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Return of the Fallen Vol1 Ch1

 

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Author: Blue_Rat

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Ch 1: The Spell Has Been Activated
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An old voice in the darkness spoke a few words filled with magic and a portion of a wall started to tremble.

One by one, from that portion of the wall, stone after stone both big and small began to rotate, slide or fold out of the way, revealing an opening big enough for several people to pass through and after a moment, a large door shaped hole appeared.

The pathway finally stabilized as the movement of the stones stopped.

A single foot stepped over the threshold and into the dark area before pausing. What followed after was an old wide nose. Giving the room a sniff, the old man’s face quickly scrunched up in disgust.

“Bah, this room reeks of stagnation.”

His hand extended into the darkroom and a long wooden staff rested in his grip. Power gathered at a small crystal-like rock embedded on the end of his staff, causing the crystal to glow a multitude of colors before the old man spoke once again.

“Wind…Flame.”

A large gush of wind shot forth, filling the room up and circulating the stench into a funnel-like shape, forcing the foul wind out of the room past the old man. Right after, a small flame danced at the tip of the staff before it too leaped forward, shooting towards a torch upon the wall. This flame seemed to have a mind of its own because right after it lit the first torch, it suddenly jumped towards another torch a few feet away before shooting forward again and again until every torch was lit.

With the room now lined with lit torches, the old man took in the sight before him before nodding in satisfaction.

A large dome-shaped chamber, from the center of the room, stretched outward 100 feet in every direction. Built from old stone, carved by the hard-working laborers and stonemasons from hundreds of years ago, this room was created for one purpose and one purpose only.

Walking in, the old man waved his hand forward.

“Come, let’s get started.”

With that said, many men and women filed in after the old man. Each one wearing a magician’s robe embroidered with lines of gold or silver, with the base of said robe being vastly different in color from one another, due to their own personal preferences. These mages walked in and each one wore an expression of annoyance or disgust, the reason for which was easy to guess. The old man had used his magic to funnel the foul smell behind him and out of the chamber where each one of them was located. It was no wonder they seemed irritated. The old man though simply ignored their displeasure and carried on.

These mages, although they were upset, knew that they could do nothing about it and instead went to work.

One by one they began to wield their staffs. Each staff glowed with power before lightning or fire would scorch the ground beneath their feet and carve out an ancient symbol or word on the ground below. Some would say a word or two for this, while others could simply will their power outward with a thought.

Their work at first seemed random but after a while, the shape of 8 large circles began to take form.

While many of them inscribed the floor with a spell, a few mages had other jobs to deal with. Every time one of these mages inscribing ancient symbols made a mistake, another mage would have to use an earth spell and remold the floor, repairing it, giving the other mage a blank slate to recarve on. This process was long, repetitive and difficult and therefore could not be completed within a short time. A few hours later though, the first part of their job was complete.

Each mage stepped back nervously while the old man walked around the room and inspected each ring one at a time. Sometimes he would walk over the top of them, while other times he would even lay with the side of his face on the ground eyeing them as close as possible. Taking his fingers and sliding them through the newly made grooves on the ground, finally with a satisfied nod he said.

“This will do.”

Each mage breathed a long sigh of relief and some even smiled in celebration. All in all, this took 87 mages working in turns to complete but finally, the spell was carved.

The old man took his staff and stamped it gently on the ground but the power it contained was anything but.

*Bang*

A pulse of energy extended from the bottom of his staff sending a signal to god knows where. The room of people only had to wait a few minutes before the sound of many footsteps could be heard coming from the passageway.

Soon, a tall man stepped in. Wrapped in knights armor, with a long two-handed sword at his hip, broad shoulders and a large frame, this man exuded strength. Followed behind him were many soldiers wearing leather armor with swords at their sides as well. Not only that but they also wore odd thick gloves made of some special material, though that was not important. However, what they carried with them was. The men carried several long crystals with them. Each crystal was nearly as tall as a man and about half as wide. Inside these crystals, a liquid shifted from red to blue and then back again. Following after that was a large amount of gold carried within cauldrons.

