Chapter 001

Rune Ransford

“What a mess,” James yawned, leaning on the car parked behind him.

Through half-open eyes, he read the tabloid with mild annoyance. Like last week and the week before that, all attention seemed to be garnered around the ever troubling “Missing Mage” case. As his frustration settled, he asked out loud, and to nobody in particular, the question he was certain lingered on everyone’s mind, “Why haven’t they given us the order to act yet?”. The major scrunched the paper into a ball and tossed it into a nearby trash can. “If I had it my way I would’ve found them by now.”

“Maybe they’re just terrified of letting the infamous and reckless Major Griffin spearhead such a delicate case?” His first lieutenant, a woman with a set of short, bright red hair, strutted towards him carrying a paper cup in both of her hands. Unlike his navy-colored military uniform, she donned the black jacket of the combat mage division. Though she never showed it, he was fairly certain she’d be able to level the entire city with her magic abilities if she wished. Nevertheless, she walked amongst the masses as an ordinary human no different from the rest. Handing him one of the cups, she continued, “I won’t hold it against them if they decide to put you on the bench. Whenever you’re given the “go ahead” it always ends in a disaster.”

“Oh. Do give me a little credit. I can acknowledge I’m not the best soldier in the military, especially when compared to you combat mages. However, at least I can say I haven’t yet bitten the bullet. Something to be proud of, is it not?”

“Please don’t jinx yourself, sir,” she sighed. “And with that dangerous mouth of yours, I’m surprised you still have a job.”

“As if they could afford to cut me loose! Not only would they be losing a valuable asset, but they’d also probably end up missing me too much, anyway.”

“Or they’d celebrate.”

“Sabine, my dear, if you truly detest me so greatly, I could always write you an official letter of transfer. Why I’m certain there would be plenty of generals and majors lining up to have the strong and beautiful Grimdark Mage at their disposal,” he said, taking a sip of his drink. “Not to mention, you might even be given a higher pay. Now wouldn’t that be nice?”

Without his consent, Sabine struck him on his shoulder with a powerful slap, forcing the astonished major to spill some of his drink onto his much-coveted uniform. “A valiant effort, sir, but you’ll have to try harder if you intend on replacing me,” she smirked. “And please refer to me by my proper title when we’re on the clock, we’ve been over this. Show some professionalism for a change.”

“Like you’re one to talk about professionalism,” he grunted, tending to his bruised shoulder.

Walking to the opposite side of the vehicle, she directed a finger at the cluster of stains dotting the navy fabric underneath his uniform’s collar. “Do be sure to clean up that mess, will you, sir? Wouldn’t want others to stare, would we?”

“No,” James sneered. “I suppose we wouldn’t.”

Pulling out a cloth from his pocket he began begrudgingly wiping the spot of brown. As he opened the door of the car, James quickly took notice of a trio of soldiers running past them. They pushed and shoved their way through a crowd of faceless pedestrians and hurriedly rushed to the end of the sidewalk, disappearing around the corner. They seem to be busy, he thought. Sliding into the car and taking his seat, he found Sabine placing her radio on the dashboard before revving up their vehicle’s engine.

“Was it Dolton?” James inquired.

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, does he have anything to report? Or was this just a waste of time?”

“As a matter of fact, the situation has already been rectified.”

Then and there, James ambushed her with his sudden gaze of astonishment. “You can’t be serious?”

“I am,” Sabine confirmed. “According to Dolton, a single mage was all it took for the Pygmy Vyper Gang to finally collapse.”

While working in the military, that name came up fairly often. Known as Pygmy Vyper, the criminal syndicate housing over seventy mages and mercenaries bred trouble wherever they went. While he hadn’t come face to face with its leader, or any of its members, for that matter, James had seen what happened to those who did. Many soldiers and combat mages had lost their lives fighting against them in the past. And due to their elusive nature, it became a rather tedious task to track them down. Needless to say, they were a threat the military didn’t take lightly.

So for him to learn of an entire group of powerful magic users and thieves being bested by one mage, why, he just couldn’t wrap his head around the notion. Over and over he tapped his top lip with a finger whilst his dark eyes blankly stared out the windshield. There aren’t any notable mages in Bracket 9, are there? And if so, are they really that powerful? The more he questioned it, the more baffled he became.

“Shall we go to assess the situation for ourselves, sir?”

“Quit reading my mind, Zen,” James smirked. “This mage, I’d like to meet them.”

