As the day began its descent into the evening, the denizens of the city halted their daily routines and took notice when a pair of eyes emerged from the building, which now housed only unconscious bodies. Donar, a dishevelled member of parliament, strode forward carrying a bleeding young boy in his arms. His appearance was not befitting of his station, but the situation called for urgency.
The unexpected encounter with a group of black wizards had left Donar with no choice but to venture out into the public eye, despite his ragged appearance. The wizards had caused an effect, and now he was the cause of the spectacle before the astonished wizards and civil guards who greeted him at the building's entrance.
The annoying Mus Insidias barrier magic had been successfully extinguished. Civil guards and magisterium wizards combed the area for clues and evacuated the trapped occupants.
But when they checked the floor where Donar resided, no trace of black magicians or any compromising matters was found.
The wreckage of the apartment room was certainly suspicious, but it provided no evidence. Meanwhile, a soar of gryphons scoured the orange horizon, gazing around the tower, but the findings of any suspicious flying mages were nil.
"I have to meet my daughter." Donar kept pleading to a magician inside the medical carriage. "They are after my daughter. You must report it to the Magisterium. I beg you to find her!"
A low-ranking mage, rarely seeking an audience in the sky castle, did his best to calm Donar down. However, like Donar, he too was unsure of what to do, so he went to report to his superiors and forwarded Donar's message to him.
"Useless, Papa. An amateur. We should meet the Grand Magus Magisterium in person!" proposed Leith. Leith was bare-chested, wrapped in a layer of bandage soaking his blood stains, but still slender his body was, carved with aesthetic abdominal knuckles. He tried not to support his chest, avoiding the look of discomfort. But the dripping sweat and the rigid expression on his face could not tell the lie.
The father agreed. "Didn't mean to demean the mage earlier, but asking the Magisterium in person is indeed faster. Wait here. I will go straight to Skycastle.
"I'm coming!" replied his son.
"Don't joke, Leith. You're badly injured!"
"It's nothing, Papa, really!"
"Really? Go look at yourself in the mirror. Your face says otherwise. There's no need to show your pride and hide your pain. That's why so many people die young." Donar opened the medical carriage and crawled out. "Just wait at the hospital. I will be back soon!"
Not only had he already shown his pride, he was overcome with it. With a tinge of fraternal worry instinct of his sister's circumstances. As much as the scolding and teasing to her, Alicia still had the place most dear to him, after all. Thus, Leith cared little for his father's words of wisdom. He quickly buttoned up his shirt and alighted from the carriage, pursuing his father.
"Leith! What the..." Donar let out a resigned sigh. "Ah, whatever. If something happens, I won't carry you anymore!"
"I never asked you to carry me in the first place!"
Donar approached the head of the wizard unit, who was talking to the others near the engine carriage belonging to the civil guards.
"My Lord Donar!" exclaimed the head of the wizard unit, “You and your son should recuperate in the medical magic carriage first!”
“I dinnae have time for that,” Donar replied. “My daughter may be in danger, I must find her immediately!”
"Yes, I understand," the man nodded, pointing at the low-ranking mage who had reported the situation, "and I'm currently trying to call the Magisterium's office."
The wizard pulled out a set of black wired telecomm. He raised the handle, then pressed a few buttons of characters, forming a contact code before putting the handle to his ear. His feet kept tapping the ground with an unrelenting rhythm, while sweat complied with his countenance, and his eyes darted restlessly in every direction. Occasionally, he caught sight of the parliament member and his son staring back at him.
A short while lasted, and the wizard's expression twisted into a frown. All he heard on the other end of the transmitter was an empty static sound. Reestablishing contact multiple times ensued, but to no success.
Donar's intuition alerted him to something amiss. "Is there a problem, sir?"
"Please wait for a while," the wizard replied. "Something seems to be wrong. It's highly unusual for me to be unable to contact the Skycastle. Let me check the installed mana surveillance surrounding the building."
The head of the wizard unit took out a golden mirror frame. He raised the frame to his chest, then simply let go of the mirror, remaining hovered in place. Turning his wand gently, the wizard whispered an incantation.
"Visio Omnia!"
The mirror suddenly shone. The mage’s reflection turned into a swirling vortex of magical energy. Another incantation was spoken.
"Ostende mihi Officium Magisterii Arcanum Planum!"
The mirror seemed to respond to the wizard's request, displaying an image of Skycastle, the headquarters of the Magisterium. How shocked the Crimsonmanes and the wizard unit were to see that the castle was shapeless, not as if it had been destroyed but rather without a constant form. The building patterns seemed to move randomly, making the palace appear like absurd lumps.
"What am I seeing right now?”
“I have no idea, Lord Donar!”
Leith thought of a hypothesis of why Skycastle had become so chaotical. "They turned the building into an abstract object. Does this seem like Reality Bending magic to you?"
