I was alone, alone in some ruins, deep within the plains of Teroth. This place was home to many tribes of warriors who refused to join the major factions of our nation. This place was off limits to all citizens of Atez and most certainly was off limits to a member of the guild of archaeologists, I should not be here, but yet I was. It all began several years ago.
I was a very prominent member of the guild and well known for my find at the ruins of Jiktar. The ruins there were some of the most beautiful I had ever seen. Our team uncovered many ancient artefacts but the most important find was a metallic ring of solid silver about the size of my hand.
While it would have appeared to be just a plain silver ring to most of the team, I saw it very differently indeed. I still can't explain why but I could see patterns emanating from it, I can't describe what I saw but it seemed to contain vast amounts of information.
After studying the device myself and with several Sorcerers from the Guild of Athos who were better trained in the arts than I, we discovered that it in fact contained a very detailed map of an ancient empire that once ruled over most of this world. We managed to extract most of the information and it revealed that many of our archaeological digs were taking place over many of the ancient cities, no surprise there. However there was one piece of information that caught my attention, what appeared to be the capital of this ancient empire and also some other significance that I couldn't quite work out at the time. The other archaeologists simply catalogued the data and moved on, I on the other hand did not.
That feeling at the back of my mind that at the capital city there was something IMPORTANT that HAD to be found kept eating at me, I felt drawn towards it. Many years passed, and many excavations and finds came after but no one was ever allowed to search for the lost capital city I so longed to find. There were several reasons this; the data surrounding the city from the ring was incomplete and the estimated location for it was far off in the plains of Teroth, where many isolated groups of tribesmen ran wild. It was not safe out there; a barrier was erected decades ago to protect us from what lay beyond; it simply cut us off from that part of our world and it was deemed not worth the risk for mere archaeological curiosity.
Over the years I researched the plains and although it was forbidden I created various plans to go on an expedition out into Teroth but something inside me stopped myself from doing it. I don't know if it was my fear of the unknown or my fear of breaking the laws of my culture. In any case the reason didn't matter since I never did attempt it ... until now.
I was at an excavation site fairly close to the barrier between us and the plains of Teroth. We had found there to be a Mizuhoan settlement here and a magical analysis of the earth suggested that it could be a burial site of some sort. While we weren't particularly keen on digging up old graves, it was known that MIzhuoans were commonly buried with their possessions and thus this could turn out to be an extremely important site.
Things were progressing normally for several days until I somehow sensed the presence of something.. An object, a powerful object beneath the soil. The feeling I experienced was somehow familiar. It was the same sensation when we discovered the location of the ancient capital, that feeling of being drawn towards it. Driven by an overwhelming desire to get to this object quickly, I placed my hands to the ground and began to utter some words.
"Hear me, Luna, hear me calling I summon thee, hear my call Channel your energy through me..."
At this point the entire camp was in uproar. They knew what I was doing, some ran away, some ran towards me trying to stop me. I continued chanting.
"Bring your light into this world Let me be the bearer of your message"
I realised too late what I was about to do. This spell was far too powerful for what I needed but I could feel something inside me pushing me to this. I tried to fight it but the desire to continue was too strong. Seeing some of my colleagues running towards me I hoped that they could stop me in time. As they approached me some indescribable force ripped them to shreds. It was the worst sight I had ever seen in my life. I closed my eyes to avoid seeing their remains scattered over the ground but I could see them in my mind, their souls being ripped from their bodies, in agony. I tried to make it stop but I couldn't.
"Earth to earth. Ashes to ashes. Life to death, darkness to light. clear the path to what I seek!"
The ground began to shake all around me, most of my team had now left, and I hoped they had gotten far enough away to avoid what was about to occur. I then collapsed and lost consciousness.
I was surprised to find that I actually woke up. I felt sure that I shouldn't have survived given what I just had done. I got up slowly, and looked around me. Somehow I had destroyed the ground around me for several miles, it was charred black. I had never seen such devastation, there were stories of people who had caused large craters but never this large and those who did never survived. How I had survived still remained a mystery. I then noticed that there was something left untouched by what I had done, a small silver ring very similar to the one uncovered at Jiktar. I reached forward and grasped it with my hand. Touching it brought a tear to my eye. I was overwhelmed with sadness. I fell to my knees, weeping with uncontrollable despair. I must have emptied my body of fluids for I do not know how long I wept. Day passed into darkness. I was alone in a wasteland of my own creation. The utter sadness eventually left me but I could still feel it emanating from the ring, I placed the ring in my pocket and the feeling dimmed even further. I then began walking, I didn't care where I was going, I didn't care that I was alive, I just felt like walking. I finally reached the edge of the devastation. Climbing up the ridge to untouched land I sat down under the nearest tree and fell asleep. I do not recall dreaming that night.
