Post by Tug on Mar 11, 2019 0:04:36 GMT -5
At the colorfolk's base, Daniel was shown into a strange room. The other seven colorfolk he had fought alongside were all there, lining the walls. At the far end of the room was a small marble pedestal, and atop that pedestal were five strange glass fragments. Daniel walked towards the pedestal hesitantly. Woman In Silver gave a reassuring smile as he passed.
Woman In Blue stood behind the pedestal, her hands held high. She began speaking in a somber tone.
"Today, we welcome Daniel Erdagovern, the latest of his house, to our noble order. He inherits today the title of "Man In Blue". He has already proven himself a quick thinker, and he is sure to do us proud."
A blinding light flashed from the five shards, and Daniel suddenly felt a tingling sensation as the light washed over him.
When he could see again, he realized his attire had changed. He was wearing robes of a piercing blue, lined with a sturdy black fabric. A quick glance around the room revealed it was very similar to the robes the other colorfolk wore.
Woman In Blue grinned. "Are you ready to begin your training in earnest, Man In Blue?"
Man In Blue nodded. "I am."
.....
It had been a few days since Daniel had properly become the Man In Blue. For now, his training focused on expanding his knowledge on how magic worked; he understood the aptitudes and had memorized the eight laws, but there was still a ways to go.
Man In Silver has requested Daniel join him for a... different kind of quest this night.
“I just thought I’d demonstrate the kinds of powers unique to the spirit type colormen, compared to other magic casters” he explained.
They had come to a long abandoned house on the outskirts of town; cliche, but fitting. “Tell me Daniel- do you believe in ghosts?”
“...I believe that when one does the soul moves onto the afterlife” Daniel stated firmly, “All these haunted sites people go on about is utter nonsense, perfectly explainable by science” Daniel finished
“... a perfect description of 95 percent of “hauntings” lad; tonight I’m going to show you what happens the other five percent of the time” Silver explained. They proceeded to approach the grounds, Daniel beginning to feel rather uneasy.
“See, when the body dies, the soul and mind become one, the “spirit” of the deceased. Most of the time spirits move onto the afterlife, but occasionally they stick around”
“Why?” Daniel asked
“Oh, many factors... lingering regrets, got lost, died before their time. I... I often find myself visiting the children’s hospital more often than I like” Silver sighed sadly.
“Do ghosts look like people you see through or... bedsheets?” Daniel asked.
“Both; souls that are recently dead or the bodies were laid to rest ceremoniously look like people. But the longer a spirit remains in the mortal plain it starts to decay away, eventually looking...”
“Like that?” Daniel asked, indicating what seemed to be a whisp of white light, just sort of floating near the house, under a tree.
“God Eyes, son. First step is to revitalize the spirit; restoring them to a “proper” state; unfortunately only whole spirits can move on; no one knows why, but my theory is as the spirit decays they lose their ability to think and just become listless and wander wherever”
“Ahem” Man In Blue said
“Oh, terribly sorry, got carried away. Right, let’s begin” Man In Silver said. Raising his hand, he began chanting the spell that “healed” worn down spirits.
“It’s all right, we are here to help you. Just remain still so you can be made while again” Silver said as the whisp began wailing. Slowly, the whisp began to retake a human form.
“It looks like a... female” Daniel observed
“Ah ha, that confirms it. I did research on the property before going in; this must be the spirit of Catherine Johnson; in 1947 she entered this house and never came out; it was abandoned soon after”
“How could she just disappear?” Daniel asked, confused
“No one knows; the articles I read on the matter mostly read as obituaries than insight into the actuall disappearance” Silver explained
“What can we do?” Daniel asked
“The only thing we can do; help her pass on after so long” Silver explained. Slowly but surely, the whisp began to stabilize, until it looked like a see-through human.
“The spirit.. has been stabilized” Silver said in relief
"What? Where am I? What's going on?"
"Don't worry, Mrs. Johnson, we're here to help you." Man In Silver said soothingly.
"Am I.... dead?"
Man In Silver bowed his head. "I'm afraid so. I'm sorry."
"But... my son! I never got to say goodbye..."
Man In Silver nodded gravely. "Maybe we can help."
“But she died over 60 years ago; her son is surely of retirement age at least... if not passed on himself” Man In Blue realized solemnly.
“Then we need to figure out where to even start. Mrs Johnson, please. We need to know- what is the last thing you remember?” Silver asked calmly. He sincerely hoped that whoever was responsible for her death did not go on to kill her son... if her death was by the hand of another.
"I came in here because I thought I'd heard something... the floor collapsed beneath me..." the ghost replied, struggling to remember.
"I see... come along then, let's find your son."
The spirit set off, seeming to somehow know where to go. The colorfolk found themselves following her to a retirement home near the highway.
Finding themselves stepping inside the lobby of the retirement home, they wondered how best to proceed.
“What is your son’s name?” Silver asked.
“Darren; I can feel he’s here, I know it” The spirit explained. The two Colormen nodded before going to the front desk.
“Visiting hours are almost ov... oh! Mr Stephenson... We weren’t expecting you today... is it time?” The receptionist asked
“They know you?” Daniel whispered in confusion
“Retirement homes are my third most frequented of places” Silver whispered back. “No, it’s a different kind of business today... where’s Darren Johnson?”
“Room 214, But he’s got company at this moment... his son is with him” she said.
“We won’t be in his way. Come along, Daniel” Silver said as the two went to the elevator, then nodding at the spirit.
“She can’t see Catherine, can she?” Daniel asked.
“Only magic users with high spiritual abilities can see ghosts, let alone interact with them” Silver explained,
“What about me?” Daniel asked
“Let’s just say I’m giving you a hand” Silver winked. They proceeded to the room. Darren was sleeping as his son sat by the bed.
“I have a grandson? I only wish I could meet him” Catherine lamented.
“I’ll handle this” Silver began, stepping into the room.
“Mr Johnson?” Man In Silver asked.
“Can I help you?” The man asked, turning his head.
“I’m Ronald Stephenson; someone close to your father wanted a message passed onto him; is this a bad time?” He asked gently.
“If you want to write it down I’ll leave it here... but I would rather you not wake him up now. Dad isn’t doing so well” the man sighed.
Silver looked over at Darren, then looked around the room, before looking at Catherine. “I understand. I’m going to step out and get some paper then” Silver said before gesturing to Daniel. They whispered outside.
“He doesn’t have much time left, does he?” Daniel asked
“I’m... afraid not. The bonds between his body and soul have weakened... his last journey has begun” Silver explained.
“How much time does he have?” Daniel followed up with
“Not long... but he will find peace” he said, looking around The room and seeing all the photographs and mementos of Darren’s life. “He lived a good life, and will leave this world with no regrets” Silver said.
“But... his friends and family” Daniel asked
“They will miss him, but remember this; one’s departure...” then he looked at Catherine, “is another’s reunion” Silver assured.
“My son will... join me?” Catherine asked.
“In due time. For now, I think you waited to pass on long enough. I can help you cross over as soon as you are ready” Silver assured. Then he looked over “even if he’s not a magic user, humans are more aware of the spiritual when asleep. If you want to leave your son a message before you go, we shall wait” Silver explained gently, gesturing to her son again.
Catherine nodded, before drifting into the room through the closed door.
"Um... what happens to them once they... you know..." Man In Blue asked.
"Wondering about the afterlife?" Man In Silver asked. "No one really knows. Some believe there's an afterlife. Others believe are souls are reabsorbed by the magic energy of the universe. Personally, I believe in reincarnation. But ultimately, that's something we aren't meant to know before our time."
Man In Blue nodded gravely.
Suddenly, Man In Silver stood, as if sensing something from the next room. "Catherine returned through the wall, glowing brighter than before. "I think... I'm ready to go now."
“I shall help with the final passage” Silver said as he raised his hand. Catherine flower to the point Daniel had to cover his eyes... but in a matter of seconds, she had gone.
“She is at peace now” Silver said as he gestured for the two to leave. “What about you; what do you believe?”
“Well, after that dream I had where I met my ancestors... I believe there must be something on the other side. Reincarnation... i think we get one life and we need to make the most of it. Besides; if reincarnation was a thing, why don’t we retain memories of our past lives?” Daniel asked.
“I believe that in reincarnation, the spirit separates into soul and mind- the soul, one’s essence, is what takes on new life. The memories and experiences though- they are kept in the mind”
“What happens to the mind here?” Daniel asked
“I don’t know... there are some things we may never know” Silver sighed.
They returned to base next. Silver dropped off Daniel so he could go on alone.
“I hoped you learned something today Daniel; may not be the most... practical knowledge, but I hope it is something you’ll appreciate” Silver explained.
“Where are you going now?” Daniel asked
“I don’t want you going to my next stop... it’s a burden i alone must carry- I cannot in good conscience force it upon anyone else” Silver sighed
“Oh, you mean...” Daniel began, but Silver nodded before leaving for the children’s hospital.
Daniel turned around and headed back inside to meet the others
"How was that?" Woman In Silver asked as he entered.
"That was... heavy. How does he cope with that day in and day out?"
"It's hard to say. He's a naturally positive person, with a wife and kids that love him. That's more than most people can say. I know I couldn't do it."
As Daniel began to discuss more about the spiritual side of magic with Woman in Silver, in Hawthorp City, a "certain group" began to gather...
Thirteen people sat around an oblong table as the man at the head of the table began to speak...
"Ladies and Gentlemen, our fair island is being besieged, nay, invaded by very insidious creatures I can only deem magicial in origin... Various individuals in variously colored cloaks have been terrorizing the inhabitants across the island! First there was the attack at the college, then those two pasty ones almost set fire to an apartment building, and most recently, that stone monster that destroyed Blackwell and seemingly disappeared... Everyone, I believe all of these to tie to this order's ancient foes, the ones who are from way back in our order's founding on Ordos... I believe, we are dealing with the dangerous 'Color Folk' passed down in myths through our generations... So, to save the peace of our island, I believe it time for us to strike back! For I am Arkwright Edogog, leader of the:
Knights
Needed
Universally for
Coordinated
Kombat,
Leadership,
Endurance and
Hope,
Experts in
Attack and
Defense
For I am a knucklehead, you are a knucklehead, we are ALL knuckleheads! Proud knuckleheads determined to defeat the evil! Now knuckleheads, let's be off!! Let evil fear the name knucklehead! Cower before us, for the knuckleheads are coming!"
"Aye!"
The Twelve other "Knuckleheads" raised their fists in support, for it was time to defeat the evil plaguing the island known as the mythical "Color Folk of Ordos"...
Why the KNUCKLEHEADS hated a faction that was historically good for most of its existence, no one truly knew- especially since the first era of the Colormen they were the celebrated sworn protectors of Ordos. Some speculated they formed in the dark era and only saw the factions that let their hearts be corrupted, failing to see the good ones that made up the majority, but bickered with each other over differing philosophies and goals. All would become clear in due time
......
“I don’t get it; why is everything like... this?” Man In Blue asked Main In Gold; he was trying to make sense of this archives limited resources on the past, but wasn’t getting anywhere.
“If that’s your only question will you not bother me the rest of the night?” Gold asked
“Fair enough” Daniel conceded
“Colormen history is broken into two sections: the first era and dark erA. The first era, our golden age and the golden age of Ordos- we were a United Force for good who protected the island from many threats; sometimes we were summoned to Europe to deal with evil lurking there. Then came 1657...”
“This must be the “dark era” you refer to then” Daniel observed
“Well look at you, catching on quick. Well, the short version is- in a time when all magic was considered evil by non-users, the people of Ordos turned their backs on us. We knew we had to go quiet and for reasons that can’t be revealed just yet, the Prism was broken. A pointless task if you ask me, the Prism could only be used for good anyway” Gold commented
“I thought most magic was neutral- that doesn’t sound right” Daniel commented
“Yes, it is confusing on the surface, but it’s actually quite simple- magic is neutral, but can be influenced. Remember the sixth law of magic?”
“Yes” Daniel nodded
“In the case of the Prism, this one of a kind artifact was influenced by the spirit to reject those with wicked hearts- as in Prism magic became incompatible with anyone who had too much black stuff in their hearts; the proof is in the artifacts: forged by man and powered by Prism magic they have a violent reaction to and thus are unwieldable by anyone with a corrupted heart. But it works the other way too- magic items do exist that can only be wielded by those with corrupted hearts, but they are rare thankfully”
“I can only imagine the reign of terror that resulted from the shattering of something so good” Daniel said in horror
“Don’t be ridiculous! Were you expecting the Colormen to go off and kill thousands of innocents or something? First of all- those who used the prism’s power before the shattering were stil good people and wouldn’t turncoat just because the Prism shattered. Second- the population of Ordos wasn’t that high to begin with so a rampage with mass casualties doesn’t make sense by numbers alone. There were only half a dozen lines that killed innocents early on- but they got bored with that pretty quickly since they didn’t actually gain anything from it and focused their attention elsewhere”
“Then this dark era must be a civil war more than anything else” Daniel concluded
“Hallelujah, the newbie can be taught!” Gold said sarcastically “short answer- faction split into multiple smaller factions, our faction the dominant good one, black’s faction the dominant bad one and numerous secondary factions of no importance at the moment. Now if you are done pestering me, get lost” Gold muttered
“Man, what could have happened that caused all this” blue mused. But that was a question for another day
Meanwhile, in the lair of the evil colorfolk, Man In Black was pacing anxiously.
"Our golem attack completely failed! How could this happen?"
"To be fair, you sent it at a major population center. I mean, what were you thinking?" Man In Off-White began. "Of course the others would-"
"Did I ask for your opinion?" Man In Black snapped. "We need to find a new way to make the colorfolk suffer."
"Why is that your only goal? You know the rest of us have actual aspirations, right? We want to start a new era where magic might is respected and we don't have to hide in the shadows, but we don't want to destroy the other colorfolk just because they're there."
"You're useless! Bring me Woman In Orange. If you won't destroy the colorfolk, I'll get someone who will!"
A couple hours later, Man In Black and Woman In Orange had made their way to a shady tavern in Blackwell called the Goddess Of Drinks. It was pretty empty, as it often was, but Woman In Orange knew the drill. She walked up to the counter and leaned towards the bartender with a grin. "My friend and I would like to order the Damoni Special."
"Certainly... right this way." The bartender led the two of them to a tiny service closet by the bathrooms. The two squeezed in and shut the door. Suddenly, the dark broom closet lit up as the back wall slid away to reveal a much nicer, much more crowded bar. A cool voice played over the intercom. "Welcome to the Magic Underground. This entrance sponsored by the Guild Of Damoni, magic army for hire."
"Ah, the magic underground. The one place on this earth where mages like us can truly feel like home." Woman In Orange said, leading Man In Black through the bar. Stepping out through the front door, the two of them found themselves in a strange environment. The ground was made of a sparkly, reflective black substance, and the sky was a crackling blue energy field. Suits of Enchanto-Armor patrolled the streets, keeping an eye out for evildoers. A massive circular tower dominated the skyline, crowned by a magic screen that constantly scrolled slogans such as "This pocket dimension is maintained by the Order Of Gerade, Guild Of Damoni, Лед коснулся, Altavoces U Pixan, Piracy International Coalition, and the Akademie der Magier".
"The international magic community needs your help to maintain its stability! Remember, no war magic within the Magic Underground!" One of the Enchanto-Armors boomed as the duo passed.
"Let's see... the bounty hunters typically hang out in the Greedy American pub, over there." Woman In Orange said. "Surely we can hire someone more competent than the rest of our faction..."
Woman In Orange trailed off when a tall, tanned figure covered in scars stood to block the door.
Man In Black eyed the bouncer uneasily. "Shear, old buddy... long time no see..."
Shear crossed his arms and glared at the duo. "You two still haven't paid us back for that golem."
"Look, Shear, we're sorry, but we'll get the money, okay?"
"I'm not the one you need to apologize too. You've been using up the resources of the Guild for far too long. We aren't helping you with your little Civil War any more until you start paying what you owe. And if you don't pay it fast, then I just hope I'm the one they send when there's a bounty on your head."
"Fine..."
As the duo walked back, they conferred anxiously.
"Well, there goes are only chance of getting help from a third party..." Man In Black sighed.
"Maybe not." Woman In Orange replied with a grin. "Have you ever heard of the KNUCKLEHEADS?"
“Yes, and they would never ally with us; their animosity of our kind goes too far back” Black reminded her.
“Do not worry... our goals shall succeed in due time” Orange assured before they walked to their next destination
......
“What I don’t get is what the big picture is; do we want to go public once we’re whole again or remain secret?” Daniel asked.
“We... we do t know. On the one hand we’d love to go public, but on the other we aren’t sure if the world is ready for a reintroduction to magic. What is the size of your college class?” Woman In Blue asked
“Four students”
“Exactly; seems in this day and age magic is a slowly dying practice. There a central, neutral organization when it comes to magic; one if it’s duries is taking a census of magic users to gauge how prolific the practice is. And the latest numbers aren’t good” she explained.
“How many are there?”
“At present, less than 8000, a 15 percent drop from the last census five years ago, and the lowest it’s been since said organization started keeping records... in 200 AD”
“Good lord... why so low?” Daniel asked.
“Many factors; I won’t bore you with them unless you want to know though” Woman In Blue assured
"Are you sure there couldn't be other magic users, just hidden from them? I mean, there seems to be a lot of colorfolk at the base, and assuming there's the same amount of evil colorfolk, that means 400 total, and with the population being 400000 on this island, extrapolating that out means there's got to be millions of them?"
"What, are you saying there's some massive "magic underground" we don't know about?" Woman In Blue said, not knowing the answer was "yes". "Even if that was the case, it wouldn't be nearly that many. Outside of specific magic hotspots, magic users are rare at best. Everyone is capable of at least a little magic, in theory, but without a magical hotspot, most people will never know."
"And what's our local magical hotspot?" Man In Blue asked.
"Our faction is different. Our power comes from the Prism, or from the shards of the Prism anyway. That's how we search for them, actually. Being close to a prism shard gives us that tingling sensation behind the eyes- that's why the colorfolk who live here always look so tired. It's hard to sleep so close to five prism shards."
“Speaking of which, you look rather tired Daniel, perhaps you should get some rest yourself” Woman In Blue offered.
“I think I will; good night” Daniel said, preparing to return home.
Woman In Blue sighed, “well, I could say he was onto something... but he needs to appreciate the bigger issue here... magic is declining, in more ways than one. Though perhaps I should have given him an honest number... but he needs to appreciate the situation” she thought, remaining firm in her choice to exaggerate.
There was a grain of truth though- in the last five years, the magic users population had indeed declined 15 percent.
To understand why such a decline though, it is important to understand the world everyone lives in.
There were many factors at play; between large amounts of knowledge being lost over the centuries, and technology eclipsing the use of magic in many regards, slowly but steadily the number of magic users began to decline.
As the number of magic users declined, so did the number of factions; these organizations were how magic users connected and learned magic. Each faction was unique in its own way, even if they were just "generic" magic users (i.e. a faction that doesn't specialize in anything specific, like the Masteri and golem magic). With each disbanded faction, knowledge would be lost as no one was there to maintain the libraries of each respective faction; estimates suggest that when compared to the golden age of magic (the renaissance), the current number of magic factions is less than 1/5 what existed at magic's height.
Though this claim is disputed, some argue that the establishment of the Akademie der Magier in Germany, the school where almost all current mages get their magic training today, effectively destroyed the long-held apprentice system that mages, until then, had trained under.
Before the academy- if one wanted to learn magic, he or she would join a faction, be chosen by a "master" (an established mage of great knowledge who would personally teach the apprentice), become a pupil, and devote their life to studying the craft. Once they had reached a certain level of mastery, they graduated from being apprentices to being fully fledged mages. In some factions, they had the freedom to have their own life outside the faction, including raising a family, while in others, they were expected to devote themselves to the faction, in the same way some monks devoted their lives to the monastery they lived in.
With the establishment of the academy though- it rendered the apprentice system moot, and with it, crippled the ability of many factions to hire new members. The fact that academy graduates often enjoy a great degree of freedom after graduation since they are not tied down to any one faction is another appeal of the academy versus a traditional "faction".
To see the effect the decline in magic use is having on the general magic population, let's see the kind of goings on in the world:
In the Magic underground, at the offices of the Ministry for Assessment and Administering of the General Population Indication Census (MAAGPIC), clerks were filing away the latest numbers and indications... and taking the final count of disbanded factions.
"Well, that does it then; the last member of the Order of Avios passed away two months ago" one sighed as another name was added to the list of defunct factions.
"Saw it coming a mile away though; in this day and age an entire order based around magic that allows one to turn into birds... it wasn't going to last" his colleague pointed out.
"I suppose you've got a point Mary; any others I've got to add?" he said as he finished writing down the name.
"Yes Steven; The Almrania Brotherhood's last four members sent a letter of dissolution; they will be retiring to the care of their children and the faction is officially disbanded" Mary explained as she held up the document.
"Which one was that again?" Steven asked as he consulted some charts.
"They were a "general" faction; but the corn they grew and sold was highly regarded and popular, even here" Mary explained.
"Wow, a faction dedicated to growing corn... like anyone will miss that" Steven said sarcastically... before writing a note to "go buy Almrania corn" after work.
"Now now, all the general factions had some way of making money. After all, can you imagine what would happen if we found ourselves having to live without the wine of the Falgria Order in Northern Italy?" Mary pointed out.
"Expect that to become a reality in a couple generations; membership went from 38 to 29 and the average age of the members is 62" Steven said as he looked over their census submission. "Not to mention they've been cash strapped so they sold most of their vineyards to the Academy of Magic; went from 25 acres to nine acres" Steven explained as he continued writing some notes.
"Why would the academy buy that land off them?" Mary asked, confused.
"Put two and two together; ever since the academy went up the number of factions went down. This is just the first phase; once the Falgria disbands they'll buy the rest of the land and make a Northern Italian campus to ease the pressure off of having mages from all over the world come to Germany" Steven stated
"That doesn't sound like the academy... maybe they want to help the faction survive" Mary suggested.
"As if the academy wants it to; what could it gain from a faction of wine-producers anyway?" Steven asked sarcastically.
"Falgria wine is very popular, don't jump to conclusions" Mary assured.
"I'll believe it when I see it" Steven declared before going over other lists. "What other orders disbanded?"
"Let's see... The Samresuna, The Order of Calronvia, The Order of Maeron, Brotherhood of Cistria, Sisterhood of Golmen, The Straw Hat Pirates, the Whitebeard Pirates..."
"Those last two aren't real factions" Steven said bluntly.
"Just making sure you are paying attention" Mary smirked before hiding a manga book
......
Akademie der Magier, Germany
"You didn't have to do this you know; we could have come to you" the academy's headmaster explained.
"Oh, but I needed to. I more than anyone hate to see the size of our vineyard shrink, but if the land is to end up in the proper hands, I alone should bear responsibility for this decision" the elderly mage explained.
"At 84 years old and the head of your order, I simply must commend you on your vitality. The thin mountain air surely must be taking it's toll on you" the academy's headmaster replied.
"Oh, not at all... I climbed mountains in my youth! Well, I best be going" he said, shaking hands before the headmaster kindly asked some of his workers to escort him to his ride home. As he walked away, the elderly mage began silently weeping, "Fate is a cruel mistress... the very institution that ended the apprentice system, is now the ones who gave us the money that will help us thrive for just a little while longer" he thought as he walked through the academy's halls.
Some time later the headmaster called a meeting off the important people who ran the academy.
"As of today, we now own the 16 acres of Falgria Order's land we made the offer for last month" the headmaster declared.
"Excellent! When do we begin construction of the new campus?" One of the younger members of the board asked excitedly.
"We begin immediately, as soon as we can clear up this petition from the Guild Of Damoni and Altavoces U Pixan." Headmaster Luncrett replied.
"You know we can't possibly concede to their request!" Advisor Erodelbmud slammed her fist on the table. "A "Black Stuff" academy? Preposterous! We can't allow this dangerous "Black Stuff is Okay" doctrine to take hold!"
"I fear we have no choice." Advisor Winxan replied. "George Tenoch from Altovoces U Pixan spoke to me yesterday. Apparently they've reestablished the Apprenticeship system for Dark Magic. If we are to prevent the Black Stuff from gaining traction, we must at least consider the possibility of opening the Academy's doors to practitioners of the Dark Arts."
Suddenly, a woman in thick red robes ran in.
"Alaine? What is it?" The headmaster asked, concerned.
"Councilmembers! There's been a security breach! Hartley College in New Furness, USA... it has a class on the "History of Magic", and it's surprisingly accurate..."
"Damn! We need to find out who's responsible and shut them down before everything we've worked for is lost!"
********
But far away in Iceland, the news had already spread to another rival faction. A man and a woman were boarding a helicopter. And their intentions towards this professor were far more... violent...
********
"Alright, class, today we're going to discuss some of the great heroes in Magic History." Daniel said, pointing to the whiteboard. "Now, I'm sure you're all familiar with various figures throughout history that magic powers have been ascribed to, and you're probably expecting me to discuss them. King Arthur. Jesus of Nazareth. Queen Hatsheput. But we'll save them for another day. Today, I want to talk about two of the greatest magic heroes in history, who have been all but forgotten: Hephastus Of The Sword and Damoni Silverfinger."
"I'm sorry, who?" Frank asked, raising his hand. "I don't want to be rude, but it seems like you're just throwing a lot of names at us all at once and expecting us to care or know what they mean."
"All in good time... Hephastus Of The Sword lived nearly 2000 years ago. We don't know that much about him, other than that he was born in what is now England around the time of the first Roman excursions into the region. Hephastus became the leader of a revolution against them, and some say he even arranged Caesar's Execution. But whether he was magical remains a mystery. However, texts recovered from various archaelogical sites report that he created his army, the Light Warriors, out of "a ray of sunshine". Whether this is true or not, the legends of Damoni Silverfinger are far less ambiguous..."
"Yeah, it says here he tamed a Hydra and shrunk it down to use as a third arm? And that he was revered by a people called the "Anamaloids"? Surely this is nonsense." Frank replied, looking at his notes in confusion.
"Right you are! Now then, let me tell you about the legend of Hephastus and the Sword Of Destiny..."
Daniel proceeded to tell the story of the humble blacksmith, who rose from ambiguity to become one of the most important figures in the mythology of magic. A story so convoluted that attempting to explain it in this post is borderline impossible. Thus the lesson proceeded.
......
"Wait Headmaster, did you say the Falgria Order? As in... Falgria wine?" one adviser asked out of curiosity.
"Of course; I did promise them that construction would begin after they harvested the last of the grapes from the land we bought though, so by immediately I certainly meant..."
"You can't just rip up their vineyards!" He said in shock. Going over to a cabinet, he waved his hand and the wall turned around and revealed a wine rack. Taking a bottle and pouring a glass, he was almost frantic in giving it to the headmaster.
"Now you know I'm not really one to..."
"Just drink it, please!" the adviser pleaded, and so Luncrett did. After a few minutes of pondering...
"Um... schedule another meeting tomorrow... I think an important consideration must be made before we proceed with construction. In fact I also want you to..." and he whispered some instructions into his ear.
......
"... and once the 25 signs had come and gone, there was an encounter with one called Vlad; a being so evil he managed to escape hell and died twice" Daniel continued.
"Are you sure that's right?" Frank asked in confusion.
"Honestly, no one knows. But more importantly don't forget that this is mythology after all, there's a metaphor in all of this" Daniel said.
"What is it?" Toz asked.
"if I knew I would tell you; but the important thing to remember about Heph here- he was a true magic hero in the traditional sense of the word- he rose from humble beginnings and went on to make a name for himself, in the process making the world a better place" Daniel said. More of Heph's feats were talked about over the next 40 minutes.
"But sir- what about the succubus?" David asked.
"The succubus? Well, I, uh, you see..." then Daniel saw the clock, "and I'm afraid that's all the time we have; remember- next class we talk about legendary magic artifacts" Daniel said as the four went to leave.
Daniel reviewed his notes on the succubus; it was due to be covered in the magical creatures lecture, but even he was dismissive of this one.
"A demon with an attractive female face and body, yet also has horns, wings, fangs, a tail and cloven feet... that seduces men in their dreams to steal and feed off their life force... ok, magic may be real but THAT is the most absurd thing I have ever heard! I mean who would get aroused by that... thing?" Daniel said, looking over the drawings of Succubi. "Ugh... well they only appear in dreams anyway and I'm not attracted to those kinds of features so... oh what am I even saying?! They probably don't even exist" Daniel grumbled as he left the classroom to go to the teacher's office.
At the end of the day, Daniel returned to colorfolk HQ. The first thing he saw was Man In White and Woman In Blue talking to a strange old man, wearing some sort of brass armor and covered in soot.
"Look, Kendarboo, I want to believe you, but the last three locations you sent us just ended up being weird blood cultists." Woman In Blue said.
"Trust me, colorfolk, this time I'm sure of it." Kendarboo said, handing over a dirt-covered sheet of paper. "There's next to no civilization out in those woods, just bears and deer. It'll be a piece of cake."
"What's going on?" Daniel asked, joining the group.
"Oh, Man In Blue, this is our friend and ally Kendarboo Flickerbee. He's an artificer, and his magitek devices help us locate Prism Shards. He claims he's found one deep in a cave in the national park, but it's up to us to retrieve it... if his instruments are right this time..."
"Well, is it okay if I join the mission to retrieve it?" Daniel asked, intrigued.
"Sure, why not? Man In Silver, Woman In Silver, and Woman In Gold are prepping in the armory." Man In White replied.
So Daniel set off on his first Prism Piece retrieval mission.
"So, usual payment, correct Kendarboo?" Man In White asked.
"But of course" Kendarboo nodded.
"Very well" Man In White said. "Woman In White, go prepare the Gift of Carrot!" Man In White said.
"Again?!" She yelled from the next room
"It's for Kendarboo!" Man In White said.
"And the Tale of Tail?" Kendarboo said.
Daniel was understandably confused by all this, as Man In White sighed and then began speaking, "Once upon a time, long, long ago, there was a..."
Daniel decided to bid a hasty retreat to the armory.
When he got there, he was quite surprised by what he saw. Man In Silver was wearing his usual robes, a thick helmet, and a quiver of arrows. Woman In Gold had adopted a sleeveless vest, a large wooden staff, and a belt full of all sorts of knives. Woman In Silver was wearing chain mail and had some sort of magic amulet around her neck.
"I'm sorry, what? You know guns exist, right?"
"Yeah, but medieval weapons are awesome!" Woman In Silver yelled. "Try the flail!"
"Don't try the flail." Man In Silver interjected quickly. "We don't have time to get you fitted for your own armor or anything, so just pick a weapon and maybe a magic ring or something. Your colorfolk robes will provide ample protection."
Man In Blue nodded and turned to see a wall of cutlasses, battle axes, and even a whip.
"Um... I don't know how to use any of these..."
"Just pick whatever feels right" Man In Silver explained.
"O...k..." Daniel said in confusion. He went over to the armory and his hands hovered over some weapons... before finally picking a sword.
"this one feels right" Daniel nodded before giving a few test swings.
"You don't know the half of it" Man In Silver thought to himself.
"So what happens now?" Daniel asked.
"Man In White's our tactician; he'll fill us in on the plan once he's done with the story" Man In Silver explained.
"How will we know when he's done?" Daniel asked.
"Well, technically, the full Tale takes about 39 hours to tell in its entirety... but usually after half an hour Kendarboo gets bored."
As if on cue, Man In White entered.
"Finally... anyway, here's the deal. You've been sent to a random location in the middle of the forest in North Ridge National Park. There is an unexplored cave system near there that he suspects the Shard is in, but those caves are unstable and dangerous. Stick together and stay safe. I'll cast the teleport spell when you're ready."
"We're ready now." Woman In Gold said.
