gone, Bertrum thought. He nodded at the guard. “Thank you, I will inform the others.” The guard saluted then walked off in the opposite direction.
“What did he say?” Professor Egret, a female elf, who also happened to be his wife, asked. She had blonde hair, bronze skin, and green eyes. Her hair was up in a bun that revealed her tapered ears fully.
“They’re gone,” Bertrum said through gritted beak.
“Oh boy,” Egret said. “Lord Onyx will not be pleased.”
“Pleased about what?” a voice said from behind them. Lord Onyx said. Lord Leandro Onyx was the current head of the Onyx kingdom. He was recently visiting Arcross as his daughter, Anna Onyx was competing in the Battle of the Guilds. It was quite clear for him that he would be watching the fabled event on at the guilds. He had previously watched Anna’s elder sister, Rayvin, participate in it a few years ago.
Leandro was seen as a complex man, this couldn’t be further from the truth. He was quite simple, he wanted to protect his family, his daughters, his legacy, and his kingdom. If Leandro had done all of that up until his death he would die a heroes death. This was important to know to understand why the two professors were not thrilled to inform the king that his daughter was missing.
“Well,” Leandro demanded, not happy with the time it took for the two to spill the beans.
“Uhhh…” Bertrum began. “Your daughter’s team has gone missing, sir.” His usual tough demeanor was long gone, in its place was a meek demeanor. He refused to make eye contact with the obvious growing fury of the king of the Onyx kingdom.
“Now,” he said, biting off each word. “I am going to ask you this again. I want you to answer my questions very well. Or else there will be hells to pay. What. happened. To. my. Daugther?”
“We don’t know,” Bertrum said. “It was reported by the guards stationed outside the dungeon that there was a strong sense of teleportation magic that could be felt through the entrance of the dungeon. The dungeon began to destabilize informing us that it was successfully completed. Shortly after the other teams we had tasked to enter the dungeon emerged, except one. The one team we believed conquered the dungeon.”
“If that otherworlder did this on purpose to my daughter… I will have him strung up on every tower in Arvendron… every tower.” Leandro promised. Leandro was understandably pissed. He had to let loose his anger. Thankfully for him, there was a monster outbreak threatening to destroy one of his cities. Unfortunately for the monsters, the 4-star king was present.
The monsters coming out of the dungeon were all rankings, with the majority being 3-stars, which meant they were significantly weaker than the king. The wizard and the warrior, Wendel and Roy, respectively, had killed the last 4-star-ranked monster. It would take time before another one spawned. This didn’t mean they were without trouble; plenty of 3-star-ranked monsters was more than enough problems.
Leandro was wearing a dark black regal tunic with a well-designed elegant clock over his clothes. He moved his cloak to the side, revealing a belt full of onyx rocks. His eyes began to glow, and his cloak began to levitate as if someone were blowing wind under it. The rocks were glowing the same color as his eyes, a black hue.
Leandro held out his hands and the onyx floated in front of him. He held his hands wide as he walked towards the edge of the wall where the monsters were approaching. He took a deep, calming breath.
Shard Storm, he chanted. The onyx took off into the sky at an insanely fast speed. After a second, there was a loud boom, and a dark black light exploded in the sky. Suddenly, shards of razor-sharp onyx began showering down the horde of monsters. In seconds, the shards littered the monsters below, which were full of sharp onyx.
Lava Glass, he chanted again. Most of the monsters didn’t survive that initial attack, which made sense since they weren’t very strong in comparison to the king. To be fair, very few in the current region were. King Leandro was not some puppet figurehead for the kingdom. He was active in battles and wars. When there was a problem that needed to be solved, he would be the one leading them to victory.
Leandro’s power had grown signficantly, but he had entered what was called the plateau. The aptly named plateau was something some magic users hit. It was when they would reach the edge of their potential, and all progress would stall and come to a screeching halt. It was possible to get out of the plateau however, it was not that simple. It took years of dedication and determination to leave the plateau. It was something that required undivided attention.
Some people were able to go into seclusion and find that missing piece to break the plateau. Most people weren’t able to. The plateau has been known to completely break the spirits of a magic user, completely stalling all progress and forcing them to stay at whatever star rank they were. Lord Leandro had no such worries, as it would be unbecoming for a king to think such negative thoughts.
No, Lord Leandro recognized that he was experiencing a plateau, and he knew the reason why: his family. Leandro wanted nothing more than his daughters to fight by his side. However, the world turned a bit nastier, and he became a bit more protective. Lord Leandro had seen the danger and understood that the time of the ancient prophecy had come. Perhaps his breakthrough would come soon, and he would reach the pinnacle of power.
Grinning he looked back at the damage he had caused. The battle field was a sight of molten lava, burning alive all monsters that were present. The lava seemed like it would be there for a long time, meaning that the monsters would not get close to the wall at all. He nodded, his work was done. In a moment the king had effectively wiped out 250 monsters of various rankings all at once.
The guards all looked at the king with new eyes of respect and fear. They recognized that he was not a king or person to mess with. If this was what he could do to entire hoards of monsters, what could he do to one focused target? The guards shuddered at the thought as they watched him as he strode off, still angry at the absence of his daughter.
“I do feel better,” Leandro muttered under his breath. “I’m sure you’re alive still, Anna, but I know you can handle all that this life is going to throw at you. Be strong, be brave, be you. I love you.” Leandro made his way back to his city, Arvendron, after giving Arcross an insane boon to win this battle. “Alessia is going to be sooo upset with me.”
Professor Bertrum and Egret shared a look as they looked at the devastation the battle, no, not battle, that was a massacre, a single attack. They looked at it and both shuddered, that was a lot of power displayed by a four-star mage. They still weren’t sure what his class evolution was, but whatever it was, it was surely powerful.
“I’m glad that he didn’t take it out on me,” Bertrum said. “That would have been painful. Did you know he was that strong?”
“I did not,” Egret said. “It is a good thing there was a monster horde. I do understand his frustration though. That cannot be easy losing a daughter like that. This world is massive and we have no idea where they could have gone.”
“Indeed,” Bertrum nodded. “We shall not concern ourselves with it, though. We have to prepare. This year, nearly ten people registered for the one and only summoner guild.”
“TEN?!” Egret said excitedly.
“Yes, ten,” Bertrum nodded. “Levi’s performance inspired a lot of families to invest in getting a summoner in their ranks, even for extended jobs in secruity.”
“Incredile,” Egret said. “Then yes, let’s prepare for next year.” The two strode off toward the guild district.