FMH ~ 37!

Hey all! We are going to be getting into a section where we are all coming together again!!! So, Since this changes how the book is written, be sure to point out issues or more things that you want to see in here! I can always add more!

~ FMH 37~

Just outside a small town where a defensive Fortress had just been completed, Woodswright, a portal appeared and a man walked out of seemingly nowhere. He looked around at the overgrown path, the trees that seemed to stretch endlessly in all directions. He lightly crouched, jumping into the air and looking around. Satisfied that he was in the correct location and there were no threats within at least fifty kilometers, He reached into the air and plucked a string of mana.

“I, Archmage Don, Hereby declare training complete. All surviving members of the Initiate group are to return here within twenty-four hours of this world.” he paused and grimaced at the next words that needed to be said. “I authorize the Sigils of the Kingdom to use deadly force upon refusal of this order.”

Master Don waved his hand, and the trees in the area were ripped to shreds. the wood chips flew into the air, congregating into a series of small buildings. A book appeared behind him, a grimoire that was as tall as he was and exuded a deathly aura. If any base human had been in the area to see the book, their mind may have been permanently warped. he reached out a hand, lightly backhanding the air. the book vanished, the space that he had touched blossomed into a portal. People began flooding out of the opening, mostly support staff that was here to tend to the needs of the returning Initiates.

Healers, Warriors, Quartermasters with huge amounts of food and gear, finally there were some people that exuded a pressure that could nearly rival Master Don's. He nodded at them as they stepped forward, “Generals.”

“Archmage, it is good to see you back among the living.” One of the generals stepped forward, bowing lightly before taking a step back. “that you are back so late… have you succeeded? Have you found an inheritor?”

There was no change of expression on Master Don's face, nothing to show the fury that still boiled behind his facade of calm and control. “Perhaps. Perhaps. We will find out soon.”

Over the course of the day, the portal changed colors. Each time it did so, multiple people would stream out of the distortion and be tended to by the people in the area. More often than not there were deep wounds, malnutrition, or other small issues that needed to be tended. Twelve hours passed, And the portal shifted colors once more, this time to a coloration that had been seen several times already. Only one person staggered out, the Apprentice of the Archmage.

Master Don merely nodded, and his words were cold. “Taylor, it is good to see that you survived. I hope that you found that the path you followed was the correct one.”

Unlike the other people that had stepped out of the portal, there was not a hair out of place on Taylor. She wore a bright white robe with purple and black etching, and the robe itself had a beautifully created hood that she lowered to show her face. Taylor slipped into a full courtly bow, “Archmage, a pleasure as always! Indeed, I believe that you will find only positive changes since our last meeting. Of course, if I ever find a way to reduce you to ashes without damaging the Kingdom or myself, I will not hesitate.”

“But of course! I would have it no other way.” Master Don replied, turning his eyes back to the portal uncaringly. The people around them recoiled greatly, this was not a normal interaction, especially not for a master-apprentice relationship. Several of them had seen the Archmage destroy small towns over a threat that was half as credible as this one. “An Archmage must be prepared, at all times, forever. If I slip, I deserve what is coming to me. I look forward to the next stage in your training… Mage Taylor.”

“Pardon me, My Lady, if you could step over here with me, we will update your Sigil and your credentials.” A man bowed to Taylor. “Pardon the repetition if you already know this information, but all Initiates who have passed to the full rank are granted a military position of Captain, and the Noble equivalent title of Baron.”

Taylor's eyes traced over the man, and she nodded before following him. “Thank you lieutenant, your assistance is greatly appreciated.”

They walked to a small building where another Mage was waiting for them, this one a specialized enchanter. he swept his hands toward a seat, and Taylor gracefully set down upon it. “Might I have your name, surname if you were a noble before your initiation, and class name.”

“Taylor Woodswright. Specialized Mage, Namer.” Taylor's answer was concise, clear, cold. There was nothing wrong with what she was saying, no insult that could be garnered, but still the man across the table became furious.

“Namer? How dare you claim to have power on par with the Archmage?” Balls of light began appearing in the air around the enchanter, and he barely stopped himself from attacking. Instead, he looked at Taylor consideringly… then a leer appeared on his face. “I will forgive this insult, and even forget to report it; on the small condition that-”

His words were choked off as the air around his throat constricted, he blinked and found that a spike of Earth, Fire, and Ice we're rotating around his head. Very, very close. So close in fact that the tips of each spike drew blood as they circled around, leaving bloody trails as they passed. 

Taylor leaned forward, clearly not having had to move in order to get the spells to enact her will. “Let me try this one more time. Taylor Woodswright. Specialized Mage, Namer. Only Apprentice of Master Mage Donec Arriperent, and presumptive Archmage. Would you now like to finish your job; or should I get someone to come in here, clean up whatever mess is left of you, and have them do the job?”

She left the small building moments later, the Sigil on her forehead shining and in a new configuration: a single book with a border of mystical runes in a circle around it. Taylor was now proudly wearing the symbol of the Namers, though over the next few minutes it faded until it was just light lines on her forehead, instead of the shining symbol of her Order.

As Taylor exited, there was another shift in the portal: it began growing a deep green, with flecks of golden light. a strange sense of Joy filled everyone in the area, and the trees started shaking as if there was a strong wind blowing through them. Seeds and small plants burst into flowering, all as a man stepped out of the portal.

