Chapter Nine Segment

A few minutes later, the group had made their way down the dimly lit hallway and to a room that looked well-lit. Regal had a bad feeling about the situation. It seemed that this entire "mission" was a little too easy. And now this room...The museum was more vacant than a covert military facility was supposed to be. What could possibly be waiting for them in this room that stuck out so much more from the others?

As they approached the mysterious room, the group traded worried glances with one another and said nothing for fear of alerting someone inside. Regal held up a hand, beckoning the group to stop just short of the entryway. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate. Shields that only someone with magical training could see covered the bodies of the group. To all but Alice and Regal it would appear that nothing had happened. But they saw the blue aura, in its dim magical glow, covering each person like a second skin. Blue auras were characteristic of the Inner Circle magic that Regal was so adeptly trained in. Since Regal's power came from within and he would need to conserve energy for other spells, the shields would guard against surprising blows but only for so long.

"Good idea," Alice said, understanding what had just occured.

The others stared at them looking completely puzzled.

"I put shields on all of you," Regal whispered. "If someone strikes them enough they will break, but they'll save you from a blow you don't see."

"Well aren't you a big old bag of tricks," Xavier said dryly.

"Shhh! Cut the chatter!" Hawk said, taking up a position next to the opening of the room.

When everyone else settled into position, they took a collective deep breath and rushed the room. Much to their surprise, the room was empty. Or almost empty. Floating in a field of light flowing out of a pedestal in the middle of the room was a triangular and metallic object with odd writings inscribed on it.

"No touching until we figure out if it's a trap or not," Hawk said after several moments of silence.

Regal approached the artefact. "I'm just going to look at it," he assured them.

A few minutes passed and Hawk had finished checking the room. Regal was still studying the artefact, confounded by the old dialect on the triangle. The old...Zealonian dialect?

"We've got a problem," Regal said, turning towards the group. "The artefact...These markings...They're distinctly Zealonian!"

"How's that possible?" Tanner asked, his eyes betraying both fear and awe, but Regal had no answer to give him.

Finally, Alice approached the pedestal. "There are no traps?" she asked.

"None that I can detect," Hawk stated blandly.

"Nor I," Xavier said in his smug tone.

"No one asked you, pirate," Hawk countered in a voice gushing with contempt. Why did these two dislike each other so much? They had just met minutes ago.

"Well," Alice began, reaching for the artefact. "We might as well take it and figure it out later!" Before anyone could protest or stop her, she grasped the artefact. As soon as she touched it, it began to glow a faint green. Not a magical glow, Regal decided, noting that everyone else seemed to see it as well, but actual light.

A few moments later, black smoke began to fill an area to the side of Alice. As the smoke began to take a human form, Regal sensed a red aura. Red could mean only one thing: Outer Circle magic. But how? Why here of all places? The others wouldn't be able to sense it in the same fashion he did. Even Alice would not be able to see this particular aura. It was only because Regal ahad studied this type of magic in Zeal that he was able to identify it now. Unfortunately, he would have the discomfort of being the only one who would know how terrified they all should be.

The black smoke materialized into the shape of an old man who, with his smokey body, barely had any discernible features.

Suddenly, the smoke began to speak. "I suppose I should thank you," it said in a voice filled with darkness. "I never could activate it on my own after all."

"That voice..." Tanner said, fear causing his voice to crack.

"Hawk nodded. "The emperor."

"Isn't that a little formal?" the smoke asked. "I mean, I know all about you so you should at least call me by my first name."

"Which is?" Alice asked in a shakey voice.

"Vext," the smoke replied. "You've all been of great use to me and I thank you for it. I could not have activated this artefact without your help. Hawk, the lightning fast freedom fighter. Xavier, the enigmatic and dangerous pirate. Tanner, a filthy street urchin. Regal, the talented mage and archaeologist. And even little Alice, who's part in this play is far from over with. I'm going to take what's mine and kill you! But don't worry, Alice, you can stay alive a little while longer. After all, I still have a use for you."

Without further warning, the smoke raised its hand and pointed it at Hawk. Soon after, she flew backwards. Vext huffed out a sigh and then laughed maniacally.

"Shields!" he screamed. "And high-level ones too! She would be dead right now if not for you, Regal! I wonder if you've kept any power to yourself. I daresay you might need it. And with her speed consumed, I think she might need all the protection you can give her!"

