1. Something improbable comes our way

The Lore Keepers tells us that the world was very different once. A little over a century ago the Earth was covered with humans. We were supposedly at the height of technological advancement and had no clue of the mysteries that were truly out there. There was no magic on our world, that didn’t come until later, after the invasion started.

Quick Lore lesson in case I don’t make it and somehow humans survive. Humanity’s downfall was done before we ever knew what hit us. It started small, odd events here or there, a new business with an odd name and eccentric CEO that nobody ever saw. Giant obelisks appeared around the globe overnight, nobody knew where they came from. Nobody could identify what they were made of or the glowing sigils that were ingrained in them, always pulsing. There was little concern over them, one per continent in random locations. They stood for ten years. At first there was fear, countries blaming each other for these odd stone obelisks’ construction. When nothing happened in time the paranoia was replaced with curiosity. The symbols on them were recorded but there was no way of knowing what they meant, a language never before seen on earth. The obelisks became things just people went to see, tourist attractions. There was no warning for what came later. As the decade ended after the obelisks showed up what we didn’t know was that something had invaded our realm.

They say that there was what can only be described as a wave pulled into the obelisks, along with the lives of everyone within a mile of each them. After the waves hit the obelisk there was a soundless explosion and waves of power moved outward from each one. As the waves moved outward the world changed around them. At first it was just a large portal at each obelisk. As the waves moved outward, the geography changed, features disappeared or new features appeared that weren’t there before. We have learned since that these waves of magic changed geography because the True Fae orchestrated a very powerful spell that overlayed parts of their own plane with ours. The real downside for humanity in this changing of the realms was that suddenly magic existed in our world even though we didn’t know how anything about it yet. It destroyed most of our electronics like a world wide magic EMP. Needless to say, that is when the real invasion started. Out of those portals came Fae creatures. Nearly all the creatures that humanity thought was myth or legend came streaming through the portals. The high tech weapons of the time would either be just barely effective against the hordes of Fae soldiers or often times would fail catastrophically. The world’s forces were pushed back within days. The next wave that came through the portals came through at night, the vampires. The vampires of the other realm had an alliance with the True Fae. Between the two of them, they were masters of their domain in their home realm and they decided to expand, that meant opening portals to our realm and put us in our place. We were decimated between the two forces and nearly wiped out. Humans were lucky to wall themselves up into larger cities, saving some of our numbers. It was a dark time and was nearly the twilight of humanity. Our saving grace came in the form of other monsters from what we thought was just legends, the lycanthropes. They snuck out of the portals while the Fae and the vamps were busy corralling us into our cities. They’d been fighting the others for centuries in their home plane. They made their way from the portals amongst us before revealing themselves. They made a tenuous alliance with humanity, thinking that perhaps our ingenuity would help them in their own struggle. The alliance with the lycanthropes saved us. They taught us that our tech was useless without being modified against both the Fae and the vamps. Humanity had to take a step into the supernatural, a direction most people at the time weren’t ready for, they had to embrace magic more than science.

The lycanthropes gave us the language of magic. Sigils that we could emblazon on our weapons and armor. Without the sciences and industry pumping out weapons, there were no longer easy access to munitions. Anyone who had ever trained as a blacksmith was suddenly in high demand. Our days of anyone that wanted having a gun were over. In order to arm as many people as possible, older weapons started being churned out. Knives, swords, maces, and any other melee weapon people could remember were popular again. They would end up having one of the sigils added somewhere on the weapon so that they could damage the Fae creatures and vamps. The lycans tried to teach us their spirit magic, but it wouldn’t work for humans. The lycanthropes had armed us and we took back some of our lands. We were masters of our cities again, working with the lycanthropes to push back the Fae and the vamps. We built walls to keep ourselves safe in our cities. A little knowledge though is a dangerous thing sometimes. We were still hard pressed and numbers dwindled, still lurking on the brink of extinction so we did the one thing humans are good at, being creative and resourceful.

