I awoke from a fade filled dream. My friend Gutta Sanguinis stood above me, holding a small cup of tincture in his hand. “Schylark Weirich! (sky-lark vere-rick) The choosing is today! You get to be assigned to a Templar Knight and go threw your great test! Grand-Enchanter Irving has called for you into his office!” The great thing about Gutta is he is my friend. The Mages Tower that we reside in along with all the other mages is large, but too many of the mages here are to afraid to do anything that Humans do. You see not everything used to be this safe.
It all started years ago, the chantry of light, deemed mages to dangerous. With us being so close to the demon filled Fade. It also does not help that the lands are in constant turmoil. That though is for another day. So after the chantry deemed us mages a danger to everybody, they created a police force comprising of Templars. Templars and Mages grow up and are trained entirely differently. Templars are trained to nullify magic, while Mages are trained to use magic. It is done this way so that Templars can deem a Mage unworthy, and strike him down if the time comes. On top of that they would not have known us for a long time, making the final blow all that easier.
I sat up and hit my head on the bunk above me, its cursed wooden texture ever so slightly dented by the constant banging that accrued to its side. Usually by my head. “Schylark! Makers Breath! One day you are going to break that bed with your hard head!” his lopsided grin cheekily flashed my way. “well Gutta, at least I am not going to be an apprentice anymore.” At this he frowned. “Schylark, what if they think I am no good for being a Mage? It has been five months since my calling to magic, and they still have not taken me in to the choosing room? Do you think they will Annull me?” when a mage is Annulled, they are ripped away from the fade. Which we are all connected to. They feel nothing and care for nothing but the task they are given.
“Now Gutta, they can't annull you, you are fantastic with teleportation. And lets not even start with your cooking abilities!” I exclaimed to him, grabbing the cup he had been carrying the entire time. It was a Lyrryum potion. (leer-ree-umm) A lyrryum potion is a mages 'pick me up' as the Templars that guard the tower say. I sip at the electric blue potion and prepare my clans robes for the choosing. Which Gutta took as his time to leave. The mage tower lacks in one thing, and that is privacy. So I take any chance that I can get to be alone for a moment. My clans robes where embedded with the healing properties that all mages in my clan seem to get. I myself specialize in plants, elemental, and healing magics. The plants being more of a preference of choice.
After slipping on my robes I headed out of the great wooden door that lead to the 1st hall. After a good walk, I knocked apon Ivrings door. The door was opened by a Templar that I had not seen inside the tower before. “Greetings young Mage, I am to be your Templar. I trust that you are ready for the choosing as you like to call it.” I nodded my head, this Templar had more armour than the normal one. Runes where etched onto each peace of the plating that covered his entire body. His bottoms where red, like my robes, and went over his leg plating. It too was etched with runes.
“Grand- Enchanter Ivring, this is your star pupal Weirich, right? He seems to be a sick little thing?” Slightly outraged that he called me weak, and in front of Ivring none the less! “What does that make you? A buffoon in extremely enchanted armour?” he smiled at me. “Schylark, I think we will be great friends.” how ironic, my executioner thinks we can be friends. Now we can all sing and dance in the moonlight together as you bring your sword to my chest. “yes, and know that you know my name. What is yours” he flashed me a smile and stated “Crassus Clypeus, Templar of the Great and Powerful Schylark Weirich.” (Crass-us Sly-pess) He stated as if it was I who was the leader, and not him. Ivring finally let the both of us in to his room. Then he opened a side door. In this room, it was dark. A pedestal sat in the middle of the room with large amounts of magic pooling off of it and seeping into the floor.
“Schylark, please do good. I dont want you to be the first person I kill.” Crassus stated to me. Which is odd, if I fail I am his first kill. That explains why he wanted to be friends with me. “Crassus I am most certainly sure that I can pass this test.” I give him a smile, a rare one at that. His personality is rubbing off on me.
“Schylark, I am not allowed to tell you anything about the choosing, just keep your wits about you, yah?” thats Ivring for you, everything is a question. Even an answer. “Yes Ivring” was all that I could say before I was pulled into the fade by the pedestal.
I opened my eyes, in every direction it was black. I was floating on top of some warm fluid. “Hello Young Mage.” a voice echoed in the darkness. Something was moving in the water. I could feel the small waves ripple along my sides. “Do You Know Who I Am” I enacted a shield spell around my body, pushing away all the warm fluids. “Do You Feel Afraid?” It asked. I casted a light spell to see nothing but red water in all directions. “Why Shed Light On The Darkness? It Only Makes The Shadows Longer.” there in the distance was something. I teleported over to the object. It was a ship of some kind. “Do You Want To Get Rid Of All Your Worries? I Can Help With That.” the ship now rocked side to side as something brushed under it. I sat down and meditated. Letting the magic flow from me. Only for my leg to be wrapped up by a tentacle. “How Quant, The Mage Was Doing Something.” my robes dispersed into the fade. “There Thats Better, Lets Feel Your Body And Show You The True Path To Power.”
Just like that, I was back in the room. I turned around and casted thorny vines apon both Ivring and Crassus, shoving them into the wall “Schylark, please, it is over! You where in no harm, and you where only supposed to see what would happen if you give into your demons!” the enchanter stated, his flesh now cut randomly by the snake like vines that wrapped around him. I let him and Crassus go, not stopping my spell though. “Crassus, if I ever become what I saw. Kill me. Then burn my remains and mix them with water from the chantry. Then crush one pound of roses into that and bury in some place that nobody will ever find.” I sat on my knees and sobbed into my hands. Finally getting up to see that Crassus was right there. “Schylark, I will always protect you. I don't know what you saw, but I know it will never come out.” He displayed an unusual amount of kindness and heart. He laid his hand on my chest. Something that only somebody you trust more than anything does that. Not even Gutta does that.
Ivring smiled and walked over to his room. He came back with a book. “Schylark, I know you are going to leave the Tower, but I want you to have my spell book. It has all my spells that I have made myself. I trust that you will expand the book your self, or even give it your own twist.” Crassus walked up next to me. “Grand Enchanter Ivring, I have not told him his assignment.” Ivring looked at me and nodded. “Very well, Schylark, you are to be a part of a team. Your team will number in twelve. You will meet them when you get to the capital, Demarr.” Demarr is our capital, it sits in the northern highlands, and is the third biggest market place in the world.
“I will collect what I need, it is best that I don't tarry.” Ivring nodded his aproval and opened the door with a flick of his wrist. Crassus followed me to my dorm and watched as I paced away my things. Gutta ran up to me and stopped at the sight of my Templar. “Schylark? Is this your Templar? He seems bulkier than normal. Are you leaving?” I turned to him and nodded, stuffing more things into my bag.
“Gutta, I have a mission to go and do. I trust that you will none the less be able to make it to mage hood, and be even better than me.” I said quickly to him.