"Reality Bending? Like magic from the mystic arts of Sorcery?" asked Donar.
Leith just shrugged his shoulders, implying that was what he meant.
His father's eyes slowly widened. No wonder the celestial castle did not respond to the outer world. It was probably under siege! He did not know the motive behind the attack, but the battle in the magic office never bode well. Something related to his Arcane-wielding daughter, that much he could guess. Donar glanced at the person holding the glass, who appeared to comprehend his silent message. The wizard summoned the other mages straightaway.
"Helios Unit!" exclaimed the leader of the magic group. "Get your broomsticks and griffins ready and head to Skycastle! I repeat, prepare broomsticks and griffins. We must soar to Skycastle right now! It is highly probable that it is under siege!"
"We're coming with you!" Donar said.
"I told you both to rest!"
"I can't rest if I don't find my daughter! My daughter might be there, or at least have something to do with her whereabouts!"
Arguing over such matters served no purpose. A griffin landed on the road, shrieking at the head of the magic unit. "If you insist, we'll use my griffin."
The sky let out a roar and the howls of the griffins answered each other. The Helios unit soared through the air, accompanied by most of the Magisterium mages on duty in the Eidyn expanse. Upon arrival, they discovered that the castle was indeed peculiarly shaped. They could not even locate the castle's entrance, as it seemed to shift locations. Sometimes, the door was on one side, while at other times, it moved to the other side or was overlapped by some part of the building that they could not identify. To make matters even stranger, the door could be split into multiple pieces, indicating the chaotic state of the castle's architecture. Their attempts to use magic to gain access were unsuccessful, as they could not determine what they were targeting. They succeeded in using magic to damage what appeared to be the exterior of a castle tower, but their senses were confounded by the building's abstract magical art.
"Hey! Anyone! Can anyone hear us?" one of the magicians bellowed in front of the castle, but there was scarcely any sound, save for the creaking of the structure's tumultuous movement.
They deliberated on how to gain entrance to the building, with some suggesting blowing up the front of the castle. However, this proposal was summarily dismissed, as they could not determine which side was the front of the castle. If they blew up what they assumed was the front, they might end up demolishing the entire building.
This Reality Bending magic was unlike anything they had seen in Western-rite Sorcerers, and their lack of familiarity with the technique made it difficult to solve the building's riddles. They could only stare in bewilderment, wracking their brains. []
As the day began its descent into the evening, the denizens of the city halted their daily routines and took notice when a pair of eyes emerged from the building, which now housed only unconscious bodies. Donar, a dishevelled member of parliament, strode forward carrying a bleeding young boy in his arms. His appearance was not befitting of his station, but the situation called for urgency.
The unexpected encounter with a group of black wizards had left Donar with no choice but to venture out into the public eye, despite his ragged appearance. The wizards had caused an effect, and now he was the cause of the spectacle before the astonished wizards and civil guards who greeted him at the building's entrance.
The annoying Mus Insidias barrier magic had been successfully extinguished. Civil guards and magisterium wizards combed the area for clues and evacuated the trapped occupants.
But when they checked the floor where Donar resided, no trace of black magicians or any compromising matters was found.
The wreckage of the apartment room was certainly suspicious, but it provided no evidence. Meanwhile, a soar of gryphons scoured the orange horizon, gazing around the tower, but the findings of any suspicious flying mages were nil.
"I have to meet my daughter." Donar kept pleading to a magician inside the medical carriage. "They are after my daughter. You must report it to the Magisterium. I beg you to find her!"
A low-ranking mage, rarely seeking an audience in the sky castle, did his best to calm Donar down. However, like Donar, he too was unsure of what to do, so he went to report to his superiors and forwarded Donar's message to him.
"Useless, Papa. An amateur. We should meet the Grand Magus Magisterium in person!" proposed Leith. Leith was bare-chested, wrapped in a layer of bandage soaking his blood stains, but still slender his body was, carved with aesthetic abdominal knuckles. He tried not to support his chest, avoiding the look of discomfort. But the dripping sweat and the rigid expression on his face could not tell the lie.
The father agreed. "Didn't mean to demean the mage earlier, but asking the Magisterium in person is indeed faster. Wait here. I will go straight to Skycastle.
"I'm coming!" replied his son.
"Don't joke, Leith. You're badly injured!"
"It's nothing, Papa, really!"
"Really? Go look at yourself in the mirror. Your face says otherwise. There's no need to show your pride and hide your pain. That's why so many people die young." Donar opened the medical carriage and crawled out. "Just wait at the hospital. I will be back soon!"
Not only had he already shown his pride, he was overcome with it. With a tinge of fraternal worry instinct of his sister's circumstances. As much as the scolding and teasing to her, Alicia still had the place most dear to him, after all. Thus, Leith cared little for his father's words of wisdom. He quickly buttoned up his shirt and alighted from the carriage, pursuing his father.
