RyuTheMagi

Chapter 2
Into The City
“You wont like me when I’m angry”

Ryu and Lebel rode for about three days, with no events of importance, and barely speaking to one another. Lebel was not foolish enough to continue asking questions, but the temptation irked her. The mage had become conservative. He closed himself in, and spoke very little. He left camp at nightfall, retiring an hour of so later with food.

The couple sat by the fire, upon opposite sides, watching the flames dance with radiance. It was peaceful around them, and completely silent. Every so often Ryu turned to look behind him for about ten seconds. He was ever watchful. Many would think this a trait Lebel would own, being an assassin. But her kind could sense danger before it even occurred. And at that moment, danger was coming.

Something moved in the woods, behind Ryu. To big to be an animal, thought Lebel, and judging by the manner of the noise it was trying not to be herd. The mage seemed not to notice. He continued to bite into the griffon leg he had hunted. It was even pre-cooked. He was 'forced' to blow it out of the sky with a fireball. The bit of burn meat on the beats forehead was from the 'necessary' lightning blot that struck it in the head after to fell to make sure it was dead.

The rustling movement happened again, this time thirty feet to the right of where it was before.
"Ryu, we have..." Lebel began, but she was never able to finish her sentence. It was not a sudden burst of movement that startled Ryu into drawing his weapon; it was the spine tingling shriek that echoed around them. From in the trees, four creatures emerged, wings spread and fangs bore. They were all handsome men of elven build, except that they had coal black skin and fangs where their incisors should have been. Bat like wings jutted out of their shoulders and their long dead eyes glowed with a horrible red light and long black robes covered their muscular bodies. Vampires.

The blood fiends pounced upon Ryu, all of them at once. They bashed into the mage at all different angles, making him collapse onto the ground. Lebel drew her crossbow, and snapped off the point to it. The vampires acute hearing hear the snap of the iron tip, and fled back into the trees. If one of those bolts (which was the equivalent of wooden stakes) hit them...

Ryu got up quickly, drawing his magical blade, Bane. He began cursing in Abyssal Elvish, the hybrid language of the vampires. Everything was silent for a long time, nothing moved at all. Everyone seemed to stop breathing. Then a hissing voice echoed from the trees.

"Ryu...it issss a pleasure to meet the likesss of you. The most powerful magi in the world ssssome ssssay. Allow me to introduce mysssself." It said, coming from all directed at once, and at the same time none at all. The biggest, toughest, and well equipped of the vampires walked nonchalantly from the trees. Like his fellows, his fangs were all too prominent among his features. The vampires (which in elven meant "cursed ones") were a lost tribe of elves...about a thousand in all at the time, which angered Avlar the ElfLord when they betrayed him for another god. He cursed them all to a state between life and death, forced to feed upon the life of others in order to survive. Now many of the other gods used the same curse to destroy the lives of hated mortals.

"My name is Agaaz. Master assassin of the Magi of the black Rose" The old vampire said, curling his lips into a smile.

"I know damn well who you are." Ryu said, brandishing his sword. "I take it this is a compliment of my dear friend Asmodeus?"

"Indeed. He sends his regards...and threats to you." Agaaz murmured, drawing a longsword. Lebel turned her head to look behind her, and saw the three other vampires coming up behind her. Ryu noticed as well.

"Lets us begin, Agaaz. I shall taste your blood tonight, Vampire. Not you mine." Ryu said tauntingly. Then all hell broke loose.

Lebel turned and fired a broken crossbow blot at one of the vampires. It hit him directly in the heart, and with a defeated scream he burst into dust. The other two lunged themselves at the assassin, their claws thrashing at her, gliding at her five feet off the ground. She dropped on her back and drew her daggers. As her enemies passed over her she slashed at them, ripping deep wounds in their stomachs. The beasts continued their flight, and toppled unto the ground. Lebel back-flipped over to them, slashing in frenzy at their shoulders, faces, and necks. The one to her left let out a moan of pain as it fell to the ground, unable to die but unable to move. The other, however, was made of stronger steel then his companion. He, while still on his knees, leaped onto Lebel’s neck and tried to bite at her. The vampire’s slender but powerful hands slashed at her stomach and arms. Lebel was cut, but not deeply. She managed to push off the creature just before its teeth sank into her.