There was a rush of light and color, and suddenly the four colorfolk were in a dense evergreen forest. Unfortunately, they'd been teleported right into a giant patch of blackberry bushes.
"Ow! So many thorns!"
It took a few minutes for them to brush themselves off and regroup.
“Ugh, I knew we should have fine tuned that” Woman In Silver moaned as she brushed herself off.
“So what now?” Daniel asked
“Keep an eye out for anything suspicious” Man In Silver said
Daniel looked around and saw...
A guy in a giraffe costume on a pogo stick taking pictures
A guy in a tiger costume dancing the hula
A guy in a zebra costume doing cartwells
And finally, a guy in a gorilla suit riding a unicycle passed by as he played the banjo “HELLLOOO!!” He said with a grin as he went by
“Uh, nothing of meaningful significance, let’s go” Daniel said as the four left the costumed group behind, never to see them again.
“What are we looking for now?” Woman In Silver asked as Man In Silver looked through binoculars
"Probably a cave entrance, but I don't know where we'd... AAAH!" And the ground gave way under Man In Silver.
"Oh, neat, he found it!"
"Don't worry guys, the stalagmites broke my fall!" He called back.
“We’re coming down!” Woman In Gold shouted. The quartet reunited down below and assessed their situation.
“How will we know if there is a prism shard present?” Daniel asked.
“Very simple- the prism’s pieces glow when near a Colorman or colorwomen, and will only allow a good hearted wielder to touch them” Man In Silver explained
“I thought you said the prism was neutral?” Daniel asked, thinking back to something he said the other day
“In a base state, yes. But the diaries of Matthew Erdagovern explained how with the Spirit, the Prism was “freed from corruption” and became an artifact that only the good hearted could wield; but be warned Daniel, for there are also artifacts that only evil can wield” Man In Silver warned
“So when you say that prism magic is incompatible, and I only say “incompatible” only because I can’t think of another adjective that makes sense in context, with evil- you mean those who have too much black stuff in their hearts” Daniel realized
“Correct; and we see this in many aspects of our lore- the Colormen artifacts and colorwomen rings have a violent reaction to anyone with a corrupted heart- and those who tried to take prism magic who weren’t worthy suffered greatly. Have I told you the tale of Sir Adrian yet?” Man In Silver asked
“No, but I don’t think that’s important now” Daniel said
“Quite right, now, the fragment. Where should it be?” Man In Silver asked
“Well I’d imagine we look for something that looks like glowing, colorful glass” Daniel quipped
"Hang on, there's a tingling behind my eyes..." Woman In Gold said suddenly.
"Ah yes, that means the Prism shard must be close." Man In Silver said.
"So hang on, if only someone with a good heart can touch Prism Shards, how do the evil colorfolk have any?" Daniel asked.
"Well, there seems to be an exception for people with Colorfolk blood... well, that's not the right word, but you get the idea. The evil colorfolk can touch them, for example, and my children can as well. It's a bit of a weakness, but if we were too powerful, there would be no challenge, no reason to get up in the morning." Man In Silver explained.
"Also, what the heck are "Colorwomen rings"?" Woman In Silver asked.
"Wasn't there some old legend about how in the olden days, colorwomen had fewer resources, so instead of giving each member a different unique artifact, they just made a bunch of different colored rings?"
"No, that would be ridiculous. We have artifacts same as the dudes." Woman In Silver rolled her eyes.
"What are these "artifacts" anyway?" Daniel asked.
"Can you all just shut up? I've got to be home to pick up my girlfriend in a few hours, so the sooner we find this prism shard, the better." Woman In Gold snapped.
The four went in the direction of the tingling... by that, meaning as the tingling grew stronger they knew they were getting nearer. They turned another bend, and at last, found what they were looking for.
"This is it... this is the missing fragment" Man In Silver noted. The glowing piece of what looked like glass grew stronger in intensity as the four approached it. The colors they saw flowed throughout, yet never mixed.
"Guess this is it then; well, let's reunite it with the others" Woman In Silver noted.
"Not... so... fast! I will be taking that!" A voice screamed. The foursome turned around to see an older gentleman in robes similar to Man In Silver's usual mage robes... but he was holding a gun.
"I KNEW we should have brought a firearm" Daniel muttered.
"Gerard, you don't know what you are doing" Man In Silver said, indicating that he knew the party in question.
"How did you even find us?!" Daniel asked, confused.
"I came into this forest first, of course. I must admit, I've been looking for some treasure for a long time now, and when I saw Stephenson here enter a cave with your party in tow... I knew he was onto something" Gerard stated.
"Who is this man?" Daniel asked, confused.
"THIS is Gerard Galvermore; he claims to be an archaeologist but he's nothing more than a petty treasure hunter" Man In Silver muttered. "We go way back; when we were younger he told me about his fascination with very old items. He said he loved their artistic value, and wanted to collect them for the world to see. As we got older he came to me because i happened to have knowledge about the very things he was interested in, since some magic artifacts have gone on to become legendary artifacts in secular lore. Little did I know he was using me to make a quick buck" he continued.
"Nothing personal, just business" he said as he continued to get closer to the fragment. "See, its better to have them somewhere where they can be cared for, after all" he stated.
"They belong with their rightful owners! You just sell them to the highest bidder!" Man In Silver stated. "This artifact rightfully belongs to my faction and you know it!" Man In Silver declared. Woman In Gold went to make a move, but Woman in Silver stopped her.
"Tempting... but selling it will make me richer. Man's got to eat after all... and have more money to find more artifacts" he said with a laugh as he went to claim his prize.
"I don't understand; is he a mage or not?" Daniel asked.
"He is a mage; a "non-faction" mage though; he concerns himself more with making a quick buck than honing his craft though. Don't you remember ANYTHING Gerard? These artifacts are more than just "treasures" they are sacred heirlooms of their factions!" Man In Silver pointed out.
"Finders keepers, Stephenson! You found it, I keep it!" He laughed again as he went to pick up the fragment. But to his shock it superheated and he was forced to drop it.
"Argh! What is this!? You did this, didn't you!?" He said, holding his hand in pain.
"No... you did this to yourself. You only use magic for personal gain at the expense of others... you allow your wicked ways to influence your choices and as a result of your consequences your heart has become corrupted" Man In Silver said, focusing on Gerard.
"Shut up! If this has that kind of charm on it, then it must be quite powerful. I'll... I'll use it against you!" He said, picking up the fragment, fighting the pain as long as he could.
"I'll reduce all of you to ash, take this!" He screamed, preparing to cast a spell, using the fragment akin to a wand. But in a blinding flash of light... he was turned to solid stone.
"What... just... happened?" Daniel asked, shocked.
"The same fate that befell Sir Adrian" Man In Silver explained. "I have a pretty good idea what he was going for... it wouldn't have worked regardless, Prism fragments don't work that way" he noted.
"What happens now?" Daniel asked. Then he heard cracking. The Gerard's hand that had been holding the fragment began to crack, until a small explosion of sorts took place, and the hand was no more. The fragment fell onto the ground. Man In Silver went over and picked it up... this time, nothing happened.
"I think its safe to say it's mission accomplished" Man In Silver noted.
Daniel looked at what was left of Gerard, "Was this... too harsh?" he asked.
"He only cared for monetary gain and was will to steal, sell and do whatever it took to make a quick buck. I can only imagine the pain he caused others when they heard about their precious artifacts going up for auction. This is long overdue justice served; for every "dead faction" he stole from, there was also an existing faction where he decided to sell an artifact instead of returning it to them. But what a way to go" Man In Silver noted.
Woman In Silver, during this time had been scouting the area. "Area is secure; is there anything else we must do before returning home?" she asked Woman In Gold.
"I don't think so, let's just get home and put it with the other five."
**********
But what none of the other colorfolk knew was that Gerard was being watched. His daughter Frankie had placed a charm on him, allowing his actions to be seen when viewed through an enchanted water bowl.
The colorfolk didn't know the full story with Gerard. His wife had fallen very ill shortly after their marriage. Medical bills were expensive, and in order to pay them, Gerard was forced to turn to finding and selling artifacts. What he did wasn't illegal, and while it may have hurt some people by selling off their ancient artifacts, Man In Silver was wrong about his motivations.
So when Gerard was effectively killed by the Prism Shard, Frankie knew what she had to do. She reached out to an old friend, Sir Awkright Edogog, and his most noble order, the KNUCKLEHEADS...
In the back of Frankie’s mind though, there was something that was bothering her- her father had been spending less and less time at home, and when she did see him, he had been talking more and more about “making a buck” rather than “getting money to pay off the bills”.. and even she couldn’t help but admit that her father should have returned artifacts of existing factions to their rightful owners.
......
Gerard was not dead, unbeknownst to everyone- he had only been petrified by the Prism. Though he could not move, his mind was left to muse on his actions.
“What... have I done? I mean, the places were abandoned and the factions disbanded, who would miss them? The times I went to the graves, it’s not like anyone was visiting them anymore... but, but right do I have to disturb a resting place? But that was only a fraction of my finds! The other places were abandoned halls and bases... true I did trespass and lie from time to time, but I didn’t want to hurt anyone! Maybe I should have returned the artifacts of the existing factions, but I found them, I had every right to make money! But all those people who begged for their artifacts back... it’s not like they didn’t pay me. But, it was theirs and the right thing to do was return it. What am I saying?! I took those artifacts so I could make money! Money for... for...! No... what have I become?! I did this so I could pay off the medical bills, when did I care about becoming rich? Why the hell did I say finders keepers, that was their arifact, why did I try to steal it at gunpoint?! For that matter, why do I have a gun for my line of work? I swore that in my hunt I would never hurt others and... Oh my G... what have I become?!”
Gerard fully realized what had happened... he did the wrong thing whenever he effectively stole from an existing faction, and the more he did it, the more he allowed his heart to be corrupted. It was true the selling of artifacts of dead factions did nothing, but once he began refusing to return the artifacts of surviving factions in favor of making more money, the black stuff in his heart began to influence his motives to be darker. By the time he confronted the Colormen, he had reached a point where he was more concerned about making money to get rich than paying off the medical bills... even at the expense of others.
“I threatened to turn them into ash... why?” He finished
The “statue” of Gerard seemed to shed tears from the eyes, and a black, tar like substance seemed to seep from his heart area. When it fell on the floor, it fizzled and dissolved away. It wasn’t all of the black stuff in his heart... but the remorse he felt had allowed for a partial purification of his heart.”
......
In a caravan on the island, a woman was looking over a crystal ball when she suddenly looked up, “there has been a disturbance on this island!” She realized
"Adriana, you felt it too, right?" asked a man in her doorway
The woman looked up from her crystal ball towards the man in her doorway and said, "That was a high concentration of pure magic, it seems troubling, but out of caution, I want you to take Gilford with you and check it out."
"I'm on it..." responded the man in grey colored clothes as he left the wooden cart, passing a sleeping dog, a carved stone statue, and an eight legged horse on the way out...
"Hey Gilford! The mistress has a job for us!"
.....
In Gracefield Park, the Men in Silver, Gray, and Purple as well as the Women in Silver and Gold were having a training session in the various arts of the Colorfolk...
"Remember to sense your opponent with your mind's eye, not your actual eyes." spoke Man in Silver to the blindfolded Colorfolk as he swung a wooden club at them, intending them to avoid it, with only some successes...
"Ow!" yelled Man in Purple
"You'll never properly train your skills if I catch you peeking Roy..." scolded Man in Silver
"Sorry, it's just can we take a break yet? I'm getting kind of tired..." complained Man in Purple
"Evil never rests, besides, you've all been slacking on you're magical training, so this day trip is a bit of a punishment, and with that another round people!" ordered Man in Silver
The other Colorfolk groaned in response, all hitting Man in Purple in annoyance...
In the nearby bushes, five armored figures watched in wait...
"Alright men, seems now is the best time to strike..." said one
"Alexandre, Castelmore, like we practiced!" said another excited as the trio jumped out from the bushes
"Wait, no!" silently screamed the first knight
The Colorfolk undid their blindfolds as they heard a strange rustling in the bushes, and saw three armored men emerge, striking dynamic poses for each...
"Halt you despicable Colorfolk! For we noble knights have come to stop your nefarious deeds! By our virtuous spirit we shall end your reign! With the power of the sword!
"The spear!"
"And the Halberd!"
"We are..."
"The CAVALIERS DE TROIS!"
"As well as our comrade... Knight Eren!"
A fourth man wielding a sword and tower shield slowly emerged from the bushes and struck a "pose"...
"Dammit you three! I told you to stop acting like that! What are you superheroes? And you, Eren, I thought you were better than to get sucked up into their antics..." complained the new knight who left the shrubbery
"Aw Bastille... You're no fun..." pouted the Swordsman
"Who are you people?" asked Man in Silver
"I was waiting for that question foul villain, we are members of the fair order the KNUCKLEHEADS, and as granted under the authority of our fair leader, I, "Iron Mask" Bastille have deemed now as the time to lay waste to you, fair Knights, attack!"
Before the Colorfolk could respond, a chained spear flew towards Man in Silver's head, he just barely dodged it's speed thanks to the spiritual sensing he had been training the others in...
It was time for the Colorfolk and KUCKLEHEADS to clash for the first time in centuries...
"Foul villain? There must be some mistake! We are good wielders of the craft!" Man In Silver declared.
"We will not fall for your tricks! We shall smite thee!" The first one said with a charge as tried to attack, but Silver dodged in time.
"Now look, it is YOU who has been tricked already. Clearly someone has deceived you into thinking we are the bad guys. Why do you fight us when we are not enemies?" Man In Silver asked.
"That opinion is one sided; we shall crush you in the name of all that is good!" The second said with beaming pride.
"And yet you are willing to attack innocents in the name of a misguided quest. If you truly are good, you will see that we mean no harm and you will leave us be. We have no intention of harming you, but we will defend ourselves from such senseless aggression if need be" Man In Silver declared sternly, as the others nodded and began taking up defensive stances.
"I see all talk and no action is what you are! Let them have it!" the halberd wielding knight declared as the group began attacking the Colorfolk.
"Non-lethal only, everyone! We will not stoop to their level!" Man In Silver declared as he stepped back while the others took up the front.
Man In Gray was up against Jaune the sword wielder, Man In Purple was up against Alexandre the halberd user, Woman In Silver was up against Castlemore the spear user, and Woman In Gold was up against Knight Eren, who wielded a shield and a sword.
"What was it Man In White said about these weapons? This is a fight for our tactician; but there's no way I can slip away to call him now; he probably wouldn't get here in time anyway. I'll just need them to keep these knights occupied while I do my thing" Man In Silver thought as he prepared for his eventual role in the battle.
The fight quickly devolved into chaos. The color folk were mostly unarmed, which most of them hadn't trained well in. And they couldn't hold still long enough to cast a spell, or they'd get hit by one of these medieval weapons.
Eventually, Woman In Silver was able to evade Castlemore for a second, and began chanting in what seemed like gibberish. Castlemore looked down in shock as his pants seemed to transform, until suddenly they had turned into a rocket engine strapped to his waist. Then it ignited, and Castlemore was sent flying.
"Nooooo! Carry on without me, Cavaliers!"
Castlemore found himself flying very fast and uncontrollably. Lucky for him though, the "rocket" spells of the Colormen were purposefully non-lethal; you see, the rocket pants spell and all variations thereof, are what are known as "gag spells." For although relatively easy to learn, they cause minimal injuries to the target, in exchange for the ability of getting the enemy "far away and out of sight." The most the target could get were cuts, bruises... and occasionally motion sickness.
In Castlemore's case though, He found himself flying straight for the New Furness Molasses factory, and straight for one of their supply warehouses.
It was certainly a strange sight- a knight crashing into a barrel of molasses, and covered in very sticky syrup. "Uh... could someone spare a shower, and perhaps some soap?" He said; mostly uninjured but rather embarrassed about his sticky situation.
......
Back at the fight, Man In Purple was figuring out his situation against the halberd wielding knight. "I see now... the individual attacks may be strong, but it take him a while to recover, and getting close enough makes his long weapon useless" he observed. "on the other hand... what am I supposed to do if I get close? I suppose going for his neck would be the most obvious... ugh, if I could just remember what Woman in White said!" He muttered. So he went for the other way... making the knight focus only on him... only on him. The halberd turned out to be a rather predictable weapon; there were really only three attacks that could be done with what amounted to an over-sized ax on a long poll... side swipe left, side swipe right, and overhead chop.
The swipes to the side were key here. He did his best to dodge the attacks, but he was running out of stamina and he knew it.
Fortunately, he was right where he wanted to be. With one more roll, he dodged Alexandre's attack. Alexandre did a heavy swipe left, but failed to notice that the lamp post that he had been steadily walking towards. Man In Purple had made him move to just the right position, and when Alexandre swung the Halberd, he realized too late that he was swinging it towards the lamp post. The momentum of the Halberd meant he could not stop it in mid air, and though the metal head was strong, the wooden pole of the halberd was not so much. The way he was swinging, the wooden poll itself made direct contact with the lampost, splitting in two upon impact. Realizing he was now holding a broken half of a pole, Alexandre realized he couldn't continue the fight like this.
"You haven't seen the last of me!" He screamed as he picked up the other half of his weapon and bolted.
"Two down... two to... no, wait, why do I feel there is someone else here?" Man In Silver thought to himself, realizing that another set of eyes was watching the fight.
......
"Not good, Alexandre has broken his weapon and Castlemore is who knows where... I'll need to be ready for anything" the observer said as he readied his mace for his eventual entry to the fight, if need be.
Though some Colorfolk were having an easier time than others, the KNUCKLEHEADS were mounting a dangerous counterattack in response to their loss in allies...
"Ugh! I can't hit him! Curse that blasted shield!" grumbled an angered Woman in Gold
Woman in Gold was currently facing off against Knight Eren, who's tower shield was blocking everything she threw at him, an even the spells she tossed his way seemed to be dodged by his reflexes alone...
'I must thank Master Noir for heightening my reflexes, who knew it would come in handy against their unnatural powers... Time to use my ultimate tactic! For for the this knight's greatest move!' thought Eren, though highly emotional in his thoughts, it did not reflex at all on his face or even voice to people outside of his mind...
"Aren't you going to say anything! Grgh! I'm just going to smash that shield of yours!" yelled Woman in Gold as she spoke gibberish and magic coursed through her fist, intending to shatter the shield with it. Eren put up his shield to block the strike so she threw her fist, nut it was a faint as he reflexively pulled back as the Woman in Gold lost her footing due to the momentum of the throw.
"Shield Bash!" shouted Eren as he blindsided the stumbling Woman in Gold, knocking her out using the force of his entire body weight...
"Jane!" shouted Man in Gray as he noticed his compatriot hit the ground with a solid thud...
"Pay attention to who you're fighting!" furiously shouted Jaune as his sword sliced toward Man in Gray, "you lot have ruined the Cavaliers chance to use our new combination attack! So now, PAY THE PRICE!"
An enraged Jaune seemed to be emitting flames from his body with how much heat in anger he was generating. He caught Man in Gray off guard so much that the swordsman made a substantial stab wound...
"Calvin! Roy go support him, maybe cast magic on that wound of his!" ordered Man in Silver
"You know, it made sense to separate the Cavaliers in theory, but honestly hurting his companions really brings out the true potential in, not just Jaune, but all three of them. But, now seems like the time to end this!" said a voice as a mace slammed into Man in Silver's chest
All Man in Silver could do is cough up blood from his probably broken ribs...
"Colorfolk... Retreat!" coughed Man in Silver as he spurted gibberish that Bastille thought was just him losing consciousness, but really cast a smokescreen that the Colorfolk used to get away...
"Damn! They got away!" shouted Jaune as he slammed his sword into the dirt
"Patience Jaune, they may have fled, but now they know how dangerous we can be... Eren, you did well, I'll inform Noir of your success today, Jaune, you and the other two need more work... Now come on, I think Castelmore flew off in that direction..." spoke Bastille
"All right; let's get going; Jaune, you lead" Bastille declared. But Jaune didn't move.
"Jaune, I said let's go" Bastille said.
"I'm trying but my limbs won't...AHHH!!!" He shrieked in terror.
"What is it?" Bastille said. What the knights didn't know was that the Colorfolk used the smokescreen to their advantage; just before retreating Man In Silver cast one last spell, aimed at Jaune- the "basic spirit breaker" was a non lethal move that temporarily weakened the bond between body and soul of the target. In the case of Jaune, whenever he tried to move his physical body, it would not react. Instead, a ghostly image of his limbs moved instead, so the sight of what appeared to be his spirit leaving his body did scare him to say the least. It was one of a handful of spells unique to the Spirit-type colormen, and the first time said spell had been used in battle in a long time
"Help! I... I think I'm..." was all Jaune could say before fainting from the shock. The KNUCKLEHEADS subsequently retreated.
......
At the Colorfolk Base, they were getting help from someone they trusted... Man In Amaranth Purple- a "non-faction" Colorman who was both a doctor by trade and a mage who specialized in medicine and healing.
"You're lucky I was here researching your materials for any information on healing potions; if you had to wait for me to come I don't think I alone could handle it" he explained as he used his knowledge of anatomy and magic to ease the pain and heal wounds.
"Now do you see, Howard? I told you after that Golem attack things were going to get more dangerous around here. We need you more than ever... please, help us" Man In White pleaded. Once ensuring Man In Silver was stabilized, the medical mage scratched his head before sighing. "Ok... but I stay here where I'm needed... I only learned healing magic, not combat magic" he conceded.
"That's fine... we need a healer, after all."
Woman In Blue was pacing. "Who were those people? What is their aim? Do they have any of our prism shards?"
"That's a fine question... we need to track them down before they can do any more harm." Man In White replied. "As soon any as they're recovered, I'm sending Man In Silver, Woman In White, and Woman In Gold out to find them."
"Send Man In Blue along too... he did great against that golem, and he needs to get used to combat." Woman In Blue decided.
"Are you sure Man In Silver should go? He broke several ribs." Man In Gold pointed out.
"Hey guys! Those healing potions work wonders!" Man In Silver said cheerfully as he left the room.
"Huh... that was fast."
*********
Meanwhile, at the headquarters of KNUCKLEHEADS, Awkwright was ranting at the Cavaliers and Eren about their failures.
"Come on, you lot, this is the first time in any canon that we've mattered to the plot and this is what you do? Come on, you imbeciles! Worthless fools!"
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. A very short man on stilts entered.
"Hey, who let you in?"
"Hello, gentlemen. My name is, um... Manny Green. I want to join you."
"Uh... why?"
"You see, I hate the colorfolk too... and I think I know where their base is..."
"Hold on! We don't just take anybody off of the streets of the streets to be one of order! Well, except maybe Arnott..." lamented Arkwright
"Commander, I have ears you know..." growled Arnott
"Right, sorry, my loyal Fencer, anyways, to become a Noble Knight of the highest order, such as ourselves, you must partake in a 37 part trial period, be outfitted with a resonating weapon, armor set, and theme, and compose a 20,000 word essay on the proper articles when engaging your foe in combat, including witty comeback liners! Now, I know our PR Department, *Cough Maguire Cough* has said this ritual is more or less 'hazing' in a modern sense, and why our ranks have't exploded as I thought they would, but it is tradition so we must continue it..." spoke Arwkright as he began to wander into a tangent
"Ah..." was all 'Manny Green' could let out as he was dumbfounded over how oblivious this guy was. As he stared, he sensed a dangerous aura as a black metal gauntlet lifted him off his stilts with the other hand covering his mouth, preventing him from speaking spells...
"Commander, I believe this man to be a member of the Colorfolk we're after, since, he is wearing similar robes to the ones our scouts encountered, as well as an obvious fake mustache..." said the Pitch Black Knight as the fake mustache fell off 'Manny Green's' face...
"Ah, good job Noir Knight, as insightful as always, so since one has carelessly walked into our base, we should interrogate him, shall we?" said Arkwright with a grin
The last thing 'Manny Green' remembered was a black blur slamming him into the ground with an inhumanly force behind him, knocking him unconscious...
“Right, put him in the cell” Arkwright ordered.
Just then, one of the squires came running in frantically. “Sir! Don Delia is charging our neighbor’s windmill!!” He shouted frantically
“Again?!” Arkwright said in shock and frustration before leaving the room
.....
Low and behold, a knight on a horse was charging towards said windmill. “You May have foiled me last time foul beast, but this time YOUR HEAD IS MINE!!!” She declared before going into a battle cry and increasing charging speed towards the “monster.”
“How many times do I have to tell her that’s NOT a monster” Arkwright thought to himself as he finally came outside to see something reminiscent of one of the most iconic scenes in literature
"Squire Rose, get you're master properly aware that this structure is a bread making facility and not a monster of old, for I am summoning all of the senior and high ranking members, so Miss Delia is required" ordered Arkwright
"Yes sir!" replied Rose as she ran off to wave down Delia's horse, shouting the command word she taught it to stop dead in its tracks, flinging its rider off and into a nearby stack of flour sacks...
"You win this time you cloth winged beast!" yelled Delia angrily as Arkwright watched in disbelief, while the nearby squires looked at their masters with looks that said, "that's the pot calling the kettle back..."
.....
At the meeting was Sir Arkwright, Sir Charles, Sir Ulrich, Don Delia, Arnott, Bastille, and Noir Knight. These seven knights were seated around an octagonal table as they discussed their next course of action...
"So, Bastille, Arnott, what can you tell us about our nefarious foes?" asked Arkwright
"In battle these Colorfolk were fiercesome foes... We managed to fight them to a standstill, but I couldn't tell you how we would fair if all the senior members went against their top brass, because from my understanding, both of our forces were made up of rookies..." replied Bastille
"And from what I gathered from following them after their skirmish wasn't much either. I found their base, but I couldn't tell how many make up their number, since not many exited the building and I didn't want to enter further in. I was even out there for a few hours..." relayed Arnott
"Alright, so what's the staff's decision on how we should further this endeavor then?" sought Arkwright
"Well old sport, it's been centuries since our order's clashed with a foe like the Colorfolk, and even our records seem to have been lost about those chaps, specifically one called 'The Incident with the Colormen'... So I don't know" answered Charles
"Since Mistress Frankie asked us to redeem her fallen father by their vile hands, I believe we are on a noble quest, so whatever evil magics they have, we will triumph in the end! As well as partaking in such a glorious battle, we will be remembered for generations to come!" declared Delia
"Honestly, I have no particular investment in the matter this time, but I concede to whatever the group decides.." added Ulrich
"Hm... I'll refrain from speaking my honest opinion, but I believe if we do fight these Colorfolk, whatever the outcome will determine the future of our order, and I have a few ideas to where it will go, so I will side with fighting the Colorfolk..." replied Noir Knight
Arkwight began to stand up and said, "So it seems from our gathered intelligence it seems the odds are against us, even so, I'm for fighting these villains, so what be everyone else's vote?"
"Aye!"
"Aye."
"Aye."
"Aye Old Sport."
"Hm... Aye..."
"Aye."
"Then we are agreed, Bastille and Ulrich, gather the rest of the members, and Noir Knight interrogate the prisoner and then chain him up for use as bait, we're mobilizing all thirteen knights against the Colorfolk!" ordered Arkwright as he slammed his fist down in declaration...
.....
Outside the base, Man In Silver and his fellow Colorfolk confirmed their target. "There's no denying it- the souls I am sensing in this building have similar auras to those that attacked us, in addition to the ones that did" Man In Silver confirmed.
"Shame that spell has no practical combat usage; but your ability to sense the identity of the souls and spirits of others does prove useful in other endeavors like identifying lost souls to help them move on, and sensing the presence of kidnapped victims" Woman In Gold observed.
"Yes, the powers of the Spirit type Colormen have many weaknesses as well as strengths, but that is not important right now; there's no way we can take them all on right now... we must report back to base and fill them in" Man In Silver concluded.
......
"Looks like I'm going to need to brush you guys up on how to counter the weapons of a knight; I'll get the study materials ready" Man In White said as he left the room to get a lesson ready.
"I cannot BELIEVE those darn knights still exist after all this time" Man In Gold fumed.
"I don't understand... who are the KNUCKLEHEADS and why do they hate us... it doesn't sound like they're bad guys" Daniel asked, confused.
"Strictly speaking, they aren't" Man In Gold began. "The Knights Needed Universally for Coordinated Kombat, Leadership, Endurance and Hope; Experts in Attack and Defense were an order founded contemporaneously with the Colormen in the late 11th century" he said as he took out some old manuscripts.
"What do we know about them?" Daniel asked
"We only took some of our records from the old archives when we came here, but the ones we have do contain the important details" Man In Gold explained.
"Such as?" Daniel asked.
Man in Gold proceeded to open up a manuscript that contained some of the diary entries of Matthew Erdagovern, the first Man In Blue. "The order resented the arrival of the Colormen and later the Colorwomen; seeing them as almost "competition" of sorts. Why, we have no idea. Matthew talked many times of repeated discussions with the leaders of the KNUCKLEHEADS to establish an alliance with them... and they refused mostly out of jealousy it seems" he explained as he read it over.
"So was there or wasn't there a rivalry?" Daniel asked, now more confused.
"It was largely one-sided on their part" Man In Gold explained. "They saw us as "competition" for the sworn protectors of Ordos... a shame, but that's history for you" Man In Gold stated.
"What about us?" Daniel asked.
"We saw the "rivalry" as unfortunate; for a matter as important as protecting the people of Ordos, petty things like rivalries between factions were unimportant matters; the defense of our home and its residents took top priority... in fact they were the only good faction, magic or non-magic, on the island that wouldn't go on good terms with us" Man In Gold said as he read the text.
"But that still doesn't explain a resentment of us... we're talking about people who lived hundreds of years ago on an island thousands of miles away... why would they hate US specifically?" Daniel continued.
Man In Gold skimmed through a few more manuscripts before coming across one in particular. "Hmm... seems this is the answer" he said, reading an account of a trial held by the king of Ordos
......
Castle Ordos, 1411
"But your majesty, we were only acting in our capacity as the sworn protectors of Ordos!" Arden Bennington, the current leader of the KNUCKLEHEAD's, pleaded before the king. Present were representatives of both the KNUCKLEHEAD's, the Colorfolk, the Nobles and common people.
"... then why did you attack the Colormen in the presence of the Earl of Randow, not only injuring him in the process, but most heinously of all, KILLING TWO COLORMEN!" He boomed.
"We only did what was necessary, your highness! We were acting on very strong intelligence!" Bennington insisted, and one of his fellow knights produced documents showing what appeared to be diagrams.
"As you can see, at the Duke's speech today, the Colormen were positioning themselves in all sorts of places in and out of the church; leaving almost no land uncovered; they clearly wanted to harm him!" Bennington declared with confidence. The king sighed then pointed to the Man In Blue, "I will let you handle this" he said.
"Those diagrams you stole from Man In Indigo were our plans discussed with Man In White. The Earl of Randow came to us and asked for protection; a man in his position attracts more than his fair share of assassins and criminals. So once he informed us where he was going to speak, we drew these up to show him that he was well covered and would have nothing to fear while we protected him for the two hours he spoke. We would have been more than glad to come to you for additional assistance in this... too bad you beat up the messenger before he could explain this" Man In Blue said, before indicating an injured Man In Indigo.
"Um...um... he was reaching for his weapon and..." Bennington's right hand man began.
"Rubbish! I was reaching for the documents and you saw me!" Indigo furiously replied before the King called for order.
"And what happened once you had this "Intelligence" you speak of?" The King asked Bennington.
"We... we knew we had to work fast to save the Duke, so we took the initiative and, using the diagrams... attacked the Colormen" Bennington admitted, to the shock of those gathered.
"And what was the result of this attack?" The King asked Man In Blue.
"Your majesty- honestly, no side won here. There were roughly two dozen of us, on both sides. We had seven injured, they had nine injured. But there were only two deaths that day... Man In Brown and Man In Magenta" Man In Blue explained.