"Leith! What the..." Donar let out a resigned sigh. "Ah, whatever. If something happens, I won't carry you anymore!"
"I never asked you to carry me in the first place!"
Donar approached the head of the wizard unit, who was talking to the others near the engine carriage belonging to the civil guards.
"My Lord Donar!" exclaimed the head of the wizard unit, “You and your son should recuperate in the medical magic carriage first!”
“I dinnae have time for that,” Donar replied. “My daughter may be in danger, I must find her immediately!”
"Yes, I understand," the man nodded, pointing at the low-ranking mage who had reported the situation, "and I'm currently trying to call the Magisterium's office."
The wizard pulled out a set of black wired telecomm. He raised the handle, then pressed a few buttons of characters, forming a contact code before putting the handle to his ear. His feet kept tapping the ground with an unrelenting rhythm, while sweat complied with his countenance, and his eyes darted restlessly in every direction. Occasionally, he caught sight of the parliament member and his son staring back at him.
A short while lasted, and the wizard's expression twisted into a frown. All he heard on the other end of the transmitter was an empty static sound. Reestablishing contact multiple times ensued, but to no success.
Donar's intuition alerted him to something amiss. "Is there a problem, sir?"
"Please wait for a while," the wizard replied. "Something seems to be wrong. It's highly unusual for me to be unable to contact the Skycastle. Let me check the installed mana surveillance surrounding the building."
The head of the wizard unit took out a golden mirror frame. He raised the frame to his chest, then simply let go of the mirror, remaining hovered in place. Turning his wand gently, the wizard whispered an incantation.
"Visio Omnia!"
The mirror suddenly shone. The mage’s reflection turned into a swirling vortex of magical energy. Another incantation was spoken.
"Ostende mihi Officium Magisterii Arcanum Planum!"
The mirror seemed to respond to the wizard's request, displaying an image of Skycastle, the headquarters of the Magisterium. How shocked the Crimsonmanes and the wizard unit were to see that the castle was shapeless, not as if it had been destroyed but rather without a constant form. The building patterns seemed to move randomly, making the palace appear like absurd lumps.
"What am I seeing right now?”
“I have no idea, Lord Donar!”
Leith thought of a hypothesis of why Skycastle had become so chaotical. "They turned the building into an abstract object. Does this seem like Reality Bending magic to you?"
"Reality Bending? Like magic from the mystic arts of Sorcery?" asked Donar.
Leith just shrugged his shoulders, implying that was what he meant.
His father's eyes slowly widened. No wonder the celestial castle did not respond to the outer world. It was probably under siege! He did not know the motive behind the attack, but the battle in the magic office never bode well. Something related to his Arcane-wielding daughter, that much he could guess. Donar glanced at the person holding the glass, who appeared to comprehend his silent message. The wizard summoned the other mages straightaway.
"Helios Unit!" exclaimed the leader of the magic group. "Get your broomsticks and griffins ready and head to Skycastle! I repeat, prepare broomsticks and griffins. We must soar to Skycastle right now! It is highly probable that it is under siege!"
"We're coming with you!" Donar said.
"I told you both to rest!"
"I can't rest if I don't find my daughter! My daughter might be there, or at least have something to do with her whereabouts!"
Arguing over such matters served no purpose. A griffin landed on the road, shrieking at the head of the magic unit. "If you insist, we'll use my griffin."
The sky let out a roar and the howls of the griffins answered each other. The Helios unit soared through the air, accompanied by most of the Magisterium mages on duty in the Eidyn expanse. Upon arrival, they discovered that the castle was indeed peculiarly shaped. They could not even locate the castle's entrance, as it seemed to shift locations. Sometimes, the door was on one side, while at other times, it moved to the other side or was overlapped by some part of the building that they could not identify. To make matters even stranger, the door could be split into multiple pieces, indicating the chaotic state of the castle's architecture. Their attempts to use magic to gain access were unsuccessful, as they could not determine what they were targeting. They succeeded in using magic to damage what appeared to be the exterior of a castle tower, but their senses were confounded by the building's abstract magical art.
"Hey! Anyone! Can anyone hear us?" one of the magicians bellowed in front of the castle, but there was scarcely any sound, save for the creaking of the structure's tumultuous movement.
They deliberated on how to gain entrance to the building, with some suggesting blowing up the front of the castle. However, this proposal was summarily dismissed, as they could not determine which side was the front of the castle. If they blew up what they assumed was the front, they might end up demolishing the entire building.
This Reality Bending magic was unlike anything they had seen in Western-rite Sorcerers, and their lack of familiarity with the technique made it difficult to solve the building's riddles. They could only stare in bewilderment, wracking their brains. []