When I awoke it seemed around midday since the sun was at its height in the sky. I was glad I slept under the shade of a tree, without protection the temperature can get particularly high during the summer months. I felt unusually clear; it felt as if the recent events were just a dream, a distant memory, unfortunately a glance at the devastation I had caused pushed the memory back to the forefront.
I had hopes that my arch team had gotten far enough away from me but after having seen just how far my spell had reached I knew they couldn't have possibly gotten away, yet still I held onto that hope, it was all I had.
I soon realised my pack was still on my back and had been untouched as well. Taking it off my back I opened it and took out some food. I prepared my lunch personally every day, I don't always eat it, but I always prepare it. Today I had made yuna-fish sandwiches, not my favourite but Yuna was selling at a discount at the local market, and I could never resist a bargain.
As I began to consume the sandwiches, I recalled that I still had the details of my potential voyage out into the plains to locate the capital of the ancients. I always carried it with me wherever I went, partially because I felt safe knowing it was in my possession and also because I believed the opportunity to embark on the journey could come at any time.
I then thought about what I should do now. If I headed back to my guild, how would I explain what I had done? I had taken many innocent lives and destroyed a huge area of land, which I believe had contained a small settlement nearby. I shuddered at the thought of just how many lives I had taken. Was it truly my fault that it happened? I had felt some unimaginable force push me to my actions, would anyone believe that if I told them? I knew the penalty for what I had done and I decided that it wasn't worth the risk. I had very little to return to, so considered my options and decided that this was as good time as any to finally search for what I had longed to find for so very long.
I opened up the map I had created and using a little locating magic I ascertained my location and which direction I would need to head off in. I had made as detailed plans as I could from what little information was available on the forbidden land. Not a great deal was known about the plains since no one had been there in centuries, however over the years I managed to collate most of the data that had been collected on the region. Most of it was stored in secure archives, but being a high-ranking member of the guild of arch I had no problems gaining access to them.
I was going to be taking a rather direct route to where I believe the city used to be, since very little was known about the actual terrain it was the only course I could take. While it was believed to be reasonably flat terrain, I was hoping this remained true along my course and that there would be no significant obstacles in my path.
I packed up my stuff, and determined that first I needed to gather a few supplies. I could use my magic to assist in gathering food and water while out in the plains but it was not possible to create food where none existed in some form or another.
Given my route towards the barrier passed a small village, which would be ideal to pick up supplies. I set off towards my destination, away from the disaster I had so recently caused.
It took me the rest of the day to reach the village, and I stayed in the local inn, I kept a low profile so as not to attract attention in case word of what I had done had been spread already. I can't say I slept well that night, the decision to leave what I had called my home for so very long was not one made lightly. The following morning I picked up some supplies and continued onward toward the great barrier.
This was one part of the plan I had not worked out. How to pass the barrier. It was even harder to find information concerning the magical barrier cutting us off from the forbidden land. It was clear that it was something that was being suppressed by the controlling factions and guilds. I figured I could find some way to pass through the barrier when I eventually got there which I didn't believe I would.
I travelled for half a day and the great barrier was now in sight. It was vaguely purple in appearance, the closest thing I could compare it too would be a pool of Gresnak oil somehow levitated and spread across a huge area. The shield was somehow powered by a random series of crystals embedded in the earth. Obviously the barrier was magical in nature and the crystals must have been creating some sort of sustaining field to maintain itself for so very long. Barriers of this kind were not uncommon but none had ever been this powerful or have lasted this long. Not only that but the caster needed maintain the field themselves. Given the length of time the magical barrier had been active it could not have possibly been maintained by human magic alone.
I had concluded the most obvious way to disrupt the barrier was to disrupt some of the crystals. I did not want to destroy or damage the barrier but simply open a gap long enough for me to cross through. As I approached it I could feel it pushing me away and the closer I got the harder it got to move forward. Just as I thought I couldn't manage to push any harder, the barrier suddenly vanished and I fell forward across where it had been and landed flat on my face.
Scrambling up I darted forward, trying to get as far from the barrier as possible in case it decided to reactivate. It did, I was glad it did, I'm sure it was there for a good reason, whether to keep us out or to keep something else in. I didn't want to cause any more damage to my homeland since it was my decision to leave the safety of the barrier and venture out into the wilderness.