"Speed...out?" Tanner asked hesitantly.

"You don't know her secret?" Vext asked. "Her speed is powered by a mobile unit. She can only use so much so often and she drained it taking care of my cameras in the lobby."

"How do you know so much?" Xavier asked. It was the first time one of their group seemed to be collected since Vext had appeared. Until now, they had been stunned and silent. Even Regal. If they survived this, he would have to figure out how Xavier could appear so calm in the face of such great danger.

"Why tell someone who's going to die?" Vext asked in an amused tone. Regal decided to use the time the two were spending in conversation to prepare and hopefully cast a powerful spell. If he managed to complete it, he supposed he could immobilize Vext, but it was untested and he had no idea what the real result would be - especially if it collided with Vext's Outer Circle magic. From the ancient texts Regal had scoured through back home, he figured that Outer and Inner Circle magic could not be combined and could meet with devastating results.

"Maybe I've got an ace up my sleeve. Maybe you're so sure that you'll win that you'll humor me," Xavier continued.

It needs more time!

Xavier pressed on, "What did you mean when you said that Alice's part in this wasn't over?"

Still more time!

"You think that I would tell you?" Vext asked. "I've come too far and sacrificed too much to risk compromising anything! No, Xavier. I will not tell you. The time for talk is over. Now you die!"

Finished!

Just as Vext raised both hands, trying to finish off Xavier with some powerful spell, Regal channeled his spell through his hands and towards Vext's. There was a blinding white light and then it subsided. For a while afterwards, Regal couldn't see, hear, or sense anything. Finally, he snapped out of it and saw...Trees?

Another Segment

Not sure where this will go but it will be close to the beginning. Here we go:

Regal Altara sat in his cozy living room. He was lounging comfortably in a leather armchair. Alice, a long-time friend of his, sat directly across from him cross-legged on his sofa. Candlelight and two dimly lit lamps provided the right atmosphere for a relaxing read.

Alice was quietly enjoying a romance novel (they were popular among Zealonian females it seemed) and Regal was nose deep into an archaeological book published by one of his peers in Zeal, the continent's capital.

"Can you believe this?" Regal snarled. "Dalton actually gets published with theories like these! He doesn't deserve any credibility at all! I bet he couldn't even shed light on anything worthwhile in the field even if he used elite flame magic." Alice wasn't interested in archaeology like Regal was. He knew that. He also knew that she would feign some interest in support of him despite how dry she found it.

"Dalton again?" Alice said with a sigh. "Regal, let it go. Why do you need to have a pissing contest with the man? That is, unless, you're compensating for something..." The teasing was deliberate and expected though Regal was surprised that she was being even more sassy than she usually was. Regal and Alice were close and had a relationship akin to being brother and sister. The comment was meant to be comical and held no sexual conotations, despite its reference to his genetalia.

Regal ran a hand through his raven-black hair. "Of course not! The man just gets on my nerves."

"Then why don't you read something a little less dry for once! If you want I can run home and fetch you a romance novel," she said in a tone that told him she was all too pleased with how this teasing was going. In a sad way he would rather read a trash romance novel than put up with his trash Dalton book, although he would never admit that to her.

Regal got up and poured himself another glass of wine from the nearby table holding a decanter of red wine and some glasses. He turned his head towards her and then motioned to the wine bottle with it. She shook her head in response.

"How's your novel? Any better?" he asked, taking a gulp of wine when he was done speaking.

"A little cliche but good nonetheless."

"Well at least one of us is having a satisfying read," he said dryly.

Regal saw Alice glance at the wall. "It's getting late," she said as she shifted into an upright position.

"What? Already?" Regal asked, unable to hide his surprise. Normally Alice stayed over later than this.

"Yeah, mom wants my help with something she's preparing for tomorrow."

"Ah, all right. Well, as always, I enjoyed having you over. I'll be working in the ruin this week. Drop by if you've got nothing better to do."

"Okay, I'll do that," she replied in a chipper tone.

"Here, I'll walk you out," Regal said, motioning towards the door with his hands. It wouldn't be dangerous and Alice lived two houses down from him, but it was common courteousy to see a lady off when she was leaving. He saw her out, went back into the living room, downed his wine, poured another glass for himself to sip on, cursed Dalton, and sank into the armchair with book in hand before drifting off to sleep in the same chair.