The assassin’s foot moved in an awkward fashion, flinging itself up into the bloodfiends groin. They may be half dead, but it still hurt. It was with a small grunt of pain the third of the creatures burst into ashes as Lebel drove a crossbow blot backwards into its heart.

When she turned around, two throwing knives drawn ready to be flung, she was surprised to see nothing but the flames of the fire. Everything was completely silent. Ryu and Agazz were nowhere to be found.


Ryu let out an echoing roar as he battled with Agazz. He and the bloodfiend hand jumped deep into the woods, out of earshot of Lebel. The mage’s blade was burning brightly and he slashed at Agazz, missing every time but cutting entire trees down in the process. This creature was far too fast to be battled with. Agazz’s speed was astounding. His solid, handsome form had turned into a mere blur of motion and laughter. Finally Ryu had enough.

“Omina valthos ne’carthia” He bellowed, putting his blade to his face in a ceremonial fashion. Time seemed to slow down slightly. Ryu could see trials of movement wherever Agazz had been, allowing him to guess where the vampire was going to be.

The abomination turned, swinging his flaming blade in a 180 degree angle. Agazz then appeared in midair, tumbling towards the ground as Bane slashed a deep cut his face. The vampire recovered quickly, and used it telekinetic powers to blast the sword from Ryu’s hand. Bane flipped in the air and landed with its still burning tip in an oak tree, which quickly began to burn. The Vampire then launched himself at him, with a deep, beast-like cry. The two of them flew back into brush, with the bloodfiend on top, biting at his neck. They fought with each other momentarily, and it was then Ryu had had enough of the fight.

Time seemed to stop. The screaming of Agazz, the war cries of Ryu, all stopped. Only the single heartbeat of the abomination was herd. Slowly, and yet in an odd way it was so fast, Ryu began to change. The blood in his veins turned into a horrid acid, which ate away at his skin and his mind. It was a brief breach on sanity in Ryu’s mind. His heart…it ached his sorrow for what was happening to him. Ryu fought his ‘disease’ with every particle of his soul. There was an echoing bang, and Agazz was thrown by an ungodly force from his prey. The bloodfiend only landed on his feet, but was far to horrified to move. The rumors about Ryu were true. He really was an abomination.

Ryu arched his back, screaming in pain as the acidic blood destroyed him. He prayed to his god to save him.

“Galicran! Have mercy on me! Please my lord! Don’t do this to me…STOP IT! DON’T LET IT TAKE ME…I TRIED…”

Ryu’s desperate were droned out by a low gurgling noise, as the blood in his body expelled itself from his mouth. His pupils expanded, making his eyes completely black. His fingers became clawed, his muscles burst. Ryu’s very body was dieing. Though, he managed to regain a small amount of control. The skin upon the mage turned black as obsidian, and his teeth elongated into fangs. He was a fragment of the abomination…the disease inside him. And then it all stopped. The body disappeared.

Before Agazz could do anything, a fiend like no other was swooping down upon him. With a feral roar The Beast clawed at the vampire’s face, who ducked just in time. The Beast magically reclaimed its sword from the tree. Agazz was barely able to defend himself, before the blade slashed and cut every conceivable place on his body.

The dark eyes of The Abomination shown with malice as it muttered an incantation.
“Nargos dythos!” He hissed, extending the sword directly at its foe. The flaming sword flew into the chest of the vampire, throwing him back into the flaming tree. There ‘Ryu’ stood and watched, as Agazz writhed in flames screaming as his body turned to ash. The most horrible part was, that the Abomination was forced back, and the normal Ryu (wounded and bleeding) was the one that enjoyed Agazz’ painful death.

