#ajcofic

What happened next felt like life was in slow motion, yet was instant. I rush to my feet as I feel the blood run through me with pure rage. The man turns to himself to redo his last desperate attempt, I jump and bring my knee to his face with a sickening crack, shin barely able to take the weight. He falls and I bring my hand up and grab his throat as he continues falling, angling myself to land on top of him and leave him at my mercy. This time I’d make sure he stayed dead.

I had seen so much death and destruction in such a short span of time, but this was the straw that broke the Wyverns back, seeing my friend push me out of the way and taking a fatal blow not meant for her, the numbness broke and the rage took over.

I can almost see red as I raise my broken swords hilt and thrust what remained of it into his chest, his eyes bulged and his hands desperately try to raise to stop me, as I repeatedly stabbed the soldier in the chest, over and over and over. Growls of anger rumbling through me as blood splatters my face and hands.

By the time I come to, the blood is in a pool around me and my opponent, an expression of defeat and pain etched upon his face and my vambraces practically dyed crimson from my unspeakable act of violence.

I turn to look at Lucina, now crumpled on the floor, I slowly approach her body and drop to my knees.

“Damn it Luci, this wasn’t the plan… the three of us were supposed to survive this ordeal and work together.” I sputter out, fighting back tears.

As I reach out to her I suddenly see her inhale, she’s alive.

“Lucina?!”

I thank the goddess and waste no time, I scoop her into my arms as gently as I can and make a swift course to the grandmasters study. I inspect her as I run, the cut is deeper than I can heal right now, I hurry and getting us both to safety.

“Raziel?…”Lucina stirs, regaining consciousness.

“We’re almost there Lucina, then we’ll find someone to heal you.”

“It’s too… for me... just leave me.”  You can almost feel the strain and energy it's taking her just to breath, let alone talk.

“No, don’t you dare give up on me twice in one day, I'm not dropping you!”

She coughs up blood onto her shirt and inhales deeply.

“Stubborn bastard.” She mutters under her breath.

“Look who's talking.”  

“If you don't drop me then fine, but can you at least take this, in case something happens”

I  feel her stir as she reaches into her robe and pulls out a locket that fits into her palm. It’s  coated in her blood from where she was cut, yet the three gemstones embedded into it still shine brightly, the three primary magics represented through them.

I let her put it inside my robe pocket and finally start making my way up the stairs to the grandmasters office.

As I hit the final step, the smells of burning and death hit me in the face, the soldiers had already attacked here.

Entering the room you can see a large battle had happened here, and the remnants of spells can be felt travelling through the air. remains of bodies laid scattered, either cleaved or scorched. It’s only when I reach the centre of the room I spot a man still alive, clutching his side from an injury, the grandmaster still lived.

“Grandmaster!” I run over to him and kneel to his level, laying Lucina gently next to him, she grunts as she lands on the floor.

The old mage opens his eyes, taking a bit of time to realise who is in front of him, before smiling weakly and reaching out to me.

“Hello my child...Raziel wasn’t it….?”

“yes sir”

“I'm glad to see you are alive, no doubt you’ve had to fight to survive”

“Not alone...but my friends, Dante and Lucina…”

“I see… your fight has been a long one today young Raziel, but you must not falter, for your mission is not over yet.”

I see the master reach to his desk and pull a scroll to the floor in front of me, the wax seal of the academy keeping it from unravelling.

“Take this scroll to the capital, an incantation and crystal on the desk can be used to get there.”

I look at the spell and crystal in question and can’t help but raise an eyebrow. The capital is a four day journey from here, and even by the most powerful crystal it can take at least two.

“Master, you can’t honestly expect this spell and crystal to get me to the capital right now can you?”

A wicked grin cracks the grandmasters face and I recognise that look, it means he’s got a plan, an always worrying look back in the simpler times of the academy.

“This crystal and spell are of my own making, early in development but should have the power to get you to the palace gates in less than an hour’

“Has this been tested?”

“I have not had time, so consider yourself the first” he sniggers and coughs before returning his look to me.

“I'm sorry to make you partake in this task, but no one else is fit to do this.”

I nod and turn to Lucina, her breathing has slowed but she’s awake, her hand is tightly gripped into a fist. I reach to her shoulder and she looks up and smiles weakly.

“We’re almost home free, just hang on a bit longer.”

I tuck the scroll into my satchel. The crystals was green showing it was an air crystal, common for transportation or movement but inside it two smalls sphere of energy danced inside, constantly changing colours.

I read the incantation and it glows, etching itself into my mind. Taking a step back I take one last look around the room, the sound of soldiers marching is getting closer again. Stepping inside the centre of the room, I clear my mind best I can, stretch my arms out with crystal in hand and begin the spell.

