The sun had risen with a clear sky filled of hopes for a beautiful day. Normally Kaiden would have had a great day playing in the city with Emmitt or would be at the orphanage planning things to do or just enjoy the day by laying under the tree to watch the clouds. This was not one of those days, today Kaiden woke up feeling like a piece of his heart had been removed. Kaiden just got ready and went downstairs to see about something to eat.

Heading down the stairs he could hear a small family laughing and talking. The voices of a small girl and a older boy. As he reached the bottom of the stairs the two kids stared at him, as he stared back. Behind them was Bull with a woman who seemed to be his wife seeing how he held her hand. The two smiled and said to him, “Take a seat and Eat with us we have some eggs and bacon if you’d like.”

“Thank You”

Kaiden moved to the table and sat down at an empty seat. The playfulness of the kids earlier had subsided as they shifted glances to their parents back and forth.

“Relax kids he’s not the one you have to worry about.” Bull said with a smile.

Almost like a wave the kids had started smiling and began to ask Kaiden a barrage of questions.

“Where are you from?”

“Do you know that old guy upstairs?”

“Do you always cry when you sleep?”

“How long will you be here?”

“Will you play with us?”

“What do you do?”

And so on and so forth.

“Hey! Kids now slow down and breathe a little! You should at least give him a chance to answer” the woman said with a chuckle. Hearing this the kids silenced but looked at him with stars in their eyes waiting for an answer. Yet before Kaiden could reply they could hear footsteps coming down stairs. Everyone in the room turned to look at the one coming down the stairs. There Wraithas stood in his armor looking at them with a dull expression.

“Aahhh breakfast! May I join you Bull?” He asked

“Of course Wraithas. Kids move over.” He said as the kids moved closer to Kaiden, making space for him to sit. Immediately Wraithas put his hamds together and did a small prayer and began filling his plate.

The room had now become awkward as they ate in silence for almost ten minutes until Wraithas said out loud. “We will be leaving in two hours, Bull do you have what I ordered prepared?” Wraithas asked.

“It’s almost done, should only be another minute.” He said.

“Excellent, now Kaiden walk with me outside. We need to have a little chat.” Wraithas said as Kaiden got up to follow him outside.

Inside the kids whispered to each other, “Wow he’s really scary!” said the girl.

“Scary? I think he’s strong! Did you see his armor?” The boy responded.

“Yeah but why was it all dented and scratched up?” she asked.

“He probably hasn’t had time to fix it, duh!” the boy said as they began to help their parents clean up.

Outside Kaiden and Wratihas stood out in an open field. Kaiden really took a good look at Wraithas and could obviously see the wear and tear on his clothes, armor and even his body, but not on his sword. Wriathas looked maybe sixty years old but it was hard to tell due to his thin muscular physique and still dark hair. The armor he had on looked like it was cheap but Kaiden knew better, it was part Cosinium, the metal of the stars. A magical metal that could dispel magical effects and spells and in some cases absorb it to repair itself. Kaiden had once seen it on auction in Setat and it was sold for over fifty thousand gold for just one chunk the size of a fist.

“You are the son of my disciple and as you know Christian doesn’t talk about his father much so I am the closest thing you probably have to a grandfather.” Wraithas said while looking at Kaiden.

“Now don’t call me grandpa but I have to be honest I was surprised when he had a child, a boy at that. I had hoped that his son would lead a peaceful life, away from the battlefield, away from the cutthroat world we live in, but alas my hopes are in flames. Kaiden I don’t see you as just the son of my disciple but as the extended family I never had so I will have to say this now Kaiden before we part ways later and forced into situations of the inevitable.” Wraithas said with a softness in his voice.

“I am not always able to help you, so I will make you strong. Strong enough to make the world tremble. Strong enough to last against the windy daggers, venomous words, and mountainous weight that the world will throw at you. I will make sure you are strong.” Wraithas said.

Kaiden couldn’t respond as the softness and tone of his voice had not scared Kaiden in the least but instead uplifted him into a mood that told him one thing.

Strength is necessary, not to be happy but to survive.