Chapter Nine - First Segment

Lycia, on the border of The Balkanian Empire

It had been nearly a month and a half since the magical incident at Mycenae had thrown apart Tanner’s group and sent the Balkanian Empire into disarray. Tanner, Regal, and Alice had awoken in a densely forested area. Tanner was initially surprised by seeing so much vegetation. His whole life had shown him little more nature than a decaying tree in Pylos square. Still, he supposed that he shouldn’t be too surprised. So far he had seen things he could have never even dreamt of on this adventure.
The three later came upon a small city and realized that they had been flung just outside the Balkanian Empire to one of its neighbouring territories still offering some resistance, Lycia.
The Lycians were a peaceful people by nature and did not possess a large army. There would be no strategic reason to conquer the territory since it posed no threat and had only the natural resources required to sustain itself. Nevertheless, the Empire was vigilant in their quest to conquer the continent and would leave no stone unturned, not even peaceful Lycia.
Lycia was abundant in nature but did have technology. It could best be described as a hybrid city where technology and nature worked in tandem to provide beautiful hillside scenery, fading off into dense forests. If Balkan swallowed this territory as it had the previous ones who offered resistance, much of the city and all of the nature would be destroyed, being replaced by electricity and massive skyscrapers.
Tanner, Alice, and Regal had formed a makeshift camp on the outskirts of the city. Every now and then they would go into the city to trade lumber Regal had chopped into bundles for the supplies they needed. Though, because lumber was so abundant, this usually did not yield an abundance of supplies. Still, they were able to get what they needed to survive.
Their existence was relatively peaceful, but they knew the Empire would come for them sooner or later and began to plan their own attack, countering the Empire before it had a chance to strike first. Also of concern was the dark magic that had seemed to awaken within Tanner at the Mycenae Museum.

Regal sensed something dark within Tanner, something that he hadn’t sensed before. Everyone had some darkness but the darkness seemed to be pouring out of Tanner like a cup overflowing with excess water. It was intoxicating like a bitter-sweet red wine. The more Tanner used the magic, the more he would be consumed by it. If they were to avoid that, Regal would need to teach Tanner the magic of the Outer Circle, something that had not been attempted in Zealonia for five hundred years. But he was no longer in Zealonia and Regal saw little choice. Either he could delve into the dark arts to save Tanner, or he could take the risk of letting the dark magic consume and kill him.
There were good reasons why the Outer Circle magic was not practiced. The first was that the nature of the training put the user’s life at risk. The Outer Circle was dark magic and had to be kept in a certain balance. Unlike magic of the Inner Circle, the Outer Circle required the user to take in dark magic from his surroundings instead of channelling the light from within. This magic was chaotic by nature and was therefore unsuitable for defence. If the user took in too much dark magic energy he would lose his mind and life, being forever transformed into the form of a crazed dark beast, hell bent on killing. This would surely happen to Tanner if he went untrained in the dark arts. The closest analogy would be if one were so drunk he was unable to taste the alcohol he was drinking and drank himself into sickness as a result. In Tanner’s case: death. Regal could not – would not – let that happen.

New Beginning to Chapter One

This part comes in directly before the part where Tanner is running from a man in the market. I think Regal's character and Zealonia as a whole really came out of nowhere and needed a few more paragraphs of background, though most will be revealed in later chapters.