"That still doesn't explain how The Duke of Randow got hurt" The King pointed out. The Duke himself- his arm in a sling and bandages over some parts of his body, stood up.
"Man In Yellow was right over me in the balcony above the podium... one of the KNUCKLEHEADS struck him across his head and he fell over the balcony... and, well, let's just say I may have broke his fall, but he didn't break my spirit" he said, prompting some laughter.
"All right, I think I've heard enough. Bennington, the evidence is clear- by launching an attack on the Colormen and endangering the life of the Duke of Randow, killing two Colormen in the process, you and your faction have committed treason against the People of Ordos, and as such, I sentence your entire faction to..." he paused before deciding the punishment.
"Your majesty" Man In Silver, who had been quiet until now, began, "I must insist that you spare these knights the death sentence... even if they killed two of our own they did not act out of true malice and never intended on committing treason; surely this must be considered" he pleaded.
"While that is true, this must be weighed against the KNUCKLEHEAD's other failures" the king pointed out.
"Other failures?" Bennington asked, confused.
"Ever since the Colormen became our protectors, your faction has consistently failed to come to the defense of Ordos. Where were the KNUCKLEHEAD's during the Masteri War, the War of the Dead, the defensive campaigns against the ogres, or, any other war that was fought on Ordos in the last three centuries where the people were in danger?" The King asked.
"Well, uh, you see..." Bennington began, sweating nervously
"Enough! Your track record speaks for itself! Though since Man In Silver's point remains valid, I deem the sentence of your faction to be... exile" The king decided.
"What?!" Bennington said in shock.
"I will grant your faction and it's members 60 days to get all affairs in order... after that, the KNUCKLEHEAD's are never again welcome on Ordos. You may now adjourn" the King finished before everyone left. It was a shock felt by everyone, KNUCKLEHEAD and Colorfolk alike.
......
PRESENT DAY
"... and then it describes how two months later, the KNUCKLEHEAD's departed Ordos in disgrace, the crowds jeering as the ships departed for who-knows-where. Representatives from our faction and a few others who knew the truth simply looked on, and wondered what could have been if different choices were made" Man In Gold said, finishing reading the manuscript.
"Good Lord... but, but such a harsh sentence over a misunderstanding?" Daniel asked, shocked.
"It was a different time Daniel; us modern folk will never truly understand the inner workings of those people; even if they are our relatives" Woman In White explained.
"Exactly; my guess is that some form of this story still lingers in the modern faction, but they twisted the facts to make themselves feel like virtuous victims unjustly punished" Man In Gold thought.
"To be fair- when a story gets told over and over and from person to person, things do change and get lost; in our case we are lucky to have some contemporary documents that survive to shed light on things like this" Woman In Silver stated.
Man In White finally returned, "all right, the time has come, let's get training" he began. They didn't know how much time they had, and thus needed to prepare; in this case, a crash course in the various weapons of knights to know the strengths and weaknesses of each type would help come a battle.
Luckily, they had some window of time to prepare.
......
"Gentlemen, we shall launch our attack at midday... five days from now" Arkwright declared.
"Why?" Eren asked, confused.
"Because, it is that time of year again- our Thanksgiving. The Feast of Edogog where we celebrate the founder of our faction!" Arkwright said as he gestured to a portrait. All knights then raised their weapons in salute, "Praise Edogog!" They declared, before excitedly getting ready for the festivities
"I shall go get the barrels of mead and wine, chaps" Winstead declared
"We shall go fetch the finest pig to roast for the feast" Jaune said as Castlemore and Alexandre nodded.
"We'll get the table set" Maguire and Rose said, as the lowest ones on the totem pole.
"And in honor of this occasion, I shall go slay that vile beast next door once and for all!" Don Delia said as she raised her jousting lance.
"NO!" Screamed the other members of the faction.
"Ugh, fine, I'll get the napkins" Delia relented.
"Let the first day of the Feast of Edogog begin!" Arkwright said as the others went to do their respective tasks.
While the more experienced colorfolk went to prepare, Daniel returned to the college to work on his next lesson plan.
After a few hours of working, he was interrupted by a knock on the door. A well-dressed man entered.
"Hello, Daniel. I understand you teach magic history?"
"Um, yes, why?"
"On behalf of the magic underground, we must insist that you stop immediately or we will be first to take direct action. Magic is kept secret for a reason."
Man In Blue crossed his arms. "And what reason is that, Mister, um..."
"Call me The Optometrist. And if you don't cease this threat to our security at once, we will make you disappear."
"Is that a threat? Because I'm a colorman! I will take you down!"
"About that... I also sent a letter to a group called the KNUCKLEHEADS. In five days time, they intend to come here and destroy your office as part of their attempt to purge the colorfolk. I have the power to stop them... but you don't. Think about that."
And the Optometrist left as quickly as he came.
*******
The Knuckleheads, meanwhile, were enjoying the feast. Ale was flowing, pork was pulled, bacon was wrapped, ham was... I'm hungry now.
As the meal progressed, Don Delia and Eren found themselves discussing the Colorfolk menace.
"How can we possibly compete with their magic?"
"Arkwright says he's found a way to neutralize it... I hope he's right..."
Indeed, he had found a way. Interrogation of the green fellow had yielded an interesting piece of information- apparently there existed so-called “Colormen Alloys” and one in particular had the ability to make the magic built up within a user disappear on contact. Unfortunately the alloy in question was extremely rare and only produced by the Colorfolk. Furthermore, after a certain event some centuries ago, production ceased all together and the formula “straight up vanished”
Factions outside the Colorfolk tried to make their own version of said alloy, and while some came close, none had truly succeeded... as if there was something The Colorfolk had access to all those years ago no other faction did. A secret ingredient or two?
Arkwright ultimately decided that any attempt to forge or find this alloy was a fool’s errand... he wasn’t going to waste time on something that had no guarantee of working. Especially if only his “enemies” had the formula to it.
......
“So it’s a mythology of magic course, you say?” The optometrist asked Tiberius, one of Daniel’s students.
“Oh sure, interesting stuff, really. It’s amazing how real the stories sound on the surface, but when you get right to it it’s all myths and legends and they really give Greek and Roman myths a run for their money” he said
“So... none of it is real then?” The optometrist asked
“Of course not; it’s just mythology after all” Tiberius said before leaving
“Hmmm... if they only see it as myths, then that may be something I overlooked” he admitted
......
After five days of Colorfolk preparation, the battle was soon to begin. At the designated area where the sides were to meet, the Colormen made one last appeal.
“We are not enemies; you have either been deceived or are mistaken of your own accord. We do not seek to harm any of you and will not do so today except in self defense. It is you and you alone who want battle, not us. Admit this fight to be needless, and we shall leave, with no ill will towards your membership” Woman In Blue declared.
“We will do no such thing!” Arkwright shouted back.
“Then whatever happens from this point on is your doing... we will fight in self defense only. Should you claim any innocent lives today, the blood is forever on your hands” Man In Silver warned
The KNUCKLEHEADS were confused to say the least... if the Colorfolk were truly evil then they would have certainly attacked by now to have both the initiative and the advantage of surprise. And yet- nothing.
“Uh... maybe we should rethink this... they don’t seem like bad guys” squire Rose said
“Yea, and I’ve seen that silver guy around town- he finds lost spirits and helps them move on... that doesn’t sound like something a bad guy does” Squire Maguire added
“A con artist then? How dare he take advantage of others grief for money!” Arkwrght shouted
“Actually... he doesn’t charge anything and he’s got a good reputation around New Furness; Sure, a lot of people don’t believe in ghosts but, those same people see his actions as symbolic more than anything else, with no real harm” Maguire corrected.
To say Arkwright was taken aback put it mildly
"Poppycock young Maguire! Even an old man such as myself knows ghosts don't exist!" criticized Charles
"Even talking, ATTACK!" shouted Delia as she charged towards the enemy
"Mistress Delia wait up!" yelled Rose in pursuit of her master
This began the clash that would shape the new eras of both of these organizations...
.....
The battle would be an intense one to say the least. On the KNUCKLEHEADS side, they had brought all thirteen members as well as a bound and gagged Man in Green tied to a pole. On the Colorfolk's side, they had brought all twelve executives of their good faction, as well as asked Man in Indigo to lend a hand, due to him owing a debt to Woman in Silver.
Each side had capable fighters, now with both having the proper armaments, it was anyone's guess who would be the victor...
.....
A lot of the combatants were fighting in groups, with the notable exception of Noir Knight, he had his blade stabbed into the earth with his hands resting comfortably on its hilt, as if waiting for the exact moment to enter the fray...
"The Black Armored One is a strange one Melody, I sense a sleeping beast within what I can only describe as a 'void' within that armor... There's no way that one is just a normal knight..." spoke Man in Silver, sensing a strange danger whenever he used his Spiritual abilities on Noir Knight
"If he's not attacking, then leave him be, we got a bunch of other fighters to worry about!" replied Woman in Blue as a pike wielder tumbled just out of the way of her magic attack
"As you say Ma'am, I guess it's time to get back at that Mace wielder then..." sighed Man in Silver, as he locked eyes with the Iron Masked Knight...
.....
"Are you sure these runes will protect us?" lectured a girl holding a crystal ball to a man with the stench of liquor on his clothes...
"Relax, I drew the rune circle when I was sober, or at least when I had only finished four bottles, so no lingering spells with hit us as long as you stay in the circle. It also will keep us hidden, even from the most advanced spell users..." hiccuped the alcoholic
"Erun I swear if Adriana finds out we were spotted I will make sure Mark sends your booze stash to another Realm..." replied the girl sternly
"Ruthie, just keep that crystal ball steady and I'll make sure the runes don't run, okay hun?" mocked Erun
"I can hear you two not doing what I asked you know!" said a voice from the crystal ball
"Sorry Mistress..." somberly replied the duo
.....
The Colorfolk knew that these knights were going to be very dangerous up close... they clearly showed competence with their weapons and knew how to use them. But the Colorfolk still had several key advantages... including the tactical brilliance of Man In White.
(Prior to battle)
".... Devru glem chaka!" Man In Gold finished. The assembled Colormen and Colorwomen were standing inside an area of the field that was away from the primary battle site that was to come. Man In White nodded as he addressed the group from inside the circle. "all right- this is our fall back point; the within this circle we are protected by a perception charm" he explained.
"Perception charm?" Daniel asked.
"Long story short- as long as you stand within this safety zone, you won't be attacked. The perception charm will cause any outsiders who look in its direction to automatically look away and head off in another direction" he explained.
"So what will prevent us from being affected by it?" Daniel asked.
"We were inside the circle when it was created, so the charm doesn't affect us. This is also our field hospital" Man In White said, indicating Man In Amaranth Purple. "He'll heal our injuries so we can get back in the fight" Man In White said.
"I can't replenish magic though; so once you're out you'll have to recover on your own" he explained.
"But... what are these things?" Daniel said, holding up a sack with strange looking egg-shaped rocks inside
"instant-spells; they were designed for situations where you don't have time to say the full name of a spell. Be warned though- they are not as strong as properly cast spells and if you don't have a clear mind, their effects can be very, VERY random" Man In White warned.
"Just throw at the target, and bam, they go off" Man In Silver explained.
"Remember- use your strengths against their weaknesses, and they will be forced into positions they cannot defend against" Man In White explained.
......
As the fight began, Man In Indigo found himself fighting against Arnott the Fencer. Remembering that a Rapier was good for thrusting and some forms of parrying, but not much else, Indigo was trying to come at Arnott from the side or throw him off balance. But Arnott would reposition and resume his offensive.
"Ugh, at this rate I'll never get an edge over him!" he thought to himself as they found their fight dragging on quite long. Indigo tried to get in close with his weapon of choice, but Arnott was quite the fencer. So indigo pulled out a stone. "Ok, think of something that will help in this fight. Something that will benefit me, I..." just then there was a very loud, inhuman gurgle. Arnott turned around to try and find the source of the sound.
"Foul beast, come forth!" He shouted. What he didn't know was that the sound came from Indigo himself.
"Oh why didn't I have breakfast, I'm so hungry!" he fumed as one hand clutched his stomach and the other crushed the stone... and a banana appeared in his hand. "What the hell? I didn't... oh, forget it!" he said as he ripped the peel off and devoured the banana, flinging the peel. When Arnott turned around he saw Indigo shoving something in his mouth.
"Now's my chance! Take this foul mena... wah!" He said as he went into battle stance but then lost his footing. As if by fate, Arnott slipped on the banana peel and fell onto the ground... landing on top of an ant hill.
But since we don't have a punchline, here's another fight.
Woman In Gold was fighting Castlemore the Spearman. Taking advantage of her agility and aforementioned skill at close quarters combat that was established somewhere in the Golem fight, she would hit and run, dodging the spear, landing a quick blow, and backing off. But Castlemore could take punishment quite well, and soon the standstill was on top of the bridge over the river. "What's the matter, Gold Woman, frustrated?" he taunted.
"No... I was just wonder when i could do THIS!" She said as he threw a rock at him.
"Ha! Like that little thing will do any dam-AGH!" He said as the rock hit with force greater than anticipated, as Woman In Gold thought to "make it many times heavier upon impact" and, well, momentum. Castlemore fell over the railing of the bridge and landed in the river, laying on his back. Woman In Gold grinned at her victory before hearing a scream. "Help! I can't swim!" He screamed. A shocked Woman In Gold ran over to the railing... only to be confused.
There was Castlemore, lying on his back, flailing his arms and legs frantically in the river... and yet the river was only six inches deep. Woman In Gold groaned before going back to joining the fray.
......
Woman In Purple was fighting Don Delia, and was growing frustrated with the lack of progress that either of them were making. She pulled out one of her stones, "you want a cat fight? You got one!" She screamed angrily, but in her frustration as she was about to throw it at Delia, she didn't realize how close she had become, and in a panic she crushed the stone in her hand...
When the dust cloud around them settled, both Woman In Purple and Don Delia now had Cat Ears and tails. "This... isn't what I meant by cat fight..." Woman In Purple said in confusion as the two of them stared in confusion at their new appendages.
Daniel, while fighting Jaune, looked over and observed, "Cat girls? Since when did this become an anime?" He said in confusion.
"Alexandre! Castelmore! It's time to initiate our special combo attack!" shouted Jaune as he leapt away from Daniel and began to strike a pose
"But Jaune! Castelmore is being tortured by the vile Colorman using his one weakness! His inability to swim!" yelled Alexandre as he dodged a rock that turned the ground around him into mud
Castelmore was flailing his arms rapidly, splashing up water with his head to the side, leaving his mouth agape as he kept swallowing water while shouting, "I'm drowning!" over and over again
"First you ruin our secret strategy, then your torment my loyal comrade... Colorman drenched in Blue... You will face the flaming fury of my vengeance!" roared Jaune as flames seemed to flicker from his eyes and his sword miraculously began to ignite...
"Is that... Magic?" wondered Daniel
"No way! I thought these guys were just some lame knights?" questioned Woman in Silver as he dodged an attack from the Squire Duo
"I've heard tales of magic manifesting in situations similar to this, seems to be a natural defensive mechanism when one who has no hope to stand against a superior foe in the art of magics is driven to their edge. It doesn't help that there's so much magical energy in the air from our thrown spells, we should have been more careful..." answered Man in Gold
"Be careful Daniel! It may be reactionary, but I can feel the heat from here, he's just a novice so he might be 'throttling' his newly awakened ability, so much so that his anger is clouding his ability to properly control this latent power!" added Man in Silver as he dodged the swing of Bastille's mace
Noir Knight had peaked up when Jaune had become alight with magical power, but still stayed put in his current position...
The Man in Blue now had to do battle with the "Flaming Cavalier" Jaune...
"Wait, this doesn't make any sense! Doesn't the seventh law of magic say magic is limited by the knowledge of the user? How can he...or anyone... use a spell that he doesn't know how to use?" Man In Blue shouted.
"We don't know as much about these knights as we think we do... there's probably a lot of secrets they have in their armor" Man In Gold reasoned as he parried another attack.
This made Woman In Silver furious. "These KNUCKLEHEADS make me very, VERY angry! Why can't they just... just, I don't know, fall asleep!" she screamed as she threw her arms up in frustration... not realizing that he had one of the stones in her hand.
"Uh oh" she realized as the stone flew up and up, and when it came down, it crashed upon Knight Eren's head, and a small pink cloud formed around his helmet.
"What is this stuff?!" The normally silent Eren declared. He tried using his hands to wave the stuff away, but he found himself breathing a good deal of the cloud before he could. Then, he felt woozy. He fell to the ground with a thud... and was sound asleep.
"Well... that was anti-climactic" Woman In Silver said in confusion. Man In White was right, the spell rocks' results were indeed very random and unpredictable.
Man In Blue was fighting Jaune, Whose sword was now engulfed in flames. But it was clear that Jaune had little experience with this... this fire sword. Even at this distance he could tell that it was causing just as much harm to Jaune as it would if it struck himself.
"It's just like Woman In White said... if you don't learn how to control fire, fire magic is ultimately self destructive" he realized. But if Jaune was going to fight with fire, then this meant only one thing- he needed to use the contrary element... but the opening would need to present itself first.
Across the way, Don Delia and Woman In Purple had finally shaken off the confusion and proceeded to have their, ahem, cat fight. Woman In Purple struck Don Delia across her face.
"What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" Woman In Purple asked
"Don't you know cat's always land on their feet?" she replied before trying to go in and strike with her sword. Woman In Purple dodged and tried to take out another stone.
"I'd say it's time you have a cat nap!" Woman In Purple screamed, but once again, she was too close to Delia, and when the dust settled, both were sleeping and enjoying a "cat nap," probably for the best before they made more awful cat-puns.
This brought focus of the battle too...
Alexandre who was currently fighting Man in Purple and the two were in a standstill...
"It's time for a rematch thy multicolored man of foulplay, and this time, there's no electrical posts for you to magically create to distract me!" yelled Alexandre
'Does he think I created that lamppost just to defeat him?' confusedly thought Man in Purple
"Have at thee!" yelled Alexandre as his halberd swung downwards towards Man in Purple.
Man in Purple tried to dodge the attack, but slipped on the mud he had created earlier and the blade cut straight through his shoulder...
"Agh! I'm hit!" groaned Man in Purple as he hit the muddy ground with a thud
"One slain, more to go!" triumphantly shouted Alexandre in victory
Indeed, Alexandre was quite joyous with his victory. "I am happy! I am joyous! Now I truly understand the meaning of my favorite Disney song! I can fly! I can fly! I can fly!" He said as he sang the lyrics to a copyrighted song... and thankfully was cut off as a instant-spell rock flew against him that was thrown by Man In Gray... who had been aiming for Iron Mask but was a terrible throw. Alexandre suddenly saw a pair of giant wings sprout from his head. He was confused and shocked at first, then he became scared as they wings started flapping, independent of his mind, and he really was flying!
"No! I meant it figuratively! Help me! Help me!" he screamed. It was no use though, the wings were not controlled by him, and he found himself flying in a giant circle about 100 feet above the battlefield. He wasn't really going anywhere, but it was still a weird sight nonetheless.
The chaos of the fight meant no one saw this though, and after some shaking up of who was fighting who the battle resumed.
Woman In Blue found herself fighting against Sir Charles. She was keeping her distance and relying on projectile spells as Sir Charles kept closing the distance before she could cast anything too meaningful.
"You'll have to do better than that, old sport! My swordsmanship is unparalleled by all measures!" He declared as he got closer, the swipes very nearly making contact with her flesh. Desperate, Woman In Blue took an instant spell and simply shouted, "I need something that will give me an edge and bury him in defeat!" she screamed as the rock made contact with Sir Charles. When the cloud of dust settled from the explosion... Charles was completely buried in the dirt of the park, with only his head above ground.
"I say old chap, this is most unbecoming of a knight! I don't suppose you have a shovel on you?" He asked.
"I'll have to get back to you on that" Woman In Blue replied as she ran off to fight another knight.
Woman In White and Sir Ulrich were in the middle of their fight, and neither was gaining a true edge over the other.
"Are you even serious right now?" Sir Ulrich asked, holding her at pike's length away.
Woman In White took out a stone, "Let's dance" she taunted as she threw it. And when the smoke settled... they were doing a tango, and the blank expressions on their faces seemed to indicate that they were not necessarily in control of their actions.
But that was not in fact true. Suddenly, Woman In White kicked out and shoved Sir Ulrich to the ground.
"Help! I can't stand in this heavy armor!"
"Hah! Take that!"
Woman In White paused in victory before Going off to join one of her comrades in the fight that was still raging.
......
Arnott had fallen on the anthill, but was quick to stand back up before they could get into his armor and produce a rather embarrassing situation. He looked at Man In Indigo who was preparing to throw an insta-spell.
"prepare to meet your doom!" He screamed as the rock hit Arnott... and when the dust settled instead of his rapier he was holding a giant sausage.
"Meet... meat... well played worthy adversary but the fight is still mine!" Arnott declared before throwing down the sausage and producing a second rapier because, well, reasons.
But as he was dealing with this dilemma, Man In Indigo was taking the time to cast an actual spell, "... derna ulmok twigri!" he finished as the spell was cast and hit Arnott... the lower half of his body was now encased in ice, as well as his sword wielding hand due to the stance he was in.
"I... can't move!" He shouted as as tried using his one free hand to break the ice, to no avail.
"Seems like you've got cold feet at the moment... ok, I'll leave you alone until you chill out" Man In Indigo said before running off.
......
Man In Blue was fighting Jaune and his flaming sword, and was desperately thinking of a way to try and get an edge over Jaune. He thought back to what he was told about the weapons in the Colorfolk's custody:
"While we have only very limited access to our special alloys at the moment, these weapons still possess a unique quality. They can act as conduits for our magic, like a wand or staff, and with enough control, can be very effective" Woman In White explained.
"Why can't we use these special alloys you mentioned?" Daniel asked.
"Only a limited supply currently exists and we cannot afford to lose it; in due time Daniel, in due time" Woman In White assured.
......
"I see now... So if I'm going to fight fire, then I'm just going to have to put it out!" he said, as he concentrated, and a shell of water seemed to cover his blade. Jaune looked confused at first before going in for the attack. The two blades clashed many times, the water somewhat putting out the fire and the fire somewhat evaporating the water. It wasn't long before the two were surrounded by a cloud of fog.
"Where are you!?" Jaune said angrily as he tried to get himself oriented by using the light of his sword to see. Daniel, on the other hand, was able to make out a faint glow through the fog.
"I hope I get this right... I only have one shot" he said before the water dissipated and now his sword was covered in some sort of electrical charge. He was feeling some tingling in his hands though.
"Ah! Woman In White was right; electric magic is hard to control without training. Ok, I don't need much though... just one little... and Daniel fired a bolt from the sword at the glow before preparing his finishing move.
"ARGH!" Jaune declared as his hand was hit by some sort of lightning bolt, forcing him to drop his metal sword and he held his hands in pain. Then, to his confusion, the fog seemed to dissipate as this began to feel as though they were cooling down. There was Daniel, who seemed to be charging up some sort of ice spell from his sword.
"I'm sorry it's come to this... I know you aren't truly bad people... but because you are willing to harm me I must act in self defense... "Dowak maf ternu, fyrn wid trab!" he said as an ice bolt shot from the sword... and Jaune was frozen solid, with only his head out of the solid block of ice... but because this was magic ice there was also enough room for his diaphragm to expand so he could breath. He was in shocked confusion as to what was going on.
"Oh... uh... well, I hate to see you be frozen in fear but... it seems that you are on ice now and... well, I need to go help my comrades now. Sorry for giving you the cold shoulder!" Man In Blue said before running off to fight someone else.
......
Ulrich was trying to stand up, and was determined to do so, "this will not stop me! I will show them no mercy, after all it's not like I'm in a sticky situation" he said, before a insta-spell rock exploded near him... and he found himself covered in molasses.
"Of course..." he said in realization before lying down in defeat
......
Arkwright had fallen back and was growing nervous as Iron Mask also fell back and regrouped him. "it's not looking good, everyone's in some sort of pickle... whose left?" He asked.
"Just us and the squires... though Noir Knight just seems to be standing back from afar and observing" he said, pointing out that Noir Knight had not moved from his spot since the battle began. Arkwright, now feeling the pressure get to him, shouted an order to Noir Knight since he was in earshot. "Noir! As of now you are our designated survivor! Stay back and when the battle is over, your priority is to get the wounded back to base! Don't worry about chasing off the surviving Colorfolk- we must save our comrades when all is through!" Arkwright ordered.
Noir Knight acknowledged, but Arkwright could not make out if he said yes or no... it didn't matter though, holding the ground was what was most important.
......
Man In White and Man In Silver had regrouped as well, "looks like only four or five left... how are we doing?" Man In White asked.
"Only the purples are down so far... we got them to the medical area but we don't know if they can rejoin us yet" Man In Silver explained.
"Good... we must end this quickly. The mace one though... he seems to be the most troubling" Man In White observed.
"I have this... though then I will have to withdraw; what I have in mind will consume most of my magic" Man In Silver said.
"Your powers give us a unique advantage I don't want to lose, but I understand... do what is necessary" Man In White agreed as Man In Silver prepared to face Iron Mask.
"It doesn't need to end this way... leave now and I won't have to do this" Man In Silver said as he seemed to begin charging a spell.
"No chance! I will avenge my fellow knights and prove you to be the heartless villains you are!" Iron Mask said as he prepared his mace for the battle about to take place. At that moment, Man and Woman In Gray, as well as Man In Indigo, got between the two of them.
"We'll buy you time! Charge up what it is you are doing!" Man In Indigo declared as the three surrounded Iron Mask. Taking advantage of the fact that maces, while damaging and powerful weapons, were also relatively slow compared to swords and axes, and they had long recovery times between swings, the three focused on remaining mobile and getting small, quick hits in while Iron Mask was "recovering" after a strike. While not doing much damage, the quick hits from a small burst of magic were starting to get to him as he became infuriated. "You vile fiends... stay still so I may let justice triumph!" He said as he kept swinging his mace to no avail.
"Letting you get away with hurting us would be a great injustice!" Man In Gray shouted before striking him with an earth spell that send sand into Iron Mask's face; while his mask protected him from most of the sand, enough got through the eye openings that Iron Mask found himself blinded.
"Argh! How dare you! I should kill you for this!" he said as he swung his mace violently and randomly. Iron Mask proved he was still a threat though, as one swing of the mace made contact with Man In Gray in his stomach area, sending him flying back and landing on the ground in agony. Taken aback, Woman In Gray and Man In Indigo took a couple steps back as a furious Iron Mask began swinging even harder.
"Get back!" a voice declared. Woman In Gray and Man In Indigo realized Man In Silver was ready as they retreated, and Man In Silver struck Iron Mask with his spell full force. Iron Mask suddenly froze for a few seconds. Then, his whole body went limp as his muscles began to relax. Finally, he fell flat on the ground as he went into a state of apparent unconsciousness.
Man In Silver had used one of the spirit type spells he was certain had no combat effective use. You see, the spell in question caused the target to have an "out of body" experience akin to astral projecting out of their body. They were still alive, but the soul temporarily left the body while still maintaining its bonds to the body. It had been developed centuries ago by the earliest of Spirit type Colormen. In an ear before anesthetics, the spirit type colormen perfected the spell for "extreme medical treatment," situations that required major surgery of some kind for the target. Because the soul was out of the body, the idea was that the doctors who needed to operate on the patient could now be able to do so, without fear of causing said patient great pain or discomfort. The patient simply watched from "afar" as a spectator, his spirit temporarily outside the physical body, freeing him from feeling great pain as doctors tried their best to save his life.
It required a great deal of magic to cast though; in this case Man In Silver had almost completely exhausted his supply. As for Iron mask, while he found himself able to see now, the shock of seeing his body also made his spirit pass out... Man In Silver knew that they would reunite in a matter of hours- after all Iron Mask was not dead... but right now there were more pressing concerns.
"Right; I'll get Man In Gray to safety; help finish this battle!" Man In Silver said as he helped his fellow Colorman and retreated.
......
Arkwright and the squires had regrouped and were now surrounded. "Noir is our designated survivor so that leaves just the three of us now?" Arkwright asked. But no one even had a chance to reply before the unexpected happened. The wings that grew from Alexandre's head suddenly stopped flapping and he fell from the sky. He landed right on top of Maguire, knocking the squire unconscious. While the disoriented Alexandre, now suffering from something akin to motion sickness, passed out as well while the wings shriveled up and disappeared.
"Uh... make that two of us" Rose said as she gulped.
The two were surrounded by Man In Blue, Woman In Blue, Man In White, Woman In White, Woman In Silver, Man In Gold, Woman In Gold, Woman In Gray and Man In Indigo. Outnumbered nine to two.
"We are not enemies. Lay down your arms and we shall assist you with your wounded before going our separate ways" Woman In Blue declared.
"How are we not drawing so much attention with everything going on here?" Man In Blue asked himself in confusion.
......
Indeed, a few bystanders had observed the ongoing battle, but as it turns out some interesting figures were at work ensuring nothing became of what was going on.
Some were just watching, others trying to record on their phones, but to everyone that was there, strange, hooded figures came up to them. They were wearing robes akin to monk's robes, all solid white, except for solid black pan balances on their chest areas.
"I assure you, nothing interesting is going on here" they would say to the bystanders. This caused them to blank out for a bit before the figures continued, "I'm sure you have somewhere else to be... please move along" and the process kept repeating until there were no witnesses. They had used some sort of subconscious hypnosis to make them all disappear... and delete any videos or pictures taken.
The figures then gathered, "subconscious influencing has succeeded; no non-magic individuals will remember what happened here" one noted.
"Magic must remain a secret at all costs... the Judicial Law of Magic must be upheld" said another.
"Should we punish these Colorfolk for fighting so openly?" A third asked.
"No" the lead declared. "They were challenged and are acting in self defense; they are not destroying property nor are they acting malevolently. We will let them off the hook this time... but we must keep an eye on them in the future" he noted.
"Majika Supremus has not needed to take action like this in a long, long time... I only hope that things do not escelate" a younger one said nervously before all nodded in agreement
Now back to the fight:
Arkwright and Rose took in the situation before them as the nine's offer of mercy still stood.
Arkwright grit his teeth in anguish while Rose sweated nervously, wondering what 'faux peace' this vile Colorfolk offered, when a loud noise of a heavy object being removed from the earth rang throughout the field of battle...
"There, now there aren't to many of my allies who will witness this display, it would honestly damage my image of the heroic knight if the others saw my true powers..."
A knight clad in armor as dark as the sky at night wielding a black blade slowly approached the Colorfolk
"Noir, what are you doing?" asked Arkwright, confused
"Knight Commander, please remove our injured with that young squire, I will finish this fight, no need to fret. The demise of the Colorfolk will be shortly... The display you all put on gives me hope for our future, but we need to evolve if we want to survive in this modern era. In order to do that, I will be the bastion that showcases what we need to aim towards..." replied Noir as he pointed his sword towards the Colorfolk. Arkwright nodded in acceptance as he and Rose fell back to gather their injured compatriots...
"Well Knight, we've taken down many of your comrades, will you even consider a hint of surrender?" asked Woman in Blue
Noir Knight responded, "After the efforts of comrades it would be a mockery to end this fight in surrender, this is martial combat, even if you use spells, once this fight was engaged the only way of ending it would be through complete defeat or death... So, even though I personally have no ill will towards your group, HAVE AT THEE!"
A black aura of what could only be described as "a feeling of void" enveloped the Colorfolk, with Man in Gold, Man in Indigo, and Woman in Gray being knocked out instantly by the aura. The others buckled on, but were damaged noticeably by it...
