• Prologue

    Orion pondered what type of magic to use for disabling the men in the barracks. He had several ideas to kill them but in the end, all that mattered was that they die. He didn’t care who died, just as long as he got to kill.

    Reaching into his power of earth, he summoned spires of rock into the room, imagining every person in the room. Reaching into the metal of the soldiers’ armor and weapons, he called the metal to him and piled it next to the door.

    Done with his work, Orion looked at the results. There had been two troops of men in the barracks. Each troop had been made of 80 men. He had killed 160 men and it hadn’t even taken five seconds. Walking to the pile of weapons, he searched through it and selected two swords. Strapping them to his back, he opened a portal to the underworld.

    After looking at his work one last time to appreciate his work, the assassin slipped into hell, a dark figure followed him in 10 seconds later, two eyes glowing in a strange way. The portal closed just after its passing, leaving the room in a darkness that was almost tangible.

    ***

    Hector considered the guards, calculating the resistance they could give him if he confronted them directly. Then considered the resistance they had to magic. Finding none, he approached them from the side. Sighting aim, the guards turned to meet him, loosening their swords in their sheaths, then they relaxed as they took in his shabby figure. One of the guards saw the eyes of the man headed their way and his blood ran cold. The eyes were fogged over. The eyes of a blind man. But that wasn’t what bothered him it was the fact that he lost control of his body when he looked at them.

    He was a prisoner in his own body, watching with no control over his arms as he picked up a spear that had been strapped to his back. Thinking he meant to rob the traveler, his fellow guard did nothing to stop the man as he got his spear.

    He was shocked when the spear his comrade had just recently possessed, the spear belonging to one of his best friends, passed through his chest. Just before the second guard took in his last breath, he saw the man that had skewered him draw a dagger. He watched through a red haze as the first guard slit his own throat.

    The only person left living was a blind man, dressed in shabby attire and seemingly oblivious to what had just happened. Hector whistled a happy tune as he continued down the road.

    ***

    Corin killed his guards easily. Riding on top of a waterspout, he blasted out of a well just inside the dungeons wall, letting go of the power he used to summon the water, he used his momentum to fly across the yard. He landed just outside the gatehouse with inhuman grace.

    He walked out the door-literally- and surprised one of the guards inside. Acting on instinct, the first guard unsheathed his dagger and thrust towards the intruder only to see his hand pass through the form in front of him. Terrified, he tried to pull his hand back, the only result was his hand remaining stuck.

    “You know,” Corin drawled, after taking a sharp look at the man’s arm in his chest, “there really isn’t any need to remind me of what I am.”

    ***

    Mara circled over the dungeon compound, watching her allies’ progress and the guards patrolling the inside of the compound. The instant she was Corin blast out of the well, she threw her power into the wind, the guards in the front, stunned at the sight recovered within seconds. About to sound an alarm, they found no air to call out with. The air in their lungs was no longer there. All the guards on the compound suffocated, air in their lungs gone.

    Mara flew down and began with a fluid, provided by an alchemist to hide sighs of magic and stop signs of death from appearing. Taking flight, she dropped an orb that glowed with an azure hue of magic.

    ***

    Prometheus watched the orb fall and opened the portal leading into the dungeon, sealing it as he went. As he stepped out he was surprised to find the portal had taken a significant toll on him, neatly crippling him. Prometheus grit his teeth and made a mental mote to talk to Orion about what had occurred.

    Finding Naomi’s cell, he melted the door. What had previously been a ridiculously thick (3 feet) steel door was turned into a puddle on the floor. Walking into the room, Prometheus was surprised at the amount of magic he saw in the room. There were nearly 20 spells, all powerful to a great amount. The effects of the spells were varied, some to drain magic, immobilize, even cause a person to feel crippling pain if they stayed in the cell too long a time. The signatures of each spell showed that all four elemental magic forms were present plus the spells of a cleric and, on closer inspection, even those of a necromancer.

    Prometheus didn’t spend much time observing the spells though, for he had found what he was looking for. Walking towards the darkest corner of the cell, he lightly touched what looked like a pile of black rags, then back-stepped as fast as he could. Despite his precaution, a hand appeared from the rags and latched onto his wrist, and he felt his life draining from his body.