Zealonia was a land where magic thrived. Its inhabitants were able to use the magic in varying ways. Generally, some were innately attuned to offensive magic and some were more attuned to defensive magic, though only defensive magic was now practiced in Zealonia. In addition to manipulating magic to offensive and defensive ends, one could feasibly generate fire, wind, lightning, water, or various combinations of the four.
Regal Altara was a mage trained in the defensive arts, the craft of the Inner Circle. He was also Zealonia’s most gifted archaeologist, which was a coveted position considering the high volume of ancient ruins in Zealonia. Regal was originally born in Zeal, Zealonia’s largest city, but had since moved to Mist, which was a small coastal village with a local ruin and large amounts of farmland. Regal didn’t mind living in a smaller village. For the most part, he found it refreshing. Deciphering the mysteries of the nameless ruin close to where he had erected a house took up most of his time. Every now and then he would spare a few moments to keep up with his Inner Circle training. Honing his defensive skills was never a bad idea.
In Zeal, Regal’s parents had pushed him to be both dedicated and insightful, his father being a professor and his mother being a talented mage in her own right. He studied hard at the magical academy, excelling in the field of archaeology, his curiosity shining through in all facets of his tenure at the academy.
Zealonia had been at peace for around five hundred years. Little was known about the war that once required the skills of mages trained in the offensive Outer Circle arts. In fact, all records of the enemy the Zealonians were fighting at the time seemed to be scarce and vague if found. It was these sorts of mysteries that drove Regal to pursue archaeology and his curiosity that made him so adept at solving them. Under his reign as de facto main archaeologist, Zealonia had learned more about its history in four years than it had learned in the last four hundred. Regal was slightly competitive as well, still looking for what would be his crowning achievement, but was more interested in satisfying his own curiosity and zest for learning than for gathering critical acclaim that would only be acknowledged in Zeal.
Regal was also becoming bothered by the monotony of meeting the same road blocks at every turn in his research and was yearning for something exciting to come his way. He always thought that some day he might find something so foreign that it would shake the very foundation of their society. A dream – but a good dream nonetheless. He hoped that there were others out there that shared his dream, and also his passion.

Chapter Two - Revised

Chapter Two

The Balkanian Empire – Pylos, District D

“Another day, another trial,” thought Tanner as slinked among the crowded market place, searching out those who might have easily accessible chips. He was trying to avoid another incident like the one yesterday at the market. The type of incident that could end his not-so-illustrious career as a street urchin in a very painful way. Today, he would be careful. Today, he would avoid trouble.
There was always the option of legitimate work if it became available. Tanner thought about the prospect and decided that it might be safer than thieving for the day. Barnabus, a local merchant who Tanner had a relationship with, might have some work for him if he was lucky.
On the way to Barnabus’s stall, Tanner saw three fights, one mugging, and one theft that would go unseen by anyone else. At the other edge of the market, a fellow pickpocket was about to work his unique magic on an unsuspecting woman dangling her bag a little too low. He ignored all of it. Today was about honest work and avoiding trouble.
Finally, he reached Barnabus’s stall. Barnabus was a burly man with a full beard. He wore heavy clothing. Undoubtedly to impede anyone looking to rummage through his pockets. Tanner was sure that any possessions he held were on the innermost layers of his clothing. Stealing from Barnabus would be difficult and would be a bad idea since it would cause trouble for one of the only men capable of supplying food to the District. The man didn’t seem busy and would be able to speak with Tanner immediately.
“Barnabus, you need any help today?” Tanner asked, doing his best to sound desperate. Just the way someone looking for honest work in Pylos should sound.
“Tanner! Long time no see my lad. I think I just might have a task for you.”
Suddenly, Tanner’s attention was caught by a strangely dressed man running through the center of the square. In fact, the man seemed to catch everyone’s attention as evidenced by the large number of people gawking at him. The man wore a red and light blue robe. Raven-like black hair fell to his shoulders. The man was followed closely by several soldiers. Tanner had seen many trying to flee Imperial soldiers, but never someone so richly dressed. Just what was a noble doing in Pylos anyway? Tanner was determined to find out but he was also determined to find out how much coin the man had with him. He had endeavoured to do an honest day’s work, but the possibility of pocketing a few coins from someone so outlandish seemed too good to pass up.
Tanner waved to Barnabus and disappeared into the crowd like a mist that comes quickly upon a harbour at morning, a skill he had honed from years of stealing and stealth. He moved to follow the man and the soldiers chasing him.