"What was that?" questioned Woman in Silver
"I don't know, but it definitely magical power... Unlike that flaming fellow, this is the power of a skilled mage..." replied Man in White
"But... But he's a warrior! That shouldn't be possible!" lamented Woman in Gold
"It's rare... But there as warriors who train in magic to supplement their physical abilities... Usually warriors of... Evil..." answered Woman in Blue as she stared intensely at Noir Knight
"Now... Allow a 'Dark Paladin' such as myself to bring your requiem..."
.....
As Man in Silver placed Man in Gray next to the unconscious Purples, he turned back towards as he heard his allies' cries of anguish...
"My friends are in danger... From that destructive aura I can even feel back here, that last fighter is dangerous, though this might be to soon, if I don't use this who knows what will happen to my companions..." said Man in Silver to himself as he prepared his mantra to cast the spell in question...
After a few moments, Man in Silver launched the spell, but a bright red glow from Noir's helmet looked straight as him, as an essence similar to a black skull screeched inside Man in Silver's mind, sending the spell back at him, throwing the Colorman in the astral plane with such force that it knocked him out in a similar manner to Bastille...
"That is my curse, I am immune to the effects of Spirit-Type magic..." said Noir Knight to no one in particular as he cut down Woman in White, knocking her out
Everyone! Stay together! We still have numbers!" ordered Woman in Blue
"Even with numbers you will not stop my efforts!" shouted Noir Knight as strange words left his lips, and black pools of darkness sprouted tendrils that whipped at the Colorfolk, with one tendril even grabbing Woman in Gold, dragging her into a pool before the Colorfolk could react. A few seconds later, she was flung back out, with her mumbling 'The darkness', before she passed out...
"White, what do we do?" asked Woman in Blue
"I... I don't know..." Man in White replied
"Face it... You will not defeat me... This is your reckoning..."
.....
Arkwright and Rose had gathered their unconscious comrades and were watching Noir from the treeline...
"Knight Commander, did you know Noir could do... That?" asked Rose as she placed the Cavaliers de Trois next to one another, though Jaune was still covered in ice for being frozen earlier, as well as strangely hot since he had been on fire...
"No... But I had heard tales, rumors really, of the Noir line being notoriously dangerous... He wasn't just the strongest physically, but also pertained such capabilities, that is a marvel in and of itself..." mused Arkwright
"What should we do now?" questioned Rose
"Well, we've gathered our fallen comrades, so all we can do now is wait... Though I seem to have forgotten something..." answered Arkwright
Nearby, a pole covered in untied ropes laid barren in the field, with a former green occupant seemingly missing...
.....
Man In White, Man In Blue, Woman In Blue and Woman In Silver stood firm. Despite his temporary lapse, a few deep breaths brought Man In White back to his level head. Even if the knight was powerful, even he could not compete with the tactical brilliance of this one's mind. Taking in the situation, Man In White finally remembered something... an old legend passed down from the days of the early Colormen. They had talked of beings that could manipulate darkness and a void in such a way, but that could only mean one thing.
"You are no man... this is a demon!" He declared.
"Can you prove such an accusation?" Noir Knight asked.
"I can and I will" he declared. A ball of light seemed to manifest in his hand before being cast and flying right at the night. A loud sizzling was heard as Noir knight shrieked and some darkness began to dissipate.
"Light magic never was a popular discipline because in practice it had few uses. I'd say at its peak not even 14 percent of mages were light mages. But magic light was popular among one class of mages in particular, because there was one type of being that exhibited particular vulnerability towards it... demonkind."
Noir Knight was taken aback at this mere man's deduction towards his identity. He still felt safe though, because "demon" was not a single species... there were dozens that it could refer to, from devils to liches and everything in between. How could this man deduce his identity beyond that?
"Your mind is sharp, but my blade is even sharper! I will not allow you to live!" He said as he prepared to strike.
"Melody! Now!" Man In White declared. Both conjured magic light and shot it right at his head area, both blinding him and surprisingly, sending him into something that resembled a small state of panic."
"No! They mustn't damage my phylactery!" He cried out, seemingly looking for something. White noted this before signaling to his remaining comrades for a tactical retreat. They carried away their comrades and made their way to the area protected by the perception charm.
Noir Knight finally came back to his senses and realized he was alone. "I do not sense anyone present except my comrades... did they retreat?" he thought to himself. He look around for any sign of the colorfolk, but found none.
......
The Colorfolk reassembled in their medical area, protected by the perception filter. Man In Amaranth Purple was doing his best and although he could repair wounds he couldn't replenish magic.
"That last one was something else... I strongly believe that we are dealing with some sort of demon based on the evidence" he reasoned.
"Can that be proven?" Woman In Blue asked.
"I can add to that" a voice said. Everyone looked over to see a projection of Man In Silver hovering above his body. "Don't worry everyone- I am fine. That knight reflected an attack of mine back at me, but Spirit magic is my bread and butter so I know how to recover from it" he assured.
"But you are the only living mage with Spirit magic, how is this possible?" Man In Blue asked.
"As far as spirit magic goes it is very powerful but also has a major weakness- it has no effect on beings that do not have souls in the first place" he explained.
"Yea yea, I know about the fifth law of magic" Man In Blue began, "Magic can't create life, so artificial beings like golems and hommunculi do not have souls" he continued.
"Yes, but there are also living beings that do not have souls. Beings that do not dwell in this world, but in what some would consider "the world below" us" Man In Silver explained.
"Demons?" Man In Blue asked.
"Yes. According to legend many millennia ago demons used to have souls... but then something happened. No one is sure what exactly, but all that is known is that this event changed demonkind forever. They gained near immortal life spans, immunity to the effects of old age and disease, and great power, but at an enormous cost" he explained.
"... they lost their souls" Daniel realized.
"Correct. Demons are said to fear death more than humans, and in context it makes perfect sense. When a human dies their soul and mind become a spirit that moves on to the afterlife."
"But... but since demons have no souls, when they die... that's it?" Man In Blue asked.
"Correct- when a demon dies there is no afterlife, no reincarnation, nothing. But that is the trade-off for having a near-immortal life span though. They can only be killed by weapons of war or magic" Man In Silver explained.
"Then why did he freak out over a... a... what did he call it? Phylactery?" Man In White pointed out. Man In Silver was shocked.
"There are certain kinds of demons that possess something akin to a soul though. It's contained a special vessel- that which grants said immortality in the first place. If it is destroyed, they die. That's what it is, and I think I know the answer now" Man In Silver realized.
"What is it?" Man In White asked.
"I'm fairly certain... we're dealing with a lich" Silver concluded.
......
"Ok... Maguire is unconscious, Winstead is buried up to his head in dirt, Delia is asleep, Eren is asleep, Jaune is frozen in ice, Alexandre is unconscious, Castlemore is shivering and trying to recover from his "ordeal," Bastille is unconscious, Arnott is half frozen and Ulrich is covered in Molasses. But the good news is, no one is dead, so they were telling the truth" Rose said, reporting to Arkwright.
Meanwhile, Man In Green assembled the evil colorfolk and explained what he had seen.
"A lich?" Man In Amber Apricot asked, raising an eyebrow. "Can that be right? Liches are a myth!"
"Yeah, everyone knows that! It's a fake creature from stick figure webcomics and bad anime!" Man In Baby Blue replied.
"You are mistaken, my friends..." Woman In Brown, the chief record keeper for their faction, entered the room holding a hefty tome. On the cover were three large gold letters.
"Does that say "AOC"? Are liberal politicians liches?" Woman In Orange asked incredulously.
"No, dumbass, it's AOG. Ainz Ooal Gown was one of the most feared sorcerers of his day, and when he grew old he turned himself into a lich rather than risk the afterlife. This book discusses the powers he gained and the weaknesses that came with it. Using this text, we can formulate a plan to deal with our new foes."
"Well good! It's about time we had an impact around here!" Woman In Orange declared. "Alright! Man In Red, Man In Off-White, Man In Green, meet me and Woman In Brown in the strategy room to-"
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!"
Man In Black stormed into the room. The anchor-shaped scar on his cheek was glowing a strange red light.
"Ah, you're finally here. We were just discussing how to deal with the lich threat-"
Woman In Orange was cut off as a bolt of energy struck her in the chest and sent her flying against the back wall.
"Listen here, everyone! We have one mission- to wipe out the false colorfolk. We mustn't let ourselves get distracted by this stupid reniassance fair squad and their pet demon!"
Man In Green raised a timid hand, jumping up and down so he seemed taller.
"Um, Man In Black, sir... while I was captured by the KNUCKLEHEADS, I overheard them talking, and... they have a Prism shard."
Man In Black raised his eyebrows. "Really now... if what you say is true, we may have a reason to destroy them after all..."
Back at the park, The Colorfolk realized that it was foolish to continue the battle with this knight who was almost certainly some sort of lich... yet the evidence was circumstantial at best. So, they decided that a withdrawal was the order of the day.
"No one won today... and if someone did it is a hollow victory at best. I only hope that after today they leave us be" Woman In Blue declared.
Before leaving, Man In Silver decided to relay a message to the KNUCKLEHEADS.
......
The knights had gathered and were tending to their wounded... and were certainly surprised when a ghostly apparition of one of the Colorfolk they had just fought appeared.
"I mean you no harm... I am simply here to relay a message" he began.
"I don't believe it... a ghost! A God-honest spirit!" Winstead declared in shock before fainting.
"What do you want?" Arkwright declared.
"Simply to convey this: this battle is over and you may go home now. Both sides have suffered enough and there is no need to drag this on any further. We hold no grudges against you and will not seek revenge. If you wish to fight our evil counterparts, we will assist you if you so desire, but as of today this conflict is over" Man In Silver finished with a declaration.
"You... you won't come after us? Why?" Maguire asked in confusion.
"It isn't right, nothing more. We will not speak ill of you... I will do as my ancestor did when your faction was charged with treason and speak on your behalf if the time comes. until then, this is farewell" And Man In Silver's astral projection disappeared.
The knights simply stood, wondering what to do next...
As the Colorfolk began to leave the park, to long wooden staffs came swinging towards them, hitting Man in Gray and Woman in Purple, sending them flying into some trees...
"Wooden staffs? Wait, those are staffs... They're stilts!" shouted Man in Gold
"That's right my goodie goodie counterparts, and I'm not the only one, I brought the whole gang with me!" shouted Man in Green with a despicable smile on his face
The entire legion of Evil Colorfolk stood off against the heavily injured and battered 14 Good Colorfolk, except Man in Amaranth Purple but he wasn't a fighter so that didn't help much. They were at a clear disadvantage...
"Now you moral fools, hand over your Prism shards and I'll be sure to make your deaths painlessly quick..." smirked Man Black with an almost animalistic lust directed at them...
"We don't have any shards on us and you know it!" Man In Gold said.
"Then after we destroy you, we'll find your hidden base and take them for our own!" Man In Black replied.
"Your rotten heart makes you unworthy of a reassembled Prism and you know it!" Man In Silver pointed out.
Taken aback, Man In Black growled and the group proceeded to attack.
Relying mainly on the less injured Colorfolk, the good ones had to use what was left of their insta-spells for the most part. Despite having the evil Colorfolk having no defenses against spirit magic, Man In Silver was only able to get off a couple spells before passing out, disabling the Yellows.
One by one, the good Colorfolk passed out, eventually only leaving Man In Blue, Woman In Blue, Man In White, Woman In Gold and Man In Amaranth Purple. But they had only taken out five of the Evil Colorfolk.
"Seems we've come at a perfect time... striking you while you are down will be the first step towards our ultimate goal!" Man In Black said.
"Killing us will only secure your downfall!" Woman In Blue said between breaths.
"Not as long as that accursed spirit remains out of the Prism!" Man In Black pointed out.
"We will never back down!" Man In Blue stated.
From the hilltop, the KNUCKLEHEADS couldn't believe it... Colorfolk, fighting amongst themselves?
"What do we do?"
"Let's retreat while we still can... who knows what these other colorfolk are capable of..."
As the KNUCKLEHEADS crept away, Woman In Orange and Woman In Gold were locked in combat, but the other heroic colorfolk were fighting two enemies at once. Woman In Blue traded blows with Man In Black and Man In Amber Apricot, Man In White fought Man In Off-White and Man In Ghost White, Man In Amaranth Purple struggled with Man In Salmon and Man In Dogwood Rose, and finally Man In Blue found himself evading Man In Baby Blue and Man In Cornflower Blue.
"Get back here, you!" Man In Cornflower Blue yelled, causing a bunch of thorny tendrils to erupt from the ground and grab Man In Blue's leg.
"OW! I have a hangnail!" Man In Baby Blue whined.
Man In Cornflower Blue rolled his eyes.
"Why are you doing this?" Man In Blue yelled desperately.
"Because Woman In Blue wants to lead the colorfolk down a path of weakness and ineffectuality. Man In Black wants to make the colorfolk strong like we used to be." Man In Cornflower Blue explained.
"That's nonsense! You're faction doesn't care about helping people!" Man In Blue protested.
"Isn't stopping you helping people?" Man In Cornflower Blue retorted.
Meanwhile, at another part of the field, Woman In Blue was having problems of her own. Man In Black was already a match for her, and with Man In Amber Apricot providing support, she had nowhere to go but back. She blocked Man In Black's spells as she retreated backwards towards a tree, almost tripping over an unconscious, jam-covered Woman In Silver.
"I don't like using this spell, but I see no other option..."
A bolt of purple energy shot out of Woman In Blue's eyes and struck Man In Black square in the face. He began clawing at it in an attempt to get it off.
"That Toze spell won't hold him for long... I just need to take out Man In Amber Apricot."
"Good luck with that... I've studied a school of magic so powerful even you can't do anything to stop it." Man In Amber Apricot shouted at her.
"What, the school of arrogancy? Or "looking-like-a-smarmy-doofancy"?" Woman In Blue yelled, realizing immediately that she needed better material.
"Nope..."
Suddenly, Woman In Blue felt something slimy clinging to her legs as a sweet smell entered her nose. She tried to move, but she realized her lower body was encased in something yellow and sticky.
"Is this... honey? But honey magic is illegal! It's too dangerous!"
"Only to those who can't control it. I happen to be a master of the lost art of Elemental Honey, and I guarantee you that nothing can stop me!"
"Not even them?" Woman In Blue pointed up at a large cluster of bees that was circling Man In Amber Apricot.
"What? Oh god... OH NO NOT THE BEES! AHHHHHH!" And Man In Amber Apricot fled the scene.
"Now to get myself unstuck so I can help the others... oh crap."
Man In Black had gotten the Toze off his face and was glaring at Woman In Blue with murder in his eyes.
As Man in Black removed a javelin from his back and charged at Woman in Blue, but a black blade deflected his attack and sent him reeling back...
"YOU!" shouted the evil Colorfolk
"Sorry, but when I see damsel in distress, a knight can't just turn their back and run away..." said the firmly standing Noir Knight
"You know, I'm certainly no damsel..." chided Woman in Blue
"It's just a metaphor miss, sorry, it's a requirement in our order to say something cool like that when making a sudden unexpected entrance..." replied Noir Knight with a worried chuckle
"Well, watch yourself in this modern age, people have been shunned for weaker words..." huffed Woman in Blue
"I'll keep that in mind... Knight Commander, how are you doing?" asked Noir Knight
Nearby, Arkwright stood beside the two Squires and the recently recovered Cavaliers de Trois, Castelmore even got the water out of his lungs...
"Noir, I'll leave that javelin wielder to you, Maguire, Rose, stay close to me, we're dealing with truly vile ones this time, and you three... I can't believe I'm saying this, but... Go wild..." ordered Arkwright with a hint of regret
"Yes Knight Commander Sir! Alexandre! Castelmore! Let's get our combination move underway!" giddily shouted Jaune
"Yeah!" replied the other two Cavaliers
'I can't believe I'm seeing it, Sir Arkwright's true personality brought out by true battle, I've only heard rumors of it from the older members, but it's a sight to see...' thought Maguire as parried an Evil Colorfolk with a sword
"Maguire, stay focused!" ordered Arkwright as he sliced through an Evil Colorwoman and sent her flying backwards into her comrades...
"Yes Knight Commander Sir!"
.....
Man in Blue thought he was done for when three "familiar" figures came charging towards him...
"Oh no not these guys again..." groaned Man in Blue
"Noble Colorman in danger! Step back, for we will unleash our strongest triple attack! Cavalier Battle Formation #37B: Flying Swordsman Slash -Flaming Edition!" shouted Jaune as Alexandre and Castelmore grabbed their leader and threw him at an unbelievable speed for normal humans. With Jaune spiraling due to the momentum, and the igniting his blade and body with his recently unlocked magical abilities, it was more like a flaming bullet than a guy holding a sword being thrown...
Unluckily for them, Man in Baby Blue and Cornflower Blue were facing away from the Cavaliers, and had to turn around to see the projectile...
"What the hell is that? A spell?" asked Baby Blue who fullstopped just to look at the oddity coming towards him...
"No wait its... DUCK DAMMIT!" shouted Cornflower Blue but the duo were too late as the flaming swordsman pierced the Evil Colorfolk and stood on top of their defeated bodies in victory...
"Another victory for the... CAVALIERS... DE... TROIS!" shouted Jaune as he struck a pose, with Alexandre and Castlemore doing their poses will running up beside him
"I guess my horoscope was right that my life would be saved by a man on fire... Hold up, there's still more enemies, be on guard you three!" said Man in Blue deciding to accept help from these "unusual allies"...
"Just as the Blue one said you two... En garde!" shouted Jaune as he aimed his sword
"That's not what I sa... Nevermind..."
.....
"Please Miss, allow me to defeat this one soaked in darkness, I have 'issues' with ones like these..." said Noir Knight very seriously
"Alright then Knight, I'll deal with the Amber one then..." replied Woman in Blue
"Yes, the Honey Mage is none of my concern, I leave him to you..." answered Noir Knight as entered into a battle ready pose...
"You think you an defeat me? You're not even powered by the Prism Shards, what can you even do?" scoffed Man in Black
Dragon of Darkness! I am Sir Nigellus Blake, Knight of a Fair Order and here to slay you! Lokaskaya! Make peace! For this will be your final day in the realm of the living!
"Tell me something foolish one... Do you fear death?" asked Noir Knight
"Not even death will stop me in my quest to complete the Prism!" smirked Man in Black
Noir Knight shoved his sword into the ground, and slowly began to remove his helmet... Red Eyes flashed from a white skull and pierced Man in Black's very being, as pools of darkness flowed around the Dark Paladin...
"Let me ask you again, DO YOU FEAR DEATH?" asked the skeletal monster as he drew his sword, with Man in Black shaken to his core, as an unholy speed flew towards him as a blade of pure darkness sliced into his soul...
In the distance, the same robbed figures from earlier watched this conflict unfold. After ensuring that potential witnesses had disappeared once again, they took into account everything they had witnessed.
"Illegal honey magic... we must apprehend that one at once" one stated.
"Not yet... we must get that one alone before doing so. The time must be right" said the superior one. As Man In Amber Apricot ran off, he found himself running into a tree a good distance from the main battle. He fell on the ground with a thud as the bees began hovering over him.
"That would be now" said a third.
The bees disappeared as if being influenced to go away... while a dazed Man In Amber Apricot tried to make sense of his surroundings. Then, he looked up and saw the figures standing over him. When he saw the pan balances on the robes, his face went pale.
"Do you know who we are?" the lead said sternly.
"Y-y... yes" Amber Apricot said sheepishly.
"Don't make us take you in... if we catch you using illegal magic again, you know what we are capable of" he warned again.
Amber Apricot fainted from the shock. Of course he wasn't going to change his ways, but he had been warned.
"The evidence is not enough to take in anyone. But today makes it clear... we must watch this island: I fear what will happen if things escalate" the lead said.
"Agreed; we must enforce all the judicial laws... including the ones concerning warfare" said his right hand man.
"Why aren't we taking anyone in yet?" the junior asked.
"The threshold has not been reached yet. When that happens though... you know what we must do" the lead pointed out.
"Very well. Back to observation everyone; remember- no unnecessary witnesses" the right hand man said as they group went back on "patrol" in the area.
......
Man In Black dropped to the ground; never before had he felt such a dreadful combination of pain and terror in his life. It was almost as if death itself stared him right in the face.
"Damn it... what the hell is that thing" Man In Black muttered to himself.
"Do you dare risk fighting any longer? Because if you die, we both know what the Fifth Law states" Noir Knight pointed out.
"Grrgh... Colorfolk, I sense they have no Prisms, this fight is no longer valuable to our cause, sound a retreat!" shouted Man in Black
"Alright then, I'll consider this an honorable withdraw and allow your forces to depart, on my code as a Knight..." replied Noir Knight as he sheathed his sword
Noir Knight, with a sheathed sword, began to approach his dropped helmet, and as he picked it up, Man in Black tried to sneak up on the unsuspecting Knight and stab him with his javelin. As the javelin was about to pierce Noir, he threw up his helmet, grabbed the javelin out of the Colorfolk's hands and used it to draw a long scar across Man in Black's chest...
"Be warned when you're stronger enemy gives you the opportunity to escape, do not take his kindness lightly... I only didn't take your life for I wish not to feed the darkness within me... That scar shall be a reminder for any and all who challenge me foolishly..." spoke Noir Knight firmly as he locked his helmt into place, and once more placed his hand upon his darkened sword...
"Huff... You win this time Undead, but mark my words, once I gather the Prism Shards and forge the Prism anew, once the moral fools are gone, you'll be next!" growled a bleeding Man in Black
"Fine, but I won't just be me waiting, but a group of magically powered Knights swore to protect of the peace of this world standing in your way!" laughed Noir Knight as his red eyes shone once more, shaking Man in Black as the Evil Colorfolk gathered their defeated comrades and rapidly fled the battlefield in a cloud of fog...
.....
Arkwright and his fellow KNUCKLEHEADS stood in front of Woman in Blue as the other Colorfolk tended to their injured...
"I don't know how we could thank you... Though it was kind of your fault that we ended up in this mess in the first place..." said Woman in Blue
"It seems some false information lead us to cross swords, but I think we know who the true villains are now... So forgive us, though I think this covers the debts our groups owe each other from the past... Though I definitely wouldn't call us allies, if you ever need help properly protecting the people of New Furness, we'll be ready to lend you our aid, though for time being, it might be a bit begrudgingly..." responded Arkwright
"Alright, I"ll keep that in mind..." smirked Woman in Blue as she and Arkwright shook hands
"Knights, depart!" ordered Arkwright as the seven knights left the battlefield to return to their base...
"What a strange group of people..." commented Man in Blue
"They may be strange, but their hearts are in the right place... Remember them Daniel, who knows what will happen now that the Colorfolk and KNUCKLEHEADS have a common enemy, who knows what two forces for good can do when they work together, well, we're not at that stage yet, but eventually maybe..." lamented Woman in Blue as she and the latest Colorman recruit watched their "allies" depart...
But for the conversations for the departing knights however...
"So Noir, the direction you wanted to take the order in, I can only guess is teaching us all magic, right?" questioned Arkwright
"Of course, though it seems Jaune's gotten a head start compared to everyone else... When we regroup with the others, there's a certain place I heard rumors about that should do just fine in giving us the tools necessary to obtain such a goal..." replied Noir as their conversation began to be drowned out by Jaune's "heroic tale" of how he saved the "Wimpy Blue One from his deadly fate to the Squires, who bought none of it...
.....
Back at the swamp base, Man In Black was furious.
"How could this happen? We're far more powerful than the Blue Faction! We can't let this happen again!"
Man In Yellow spoke up nervously. "Uh, actually, we're clearly less powerful..."
Man In Black turned to Man In Yellow with murder in his eyes. "WHAT?"
"Well, I mean, we've hired so many Guild mercenaries that we're literally millions of dollars in debt, we can't ever defeat the colorfolk even with allies... let's face it, we don't stand a chance-"
Man In Yellow was interrupted as Man In Black delivered a massive slap that laid him out on the floor.
"Damn it, I'm not giving up yet! There's gotta be a better way to defeat them..."
From somewhere far away, in a building built into a snow-covered cliff, The Optometrist watched Man In Black scheme with interest.
"This "Ordos" place is even more interesting then we thought, eh Labyrinth?"
"Code names only on duty, please. I'm The Skinshifter." A woman in the corner of the room replied.
"Like "Labyrinth" is your real name..."
"Anyway, you know what the rules are. Tell the other factions and vote on whether to make contact." The Skinshifter said.
"Let's hold off on telling them for now... why don't we send The Beyonder to observe? She's been aching for a chance to put her talents to good use..."
"Fine by me, but if this goes south, it's on your head." The Skinshifter replied, a look of concern crossing her face.
"Oh, don't worry. The Guild Of Damoni always wins..."
************
At the colorfolk HQ, Man In Blue stopped by the infirmary. Man In Silver and Woman In Silver were there, looking a bit worse for wear.
"Hey, you two... you feeling better?"
"Mostly... those Black Faction goons did a number on my back..." Woman In Silver complained.
"At least we've made peace with the KNUCKLEHEADS... for now at least." Man In Silver chimed in.
"Do you think it'll last?"
"Daniel, the very fact that the KNUCKLEHEADS are still around in the 21st century at all is a mystery to me. It's like finding out that the earth really is flat or something. I can't predict what happens next with them, but I do know that kindness and empathy will make a friend out of even the firmest foe. I hope we proved that today."
Woman In Silver rolled her eyes at the Spirit Colorman's little speech. "I guess we all learned a valuable lesson today..."
"I hate to disappear on you, but I have to get to the college." Man In Blue said, glancing at his watch.
"Okay, have fun..." Woman In Silver called after him.
At the college, Man In Blue was surprised to discover that he had a new student. A bored-looking Scandinavian teenager was playing some game on her phone when Man In Blue walked in.
"I didn't know we were getting a new student... what's your name?" He asked, surprised.
"I'm Z-, er Zoie, um, Olson."
"Zoie... Olson... well, welcome to History Of Magic, Zoie!"
"More like "History Of Mumbo-Jumbo" if you ask me!" Said a voice. Man In Blue looked over to see Tiberius, a little too proud of himself for that pun, accepting a high-five from David.
"Well, this is a highly experimental class, and-"
"Clearly you're making this up as you go! There's no such thing as magic! It's all... nonsense!"
Man In Blue smirked. "Nonsense, eh?"
He walked over to the whiteboard to begin lecturing, but then "accidentally" dropped his pen. But to the amazement of everyone, especially Tiberius, the pen suddenly stopped falling and gently floated back into Man In Blue's hand.
"What? How did you do that? Invisible wire?" Tiberius was shook.
"I believe that's what you call "mumbo-jumbo"... anyway, when we left off, we were discussing the ethics of Golem creation and other automatons..."
Everyone was so transfixed that no one saw "Zoie Olson" recording the whole thing... and sending it off to Guild Of Damoni headquarters.
Assessing what they knew, the Guild found Daniel to be... rather harmless. He was teaching essentially what was considered "common knowledge" in the world of magic and he wasn't exposing any shocking secrets of any faction or of magic as a whole.
"huh... maybe he's not worth our time" one shrugged
......
"... so yes, there are some who debate the ethics, but the thing is... the debate misses the point entirely" Daniel explained to a now engrossed class. "Golems, and all other artificially created beings, are not considered to be "alive" in the first place... and there are three key pieces of evidence that support this concept" Daniel said as he began writing on the board.
"Evidence of how golems... are not alive?" Frank asked, confused.
"Correct. They are as follows" he explained as he began writing down the evidence of the case
1) Per the Fifth law of Magic, magic is incapable of creating life, in addition to being unable to return life (i.e. cannot bring the dead back). Those who are "alive" are defined as having a soul, and we see that here; Golems and other artificially created beings, do not possess souls.
2) The vast majority of golems are little more than "puppets" controlled by a "puppeteer." They do not possess intelligence and can only acted based on the will of the mage controlling them. The more advanced golems, while possessing some intelligence, there is only so much magic is capable of "programming" to non-living material. Accounts seems to indicate even the best golems, their intelligence was no better than a small child. Same hold for other artificial creatures- like golems, their intelligence is not high enough to understand complex ideas and concepts.
3) The creators of golems, the Order of Masteri- flat out stated that their creations "Were not, and should not be considered alive"
"Quoting directly from a letter the Mage Alabaster sent to a friend" Daniel explained, telling his class to turn to a specific page in their textbook,
"The process to create them is simple and the results are worthwhile, but alas, it does not matter how strong we make them. I know that these golems are neither man nor beast... they are something different, all together. Many depend on a mage the way a puppet needs a puppeteer, though even my own creations are not capable of function independent of myself. The golem can be a capable weapon or tool in the right hands, but that is all it is... a weapon or tool. We wish we could bring these magnificent beings to life... but even with our capacity to animate the inanimate, we cannot create souls"
"Where did this letter come from?" Frank asked
"I'd tell you about it... but that's a lecture in itself" Daniel quipped before transitioning. "And so in conclusion, it is for these reasons that throughout history, mages did not consider golems to be alive" Daniel explained. "Now, are there any questions concerning tomorrow's quiz?" Daniel asked.
"But aren't there those who do consider golems to be alive?" one of the students asked.
"Possibly... but given that there doesn't appear to be too much information on their argument, it would not be fair to present it as such, now would it?" Daniel pointed out.
"So, regarding the quiz..."
.....
(FLASHBACK; after the golem attack)
Daniel and Man In Silver had returned to the area where the golem had been destroyed. Man In Silver had noticed that Daniel was troubled by a few things, and wanted to show him something.
"You did not kill the golem, Daniel, for it wasn't alive to begin with" Man In Silver explained. Though much had been cleaned up, the area was still abit of a mess. They came to the remains of the collapsed golem; the city had not yet allocated resources to move the stone yet.
"The golem did not have a soul, Daniel. It wasn't a man or beast... I don't know what I would call them myself, but to say they are alive is misleading. When you destroyed that Golem, you simply made the stone inanimate again, nothing more" Man In Silver said. As he concentrated, he seemed to be trying to look for something, then sighed. "Yes, it is just as I expected... no trace of a lingering soul or lost spirit" he explained.
"But... but is there anything left to even detect?" Daniel asked.
"If there had been a soul in this body at one point... traces of the bond that once existed between it and the body would remain. And yet, there are none" he explained.
"Wait, if traces of bonds remain after one dies, does that mean..." Daniel began
"No... once a bond between body and soul is broken, there is no repairing it" Man In Silver explained.
"But... but what about near-death experiences and astral projecting?" Daniel asked.
"Sometimes the bonds can be stretched... but like how the flower must eventually wilt, the body must eventually die" Man In Silver explained.
"... and the bonds must break" Daniel realized.
"Exactly" Man In Silver acknowledged. Daniel took a deep look at himself, and realized that one day, he needed to come to terms with something that many probably only take for granted... his own mortality.
......
Man In Black had met with his associates following the failure of the golem attack, when one asked "by the way... were you really planning on letting that golem go free?" one asked.
Man In Black was silent for a bit before laughing hysterically, "Don't be ridiculous! That was but a lie to encourage it to fight harder. That golem was a tool for us to use in furtherance of our goal, nothing more. Besides, I don't think he even understood what I meant by freedom" Man In Black explained.
"how so?"
"When I offered him freedom, his reply was "me not exactly sure what "freedom" is, but if it my reward, it must be very good thing" and... that was it" Man In Black shrugged.
"What happened after that?"
"Who the hell cares? We have prism shards to locate!" Man In Black declared before going into his next plan.
......
Back to the present:
Two individuals were making their way through a cavern as they stumbled upon a stone statue missing a hand...
"Yep... I can feel the residue of the pure magic in the air... I guess this is the fate of someone who mishandles that power huh..." said a man in dark gray colored clothes...
"Well my liege, what should should we do about 'this' then?" asked the armor suited individual
"Grab one end Gilford, maybe Adriana can undo whatever curse was placed on this poor bastard and we can finally get a lead..." replied the man
"A lead my liege?" asked Gilford
"Yeah... A lead on where we can find more prism shards..." replied the man as end of his hammer started to glow with a pure crystalline light...