Then Lebel came through the trees, horrified at what she had seen. Ryu really was…

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Ryu sat with his feet over the edge of a cliff, playing a dirge like song upon his small harp. The tune was dark and haunting, sending horrible chills down the spine of its musician. The bugs and worms around him scurried away fearful of the sounds that escaped from the instrument.

Lebel had gone directly down into the city, wanting to get away from Ryu after his outrage. Who could blame here? Ryu had lost hid temper like an idiot, and now Lebel had seen a side of the mage no one was safe around.

There was a brief time where the assassin tried to question Ryu about his change, but it was only a wishful attempt for answers. So far the mage had not said a word to her in over three days.

Then he began to sing, and the moon came out from the clouds, answering the call. The elf sung of death, loss, and vengeance. The words echoed in countless languages, reverberating off the other side of the canyon before him, reaching down the forest city of Me’Hein’. The words fell together, turning into one dark note that brought tears to the eyes all who heard it.

The deep purple cloak of this being flew out behind him, as the creatures of the night blessed him for his song. His robes matched the color his cloak, yet were oriented with golden designs and magical symbols. His katana lay at his side, its black scabbard glistening in the moonlight. The violet eyes of this elf glistened in their own right, giving him an aura of intimidation. Long sliver hair was spanned out behind him, as if it was animated my some alien arcane powers.

Then he stopped playing, and the harp disappeared in a waif of smoke. He sat there for hours upon hours, looking into the starlit sky, enjoying the way the forest below blew in the wind.
Then the voices started, as they always did.

Hello, my dear Ryu.

The mage scoffed, he hated the voices he heard in his head, the vile words they spoke. Sometimes there was more then one of them…talking to each other as well as elf. The latter was usually kind hearted, contradicting the hissing first voice that accused him of horrible deeds. Most of the deeds were true, however. Usually it was only the former of the two.

It was your fault, you let them all die
Have you conscience?
Do you enjoy murdering innocent souls?
You mother died because of YOU

It went on like this for a long time, the voice degrading Ryu, and the mage doing nothing to stop the sound. Every now and then he would respond to the voice, and get a sadistic, gleeful, laugh from within his own mind. Ryu acted as if nothing was wrong, but deep inside these deeds haunted him. He had been guilty over the past thousand years of his life of murder, torture, and mass destruction. Ryu found it fun, he enjoyed it, although, the victims of his ‘murders’ were mainly in self defense, or in carrying out a mission of good intentions. The mage’s ends were pure, but his ways of going about them were vulgar indeed.

Don’t you ignore me!
Your intentions were well, but murder is murder!
You’re like me, aren’t you? You enjoy ending a life
You like hearing a heart slowly come to a stop…

After an hour, the voice trailed off, ending at last. Was Ryu insane? With out a doubt, and he liked it that way. The mage got up, grabbed his magical katana from the ground. The elf sighed, and casually walked off the cliff as fell into the city below. The trees rose up to meet him, as the buildings within the forest made their presence known.

Small lights from taverns and homes could be seemed from within the trees. Bridges and balconies could be seen, built in-between the oak trees. The sound of elven maidens singing joyful tunes could be herd, the occasional nymph or faerie could be seen drifting from bar to bar, tavern to tavern. This was the city on Me’Hein’, the elven capital of the world. King Aearur VI was the ruler of the vast kingdom, and made his home in the city. His castle was the only building not crafted from the trees, and shown as a tower piercing through the trees.

Ryu slowed and touched base on one of the gigantic branches of the oaks, nearly ten feet across, and continued his decent, down to the base on the tree, where the Academy. The Great tree loomed hundreds of feet above Ryu, and he slowly walked into the oak itself, passing into the Academy, where his pupils would be gathering, expecting a class.

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Domiel Moonscribe rushed along the corridor of the academy, passing the magnificent paintings not thinking twice. The dingy hallway was lit only by torches every ten feet or so. The green robe that was donned by the student was flying out from behind him, his shoulder length black hair was a mess. The books he was carrying were barely in his grip, his quill and parchment tucked in a robe pocket.