Even as we worked with the lycanthropes, we worked against them. Fae and vamps that were not outright killed, which were plenty since even with sigiled weapons they were very resilient, were captured and taken prisoner. We spirited them away to underground labs and performed experiments to learn more about them. We learned some of how Vampiric and Fae magic works, or at least enough to know that humans couldn’t use either of them as we couldn’t use the Lycanthropic magic.

In time humans were able to create and hodgepodge their way into their own form of magic. It was similar to the Lycan’s but we didn’t form bonds with the spirits to create things, instead we bound elements to ourselves. Armed with the language of magic and our own abilities, we struck back. We took back full control of our cities, reinforced our walls, and expanded them to have outlying farms and mines. The Fae and the vamps pulled back. We still weren’t numerous and only our larger cities were the only bastions left of humanity. The majority of the planet got broken up by the different True Fae and Vampire Lords.

Then we turned on our saviors. A lot of humans saw the lycanthropes as the same monsters we were fighting. They had helped us but humanity was sure of its own superiority at that point, at least for the most part. We pushed the lycanthropes out of our cities and into the outlying forests. We hunted them as we did the vamps that tried to pass themselves off as humans. The Purge Years as they were called were a violent time. There were some among us that spoke up, or did their best to sneak lycanthropes safely out of the cities. Most of those that helped the shifters were varied, from different walks of life. The majority of them were once called pagans. They saw the lycanthropes as protectors, creatures that were at one with nature and trying to maintain the balance rather than the monsters the majority of the populace thought they were.

It was in the Purge years when MAGUS was founded. Former scientist from all fields, military personnel, and historians came together. The founded an organization to fight the monsters, all the monsters. MAGUS soon took over every aspect of society and humanity was thankful. MAGUS teaches us when we’re young so that we can endure the darkness of the world around us. They became the governing body of the people and looked out for everyone. They are the police force that guards us against the ensuing hordes of enemies at our gates. Those first years soured our relationship with the Lycanthropes. We made enemies of them and didn’t try to reach out to them again until just a couple years ago. They were our buffer in the forests against the True Fae and the Vampires, and MAGUS preferred it that way. We still see the occasional one try to sneak in just like we do with the vamps, the only difference is we’re more tolerant of the lycans and push them out of whatever city they are found in except for the repeat offenders. Children are taught from a young age that MAGUS saved us. We’re taught the warning signs to identify potential threats and how to deal with them. When we are teenagers we make our choice of how we spend our lives. Over the years, MAGUS has been able to expand our knowledge of the magical language, creating new sigils that can do more than just make our weapons useful against the monsters. They’ve been able to rebuild some of our old technologies with the fusion of magic. Computing and communications work somewhat with the infusion of our magic, but other advanced technologies humanity supposedly could create were lost during the years following the invasion.

When we’re teenagers we choose our path in life. There is always a need for more farmers, miners, general laborers, and craftsmen except for the blacksmiths. Then there is the other path, joining MAGUS. Not everyone is cut out for it nor makes the cut even if they decide to take that path. MAGUS is split into three different groups.

First there are the Lore Keepers. They maintain as much historical information as they can, are in charge of all different fields of research both magical and scientific, and are responsible for teaching. The Lore Keepers still have at the very least basic combat training, and most of them become pretty adept in what little free time they have.

Second are the Justicons. They make up the governing body. All legal matters go through the Justicons. Politicians, lawyers, judges, basically any government official or assistant is a Justicon. The rare exception might be some of the outlying mining or farming communities. These will occasionally be governed themselves but they still answer even if indirectly to the Justicons. Their word is law, no questions asked.

And lastly are the Dragons. We were named after the one myth that seems to have actually stayed a myth and have never been seen. We are the crazy ones on the front lines. Dragons are the polices, the guards, those that go out to hunt the monsters to keep the regular people safe. Ours is a dangerous and typically short lived path due to the nature of human magic.

