Chapter 1

  Never did I imagine I would be in a position like this. Schhhhhk, Schhhhhk. The sound of the Celestria’s Phoenix guild heir filled the empty street. All I wanted was to join a guild, maybe learn how to do magic or perhaps become a knight of Celestria. Pffft. Those dreams are all over now. No one will ever believe that I didn’t kill Reginald. I’ll be lucky if I don’t wind up with a death sentence. Hell, a death sentence may be lucky compared to the rest of my life in the Celestrian high royalty torture chambers.

  “KYRAN!!!!” She’s high in the ranks of the guild of the man I’m carrying.There’s a crowd of people shouting my name behind me. Hundreds of adventurers and soldiers, some even of the highest ranks.

  From the sky, streaks of colorful light bolt across the sky to the crowd at the murder scene. They’re coming in fast. It won’t be long til they’ve caught up with me.

  One of the phoenix guilds highest ranking sorcerers, Morgana, was already on the scene. I don’t think she has seen me yet thank the Gods. The Celestrian times recently did a piece on her as one of the most powerful Sorcerers in all of the Kingdom. If she catches me, I’m dead.

  “He went towards the wall! Hurry! We can corner him.” A guard in the crowd shouted.

  I see he leads the mob in a direction a couple streets over. But Morgana follows him at a speed that appears inhuman. She’s much faster than any human, elf, or dwarf I’ve seen. Following closely behind her was a horde of recruits for her guild. All shouting, all angry, and all of them looking for me. Yep. I am so dead.

  I pull hard on the boots of Reginald the Fifth of Celestria’s Phoenix Guild. Trying desperately to escape my situation. Why did I bring the body? It’s not like it will help. I just panicked and wanted to escape. Destroy the evidence.

  I turn hard down a sidestreet and pull Reginald as hard as I can. “Hnyuuh!” A groan escapes my lips as I place his limp body against the outer wall of a magic shop that's off of the main stretch. If I’m going to get out of here I can’t worry about bringing Reginald's body with me. Not like It would change anyone's opinion anyways even if I could’ve found a way to prove I didn’t kill him. Now I’ll have to find a way to do it without the body, If I even survive tonight. I sprint down the alleyway and over to Orion street.

  The firefly lamps that lined the streets of the slums gave off a pleasant glow despite the circumstances. Dim enough to allow the stars high above Celestria to be seen but bright enough to make sure I’m not gonna break my leg in some missing grate heading to the sewers beneath the city.

  Maybe I can escape the city? Maybe I can cover my tracks enough that joining a guild and being a hero will be within my reach. Ha! Doubt it. Especially now. I mean even if I do survive, which is a slim chance, I’ll have to watch out for him. The man who actually did kill Reginald, his brother, Sebastian. Plus Morgana, and all of the soldiers who have seen my face.

  I guess it was just unlucky for me to be caught up in a brother's quarrel over successorship of the title of High wizard of Celestria’s Phoenix guild. To think I left a nice peaceful life of farming only to have my life ruined by politics. All because I found out I had an affinity for magic. I didn’t even figure out what kind of magic… For all I know the gnome who told me I had magic coursing through my veins could’ve been lying. I would have no way to know. I mean, It’s not actually like I’ve used magic before. “Ughh….” Why did I have to be so gullible?

  Gnomes travel the countryside to and from Celetria and out to different lands peddling magical items and telling fortunes. When my mother was still alive she always told me to avoid having a traveling gnome tell me my fortune. She said it was bad luck to glance into the future especially through means of traveling merchants. She told me that you couldn’t put a price on something as intangible as the future. I wish I would’ve believed her. Now, Instead of living my life out in peace, I tried to change my fate, I tried to become a hero. Something a poor farmer's son like me could never accomplish and now here I am, running from one of the most powerful guilds known to man. Great. Things are just Great.

  Crunch. Trash crumples beneath my feet. Just my luck. To give up my life out in the farmlands to come rot away in this damn city. My legs are starting to ache and my arms feel like they’re on fire.

  “Sheesh. Elves are heavier than they look. Hahahah….” I laugh awkwardly as I try to cheer myself up. Reginald was a high elf. Not only that, he was from one of the most prestigious families known around Celestria. His family, the Finriths, had taken part in the slaying of the MoltenFang, the giant fire breathing wolf that threatened the vast forests to the east of Celestria. Their specialties In high magic had proved itself useful to the wood elves and other creatures living within the forest.

  “Ohhhh shit.” The words escape from my lips as I reminisce about the day I heard of the top guilds slaying the MoltenFang. “They really are gonna kill me.”