“Get him!” cried one of the soldiers chasing Regal.
Regal had no idea what was happening. The last thing he remembered was getting sucked into the void back in Mist. Suddenly, he was in a place that looked so foreign. Everywhere you could see, large buildings, each having been carefully measured, jutted out into the sky. But there was more than just buildings here. This area seemed to be desolate and its people starving. From what Regal had seen since the void closed behind him, all of the people were starving and impoverished. Regal had never seen such a depressing sight. To make matters worse, the only source of nature around him was a wilting tree in the center of this marketplace.
Regal had wandered around for a little bit before soldiers appeared seemingly from out of nowhere. Their giant, hovering monstrosities had landed and enabled them to disembark. As soon as they saw him, they began to chase him. Regal instinctively began to run. It must have been his clothes. Here, everyone seemed poor and had very little clothing of sufficient quality. The robes were making him stick out like a sore thumb. But there was no time to disrobe either. He would have to make due with his current garments. Besides, the robes held some of the tricks he had up his sleeve.
Regal stopped all of a sudden. He reached into the pockets of his robes and pulled out a vial. When the guards were close enough that they would soon reach him, he threw it against the ground. Suddenly, the entire area around where the vial had broken was covered in white smoke. Regal took the opportunity to escape, making sure to cover his mouth and not to breathe in much of the gas.
Behind him, he could hear soldiers coughing uncontrollably and cursing him. He passed a few alleys and then entered one of the smaller ones.
“That’s a nice trick you pulled there,” called a voice from behind him.
Regal turned and conjured some defensive magic in the palm of his hand. With one thrust he could send the potential attacker flying and be off running again.
“Whoa, easy,” called the voice, “Listen, I don’t want any trouble. Okay?”
“Who are you?” asked Regal, noticing a poorly dressed thin boy behind him.
“I’m a friend. Or at least, I could be for the right price.”
“Oh?” questioned Regal, “And what would this new friend of mine have that could help me? Hmm?” Regal still had no idea what the boy could want with him. He decided to play along in order to ascertain the motivations of the boy before using any magic. Better to ask questions than to shoot first.
“Look, you’re not from around here, right? Well, no noble wants to be stuck in Pylos. Take it from me. I’ve lived my whole life in this dump. Clearly, being a noble, you can pass the checkpoint at the edge of the district and make it back to the city. But I’m betting you don’t know how to get there? Am I right?”
“Well,” Regal began, pausing and deciding to extend the charade, “I guess I could use a guide to make things a little easier. What’s your price?” Regal didn’t even know if they used the same coin here as in Zealonia. It was worth a try though.
“Ten chips. Surely you can afford such a measly price for safe passage my lord.” answered the street urchin. Regal had no idea what chips were but was willing to accept the help. If all that motivated the boy was money, Regal could play upon that fact and gain a temporary ally.
“All right, you’ve got yourself a deal,” affirmed Regal, “By the way, what’s your name?”
“Tanner, best thief in all of Pylos,” answered Tanner.
“My name is Regal. Pleased to meet you. Let’s try to let you do some honest work for your keep, shall we?”
“Oh, but of course, my lord. I’m only here to help.” answered Tanner, snickering silently when Regal turned his head.