Upon their arrival at the scene, he was quick to observe the large and restless herd of people being kept at bay by military officers. Each of their heads was turned in the direction of a three-storied building, or at least, what was left of it. Sabine parked their car on the opposite side of the street, an afternoon breeze rustling James’ head of well-kempt dark brown hair. Immediately, his eyes sharpened at the sight before him, honing in on the group of men being escorted out of the decimated building and to a prison vehicle situated nearby.

“Talk about overkill,” James whispered.

It was a miracle the building itself had not collapsed entirely. Its glass windows were shattered, its red, cement exterior was smeared with numerous blackened scorched marks, and a good portion of its roof was completely destroyed, replaced instead by a massive crater that vomited streams of smoke into the sky.

“Our mystery mage sure knows how to put on a good show.”

“This is hardly the time for jokes, sir,” sighed Sabine, closely trailing him from behind.

“I’m just trying to say whoever is responsible for this mess must be quite skilled with magic.”

“That I can agree on. There is still a good amount of essence particles in the air. An obvious indication that a variety of high leveled spells have been cast.”

“You don’t say.” A smirk widened across his face. “This just keeps getting more and more interesting by the minute.”

Though most were preoccupied with their work, once James and Sabine neared the crowd they were confronted by a pair of soldiers. Raising their hands to their foreheads in salute, one of the men, who James assumed to be a leading officer, loudly barked, “Major Griffin, First Lieutenant Zenobio. What a pleasure it is to have you visiting Ponsetta! Although, I wish you could’ve arrived under better circumstances. As you can see, sir, we’re currently in the middle of an ongoing investigation.”

“Ongoing? By the looks of things, it seems to be drawing to a close, no?”

“We’ve apprehended the suspects if that’s what you’re asking. Though, we’ve confirmed some of them have slipped through our fingers. Multiple patrol groups are already searching the town for any potential Pygmy Vyper escapees. Unfortunately, none of them have reported anything thus far,” he explained in his grizzled and exhausted tone of voice.

James smirked. “Sounds like you boys have got your work cut out for you, huh?”

“That’s putting it lightly.”

“Well then, don’t mind me,” James said, patting the man on the shoulder as he passed him by. “I won’t be long. I just want to get a good read of the situation. Then I’m off to the capital.”

“W...Wait, sir!” the soldier called out. “Our investigation...”

“I promise not to get in the way. I’m just taking a little peep, is all. Besides, from what I hear, you boys didn’t have much part to play in this whole ordeal anyway.”

“...W...What exactly are you implying, sir?” the soldier frowned.

James spun around and greeted the soldier with an artificial smile. “Most men present are Blues, like me. And from what I’ve heard, it was because of the efforts of a combat mage that the Pygmy Vypers are no more. Why, I’d certainly like to meet the young man or woman capable of accomplishing such an extraordinary feat! We could be dealing with another early ranker, could we not?” James approached the stunned and reasonably confused soldier with his hands stuffed in his pockets, his permanent grin having yet to fade. “So why don’t you cut me some slack and let me itch the curiosity that has been relentlessly pestering me since this morning. I hate to pull rank on you though I will do so should you insist on keeping me from the investigation you had no part in resolving.”

Before he knew what happened, he felt his soul exit his body and eject out his mouth. Exhaling, Sabine removed her elbow which she had forcefully lodged into her superior’s ribs, and fluidly regained her hardened posture. “You really are such a child, aren’t you?” she sighed. Regarding the pair of astonished and quivering soldiers with an unphased glance from her gray-colored eyes, the lieutenant commented in an equitable tone, “I apologize for my major’s disrespectful attitude. He’s not exactly the brightest, in case you couldn’t tell.”

“Uh, right...” the officer stammered.

“...Dammit, Zen...” James managed to spew, crouched to the floor on one knee. “...What happened to being a professional?”

“Last I checked, I am a professional. Especially when it comes to dealing with immature brats like yourself.”

“B...Brat?! Is that any way to address your commanding officer?!”

Sabine removed her disinterested glance off of him and back at the soldier in command. “So as I was saying...”

“Quit ignoring me!” James growled.

“If we truly are hampering your investigation then we shall vacate the premises at once. We were supposed to be on our way to the capital anyhow. However,” She stepped closer to the soldier, so close, in fact, as to allow him to identify every detail of her flawless, milky visage. He was completely transfixed; forced into a glitching stupor from the mere sight of her inescapable radiance. The second soldier fared no better, his face growing redder and redder with each fleeing second. To this, James simply rolled his eyes and chose to remain silent. Sabine had the poor fools dancing in the palm of her hands. She then proceeded to clasp her hands around his, pulling the man even closer to herself before whispering softly into his ears, “I too admit that I’ve taken up an interest in this talented mage. I was hoping I’d have the opportunity to meet them today. As a combat mage myself, I find it useful to build as many relations with my fellow mages as I can. You can understand, can’t you?”