My journey from then on was surprisingly uneventful, the worst I ran into on the way were some sort of lizard like creatures about the size of my leg but they were easily scared off by the presence of fire. Fire was easily created by any sorcerer and was always without fail the first spell anyone learnt regardless of what they intended to specialise in. There was something about controlling an element so simple and yet so fierce that helped beginners grasp the basics of spell casting in the shortest time possible.
Several days of almost constant travelling passed, only stopping to rest for a few hours in the safety of a carefully constructed cavern beneath the earth. One of the benefits of specialising in earth magic was the ease of exploration of the ground we walk on. It was but a simple task for me to hollow out a small section of the earth and conceal it with a simple magical illusion. It allowed me to sleep in relative safety although I doubt the strange lizard creatures would post much threat I still wasn't certain what else could exist out here.
I had arrived at some ruins that were located approximately where the lost capital was said to have been. I was pretty excited and began to search the ruins both physically and magically immediately. I got very little sleep over the next few days; I was running off the exhilaration off having potentially found the greatest archaeological find of my life.
To ensure my safety I had opted to erect a barrier around the surrounding area whenever I stopped to work, it was a fairly easy task to do if slightly time consuming, but it meant I could concentrate on my task at hand without the worry of being in danger. It required a small portion of permanent concentration but it was a simple task to maintain with a mind that was as disciplined as mine had always been.
I continued for many more days but I never found anything significant. I was beginning to feel bitter disappointment but I vowed to continue searching for whatever it was that I KNEW was here. That I KNEW I had to find. Unfortunately I had discovered that this area happened to be home to various dangerous creatures, and I found evidence that other humans had been here. There were burnt out camp fires dotted here and there, I assumed that whom ever had been here had left and I had hoped that what I was looking for had not already been looted by others.
And thus here I am now. Alone. Searching for something I do not know exists, something that I do not even know. I was somehow empty yet somehow full. I was doing what I had dreamed of for many years but I felt both happiness and sadness.
I had abandoned my life in Imar, I had no family, my work meant everything to me, and I never had time to develop any close friendships. I tended to work alone, only ask for help when it was truly needed and spend most of my free time in fact working. Some might say I missed out on life but to me my work WAS my life. The only person I truly could consider my friend was a man named Takra. He often accompanied me to excavation sites and knew when I needed to be alone so we got on well together. We eventually went our separate ways but we always used to keep in contact with each other as best we could. In our line of work we were never in the same place for too long. My only true regret on leaving is not saying goodbye to him.
I could feel the silver ring I had placed in my pocket tugging at that thought. As though it was trying to keep the thought of regret at the forefront of my mind. I resisted and quickly pushed it out of my mind. I had to find what had drawn me hear all those years ago.
Then to my dismay I realised the protective barrier I had erected was no longer active. I thought perhaps that my momentary lapse in concentration must have interrupted the barrier. I hastily attempted to bring it back, but to no avail.
It would take a very high level sorcerer to stand a chance of taking down such a powerful defensive force. While I could erect a reasonably powerful barrier, it was one of the few non-element spells I knew. Being a self-taught sorcerer meant I only ever learnt what I needed, and that meant earth related spells and luckily Earth based spells had some of the more powerful barriers. I had practiced white magic back in my youth days but it wasn't much use to me as I followed my Fathers footsteps into Archaeology.
Despite what a lot of people said I didn't get into archaeology purely because of my Father, he was an archaeologist named Jack Daniels who while he was alive was part of the leadership of the guild of archaeology and possibly the best archaeologist of his time, I actually enjoyed learning about our history and the ancient civilisations that once lived where we live now. I actually feel that I could have taken up any career path I chose and my Father wouldn't have objected, unfortunately that may have been due to lack of caring as opposed to being open minded.
I'm sure my father did care for me a great deal, but I always had that overwhelming sense that he somehow blamed me for mother's death. She died not long after I was born, I was told she was a kind and caring woman and that I inherited her passion for life. I doubt they would say that now.
I regret not fully patching things up between me and my father before he died. I was told he asked for me with his dying breath but at the time I was off on one of my many digs and by the time word reached me it was too late.
I felt the ring tugging at my thoughts again. This time I pushed back harder and vanquished the thought from my mind and sat down to prepare to get a barrier operational again in case I got attacked again.
Fifteen minutes passed, I figured I almost had the barrier up and running unfortunately I wasn't quick enough. I heard a wolf howl behind me. I glanced behind me to see what was going on and in the distance I could make out the silhouette of a fairly large wolf howling at the moon.