You see our magic isn’t part of our being like the True Fae. It wasn’t bartered through dark forces like the Vampires, and we were unable to make deals with nature spirits like the lycanthropes do. We took everything that we knew and took a page from old nature religions and philosophy. We ripped the elemental power out of nature to make us stronger. Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Nature, Shadow, and Metal. The problem with humanity’s magic is that it doesn’t come without its own toll. The longer a Dragon uses their magic, the more the magic affects them. Over years of use the elements start taking their toll. Most Dragons focus on an individual element or maybe two. The Lore Keepers tell us that use of a single element throws off our internal spirits. What this generally means is that Dragons don’t make it to old age. If we continue to fight, eventually an element starts taking us over until our body no longer functions. There are statues of Earth and Metal using Dragons that prove the point, others melt or explode. Nobody knows exactly how the magic will affect them. Like I said, it isn’t part of our being. We learned the sigils and the language of magic. We learned that the language of magic can be converted into sign language. This sign language can be used on its own or in conjunction with the different fighting styles we’re taught so that firing a gun or swinging a weapon doesn’t have to be stopped just to perform something magical. In theory if one were to learn and use the magic of each element and find balance then that person would no longer suffer the drawbacks. In the decades that humanity has performed its magic, its never happened even though many have tried. They lycanthropes laughed as us saying that we’d surely burn out like overheated furnaces. They were right, but that’s the price some of us pay to keep everyone safe.

Not all Dragons have a horrible death though. When the elements get to start affecting a Dragon they do have other options. They can retain their years of service in MAGUS and become a Lore Keeper or a Justicon depending on their years of service and inclination. Some even retire and move to the outlying towns to help out, especially those that have any expertise in Nature magic.

Since there is always a need for new weapons and repair, anyone with an aptitude for the mechanical or blacksmithing arts are immediately inducted into MAGUS. They are free to join any of the three branches, given at least rudimentary combat training so that they know not only how to create that which defends us but how better to use it. MAGUS saved us when humanity most needed it. We owe them everything, however we grow ever weary. While the lycanthropes have been pushed out to create a buffer against the True Fae and the vampires, the harsh treatment of their kind has made them weary of us. They view us now as betrayers, some of the tribes even decided our world would be better off without us in it, that we pollute everything we touch, don’t live in harmony with nature. Often these tribes raid our outlying communities. At first these raids were brutal, whole communities wiped out overnight. That was when MAGUS decided it was in our best interest to try and rekindle our alliance with them, but it’s been slow going for obvious reasons. It has even come to the point that while the lycanthropes are not allowed in our cities, we no longer try to kill them on site. There are even now rare occasions where a lycanthrope is invited into the halls of MAGUS, to learn with human children, but when they reach the age where most of us decide where our lives will go, they are returned to their villages. They cannot use our magic so there is no point in teaching it to them so the few lycanthropes that have been invited in spend the time when we learn magic with a member of their own kind learning how to control their rage and shapeshifting and their own type of magic. Over the last five years since MAGUS first reached out to the lycanthropes peacefully, an embassy for them has been erected where they can stay, both the appointed teacher and students. As I said, its slow going, most of us still don’t trust them, but we do what MAGUS orders and those that are hopeful insist that one day if trust is established between our two races, we’ll be able to successfully strike back against the Vampire Lords and the True Fae and hopefully take back our world.

~Rayne Hammer

The sound of metal clashing through the room. They locked up weapons, his blade against her smaller set of blades. The pushed against each other, both trying to get an edge.

“Come on Ember, you’re going to have to do better than that.” She chuckled. Her back foot snapped forward and caught behind his knee, pulling him off balance. He hit the training room’s matted floor and laughed, both the combatants were panting and exhausted after the long training sparring match.

Covered in sweat he lay back and laughed. He reached his hand up. She holstered her practice bladepistols and helped him up.

“Come on Ryan, you keep calling me that and soon everyone else will as well.”

“Fine, besides we’re alone Rayne. Nobody can hear me taunt you here.” She laughed. “Good for you too or someone might see how terrible your magic is and then you wouldn’t be first officer.”

“Come on now, you know that I’m more experienced than anyone but Commander Dakka in spellcraft. Why do we do this? We could be off watching movies or playing Labyrinths and Shades with the others.”

“Yeah, Yeah, my tattoo is bigger than yours. You know why. MAGUS has drilled it into us since we were children. The best stop the monsters when all else fail. We learn their weaknesses to understand them, we use our magic in the defense of the citizens, and we fight to keep everyone safe.”