The large man walked up to the old man and slapped him on the shoulders. With a big grin, the man’s voice boomed out in excitement.

“Hahaha, Garn old man, what a glorious day, hahaha.”

The old man named Garn pushed his staff forward nearly hitting the large man in front of him directly in the face. The large man though had good reflexes and jumped back before the staff connected. His smile became even wider as he laughed with a gut full of amusement.

“HAHAHA, Why so pissed. Ah, that’s right, you’re not too fond of brotherly love, hahaha, my bad my bad.”

Garn’s face twisted in anger, as he roared.

“Dammit Rust, keep your filthy hands away from me or your hands will taste my flame.”

The large man named Rust ignored Garn’s threats and continued to laugh.

“Haha, now now, is that any way to speak to an old friend. Especially on such an auspicious day?”

A few mages in the background couldn’t help but snicker seeing Garn’s exasperated expression but silenced themselves when his cold glare looked towards them.

Garn eyed the large framed man in front of him and could only see a dumb gorilla with a stupid smile. Shaking his head he gave Rust a warning with his eyes before he turned toward the crystals and yelled at the other mages.

“Time is of the essence, so get to work.”

Rust kept smiling but decided its best not to approach too close to an angry mage. With nothing to do but wait, he could only look around and stare at the circles on the floor and watch the busy movement of the soldiers and mages in anticipation.

The mages ordered the soldiers left and right and the soldiers in turn complied. They began to set the crystals in certain locations on the ground, being sure to lay them down gently, lest they become damaged.

After that, several cauldrons full of solid gold were carried over to each one of the 8 rings before a few mages encircled them and lit flames beneath them. With the power of several mages combined, the temperature of the fire climbed, growing hotter and hotter. Within only a few minutes, the flames beneath the cauldrons turned from an orangish red to a light blue. The once solid gold had no chance and melted down in short order.

Garn stepped forward and barked.

“Pour it.”

The mages stepped back and the soldiers with their thick gloves made from special material stepped up. Several of them surrounded the cauldrons and in a practiced motion, they carefully poured every drop of gold onto the ground. The liquid gold spilled out and sank into the grooves, filling each specially carved symbol. Once again Garn barked his orders.

“Good, let’s do this.”

The soldiers then carried the cauldrons away before they lined up in a simple formation encircling the mages just in case.

87 mages stood around the 8 circles and then Garn joined them making 88. The crystal at the end of his staff began to glow a bright golden before he stamped it down hard into the ground.

*Bang*

The gold within the rings began to wiggle and squirm as though it were alive before finally settling into itself. The other mages didn’t sit idly by while this was happening. Each one of their staffs lit up representing the elements. Air, water, earth, fire, light, dark, time, space. The rings, as well as the thousands upon thousands of inscriptions, ripped themselves from the floor and began to float in the air.

Rust, as well as all of the other soldiers, looked on in amazement.
The mages, however, began to sweat profusely. Whether it was due to exhaustion or fear of failure, no one knew and right now none of them had time to think about it.

Old Garn shut his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Pulling a power deep from within himself, his eyes opened and glowed with golden light. Taking his staff into both of his hands, he slowly lifted it above his head and a single word escaped his lips.

“Rise.”

The large crystals on the floor trembled and shook and one by one they rose high up into the air. The mages expected this and with a simultaneous movement, they waved their staffs in a circle and all 8 rings began to rotate at once. Garn took a hand away from his staff and stretched it in front of him forming a claw. Gripping the air, his hand slammed shut.

“Crush!”

The several floating crystals all broke at once and the liquid within flew out and entered the rings. The rings, like a greedy beast starved for weeks, began to devour all of this liquid in seconds, converting every ounce of it into a powerful energy source. With this newfound power source, the rings began to rotate faster and faster and glow brighter and brighter. All of the mages, Garn included, were now no longer a part of this spell’s function. They could feel themselves being cut off from it as the spell was now doing the rest. All they could do now was step back and observe.

The light intensified by another degree and then…

*SHING*

The rings vanished and the room filled with darkness and grew as quiet and as still as death itself but only for a moment before…

*FLASH*

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