Aslona, Year 327th since the birth of the Savior of humanity

Fortress of learning, currently under siege

Arunaro Ferro

I awake with a single thought "Today will be the final day of my life".

While I will not bemoan my fate, I will say that I wish the circumstances weren't as such as to make such a prediction so trivial. 

It does, however, make going out with a bang just as easy.

Very few wizards have the luxury of preparation for their own death, most dying violently by execution, assassination or in battle.

Tonight the shields protecting the fortress will fall, upon which the inquisition will breach the school and slaughter everyone who remains.

Unfortunately for them, the only remaining person is me, with everyone else having teleported away to a nearby village, from where they spread and try to hide.

Because I am the eldest and the most recognizable person from the arcanist order, I chose to stay behind to make sure none of our secrets remain for the inquisition to take.

I rise up from my lavish bed, enchanted by me for maximum fluffiness. I hope that I get to keep it in the afterlife.

A look out the window reveals to me a scene of orderly chaos, the inquisitions military camp waking up. 

The site remains unchanged from the day before, a multitude of tents, people, horses and even a portable house for the detachment commander, Shanaera Kriskian.

Shanaera...

Uncomfortable memories of youthful love spring up when I think of the name.

We used to be classmates in the holy order, childhood friends, maybe a bit closer. Sadly when I found knowledge of the orders folly, she found religious fervor.

I was young and foolish, I believed I could convince her to join me in discovering the secrets of arcane, but sadly that's not what happened.

She called me a heretic and attacked me instead. Broke my heart.

After my escape, I began acting less rash, slowly gathering allies and knowledge over the years.

I never really had any more relationships however, my heart still broken.

I stop reminiscing and decide to do what has to be done.

I slowly change my nightgown into my magician robes. 

They are made of the highest quality silk we could buy (not that high sadly) and it's colored white despite the fact that I'm a fire mage.

Dividing wizards by element was stupid, with everyone having equal potential in all magic. Lots of people disagreed, however, claiming that there existed "affinities" that influenced a person's ability to perform magic.

I never really cared for that, i call myself a fire mage because i like to set things on fire, not because i can only set things on fire.

I get out of my room, the stone halls of the school unusually silent, my footsteps being the only sound. I go over to the canteen and grab breakfast prepared by a cook yesterday.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

While potatoes and chicken wouldn't go on the "top 10" list of last meals, it would still rank fairly high with how well they were prepared.

During breakfast, I think about the many regrets of my life, never having learned to cook, never having married, never punching Jaono's shit-eating grin after making a pun.

I'm gonna miss that man, having buried him in the school's courtyard a week before, after we recovered his body from the inquisition. Punching a dead man wouldn't bring him back sadly, not that I tried.

After my awfully depressing breakfast, I go on a depressing walk to the library basement. While everyone took all the books they could carry, we still have some tomes that would be disastrous should the holy order find them here.

I double-check the wards on the door, making sure it will not allow anyone access for the next 10 years. Hopefully, the holy order will forget about this pile of rubble by then and living arcanists will be able to recover it.

After checking the wards, I decide to check the main event, "The Arcane Bomb". Both name and construction are simple, if not trivial. All it does is store immense amounts of magical energy akin to a ritual, however, unlike a ritual it does not have a way for the energy to be used.

The moment any of the enchantments that store the energy breaks, the resulting explosion should level the castle and anything kilometers around us.

With this much energy, everything should vaporize instantly, without any pain whatsoever. I hope.

With the sun slowly approaching the top of the sky, i decide it's as good of a time as any to finish everything.

I arm a rune that will cause disturbance in the bomb in ~10 minutes. I don't really want to just end it instantly, wanting to have a chat with the inquisition before I die.

After arming the bomb, i go to the front gate, a very fancy door, elaborately enchanted for flair, rather than protection. The real protection this place has is the Barrier-stone.

I walk out slowly, seeing that the inquisition already has ward-breakers pushing at the barrier. One of them spots me and shouts in alarm, running off to get Shanaera and the rest of her posse.

I can see her walk over here from a mile away, thanks to the big standards representing the savior command always likes to carry around important people.

After a few minutes, they reach the barrier, Shanaera approaching me in order to talk.

"Have you finally decided to surrender, heretic? There may yet be salvation" She says, her tone revealing that she's not really convinced that either of those things will happen.

"Not really no, I mostly came by to have a chat before my inevitable capture or demise" - I smile the sad smile of a deadman.

"Even then, offering salvation to someone who knows that it is no insurance of the soul, just of the mind that believes it can persist after death" 

She sighs at the heresy I freely spout. "I suppose your soul is beyond saving then. I always thought you misguided Arunaro. I will pray for you"

"And I will hope for some semblance of an afterlife for you" I respond.

I quickly check my timepiece, it shows that 10 seconds remain before the explosion.

"Goodbye, Shana. I always loved you, even if you hated me"

She tries to respond but then stops as the rune is broken and mana escapes.

Just as the posse starts grabbing their swords, everything turns white.