He was late! For the first class taught by Lord Evenstar in over fifty years! Domiel didn’t care so much about being late…it was more the prospect of meeting Lord Evenstar in person. It was an honor, no…a gift. The rumors about the Lord being the son of a demon were dismissed by the young elf as jealous ploys made to discredit a great wizard. No one believed the stories, despite the fact he was…stricter then other professors. The idiotic tales about him being insane were nothing less then superstitious legends. Insanity was for failures, Lord Evenstar was a genius…a victories and great mage in nearly all he opposed. And Lord Evenstar argued with many things. Domiel idolized his Lord, a respected member of Me’Hein’s council, and would certainly not be late for his class…if he could help it.

The student slowed as the door at the end of the corridor drew closer. He stopped, took a deep breath, and turned the handle.

It wasn’t much. The room was roughly fifty feet across and the same depth. The ceiling was twenty feet or so above him, with tapestries and paintings hanging from the walls. Six tables surrounded by four armchairs each were set in a circle in the middle of the room, where Domiel’s peers sat, speaking in hushed voices. They all turned their heads when Domiel entered, and the female students all waved hello. Many of the boys rolled their eyes. Domiel sat down, thankful his Lord and not yet arrived.

He examined the paintings on the walls, after greeting the girl on his left. Many were of legendary or famous mages. Others, however, showed hated sorcerers from old times, the great warlords of the past. These paintings were enhanced to appear intimidating to the students, to keep them in line. This class, Domiel soon figured, was no joke. After all, only a select few were chosen for Advanced Elemental.

In a swishing of his cloak and a small burst of light, Lord Ryu Evenstar appeared in the center of the classroom, glaring at the imbeciles he would have to teach.

“My name, for all intentional purposes, is ‘Lord, Sir, Master, Liege’ or anything other then Ryu. I am an accomplished mage and shall be treated with respect. If you survive this class, then and only then may you call me by my name. Do you understand?” Ryu said evilly, he hated students, he hated having to teach. Ryu hated everything, now that he though of it. There were low murmurs of ‘yes my lord’, and ‘yes master’ from the small amount of students. They were in awe of being this close to such a famous wizard. This annoyed Ryu, who the hell said he wanted to be famous? Who in the entire abyss made it so he was so liked? It made the Sorcerer sick, the way the girls goggled at him with wide eyes.

“You’ve all gotten into this class, have you?” Ryu inquired “Well, let me tell you this right from the start. If you screw around in here you will die. If not by my hand it will be by one of you moronic fools mixing two spell components that shouldn’t be. So!” Ryu said, clapping his hands, “Let’s start. I assume you all understand the Forces that Are? Good, Law, Chaos, and Evil? Each governed by a deity. Raziel the Holy, Try the Just, Shiva the Destroyer, and the imprisoned Asmodeus the Terrible in that order. Those, as I amuse you jesters know, are the great powers that divide magic.” Ryu continued, already realizing that he had lost them. It had been nearly a year since these pitiful students had been in class. Only Domiel seemed to know what was going on.

“Furthermore, I’m guessing you all know about the Forces that Be. Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Light, and Darkness? The powers that stimulate each individual spell?” At this even Domiel’s smirk changed to a frown…Ryu cursed. This was going to be harder then he thought.

Ryu went thought all the basics of magic, explaining how the many forces complimented, destroyed and canceled each other out. For example…mixing water and fire cancel; however when you mix light and darkness you end up in a box being lowered into the ground.

“If one uses the right skills and knows what he is doing,” Ryu explained, annoyed, “It is very possible to create a spell that burns with ice, or freezes with fire.”

The students scribbled notes and diagrams down upon their parchment, as Ryu drew them in the air. Golden letters and symbols shimmered in front of every student, allowing them time to copy down useful information. He lectured excellently on the different forces and how they mixed with others. He showed them how Transmutation spells, when cast upon the person, can change in individual cellular blocks in you body.

Then Ryu asked for a volunteer, and when no one answered his call he smirked. The entire student body had been warned never to raise their hand to help in this class.