The soldier gulped, sweat as well as nervousness sprouting onto his crimson face. “O...Of course, I can understand! I...It’s...it’s just...”

Sabine batted her eyes in rapid succession. “Just what?”

“Oh, knock it off already, Grimdark! Can’t you see you’ve scared them enough?” called a familiar voice.

Another soldier approached them, casually scratching the back of his head. He’d spiky dark hair, dark brown eyes, and a sturdy frame. There was also a distinguished, streak-shaped scar climbing from the bottom of his chin, over the right portion of his mouth, and stopping just before it reached his eye. James knew this man to be Striker Dolton, a long-time friend, and an expert with firearms. Though, you’d never be able to guess how many lives he was responsible for claiming given his aloof and laid-back personality. He strutted over to them without a care in the world and wrapped his arm around Sabine’s infatuated victim.

“Don’t worry about them, Gorman. They’re with me. Let ‘em pass.”

“...If you say so, Dolton,” Gorman reluctantly responded. “As long as you swear to take responsibility if the general is unhappy, I’ll allow it.”

“Fine by me.” Facing James and Sabine, he sneered, “This way, if you’d please.”

Striker guided them past the horde of boisterous observers and closer to the scene of the crime. They walked over cracked cement and chunks of debris, James once again silently analyzing the damage to the abused structure. “Around two hours ago, the Ponsetta Military Base received word that Pygmy Vyper had created a temporary headquarters somewhere in the city. They were using this local goods store as a front. Apparently, the leader of these bastards had ties with the owner of the establishment.”

“Unsurprising,” said Sabine. “These days, it’s not uncommon to find an enemy hiding in plain sight.”

“It’s a pain in the ass, if you ask me,” Striker grumbled. “Considering the large number of magic users affiliated with Pygmy Vyper, a squad of combat mages was deployed to deal with them first. But a certain mage, in particular, went ahead of the rest and ambushed the place, and the criminals, before reinforcements even arrived.”

“So we’ve been told,” said James. “Any clue as to who this soldier is?”

“Just some rookie fire mage who recently graduated from the academy five months ago. I’d say he’s nothing special but it’s kind of hard to ignore the results.”

James and Sabine shared looks of astonishment with one another. “A fire mage, you say?”

“You’re gawking at the same burned building as I am, aren’t you?” yawned Striker. “Why, know who he is?”

“Actually, I think I do,” James grinned.

“Rune Ransford!!” the lieutenant bellowed into his face. “How many times must you make me repeat myself?! You can’t just keep going off on your own! There are rules! Protocols we must adhere to! If we don’t, we’re no better than the criminals we’ve sworn to arrest! So I ask you, what do you have to say for yourself, huh?!”

Rune, nonchalantly wiping the saliva his lieutenant sprayed onto his face, responded by stating a simple fact. “Sir,” he began dryly. “When I arrived they were already in the process of abandoning the store. I think they somehow realized they'd been discovered. If I hadn’t gotten there when I did we would’ve lost them again.”

“That isn’t the point, son! The fact of the matter is, you disobeyed a direct order and jeopardized this whole assignment! What good is stopping the lawbreakers if you end up breaking the law yourself?!” he shouted. “You’ve left me no choice. I’m reporting you to Major General Marx! Maybe he can beat some sense into you!”

“Wonderful...”

Being sent to the general was nothing new. At this point, he’d long since grown numb to the punishment. With a glare, he observed as the lieutenant, a slightly overweight middle-aged gentleman with a craterous bald spot, nonsensically blubbered to another soldier. The truth was, had he not taken so long to organize his unit then Rune wouldn’t have been forced to act recklessly in the first place. From a certain point of view, one could argue that this was partially his fault. Though, of course, Rune would never tell him that to his face. He was in enough trouble as it was. For now, he kept his mouth shut and averted his attention to the floor, praying to Ryas that the day would just end already.

“Hope I’m not interrupting anything, gentlemen.” The moment he heard his voice, Rune instantly disposed of his current dilemma, raised his head, and found himself staring at the smirking major. “Well I’ll be damned, it really is you.”

“G...Griffin?!” Rune stammered.

James smiled. “Long time no see, Everburn.”