Tanner had been very fortunate. Not only had he found a rich noble, but he had found a rich noble who was willing to pay far too high a price to be guided to such a simple place to reach. But there was something weird about this noble. The way that he looked as Tanner led him through the crowded city streets Tanner was careful to avoid the wrong kind of attention. The noble had a bewildered look that suggested absolute unfamiliarity. It had to have been because he wasn’t accustomed to walking in such poor areas. That’s what it had to be. But something about this noble bothered him. Tanner just couldn’t put his finger on it.
“My lord Regal,” began Tanner, “May I ask which part of Balkan you are from?”
Regal paused for a moment and finally said, “Well, only the richest part of course.”
“And where exactly might that be?” asked Tanner, sensing that something could be awry with this man.
“You’ll understand my reluctance to tell you more details than that, my young thief,” replied Regal.
Tanner thought to himself for a moment. It would make sense – but only if the man hadn’t gawked quite as much. This wasn’t right. Nobles knew that the lesser districts were poor. “You’re not really a noble, are you?” he finally asked.
Regal shrugged his shoulders, “What gave me away?” he asked.
“You don’t know the things you should. You look far too much like a tourist for a noble stuck in a poor area. What’s more is that you don’t have that swagger - that arrogance that so many nobles have, assuming that they’re better than everyone else just because they were lucky enough to have been born with a silver spoon in their mouth,” said Tanner, the bigger question building up inside of him.
“Just who are you anyway?” Tanner asked.
“I guess I couldn’t hope to hide it forever, let alone a full day,” sighed Regal, “I’m not a noble at all. Actually, I’m not even from this city or wherever this territory is. I am Regal of the Zealonian village Mist. I’m a mage Tanner. Well, I’m an archaeologist too. But primarily, I’m a mage by caste. Where I come from we don’t have poor areas like this. Hell, we don’t even have areas this big, or as…strange.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” asked Tanner. Surely this man was pulling his leg. It was one thing to be from a different city. But a different world? “You have to kidding me! You expect me to believe that? There’s no place called ‘Zegonia,’ or Mist, or any other weather thing! I might be a street urchin, but I’m not an idiot.”
“That’s Zealonia,” Regal corrected, “And I don’t think you’re an idiot, Tanner. On the contrary, you seem very smart and cunning to be able to follow me without brushing against my location shield.”
Tanner looked confused, not knowing what to say.
“Here, I’ll make this easy for you,” Regal said, pulling up his sleeves to his elbows. Regal took a deep breath, focused, and then released the breath. His upper arms began to glow blue and then the blue rushed to his hands where it turned into a ball of light that he cradled in his palms.
“It takes focus to do this,” began Regal, “Usually I just release energy at whoever is attacking. To actually make the ball of light requires more energy. For you see, I was trained from a very young age to use defensive magic. If I were to throw this at someone, it would send them flying two or three meters away. Maybe more. Consider this as proof, Tanner, proof that I am a mage, that there is a Zealonia, and that what I say is true.”
“This poverty, it bothers me. That’s why I’m telling you all of this, Tanner. You seem like a good kid that got thrown into a bad set of circumstances. I want to give you a chance; a chance to come with me. I intend to find my way back to Zealonia. There is no poverty there. There is money, but we don’t keep it from those who need it. Also, it’s so much different than this place. The buildings are smaller and wooden but there is an abundance of nature and the scenery is absolutely beautiful. Rolling green hills as far as the eye can see. Forests are everywhere and trees jut out of the horizon, accenting the sun and giving a type of legitimacy to the surroundings. In Zealonia, there is a respect for the land and a respect for those who live on it - no matter how rich or how poor they are.”
“Are…Are you sure you can get there?” asked Tanner, suddenly dropping his threatening street urchin persona, his head filling with hope. Regal seemed to be a persuasive person.
Regal stepped forward and put one hand on Tanner’s shoulder, “I’m not positive, no. But I am confident that we can make it back. If I can find a place that has a high density of magic I may be able to trigger the very same void that brought me here and use it to get back home. If you come with me, we’ll be in this together. We’ll have each other’s backs. I am asking you to take a leap of faith Tanner. But the decision is yours alone.”
Tanner thought carefully, “I want to do it. I want to go with you.”
“You’re sure?” asked Regal.
“Yes,” replied Tanner, “Nothing could be worse than life here. Even if it’s not a guarantee, I want to get out of here. I hate this place and everything about it. I’m in.”
“Okay,” Regal said, extending his hand, “Then let’s shake on it.”
With that, the two shook hands and began walking through District D with a purpose in mind.

The Balkanian Empire – Location Unknown

“Did you see that, Commander?” a soldier asked.
“Yes,” replied a woman from a dark area of a room lit only by the glow of a computer screen, “That blue light…These aerial drones were the best invention the Research Bureau has ever come up with.”
“If only we had sound too…” mused the soldier.
“It matters not,” replied the woman, “This is what the emperor has been waiting for. Lieutenant!”
“Yes, ma’am!” replied the lieutenant, quickly standing up straight and raising an arm to his head in a salute.
“Prepare your men. We’ll strike tonight at the edge of District D. Tell the gate keepers to let no one pass until then. Any excuse they want to use will do fine. Attack strategy: Hawkeye. Tonight we’ll have that mage…and the Emperor’s favour too.”

Chapter One - Revised

Chapter One

The Balkanian Empire – Pylos, District D

            “Just a little more!” thought Tanner as he dashed past the wilting maple tree in the center of Pylos Square. Pylos wasn’t a place for the well-to-do and some of the residents weren’t fit to reside in Pylos. The fact of the matter was that Pylos was quite impoverished and that this area of Pylos, District D, was the closest to kicking the bucket.

            “Hey! Get back here!” yelled the angry stranger chasing Tanner.

            It wasn’t easy to make a living in Pylos. Tanner was, however, doing just that. He was doing it the only way he knew how to: by stealing.

            Tanner was a street urchin. Not by choice, but by necessity. He had been abandoned at the age of six and was forced to fend for himself in the worst district of one of the biggest cities in the known world. Balkan was home to millions of citizens and The Balkanian Empire held millions more as a whole. With the exception of a few territories, almost the entire continent fell under the Empire’s dark shroud. Each territory was like a cog in a much larger machine. Pylos was the same way in Balkan. But Pylos was the smallest cog of all.