While anyone could be taught to use minor spells by learning the correct sigils and arcane gestures, those spells didn’t do much in combat situations. They took time for results. Any normal citizen could be taught to help plants grow or purify water if they decided to learn it. Those minor spells either took time or only did minor things, so they didn’t require a lot of energy and only minor focus. The magic the Dragons used though required more power, and focus. Once someone decided to join the Dragons they made a choice of an element to start. Every trainee was taught minimal spells of each element before they made their choice. The minor spells everyone learned limited the destructive potential of accidents and spells gone awry while students learned. After school’s graduation if a student decided to join any branch of MAGUS they went through basic training to make sure they were ready. Those that survived, after all it is a grueling training and accidents occasionally happen, become full members of MAGUS and are given their tattoo.

Each MAGUS member chose their element of focus to begin. Through MAGUS’ basic training, personality traits, strengths and weaknesses were determined. Afterward when the trainee graduated, the information on each candidate was given to a Lore Keeper. The Lore Keeper uses the old historical texts of Eastern mythology to determine where best a candidate could take the tattoo they would receive. Between acupuncture and old spiritual theory of chakra points, the point on the body is selected. The candidate was then escorted to MAGUS headquarters. There they were escorted to a specially designed room. The “Elements Room” as it was called took years to create. The room is specifically designed with sigils created just for that room and were permanently cut into the walls of the chamber. The sigils then were imprinted in a special process to that liquefied gemstones of different types to infuse the sigils with the gemstones. The floor was then inscribed with a magic circle of binding and growth. The same gem infusing process was used there. In essence the Elements Room is one giant magic circle.

The candidate is taken to the Elements Room and sat down in the chair. The Lore Keeper then starts a special ritual and chant while an artist blends special ingredients specific to the element the candidate has selected to make an ink. The ritual and chant of the Lore Keeper continues as the artist takes the ink that has been created for the candidate and creates their first sigil in the place designated by the Lore Keeper’s research.

Once the tattoo is complete and heals, magic is infused with the individual for the rest of their lives and lets them power stronger spells. It’s also the reason that elements start affecting people over the years, its artificially part of them forever after. An odd side effect was found when the process was first developed. As a magic user gains strength in their abilities and learns new elements, they sigil tattoo grows and changes depending on the type of magic the user employs most often and the order they have learned things. MAGUS has kept records on the progress of anyone with a tattoo for years. The information is readily available to any member of MAGUS and every member regardless of branch is taught the basics of the nuances, to know at a glance if seeing the full view of someone’s tattoo what kind of elements a person can use. Lore Keepers that have done more research on the subject can even tell you how much someone uses are particular element depending on how much individual portions of their sigil tattoos have changed from the original design.

Before Rayne could answer, the door to the training room swung open. Two men walked in. One in an all black uniform similar Rayne and Ryan’s. He was around the same height at Rayne but of a larger build. A scar ran down the left side of his face from his forehead down to his jawbone. His salt and pepper hair was cut short and his square jaw gave him a hard look. His skin seemed to have a slight brown or grey tinge to it. He was Commander Dakka, the Foe Hammer, a master of earth magic, and Rayne and Ryan’s squad leader. He ushered in the other man and shut the door.

Rayne and Ryan looked over, stood square to him and put their right fist against their chest in salute. “Commander Dakka.” They said in unison.

The hard faced man smiled. “at ease you two.” He looked over to the other man that had walked in with him. Where Rayne and Ryan were toned and of athletic build from constant training, this man looked like he could lift both of them with one hand. He was closer to seven feet than six and all a tower of muscle. He wore the same baggie black cargo pants that they did but rather than a t shirt he wore a sleeveless tank leaving his arms bare. His hair looked like it rarely been cut. It was more like a mane that ran from his forehead hanging off the back of his head to halfway down his back. His hair was black, but his eyes were an ice blue that was a little unnerving. His facial features were a little softer as if he was younger, but his eyes spoke of intelligence and experience. His arms were covered in tribal tattoos rather than the standard sigil like designs that human magic tattoos grew into and on his upper arm the tribal symbols opened up to form a circle. Within the circle was an emblem of a wolf’s head with lighting strikes behind it and a Warhammer in its mouth. He looked to the commander as if in permission to speak.