    Prometheus made no more move to take off the hand, but he bent down and lifted up the body. Naomi felt someone picking her up and looked. When she saw Prometheus, she was stunned. She knew that the inner mages wouldn’t be able to be killed just by the soldiers and protective spells of the dungeon. But she also knew firsthand that they could be stopped, even end up captured like her.

    Prometheus grew angry as he looked at her, though only his eyes showed it. She had been tortured to wear down her magic, to the point where she could barely move, even enough to eat the food she received. And that was only half a loaf of bread each week.

    Burn marks covered her body. At least the parts that weren’t frozen. The frozen flesh was no better though, for it looked as if they would shatter if they were hit. Prometheus face showed all of his anger now. The inner circles of mages were not just comrades. Each were close friends with the others. Then, as he spotted her familiar, which had suffered the same torture as Naomi, his anger came out in full.

    His body began smoking, then flame engulfed him. Foreseeing what was about to happen, Naomi drained the rest of the magic from the necromancer spells and cast a ward around her and her familiar. They stood in a crater less than a second later.

    “Sorry about that” Said Prometheus. Most of his clothes had been burned, though (Mara breathed a mental sigh of relief) the clothes covering the V in his legs had been spared.

    “You shouldn’t worry about it. Besides,” she added, nodding to where the charred bits of cloth lay, “you ended up worse than I did.”

    At that comment, Prometheus started stammering out a reply, then gave up, exasperated. “There are some…dead guards over by the door of the dungeon.” Prometheus told her. When Naomi raised an eyebrow at the statement, he added hastily, “or at least where the door used to be.”

    But Naomi was already headed over to where-as Prometheus had already pointed out- the door used to be, the bodies were still there, luckily, but they were lightly browned from the heat as if they had gotten a tan. But the souls were still present, hovering over the bodies, and that was what Naomi needed at the moment. The moment she reached them she meditated, slipping into the realm of the dead.

    Prometheus watched her with a shudder. Naomi’s ability to actually consume a soul was a bit unnerving, though it did replenish quite a bit of magic, even though he knew Naomi only did such a thing to the souls of those who were willing servants to their enemy, he still found it a bit repulsive. He was jolted out of his thoughts as Mara landed next to him.

    “So?” She asked, a small smile on her face. “Why didn’t anyone tell me it was nudist day?”

    Prometheus was too shocked to answer. He had known Mara for nearly three years and had only seen her smile five times during that duration.

    It didn’t last long though because she had more serious information to pass along. “The villagers nearby saw the flair and sent a pair of hunters headed this way. One is a Drow, the other a Dwarf. The dwarf bears the mark of a water mage” she said this looking at Prometheus, “and has only a hatchet, though it may have a spell on it. The drow looks ordinary enough, for their kind, and is armed with a plain glaive.” While Prometheus was listening to Mara’s report, Naomi had finished her work and come up to them.

    “Please,” Naomi said, “tell me you brought sever?”

    “Sorry Naomi,” Mara said. “We didn’t. We didn’t even bring our own weapons. Aside from me and you, we don’t even have our familiars with us. The only things we do have are a couple of daggers I saved from the supplies at the barracks.” Whit that, Mara passed along the daggers.

    ***

    Artemis considered the gatehouse hanging open, then at the few drops of blood on the ground. They were relatively new and she could still see a touch of heat in it. Her comrade Eria traipsed in with typical dwarven caution. Artemis is took her glaive out of her pack and followed after. Artemis caught up to Eria in less than a second, partly due to her long legs (she was nearly 7 feet tall) but mostly due to her being a drow.

    Then she saw what had happened. A crater was cut out of the center of the compound, several guards laying dead just outside the crater. That was when Artemis heard an odd whistling noise of something cutting through the air, though she knew from the noise it wasn’t an arrow. Artemis turned just in time to deflect the dagger, but it went straight into era’s throat. Though Artemis had seen it before, she was still shocked to see Eria’s flesh turn to water and reform perfectly, except for a scar that hadn’t been there before. The blade falling out as the process took place, not a bit of damage. The only difference was the magical drain it caused.