  Thump, thump, thump, thump. My heart begins beating faster than it already was. My collar feels as if it's strangling me and every window around me looks as if someone is peering out of their homes at me. I’m sweating profusely. I glance over my shoulder to see if anyone is following me, “All good so far..” I whisper as I cut through a back alley headed towards the nearest city exit.

  Celestria is surrounded by giant walls made of stone to keep it from being damaged by neighboring countries or cities. Its height also helps to defend against giant attacks, though there hasn’t been a giant attack on the city in hundreds of years. I’ve also heard the city's walls have been enchanted by years and years of incantations cast on it from the best wizarding guilds in the city. Then to top it all off the most revered warring guild in the city, the Black Boars, have taken it upon themselves to man the guard posts all around the wall (for a decent price of course.)

  Despite my lack of experience, growing up hunting the countryside did give me a slight edge. All of the different animals I hunted growing up, their senses are always so much greater than the rest of the races in Eos. Well, except for maybe the elves. I guess I’ll find out tonight.

  The street narrows and the already dim lights become nonexistent. I’m sprinting as hard and fast as I can. My muscles ache, my head is pounding, and my clothes are soaked through with sweat.

  Behind me the screams and shouts of Morgana and The Phoenix guild’s army following her have died down, though I can still hear them marching with a low thud on the ground and the clangs of armor echoing through the otherwise quiet city. If I keep moving I should be fine, at least until I make it to the wall. I’m sure the Phoenix guild has already alerted the Black Boars. They’ll be on the lookout.

  “Gulp.” I swallow hard. Stopping a moment to take my breath. The Black Boar guild has members as strong as those in the Phoenix guild. My odds of making it out are still slim but if I can find a section of the wall without their high ranking members then maybe I’ve got a chance at sneaking through.

  CLUNK! CLUNK! CLUNK! “Check down that way! The rest of you follow me!”

  I can hear the sounds of the soldiers marching and their captain shouting orders. They’re getting dangerously close. I don’t hear Morgana though. Good. Now’s probably my best chance. And, up I go. I leap to my feet and slide further down the alleyway, careful not to draw any attention to myself. The city walls are so close, one last hurdle between me and life back on the farm.

  “Hah!” I laugh. Even with my small amount of time here I learned enough I could probably fend off any low level goblin or ghoul that would be roaming the countryside now. No more worrying about attacks in the night or losing any more of our neighbors. My parents will be so happy. If I survive that is….

  Before I know It I made it to the outskirts of town and approached the wall. Its height is intimidating, Everytime I go near it it's hard to believe building something like this is even possible. Ancient etchings and ruins are carved into its sides. Testaments to the Old gods and the new alike. Goes to show that the magic bestowed upon this realm is no joke. How else could something like this be forged?

  The wall must be upwards of three hundred feet tall and wide enough it would leave ya out of breath trying to sprint across it. A mixture of stone, titanium, and adamantite. The metal pillars that stood tall within the stone were laden with ancient elvish ruins and writing. The only ones who know what it all means are some of the Elder elves of Celestria, the younger generations must first complete a right of passage before they are allowed to learn the language of their ancestors. Surely its strong magic encased in that metal.

  As I approach the wall a loud, “CRUNCH!” echoes out as I step into a large pile of trash. I freeze. Hopefully no one heard that. I can feel the sweat rolling down the sides of my face. I’m exhausted… Maybe I should give up.. I mean maybe they’ll let me plead my case. I mean odds are I’ll be killed. Shit!

  “HEY! The Murderer is over here!” I hear a loud voice ring out behind me.

  “Oh shit.” I mumble under my breath as I break into a sprint into a maze-like neighborhood. I heard the clatter of boots and the quick arrival of reinforcements from the phoenix guild. The stampeding crowd was mixed with the phoenix guilds adventurers and the Celestrian city guards. They’re faster than they were before, a lot faster. Maybe some of the wizards in the guild enhanced their speed?

  My breathing is ragged and my heart is coming out of my chest. Out of the corner of my eyes I catch a glimpse of the massive crowd of sword bearing, magic-using, enhanced humans beginning to funnel into the alleyways behind me, and they’re gaining ground. They’ll be on me any time now. I’d be praying if I was devoted to any of the gods but looks like I’ve got a one way ticket to the hells after tonight!