Woman In Blue stood behind the pedestal, her hands held high. She began speaking in a somber tone.
"Today, we welcome Daniel Erdagovern, the latest of his house, to our noble order. He inherits today the title of "Man In Blue". He has already proven himself a quick thinker, and he is sure to do us proud."
A blinding light flashed from the five shards, and Daniel suddenly felt a tingling sensation as the light washed over him.
When he could see again, he realized his attire had changed. He was wearing robes of a piercing blue, lined with a sturdy black fabric. A quick glance around the room revealed it was very similar to the robes the other colorfolk wore.
Woman In Blue grinned. "Are you ready to begin your training in earnest, Man In Blue?"
Man In Blue nodded. "I am."
.....
It had been a few days since Daniel had properly become the Man In Blue. For now, his training focused on expanding his knowledge on how magic worked; he understood the aptitudes and had memorized the eight laws, but there was still a ways to go.
Man In Silver has requested Daniel join him for a... different kind of quest this night.
“I just thought I’d demonstrate the kinds of powers unique to the spirit type colormen, compared to other magic casters” he explained.
They had come to a long abandoned house on the outskirts of town; cliche, but fitting. “Tell me Daniel- do you believe in ghosts?”
“...I believe that when one does the soul moves onto the afterlife” Daniel stated firmly, “All these haunted sites people go on about is utter nonsense, perfectly explainable by science” Daniel finished
“... a perfect description of 95 percent of “hauntings” lad; tonight I’m going to show you what happens the other five percent of the time” Silver explained. They proceeded to approach the grounds, Daniel beginning to feel rather uneasy.
“See, when the body dies, the soul and mind become one, the “spirit” of the deceased. Most of the time spirits move onto the afterlife, but occasionally they stick around”
“Why?” Daniel asked
“Oh, many factors... lingering regrets, got lost, died before their time. I... I often find myself visiting the children’s hospital more often than I like” Silver sighed sadly.
“Do ghosts look like people you see through or... bedsheets?” Daniel asked.
“Both; souls that are recently dead or the bodies were laid to rest ceremoniously look like people. But the longer a spirit remains in the mortal plain it starts to decay away, eventually looking...”
“Like that?” Daniel asked, indicating what seemed to be a whisp of white light, just sort of floating near the house, under a tree.
“God Eyes, son. First step is to revitalize the spirit; restoring them to a “proper” state; unfortunately only whole spirits can move on; no one knows why, but my theory is as the spirit decays they lose their ability to think and just become listless and wander wherever”
“Ahem” Man In Blue said
“Oh, terribly sorry, got carried away. Right, let’s begin” Man In Silver said. Raising his hand, he began chanting the spell that “healed” worn down spirits.
“It’s all right, we are here to help you. Just remain still so you can be made while again” Silver said as the whisp began wailing. Slowly, the whisp began to retake a human form.
“It looks like a... female” Daniel observed
“Ah ha, that confirms it. I did research on the property before going in; this must be the spirit of Catherine Johnson; in 1947 she entered this house and never came out; it was abandoned soon after”
“How could she just disappear?” Daniel asked, confused
“No one knows; the articles I read on the matter mostly read as obituaries than insight into the actuall disappearance” Silver explained
“What can we do?” Daniel asked
“The only thing we can do; help her pass on after so long” Silver explained. Slowly but surely, the whisp began to stabilize, until it looked like a see-through human.
“The spirit.. has been stabilized” Silver said in relief
"What? Where am I? What's going on?"
"Don't worry, Mrs. Johnson, we're here to help you." Man In Silver said soothingly.
"Am I.... dead?"
Man In Silver bowed his head. "I'm afraid so. I'm sorry."
"But... my son! I never got to say goodbye..."
Man In Silver nodded gravely. "Maybe we can help."
“But she died over 60 years ago; her son is surely of retirement age at least... if not passed on himself” Man In Blue realized solemnly.
“Then we need to figure out where to even start. Mrs Johnson, please. We need to know- what is the last thing you remember?” Silver asked calmly. He sincerely hoped that whoever was responsible for her death did not go on to kill her son... if her death was by the hand of another.
"I came in here because I thought I'd heard something... the floor collapsed beneath me..." the ghost replied, struggling to remember.
"I see... come along then, let's find your son."
The spirit set off, seeming to somehow know where to go. The colorfolk found themselves following her to a retirement home near the highway.
Finding themselves stepping inside the lobby of the retirement home, they wondered how best to proceed.
“What is your son’s name?” Silver asked.
“Darren; I can feel he’s here, I know it” The spirit explained. The two Colormen nodded before going to the front desk.
“Visiting hours are almost ov... oh! Mr Stephenson... We weren’t expecting you today... is it time?” The receptionist asked
“They know you?” Daniel whispered in confusion
“Retirement homes are my third most frequented of places” Silver whispered back. “No, it’s a different kind of business today... where’s Darren Johnson?”
“Room 214, But he’s got company at this moment... his son is with him” she said.
“We won’t be in his way. Come along, Daniel” Silver said as the two went to the elevator, then nodding at the spirit.
“She can’t see Catherine, can she?” Daniel asked.
“Only magic users with high spiritual abilities can see ghosts, let alone interact with them” Silver explained,
“What about me?” Daniel asked
“Let’s just say I’m giving you a hand” Silver winked. They proceeded to the room. Darren was sleeping as his son sat by the bed.
“I have a grandson? I only wish I could meet him” Catherine lamented.
“I’ll handle this” Silver began, stepping into the room.
“Mr Johnson?” Man In Silver asked.
“Can I help you?” The man asked, turning his head.
“I’m Ronald Stephenson; someone close to your father wanted a message passed onto him; is this a bad time?” He asked gently.
“If you want to write it down I’ll leave it here... but I would rather you not wake him up now. Dad isn’t doing so well” the man sighed.
Silver looked over at Darren, then looked around the room, before looking at Catherine. “I understand. I’m going to step out and get some paper then” Silver said before gesturing to Daniel. They whispered outside.
“He doesn’t have much time left, does he?” Daniel asked
“I’m... afraid not. The bonds between his body and soul have weakened... his last journey has begun” Silver explained.
“How much time does he have?” Daniel followed up with
“Not long... but he will find peace” he said, looking around The room and seeing all the photographs and mementos of Darren’s life. “He lived a good life, and will leave this world with no regrets” Silver said.
“But... his friends and family” Daniel asked
“They will miss him, but remember this; one’s departure...” then he looked at Catherine, “is another’s reunion” Silver assured.
“My son will... join me?” Catherine asked.
“In due time. For now, I think you waited to pass on long enough. I can help you cross over as soon as you are ready” Silver assured. Then he looked over “even if he’s not a magic user, humans are more aware of the spiritual when asleep. If you want to leave your son a message before you go, we shall wait” Silver explained gently, gesturing to her son again.
Catherine nodded, before drifting into the room through the closed door.
"Um... what happens to them once they... you know..." Man In Blue asked.
"Wondering about the afterlife?" Man In Silver asked. "No one really knows. Some believe there's an afterlife. Others believe are souls are reabsorbed by the magic energy of the universe. Personally, I believe in reincarnation. But ultimately, that's something we aren't meant to know before our time."
Man In Blue nodded gravely.
Suddenly, Man In Silver stood, as if sensing something from the next room. "Catherine returned through the wall, glowing brighter than before. "I think... I'm ready to go now."
“I shall help with the final passage” Silver said as he raised his hand. Catherine flower to the point Daniel had to cover his eyes... but in a matter of seconds, she had gone.
“She is at peace now” Silver said as he gestured for the two to leave. “What about you; what do you believe?”
“Well, after that dream I had where I met my ancestors... I believe there must be something on the other side. Reincarnation... i think we get one life and we need to make the most of it. Besides; if reincarnation was a thing, why don’t we retain memories of our past lives?” Daniel asked.
“I believe that in reincarnation, the spirit separates into soul and mind- the soul, one’s essence, is what takes on new life. The memories and experiences though- they are kept in the mind”
“What happens to the mind here?” Daniel asked
“I don’t know... there are some things we may never know” Silver sighed.
They returned to base next. Silver dropped off Daniel so he could go on alone.
“I hoped you learned something today Daniel; may not be the most... practical knowledge, but I hope it is something you’ll appreciate” Silver explained.
“Where are you going now?” Daniel asked
“I don’t want you going to my next stop... it’s a burden i alone must carry- I cannot in good conscience force it upon anyone else” Silver sighed
“Oh, you mean...” Daniel began, but Silver nodded before leaving for the children’s hospital.
Daniel turned around and headed back inside to meet the others
"How was that?" Woman In Silver asked as he entered.
"That was... heavy. How does he cope with that day in and day out?"
"It's hard to say. He's a naturally positive person, with a wife and kids that love him. That's more than most people can say. I know I couldn't do it."
As Daniel began to discuss more about the spiritual side of magic with Woman in Silver, in Hawthorp City, a "certain group" began to gather...
Thirteen people sat around an oblong table as the man at the head of the table began to speak...
"Ladies and Gentlemen, our fair island is being besieged, nay, invaded by very insidious creatures I can only deem magicial in origin... Various individuals in variously colored cloaks have been terrorizing the inhabitants across the island! First there was the attack at the college, then those two pasty ones almost set fire to an apartment building, and most recently, that stone monster that destroyed Blackwell and seemingly disappeared... Everyone, I believe all of these to tie to this order's ancient foes, the ones who are from way back in our order's founding on Ordos... I believe, we are dealing with the dangerous 'Color Folk' passed down in myths through our generations... So, to save the peace of our island, I believe it time for us to strike back! For I am Arkwright Edogog, leader of the:
Knights
Needed
Universally for
Coordinated
Kombat,
Leadership,
Endurance and
Hope,
Experts in
Attack and
Defense
For I am a knucklehead, you are a knucklehead, we are ALL knuckleheads! Proud knuckleheads determined to defeat the evil! Now knuckleheads, let's be off!! Let evil fear the name knucklehead! Cower before us, for the knuckleheads are coming!"
"Aye!"
The Twelve other "Knuckleheads" raised their fists in support, for it was time to defeat the evil plaguing the island known as the mythical "Color Folk of Ordos"...
Why the KNUCKLEHEADS hated a faction that was historically good for most of its existence, no one truly knew- especially since the first era of the Colormen they were the celebrated sworn protectors of Ordos. Some speculated they formed in the dark era and only saw the factions that let their hearts be corrupted, failing to see the good ones that made up the majority, but bickered with each other over differing philosophies and goals. All would become clear in due time
......
“I don’t get it; why is everything like... this?” Man In Blue asked Main In Gold; he was trying to make sense of this archives limited resources on the past, but wasn’t getting anywhere.
“If that’s your only question will you not bother me the rest of the night?” Gold asked
“Fair enough” Daniel conceded
“Colormen history is broken into two sections: the first era and dark erA. The first era, our golden age and the golden age of Ordos- we were a United Force for good who protected the island from many threats; sometimes we were summoned to Europe to deal with evil lurking there. Then came 1657...”
“This must be the “dark era” you refer to then” Daniel observed
“Well look at you, catching on quick. Well, the short version is- in a time when all magic was considered evil by non-users, the people of Ordos turned their backs on us. We knew we had to go quiet and for reasons that can’t be revealed just yet, the Prism was broken. A pointless task if you ask me, the Prism could only be used for good anyway” Gold commented
“I thought most magic was neutral- that doesn’t sound right” Daniel commented
“Yes, it is confusing on the surface, but it’s actually quite simple- magic is neutral, but can be influenced. Remember the sixth law of magic?”
“Yes” Daniel nodded
“In the case of the Prism, this one of a kind artifact was influenced by the spirit to reject those with wicked hearts- as in Prism magic became incompatible with anyone who had too much black stuff in their hearts; the proof is in the artifacts: forged by man and powered by Prism magic they have a violent reaction to and thus are unwieldable by anyone with a corrupted heart. But it works the other way too- magic items do exist that can only be wielded by those with corrupted hearts, but they are rare thankfully”
“I can only imagine the reign of terror that resulted from the shattering of something so good” Daniel said in horror
“Don’t be ridiculous! Were you expecting the Colormen to go off and kill thousands of innocents or something? First of all- those who used the prism’s power before the shattering were stil good people and wouldn’t turncoat just because the Prism shattered. Second- the population of Ordos wasn’t that high to begin with so a rampage with mass casualties doesn’t make sense by numbers alone. There were only half a dozen lines that killed innocents early on- but they got bored with that pretty quickly since they didn’t actually gain anything from it and focused their attention elsewhere”
“Then this dark era must be a civil war more than anything else” Daniel concluded
“Hallelujah, the newbie can be taught!” Gold said sarcastically “short answer- faction split into multiple smaller factions, our faction the dominant good one, black’s faction the dominant bad one and numerous secondary factions of no importance at the moment. Now if you are done pestering me, get lost” Gold muttered
“Man, what could have happened that caused all this” blue mused. But that was a question for another day
Meanwhile, in the lair of the evil colorfolk, Man In Black was pacing anxiously.
"Our golem attack completely failed! How could this happen?"
"To be fair, you sent it at a major population center. I mean, what were you thinking?" Man In Off-White began. "Of course the others would-"
"Did I ask for your opinion?" Man In Black snapped. "We need to find a new way to make the colorfolk suffer."
"Why is that your only goal? You know the rest of us have actual aspirations, right? We want to start a new era where magic might is respected and we don't have to hide in the shadows, but we don't want to destroy the other colorfolk just because they're there."
"You're useless! Bring me Woman In Orange. If you won't destroy the colorfolk, I'll get someone who will!"
A couple hours later, Man In Black and Woman In Orange had made their way to a shady tavern in Blackwell called the Goddess Of Drinks. It was pretty empty, as it often was, but Woman In Orange knew the drill. She walked up to the counter and leaned towards the bartender with a grin. "My friend and I would like to order the Damoni Special."
"Certainly... right this way." The bartender led the two of them to a tiny service closet by the bathrooms. The two squeezed in and shut the door. Suddenly, the dark broom closet lit up as the back wall slid away to reveal a much nicer, much more crowded bar. A cool voice played over the intercom. "Welcome to the Magic Underground. This entrance sponsored by the Guild Of Damoni, magic army for hire."
"Ah, the magic underground. The one place on this earth where mages like us can truly feel like home." Woman In Orange said, leading Man In Black through the bar. Stepping out through the front door, the two of them found themselves in a strange environment. The ground was made of a sparkly, reflective black substance, and the sky was a crackling blue energy field. Suits of Enchanto-Armor patrolled the streets, keeping an eye out for evildoers. A massive circular tower dominated the skyline, crowned by a magic screen that constantly scrolled slogans such as "This pocket dimension is maintained by the Order Of Gerade, Guild Of Damoni, Лед коснулся, Altavoces U Pixan, Piracy International Coalition, and the Akademie der Magier".
"The international magic community needs your help to maintain its stability! Remember, no war magic within the Magic Underground!" One of the Enchanto-Armors boomed as the duo passed.
"Let's see... the bounty hunters typically hang out in the Greedy American pub, over there." Woman In Orange said. "Surely we can hire someone more competent than the rest of our faction..."
Woman In Orange trailed off when a tall, tanned figure covered in scars stood to block the door.
Man In Black eyed the bouncer uneasily. "Shear, old buddy... long time no see..."
Shear crossed his arms and glared at the duo. "You two still haven't paid us back for that golem."
"Look, Shear, we're sorry, but we'll get the money, okay?"
"I'm not the one you need to apologize too. You've been using up the resources of the Guild for far too long. We aren't helping you with your little Civil War any more until you start paying what you owe. And if you don't pay it fast, then I just hope I'm the one they send when there's a bounty on your head."
"Fine..."
As the duo walked back, they conferred anxiously.
"Well, there goes are only chance of getting help from a third party..." Man In Black sighed.
"Maybe not." Woman In Orange replied with a grin. "Have you ever heard of the KNUCKLEHEADS?"
“Yes, and they would never ally with us; their animosity of our kind goes too far back” Black reminded her.
“Do not worry... our goals shall succeed in due time” Orange assured before they walked to their next destination
......
“What I don’t get is what the big picture is; do we want to go public once we’re whole again or remain secret?” Daniel asked.
“We... we do t know. On the one hand we’d love to go public, but on the other we aren’t sure if the world is ready for a reintroduction to magic. What is the size of your college class?” Woman In Blue asked
“Four students”
“Exactly; seems in this day and age magic is a slowly dying practice. There a central, neutral organization when it comes to magic; one if it’s duries is taking a census of magic users to gauge how prolific the practice is. And the latest numbers aren’t good” she explained.
“How many are there?”
“At present, less than 8000, a 15 percent drop from the last census five years ago, and the lowest it’s been since said organization started keeping records... in 200 AD”
“Good lord... why so low?” Daniel asked.
“Many factors; I won’t bore you with them unless you want to know though” Woman In Blue assured
"Are you sure there couldn't be other magic users, just hidden from them? I mean, there seems to be a lot of colorfolk at the base, and assuming there's the same amount of evil colorfolk, that means 400 total, and with the population being 400000 on this island, extrapolating that out means there's got to be millions of them?"
"What, are you saying there's some massive "magic underground" we don't know about?" Woman In Blue said, not knowing the answer was "yes". "Even if that was the case, it wouldn't be nearly that many. Outside of specific magic hotspots, magic users are rare at best. Everyone is capable of at least a little magic, in theory, but without a magical hotspot, most people will never know."
"And what's our local magical hotspot?" Man In Blue asked.
"Our faction is different. Our power comes from the Prism, or from the shards of the Prism anyway. That's how we search for them, actually. Being close to a prism shard gives us that tingling sensation behind the eyes- that's why the colorfolk who live here always look so tired. It's hard to sleep so close to five prism shards."
“Speaking of which, you look rather tired Daniel, perhaps you should get some rest yourself” Woman In Blue offered.
“I think I will; good night” Daniel said, preparing to return home.
Woman In Blue sighed, “well, I could say he was onto something... but he needs to appreciate the bigger issue here... magic is declining, in more ways than one. Though perhaps I should have given him an honest number... but he needs to appreciate the situation” she thought, remaining firm in her choice to exaggerate.
There was a grain of truth though- in the last five years, the magic users population had indeed declined 15 percent.
To understand why such a decline though, it is important to understand the world everyone lives in.
There were many factors at play; between large amounts of knowledge being lost over the centuries, and technology eclipsing the use of magic in many regards, slowly but steadily the number of magic users began to decline.
As the number of magic users declined, so did the number of factions; these organizations were how magic users connected and learned magic. Each faction was unique in its own way, even if they were just "generic" magic users (i.e. a faction that doesn't specialize in anything specific, like the Masteri and golem magic). With each disbanded faction, knowledge would be lost as no one was there to maintain the libraries of each respective faction; estimates suggest that when compared to the golden age of magic (the renaissance), the current number of magic factions is less than 1/5 what existed at magic's height.
Though this claim is disputed, some argue that the establishment of the Akademie der Magier in Germany, the school where almost all current mages get their magic training today, effectively destroyed the long-held apprentice system that mages, until then, had trained under.
Before the academy- if one wanted to learn magic, he or she would join a faction, be chosen by a "master" (an established mage of great knowledge who would personally teach the apprentice), become a pupil, and devote their life to studying the craft. Once they had reached a certain level of mastery, they graduated from being apprentices to being fully fledged mages. In some factions, they had the freedom to have their own life outside the faction, including raising a family, while in others, they were expected to devote themselves to the faction, in the same way some monks devoted their lives to the monastery they lived in.
With the establishment of the academy though- it rendered the apprentice system moot, and with it, crippled the ability of many factions to hire new members. The fact that academy graduates often enjoy a great degree of freedom after graduation since they are not tied down to any one faction is another appeal of the academy versus a traditional "faction".
To see the effect the decline in magic use is having on the general magic population, let's see the kind of goings on in the world:
In the Magic underground, at the offices of the Ministry for Assessment and Administering of the General Population Indication Census (MAAGPIC), clerks were filing away the latest numbers and indications... and taking the final count of disbanded factions.
"Well, that does it then; the last member of the Order of Avios passed away two months ago" one sighed as another name was added to the list of defunct factions.
"Saw it coming a mile away though; in this day and age an entire order based around magic that allows one to turn into birds... it wasn't going to last" his colleague pointed out.
"I suppose you've got a point Mary; any others I've got to add?" he said as he finished writing down the name.
"Yes Steven; The Almrania Brotherhood's last four members sent a letter of dissolution; they will be retiring to the care of their children and the faction is officially disbanded" Mary explained as she held up the document.
"Which one was that again?" Steven asked as he consulted some charts.
"They were a "general" faction; but the corn they grew and sold was highly regarded and popular, even here" Mary explained.
"Wow, a faction dedicated to growing corn... like anyone will miss that" Steven said sarcastically... before writing a note to "go buy Almrania corn" after work.
"Now now, all the general factions had some way of making money. After all, can you imagine what would happen if we found ourselves having to live without the wine of the Falgria Order in Northern Italy?" Mary pointed out.
"Expect that to become a reality in a couple generations; membership went from 38 to 29 and the average age of the members is 62" Steven said as he looked over their census submission. "Not to mention they've been cash strapped so they sold most of their vineyards to the Academy of Magic; went from 25 acres to nine acres" Steven explained as he continued writing some notes.
"Why would the academy buy that land off them?" Mary asked, confused.
"Put two and two together; ever since the academy went up the number of factions went down. This is just the first phase; once the Falgria disbands they'll buy the rest of the land and make a Northern Italian campus to ease the pressure off of having mages from all over the world come to Germany" Steven stated
"That doesn't sound like the academy... maybe they want to help the faction survive" Mary suggested.
"As if the academy wants it to; what could it gain from a faction of wine-producers anyway?" Steven asked sarcastically.
"Falgria wine is very popular, don't jump to conclusions" Mary assured.
"I'll believe it when I see it" Steven declared before going over other lists. "What other orders disbanded?"
"Let's see... The Samresuna, The Order of Calronvia, The Order of Maeron, Brotherhood of Cistria, Sisterhood of Golmen, The Straw Hat Pirates, the Whitebeard Pirates..."
"Those last two aren't real factions" Steven said bluntly.
"Just making sure you are paying attention" Mary smirked before hiding a manga book
......
Akademie der Magier, Germany
"You didn't have to do this you know; we could have come to you" the academy's headmaster explained.
"Oh, but I needed to. I more than anyone hate to see the size of our vineyard shrink, but if the land is to end up in the proper hands, I alone should bear responsibility for this decision" the elderly mage explained.
"At 84 years old and the head of your order, I simply must commend you on your vitality. The thin mountain air surely must be taking it's toll on you" the academy's headmaster replied.
"Oh, not at all... I climbed mountains in my youth! Well, I best be going" he said, shaking hands before the headmaster kindly asked some of his workers to escort him to his ride home. As he walked away, the elderly mage began silently weeping, "Fate is a cruel mistress... the very institution that ended the apprentice system, is now the ones who gave us the money that will help us thrive for just a little while longer" he thought as he walked through the academy's halls.
Some time later the headmaster called a meeting off the important people who ran the academy.
"As of today, we now own the 16 acres of Falgria Order's land we made the offer for last month" the headmaster declared.
"Excellent! When do we begin construction of the new campus?" One of the younger members of the board asked excitedly.
"We begin immediately, as soon as we can clear up this petition from the Guild Of Damoni and Altavoces U Pixan." Headmaster Luncrett replied.
"You know we can't possibly concede to their request!" Advisor Erodelbmud slammed her fist on the table. "A "Black Stuff" academy? Preposterous! We can't allow this dangerous "Black Stuff is Okay" doctrine to take hold!"
"I fear we have no choice." Advisor Winxan replied. "George Tenoch from Altovoces U Pixan spoke to me yesterday. Apparently they've reestablished the Apprenticeship system for Dark Magic. If we are to prevent the Black Stuff from gaining traction, we must at least consider the possibility of opening the Academy's doors to practitioners of the Dark Arts."
Suddenly, a woman in thick red robes ran in.
"Alaine? What is it?" The headmaster asked, concerned.
"Councilmembers! There's been a security breach! Hartley College in New Furness, USA... it has a class on the "History of Magic", and it's surprisingly accurate..."
"Damn! We need to find out who's responsible and shut them down before everything we've worked for is lost!"
********
But far away in Iceland, the news had already spread to another rival faction. A man and a woman were boarding a helicopter. And their intentions towards this professor were far more... violent...
********
"Alright, class, today we're going to discuss some of the great heroes in Magic History." Daniel said, pointing to the whiteboard. "Now, I'm sure you're all familiar with various figures throughout history that magic powers have been ascribed to, and you're probably expecting me to discuss them. King Arthur. Jesus of Nazareth. Queen Hatsheput. But we'll save them for another day. Today, I want to talk about two of the greatest magic heroes in history, who have been all but forgotten: Hephastus Of The Sword and Damoni Silverfinger."
"I'm sorry, who?" Frank asked, raising his hand. "I don't want to be rude, but it seems like you're just throwing a lot of names at us all at once and expecting us to care or know what they mean."
"All in good time... Hephastus Of The Sword lived nearly 2000 years ago. We don't know that much about him, other than that he was born in what is now England around the time of the first Roman excursions into the region. Hephastus became the leader of a revolution against them, and some say he even arranged Caesar's Execution. But whether he was magical remains a mystery. However, texts recovered from various archaelogical sites report that he created his army, the Light Warriors, out of "a ray of sunshine". Whether this is true or not, the legends of Damoni Silverfinger are far less ambiguous..."
"Yeah, it says here he tamed a Hydra and shrunk it down to use as a third arm? And that he was revered by a people called the "Anamaloids"? Surely this is nonsense." Frank replied, looking at his notes in confusion.
"Right you are! Now then, let me tell you about the legend of Hephastus and the Sword Of Destiny..."
Daniel proceeded to tell the story of the humble blacksmith, who rose from ambiguity to become one of the most important figures in the mythology of magic. A story so convoluted that attempting to explain it in this post is borderline impossible. Thus the lesson proceeded.
......
"Wait Headmaster, did you say the Falgria Order? As in... Falgria wine?" one adviser asked out of curiosity.
"Of course; I did promise them that construction would begin after they harvested the last of the grapes from the land we bought though, so by immediately I certainly meant..."
"You can't just rip up their vineyards!" He said in shock. Going over to a cabinet, he waved his hand and the wall turned around and revealed a wine rack. Taking a bottle and pouring a glass, he was almost frantic in giving it to the headmaster.
"Now you know I'm not really one to..."
"Just drink it, please!" the adviser pleaded, and so Luncrett did. After a few minutes of pondering...
"Um... schedule another meeting tomorrow... I think an important consideration must be made before we proceed with construction. In fact I also want you to..." and he whispered some instructions into his ear.
......
"... and once the 25 signs had come and gone, there was an encounter with one called Vlad; a being so evil he managed to escape hell and died twice" Daniel continued.
"Are you sure that's right?" Frank asked in confusion.
"Honestly, no one knows. But more importantly don't forget that this is mythology after all, there's a metaphor in all of this" Daniel said.
"What is it?" Toz asked.
"if I knew I would tell you; but the important thing to remember about Heph here- he was a true magic hero in the traditional sense of the word- he rose from humble beginnings and went on to make a name for himself, in the process making the world a better place" Daniel said. More of Heph's feats were talked about over the next 40 minutes.
"But sir- what about the succubus?" David asked.
"The succubus? Well, I, uh, you see..." then Daniel saw the clock, "and I'm afraid that's all the time we have; remember- next class we talk about legendary magic artifacts" Daniel said as the four went to leave.
Daniel reviewed his notes on the succubus; it was due to be covered in the magical creatures lecture, but even he was dismissive of this one.
"A demon with an attractive female face and body, yet also has horns, wings, fangs, a tail and cloven feet... that seduces men in their dreams to steal and feed off their life force... ok, magic may be real but THAT is the most absurd thing I have ever heard! I mean who would get aroused by that... thing?" Daniel said, looking over the drawings of Succubi. "Ugh... well they only appear in dreams anyway and I'm not attracted to those kinds of features so... oh what am I even saying?! They probably don't even exist" Daniel grumbled as he left the classroom to go to the teacher's office.
At the end of the day, Daniel returned to colorfolk HQ. The first thing he saw was Man In White and Woman In Blue talking to a strange old man, wearing some sort of brass armor and covered in soot.
"Look, Kendarboo, I want to believe you, but the last three locations you sent us just ended up being weird blood cultists." Woman In Blue said.
"Trust me, colorfolk, this time I'm sure of it." Kendarboo said, handing over a dirt-covered sheet of paper. "There's next to no civilization out in those woods, just bears and deer. It'll be a piece of cake."
"What's going on?" Daniel asked, joining the group.
"Oh, Man In Blue, this is our friend and ally Kendarboo Flickerbee. He's an artificer, and his magitek devices help us locate Prism Shards. He claims he's found one deep in a cave in the national park, but it's up to us to retrieve it... if his instruments are right this time..."
"Well, is it okay if I join the mission to retrieve it?" Daniel asked, intrigued.
"Sure, why not? Man In Silver, Woman In Silver, and Woman In Gold are prepping in the armory." Man In White replied.
So Daniel set off on his first Prism Piece retrieval mission.
"So, usual payment, correct Kendarboo?" Man In White asked.
"But of course" Kendarboo nodded.
"Very well" Man In White said. "Woman In White, go prepare the Gift of Carrot!" Man In White said.
"Again?!" She yelled from the next room
"It's for Kendarboo!" Man In White said.
"And the Tale of Tail?" Kendarboo said.
Daniel was understandably confused by all this, as Man In White sighed and then began speaking, "Once upon a time, long, long ago, there was a..."
Daniel decided to bid a hasty retreat to the armory.
When he got there, he was quite surprised by what he saw. Man In Silver was wearing his usual robes, a thick helmet, and a quiver of arrows. Woman In Gold had adopted a sleeveless vest, a large wooden staff, and a belt full of all sorts of knives. Woman In Silver was wearing chain mail and had some sort of magic amulet around her neck.
"I'm sorry, what? You know guns exist, right?"
"Yeah, but medieval weapons are awesome!" Woman In Silver yelled. "Try the flail!"
"Don't try the flail." Man In Silver interjected quickly. "We don't have time to get you fitted for your own armor or anything, so just pick a weapon and maybe a magic ring or something. Your colorfolk robes will provide ample protection."
Man In Blue nodded and turned to see a wall of cutlasses, battle axes, and even a whip.
"Um... I don't know how to use any of these..."
"Just pick whatever feels right" Man In Silver explained.
"O...k..." Daniel said in confusion. He went over to the armory and his hands hovered over some weapons... before finally picking a sword.
"this one feels right" Daniel nodded before giving a few test swings.
"You don't know the half of it" Man In Silver thought to himself.
"So what happens now?" Daniel asked.
"Man In White's our tactician; he'll fill us in on the plan once he's done with the story" Man In Silver explained.
"How will we know when he's done?" Daniel asked.
"Well, technically, the full Tale takes about 39 hours to tell in its entirety... but usually after half an hour Kendarboo gets bored."
As if on cue, Man In White entered.
"Finally... anyway, here's the deal. You've been sent to a random location in the middle of the forest in North Ridge National Park. There is an unexplored cave system near there that he suspects the Shard is in, but those caves are unstable and dangerous. Stick together and stay safe. I'll cast the teleport spell when you're ready."
"We're ready now." Woman In Gold said.
There was a rush of light and color, and suddenly the four colorfolk were in a dense evergreen forest. Unfortunately, they'd been teleported right into a giant patch of blackberry bushes.
"Ow! So many thorns!"
It took a few minutes for them to brush themselves off and regroup.