“Domiel, my dear friend,” Ryu said coldly, “You were late to this class. Instead of giving you a free lesson in self defense I will humiliate you before you classmates. Do you object?”
Domiel reddened, his mouth dropped.

“I assume you’re not going to repute that.” Ryu said, beckoning the elf of 17 human years to the clearing in-between the desks. The boy listened to his Lord, not at all pleased to be there anymore. “Now Domiel, I want you to conjure a simple ball of flame.” This the student did, raising his hand and calling the Forces the Be to his fingertips. Within seconds a shimmering ball of red-orange flames was flaring.

“Turn it blue.” Domiel did, but the ball still remained of fire, not of ice or water. “Black, and Green.” Ryu commanded, and the pupil did so each in turn.

“Now all three at once.” Ryu hissed from behind pursed lips.

When Domiel tried to channel the forces of Earth and Darkness into a fire dominated area…there was a slight conflict. The powers battled with each other for dominance; apparently fire was the strongest in this situation. Domiel was engulfed in a cloud of black mist, and the floor beneath the apprentice softened into quicksand. The black mist was sinking into the earth, and the mage with it, now screaming for help.

“My dear pupil.” Ryu said, knelling and speaking to the darkness from which horrified screams were echoing. “There is a three student death limit each professor is given. That means each teacher may have up to three deaths per year before the Me’Hein officials begin to think foul play is at hand. Accidents do happen when tampering with magic after all. This is my first course in fifty years…I believe that’s 150 students in my class that can have “accidents”. Shall we make it 149?” The Lord continued, speaking over the yells. According to Ryu’s timing, Domiel had about ten seconds left before his head went under the sand…then he realized he was mistaken when everything grew silent. He sighed, and considered letting the boy die. Domiel was a pompous fool after all.

When Ryu gazed into the eyes of his other students, and by their appalled looks he decided it was best not to kill a student on the first day. Besides, the 3-student threat was a bluff. Accidents did happen though…

Ryu reached into the darkness and grabbed Domiel by the hair. He pulled, flinging the boy across the room back into his desk.

“It was an illusion you twit. You couldn’t channel water through an aqueduct, let alone magical energies through you soul. Class dismissed.” Ryu snapped, having his fun for the day. As the other students packed up, many ghostly white, Ryu glided over to a tearful Domiel, aghast at what had just happened to him.

“I’m s-sorry…M-m-aster…E-evens-s-tar.” Domiel sobbed, he would never be late for anything again.

“I did that because you are a prideful, selfish, ungrateful little whelp. I did a divination on your past yesterday, and I’m being quiet frank when I say that you are indeed and asshole. Clean yourself up, you have talent my boy, now don’t screw up.” Lord Evenstar said, in an oddly father-like voice. With that, Ryu disappeared into smoke, leaving Domiel to be tortured by his classmates.

Ryu had given such harsh punishment to the boy for a reason; his past was not unlike the Mages own. Domiel was young, with great talent. His mother had been murdered, and the boy felt it was his fault, and his father ran off when he was born. The events of his mother’s death changed Domiel forever; he was a nice boy at one point. Now he only wants more power. Ryu’s past was much worse, but followed those lines. If only the past could be changed…

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Now that his annoying chore of teaching was over, Ryu was able to get to more important things done. Ryu was casually around the braches of the great trees, across the bridges, and took occasional shortcuts through taverns. Nymphs and Dryads giggled as he past, for the mage was well known among their kind for ‘helping’ them. The lesser sprites were less amused by his passing, as were many of the elven citizen’s.

Is it not odd, Ryu thought to himself, how the people love me or hate me? Can’t the just pick one?

You know as well as I that the people do not hate you. They are afraid of you. Why must you treat everyone like they are nothing but dirt upon your boot?

The mage cursed at the voice, this particular one was such a goodie-two shoe it nearly made his ill.

I am NOT a goodie-two show. I do what is right, and you would two if you listened to your heart!

“I don’t have a heart, my mental friend.” Ryu said truthfully. “The part of me that loves died so long ago…”

You say it died but it merely slumbers.