  The end of the street is coming up and I can’t afford to hesitate! Left? Or right? Aghhhh! I’ve never even been to this part of town before tonight! What am I supposed to do?!? Maybe they’ll accidentally kill me in the chase and I won’t have to spend time in the dungeons. That would be nice wouldn’t it? I burst forth from the alleyway, the loud shouts of the guards echo to my right. “Left it is!” I shout.

  It feels as if their shouting is waking the whole city. Candles and magic lamps slowly light the windows throughout the barren and beaten down houses behind me. I see doors in front and behind me begin to fling open as crowds of people begin to flood out into the dank city streets. Even if I do escape there’s no way I could live peacefully on the continent. Everyone is gonna think I’m the one who killed Reginald.

  I burst around a corner and leap past several bystanders who are now beginning to block my path through the streets. This is it! It’s over!

  “Kyran.” A silent voice cuts through the noise and calls my name.

  Who was that? I turn to look behind me for a friendly face only to see nothing but angry guards and guild members.

  “Kyran…. Here…” The voice calls my name again, this time, much softer than before. I swing my head wildly searching for the source of who was calling my name.

  “Huh? Wha–!” I feel a firm hand grab my shoulder. Could it be them?

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  “THERE YOU ARE YOU FILTHY, MURDERING, PEASANT!”

  I grab the hand on my shoulder and pry the guards fingers from me. I try to jump away. “GRAHHH!” I hear another scream as a phoenix guild member wraps himself around my legs. I stumble and fall to the ground, smashing my head against the stone. Blood drips down from my forehead to the ground beneath me. A sharp pain shoots through my head as if someone was trying to jam a sword into it. I gasp for air as I feel a pile of assailants landing on top of me, each one trying to restrain me through my thrashing.

  I swing my head backwards violently towards a man who jumped on my back. I hear a loud CRUNCH! As my head connects with his nose. Immediately I feel a stream of blood leaking from the man's face onto my neck.

  “GAH!” He screams.

  I try to wriggle my legs free. Swinging my arms violently towards my captors and kicking with all of my might, I fight trying to escape. With a solid kick to the head the Dwarven man’s grip on my legs begins to loosen and I begin to slip free. With one final push I leap from my captives.

  “Kyran.” The voice calls to me again.I wish I could figure out where the voice is coming from. It almost seems like it's echoing from every direction.

  A warm glow emanates behind me. A low hum slowly suffocates the noise of the small army that is so close to imprisoning me. Where’s it coming from? It can’t be…a..spell? I glance upward to a nearby rooftop. A lone sorcerer surrounded in a glowing red aura that was filled with ancient elvish symbols. It can’t be….. Doria…..Finrith. Reginald’s brother. I am so dead.

  The chanting stops. Suddenly, a harsh light beam burst from Doria’s hands and shot in my direction. I try to jump away but I’m just not fast enough. Oh gods.

  “HALT!” A voice amplified by magic rings out.

  The bright beam of light overcomes me in an instant. A sharp pain in my legs, like something is searing my skin off. I feel the magic chains wrap tightly around my waist and down to my ankles. The metal cuts into my skin with an unnatural amount of force and it's so hot I don’t know how I’m not on fire already.

  Doria’s screams grow louder, filling the air. Spit flies from his mouth as he shouts, “You killed my brother! My beautiful brother! I’ll have you flayed alive, peasant!” I’d like to think he’s kidding.. but he definitely means that… Believing I was in the right place but at the totally wrong time.

  “Gahhhhhh!” I scream in pain as the metal bindings around my legs continue to heat and sear my flesh. Why’s this happening to me?

  With a bright flash and a thunderous crack, Doria Finrir appears next to me. “I cannot belieeeeve my beeauuutiful baby brother could be slain by a miscreant such as yourself. Patooch.” Doria spits into my face. “But alas, it’s true. As it turns out I was the strongest Finrir brother. If only Reginald were here now to see for himself….”

  Doria’s elven body was long and slender. As he steps closer to me I notice he looks kind of sickly. Despite his appearance, I can feel a powerful aura radiating from him. Whether he’s sick or not there’s a reason this man is one of the most powerful adventurers in our city. His entire bloodline has a reputation for being merciless on the battlefield.

  The sound of an army of guild members and city guardsmen are approaching quickly. I can feel the ground matching frequencies with their inevitable march towards me as the ground vibrates against me. There must be a thousand men coming my direction, but still, the most dangerous one is right here in front of me..

