Chapter 1 - Reckoning Revival

At Gloria’s most eastern tip, touching the seemingly never-ending sea, lies the robust city of Makgara. Having been an essential trading post in its infancy, it now contains all manner of commodity and is second only to the capital city of High Spire. Makgara is known mainly for its Arcane College, where all prospective Mages come to learn from the greatest practitioners and read the greatest texts. Entrance exams are held every summer season so that recent graduates of standard education can immediately apply themselves to the arcane cause. Such tests showcase applicants skills and how far they have come under the own tutelage.

In a recently cleared study room on the college’s ground level, such an exam began. 5 applicants, all adorning different colored robes to distinguish themselves from one another, stood before a group of Mages. The shortest Mage of the bunch was the flashiest of them all, as he wore a bright silver robe that one could mistake for a midday sun and a ring on each finger. The robe touched the aged pinewood floor and followed his pacing steps by an inch or so. Master Klod Don would lift the butt of the robe every so often, as if it would remedy the issue. The stout dwarf was almost completely bald at this point, as if all the red hair that adorned his head had been moved to his face. It is hard to take the man seriously at times as his mouth was hidden beneath his beard and his bushy beetlebrows moved ever so slightly with every word from his lips.

“Now that ya fully understand what’s expect’d. Let’s-a start right away.” Klod mumbled through this bushy whiskers. The five young pupils stood shoulder to shoulder. “First Step: Create a convincing Minor Illusion. This might’a seem like a simpl’ parla trick, but ya never know when a mom’ntary distraction could save yar life a time er two.” The first, a tall and dark skinned human boy wearing a red robe, clasped his hands together and closed his eyes. Shortly after, a giant beanstalk erupted from the ground in front of him which kicked up dust and then proceeded to smash through the ceiling. The stalk disappear shortly after to reveal the illusion and the room was unchanged as it had been before. The second, another human but a girl with fair skin and white hair, adorned in a deep green robe stretched out a hand. On the back of her hand was a intricate symbol that began to glow with a pale blue light. The symbol dimmed and an illusionary copy of Master Klod appeared besides him. Klod began pacing around and the copy did as well, following mere steps behind him.

“Not ta bad lookin’ it’d say,” Klod muttered with a small grin. Suddenly a high pitched scream rang true, turning everyone’s heads on a swivel. There didn’t seem to be a definite source of the sound. Kold turned to the applicants and noticed the third one, a tall elf with piercing blue eyes and in an orange robe, with a small pocket book open. The pages of the book gave off a dull light as the elf closed it, a huge grin across his face. “I’d-a say that was phenomenal if ya didn’t scare a decade er so off my life.” Klod concluded.

The fourth student was a young female dwarf with thick brown hair and a dark blue robe. She reached for a sigil made of twisted gold and silver dangling from on a thin string around her neck. The sigil shined a radiant light that would have blinded some had her hand not been blocking most of the sigil’s glare. After it dimmed, an extra row of chairs (exactly like the ones pushed to the back of the room for this test) appeared between the younglings and Klod. They were exactly the same; the way the grain on the wood followed and all. The dwarves shared a mutual nod before the chairs began to fizzle from existence.

The final candidate was indistinguishable, as the figure had put the hood of the purple robe that provided for the test over its face and the rest of the robe draped over its form. The figure let out a deep sigh. Moments later a bat flew out the front of its dark hood. The bat screeched and flew in a large circle around the room. The small creature then dove for Klod Don, who stood unflinching. The bat made contact with his burly chest, passed directly through him and appeared behind him before flying back into the purple-clad creature’s hood. Klod put a hand to his chest where the illusionary bat flew through,

“Audio AND visual… Mighty ‘pressive there young’un,” He said, now turning to face this student. The figure bowed towards Klod before returning to its upright position. “For th’ second part of th’ test, yah’ll need to perform-a successful teleportation spell of choice th’ full length of th’ room-a. A a quick escape er a change in perspectiv’ could change-a situation entirely ya know.”

The instructors that monitored the session stepped aside to give the participants the full room to perform their spells. The first three channeled their magics and vanished in a wisp, only to appear on the other side of the room in a brief cloud of smoke. The odd ones out were the dwarf and the hooded figure. The stout girl transformed into a small ball of light and traveled the appropriate distance while the last figure sunk directly into the floor and then rose out the floor once more alongside the others. Klod and the other Masters looked upon the pupils before briefly talking amongst themselves. Once complete, they all moved in front of the children.

“So fa’ so good.” Klod started. “In this final segment, yar to produce a magical blast at each of these instructors.” As Klod finished the sentence, each instructor stood opposite a student at about 10 paces. Once they were all in place, they each extended a forearm forward and a dome of blue arcane energy formed in front of them. “And don’t ya worry aboot hurting ‘em either. Ya’ve got a lot more training to go before ya tangle with these Mages.” Klod concluded and backpedaled a few paces away confidently.