“You’ve got to be kidding me….”Ryan mumbled under her breath, only loud enough that Rayne barely caught it and was confused.

“Rayne, Ryan. We’ve been given an “opportunity” by MAGUS HQ.” Dakka said to them, his expression and thoughts almost as impossible to read as his face. “I’m here to introduce you to your new team member. This is Blackclaw Stormwolf of the Stormwolf tribe. He has been assigned to our group for our next mission to represent the interests of their tribe.”

That’s when it dawned on Rayne. The Stormwolf tribe was one of the more well known lycanthrope tribes, specifically they were werewolves. They were one of the most influential and strongest amongst the tribes. They were also one of the most traditionalist tribes. They prided themselves on honor and strength. If the werewolves could be said to have any nobility, it was the Stormwolf tribe. Most of the other tribes sought their guidance in matters that could not be resolved in other ways. They are the keepers of the ancient laws, and the final arbiters of those laws if they are called. All werewolves lived by laws that had been set before, but when there was no precedent or something was outside of the normal laws, the Stormwolf tribe would be asked for guidance. They also were known to be the bringers of justice when a werewolf broke the laws or needed to be hunted down. Having the same surname as the tribe meant that Blackclaw was directly related to the leader of the tribe, a prince of werewolves he could be called, even though the wolves didn’t use titles like that. Alpha, beta, omega within a pack or tribe, these were the titles that MAGUS was more familiar with the werewolves using.

Rayne then understood Ryan’s mumble. The reason Rayne and Ryan were so close was partly because they’d known each other almost all of their lives. Selena had taken in Ryan when her parents had died. Ryan was a kid in one of the farming villages across the Hudson. When she was three her village was attacked. It was during some of the worst times in relations between humans and our local werewolves. Selena worked at the orphanage because she liked helping children. She took a special case with Ryan and actually brought her into her home to live when she was ten. Ryan had been through a fair number of foster families. She woke up so often screaming and crying about the nightmares of the night her family was killed that nobody knew what to do with her, so they would bring her back to the orphanage saying that they couldn’t take it. It wasn’t that she caused trouble, just didn’t sleep much, was a bit paranoid, and occasionally would sit hiding just watching what was around her, slightly unusual traits for a child, at least enough that it was unnerving to some people. Most people weren’t used to walking through their house only to turn around and find a child they thought sleeping hiding in the shadows just watching what was going on, staring at them. Selena had told Rayne that she wasn’t his mother either but she’d adopted him when he was a baby. His mother and father had passed away, but that both were great heroes and managed to get him to the city. She’d told him that the guards had tried to save his mother at the gate but she died as she gave them Selena’s name. At that point it didn’t take long to find her and hand him over. She told him that unfortunately the records weren’t so great in the outlying towns so he probably wouldn’t be able to find records of them, and since the Fae attack came the night of his birth, he certainly wouldn’t remember them. Ryan however had been three when the attack came. She remembered claws and fangs while she hid. She got better after she came to live with Selena and Rayne, but she even now eighteen years after the attack occasionally woke up yelling. With her MAGUS training however, she’d told Rayne that her nightmares now more often turned into her bursting out to kill all the werewolves rather than just hide from them like she did as a child. She did now in her nightmares what she wished she could have done when she was a child. Ryan was never able to identify what tribe the wolves had come from, she didn’t know to look for the tattoos when she was a child, and everything she saw was teeth and claws and fur, likely didn’t even see one of them in human form, so she ended up hating all werewolves regardless of the current policy of peace with the werewolves.

Blackclaw looked again at Commander Dakka. “The door is closed. Our training rooms are warded for silence. As long as the door is closed, the circle is complete and nobody can hear anything that transpires in here so you can speak freely.” He told Blackclaw.

“Good, because what I’m about to tell you is of a sensitive nature and I already know what your next mission is. We’re going to after one of the Fae Lords.” He said. Blackclaw’s voice reverberated through the room, deep and resonant.

Next Chapter: Chapter 2 Promises made in life and games.