    Looking back at the field, she saw Eria summon water from the well and create what a tower of ice. Eria then started sending out discs of ice at a group of three. The ice discs looked relatively harmless but Artemis had learned that each edge was razor sharp. She had learned to catch a water mage by surprise and failed.

    Though a quite common technique and normally easy to avoid, Eria sent them out in all directions around the people then several aimed straight at them. Oddly, they went straight through one, and had the same effect on the second though they didn’t come out the other end. The third, however (he must have been the one to cause the blast for nearly all his clothes were burned off) was able to melt them all, save one. Artemis never saw where that last disc went though, because that was when she heard a voice in her ear.

    “Hello.” Panicked, she turned her glaive hitting Eria and knocking her unconscious. She saw a person, looking like they were another mage. But that was all she saw before she grew dizzy and lost consciousness.

    ***

    Naomi entered the phantom world to avoid the ice, but she saw that Prometheus had not been so lucky. Trying to stop the disc, she attempted to create darkness in the path of the projectile but failed. To her relief, the disc only touched Prometheus lightly on the side. The relief changed to shock as Prometheus toppled to the ground, unconscious. The dwarf sprawled on the ground wasn’t just a water mage. She was an Ender.















    Chapter 1

    Artemis woke fully aware of her surroundings. There were several fires around the center of a clearing, though they were each different colors. Behind each fire there was a tent, but each was different. In front of a fire that crackled with white flames was a tent that was also white, but seemed to shimmer. Next to that tent was a fire of pure black, and a tent next to that fire didn’t seem to be made of cloth, but of some substance that shifted and swirled like mist. The tent next to the black flame was also black. The third tent was hard to sight, but was made of ice. Fog swirled off of it which was the reason it was so hard to spot, and the matching fire seemed to be frozen. The fourth tent was storm gray, made of pure fog. This fire, again matched the color of the tent, though seemed to be normal enough otherwise.

    In front of all the tents stood a building that was shaped after the other tents, but had an aura of authority around it. The door, identified by hairline cracks around it and the surrounding rock, had an engraving on it. The engravings showed an animal (though Artemis confused from being unconsciousness, could not completely identify it) and below it was a shield and crossed swords. In place of the fire was a pile of rocks glowing red from heat. Closer to her was the very edge of the clearing.

    Eria was still unconscious, laid out on the ground. Her axe was still in her hand though it was in the form of a common hatchet. Lying next to her on the ground was her glaive, chainmail, greaves and, helm. The moment she sat the blades of the glaive she sat up and grabbed her weapon standing up, she started to put on her chain mail and greaves and was reaching for her helm when she heard a voice.

    “Now that you’re awake, why don’t you come with me to see Hector?” turning around she saw she was face to face with a person she hadn’t seen before. He was neatly 5 feet 9 inches. His hair was pitch black and cropped short. His eyes were an icy blue yet storm grey at the time. His skin was an oddly pail color. For some odd reason she realized that she was afraid of him, though there seemed to be no reason behind that fear. An instant later she realized why. The man carried an aura of fear.

    “Well?” he asked, “are you coming or not?” Artemis noted as he spoke his tongue was slightly forked. About to reply, she was interrupted by a voice of rocks grinding together.

    “Corin, maybe you should go away for a while. At least until you regain control.” Corin looked like he was about to argue, then decided against it. Traipsing into the tent of ice, he disappeared inside. As soon as he was gone, arteries turned to the newcomer. He was about 5 feet tall, with dark skin and hair. His eyes were fogged over, and she knew he was blind. Yet at the same time, he seemed to see everything, even behind him.

    “My name is hector. The man you just met was Corin. If you follow me, I can show you to the rest of us. After a short side trip.” The sort man started to walk out of the clearing, and arteries followed. Looking back, she saw that Eria was still unconscious. Odd she thought, that they don’t have anyone to guard her. Hector walked down a path at the other end of the clearing and arteries hurried to follow. At the end of the path was a second, smaller clearing. In this clearing there were three tents, one seemed to be made of vines, but instead of a fire in the front there was a vine. A snow leopard was curled around the front of the tent, but it was nearly twice the size of a normal animal.