I had never seen such a huge beast not even in my travels out here in the plains. I hoped it would not be hostile towards me and slid down behind a rock in the hope it would also not notice me. I prepared to continue with the barrier spell when I heard several more wolves howl all around me. Looking around I noticed a great many more wolves upon the hills and ruins around me. Something told me they were going to be anything but friendly.
Trying to keep my calm, I continued with the barrier spell attempting to speed up the process as much as I could. I was almost there. The wolves around me had begun to charge down from their positions; all of them were clearly headed straight for me. I almost panicked and lost concentration but managed to continue the barrier spell to completion.
"Grant me power hidden beneath the deepest surface Let nothing pass where life now flows I command thee, grant me sanctuary Where only I may remain!"
Nothing happened. I now began to panic. Why wasn't it working? I had cast it correctly I was sure. Is it possible my lack of concentration wasn't responsible for the barrier coming down in the first place? Could these wolves be responsible?
I wasn't sure what to do now. The wolves were fast approaching and I was defenceless aside from my magic. I was not trained in close range combat, in fact I wasn't trained in magical combat either, but I did know a fair few offensive spells not the least I demonstrated previously although then for some reason it was far more powerful than even I could imagine. Is it possible if I did it again it would cause as much damage as before? My magic didn't seem to be amplified since I had used it on many occasion since then mostly for defensive and archaeological purposes but all had gone well.
I had to do something, so I opted for a simple wind based spell I had learnt a while back, it was about the only non-earth spell I knew these days but it was so simple almost every sorcerer alive could pull it off.
I looked around trying to decide which wolf was closest. The spell had a pretty small angle of fire, at least at the basic level at which I knew it, so I had to pick my targets one at a time. The closest to me seemed like a good choice.
Having chosen my choice I began the spell.
"Gnehm hear my call What flows through life Flows through the dawn Grant me your rays of light Grant me your heart and soul Show me natures scorn!"
I held my hand out towards the nearest wolf.
Nothing.
What was going on? Is it possible I had lost my art, or was it somehow being blocked? I thought perhaps it could be the rings doing, but if so why now? Could it be responsible for the wolves as well?
I reached into my pocket to take the ring and throw it away from me but it was not there. It had vanished. I searched the ground around me and my other pockets but it was nowhere to be found. I was sure I had it with me but moments ago and I could feel its presence. I now realised I felt nothing; I could not sense it at all. It had simply vanished.
Turning back to the task in hand I considered my options. I was not a fighter, I could have perhaps taken on one wolf but not this many of them. They were closing fast. I could see them more clearly now, they were silky grey with eyes that seemed to glow in the night. While they certainly were vicious I noticed they had a certain elegance about them as well.
I had to think of something. What could I do if I had no magic? I had to figure out what was causing my magic to not work. Very little was known about how what we called "magic" actually worked. Many a scholar has attempted to ascertain how it is possible some of us can channel energy, seemingly from nowhere, into a form of our choosing.
Many of the techniques and spells have been passed down generation from generation and so a lot of what we learn is merely how to use such powers and not to understand them. The only real discovery that anyone has ever made is that the actual words are not entirely necessary for a spell to succeed but help concentrate the mind on the task at hand. Often spells can be cast without words if you have previously cast it recently or are already in the correct frame of mind. It does require some considerable practice on the casters part though and so far it has only been achieved with very simple spells.
So how, if at all was my magic being blocked? I have never experienced anything or anyone who could do such a thing. It was unheard of, it was why criminals with knowledge of the arts had to have their tongue removed and in severe cases where they could cast just with their minds, they had to be put to death.
I closed my eyes and tried to think. I was somehow aware even with my eyes closed on the wolves approaching. I could sense them coming ever closer; I could sense their hunger, their thirst for blood. I opened my eyes out of shock. Just what I needed, more unexplained phenomenon.
I closed my eyes once again and tried to shut out the wolves, and to concentrate on the process of casting a spell. I slowly began to silence the wolves in my mind and began the process of the wind spell once again, until I somehow detected what appeared to be a chasm, farther away than the wolves, and yet somehow related. It was a shimmering pool of black, like a tranquil lake on a clear summer night. Quite how I could see it I couldn't figure out, but I felt sure it was what was causing my problems.