            Pylos was the kind of place where the cunning survive, the smart get used, and the weak or strong ended up as pawns in chess games over food. Wars waged over a few measly chips. And for what? To survive to the next day and have the same vicious cycle repeat itself again and again?

            Tanner wished he could escape; that there was some way to run away and leave it all behind. Instead, he was stuck running from a complete stranger who had noticed him pick-pocketing the few chips that were in his bag.

            If Tanner could only reach the alley he could enter the crawl space and he would be home free. The size of his pursuer would never allow the man to be able to fit into the narrow opening and continue to give chase.

            Tanner turned the corner, almost tripped over his own feat, but managed to keep running. He saw the crawl space conveniently hidden from sight behind a cardboard box. Tanner had placed it there to conceal the space but he had to get away, even if it meant revealing his secret to this stranger. He ran up to the box, quickly brushed it aside, and leapt into the crawl space.

            “Kid! Kid!” cried the stranger behind him.

            The stranger had gained so much ground on Tanner when he lost his footing that he could hear the stranger’s breath just behind him. Tanner turned to investigate. The stranger was indeed stuck in the crawl space but was literally one foot away from Tanner.

            “I’ll find where you live, kid! I’ll find where you live and take back more than just my money!” threatened the stranger.

            Tanner didn’t even reply. All he could do was crawl away from the stranger as fast as he could. All the stranger could do was to watch him crawl, with each motion taking Tanner ever into the darkness and away from the light, cloaked in the shadows. Tanner knew that the shadows are where street urchins must stay.

            Tanner sat in the abandoned loft he had to call home. He had purchased some bread with the chips he had relieved the stranger of earlier in the day. Tanner didn’t like stealing but it was a necessity in Pylos. You did what you had to do to survive.

            Despite being poor, Tanner was not malnourished. He didn’t have a large frame to begin with. Others always described him as being skinny but not scrawny. His skinny torso was usually clothed by an old green tunic he had managed to find one year. He wasn’t too tall for a sixteen-year-old either, reaching only five feet and nine inches. Since street urchins could not afford proper haircuts, his dirty blond hair was clumped in messy bangs that fell just above his eyebrows; just high enough to keep the hair out of his green eyes. Simple brown trousers, held up only by a cord, hid his legs and unmentionables from the world. Wooden clogs protected his feet from the garbage that littered Pylos like a trash can. His tanned skin was the result of much exposure to sun and many summers of stealing in the outdoor market place.

            Today’s incident was not a part of Tanner’s normal schedule. Usually he would steal only one chip at a time from a large variety of people. But the winter had been hard on Tanner. It was now spring and the patrons were just returning to the outdoor market, which was the main venue for food and theft in District D of Pylos.

            The patrons were the few people in Pylos that had money. Those of District D had even less money than those in other districts of Pylos. However, for those lucky few that had money, the market was the best source of food since the prices were a little lower than in the stores run solely by The Empire. The market owners were the only ones in Pylos that had any substantial money to speak of but no one could touch them because the only reason they were able to garner food to sell was because of their connections. Still, one could safely steal a few chips from them every now and then without too much risk.

            That night, Tanner had bought a loaf of bread from an honest merchant in the outdoor market. The man chasing would have been long gone by that time. He took it back to his home, which was nothing more than a beaten up room accessible only by the back alley where Tanner lived. This was because an earthquake had damaged the area and many structures to a small degree roughly ten years ago. The previous occupants had abandoned the room and condemned the alley. One man’s trash is another one’s treasure.

            The Empire would never be so mindful as to spend any time repairing a District of rank below B. District B in each area of Balkan was where the poorest nobles lived. Anything lower than B did not matter to the government. Even the poorest nobles would never be as poor as Tanner was and, since they were born as nobles, they would remain as nobles for the rest of their lives.

            It was risky trying to steal so much from one person. But Tanner was desperate and the bread he was eating satisfied his grumbling stomach for the first time in a few months. There was always the risk of getting caught.