They stood looking at the blue sky in a moment of peace, something the both of them hadn’t had in a long time. It was as the wind blew past them did Kaiden feel something he hadn’t before, a familial connection to the warrior in front of him.

“Now about your abilities, the person who will be ascertaining your abilities is an old friend of mine. He is a Mage of high prestige and skill. He and I were partners on adventures far and wide across the world. He is in Val’Kirosh in the northern forest. There he lives away from the annoyances of civilization. Now go gather your things and prepare to ride.” Wraithas said as he motioned Kaiden to return inside as he stayed outside. As Kaiden looked behind him the image of the warrior disappeared as if wisp of smoke.

A few hundred meters away a group of men were spying on a house and unfortunately for them they were met with an unexpected foe. Their deaths were instant, the group of eight men cut apart in an instant. Wraithas stood there amiss the group of bodies and began rummaging through the packs of the stalkers. In their bags were several gold coins, some bandages, and some signal crystals. Wraithas took the crystals and buried them underneath a tree and returned to the house, now they were ready to leave.

Two hours later they headed up north, on the winding path. They would have to travel four days to reach the Val’Kirosh forest. It was such a nice day but the road to the north was empty, rumors and news of bandit attacks had scared off the travelers and merchants. This however meant nothing to Wraithas, seeing how he could easily kill them all with a flick of his wrist but Kaiden on the other hand was scared of the notion of being attacked by bandits, not for himself of course but for the bandits themselves.

The time flew past as they reached the forest without incident. The large forest had a feeling of life and vibrancy, but also a feeling that made you want to stay away. The large opening in the center of the forest where the road laid was partially covered in foliage.

“Let’s go, only a league or two to his place.” Wraithas instructed.

“Master Wraithas, why does this area feel so… different?” Kaiden asked.

“Different? Different how?” Wraithas asked in confusion.

“Here in this forest, I feel ‘Life’, ‘energy’, but also ‘danger’.” Kaiden explained.

“Hah! Ask my friend Q’talo later. Maybe you’ll learn a thing or two.” Wriathas said as ther continued through the path. Midway through the forest, they went off the beaten path and spent another hour moving through the thick forest. Finally as they trekked through they came to a clearing and in the distance that could be seen was a house of vines. The building was basically a tree that grew itself into a house, something Kaiden had never seen.

“WHO TRESSPASSES ON THIS SACRED LAND!?” a voice boomed through the sky directly at them.

“Oh shut up Q’talo, you’re frightening my boy here.” Wraithas said as he strolled over to the tree house.

“WHO DARES INSULT M--- Oh Wraithas!” the voice said. Kaiden still confused as to where the voice was coming from.

“Will you get down here? I need to talk to you!” Wraithas chuckled.

“One moment you old bat!”

“OLD?! Look who’s talking!” Wraithas rebuked

The door of the house flung open as a skinny man came out wearing nothing at all.

“Gah! Q’talo! Put some clothes back on!” Wraithas complained.

“Oh, sorry bout’ that! Come inside I have some tea.” The man laughed.

As they walked inside the main room they could see a small table and some chairs with books and crystals everywhere. The man had just pulled on some pants and tossed on a shirt and went to go get some tea for the three of them. Bringing a tray of tea a few moments later there was a smile on both their faces.

“Now then my old friend what brings you by? I thought you would have been skewered by a spear by now!” the man laughed.

“Hah as if! It’s good to see you but today I am not here for fun and games, there are two issues I must speak with you about. First is this...” Wraithas said as he pulled something out of his pouch and showed it to Q’talo. Q’talo’s eyes flung open as he jumped out of his seat.

“Is it real?!” He shouted.

“Yes and I need your help, I am looking for anyone who can help. Fate brings us back together and with luck it will reunite some of our old friends as well. I as a [Servant of Life] must fight against this. You aren’t bound by the oath but I am asking you as a friend.” Wraithas said.

Silence fell as Q’talo wasn’t sure how to respond.

“What other issue do you have with me?” Q’talo asked flatly.

Wraithas smiled and gestured to Kaiden.

“Do you remember maybe thirty years ago we found a base of [Dark Deity] worshipers and inside they were sacrificing children?”