  Doria sprints towards me. What is he doin–? “GAH!” I shout as Doria’s foot drives its way into my stomach. “Please, Wait!” Doria’s boot flies into me again. Over and over Doria kicks me into the ground. I feel blood running from my head and my ribs feel broken. I’ll be lucky if I have any teeth left when this is over. I’ll be even luckier if I manage to somehow survive long enough to worry about my teeth.

  I look around me, my vision is skewed by the blood running down my face. Everything feels surreal. Hundreds of adventures with golden phoenix painted on their armor, as well as hundreds with Celestria’s crest are surrounding me and Doria.

  Doria lifts his boot far above my head and brings it down hard on top of me, bringing my head into the stone. My thoughts dissipate and adrenaline takes over. I squirm and fight against the magical chains binding me but with every move I make Doria pushes my head harder into the ground.

  “Trying to squirm away huh? You little rodent!” Doria growls.

  The crowd around him is loud, and obnoxious. “Off with his head!” They shout. “To the gallows with this criminal!” a Dwarven nobleman near the front of the pack roars.

  “You all want me to kill him? The Murderer of my only brother!” Dorian screams at the top of his lungs. He stamps his boot harder into my head as the crowd roars with approval. I look up to see a crooked smile across Doria’s face and tears rolling down his cheeks. Happy or sad? Maybe both.

  “Kyran!” Someone else's voice..In my head…Again?

  The magic energy bursting from Doria is strong. His elven lineage provides him with affinities to certain magics. It seems I'm about to witness them firsthand.

  “I’d offer you last words but I do not believe you deserve them. Tcht. To think this great city could lose such a great man to the likes of you. You’ll rot all alone now!” Doria screams. The crowd is hysterical. “Time to die!”

  Doria raises his boot high into the air. He snaps his fingers together and suddenly a red hot aura surrounds his sleek elvish boot. I see his body twitch as he is about to swing on me. This is it. I’m sorry….

  “Wait!” I manage to squeak the words out.

  “No more waiting! This is for my brother!” Dorian screams.

  I scream too. I see the blow coming, the aura coming from Doria burns me as it closes in. There's so much noise but the only thing I can really hear is the sound of my own screaming. This really is the end. I can’t believe I’m going to die. There were so many things I wanted to do. Images of me adventuring, joining a guild, saving people all throughout Celestria all flow through my mind before turning to ash and floating away. Not a chance any of them will happen now…

  “Kyran! Wait!” That unfamiliar voice. It’s been bothering me all along. Who is it? Why is it calling now? I’m so tired of this. I look up one last time, at the elf, who thinks I killed his brother. Doria, who is now exacting his revenge on me. The last face I’m ever going to see.

  I’m glaring intently at his wicked smile. Not once did anyone even ask for my side of the story.

  “Is your side so different from the truth?I feel deception in you. Radiating from every word and yelp” The voice calls.

  “No.” I whisper. “My side is the truth..I would never.. I didn’t even know him, why would I kill him?!” I scream so hard my voice cracks and my throat begins to hurt.

  Then, silence. It’s so quiet I can hear my own ragged breathing. Doria’s leg was frozen mid air with his magical energy still captured and swirling around it. The crowd around him was all frozen in place. Their arms still reach towards me and their mouths open as if they were still screaming. The air was still.

  Kaboooom! Crack! The noise cut through the silence.

  I fight against the magic chains that hold me to the ground to try and figure out what the hell is going on. The sky above us pulses with energy, red, blue, and yellow waves of magical energy ripple across the night sky. I notice a movement out of the corner of my eye.

  “Yesss. Kyran. Ahem. Well, it seems I arrived just in time.” A sophisticated feminine voice sang throughout the air.

  It's that voice. The same one as earlier, that kept calling my name. But this time, they’re here. But where are they? I scan my surroundings. Everything is still stopped in the same place, I’ve gotta find them before everything goes normal.

  “Hello!” I shout. “Where are you? Can you help me? Please! I don’t wanna die!” My screams echo into the quiet city. This silence is almost as horrid as the roars of the crowd from before. Let's get this over with already. “Hellooooo!” I shout again.

  “Yes, yes. I’m here. Remarkable. I never Imagined I’d have such good luck. Mmm-ha-ha. My name is Morgana Maplesworth of the Phoenix Guild and do I have the greatest of propositions for you my dear.” Morgana’s voice floats through the air. Despite all of the chaos she seems remarkably levelheaded. It’s almost inspiring.

  “What’s your proposition?” I respond quietly, forcing as much air as I can through my ragged breathing. I probably shouldn’t have asked. I mean it could be anything and at this point I’ve no choice but to accept. She’s aware of that I’m sure.