The orange clad elf went first and extended his open book in front of him. Two white hot darts of magic exploded forth and each made a resounding impact against the magical shield. The dwarf shot a bolt of divine energy from her sigil. The head of the bolt zipped sporadically in bursts towards its intended target, with a thin trail just ever so visible behind it. Like most of her previous magic, this spell also ended with a flash of radiance and seemingly coated the robe of the teacher she hit. The two humans emitted both emitted a constant stream of magical energy for their respective trial. The streams lasted for a few seconds, both instructors kept their arcane warding up despite the constant barrage of magic. Although their spells were similar, each one gave off its own elemental flair that showcased how both Blood Born differed in training.

The only one left was the final candidate who merely stood there rather than move or commit to an action. This elven instructor before the figure stood up straight for a moment.

“It’s fine you know. I sincerely doubt you could harm me if that’s what is holding you back.” He said. His voice wasn’t cocky or condescending, but rather gentle and firm. The man couldn’t have been past three hundred years old as shoulder length black hair still dropped from his head. The cloaked figure’s head jerked up intently at the sentence, showing a sliver of its face for a second. The only resounding feature being a flash over its pale green eyes. The elven man resumed his stance but instead extended two hands, palms facing out that flashed blue before projecting a much larger shield than before. “Now hit me with your best shot.”

The figure shook its head vigorously, as if it was reassuring itself now that all eyes were upon it. Two normal slightly tanned hands appeared attached to normal arms and pressed themselves forward in a manner mimicking the elven man. The whole scene stood still for a brief moment, frozen in time, before a spew of black and purple fire began to erupt from the figure’s hands. Despite their flame-like eruption, the odd flames did not heat up the area. In fact it felt like an eerie chill ran through the room, as if the fire was absorbing all the heat in the area. When the black fire made contact with the arcane barrier, it merely obstructed most of the instructor’s view. Shortly after however, the point where the flames made contact with the shield began to fade as the spell began to eat through the protective barrier.

In the passing few seconds, Klod knew he had seen enough. With a swift stomp, his worn and old boot smacking the wooden floor, a small fissure in the floor from Klod quickly slithered towards the dark being. Once at its feet, the fissure erupted and chunks of earth began to shoot up from the beneath the wood. The resulting spell threw the figure against the hard stone wall ten feet from where it was originally. Klod scuttled furiously over to the figure while everyone else stood in awe. The students instinctively grouped up slowly while the instructors hastily put themselves between the younglings and this strange being. As Klod charged, he now got a good look at the hooded figure. Despite the sickly power it possessed, the figure was nothing to be afraid of. The figure was a young man the same age as the other candidates, maybe even younger by the look of his smooth sun-touched skin, that wore a vibrant red vest over a white shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbows and long black pants with standard brown boots.

“What is t’is tomfoolery?” Klod thought to himself. “This cannut be tha’ threat I jus witnassed?!” The boy coughed hardily and brought his upper half off the floor. He had short, pale blond hair that barely reached the tips of his ears. And as Klod looked closer, those ears had small pointed ends. Not long and slender like regular elves, but shorter and stubbier too. Without hesitation, Klod wrapped one hand around the boy’s throat and demanded to know what his purpose here was.

“ I - I just want to be a student. I swear it’s tru-truth!” He said through short breath. Klod wasn’t going to let his guard down that easy, he saw the power this boy possessed and the awful memories that came at the sight of them. He remembered a once prosperous life reduced to ashes. He himself had come out of the proverbial and literally wreckage to achieve his current role, but so many others he knew did not get such a chance. Klod tightened his grip, stealing all air out of the boy’s lungs. His vision began to turn red at the sides and his determination grew thicker.

“That’s enough Master!” Rang a voice over his shoulder, the same voice that had just been subjected to the boy’s dark magic. Klod turned to see the elven man with small patches of his robe burnt away by the mystical flame, but otherwise unharmed by the sudden attack. Klod dropped his grip and the young man fell again onto his back, panting for the air he so needed.

“Ya don’t know wha thas means Arthas!” Klod screeched. Arthas’s eyes grew wide for a split second, his frustration with Klod visibly starting to manifest.

“Let’s not forget that I’ve been through the same trials as you… I’ve seen the same unruly devastation that this has caused…” Arthas rebutted. Klod’s face scrunched at the elf’s words. Before their argument could escalate, the young half-elf began to stand whilst using the wall behind him as support. As he turned to face the two men, Master Klod immediately cast a ray of sickly green energy at him. As the beam touched him, the boy was wrapped in the energy in an instant and was held in place as if he was frozen.

“I guess we’ll have to see what the council wants to do with this abomination then,” Klod said. As he did, he took off his robe and put it over the paralyzed boy’s face. Soon after, the frozen lad felt two forces lift him up by his slightly outstretched arms and carry him off.

“Well… That could’ve gone better,” He thought to himself as he was whisked away to parts unknown.

Next Chapter: Chapter 2: Races