If this was the problem, what could I do about it? Wolves rapidly closing surrounded me and my magic wasn't working. I couldn't get to where the black pool was located so I had to do something with magic. There had to be a way to remove or close that chasm. Perhaps some other form of magic could work. I had tried wind and earth magic earlier and neither had worked so clearly elemental magic was unlikely to work. Black and white magic were also most likely to fail since they all drew from the same energy source, at least as I understood it.
What if the energy source I need to draw from is somehow being blocked? Could that be it, could that be what is happening. He wasn't sure why, but from what he could see that seemed to be the right conclusion.
Given that I cant draw on the energy to generate a spell, is there another energy source I can draw upon? I thought back to a paper I once read on alternate energy sources, if I recall many attempts at drawing from other sources always resulted in death for the caster, mostly in rather horrific ways. The last case I heard of destroyed an entire building in an attempt to light a candle.
I then realised that it was possible that was what occurred during the incident when my spell lost control; did something happen than caused me to draw upon these other forces? It could explain the unprecedented power of the spell. If that was the case, somehow I had survived, where others had failed. Was it worth the risk?
Considering that I was about to be eaten alive by ravenous wolves and that I was nowhere near what I considered to be a "populated" area, I decided upon trying.
Concentrating on the wind spell once again I attempted to consider where I would draw the energy? I wasn't even entirely sure where I was drawing the power from when I cast spells usually, so how was I to draw it from somewhere else?
I could sense the wolves extremely close now, there was no time left. I had to try something. I put all the effort I could into channelling energy from somewhere, but where? Desperate for some sort of energy source I began to realise that the very earth around me seemed to emanate great power. Surely given my mostly earth based magic this was where I drew the power from usually. I was about to continue searching when I realised something was different about the energy. It seemed somehow raw and powerful.
I guess this was worth a shot. I did think to myself why I had never noticed this sort of energy before.
The time for thinking had passed. The wolves were virtually on top of me; I had to try. Drawing from that energy source, I cast the spell as best I could and directed it at the black pool chasm thing I saw in my mind.
At first nothing happened, then I heard a distant scream, of what sounded like a woman. Was she responsible for blocking my magic? It seemed that was the case, the chasm had gone and all I could see in my mind was darkness where once there was light. Was this darkness where we drew our magic?
Concentrating my mind, I attempted to cast the typical version of the wind spell at the wolf about to get within in striking distance of me. To my relief it worked and the wolf was sent hurtling backwards. My magic was back.
Since I wasn't sure how long it would last, and given that I was about to be over run by wolves I had to be quick. Placing my hand to the earth, I decided on a smaller spell than what I cast before, I still didn't trust my offensive magic and since I had my own power back now I didn't need to risk trying anything too powerful.
Three wolves were approaching fast from the rear, I could no longer feel or see them in my mind so had to keep my wits about me to combat them. Swivelling on the spot with my hand still firmly planted on the earth, I cast the quickest spell I could think of.
"Terra noxius Ixiom Yui!"
An earthen spike shot out from beneath the earth directly in front of the group of wolves, two of them were knocked flying into the air and seemingly vanished. I was sure that wasn't my doing so concluded they must be illusions or some sort of spirit wolves. I had read tales of such beasts, but they were always considered Fairy Tales or myths. But out here from what I had seen anything was possible.
The third wolf avoided the spike completely and leapt toward me claws out and jaws wide open. I somehow managed to dive sideways to barely avoid getting torn to shreds, although I was scratched on the shoulder by just a small brush against the creature's claws.
Watching the wolf land I realised it was going to turn and come at me, so I put my hand to the earth, and cast the spell again just managing to catch the wolf clean across the stomach seemingly disintegrating it in thin air.
I was relieved and amazed at myself for managing to survive but I knew there were yet more wolves almost upon me. Given that I had just cleared an opening in their encirclement I decided to take this opportunity to run. I was sure I couldn't take them all on and come out alive, so this was probably going to be the best option.
I ran faster than I had ever ran before, I wasn't particularly fit but I did eat healthily and get regular exercise so I wasn't completely unprepared for the sprint of my life.
Running blindly through the ruins, which were far larger than even I had imagined, I was reasonably familiar with the layout but in my current state of mind I wasn't paying any attention to where I was going. I passed a large stone pillar and then somehow managed to trip over a fairly large stone tablet, which I had not noticed in my haste. I wasn't sure how I missed seeing it, given its location and I was also certain I had examined this area in great detail. I sat up onto my knees staring at the strange symbols engraved in an ancient language upon the surface of the stone. I felt drawn towards them, I felt like I was home.
Had I found what I was looking for?
Was it worth all that I gave up and the destruction I had caused?
Perhaps.