    Hector motioned for Artemis to stay where she was then entered the tent. He came back several seconds later, carrying a small pouch, then walked several feet to the right and disappeared. Arteries, too stunned to think for several seconds, observed the spot closely. She realized that, somehow, the area seemed to not want to be seen, and her eyes kept sliding off. She was interrupted by her musings when hector reappeared, this time with several vials, and motioned her to follow.

    They were headed back to the main clearing. Just as they left, Artimis saw a flicker of motion in the corner of her eye. Artimis turned to look and glimpsed an elf walking to the edge of the clearing, and disappearing the instant she reached the trees. The snow leopard got up and several seconds later and followed. Artimis stopped looking though as she walked face first into a tree.

    Hector stopped halfway to the clearing, then sat down abruptly. Artimis was wondering if he had fallen unconscious when she fell backwards. Artimis was shocked at what happened next, because the ground actually picked her up and started moving. She started to let out a startled shout, and was cut short by an abrupt slap that sent her across the ground like a stone skipping across water. The only difference was that she hit the ground many more times.

    As she got up, she noticed a dome that had not been there before. There appeared to be no entrance, at least not one she could see. But a great amount of pounding came from inside. Though it appeared to be made of diamond too thick to even see through, it was visibly cracked.

    That was when the dome burst, and out of it came the angriest dwarf she had seen in all of her considerable number of years. Eria swung her axe, now full size, straight at Hector. The axe never penetrated though, for Hector had somehow equipped himself with armor that appeared to be made of the same diamond as the dome.

    Before Eria could bring the axe down a second time, a rift in the earth opened and she fell through. The ground sealed up then, and Artimis stared at the ground in shock. “What just happened!?” she asked.

    “Well, Hector replied, “It seems to me that two-foot-tall just tried to leave the camp without asking permission”

    ***

    Orion sped through the underworld on a pillar of flame, headed to the stronghold of the fourth clan drows. He arrived at the gate and, not waiting for them to open it, merely rode over the walls and into the courtyard. Ignoring the drows staring at him, he went through the door and into the hall. Walking swiftly through the hall, he passed through the wall at the other end, into the inner yard where several drows were training to battle or enhancing their skill with magic

    Orion found who he was looking for easily, finding him in the middle of a group of drows. The center drow was mixing steel with air magic. Orion waited now: the practice had just begun, so it would be would be over in seconds. Sure enough, everyone around the drow now lay in piles. Some had had lack of oxygen, others electrocuted, and still others were healing from severed body parts. Orion walked past a drow putting his head back on and stepped in front of the drow in the center.

    “Well, bayguard. It looks like you’re getting fat.” Orion said. The drow gave a grin in response, answering with a retort of his own.

    “I can see you haven’t improved your manners either, Orion, to just barge into our citadel.”

    “Manners won’t get you much these days, especially when you’re in a hurry.” Orion Pointed out. Bayguard nodded, almost unnoticeably. “Good point you got there, I have to admit. Only this is,” bayguards eyes grew darker,” you used earth magic to walk through the wall. You’ve known we don’t welcome earth mages here.” Orion nodded, as a bolt of black shot behind him and hit a drow that had been coming behind him. A black animal stood there, resembling a gigantic jaguar, but black furred like a panther.

    “As I said, I was in a hurry, and I still need what I came for.”

    “And what would it be this time? Weapons? Transport? Troops?”

    “You’re way off the mark” Orion replied,” what I need is information on a drow. Artemis though I may come for weapons later.” Bayguard nodded and led Orion to the center hall.

    Orion left minutes later, closely followed by the same shadow that had followed him in. one talk later, this time a bit friendlier and Orion headed back to the realm of the ordinary mortals.

    ***

    Artemis stared around her, a bit thrown off by the sight before her. She was inside the first tent she had seen, the white one, and received a small surprise upon coming closer to it. As she had observed earlier, the tent shimmered, but now she knew why. The tent was burning, crackling with white fire. Well, she thought, I haven’t really seen anything normal today, even after spending most of my life hunting rogues, then again, I’ve never seen magic as powerful as this.

    As surprised as she was it was nothing compared to what she saw inside. Outside, the tent looked like it was small, maybe 10 meters by 5 meters, and 7 meters tall. Inside it was large, to the point where it was staggering. Although the room she was now in was only three times as large as the tents. There were seven doors and she had the…