“Ugh, I knew we should have fine tuned that” Woman In Silver moaned as she brushed herself off.
“So what now?” Daniel asked
“Keep an eye out for anything suspicious” Man In Silver said
Daniel looked around and saw...
A guy in a giraffe costume on a pogo stick taking pictures
A guy in a tiger costume dancing the hula
A guy in a zebra costume doing cartwells
And finally, a guy in a gorilla suit riding a unicycle passed by as he played the banjo “HELLLOOO!!” He said with a grin as he went by
“Uh, nothing of meaningful significance, let’s go” Daniel said as the four left the costumed group behind, never to see them again.
“What are we looking for now?” Woman In Silver asked as Man In Silver looked through binoculars
"Probably a cave entrance, but I don't know where we'd... AAAH!" And the ground gave way under Man In Silver.
"Oh, neat, he found it!"
"Don't worry guys, the stalagmites broke my fall!" He called back.
“We’re coming down!” Woman In Gold shouted. The quartet reunited down below and assessed their situation.
“How will we know if there is a prism shard present?” Daniel asked.
“Very simple- the prism’s pieces glow when near a Colorman or colorwomen, and will only allow a good hearted wielder to touch them” Man In Silver explained
“I thought you said the prism was neutral?” Daniel asked, thinking back to something he said the other day
“In a base state, yes. But the diaries of Matthew Erdagovern explained how with the Spirit, the Prism was “freed from corruption” and became an artifact that only the good hearted could wield; but be warned Daniel, for there are also artifacts that only evil can wield” Man In Silver warned
“So when you say that prism magic is incompatible, and I only say “incompatible” only because I can’t think of another adjective that makes sense in context, with evil- you mean those who have too much black stuff in their hearts” Daniel realized
“Correct; and we see this in many aspects of our lore- the Colormen artifacts and colorwomen rings have a violent reaction to anyone with a corrupted heart- and those who tried to take prism magic who weren’t worthy suffered greatly. Have I told you the tale of Sir Adrian yet?” Man In Silver asked
“No, but I don’t think that’s important now” Daniel said
“Quite right, now, the fragment. Where should it be?” Man In Silver asked
“Well I’d imagine we look for something that looks like glowing, colorful glass” Daniel quipped
"Hang on, there's a tingling behind my eyes..." Woman In Gold said suddenly.
"Ah yes, that means the Prism shard must be close." Man In Silver said.
"So hang on, if only someone with a good heart can touch Prism Shards, how do the evil colorfolk have any?" Daniel asked.
"Well, there seems to be an exception for people with Colorfolk blood... well, that's not the right word, but you get the idea. The evil colorfolk can touch them, for example, and my children can as well. It's a bit of a weakness, but if we were too powerful, there would be no challenge, no reason to get up in the morning." Man In Silver explained.
"Also, what the heck are "Colorwomen rings"?" Woman In Silver asked.
"Wasn't there some old legend about how in the olden days, colorwomen had fewer resources, so instead of giving each member a different unique artifact, they just made a bunch of different colored rings?"
"No, that would be ridiculous. We have artifacts same as the dudes." Woman In Silver rolled her eyes.
"What are these "artifacts" anyway?" Daniel asked.
"Can you all just shut up? I've got to be home to pick up my girlfriend in a few hours, so the sooner we find this prism shard, the better." Woman In Gold snapped.
The four went in the direction of the tingling... by that, meaning as the tingling grew stronger they knew they were getting nearer. They turned another bend, and at last, found what they were looking for.
"This is it... this is the missing fragment" Man In Silver noted. The glowing piece of what looked like glass grew stronger in intensity as the four approached it. The colors they saw flowed throughout, yet never mixed.
"Guess this is it then; well, let's reunite it with the others" Woman In Silver noted.
"Not... so... fast! I will be taking that!" A voice screamed. The foursome turned around to see an older gentleman in robes similar to Man In Silver's usual mage robes... but he was holding a gun.
"I KNEW we should have brought a firearm" Daniel muttered.
"Gerard, you don't know what you are doing" Man In Silver said, indicating that he knew the party in question.
"How did you even find us?!" Daniel asked, confused.
"I came into this forest first, of course. I must admit, I've been looking for some treasure for a long time now, and when I saw Stephenson here enter a cave with your party in tow... I knew he was onto something" Gerard stated.
"Who is this man?" Daniel asked, confused.
"THIS is Gerard Galvermore; he claims to be an archaeologist but he's nothing more than a petty treasure hunter" Man In Silver muttered. "We go way back; when we were younger he told me about his fascination with very old items. He said he loved their artistic value, and wanted to collect them for the world to see. As we got older he came to me because i happened to have knowledge about the very things he was interested in, since some magic artifacts have gone on to become legendary artifacts in secular lore. Little did I know he was using me to make a quick buck" he continued.
"Nothing personal, just business" he said as he continued to get closer to the fragment. "See, its better to have them somewhere where they can be cared for, after all" he stated.
"They belong with their rightful owners! You just sell them to the highest bidder!" Man In Silver stated. "This artifact rightfully belongs to my faction and you know it!" Man In Silver declared. Woman In Gold went to make a move, but Woman in Silver stopped her.
"Tempting... but selling it will make me richer. Man's got to eat after all... and have more money to find more artifacts" he said with a laugh as he went to claim his prize.
"I don't understand; is he a mage or not?" Daniel asked.
"He is a mage; a "non-faction" mage though; he concerns himself more with making a quick buck than honing his craft though. Don't you remember ANYTHING Gerard? These artifacts are more than just "treasures" they are sacred heirlooms of their factions!" Man In Silver pointed out.
"Finders keepers, Stephenson! You found it, I keep it!" He laughed again as he went to pick up the fragment. But to his shock it superheated and he was forced to drop it.
"Argh! What is this!? You did this, didn't you!?" He said, holding his hand in pain.
"No... you did this to yourself. You only use magic for personal gain at the expense of others... you allow your wicked ways to influence your choices and as a result of your consequences your heart has become corrupted" Man In Silver said, focusing on Gerard.
"Shut up! If this has that kind of charm on it, then it must be quite powerful. I'll... I'll use it against you!" He said, picking up the fragment, fighting the pain as long as he could.
"I'll reduce all of you to ash, take this!" He screamed, preparing to cast a spell, using the fragment akin to a wand. But in a blinding flash of light... he was turned to solid stone.
"What... just... happened?" Daniel asked, shocked.
"The same fate that befell Sir Adrian" Man In Silver explained. "I have a pretty good idea what he was going for... it wouldn't have worked regardless, Prism fragments don't work that way" he noted.
"What happens now?" Daniel asked. Then he heard cracking. The Gerard's hand that had been holding the fragment began to crack, until a small explosion of sorts took place, and the hand was no more. The fragment fell onto the ground. Man In Silver went over and picked it up... this time, nothing happened.
"I think its safe to say it's mission accomplished" Man In Silver noted.
Daniel looked at what was left of Gerard, "Was this... too harsh?" he asked.
"He only cared for monetary gain and was will to steal, sell and do whatever it took to make a quick buck. I can only imagine the pain he caused others when they heard about their precious artifacts going up for auction. This is long overdue justice served; for every "dead faction" he stole from, there was also an existing faction where he decided to sell an artifact instead of returning it to them. But what a way to go" Man In Silver noted.
Woman In Silver, during this time had been scouting the area. "Area is secure; is there anything else we must do before returning home?" she asked Woman In Gold.
"I don't think so, let's just get home and put it with the other five."
**********
But what none of the other colorfolk knew was that Gerard was being watched. His daughter Frankie had placed a charm on him, allowing his actions to be seen when viewed through an enchanted water bowl.
The colorfolk didn't know the full story with Gerard. His wife had fallen very ill shortly after their marriage. Medical bills were expensive, and in order to pay them, Gerard was forced to turn to finding and selling artifacts. What he did wasn't illegal, and while it may have hurt some people by selling off their ancient artifacts, Man In Silver was wrong about his motivations.
So when Gerard was effectively killed by the Prism Shard, Frankie knew what she had to do. She reached out to an old friend, Sir Awkright Edogog, and his most noble order, the KNUCKLEHEADS...
In the back of Frankie’s mind though, there was something that was bothering her- her father had been spending less and less time at home, and when she did see him, he had been talking more and more about “making a buck” rather than “getting money to pay off the bills”.. and even she couldn’t help but admit that her father should have returned artifacts of existing factions to their rightful owners.
......
Gerard was not dead, unbeknownst to everyone- he had only been petrified by the Prism. Though he could not move, his mind was left to muse on his actions.
“What... have I done? I mean, the places were abandoned and the factions disbanded, who would miss them? The times I went to the graves, it’s not like anyone was visiting them anymore... but, but right do I have to disturb a resting place? But that was only a fraction of my finds! The other places were abandoned halls and bases... true I did trespass and lie from time to time, but I didn’t want to hurt anyone! Maybe I should have returned the artifacts of the existing factions, but I found them, I had every right to make money! But all those people who begged for their artifacts back... it’s not like they didn’t pay me. But, it was theirs and the right thing to do was return it. What am I saying?! I took those artifacts so I could make money! Money for... for...! No... what have I become?! I did this so I could pay off the medical bills, when did I care about becoming rich? Why the hell did I say finders keepers, that was their arifact, why did I try to steal it at gunpoint?! For that matter, why do I have a gun for my line of work? I swore that in my hunt I would never hurt others and... Oh my G... what have I become?!”
Gerard fully realized what had happened... he did the wrong thing whenever he effectively stole from an existing faction, and the more he did it, the more he allowed his heart to be corrupted. It was true the selling of artifacts of dead factions did nothing, but once he began refusing to return the artifacts of surviving factions in favor of making more money, the black stuff in his heart began to influence his motives to be darker. By the time he confronted the Colormen, he had reached a point where he was more concerned about making money to get rich than paying off the medical bills... even at the expense of others.
“I threatened to turn them into ash... why?” He finished
The “statue” of Gerard seemed to shed tears from the eyes, and a black, tar like substance seemed to seep from his heart area. When it fell on the floor, it fizzled and dissolved away. It wasn’t all of the black stuff in his heart... but the remorse he felt had allowed for a partial purification of his heart.”
......
In a caravan on the island, a woman was looking over a crystal ball when she suddenly looked up, “there has been a disturbance on this island!” She realized
"Adriana, you felt it too, right?" asked a man in her doorway
The woman looked up from her crystal ball towards the man in her doorway and said, "That was a high concentration of pure magic, it seems troubling, but out of caution, I want you to take Gilford with you and check it out."
"I'm on it..." responded the man in grey colored clothes as he left the wooden cart, passing a sleeping dog, a carved stone statue, and an eight legged horse on the way out...
"Hey Gilford! The mistress has a job for us!"
.....
In Gracefield Park, the Men in Silver, Gray, and Purple as well as the Women in Silver and Gold were having a training session in the various arts of the Colorfolk...
"Remember to sense your opponent with your mind's eye, not your actual eyes." spoke Man in Silver to the blindfolded Colorfolk as he swung a wooden club at them, intending them to avoid it, with only some successes...
"Ow!" yelled Man in Purple
"You'll never properly train your skills if I catch you peeking Roy..." scolded Man in Silver
"Sorry, it's just can we take a break yet? I'm getting kind of tired..." complained Man in Purple
"Evil never rests, besides, you've all been slacking on you're magical training, so this day trip is a bit of a punishment, and with that another round people!" ordered Man in Silver
The other Colorfolk groaned in response, all hitting Man in Purple in annoyance...
In the nearby bushes, five armored figures watched in wait...
"Alright men, seems now is the best time to strike..." said one
"Alexandre, Castelmore, like we practiced!" said another excited as the trio jumped out from the bushes
"Wait, no!" silently screamed the first knight
The Colorfolk undid their blindfolds as they heard a strange rustling in the bushes, and saw three armored men emerge, striking dynamic poses for each...
"Halt you despicable Colorfolk! For we noble knights have come to stop your nefarious deeds! By our virtuous spirit we shall end your reign! With the power of the sword!
"The spear!"
"And the Halberd!"
"We are..."
"The CAVALIERS DE TROIS!"
"As well as our comrade... Knight Eren!"
A fourth man wielding a sword and tower shield slowly emerged from the bushes and struck a "pose"...
"Dammit you three! I told you to stop acting like that! What are you superheroes? And you, Eren, I thought you were better than to get sucked up into their antics..." complained the new knight who left the shrubbery
"Aw Bastille... You're no fun..." pouted the Swordsman
"Who are you people?" asked Man in Silver
"I was waiting for that question foul villain, we are members of the fair order the KNUCKLEHEADS, and as granted under the authority of our fair leader, I, "Iron Mask" Bastille have deemed now as the time to lay waste to you, fair Knights, attack!"
Before the Colorfolk could respond, a chained spear flew towards Man in Silver's head, he just barely dodged it's speed thanks to the spiritual sensing he had been training the others in...
It was time for the Colorfolk and KUCKLEHEADS to clash for the first time in centuries...
"Foul villain? There must be some mistake! We are good wielders of the craft!" Man In Silver declared.
"We will not fall for your tricks! We shall smite thee!" The first one said with a charge as tried to attack, but Silver dodged in time.
"Now look, it is YOU who has been tricked already. Clearly someone has deceived you into thinking we are the bad guys. Why do you fight us when we are not enemies?" Man In Silver asked.
"That opinion is one sided; we shall crush you in the name of all that is good!" The second said with beaming pride.
"And yet you are willing to attack innocents in the name of a misguided quest. If you truly are good, you will see that we mean no harm and you will leave us be. We have no intention of harming you, but we will defend ourselves from such senseless aggression if need be" Man In Silver declared sternly, as the others nodded and began taking up defensive stances.
"I see all talk and no action is what you are! Let them have it!" the halberd wielding knight declared as the group began attacking the Colorfolk.
"Non-lethal only, everyone! We will not stoop to their level!" Man In Silver declared as he stepped back while the others took up the front.
Man In Gray was up against Jaune the sword wielder, Man In Purple was up against Alexandre the halberd user, Woman In Silver was up against Castlemore the spear user, and Woman In Gold was up against Knight Eren, who wielded a shield and a sword.
"What was it Man In White said about these weapons? This is a fight for our tactician; but there's no way I can slip away to call him now; he probably wouldn't get here in time anyway. I'll just need them to keep these knights occupied while I do my thing" Man In Silver thought as he prepared for his eventual role in the battle.
The fight quickly devolved into chaos. The color folk were mostly unarmed, which most of them hadn't trained well in. And they couldn't hold still long enough to cast a spell, or they'd get hit by one of these medieval weapons.
Eventually, Woman In Silver was able to evade Castlemore for a second, and began chanting in what seemed like gibberish. Castlemore looked down in shock as his pants seemed to transform, until suddenly they had turned into a rocket engine strapped to his waist. Then it ignited, and Castlemore was sent flying.
"Nooooo! Carry on without me, Cavaliers!"
Castlemore found himself flying very fast and uncontrollably. Lucky for him though, the "rocket" spells of the Colormen were purposefully non-lethal; you see, the rocket pants spell and all variations thereof, are what are known as "gag spells." For although relatively easy to learn, they cause minimal injuries to the target, in exchange for the ability of getting the enemy "far away and out of sight." The most the target could get were cuts, bruises... and occasionally motion sickness.
In Castlemore's case though, He found himself flying straight for the New Furness Molasses factory, and straight for one of their supply warehouses.
It was certainly a strange sight- a knight crashing into a barrel of molasses, and covered in very sticky syrup. "Uh... could someone spare a shower, and perhaps some soap?" He said; mostly uninjured but rather embarrassed about his sticky situation.
......
Back at the fight, Man In Purple was figuring out his situation against the halberd wielding knight. "I see now... the individual attacks may be strong, but it take him a while to recover, and getting close enough makes his long weapon useless" he observed. "on the other hand... what am I supposed to do if I get close? I suppose going for his neck would be the most obvious... ugh, if I could just remember what Woman in White said!" He muttered. So he went for the other way... making the knight focus only on him... only on him. The halberd turned out to be a rather predictable weapon; there were really only three attacks that could be done with what amounted to an over-sized ax on a long poll... side swipe left, side swipe right, and overhead chop.
The swipes to the side were key here. He did his best to dodge the attacks, but he was running out of stamina and he knew it.
Fortunately, he was right where he wanted to be. With one more roll, he dodged Alexandre's attack. Alexandre did a heavy swipe left, but failed to notice that the lamp post that he had been steadily walking towards. Man In Purple had made him move to just the right position, and when Alexandre swung the Halberd, he realized too late that he was swinging it towards the lamp post. The momentum of the Halberd meant he could not stop it in mid air, and though the metal head was strong, the wooden pole of the halberd was not so much. The way he was swinging, the wooden poll itself made direct contact with the lampost, splitting in two upon impact. Realizing he was now holding a broken half of a pole, Alexandre realized he couldn't continue the fight like this.
"You haven't seen the last of me!" He screamed as he picked up the other half of his weapon and bolted.
"Two down... two to... no, wait, why do I feel there is someone else here?" Man In Silver thought to himself, realizing that another set of eyes was watching the fight.
......
"Not good, Alexandre has broken his weapon and Castlemore is who knows where... I'll need to be ready for anything" the observer said as he readied his mace for his eventual entry to the fight, if need be.
Though some Colorfolk were having an easier time than others, the KNUCKLEHEADS were mounting a dangerous counterattack in response to their loss in allies...
"Ugh! I can't hit him! Curse that blasted shield!" grumbled an angered Woman in Gold
Woman in Gold was currently facing off against Knight Eren, who's tower shield was blocking everything she threw at him, an even the spells she tossed his way seemed to be dodged by his reflexes alone...
'I must thank Master Noir for heightening my reflexes, who knew it would come in handy against their unnatural powers... Time to use my ultimate tactic! For for the this knight's greatest move!' thought Eren, though highly emotional in his thoughts, it did not reflex at all on his face or even voice to people outside of his mind...
"Aren't you going to say anything! Grgh! I'm just going to smash that shield of yours!" yelled Woman in Gold as she spoke gibberish and magic coursed through her fist, intending to shatter the shield with it. Eren put up his shield to block the strike so she threw her fist, nut it was a faint as he reflexively pulled back as the Woman in Gold lost her footing due to the momentum of the throw.
"Shield Bash!" shouted Eren as he blindsided the stumbling Woman in Gold, knocking her out using the force of his entire body weight...
"Jane!" shouted Man in Gray as he noticed his compatriot hit the ground with a solid thud...
"Pay attention to who you're fighting!" furiously shouted Jaune as his sword sliced toward Man in Gray, "you lot have ruined the Cavaliers chance to use our new combination attack! So now, PAY THE PRICE!"
An enraged Jaune seemed to be emitting flames from his body with how much heat in anger he was generating. He caught Man in Gray off guard so much that the swordsman made a substantial stab wound...
"Calvin! Roy go support him, maybe cast magic on that wound of his!" ordered Man in Silver
"You know, it made sense to separate the Cavaliers in theory, but honestly hurting his companions really brings out the true potential in, not just Jaune, but all three of them. But, now seems like the time to end this!" said a voice as a mace slammed into Man in Silver's chest
All Man in Silver could do is cough up blood from his probably broken ribs...
"Colorfolk... Retreat!" coughed Man in Silver as he spurted gibberish that Bastille thought was just him losing consciousness, but really cast a smokescreen that the Colorfolk used to get away...
"Damn! They got away!" shouted Jaune as he slammed his sword into the dirt
"Patience Jaune, they may have fled, but now they know how dangerous we can be... Eren, you did well, I'll inform Noir of your success today, Jaune, you and the other two need more work... Now come on, I think Castelmore flew off in that direction..." spoke Bastille
"All right; let's get going; Jaune, you lead" Bastille declared. But Jaune didn't move.
"Jaune, I said let's go" Bastille said.
"I'm trying but my limbs won't...AHHH!!!" He shrieked in terror.
"What is it?" Bastille said. What the knights didn't know was that the Colorfolk used the smokescreen to their advantage; just before retreating Man In Silver cast one last spell, aimed at Jaune- the "basic spirit breaker" was a non lethal move that temporarily weakened the bond between body and soul of the target. In the case of Jaune, whenever he tried to move his physical body, it would not react. Instead, a ghostly image of his limbs moved instead, so the sight of what appeared to be his spirit leaving his body did scare him to say the least. It was one of a handful of spells unique to the Spirit-type colormen, and the first time said spell had been used in battle in a long time
"Help! I... I think I'm..." was all Jaune could say before fainting from the shock. The KNUCKLEHEADS subsequently retreated.
......
At the Colorfolk Base, they were getting help from someone they trusted... Man In Amaranth Purple- a "non-faction" Colorman who was both a doctor by trade and a mage who specialized in medicine and healing.
"You're lucky I was here researching your materials for any information on healing potions; if you had to wait for me to come I don't think I alone could handle it" he explained as he used his knowledge of anatomy and magic to ease the pain and heal wounds.
"Now do you see, Howard? I told you after that Golem attack things were going to get more dangerous around here. We need you more than ever... please, help us" Man In White pleaded. Once ensuring Man In Silver was stabilized, the medical mage scratched his head before sighing. "Ok... but I stay here where I'm needed... I only learned healing magic, not combat magic" he conceded.
"That's fine... we need a healer, after all."
Woman In Blue was pacing. "Who were those people? What is their aim? Do they have any of our prism shards?"
"That's a fine question... we need to track them down before they can do any more harm." Man In White replied. "As soon any as they're recovered, I'm sending Man In Silver, Woman In White, and Woman In Gold out to find them."
"Send Man In Blue along too... he did great against that golem, and he needs to get used to combat." Woman In Blue decided.
"Are you sure Man In Silver should go? He broke several ribs." Man In Gold pointed out.
"Hey guys! Those healing potions work wonders!" Man In Silver said cheerfully as he left the room.
"Huh... that was fast."
*********
Meanwhile, at the headquarters of KNUCKLEHEADS, Awkwright was ranting at the Cavaliers and Eren about their failures.
"Come on, you lot, this is the first time in any canon that we've mattered to the plot and this is what you do? Come on, you imbeciles! Worthless fools!"
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. A very short man on stilts entered.
"Hey, who let you in?"
"Hello, gentlemen. My name is, um... Manny Green. I want to join you."
"Uh... why?"
"You see, I hate the colorfolk too... and I think I know where their base is..."
"Hold on! We don't just take anybody off of the streets of the streets to be one of order! Well, except maybe Arnott..." lamented Arkwright
"Commander, I have ears you know..." growled Arnott
"Right, sorry, my loyal Fencer, anyways, to become a Noble Knight of the highest order, such as ourselves, you must partake in a 37 part trial period, be outfitted with a resonating weapon, armor set, and theme, and compose a 20,000 word essay on the proper articles when engaging your foe in combat, including witty comeback liners! Now, I know our PR Department, *Cough Maguire Cough* has said this ritual is more or less 'hazing' in a modern sense, and why our ranks have't exploded as I thought they would, but it is tradition so we must continue it..." spoke Arwkright as he began to wander into a tangent
"Ah..." was all 'Manny Green' could let out as he was dumbfounded over how oblivious this guy was. As he stared, he sensed a dangerous aura as a black metal gauntlet lifted him off his stilts with the other hand covering his mouth, preventing him from speaking spells...
"Commander, I believe this man to be a member of the Colorfolk we're after, since, he is wearing similar robes to the ones our scouts encountered, as well as an obvious fake mustache..." said the Pitch Black Knight as the fake mustache fell off 'Manny Green's' face...
"Ah, good job Noir Knight, as insightful as always, so since one has carelessly walked into our base, we should interrogate him, shall we?" said Arkwright with a grin
The last thing 'Manny Green' remembered was a black blur slamming him into the ground with an inhumanly force behind him, knocking him unconscious...
“Right, put him in the cell” Arkwright ordered.
Just then, one of the squires came running in frantically. “Sir! Don Delia is charging our neighbor’s windmill!!” He shouted frantically
“Again?!” Arkwright said in shock and frustration before leaving the room
.....
Low and behold, a knight on a horse was charging towards said windmill. “You May have foiled me last time foul beast, but this time YOUR HEAD IS MINE!!!” She declared before going into a battle cry and increasing charging speed towards the “monster.”
“How many times do I have to tell her that’s NOT a monster” Arkwright thought to himself as he finally came outside to see something reminiscent of one of the most iconic scenes in literature
"Squire Rose, get you're master properly aware that this structure is a bread making facility and not a monster of old, for I am summoning all of the senior and high ranking members, so Miss Delia is required" ordered Arkwright
"Yes sir!" replied Rose as she ran off to wave down Delia's horse, shouting the command word she taught it to stop dead in its tracks, flinging its rider off and into a nearby stack of flour sacks...
"You win this time you cloth winged beast!" yelled Delia angrily as Arkwright watched in disbelief, while the nearby squires looked at their masters with looks that said, "that's the pot calling the kettle back..."
.....
At the meeting was Sir Arkwright, Sir Charles, Sir Ulrich, Don Delia, Arnott, Bastille, and Noir Knight. These seven knights were seated around an octagonal table as they discussed their next course of action...
"So, Bastille, Arnott, what can you tell us about our nefarious foes?" asked Arkwright
"In battle these Colorfolk were fiercesome foes... We managed to fight them to a standstill, but I couldn't tell you how we would fair if all the senior members went against their top brass, because from my understanding, both of our forces were made up of rookies..." replied Bastille
"And from what I gathered from following them after their skirmish wasn't much either. I found their base, but I couldn't tell how many make up their number, since not many exited the building and I didn't want to enter further in. I was even out there for a few hours..." relayed Arnott
"Alright, so what's the staff's decision on how we should further this endeavor then?" sought Arkwright
"Well old sport, it's been centuries since our order's clashed with a foe like the Colorfolk, and even our records seem to have been lost about those chaps, specifically one called 'The Incident with the Colormen'... So I don't know" answered Charles
"Since Mistress Frankie asked us to redeem her fallen father by their vile hands, I believe we are on a noble quest, so whatever evil magics they have, we will triumph in the end! As well as partaking in such a glorious battle, we will be remembered for generations to come!" declared Delia
"Honestly, I have no particular investment in the matter this time, but I concede to whatever the group decides.." added Ulrich
"Hm... I'll refrain from speaking my honest opinion, but I believe if we do fight these Colorfolk, whatever the outcome will determine the future of our order, and I have a few ideas to where it will go, so I will side with fighting the Colorfolk..." replied Noir Knight
Arkwight began to stand up and said, "So it seems from our gathered intelligence it seems the odds are against us, even so, I'm for fighting these villains, so what be everyone else's vote?"
"Aye!"
"Aye."
"Aye."
"Aye Old Sport."
"Hm... Aye..."
"Aye."
"Then we are agreed, Bastille and Ulrich, gather the rest of the members, and Noir Knight interrogate the prisoner and then chain him up for use as bait, we're mobilizing all thirteen knights against the Colorfolk!" ordered Arkwright as he slammed his fist down in declaration...
.....
Outside the base, Man In Silver and his fellow Colorfolk confirmed their target. "There's no denying it- the souls I am sensing in this building have similar auras to those that attacked us, in addition to the ones that did" Man In Silver confirmed.
"Shame that spell has no practical combat usage; but your ability to sense the identity of the souls and spirits of others does prove useful in other endeavors like identifying lost souls to help them move on, and sensing the presence of kidnapped victims" Woman In Gold observed.
"Yes, the powers of the Spirit type Colormen have many weaknesses as well as strengths, but that is not important right now; there's no way we can take them all on right now... we must report back to base and fill them in" Man In Silver concluded.
......
"Looks like I'm going to need to brush you guys up on how to counter the weapons of a knight; I'll get the study materials ready" Man In White said as he left the room to get a lesson ready.
"I cannot BELIEVE those darn knights still exist after all this time" Man In Gold fumed.
"I don't understand... who are the KNUCKLEHEADS and why do they hate us... it doesn't sound like they're bad guys" Daniel asked, confused.
"Strictly speaking, they aren't" Man In Gold began. "The Knights Needed Universally for Coordinated Kombat, Leadership, Endurance and Hope; Experts in Attack and Defense were an order founded contemporaneously with the Colormen in the late 11th century" he said as he took out some old manuscripts.
"What do we know about them?" Daniel asked
"We only took some of our records from the old archives when we came here, but the ones we have do contain the important details" Man In Gold explained.
"Such as?" Daniel asked.
Man in Gold proceeded to open up a manuscript that contained some of the diary entries of Matthew Erdagovern, the first Man In Blue. "The order resented the arrival of the Colormen and later the Colorwomen; seeing them as almost "competition" of sorts. Why, we have no idea. Matthew talked many times of repeated discussions with the leaders of the KNUCKLEHEADS to establish an alliance with them... and they refused mostly out of jealousy it seems" he explained as he read it over.
"So was there or wasn't there a rivalry?" Daniel asked, now more confused.
"It was largely one-sided on their part" Man In Gold explained. "They saw us as "competition" for the sworn protectors of Ordos... a shame, but that's history for you" Man In Gold stated.
"What about us?" Daniel asked.
"We saw the "rivalry" as unfortunate; for a matter as important as protecting the people of Ordos, petty things like rivalries between factions were unimportant matters; the defense of our home and its residents took top priority... in fact they were the only good faction, magic or non-magic, on the island that wouldn't go on good terms with us" Man In Gold said as he read the text.
"But that still doesn't explain a resentment of us... we're talking about people who lived hundreds of years ago on an island thousands of miles away... why would they hate US specifically?" Daniel continued.
Man In Gold skimmed through a few more manuscripts before coming across one in particular. "Hmm... seems this is the answer" he said, reading an account of a trial held by the king of Ordos
......
Castle Ordos, 1411
"But your majesty, we were only acting in our capacity as the sworn protectors of Ordos!" Arden Bennington, the current leader of the KNUCKLEHEAD's, pleaded before the king. Present were representatives of both the KNUCKLEHEAD's, the Colorfolk, the Nobles and common people.
"... then why did you attack the Colormen in the presence of the Earl of Randow, not only injuring him in the process, but most heinously of all, KILLING TWO COLORMEN!" He boomed.
"We only did what was necessary, your highness! We were acting on very strong intelligence!" Bennington insisted, and one of his fellow knights produced documents showing what appeared to be diagrams.
"As you can see, at the Duke's speech today, the Colormen were positioning themselves in all sorts of places in and out of the church; leaving almost no land uncovered; they clearly wanted to harm him!" Bennington declared with confidence. The king sighed then pointed to the Man In Blue, "I will let you handle this" he said.
"Those diagrams you stole from Man In Indigo were our plans discussed with Man In White. The Earl of Randow came to us and asked for protection; a man in his position attracts more than his fair share of assassins and criminals. So once he informed us where he was going to speak, we drew these up to show him that he was well covered and would have nothing to fear while we protected him for the two hours he spoke. We would have been more than glad to come to you for additional assistance in this... too bad you beat up the messenger before he could explain this" Man In Blue said, before indicating an injured Man In Indigo.
"Um...um... he was reaching for his weapon and..." Bennington's right hand man began.
"Rubbish! I was reaching for the documents and you saw me!" Indigo furiously replied before the King called for order.
"And what happened once you had this "Intelligence" you speak of?" The King asked Bennington.
"We... we knew we had to work fast to save the Duke, so we took the initiative and, using the diagrams... attacked the Colormen" Bennington admitted, to the shock of those gathered.
"And what was the result of this attack?" The King asked Man In Blue.
"Your majesty- honestly, no side won here. There were roughly two dozen of us, on both sides. We had seven injured, they had nine injured. But there were only two deaths that day... Man In Brown and Man In Magenta" Man In Blue explained.
"That still doesn't explain how The Duke of Randow got hurt" The King pointed out. The Duke himself- his arm in a sling and bandages over some parts of his body, stood up.