“How could I forget, the number of lives lost there has haunted me to this day.” He responded.

“Well remember the kid we saved? The one who had caused a commotion and fought until he was barely standing?”

“Yes, I believe Greywolf was his name. Christian Greywolf.” Q’talo said.

“This is his son. Q’talo meet Kaiden Tala Greywolf son of Christian Greywolf and Maria Tala Kimala. Kaiden meet Q'talo Earthshaker ” Wraithas revealed.

“Kimala? Ohhh so they got together in the end eh? Well now that I know who he is what does he have to do with me?” Q’talo asked.

“He’s been gifted with magical abilities and I wanted to find him a teacher, preferably you who could train him on the [Mountain of Dragons]. However if you can’t teach him I understand but would you please, at least test his affinities?” Wraithas asked.

“Oh? Magical gifts eh? Been awhile since I taught any magic but I can test his affinities yes. There is a price however Wraithas. You must give me time regarding the other thing, such a decision cannot be made easily.” Q’talo declared.

“Very well.” Wraithas said as he nodded his head.

Q’talo left them and went upstairs for a moment and brought something down. In his hands was something similar to a giant scroll about the size of a cartographers map.

“This is something I made, originally it was made for advance spells to understand some inner connections between elements but it will work for this as well.” Q’talo said.

“What do I do?” Kaiden asked.

“Just put all of your mana into it.”

“All of it?” Kaiden asked.

“Yeah all of it.”

Kaiden reached out his hands and began focusing and slowly time slipped away. Kaiden sat in his chair with his hands over the paper pouring out his mana nonstop. Q’talo could hardly believe his eyes, the amount of mana and its purity wasn’t something someone so young should have. The purity of the mana was something most mages spent years refining slowly building up more and more. Kaiden on the other hand seemed to be able to hold mana of great purity and quantity without even trying.

“Stop that’s enough, I wasn’t expecting you to have so much mana.” Q’talo responded.

‘Wraithas what have you stumbled upon my old friend.’ Q’talo thought.

Q’talo raised his hands over the scroll, inside it had trapped the mana preventing it from dissipating. Q’talo then began to chant something that Kaiden couldn’t understand. Now the mana had begun to spin and compress into something small, almost a pearl. The small mana pearl was now emanating a feeling of power, the deep purple glow had a slight hypnotizing effect. Q’talo was a little startled at this little purple pearl.

“By the goddess, I can’t believe what im seeing. Amazing, just amazing.” Q’talo said.

“What is it?” Wraithas asked.

“This is extraordinary Wraithas. I can’t believe my eyes, in the four hundred years I’ve been alive this is my first time seeing such a thing.” Q’talo said out loud.

“Ok amazing I understand, now what is it?” Wraithas asked again, starting to be a little inpatient.

“How should I explain this to you two.” Q’talo said.

The old man now began pacing back and forth in a circle for a little bit before he snapped his fingers.

“Aha! I got it” He exclaimed.

Suddenly he began a small chant and a projection of colors appeared in front of them. From there one could see the six main elements all inter-connected. Water, earth, light, fire, wind, and darkness could be seen as a hexagon as they connected to each other and in a web. In the center of that web was a purple circle.

“What you see here is the [Magical Elemental Web], the elements as you both know are all interconnected. Earth can affect fire and wind can affect water but these connections aren’t as strong as their direct counterparts.” He explained.

“Now in the center of this web is mana, mana is focused through a catalyst and then your magic comes out. Affinities are what you’re naturally able to bring out or transform your magic into, which we know as [Spells]. Now beyond this is to use mana purely as what it is, we call this the Arcane, because this magic is not any specific element, it is pure magic. Normally a mage would master an element in order find a way to access this branch of magic. This however is the opposite for you Kaiden, you see [Arcane] magic is stronger than any one element. Another benefit is that you could start studying any branch of magic you want without much difficulty, as opposed to me who is an earth magician, I have difficulty feeling wind magic. You Kaiden are one of the few with an arcane affinity, meaning you have the ability to wield magic itself to help you. Also arcane magicians are so revered and respected because they require no catalyst.” He finished.

