The Destruction of the Magi Part 1

The man stood on a square platform, ten meters by ten meters, suspended in space. He was quite tall and hunched. His body was covered by a white robe with wide sleeves, framed by a wide blue ribbon. Around his neck was a large blue and white collar. His hair was long and white, flowing down to a beard that fell to his chest. The man's blue eyes were deep in his skull, and beneath them was a pointed nose.

He leaned on an oak staff, which he gripped tightly in his sinewy hands, which ended in long, clawed fingers. He stared at the wall before him.

It was about three meters high and two meters wide. It was composed entirely of a strange luminous substance that shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow. Multicolored lights wandered aimlessly across it. The glow reflected in the man's eyes, giving them a strange, emerald hue.

As he stood there, staring at the lights dancing on the wall, he suddenly heard a strange hum and crackling of flames. After a moment, the sounds faded.

"You summoned me, Laukadius?" a voice asked from behind the man.

The man slowly turned and looked at the man standing before him. He was dressed in a red robe, black at the shoulders. He had short, coal-colored hair and a matching beard. His nose was remarkably regular, and his eyes seemed to change color every time he looked at them. The man tucked his hands into the sleeves of his wide robe.

"Yes, Pevart, I have summoned you on a very serious matter," Laukadius replied.

"And what is it?

" "Have you read 'The Destruction of the Magi'?" "

Forgive my bluntness, Laukadius, but in your old age, are you finding it difficult to make silly jokes?" Pevart asked. "

Answer me," Pevart almost shouted. "

Of course I have." This is a work that every Heir preparing for magical service must study. Why do you ask?

- Today marks the forty-eighth year since the last Heir was found.

- I know, after all, I was that Heir, but I still don't understand why you summoned me.

- Please remind me of the first paragraph of "The Slaughter of the Mages."

- Good: "And then I saw a terrible thing: for forty-eight years, no other Heir had been found. The Mage Clan was threatened with extinction, for only five of them remained. Then something happened that should never have happened: one of the brothers betrayed and attacked his brethren, starting a war. And the remaining mages couldn't unite and each fought alone, but they were no longer fighting for the unity of the brotherhood, but for power..."

- Thank you, that's enough. Now you probably understand why I summoned you.

- If I understand correctly, you fear that what was written in "The Slaughter of the Mages" will come true.

"No, quite the opposite, I've been waiting for this for a long time." "

Are you waiting? And how do you know it will even happen? After all, "The Destruction of the Mages" is just a tale meant to summon us to live in unity.

" "Do you know who wrote this "tale" of yours?" "

Yes, its author is Master Florian, the founder of our brotherhood."

"That's right, and what inspired him to do it?"

"A vision that appeared to him in the Mirror of Evil Prophecies.

" "Exactly, he saw in the Mirror what would become of our brotherhood and wrote it down.

" "So you summoned me to uncover the traitor?"

"You're mistaken, Pevart. I summoned you because you're the youngest and weakest of us.

" "Laukadius, you surely don't intend to..." the red mage began, terror in his voice.

"Of course I will," the white mage replied calmly, then raised his staff to his head and shouted. "Verta!"

A blue-white beam shot from the staff's head and flew at incredible speed towards Pevart, who at the last moment created a shield of fire in front of him. However, shreds of the beam pierced the shield and struck him in the chest. The mage cried out in pain and fell.

Laukadiusz slowly approached him.

"This is simpler than I thought," he said, then raised his staff. "Mitz Morti!" he shouted, bringing it down quickly on Pevart.

The red mage managed to roll aside, however, and his opponent's weapon struck the platform with such force that it tore a hole in it. The spell spread across the floor and knocked Pevart down again, as he tried to stand up.

"You have good reflexes," Laukadiusz praised him. "But that's irrelevant." He waved his staff at him and shouted. "Verta!"

A white beam shot at Pevart with dizzying speed, but Pevart miraculously managed to dodge. Though everything hurt, he somehow gathered himself. He thrust his open hands toward Laukadiusz and roared, "Krysum Malaus." With these words, a fireball swirled in front of his hands. It didn't fly towards the white mage, however, but began shooting beams of flame at him. Laukadiusz instantly summoned a ball of energy from the head of his staff, which absorbed the flames. "

I see you've developed quite a spell," he sneered.

"That's not all," Pevart replied and shouted. "Grozum Nivato!"

His fireball began to grow and soared towards the white mage. He waved his staff, and a wall of energy materialized before him.

"Vidin!" Pevart shouted.

The sphere suddenly split into dozens of smaller projectiles that surrounded Laukadiusz and began to close around him.

"Anera!" the white mage roared, swinging his staff once more.

A dome of energy surrounded him. Fireballs struck from all sides, and an explosion occurred. The force of the blast was so immense that the blast that struck Pevart knocked him off the platform. The red mage was so weakened that he lost consciousness.