"Man In Yellow was right over me in the balcony above the podium... one of the KNUCKLEHEADS struck him across his head and he fell over the balcony... and, well, let's just say I may have broke his fall, but he didn't break my spirit" he said, prompting some laughter.
"All right, I think I've heard enough. Bennington, the evidence is clear- by launching an attack on the Colormen and endangering the life of the Duke of Randow, killing two Colormen in the process, you and your faction have committed treason against the People of Ordos, and as such, I sentence your entire faction to..." he paused before deciding the punishment.
"Your majesty" Man In Silver, who had been quiet until now, began, "I must insist that you spare these knights the death sentence... even if they killed two of our own they did not act out of true malice and never intended on committing treason; surely this must be considered" he pleaded.
"While that is true, this must be weighed against the KNUCKLEHEAD's other failures" the king pointed out.
"Other failures?" Bennington asked, confused.
"Ever since the Colormen became our protectors, your faction has consistently failed to come to the defense of Ordos. Where were the KNUCKLEHEAD's during the Masteri War, the War of the Dead, the defensive campaigns against the ogres, or, any other war that was fought on Ordos in the last three centuries where the people were in danger?" The King asked.
"Well, uh, you see..." Bennington began, sweating nervously
"Enough! Your track record speaks for itself! Though since Man In Silver's point remains valid, I deem the sentence of your faction to be... exile" The king decided.
"What?!" Bennington said in shock.
"I will grant your faction and it's members 60 days to get all affairs in order... after that, the KNUCKLEHEAD's are never again welcome on Ordos. You may now adjourn" the King finished before everyone left. It was a shock felt by everyone, KNUCKLEHEAD and Colorfolk alike.
......
PRESENT DAY
"... and then it describes how two months later, the KNUCKLEHEAD's departed Ordos in disgrace, the crowds jeering as the ships departed for who-knows-where. Representatives from our faction and a few others who knew the truth simply looked on, and wondered what could have been if different choices were made" Man In Gold said, finishing reading the manuscript.
"Good Lord... but, but such a harsh sentence over a misunderstanding?" Daniel asked, shocked.
"It was a different time Daniel; us modern folk will never truly understand the inner workings of those people; even if they are our relatives" Woman In White explained.
"Exactly; my guess is that some form of this story still lingers in the modern faction, but they twisted the facts to make themselves feel like virtuous victims unjustly punished" Man In Gold thought.
"To be fair- when a story gets told over and over and from person to person, things do change and get lost; in our case we are lucky to have some contemporary documents that survive to shed light on things like this" Woman In Silver stated.
Man In White finally returned, "all right, the time has come, let's get training" he began. They didn't know how much time they had, and thus needed to prepare; in this case, a crash course in the various weapons of knights to know the strengths and weaknesses of each type would help come a battle.
Luckily, they had some window of time to prepare.
......
"Gentlemen, we shall launch our attack at midday... five days from now" Arkwright declared.
"Why?" Eren asked, confused.
"Because, it is that time of year again- our Thanksgiving. The Feast of Edogog where we celebrate the founder of our faction!" Arkwright said as he gestured to a portrait. All knights then raised their weapons in salute, "Praise Edogog!" They declared, before excitedly getting ready for the festivities
"I shall go get the barrels of mead and wine, chaps" Winstead declared
"We shall go fetch the finest pig to roast for the feast" Jaune said as Castlemore and Alexandre nodded.
"We'll get the table set" Maguire and Rose said, as the lowest ones on the totem pole.
"And in honor of this occasion, I shall go slay that vile beast next door once and for all!" Don Delia said as she raised her jousting lance.
"NO!" Screamed the other members of the faction.
"Ugh, fine, I'll get the napkins" Delia relented.
"Let the first day of the Feast of Edogog begin!" Arkwright said as the others went to do their respective tasks.
While the more experienced colorfolk went to prepare, Daniel returned to the college to work on his next lesson plan.
After a few hours of working, he was interrupted by a knock on the door. A well-dressed man entered.
"Hello, Daniel. I understand you teach magic history?"
"Um, yes, why?"
"On behalf of the magic underground, we must insist that you stop immediately or we will be first to take direct action. Magic is kept secret for a reason."
Man In Blue crossed his arms. "And what reason is that, Mister, um..."
"Call me The Optometrist. And if you don't cease this threat to our security at once, we will make you disappear."
"Is that a threat? Because I'm a colorman! I will take you down!"
"About that... I also sent a letter to a group called the KNUCKLEHEADS. In five days time, they intend to come here and destroy your office as part of their attempt to purge the colorfolk. I have the power to stop them... but you don't. Think about that."
And the Optometrist left as quickly as he came.
*******
The Knuckleheads, meanwhile, were enjoying the feast. Ale was flowing, pork was pulled, bacon was wrapped, ham was... I'm hungry now.
As the meal progressed, Don Delia and Eren found themselves discussing the Colorfolk menace.
"How can we possibly compete with their magic?"
"Arkwright says he's found a way to neutralize it... I hope he's right..."
Indeed, he had found a way. Interrogation of the green fellow had yielded an interesting piece of information- apparently there existed so-called “Colormen Alloys” and one in particular had the ability to make the magic built up within a user disappear on contact. Unfortunately the alloy in question was extremely rare and only produced by the Colorfolk. Furthermore, after a certain event some centuries ago, production ceased all together and the formula “straight up vanished”
Factions outside the Colorfolk tried to make their own version of said alloy, and while some came close, none had truly succeeded... as if there was something The Colorfolk had access to all those years ago no other faction did. A secret ingredient or two?
Arkwright ultimately decided that any attempt to forge or find this alloy was a fool’s errand... he wasn’t going to waste time on something that had no guarantee of working. Especially if only his “enemies” had the formula to it.
......
“So it’s a mythology of magic course, you say?” The optometrist asked Tiberius, one of Daniel’s students.
“Oh sure, interesting stuff, really. It’s amazing how real the stories sound on the surface, but when you get right to it it’s all myths and legends and they really give Greek and Roman myths a run for their money” he said
“So... none of it is real then?” The optometrist asked
“Of course not; it’s just mythology after all” Tiberius said before leaving
“Hmmm... if they only see it as myths, then that may be something I overlooked” he admitted
......
After five days of Colorfolk preparation, the battle was soon to begin. At the designated area where the sides were to meet, the Colormen made one last appeal.
“We are not enemies; you have either been deceived or are mistaken of your own accord. We do not seek to harm any of you and will not do so today except in self defense. It is you and you alone who want battle, not us. Admit this fight to be needless, and we shall leave, with no ill will towards your membership” Woman In Blue declared.
“We will do no such thing!” Arkwright shouted back.
“Then whatever happens from this point on is your doing... we will fight in self defense only. Should you claim any innocent lives today, the blood is forever on your hands” Man In Silver warned
The KNUCKLEHEADS were confused to say the least... if the Colorfolk were truly evil then they would have certainly attacked by now to have both the initiative and the advantage of surprise. And yet- nothing.
“Uh... maybe we should rethink this... they don’t seem like bad guys” squire Rose said
“Yea, and I’ve seen that silver guy around town- he finds lost spirits and helps them move on... that doesn’t sound like something a bad guy does” Squire Maguire added
“A con artist then? How dare he take advantage of others grief for money!” Arkwrght shouted
“Actually... he doesn’t charge anything and he’s got a good reputation around New Furness; Sure, a lot of people don’t believe in ghosts but, those same people see his actions as symbolic more than anything else, with no real harm” Maguire corrected.
To say Arkwright was taken aback put it mildly
"Poppycock young Maguire! Even an old man such as myself knows ghosts don't exist!" criticized Charles
"Even talking, ATTACK!" shouted Delia as she charged towards the enemy
"Mistress Delia wait up!" yelled Rose in pursuit of her master
This began the clash that would shape the new eras of both of these organizations...
.....
The battle would be an intense one to say the least. On the KNUCKLEHEADS side, they had brought all thirteen members as well as a bound and gagged Man in Green tied to a pole. On the Colorfolk's side, they had brought all twelve executives of their good faction, as well as asked Man in Indigo to lend a hand, due to him owing a debt to Woman in Silver.
Each side had capable fighters, now with both having the proper armaments, it was anyone's guess who would be the victor...
.....
A lot of the combatants were fighting in groups, with the notable exception of Noir Knight, he had his blade stabbed into the earth with his hands resting comfortably on its hilt, as if waiting for the exact moment to enter the fray...
"The Black Armored One is a strange one Melody, I sense a sleeping beast within what I can only describe as a 'void' within that armor... There's no way that one is just a normal knight..." spoke Man in Silver, sensing a strange danger whenever he used his Spiritual abilities on Noir Knight
"If he's not attacking, then leave him be, we got a bunch of other fighters to worry about!" replied Woman in Blue as a pike wielder tumbled just out of the way of her magic attack
"As you say Ma'am, I guess it's time to get back at that Mace wielder then..." sighed Man in Silver, as he locked eyes with the Iron Masked Knight...
.....
"Are you sure these runes will protect us?" lectured a girl holding a crystal ball to a man with the stench of liquor on his clothes...
"Relax, I drew the rune circle when I was sober, or at least when I had only finished four bottles, so no lingering spells with hit us as long as you stay in the circle. It also will keep us hidden, even from the most advanced spell users..." hiccuped the alcoholic
"Erun I swear if Adriana finds out we were spotted I will make sure Mark sends your booze stash to another Realm..." replied the girl sternly
"Ruthie, just keep that crystal ball steady and I'll make sure the runes don't run, okay hun?" mocked Erun
"I can hear you two not doing what I asked you know!" said a voice from the crystal ball
"Sorry Mistress..." somberly replied the duo
.....
The Colorfolk knew that these knights were going to be very dangerous up close... they clearly showed competence with their weapons and knew how to use them. But the Colorfolk still had several key advantages... including the tactical brilliance of Man In White.
(Prior to battle)
".... Devru glem chaka!" Man In Gold finished. The assembled Colormen and Colorwomen were standing inside an area of the field that was away from the primary battle site that was to come. Man In White nodded as he addressed the group from inside the circle. "all right- this is our fall back point; the within this circle we are protected by a perception charm" he explained.
"Perception charm?" Daniel asked.
"Long story short- as long as you stand within this safety zone, you won't be attacked. The perception charm will cause any outsiders who look in its direction to automatically look away and head off in another direction" he explained.
"So what will prevent us from being affected by it?" Daniel asked.
"We were inside the circle when it was created, so the charm doesn't affect us. This is also our field hospital" Man In White said, indicating Man In Amaranth Purple. "He'll heal our injuries so we can get back in the fight" Man In White said.
"I can't replenish magic though; so once you're out you'll have to recover on your own" he explained.
"But... what are these things?" Daniel said, holding up a sack with strange looking egg-shaped rocks inside
"instant-spells; they were designed for situations where you don't have time to say the full name of a spell. Be warned though- they are not as strong as properly cast spells and if you don't have a clear mind, their effects can be very, VERY random" Man In White warned.
"Just throw at the target, and bam, they go off" Man In Silver explained.
"Remember- use your strengths against their weaknesses, and they will be forced into positions they cannot defend against" Man In White explained.
......
As the fight began, Man In Indigo found himself fighting against Arnott the Fencer. Remembering that a Rapier was good for thrusting and some forms of parrying, but not much else, Indigo was trying to come at Arnott from the side or throw him off balance. But Arnott would reposition and resume his offensive.
"Ugh, at this rate I'll never get an edge over him!" he thought to himself as they found their fight dragging on quite long. Indigo tried to get in close with his weapon of choice, but Arnott was quite the fencer. So indigo pulled out a stone. "Ok, think of something that will help in this fight. Something that will benefit me, I..." just then there was a very loud, inhuman gurgle. Arnott turned around to try and find the source of the sound.
"Foul beast, come forth!" He shouted. What he didn't know was that the sound came from Indigo himself.
"Oh why didn't I have breakfast, I'm so hungry!" he fumed as one hand clutched his stomach and the other crushed the stone... and a banana appeared in his hand. "What the hell? I didn't... oh, forget it!" he said as he ripped the peel off and devoured the banana, flinging the peel. When Arnott turned around he saw Indigo shoving something in his mouth.
"Now's my chance! Take this foul mena... wah!" He said as he went into battle stance but then lost his footing. As if by fate, Arnott slipped on the banana peel and fell onto the ground... landing on top of an ant hill.
But since we don't have a punchline, here's another fight.
Woman In Gold was fighting Castlemore the Spearman. Taking advantage of her agility and aforementioned skill at close quarters combat that was established somewhere in the Golem fight, she would hit and run, dodging the spear, landing a quick blow, and backing off. But Castlemore could take punishment quite well, and soon the standstill was on top of the bridge over the river. "What's the matter, Gold Woman, frustrated?" he taunted.
"No... I was just wonder when i could do THIS!" She said as he threw a rock at him.
"Ha! Like that little thing will do any dam-AGH!" He said as the rock hit with force greater than anticipated, as Woman In Gold thought to "make it many times heavier upon impact" and, well, momentum. Castlemore fell over the railing of the bridge and landed in the river, laying on his back. Woman In Gold grinned at her victory before hearing a scream. "Help! I can't swim!" He screamed. A shocked Woman In Gold ran over to the railing... only to be confused.
There was Castlemore, lying on his back, flailing his arms and legs frantically in the river... and yet the river was only six inches deep. Woman In Gold groaned before going back to joining the fray.
......
Woman In Purple was fighting Don Delia, and was growing frustrated with the lack of progress that either of them were making. She pulled out one of her stones, "you want a cat fight? You got one!" She screamed angrily, but in her frustration as she was about to throw it at Delia, she didn't realize how close she had become, and in a panic she crushed the stone in her hand...
When the dust cloud around them settled, both Woman In Purple and Don Delia now had Cat Ears and tails. "This... isn't what I meant by cat fight..." Woman In Purple said in confusion as the two of them stared in confusion at their new appendages.
Daniel, while fighting Jaune, looked over and observed, "Cat girls? Since when did this become an anime?" He said in confusion.
"Alexandre! Castelmore! It's time to initiate our special combo attack!" shouted Jaune as he leapt away from Daniel and began to strike a pose
"But Jaune! Castelmore is being tortured by the vile Colorman using his one weakness! His inability to swim!" yelled Alexandre as he dodged a rock that turned the ground around him into mud
Castelmore was flailing his arms rapidly, splashing up water with his head to the side, leaving his mouth agape as he kept swallowing water while shouting, "I'm drowning!" over and over again
"First you ruin our secret strategy, then your torment my loyal comrade... Colorman drenched in Blue... You will face the flaming fury of my vengeance!" roared Jaune as flames seemed to flicker from his eyes and his sword miraculously began to ignite...
"Is that... Magic?" wondered Daniel
"No way! I thought these guys were just some lame knights?" questioned Woman in Silver as he dodged an attack from the Squire Duo
"I've heard tales of magic manifesting in situations similar to this, seems to be a natural defensive mechanism when one who has no hope to stand against a superior foe in the art of magics is driven to their edge. It doesn't help that there's so much magical energy in the air from our thrown spells, we should have been more careful..." answered Man in Gold
"Be careful Daniel! It may be reactionary, but I can feel the heat from here, he's just a novice so he might be 'throttling' his newly awakened ability, so much so that his anger is clouding his ability to properly control this latent power!" added Man in Silver as he dodged the swing of Bastille's mace
Noir Knight had peaked up when Jaune had become alight with magical power, but still stayed put in his current position...
The Man in Blue now had to do battle with the "Flaming Cavalier" Jaune...
"Wait, this doesn't make any sense! Doesn't the seventh law of magic say magic is limited by the knowledge of the user? How can he...or anyone... use a spell that he doesn't know how to use?" Man In Blue shouted.
"We don't know as much about these knights as we think we do... there's probably a lot of secrets they have in their armor" Man In Gold reasoned as he parried another attack.
This made Woman In Silver furious. "These KNUCKLEHEADS make me very, VERY angry! Why can't they just... just, I don't know, fall asleep!" she screamed as she threw her arms up in frustration... not realizing that he had one of the stones in her hand.
"Uh oh" she realized as the stone flew up and up, and when it came down, it crashed upon Knight Eren's head, and a small pink cloud formed around his helmet.
"What is this stuff?!" The normally silent Eren declared. He tried using his hands to wave the stuff away, but he found himself breathing a good deal of the cloud before he could. Then, he felt woozy. He fell to the ground with a thud... and was sound asleep.
"Well... that was anti-climactic" Woman In Silver said in confusion. Man In White was right, the spell rocks' results were indeed very random and unpredictable.
Man In Blue was fighting Jaune, Whose sword was now engulfed in flames. But it was clear that Jaune had little experience with this... this fire sword. Even at this distance he could tell that it was causing just as much harm to Jaune as it would if it struck himself.
"It's just like Woman In White said... if you don't learn how to control fire, fire magic is ultimately self destructive" he realized. But if Jaune was going to fight with fire, then this meant only one thing- he needed to use the contrary element... but the opening would need to present itself first.
Across the way, Don Delia and Woman In Purple had finally shaken off the confusion and proceeded to have their, ahem, cat fight. Woman In Purple struck Don Delia across her face.
"What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" Woman In Purple asked
"Don't you know cat's always land on their feet?" she replied before trying to go in and strike with her sword. Woman In Purple dodged and tried to take out another stone.
"I'd say it's time you have a cat nap!" Woman In Purple screamed, but once again, she was too close to Delia, and when the dust settled, both were sleeping and enjoying a "cat nap," probably for the best before they made more awful cat-puns.
This brought focus of the battle too...
Alexandre who was currently fighting Man in Purple and the two were in a standstill...
"It's time for a rematch thy multicolored man of foulplay, and this time, there's no electrical posts for you to magically create to distract me!" yelled Alexandre
'Does he think I created that lamppost just to defeat him?' confusedly thought Man in Purple
"Have at thee!" yelled Alexandre as his halberd swung downwards towards Man in Purple.
Man in Purple tried to dodge the attack, but slipped on the mud he had created earlier and the blade cut straight through his shoulder...
"Agh! I'm hit!" groaned Man in Purple as he hit the muddy ground with a thud
"One slain, more to go!" triumphantly shouted Alexandre in victory
Indeed, Alexandre was quite joyous with his victory. "I am happy! I am joyous! Now I truly understand the meaning of my favorite Disney song! I can fly! I can fly! I can fly!" He said as he sang the lyrics to a copyrighted song... and thankfully was cut off as a instant-spell rock flew against him that was thrown by Man In Gray... who had been aiming for Iron Mask but was a terrible throw. Alexandre suddenly saw a pair of giant wings sprout from his head. He was confused and shocked at first, then he became scared as they wings started flapping, independent of his mind, and he really was flying!
"No! I meant it figuratively! Help me! Help me!" he screamed. It was no use though, the wings were not controlled by him, and he found himself flying in a giant circle about 100 feet above the battlefield. He wasn't really going anywhere, but it was still a weird sight nonetheless.
The chaos of the fight meant no one saw this though, and after some shaking up of who was fighting who the battle resumed.
Woman In Blue found herself fighting against Sir Charles. She was keeping her distance and relying on projectile spells as Sir Charles kept closing the distance before she could cast anything too meaningful.
"You'll have to do better than that, old sport! My swordsmanship is unparalleled by all measures!" He declared as he got closer, the swipes very nearly making contact with her flesh. Desperate, Woman In Blue took an instant spell and simply shouted, "I need something that will give me an edge and bury him in defeat!" she screamed as the rock made contact with Sir Charles. When the cloud of dust settled from the explosion... Charles was completely buried in the dirt of the park, with only his head above ground.
"I say old chap, this is most unbecoming of a knight! I don't suppose you have a shovel on you?" He asked.
"I'll have to get back to you on that" Woman In Blue replied as she ran off to fight another knight.
Woman In White and Sir Ulrich were in the middle of their fight, and neither was gaining a true edge over the other.
"Are you even serious right now?" Sir Ulrich asked, holding her at pike's length away.
Woman In White took out a stone, "Let's dance" she taunted as she threw it. And when the smoke settled... they were doing a tango, and the blank expressions on their faces seemed to indicate that they were not necessarily in control of their actions.
But that was not in fact true. Suddenly, Woman In White kicked out and shoved Sir Ulrich to the ground.
"Help! I can't stand in this heavy armor!"
"Hah! Take that!"
Woman In White paused in victory before Going off to join one of her comrades in the fight that was still raging.
......
Arnott had fallen on the anthill, but was quick to stand back up before they could get into his armor and produce a rather embarrassing situation. He looked at Man In Indigo who was preparing to throw an insta-spell.
"prepare to meet your doom!" He screamed as the rock hit Arnott... and when the dust settled instead of his rapier he was holding a giant sausage.
"Meet... meat... well played worthy adversary but the fight is still mine!" Arnott declared before throwing down the sausage and producing a second rapier because, well, reasons.
But as he was dealing with this dilemma, Man In Indigo was taking the time to cast an actual spell, "... derna ulmok twigri!" he finished as the spell was cast and hit Arnott... the lower half of his body was now encased in ice, as well as his sword wielding hand due to the stance he was in.
"I... can't move!" He shouted as as tried using his one free hand to break the ice, to no avail.
"Seems like you've got cold feet at the moment... ok, I'll leave you alone until you chill out" Man In Indigo said before running off.
......
Man In Blue was fighting Jaune and his flaming sword, and was desperately thinking of a way to try and get an edge over Jaune. He thought back to what he was told about the weapons in the Colorfolk's custody:
"While we have only very limited access to our special alloys at the moment, these weapons still possess a unique quality. They can act as conduits for our magic, like a wand or staff, and with enough control, can be very effective" Woman In White explained.
"Why can't we use these special alloys you mentioned?" Daniel asked.
"Only a limited supply currently exists and we cannot afford to lose it; in due time Daniel, in due time" Woman In White assured.
......
"I see now... So if I'm going to fight fire, then I'm just going to have to put it out!" he said, as he concentrated, and a shell of water seemed to cover his blade. Jaune looked confused at first before going in for the attack. The two blades clashed many times, the water somewhat putting out the fire and the fire somewhat evaporating the water. It wasn't long before the two were surrounded by a cloud of fog.
"Where are you!?" Jaune said angrily as he tried to get himself oriented by using the light of his sword to see. Daniel, on the other hand, was able to make out a faint glow through the fog.
"I hope I get this right... I only have one shot" he said before the water dissipated and now his sword was covered in some sort of electrical charge. He was feeling some tingling in his hands though.
"Ah! Woman In White was right; electric magic is hard to control without training. Ok, I don't need much though... just one little... and Daniel fired a bolt from the sword at the glow before preparing his finishing move.
"ARGH!" Jaune declared as his hand was hit by some sort of lightning bolt, forcing him to drop his metal sword and he held his hands in pain. Then, to his confusion, the fog seemed to dissipate as this began to feel as though they were cooling down. There was Daniel, who seemed to be charging up some sort of ice spell from his sword.
"I'm sorry it's come to this... I know you aren't truly bad people... but because you are willing to harm me I must act in self defense... "Dowak maf ternu, fyrn wid trab!" he said as an ice bolt shot from the sword... and Jaune was frozen solid, with only his head out of the solid block of ice... but because this was magic ice there was also enough room for his diaphragm to expand so he could breath. He was in shocked confusion as to what was going on.
"Oh... uh... well, I hate to see you be frozen in fear but... it seems that you are on ice now and... well, I need to go help my comrades now. Sorry for giving you the cold shoulder!" Man In Blue said before running off to fight someone else.
......
Ulrich was trying to stand up, and was determined to do so, "this will not stop me! I will show them no mercy, after all it's not like I'm in a sticky situation" he said, before a insta-spell rock exploded near him... and he found himself covered in molasses.
"Of course..." he said in realization before lying down in defeat
......
Arkwright had fallen back and was growing nervous as Iron Mask also fell back and regrouped him. "it's not looking good, everyone's in some sort of pickle... whose left?" He asked.
"Just us and the squires... though Noir Knight just seems to be standing back from afar and observing" he said, pointing out that Noir Knight had not moved from his spot since the battle began. Arkwright, now feeling the pressure get to him, shouted an order to Noir Knight since he was in earshot. "Noir! As of now you are our designated survivor! Stay back and when the battle is over, your priority is to get the wounded back to base! Don't worry about chasing off the surviving Colorfolk- we must save our comrades when all is through!" Arkwright ordered.
Noir Knight acknowledged, but Arkwright could not make out if he said yes or no... it didn't matter though, holding the ground was what was most important.
......
Man In White and Man In Silver had regrouped as well, "looks like only four or five left... how are we doing?" Man In White asked.
"Only the purples are down so far... we got them to the medical area but we don't know if they can rejoin us yet" Man In Silver explained.
"Good... we must end this quickly. The mace one though... he seems to be the most troubling" Man In White observed.
"I have this... though then I will have to withdraw; what I have in mind will consume most of my magic" Man In Silver said.
"Your powers give us a unique advantage I don't want to lose, but I understand... do what is necessary" Man In White agreed as Man In Silver prepared to face Iron Mask.
"It doesn't need to end this way... leave now and I won't have to do this" Man In Silver said as he seemed to begin charging a spell.
"No chance! I will avenge my fellow knights and prove you to be the heartless villains you are!" Iron Mask said as he prepared his mace for the battle about to take place. At that moment, Man and Woman In Gray, as well as Man In Indigo, got between the two of them.
"We'll buy you time! Charge up what it is you are doing!" Man In Indigo declared as the three surrounded Iron Mask. Taking advantage of the fact that maces, while damaging and powerful weapons, were also relatively slow compared to swords and axes, and they had long recovery times between swings, the three focused on remaining mobile and getting small, quick hits in while Iron Mask was "recovering" after a strike. While not doing much damage, the quick hits from a small burst of magic were starting to get to him as he became infuriated. "You vile fiends... stay still so I may let justice triumph!" He said as he kept swinging his mace to no avail.
"Letting you get away with hurting us would be a great injustice!" Man In Gray shouted before striking him with an earth spell that send sand into Iron Mask's face; while his mask protected him from most of the sand, enough got through the eye openings that Iron Mask found himself blinded.
"Argh! How dare you! I should kill you for this!" he said as he swung his mace violently and randomly. Iron Mask proved he was still a threat though, as one swing of the mace made contact with Man In Gray in his stomach area, sending him flying back and landing on the ground in agony. Taken aback, Woman In Gray and Man In Indigo took a couple steps back as a furious Iron Mask began swinging even harder.
"Get back!" a voice declared. Woman In Gray and Man In Indigo realized Man In Silver was ready as they retreated, and Man In Silver struck Iron Mask with his spell full force. Iron Mask suddenly froze for a few seconds. Then, his whole body went limp as his muscles began to relax. Finally, he fell flat on the ground as he went into a state of apparent unconsciousness.
Man In Silver had used one of the spirit type spells he was certain had no combat effective use. You see, the spell in question caused the target to have an "out of body" experience akin to astral projecting out of their body. They were still alive, but the soul temporarily left the body while still maintaining its bonds to the body. It had been developed centuries ago by the earliest of Spirit type Colormen. In an ear before anesthetics, the spirit type colormen perfected the spell for "extreme medical treatment," situations that required major surgery of some kind for the target. Because the soul was out of the body, the idea was that the doctors who needed to operate on the patient could now be able to do so, without fear of causing said patient great pain or discomfort. The patient simply watched from "afar" as a spectator, his spirit temporarily outside the physical body, freeing him from feeling great pain as doctors tried their best to save his life.
It required a great deal of magic to cast though; in this case Man In Silver had almost completely exhausted his supply. As for Iron mask, while he found himself able to see now, the shock of seeing his body also made his spirit pass out... Man In Silver knew that they would reunite in a matter of hours- after all Iron Mask was not dead... but right now there were more pressing concerns.
"Right; I'll get Man In Gray to safety; help finish this battle!" Man In Silver said as he helped his fellow Colorman and retreated.
......
Arkwright and the squires had regrouped and were now surrounded. "Noir is our designated survivor so that leaves just the three of us now?" Arkwright asked. But no one even had a chance to reply before the unexpected happened. The wings that grew from Alexandre's head suddenly stopped flapping and he fell from the sky. He landed right on top of Maguire, knocking the squire unconscious. While the disoriented Alexandre, now suffering from something akin to motion sickness, passed out as well while the wings shriveled up and disappeared.
"Uh... make that two of us" Rose said as she gulped.
The two were surrounded by Man In Blue, Woman In Blue, Man In White, Woman In White, Woman In Silver, Man In Gold, Woman In Gold, Woman In Gray and Man In Indigo. Outnumbered nine to two.
"We are not enemies. Lay down your arms and we shall assist you with your wounded before going our separate ways" Woman In Blue declared.
"How are we not drawing so much attention with everything going on here?" Man In Blue asked himself in confusion.
......
Indeed, a few bystanders had observed the ongoing battle, but as it turns out some interesting figures were at work ensuring nothing became of what was going on.
Some were just watching, others trying to record on their phones, but to everyone that was there, strange, hooded figures came up to them. They were wearing robes akin to monk's robes, all solid white, except for solid black pan balances on their chest areas.
"I assure you, nothing interesting is going on here" they would say to the bystanders. This caused them to blank out for a bit before the figures continued, "I'm sure you have somewhere else to be... please move along" and the process kept repeating until there were no witnesses. They had used some sort of subconscious hypnosis to make them all disappear... and delete any videos or pictures taken.
The figures then gathered, "subconscious influencing has succeeded; no non-magic individuals will remember what happened here" one noted.
"Magic must remain a secret at all costs... the Judicial Law of Magic must be upheld" said another.
"Should we punish these Colorfolk for fighting so openly?" A third asked.
"No" the lead declared. "They were challenged and are acting in self defense; they are not destroying property nor are they acting malevolently. We will let them off the hook this time... but we must keep an eye on them in the future" he noted.
"Majika Supremus has not needed to take action like this in a long, long time... I only hope that things do not escelate" a younger one said nervously before all nodded in agreement
Now back to the fight:
Arkwright and Rose took in the situation before them as the nine's offer of mercy still stood.
Arkwright grit his teeth in anguish while Rose sweated nervously, wondering what 'faux peace' this vile Colorfolk offered, when a loud noise of a heavy object being removed from the earth rang throughout the field of battle...
"There, now there aren't to many of my allies who will witness this display, it would honestly damage my image of the heroic knight if the others saw my true powers..."
A knight clad in armor as dark as the sky at night wielding a black blade slowly approached the Colorfolk
"Noir, what are you doing?" asked Arkwright, confused
"Knight Commander, please remove our injured with that young squire, I will finish this fight, no need to fret. The demise of the Colorfolk will be shortly... The display you all put on gives me hope for our future, but we need to evolve if we want to survive in this modern era. In order to do that, I will be the bastion that showcases what we need to aim towards..." replied Noir as he pointed his sword towards the Colorfolk. Arkwright nodded in acceptance as he and Rose fell back to gather their injured compatriots...
"Well Knight, we've taken down many of your comrades, will you even consider a hint of surrender?" asked Woman in Blue
Noir Knight responded, "After the efforts of comrades it would be a mockery to end this fight in surrender, this is martial combat, even if you use spells, once this fight was engaged the only way of ending it would be through complete defeat or death... So, even though I personally have no ill will towards your group, HAVE AT THEE!"
A black aura of what could only be described as "a feeling of void" enveloped the Colorfolk, with Man in Gold, Man in Indigo, and Woman in Gray being knocked out instantly by the aura. The others buckled on, but were damaged noticeably by it...
"What was that?" questioned Woman in Silver
"I don't know, but it definitely magical power... Unlike that flaming fellow, this is the power of a skilled mage..." replied Man in White
"But... But he's a warrior! That shouldn't be possible!" lamented Woman in Gold
"It's rare... But there as warriors who train in magic to supplement their physical abilities... Usually warriors of... Evil..." answered Woman in Blue as she stared intensely at Noir Knight
"Now... Allow a 'Dark Paladin' such as myself to bring your requiem..."