The very idea stunned Kaiden and Wraithas, a mage without a catalyst was not only astonishing but terrifying. Many mages would spend hundreds of thousands of gold on catalysts. A mage without need of a Catalyst that would be able to cast spells of high destruction or effect was simple too terrifying.

“Of course like all magic there is a level of risk, arcane magic means trying to use pure magic to your will and if you don’t have the right amount of control it could blow up in our face or be catastrophic for everyone around you, so be cautious young one.” Q’talo said sternly.

“Q’talo, about arcane mages. What tier magic can they cast without a catalyst?” Wraithas asked nervously.

“Hmm I suspect no magic is too high for an [Arcane Mage] but my grandfather was also an Arcane Mage after he mastered his earth magic but from what I could gather he could only reach the first level of arcane mages, which was up to fourth tier magic without a catalyst.” Q’talo said.

Wraithas relaxed now, magic of fourth tier he could handle with no problem, but if a mage were able to cast dragon or emperor class magic without a catalyst then this mage could single handedly destroy kingdoms.

Q’talo stood there as he pondered what to do, not training the boy could result in the catastrophic results and yet training him could result in equally devastating results. Some natural arcane magicians destroy themselves by failure to control mana correctly. In order to prevent that he would require training immediately, as for the risk of training him the power of someone trained in arcane and then becoming drunk off their own power was quite a possibility as well. The only true way to deter that from happening and to create a positive outcome to the world would be if the person had a pure heart. Something Q’talo had lost faith in long ago.

“A shame you weren’t born an Elf” Q’talo said.

“Whys that?” Kaiden asked.

“Then I could test you another way without making you take the [Ritual of Miro’forkan] which translates roughly to, ritual of self-reflection.” He said.

“That ritual? Why do you need that for him?” Wraithas asked.

“If he can do that ritual the he can show me his true self. Then I can decide if he is to proceed any further in training of magic.” He said.

“Any further? What do you mean?” Wraithas asked.

“Basically if he has too much darkness in his heart I will kill him. The potential of an arcane mage is something the world cannot have corrupted. I’m sorry, but short him making a [Soul Pact] with me I can’t let him leave.” Q’talo said as Wraithas drew his sword and had it at his friend’s neck. While simultaneously he had a spell ready at Wraithas’s face. Kaiden sat there in between the two friends ready to do what they thought was right.

“What is a [Soul Pact]?” Kaiden asked trying to ease the tension.

Not lowering his hand Q’talo answered, “A [Soul Pact] is a more extreme version of a[Soul Contract], where even should one die, the pact would still be valid. So if I made a pact to Wraithas not to kill you and he died then I killed you, I would have broken the pact thus punishing me in whatever way or form our pact dictated. So you see a [Soul Pact] is eternal.”

With this the room fell silent again, Kaiden was now in a peculiar spot. The last week for him had been a nightmare, he was dragged around, seen innocent people die, been in danger since then, and was now in another life threatening situation.

“What if we made a [Soul Contract] first?” Kaiden asked.

Q’talo thought for a moment, unsure how to proceed. A Soul contract would still solve some early problems and would definitely make things easier. However a soul contract was still not a sure thing nor was it not impossible to break. Although right now it was a good idea to not have him kill one of his few friends still alive.

“Agreed, a [Soul Contract] will be done and we won’t have issues. Are we in agreement Wraithas?” Q’talo asked.

Wraithas lowered his sword and agreed.

There Kaiden relieved himself with a sigh now that the life threatening situation had passed. Q’talo went upstairs again and rushed down this time with an orb, it was silvery in color and the size of an apple.

“Before we do this I will tell you my terms. First you will become my disciple, being my disciple includes you following my instructions diligently, also that you may only practice magic with my permission. Next is that upon becoming a mage of third rank you will go under the [Ritual of Miro’Forkan], if you pass and prove yourself a pure soul then we will dissolve our contract but if you fail you will die. Now if you have any say them now.” Q’talo said

“None” Kaiden replied.

“Good grab the orb and just answer when you’re ready.”

Kaiden placed his hand on the top of the orb as Q’talo began a chant, as he finished chanting small ethereal letters formed in the air, showing him the contract.