There seemed to be nothing but risks in Pylos. Never was there any joy, days where he could relax. No reprieve for the many like him who had to work hard every day to survive. All of this – the poverty, the different social classes – was brought on by an Empire who was determined to give favour only to the nobles and never to those outside of their social clique. But Tanner didn’t hate the nobles for being born the way they were. Rather, he hated The Empire for being the way that it was. To Tanner, The Empire was a machine that processed the weak in order to nourish the strong: a machine of social injustice that he wished would break down. But that could he hope to do other than survive?

Zealonia - Mist

            “Regal! Regal!” cried a blonde haired girl.

            “I’m in here!” replied Regal, loud enough that she could hear.

            Regal was a mage and archaeologist. Being an archaeologist was not what made him special in Zealonian society. It was the fact that he was a gifted mage and an archaeologist that made him one of the most renowned men in all of Mist, the village he called home. Regal was neither muscular, nor skinny, having an average build. Black, shoulder length hair fell neatly upon his red and light blue ceremonial robes which were commonly worn by Zealonian scholars. His eyes were purple but they used to be green. The reason that they had changed color was due to the fact that once Regal’s training with the Inner Circle was completed, his powers grew substantially and a few of his characteristics had changed. The most notable of those characteristics was the change in his eye color, which was seen as a symbol of his power. His was a power that would mostly be used to defend. Such was the way of training that the Inner Circle, the organization in Zealonia responsible for teaching defensive magic, had taught him. There was an Outer Circle too, responsible for teaching offensive arts but the order had disbanded when its leader, Barlow, had mysteriously vanished from Zealonia roughly one hundred years ago. Only the Inner Circle remained, which many saw as preferable since Zealonia had been at peace for over four hundred years now.

            “Regal, what are you doing in here?” asked the blonde haired girl.

            Regal was digging into a new room in the back section of an ancient ruin in Mist. This ruin had once been a centre for great magical power, though the purpose of which was still a mystery. Regal, guided only by a few carvings with the word “Balkan” on them and a few clues about the source of a magical power, was led to this room and was working tirelessly on finding a way to decipher its mysteries.

            “My dear Alice, I’m just about to uncover one of the greatest mysteries that Zealonia has known. What is it that can’t wait until I’m finished?” replied Regal.

            “Regal! You haven’t eaten in god knows when and you’ve been cooped up in this ruin for over fourteen hours! You should take a break…The ruin will still be here in the morning…”

            Alice was as caring as she was pretty. Her five-foot-four, shapely frame was not seen as frail by the people in Mist. She was only sixteen years old, but commanded respect from her peers since she was more mature than most her age. Alice possessed a great measure of beauty though none knew where it came from since she had been found in Mist, abandoned at an early age. Still, her adoptive parents were quite accommodating and treated her as their own. She was brought up to be caring and considerate.

            Regal and Alice had met because Regal was friends with Alice’s parents, John and Susan. Since that time, Regal, who was only twenty-two now, had considered Alice as somewhat of a younger sister. The relationship between the two of them was strong.

            “Alice…Thank you. But I can’t stop now. Not when I’m so close!” exclaimed Regal.

            “Well, fine then,” replied Alice, “If you want to be that way and not even take a break then I hope you just stay here!” It wasn’t real anger that made her reply so harsh, but more so, a deep caring for Regal’s well being.

            “Alice, I will drop by later, but I can’t leave right now,” Regal conceded, noting that she wasn’t speaking to him with real anger in her voice.

            With that Alice pouted and promptly left the dimly lit room in which Regal worked and made for home.

            Regal worked for a few more minutes before noticing something strange on one of the walls in the room that was covered in glyphs. Seeing that something was protruding a centimetre or so from the wall, he moved to touch it. Just as he was about to make contact with the object, the room flashed a brilliant white for a split second. The white was then replaced by a blue glow that encapsulated the room.

            “This must be it!” cried Regal.

            Suddenly, a swirl of brown and red, spinning around like water into a drain, filled the wall of glyphs. Regal began to feel himself being pulled in and fought to resist it, bracing himself against a nearby desk. Regal held on as best he could but felt the pull increase and was helpless against the tide of magical power threatening to pull him into the void. All at once, Regal was pulled from the desk and began to slide into the void.

            “Ugh! No!” cried Regal, unable to comprehend what was happening or why it was happening.

            He let loose a final scream before being sucked completely into the void. The scream was muffled as he reached the center of it. With that, one of Zealonia’s greatest scholars disappeared without a trace.