Ryu scoffed, and kept walking towards the top of his current tree via a winding staircase. He would have liked this voice, if it wasn’t for the fact it made him look upon his wrongdoings do often. The other one did the same, except it congratulated him for it. Madness.

In the high branches of he oak tree there Ryu stopped, and willed himself to see the door of his destination. As simple as that, one of the branches bent up, so Ryu could walk through it. He did so, entering a Temple of Cliodna, Goddess of Beauty.

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The temple was fit for nothing less then a goddess of love. Marble walls of the utmost perfection surrounded the mage, paintings and busts of the priests lined ever wall. Statues of Cliodna herself were placed periodically, most in tempting poses.

Ryu stood, quite out of place, in the entrance hall of this church. The vain and self absorbed priests could be seen through gigantic windows directly across from him.
A door to his left opened, and from it emerged a hardly clothed cleric. His hair was short cut and taken care of very well. Not a single blemish was shown upon his skin, and he laughed to himself as he greeted Ryu, who made a disgusted face.

“Hello there, Ryu. What brings you to the church of The Radiant One?” He said in a sing-song voice. He was rather gay, and this annoyed Ryu.

“I wish to call upon Jocelyn, I have business with her.” The mage, rudely

“She has business with you, my friend”

“Whatever, just get her.” Ryu snapped, and the young human recoiled.

“Fine then, my Lord. She’s in the bathing house.” He said, quite offended at Ryu’s impatience. Without nodding to the priest, Ryu preceded though the opposite door, down a long hallway, and into the bath house.

It was indeed astonishing. The marble taps were unique inventions in these churches only, created so bathing could be more convenient. The water was a sapphire blue and the bath itself large enough for ten people. On the opposite bank, a beautiful and voluptuous female priestess was waist deep in the spring sized bath. She looked up without worry in her shining blue eyes as the door opened. When she saw Ryu, she smiled, showing her white teeth. She shook her black hair, and swam under water towards the mage.

“Hello Ryu, how fair ye?” The elven youth said. She was at least a century younger then Ryu…then again that wasn’t much in elven time.

“Very well now that I’m here, Jocelyn.” Ryu said playfully.

“Join me, I have something to discuss with you.” She said, gazing at him suggestively. Ryu considered briefly, and then de-robed. It’s not as if the other clerics would care. The mage slipped without shame into the pool of warm water. Jocelyn frowned, however, when he took a seat directly across from her.

“Well then, Jocelyn my dear, what is you wanted with me?” Ryu said, knowing very well what she wanted.

“Have you done any divination recently?” Jocelyn asked. It was an odd question.

“Yes, recently on one of my students. Why?” Ryu answered, raising an eyebrow.

“Did you notice the disturbances in the spell? It’s like someone is bending the
magical fields around the city. I can’t do any divinations at all.”

“It took longer for the energies to reach my orb, other then that it was quite simple.”

“Well. You are Ryu Evenstar, aren’t you? Minor disturbances may not affect you, but they sure as the Hells upset others. It’s only with divination spells as well. I can’t scry at all. Hell, I couldn’t read my own tarot! I just got the card “The Devil” every time. I’m not obsessed with anything either.” Jocelyn said, and now she has Ryu’s attention. The girl was the temple’s Seer, and she was very good at what she did.

“Ill check it out when I get home, how about that?” Ryu said, and he planned to. There were very few disturbances in magic nowadays. Only possibility was that a deity of some sort of intervening, but couldn’t stop the spells completely. There was opposition, and Ryu knew exactly who that opposing power was. It took a lot to mess with magic after all. “Now I have a favor to ask of you.” Ryu added.

“And what might that be?” Jocelyn answered, leaning her neck back to wet her hair.

“Do a tarot reading, and ask about the coming year. Even if you say it dosent work…just try for me” The mage said, very seriously. Jocelyn scoffed.

“I can’t Ryu, haven’t you been listening? Besides, what’s in it for me?” She chided. Ryu grinned, and slipped into the water.

~Sweet Blashpamy~

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