Q”talo Earthshaker has offered you a soul contract!

This is a [Soul Contract] with a penalty of breaking this contract to be death and for the soul to be sent directly to the fifth circle of the afterlife for a thousand years. The following is are the terms of this agreement.

First the recipient of this soul contract will formally be accepted as a disciple of the initiator. Being the disciple has several duties, such as diligent studies and evidence of striving for constant improvement. The recipient will gain access to hidden notes on the aspect of Arcane magic, protection to the extent of ability, situational considerations, and necessity.

Second is that upon reaching a rank three mage the recipient will be tested of purity of their soul. If the recipient’s soul is deemed pure enough this contract will then become complete with only one lasting effect upon dissolving of this contract.

Lastly during the test of determining purity the recipient may have up to three witnesses present.

Do you accept these terms?

“Yes, I Kaiden tala Greywolf accept these terms.” Kaiden said.

After accepting the letters formed together and split into two lights, one went to Q’talo while the other went into Kaiden’s stat ring.

“Great! Now you are my disciple but we will hold off on our training until we reach the [Mountain of Dragons]. Now but until then we shall retire for the rest of the evening.” Q’talo said.

That night as Kaiden was sleeping upstairs, Wraithas and Q’talo were downstairs. Together they had a drink to old friends, past glories, and marvelous tales.

“Haha and then a whole pack of wyverns came out and we ran for our lives as fireballs flew past us as we made our way to the entrance of the cave while carrying those small bundles of herbs. I remember the look on that potion brewer’s face when we showed up with the herbs alive and well.” Wraithas laughed.

“Well I told you not to go in there, I thought it was weird no one else had accepted the job.” Q’talo said.

“Oh? So I told you so is what you’re saying? What about that time when you almost mated with a Succubus in Rekthera? I remember someone telling me he was in love.” Wraithas mused.

“Hah ok you got me there.” Q’talo answered. As they laughed the night away Q’talo suddenly raised his hand conjuring his staff... Wraithas understanding immediately drew his sword and prepared for an attack.

“How many?” he asked.

“Around forty, all warriors, but the strongest one is I think a master level swordsman so this shouldn’t be too much of an issue except some are in possession of some power sealing relics. I don't know how they got hold of these items but they will drop your speed to where even those low level ants could almost hit you.” Q’talo said.

“What do I do then?” Wraithas asked.

“I’ll help you out this time, the relic they have won’t affect me too badly. There are thirteen to the south, eight to the east, ten to the west, and ten more to the north. Which do you want to deal with first?” Q’talo asked.

“How about we compete? Whoever gets more pours the next round of drinks.” Wraithas said.

“Fair enough, also make sure to keep a few alive for interrogation. I can rip the information from them after.” Q’talo said.

Together they ran out and begun attacking their attackers. Wraithas took to the west and covered a hundred yards in moment, the attackers only had a moment to react. One of the attackers was quick enough to raise his sword to parry. Wraithas on the other hand was not your average swordsman, with a single strong of speed and power he split the man from shoulder to waist through the sword.

Others immediately understood what this meant, a Dragon Swordsman.

Immediately after Wraithas again appeared in front of another and took off his head in another stroke. The man barely had time to cry as the others left him to die. The others formed together and activated their relic. Wraithas immediately felt his body weigh much more but it didn't stop him as he was now only a little faster than them. Seeing how slow he was the eight other attackers formed up and tried to surround him.

Unlucky for them their feet were soaked in mud making it difficult to run or walk. This gave Wraithas an opportunity to run up and kill them simultaneously, after he finished he looked towards Q’talo and saw him smirk.

‘That showoff… I guess I can be a little more serious.” Wraithas thought to himself.

On the north end three people were trying to defend from [Earth spikes] flying at them. One man was a little two slow and took a spoke to the chest and flew back a few yards. They had already used the relic they had but it was no use to a mage who stood still anyway. In the distance their comrades began running towards them. Q’talo who had been playing around let them surround him.

“Prepare to die a painful death!” a man said. Q’talo could sense the power inside him and could determine he was the leader.