.....
As Man in Silver placed Man in Gray next to the unconscious Purples, he turned back towards as he heard his allies' cries of anguish...
"My friends are in danger... From that destructive aura I can even feel back here, that last fighter is dangerous, though this might be to soon, if I don't use this who knows what will happen to my companions..." said Man in Silver to himself as he prepared his mantra to cast the spell in question...
After a few moments, Man in Silver launched the spell, but a bright red glow from Noir's helmet looked straight as him, as an essence similar to a black skull screeched inside Man in Silver's mind, sending the spell back at him, throwing the Colorman in the astral plane with such force that it knocked him out in a similar manner to Bastille...
"That is my curse, I am immune to the effects of Spirit-Type magic..." said Noir Knight to no one in particular as he cut down Woman in White, knocking her out
Everyone! Stay together! We still have numbers!" ordered Woman in Blue
"Even with numbers you will not stop my efforts!" shouted Noir Knight as strange words left his lips, and black pools of darkness sprouted tendrils that whipped at the Colorfolk, with one tendril even grabbing Woman in Gold, dragging her into a pool before the Colorfolk could react. A few seconds later, she was flung back out, with her mumbling 'The darkness', before she passed out...
"White, what do we do?" asked Woman in Blue
"I... I don't know..." Man in White replied
"Face it... You will not defeat me... This is your reckoning..."
.....
Arkwright and Rose had gathered their unconscious comrades and were watching Noir from the treeline...
"Knight Commander, did you know Noir could do... That?" asked Rose as she placed the Cavaliers de Trois next to one another, though Jaune was still covered in ice for being frozen earlier, as well as strangely hot since he had been on fire...
"No... But I had heard tales, rumors really, of the Noir line being notoriously dangerous... He wasn't just the strongest physically, but also pertained such capabilities, that is a marvel in and of itself..." mused Arkwright
"What should we do now?" questioned Rose
"Well, we've gathered our fallen comrades, so all we can do now is wait... Though I seem to have forgotten something..." answered Arkwright
Nearby, a pole covered in untied ropes laid barren in the field, with a former green occupant seemingly missing...
.....
Man In White, Man In Blue, Woman In Blue and Woman In Silver stood firm. Despite his temporary lapse, a few deep breaths brought Man In White back to his level head. Even if the knight was powerful, even he could not compete with the tactical brilliance of this one's mind. Taking in the situation, Man In White finally remembered something... an old legend passed down from the days of the early Colormen. They had talked of beings that could manipulate darkness and a void in such a way, but that could only mean one thing.
"You are no man... this is a demon!" He declared.
"Can you prove such an accusation?" Noir Knight asked.
"I can and I will" he declared. A ball of light seemed to manifest in his hand before being cast and flying right at the night. A loud sizzling was heard as Noir knight shrieked and some darkness began to dissipate.
"Light magic never was a popular discipline because in practice it had few uses. I'd say at its peak not even 14 percent of mages were light mages. But magic light was popular among one class of mages in particular, because there was one type of being that exhibited particular vulnerability towards it... demonkind."
Noir Knight was taken aback at this mere man's deduction towards his identity. He still felt safe though, because "demon" was not a single species... there were dozens that it could refer to, from devils to liches and everything in between. How could this man deduce his identity beyond that?
"Your mind is sharp, but my blade is even sharper! I will not allow you to live!" He said as he prepared to strike.
"Melody! Now!" Man In White declared. Both conjured magic light and shot it right at his head area, both blinding him and surprisingly, sending him into something that resembled a small state of panic."
"No! They mustn't damage my phylactery!" He cried out, seemingly looking for something. White noted this before signaling to his remaining comrades for a tactical retreat. They carried away their comrades and made their way to the area protected by the perception charm.
Noir Knight finally came back to his senses and realized he was alone. "I do not sense anyone present except my comrades... did they retreat?" he thought to himself. He look around for any sign of the colorfolk, but found none.
......
The Colorfolk reassembled in their medical area, protected by the perception filter. Man In Amaranth Purple was doing his best and although he could repair wounds he couldn't replenish magic.
"That last one was something else... I strongly believe that we are dealing with some sort of demon based on the evidence" he reasoned.
"Can that be proven?" Woman In Blue asked.
"I can add to that" a voice said. Everyone looked over to see a projection of Man In Silver hovering above his body. "Don't worry everyone- I am fine. That knight reflected an attack of mine back at me, but Spirit magic is my bread and butter so I know how to recover from it" he assured.
"But you are the only living mage with Spirit magic, how is this possible?" Man In Blue asked.
"As far as spirit magic goes it is very powerful but also has a major weakness- it has no effect on beings that do not have souls in the first place" he explained.
"Yea yea, I know about the fifth law of magic" Man In Blue began, "Magic can't create life, so artificial beings like golems and hommunculi do not have souls" he continued.
"Yes, but there are also living beings that do not have souls. Beings that do not dwell in this world, but in what some would consider "the world below" us" Man In Silver explained.
"Demons?" Man In Blue asked.
"Yes. According to legend many millennia ago demons used to have souls... but then something happened. No one is sure what exactly, but all that is known is that this event changed demonkind forever. They gained near immortal life spans, immunity to the effects of old age and disease, and great power, but at an enormous cost" he explained.
"... they lost their souls" Daniel realized.
"Correct. Demons are said to fear death more than humans, and in context it makes perfect sense. When a human dies their soul and mind become a spirit that moves on to the afterlife."
"But... but since demons have no souls, when they die... that's it?" Man In Blue asked.
"Correct- when a demon dies there is no afterlife, no reincarnation, nothing. But that is the trade-off for having a near-immortal life span though. They can only be killed by weapons of war or magic" Man In Silver explained.
"Then why did he freak out over a... a... what did he call it? Phylactery?" Man In White pointed out. Man In Silver was shocked.
"There are certain kinds of demons that possess something akin to a soul though. It's contained a special vessel- that which grants said immortality in the first place. If it is destroyed, they die. That's what it is, and I think I know the answer now" Man In Silver realized.
"What is it?" Man In White asked.
"I'm fairly certain... we're dealing with a lich" Silver concluded.
......
"Ok... Maguire is unconscious, Winstead is buried up to his head in dirt, Delia is asleep, Eren is asleep, Jaune is frozen in ice, Alexandre is unconscious, Castlemore is shivering and trying to recover from his "ordeal," Bastille is unconscious, Arnott is half frozen and Ulrich is covered in Molasses. But the good news is, no one is dead, so they were telling the truth" Rose said, reporting to Arkwright.
Meanwhile, Man In Green assembled the evil colorfolk and explained what he had seen.
"A lich?" Man In Amber Apricot asked, raising an eyebrow. "Can that be right? Liches are a myth!"
"Yeah, everyone knows that! It's a fake creature from stick figure webcomics and bad anime!" Man In Baby Blue replied.
"You are mistaken, my friends..." Woman In Brown, the chief record keeper for their faction, entered the room holding a hefty tome. On the cover were three large gold letters.
"Does that say "AOC"? Are liberal politicians liches?" Woman In Orange asked incredulously.
"No, dumbass, it's AOG. Ainz Ooal Gown was one of the most feared sorcerers of his day, and when he grew old he turned himself into a lich rather than risk the afterlife. This book discusses the powers he gained and the weaknesses that came with it. Using this text, we can formulate a plan to deal with our new foes."
"Well good! It's about time we had an impact around here!" Woman In Orange declared. "Alright! Man In Red, Man In Off-White, Man In Green, meet me and Woman In Brown in the strategy room to-"
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!"
Man In Black stormed into the room. The anchor-shaped scar on his cheek was glowing a strange red light.
"Ah, you're finally here. We were just discussing how to deal with the lich threat-"
Woman In Orange was cut off as a bolt of energy struck her in the chest and sent her flying against the back wall.
"Listen here, everyone! We have one mission- to wipe out the false colorfolk. We mustn't let ourselves get distracted by this stupid reniassance fair squad and their pet demon!"
Man In Green raised a timid hand, jumping up and down so he seemed taller.
"Um, Man In Black, sir... while I was captured by the KNUCKLEHEADS, I overheard them talking, and... they have a Prism shard."
Man In Black raised his eyebrows. "Really now... if what you say is true, we may have a reason to destroy them after all..."
Back at the park, The Colorfolk realized that it was foolish to continue the battle with this knight who was almost certainly some sort of lich... yet the evidence was circumstantial at best. So, they decided that a withdrawal was the order of the day.
"No one won today... and if someone did it is a hollow victory at best. I only hope that after today they leave us be" Woman In Blue declared.
Before leaving, Man In Silver decided to relay a message to the KNUCKLEHEADS.
......
The knights had gathered and were tending to their wounded... and were certainly surprised when a ghostly apparition of one of the Colorfolk they had just fought appeared.
"I mean you no harm... I am simply here to relay a message" he began.
"I don't believe it... a ghost! A God-honest spirit!" Winstead declared in shock before fainting.
"What do you want?" Arkwright declared.
"Simply to convey this: this battle is over and you may go home now. Both sides have suffered enough and there is no need to drag this on any further. We hold no grudges against you and will not seek revenge. If you wish to fight our evil counterparts, we will assist you if you so desire, but as of today this conflict is over" Man In Silver finished with a declaration.
"You... you won't come after us? Why?" Maguire asked in confusion.
"It isn't right, nothing more. We will not speak ill of you... I will do as my ancestor did when your faction was charged with treason and speak on your behalf if the time comes. until then, this is farewell" And Man In Silver's astral projection disappeared.
The knights simply stood, wondering what to do next...
As the Colorfolk began to leave the park, to long wooden staffs came swinging towards them, hitting Man in Gray and Woman in Purple, sending them flying into some trees...
"Wooden staffs? Wait, those are staffs... They're stilts!" shouted Man in Gold
"That's right my goodie goodie counterparts, and I'm not the only one, I brought the whole gang with me!" shouted Man in Green with a despicable smile on his face
The entire legion of Evil Colorfolk stood off against the heavily injured and battered 14 Good Colorfolk, except Man in Amaranth Purple but he wasn't a fighter so that didn't help much. They were at a clear disadvantage...
"Now you moral fools, hand over your Prism shards and I'll be sure to make your deaths painlessly quick..." smirked Man Black with an almost animalistic lust directed at them...
"We don't have any shards on us and you know it!" Man In Gold said.
"Then after we destroy you, we'll find your hidden base and take them for our own!" Man In Black replied.
"Your rotten heart makes you unworthy of a reassembled Prism and you know it!" Man In Silver pointed out.
Taken aback, Man In Black growled and the group proceeded to attack.
Relying mainly on the less injured Colorfolk, the good ones had to use what was left of their insta-spells for the most part. Despite having the evil Colorfolk having no defenses against spirit magic, Man In Silver was only able to get off a couple spells before passing out, disabling the Yellows.
One by one, the good Colorfolk passed out, eventually only leaving Man In Blue, Woman In Blue, Man In White, Woman In Gold and Man In Amaranth Purple. But they had only taken out five of the Evil Colorfolk.
"Seems we've come at a perfect time... striking you while you are down will be the first step towards our ultimate goal!" Man In Black said.
"Killing us will only secure your downfall!" Woman In Blue said between breaths.
"Not as long as that accursed spirit remains out of the Prism!" Man In Black pointed out.
"We will never back down!" Man In Blue stated.
From the hilltop, the KNUCKLEHEADS couldn't believe it... Colorfolk, fighting amongst themselves?
"What do we do?"
"Let's retreat while we still can... who knows what these other colorfolk are capable of..."
As the KNUCKLEHEADS crept away, Woman In Orange and Woman In Gold were locked in combat, but the other heroic colorfolk were fighting two enemies at once. Woman In Blue traded blows with Man In Black and Man In Amber Apricot, Man In White fought Man In Off-White and Man In Ghost White, Man In Amaranth Purple struggled with Man In Salmon and Man In Dogwood Rose, and finally Man In Blue found himself evading Man In Baby Blue and Man In Cornflower Blue.
"Get back here, you!" Man In Cornflower Blue yelled, causing a bunch of thorny tendrils to erupt from the ground and grab Man In Blue's leg.
"OW! I have a hangnail!" Man In Baby Blue whined.
Man In Cornflower Blue rolled his eyes.
"Why are you doing this?" Man In Blue yelled desperately.
"Because Woman In Blue wants to lead the colorfolk down a path of weakness and ineffectuality. Man In Black wants to make the colorfolk strong like we used to be." Man In Cornflower Blue explained.
"That's nonsense! You're faction doesn't care about helping people!" Man In Blue protested.
"Isn't stopping you helping people?" Man In Cornflower Blue retorted.
Meanwhile, at another part of the field, Woman In Blue was having problems of her own. Man In Black was already a match for her, and with Man In Amber Apricot providing support, she had nowhere to go but back. She blocked Man In Black's spells as she retreated backwards towards a tree, almost tripping over an unconscious, jam-covered Woman In Silver.
"I don't like using this spell, but I see no other option..."
A bolt of purple energy shot out of Woman In Blue's eyes and struck Man In Black square in the face. He began clawing at it in an attempt to get it off.
"That Toze spell won't hold him for long... I just need to take out Man In Amber Apricot."
"Good luck with that... I've studied a school of magic so powerful even you can't do anything to stop it." Man In Amber Apricot shouted at her.
"What, the school of arrogancy? Or "looking-like-a-smarmy-doofancy"?" Woman In Blue yelled, realizing immediately that she needed better material.
"Nope..."
Suddenly, Woman In Blue felt something slimy clinging to her legs as a sweet smell entered her nose. She tried to move, but she realized her lower body was encased in something yellow and sticky.
"Is this... honey? But honey magic is illegal! It's too dangerous!"
"Only to those who can't control it. I happen to be a master of the lost art of Elemental Honey, and I guarantee you that nothing can stop me!"
"Not even them?" Woman In Blue pointed up at a large cluster of bees that was circling Man In Amber Apricot.
"What? Oh god... OH NO NOT THE BEES! AHHHHHH!" And Man In Amber Apricot fled the scene.
"Now to get myself unstuck so I can help the others... oh crap."
Man In Black had gotten the Toze off his face and was glaring at Woman In Blue with murder in his eyes.
As Man in Black removed a javelin from his back and charged at Woman in Blue, but a black blade deflected his attack and sent him reeling back...
"YOU!" shouted the evil Colorfolk
"Sorry, but when I see damsel in distress, a knight can't just turn their back and run away..." said the firmly standing Noir Knight
"You know, I'm certainly no damsel..." chided Woman in Blue
"It's just a metaphor miss, sorry, it's a requirement in our order to say something cool like that when making a sudden unexpected entrance..." replied Noir Knight with a worried chuckle
"Well, watch yourself in this modern age, people have been shunned for weaker words..." huffed Woman in Blue
"I'll keep that in mind... Knight Commander, how are you doing?" asked Noir Knight
Nearby, Arkwright stood beside the two Squires and the recently recovered Cavaliers de Trois, Castelmore even got the water out of his lungs...
"Noir, I'll leave that javelin wielder to you, Maguire, Rose, stay close to me, we're dealing with truly vile ones this time, and you three... I can't believe I'm saying this, but... Go wild..." ordered Arkwright with a hint of regret
"Yes Knight Commander Sir! Alexandre! Castelmore! Let's get our combination move underway!" giddily shouted Jaune
"Yeah!" replied the other two Cavaliers
'I can't believe I'm seeing it, Sir Arkwright's true personality brought out by true battle, I've only heard rumors of it from the older members, but it's a sight to see...' thought Maguire as parried an Evil Colorfolk with a sword
"Maguire, stay focused!" ordered Arkwright as he sliced through an Evil Colorwoman and sent her flying backwards into her comrades...
"Yes Knight Commander Sir!"
.....
Man in Blue thought he was done for when three "familiar" figures came charging towards him...
"Oh no not these guys again..." groaned Man in Blue
"Noble Colorman in danger! Step back, for we will unleash our strongest triple attack! Cavalier Battle Formation #37B: Flying Swordsman Slash -Flaming Edition!" shouted Jaune as Alexandre and Castelmore grabbed their leader and threw him at an unbelievable speed for normal humans. With Jaune spiraling due to the momentum, and the igniting his blade and body with his recently unlocked magical abilities, it was more like a flaming bullet than a guy holding a sword being thrown...
Unluckily for them, Man in Baby Blue and Cornflower Blue were facing away from the Cavaliers, and had to turn around to see the projectile...
"What the hell is that? A spell?" asked Baby Blue who fullstopped just to look at the oddity coming towards him...
"No wait its... DUCK DAMMIT!" shouted Cornflower Blue but the duo were too late as the flaming swordsman pierced the Evil Colorfolk and stood on top of their defeated bodies in victory...
"Another victory for the... CAVALIERS... DE... TROIS!" shouted Jaune as he struck a pose, with Alexandre and Castlemore doing their poses will running up beside him
"I guess my horoscope was right that my life would be saved by a man on fire... Hold up, there's still more enemies, be on guard you three!" said Man in Blue deciding to accept help from these "unusual allies"...
"Just as the Blue one said you two... En garde!" shouted Jaune as he aimed his sword
"That's not what I sa... Nevermind..."
.....
"Please Miss, allow me to defeat this one soaked in darkness, I have 'issues' with ones like these..." said Noir Knight very seriously
"Alright then Knight, I'll deal with the Amber one then..." replied Woman in Blue
"Yes, the Honey Mage is none of my concern, I leave him to you..." answered Noir Knight as entered into a battle ready pose...
"You think you an defeat me? You're not even powered by the Prism Shards, what can you even do?" scoffed Man in Black
Dragon of Darkness! I am Sir Nigellus Blake, Knight of a Fair Order and here to slay you! Lokaskaya! Make peace! For this will be your final day in the realm of the living!
"Tell me something foolish one... Do you fear death?" asked Noir Knight
"Not even death will stop me in my quest to complete the Prism!" smirked Man in Black
Noir Knight shoved his sword into the ground, and slowly began to remove his helmet... Red Eyes flashed from a white skull and pierced Man in Black's very being, as pools of darkness flowed around the Dark Paladin...
"Let me ask you again, DO YOU FEAR DEATH?" asked the skeletal monster as he drew his sword, with Man in Black shaken to his core, as an unholy speed flew towards him as a blade of pure darkness sliced into his soul...
In the distance, the same robbed figures from earlier watched this conflict unfold. After ensuring that potential witnesses had disappeared once again, they took into account everything they had witnessed.
"Illegal honey magic... we must apprehend that one at once" one stated.
"Not yet... we must get that one alone before doing so. The time must be right" said the superior one. As Man In Amber Apricot ran off, he found himself running into a tree a good distance from the main battle. He fell on the ground with a thud as the bees began hovering over him.
"That would be now" said a third.
The bees disappeared as if being influenced to go away... while a dazed Man In Amber Apricot tried to make sense of his surroundings. Then, he looked up and saw the figures standing over him. When he saw the pan balances on the robes, his face went pale.
"Do you know who we are?" the lead said sternly.
"Y-y... yes" Amber Apricot said sheepishly.
"Don't make us take you in... if we catch you using illegal magic again, you know what we are capable of" he warned again.
Amber Apricot fainted from the shock. Of course he wasn't going to change his ways, but he had been warned.
"The evidence is not enough to take in anyone. But today makes it clear... we must watch this island: I fear what will happen if things escalate" the lead said.
"Agreed; we must enforce all the judicial laws... including the ones concerning warfare" said his right hand man.
"Why aren't we taking anyone in yet?" the junior asked.
"The threshold has not been reached yet. When that happens though... you know what we must do" the lead pointed out.
"Very well. Back to observation everyone; remember- no unnecessary witnesses" the right hand man said as they group went back on "patrol" in the area.
......
Man In Black dropped to the ground; never before had he felt such a dreadful combination of pain and terror in his life. It was almost as if death itself stared him right in the face.
"Damn it... what the hell is that thing" Man In Black muttered to himself.
"Do you dare risk fighting any longer? Because if you die, we both know what the Fifth Law states" Noir Knight pointed out.
"Grrgh... Colorfolk, I sense they have no Prisms, this fight is no longer valuable to our cause, sound a retreat!" shouted Man in Black
"Alright then, I'll consider this an honorable withdraw and allow your forces to depart, on my code as a Knight..." replied Noir Knight as he sheathed his sword
Noir Knight, with a sheathed sword, began to approach his dropped helmet, and as he picked it up, Man in Black tried to sneak up on the unsuspecting Knight and stab him with his javelin. As the javelin was about to pierce Noir, he threw up his helmet, grabbed the javelin out of the Colorfolk's hands and used it to draw a long scar across Man in Black's chest...
"Be warned when you're stronger enemy gives you the opportunity to escape, do not take his kindness lightly... I only didn't take your life for I wish not to feed the darkness within me... That scar shall be a reminder for any and all who challenge me foolishly..." spoke Noir Knight firmly as he locked his helmt into place, and once more placed his hand upon his darkened sword...
"Huff... You win this time Undead, but mark my words, once I gather the Prism Shards and forge the Prism anew, once the moral fools are gone, you'll be next!" growled a bleeding Man in Black
"Fine, but I won't just be me waiting, but a group of magically powered Knights swore to protect of the peace of this world standing in your way!" laughed Noir Knight as his red eyes shone once more, shaking Man in Black as the Evil Colorfolk gathered their defeated comrades and rapidly fled the battlefield in a cloud of fog...
.....
Arkwright and his fellow KNUCKLEHEADS stood in front of Woman in Blue as the other Colorfolk tended to their injured...
"I don't know how we could thank you... Though it was kind of your fault that we ended up in this mess in the first place..." said Woman in Blue
"It seems some false information lead us to cross swords, but I think we know who the true villains are now... So forgive us, though I think this covers the debts our groups owe each other from the past... Though I definitely wouldn't call us allies, if you ever need help properly protecting the people of New Furness, we'll be ready to lend you our aid, though for time being, it might be a bit begrudgingly..." responded Arkwright
"Alright, I"ll keep that in mind..." smirked Woman in Blue as she and Arkwright shook hands
"Knights, depart!" ordered Arkwright as the seven knights left the battlefield to return to their base...
"What a strange group of people..." commented Man in Blue
"They may be strange, but their hearts are in the right place... Remember them Daniel, who knows what will happen now that the Colorfolk and KNUCKLEHEADS have a common enemy, who knows what two forces for good can do when they work together, well, we're not at that stage yet, but eventually maybe..." lamented Woman in Blue as she and the latest Colorman recruit watched their "allies" depart...
But for the conversations for the departing knights however...
"So Noir, the direction you wanted to take the order in, I can only guess is teaching us all magic, right?" questioned Arkwright
"Of course, though it seems Jaune's gotten a head start compared to everyone else... When we regroup with the others, there's a certain place I heard rumors about that should do just fine in giving us the tools necessary to obtain such a goal..." replied Noir as their conversation began to be drowned out by Jaune's "heroic tale" of how he saved the "Wimpy Blue One from his deadly fate to the Squires, who bought none of it...
.....
Back at the swamp base, Man In Black was furious.
"How could this happen? We're far more powerful than the Blue Faction! We can't let this happen again!"
Man In Yellow spoke up nervously. "Uh, actually, we're clearly less powerful..."
Man In Black turned to Man In Yellow with murder in his eyes. "WHAT?"
"Well, I mean, we've hired so many Guild mercenaries that we're literally millions of dollars in debt, we can't ever defeat the colorfolk even with allies... let's face it, we don't stand a chance-"
Man In Yellow was interrupted as Man In Black delivered a massive slap that laid him out on the floor.
"Damn it, I'm not giving up yet! There's gotta be a better way to defeat them..."
From somewhere far away, in a building built into a snow-covered cliff, The Optometrist watched Man In Black scheme with interest.
"This "Ordos" place is even more interesting then we thought, eh Labyrinth?"
"Code names only on duty, please. I'm The Skinshifter." A woman in the corner of the room replied.
"Like "Labyrinth" is your real name..."
"Anyway, you know what the rules are. Tell the other factions and vote on whether to make contact." The Skinshifter said.
"Let's hold off on telling them for now... why don't we send The Beyonder to observe? She's been aching for a chance to put her talents to good use..."
"Fine by me, but if this goes south, it's on your head." The Skinshifter replied, a look of concern crossing her face.
"Oh, don't worry. The Guild Of Damoni always wins..."
************
At the colorfolk HQ, Man In Blue stopped by the infirmary. Man In Silver and Woman In Silver were there, looking a bit worse for wear.
"Hey, you two... you feeling better?"
"Mostly... those Black Faction goons did a number on my back..." Woman In Silver complained.
"At least we've made peace with the KNUCKLEHEADS... for now at least." Man In Silver chimed in.
"Do you think it'll last?"
"Daniel, the very fact that the KNUCKLEHEADS are still around in the 21st century at all is a mystery to me. It's like finding out that the earth really is flat or something. I can't predict what happens next with them, but I do know that kindness and empathy will make a friend out of even the firmest foe. I hope we proved that today."
Woman In Silver rolled her eyes at the Spirit Colorman's little speech. "I guess we all learned a valuable lesson today..."
"I hate to disappear on you, but I have to get to the college." Man In Blue said, glancing at his watch.
"Okay, have fun..." Woman In Silver called after him.
At the college, Man In Blue was surprised to discover that he had a new student. A bored-looking Scandinavian teenager was playing some game on her phone when Man In Blue walked in.
"I didn't know we were getting a new student... what's your name?" He asked, surprised.
"I'm Z-, er Zoie, um, Olson."
"Zoie... Olson... well, welcome to History Of Magic, Zoie!"
"More like "History Of Mumbo-Jumbo" if you ask me!" Said a voice. Man In Blue looked over to see Tiberius, a little too proud of himself for that pun, accepting a high-five from David.
"Well, this is a highly experimental class, and-"
"Clearly you're making this up as you go! There's no such thing as magic! It's all... nonsense!"
Man In Blue smirked. "Nonsense, eh?"
He walked over to the whiteboard to begin lecturing, but then "accidentally" dropped his pen. But to the amazement of everyone, especially Tiberius, the pen suddenly stopped falling and gently floated back into Man In Blue's hand.
"What? How did you do that? Invisible wire?" Tiberius was shook.
"I believe that's what you call "mumbo-jumbo"... anyway, when we left off, we were discussing the ethics of Golem creation and other automatons..."
Everyone was so transfixed that no one saw "Zoie Olson" recording the whole thing... and sending it off to Guild Of Damoni headquarters.
Assessing what they knew, the Guild found Daniel to be... rather harmless. He was teaching essentially what was considered "common knowledge" in the world of magic and he wasn't exposing any shocking secrets of any faction or of magic as a whole.
"huh... maybe he's not worth our time" one shrugged
......
"... so yes, there are some who debate the ethics, but the thing is... the debate misses the point entirely" Daniel explained to a now engrossed class. "Golems, and all other artificially created beings, are not considered to be "alive" in the first place... and there are three key pieces of evidence that support this concept" Daniel said as he began writing on the board.
"Evidence of how golems... are not alive?" Frank asked, confused.
"Correct. They are as follows" he explained as he began writing down the evidence of the case
1) Per the Fifth law of Magic, magic is incapable of creating life, in addition to being unable to return life (i.e. cannot bring the dead back). Those who are "alive" are defined as having a soul, and we see that here; Golems and other artificially created beings, do not possess souls.
2) The vast majority of golems are little more than "puppets" controlled by a "puppeteer." They do not possess intelligence and can only acted based on the will of the mage controlling them. The more advanced golems, while possessing some intelligence, there is only so much magic is capable of "programming" to non-living material. Accounts seems to indicate even the best golems, their intelligence was no better than a small child. Same hold for other artificial creatures- like golems, their intelligence is not high enough to understand complex ideas and concepts.
3) The creators of golems, the Order of Masteri- flat out stated that their creations "Were not, and should not be considered alive"
"Quoting directly from a letter the Mage Alabaster sent to a friend" Daniel explained, telling his class to turn to a specific page in their textbook,
"The process to create them is simple and the results are worthwhile, but alas, it does not matter how strong we make them. I know that these golems are neither man nor beast... they are something different, all together. Many depend on a mage the way a puppet needs a puppeteer, though even my own creations are not capable of function independent of myself. The golem can be a capable weapon or tool in the right hands, but that is all it is... a weapon or tool. We wish we could bring these magnificent beings to life... but even with our capacity to animate the inanimate, we cannot create souls"
"Where did this letter come from?" Frank asked
"I'd tell you about it... but that's a lecture in itself" Daniel quipped before transitioning. "And so in conclusion, it is for these reasons that throughout history, mages did not consider golems to be alive" Daniel explained. "Now, are there any questions concerning tomorrow's quiz?" Daniel asked.
"But aren't there those who do consider golems to be alive?" one of the students asked.
"Possibly... but given that there doesn't appear to be too much information on their argument, it would not be fair to present it as such, now would it?" Daniel pointed out.
"So, regarding the quiz..."
.....
(FLASHBACK; after the golem attack)
Daniel and Man In Silver had returned to the area where the golem had been destroyed. Man In Silver had noticed that Daniel was troubled by a few things, and wanted to show him something.
"You did not kill the golem, Daniel, for it wasn't alive to begin with" Man In Silver explained. Though much had been cleaned up, the area was still abit of a mess. They came to the remains of the collapsed golem; the city had not yet allocated resources to move the stone yet.
"The golem did not have a soul, Daniel. It wasn't a man or beast... I don't know what I would call them myself, but to say they are alive is misleading. When you destroyed that Golem, you simply made the stone inanimate again, nothing more" Man In Silver said. As he concentrated, he seemed to be trying to look for something, then sighed. "Yes, it is just as I expected... no trace of a lingering soul or lost spirit" he explained.
"But... but is there anything left to even detect?" Daniel asked.
"If there had been a soul in this body at one point... traces of the bond that once existed between it and the body would remain. And yet, there are none" he explained.
"Wait, if traces of bonds remain after one dies, does that mean..." Daniel began
"No... once a bond between body and soul is broken, there is no repairing it" Man In Silver explained.
"But... but what about near-death experiences and astral projecting?" Daniel asked.
"Sometimes the bonds can be stretched... but like how the flower must eventually wilt, the body must eventually die" Man In Silver explained.
"... and the bonds must break" Daniel realized.
"Exactly" Man In Silver acknowledged. Daniel took a deep look at himself, and realized that one day, he needed to come to terms with something that many probably only take for granted... his own mortality.
......
Man In Black had met with his associates following the failure of the golem attack, when one asked "by the way... were you really planning on letting that golem go free?" one asked.
Man In Black was silent for a bit before laughing hysterically, "Don't be ridiculous! That was but a lie to encourage it to fight harder. That golem was a tool for us to use in furtherance of our goal, nothing more. Besides, I don't think he even understood what I meant by freedom" Man In Black explained.
"how so?"
"When I offered him freedom, his reply was "me not exactly sure what "freedom" is, but if it my reward, it must be very good thing" and... that was it" Man In Black shrugged.
"What happened after that?"
"Who the hell cares? We have prism shards to locate!" Man In Black declared before going into his next plan.
......
Back to the present:
Two individuals were making their way through a cavern as they stumbled upon a stone statue missing a hand...
"Yep... I can feel the residue of the pure magic in the air... I guess this is the fate of someone who mishandles that power huh..." said a man in dark gray colored clothes...
"Well my liege, what should should we do about 'this' then?" asked the armor suited individual
"Grab one end Gilford, maybe Adriana can undo whatever curse was placed on this poor bastard and we can finally get a lead..." replied the man
"A lead my liege?" asked Gilford
"Yeah... A lead on where we can find more prism shards..." replied the man as end of his hammer started to glow with a pure crystalline light...
.....
End of Arc 2
End of Arc 2