  She smiles, “Well. I’m in need of an assistant actually. I’ve got lots of various needs that I believe you would be perfectly suited to.”

  Her smile is warm. I can’t detect any deception. But still, why would she help me? She thinks I’ve just killed one of the possible heirs that would lead the Phoenix guild. Her guild. One of the greatest wizards of Celestria and by far the most powerful in the Phoenix guild. She’s so powerful it seems she stopped time itself. Gulp. Hmph. Well if she’s gonna kill me she’s gonna have to do it here!

  “Haven’t you heard I’m a murderer? If you’re gonna kill me you’ll have to get in line, as you can see, there’s a pretty long wait list.” I say.

  “Hrmph. Yes. It does seem as if you’ve gotten about all of Celestria convinced that you’ve murdered the guildmaster’s son Reginald. I could just leave you here to satiate the masses.” She begins to smile, this time less warm but I can’t really figure out why. Maybe it's her eyes. Something in them… Almost looks.. Mischievous.

  She might actually leave me here, I mean why wouldn’t she? Gods, this city is so much colder than I could’ve imagined. Or maybe she's being genuine, either way, If I stay here I’m guaranteed to die at least there’s a small chance Morgana won’t kill me. Maybe she’ll turn me into a rabbit or a cat or something nice. I mean life with nine lives is better than no life at all I’d say. I’m not even sure what decision there is to make anymore!

  “Deal!” I shout at the top of my lungs.

  “Wha–.” Morgana attempts to respond but I cut her off.

  “Whatever your plan is, or, your deal, whatever. If it gets me the hell out of here, I’m in.”

  “You… are?” Morgana adjusts her glasses.

  “Yes! Please get me out of here!” I shout back. I’m still stuck to the ground, my legs ache and burn. I can feel my blood pooling beneath my face. I’m staring Doria Fenrir directly in the eye’s and the crowd of various factions of soldiers nearby looks more cruel the longer I look. This is it, my last shot. “Please! Save me! I’ll do anything!”

  “Ah.” Morgana snaps her fingers. In what feels like an instant, she’s teleported next to Doria and looks down on me. “Anything?” Her lips curl into a smile.

  “Yes, anything!” I plead.

  “Hmph.” Morgana’s smile grew wide. “Well then, I see no reason to prolong this encounter a second more. Even my magical might can’t hold a spell of this magnitude forever.”

  Morgana waves her hand and whispers something in elvish that I can’t quite catch. Then, the pressure and heat on my legs releases. “Pheeew.” I sigh as the magical bindings on my legs are dispelled. Despite this though I can’t stand up. Between my attempted escape and eventual capture, I’m in pretty bad shape. Plus, of course she didn’t heal my head wounds and my skull is pounding so bad that it's making me dizzy. I don’t know how long I can stay awake. Without me willing it, my hand raises out to the front of me.

  “Lets…go…” I say.

  “One last thing.” Morgana’s brow furrowed as she glared down on me.

  “Yes?”

  “Do you know who killed Reginald Finrir?” Morgana asks.

  “No.”

  The expression on her face relaxes. For a moment she almost looked…hostile? No. It’s just my imagination. I’m sure she would’ve already killed me if she was.

  “Very well.” Morgana replies.

  A faint golden glow appears behind Morgana. Her mouth moves quickly but I hear no words. There is a delicateness to the shape her lips make when forming the words. A warm golden glow begins to blossom around her. Her eyes are closed and she extends her arms in my direction. I can’t move so I sit in silence and witness the power of one of the Phoenix guilds highest ranking members. Maybe it’s the brain damage speaking, but the whole scene is an absolutely breathtaking affair.

  As Morgana continues to chant, different colors spring forth from her fingertips. The low blue light reflects off of her skin as she chants giving her the appearance of a deep elf but only for a minute.

  The scene around her remains frozen, yet the ground begins to rumble. The effects of a spell she hasn’t even cast yet? Sheesh. I could never hope to compare to her or anyone of her caliber. Ignorance is what led me to Celestria and it seems ignorance has led me out.

  Morgana leans close to Doria and whispers in his ear. Her hands grasp his as she speaks before she slowly withdraws from the touch.

  “Come, Kyran. Let’s go to our new home.” Morgana says.

  I don’t even attempt to stand. Blood cakes the side of my face as I lie on the stones. My whole body aches, maybe, if I’m lucky, I’ll just die. But for some reason I feel like it’s not going to happen. “Hmph.” With that. I feel my vision fade to black. Finally, some relief from this gods-forsaken headache.