‘I’ll keep that one alive, and maybe Wraithas will keep one alive as well. I should let him know.’ Q’talo decided in his head.

Talking a small crystal on his neck he sent a mental message to Wraithas. *I’ve got the leader here, so you only need to keep one other squad leader alive*, Q’talo said telepathically. Wraithas just roared and killed more people.

“Attack!” the leader roared.

Q’talo said nothing as the men ran to him, quickly he chanted as he prepared a more powerful spell, [Field of Spikes]. As the attackers almost reached him he smiled as he slammed his palm into the ground. As the men took steps spikes began to shoot from the ground, preventing them from getting any closer. Many of them became impaled as others were missing a chuck of themselves. All of them were dying as Q’talo walked over to the leader and looked at him.

“I’ll never talk! So you had best kill me now!” he said as blood slowly flowed out his mouth.

“No need to talk, I have other methods.” Q’talo smiled cruelly. Looking up he saw Wraithas walking towards him as he dragged two people without legs.

He smiled as he said, “Hah you win this time, that earth spell you did made it easy to rid of the first group.”

“Glad you know it but did you really have to take their legs off?” Q’talo asked.

“Well I didn't feel like running after them. So just in case I did this.” He said nonchalantly.

Q’talo frowned as he realized the two men were dying quick, he walked over to one of them and began chanting. Slowly his eyes glowed grey, shining an eerie light.

“[SOUL RIP]!” Q’talo roared.

Wraithas looked at his friend, seeing him rip the soul of the man he brought. Normally souls that were pure were a silvery white color, except that this man’s soul was turning black. It was about thirty percent black. The man was being corrupted the man was lucky as Q’talo was a master of [Soul Magic], an ancient art of magic which allowed one to purify and talk to souls. After a soul was purified they were released into the afterlife for their reincarnation.

The soul in Q’talo’s hand began to scream and roar as the corruption was slowly eroded away. As he finished he took the soul into a gen and began communicating with it, being a pure soul now it couldn’t lie to him.

“Interesting, now then for the leader.” Q’talo said.

“What about the other one?”

“He’s already dead, pay attention.” Q’talo said.

“Oh...” Wraithas said as he saw the man was dead in his other hand as he tossed the corpse aside. In front of him Q’talo ripped the other man’s soul, this time this person’s soul was extremely corrupted, nearly seventy percent of it was black.

“Hmmm…..” Q’talo said with a puzzled expression.

“What is it?” Wraithas said.

“I can’t purify his soul… you know what that means...” Q’talo said.

“Yes I do. He’s a disciple of a [Dark Deity] or [Dark God].” Wraithas said.

“Exactly. Now then how am I going to destroy his soul?” Q’talo said

“I don't know that’s your job. Or you can merge it with a spirit and then I can purify it that way.” Wraithas offered.

“Good idea.” Q’talo said as he summoned a weak earth spirit to combine with the soul. As soon as he finished the combination the spirit became black and attacked them but Wraithas used his sword to purify it before anything big happened.

“Ok now we narrowed down who’s after Kaiden.” Q’talo said with a complex look on his face.

“Not that important for now, you’ll both be at the [Mountain of Dragons]. Our problem now is how were going to get rid of these bodies?” Wraithas asked.

“Don’t worry lets finish our drinks. I’ll take care of the bodies later.” Q’talo said.

==================================== ==================================================

Authors Note:

Hi all,

I would like to begin with a sorry I’ve kept you all waiting and I haven’t been maintaining the chapters (Links and stuff).

Second is that I am sorry again with the fact I might have to delay my releases to even longer, due to my studies in university and work. Also i feel that due to all this while trying to maintain what i deem as acceptable work has been more difficult to me.

And Last sorry is for those who were waiting for a new series for me as I have delayed it to focus on this series.

Now as for good news I in case you didn’t know. I am opened up a character submission thread meaning if you have a kickass idea for a character, submit it here.

Please not though don't give ne essays just the bare basics. I will allow minor background stuff like trauma and personality but please no more.

Thanks again LazyCloud.

P.S Please rate and favorite. those little numbers mean alot to me =]

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