Everyone that had been gathered near the area ran over and began cheering as Andre returned to the Kingdom. The Arc Mage went over and personally shook his hand, pumping it up and down with enthusiasm. however, the portal did not immediately close. A massive Cave Bear began forcing its way out of the space, and the security team raised their weapons and shouted a warning.

Andre simply looked behind him and patted the bear on the head, stupefying everyone watching and turning the fear into laughter. “Fear not my friends! Arthur is a comrade of mine, the creature that allowed me to reach the Second Circle several years ago! while he is not tame, so long as you do not approach him or myself aggressively, he will leave you alone.”

Very few people understood exactly what that meant, but they all seemed to appreciate his open and caring attitude. He was worried about them? He made sure to allay their fears? What a shining example! As for the people that did understand exactly what he meant by his words, they were taken aback, but very pleased by his progress. There would be no one attempting to stifle his progress; in fact, only by increasing his power would the Kingdom become more powerful as a whole.

It was an interesting situation for Taylor as she watched her childhood friend walk into the small building for processing, then come out with his Sigil showcasing the symbol of the Arch Druid. In an instant, he had transformed from an Initiate into someone with as much political power as the Archmage. However, the current Archmage was clearly more powerful, and Andre knew better than to overstep himself.

They vanished for a talk, and it seemed that during that time Andre was able to convince Master Don to levitate him a few hundred feet into the air. a few moments later, a Halo of energy was released by Andre, a ring of pure Mana that expanded… expanded… expanded. Andre came down to the ground, and as he did so, the overgrown path was suddenly repaired and covered with tight-knit vines that somehow improved the quality of the path into an actual road.

The trees around them seemed healthier, and the blooming flower effect spread as far as the eye could see. that was when Taylor decided to reintroduce herself to her old friend. Quietly walking over, she jabbed her finger into his ribs. 

“No!” Andre bellowed as he spasmed from the prod, “What have I told you about doing that? Wait! Taylor!”

Andre whipped around and yanked her into a bear hug that his companion Arthur would be impressed by. “Taylor! I've missed you so much! How are you? Tell me everything! Where is Zed? Did he get here before us? Oh! Where is Luke? I bet he became something really cool! Did you see what world he was sent to before you left?”

“You still bruise like a peach, huh?” Not really wanting to answer his questions, Taylor deflected and simply smiled at him. “How in the world did you lose muscle by leveling up?”

“How dare you!” Master Don called over, offended by her cavalier attitude toward ‘leveling’. “It is Ascending, blast it!”

“Ignore him,” Taylor instructed easily, “he gets cranky. Probably hasn't eaten, or maybe he only killed one member of a family, instead of getting all nine generations or something. Really hard to get a read on what sets him off.”

Silence reigned in the area for a few moments, until both Andre and Don were laughing at her. however, Taylor's facial expression did not change a single bit. A new - highly musical - voice called out, “I did indeed get here before you! My-oh-my do I have a story for you!”

“Zed!” Andre bellowed, rushing over to embrace his long-lost friend. “How are you? You've aged?”

“Yes, well, not all of us got to move to a new universe that allowed us to stay immortally young.” Zed huffed at Andre, pretending to be upset. “kids these days! But really, the biggest draw for a Bard is reaching level twenty. If I can't do it fast enough, I will become too old to really hold my own in a new world.”

“Well, what are friends for?” Andre slapped the Bard on the back, “My Potentia is your potentia, let's get you some levels! Can we group up or something?”

“Lord Arch Druid, you will be assigned a to a battle group that fits with your power, prestige, and scope of duties.” One of the generals that had been waiting in the area piped up, snorting at the thought of the Arch Druid teaming up with a barely trained Bard. “It is highly unlikely that you will be grouped together with ahem… him.”

“Right, well…” Andre looked around in a vain attempt to find a way to alleviate the awkward situation. “Seriously, where is Luke? He should be here by now!”

“Andre, I really did not want to be the one to have to tell you this.” Taylor sighed and closed her eyes. “when we were first going through portals, all those years ago-”

*Crack*.

somehow, impossibly, the portal that was in place shattered like a mirror that had been hit by a hammer. it shifted into a deep blue coloration, the world started to hum. A sound like a heartbeat filled the area, growing deeper, faster, louder. Just as it seemed as if the Mages in the area would launch an attack at the portal, something came through.

It was a hand, a human hand that had a pair of glowing goats horns hovering in front of it. As the hand pulled back, another joined it and seemed to be pulling the portal in different directions. A light blue mist poured out of the small hole that was being opened, and almost everything that touched it died. Almost everything. 

Andre felt sick, and prepared to go all out in defense of the world around him. Taylor felt refreshed, powerful, and somehow knew that the energy coming out of the portal was raw, unfiltered mana. Zed leaned forward, interested in the show. “Oh, this will make a good story…”

The portal cracked again, and a humanoid figure forced itself into the world; dropping to the ground for a long moment as it heaved deep breaths. the excess mana vanished into the area, and only Andre knew that everything that had survived being touched had been incredibly empowered.

Zed, who had gotten closer than anyone else, suddenly wheeled backwards, clutching at his face. “Celestial! What is that smell?”