The crystal starts to glow and hum abnormally, but I can feel it’s power surging through me as I continue, it’s power building at a ridiculously fast pace. I'm getting nervous at the speed and amount of power I'm channeling as I subconsciously recite the spell now. the final phrase becomes a shout, as the portal is formed in front of me and the crystal turns to dust in my hands.

Just as I turn to grab Lucina the wall besides me explodes and soldiers rush in. My ears are ringing again from the explosion, an axe flies overhead which I manage to dodge, but a second soldier with a club charges head first. I'm too slow to react and his hit connects to my chest, I feel something crack  from the force as I hit and slide across the floor, literally underneath the portal, breathless. The new unit laughs as they approach me.

It’s just at that moment another spell goes off and most of the enemy units are sent flying across the room, either falling through the hole they made or smashing through the remaining furniture of the office.

I manage to stand again and turn to see my saviour face, to find both master and Lucina standing both holding out crystals,  both chanting simultaneously and clutching each other in support.

I try to approach and reach out to them, but suddenly a push of winds sends me backwards, I try to push against it but in my current state it's too strong, and it forces me through the newly made portal. the last thing I see before it closes is Lucina’s face, a smile and tears on her face as she reaches out with her last words.

“goodbye.”

Darkness engulfs me as I fall through the portal. The fatigue and pain finally set in from my fight to survive the siege of Erudipesar. I can feel myself slowly slip into unconsciousness as the portal carries me to my hopeful destination.

The last thing that crosses my mind before I pass out is the memory of the fortune crystal, and the images that I saw as its powers flowed through me.

The final lance zooms overhead and this one lands its mark, hitting the top of the entrance and bringing it down in front of me and on top of Dante’s body. A rubbled tomb for my fallen friend.

I finally give in to fatigue and drop to my knees in front of the former entrance, trying my best to gently drop Lucina as I hit the ground. Every muscle aches from running and fighting, Every sense is overloaded with information. The sound of a marching onslaught, the smell of blood and the sight of my burning home.

As I rummage through my bag for another crystal, Lucina musters enough energy to get onto her own feet again, her legs shaking as she regains her composure and stance. She stares at the rubble longingly, almost like she’s waiting for something or someone to pop out.

“He’s really gone isn't he?”

I can’t tell if that’s aimed at herself or me, but I muster a grunt and nod, it’s about all I can do right now as I'm struggling to breath.

But she’s right, if I hadn't been here and saw his body get crushed, I would be convinced Dante was going to pop out from underneath it all without a scratch.

But our master swordsman had been defeated and taken from us, he died to save us both.

I finally manage to find a water crystal and press it against my chest ‘Otium’ the crystals energy seeps into my body, it’s not enough to get rid of my fatigue, but my lungs no longer feel like they’re on fire and my legs aren’t shaking as hard.

“Lucina….listen” I struggle to get up, let alone compose a sentence clearly “Dante sacrificed himself….. to make sure we survived.” I take a deep breath and try to focus purely on the sentence.

“We cannot stay here any longer, we keep moving.”

“But where to? The grand hall was our only hope!”

I look around frantically, the gears in my brain whizzing at a record speed as I plan our next step. It finally clicks, you can almost hear the sound of everything coming together

“The Grandmasters office” I whisper. I say it like I’m questioning myself but of course, why didn’t we think of that sooner?

“Raziel...what did you say?” I don’t even explain properly, I grab Lucina’s wrist and dash straight for the nearest exit to the courtyard, Lucina gets the hint soon enough and follows.

Our destination wasn’t too far from where we were now, but with how much running and chaos we’ve been involved in today it might as well been miles away. The hallways now rumble with the sound of marching soldiers and clashing steel, the only other noise is the heavy breathing of myself and Lucina as we make our way to grandmasters room.

We take a hard right at the next fork in the path, Lucina’s running ahead of me now, her face contorted from a mix of tiredness and emotional stress from  recent events. We keep moving.

Continuing our run for the nearest hope, we take a hard left down another long corridor when Lucina stops abruptly. I almost bump into her I was going that fast.  I feel my legs start to shake again as I slow down .

“Lucina what the hell!? why did we stop?”  I ask, looking at her closely for some kind of sign, nothing, a blank slate once again.

“We’re here.” She points straight ahead.

There it was, a doorway lays down this corridor, it’s dark red door hanging off its hinges, someone had already tried to make it through here.

As we both slowly approach the entrance to the office, I hear something approach from around the corner, I stop and extend my arm in front of Lucina  to halt her just as a small unit of soldiers slowly come into view, it’s a group of about 5 but the sound of their footsteps, armour and mad laughter surround me as they turn to spot myself and Lucina.

As I get a proper look at them, you can see these have been in the thick of the massacre. Blood drips from their weapons and splatters can be seen over their armour and bodies. They’re a mixed bunch as well, clearly not all from the same unit. The worse part is that I don’t feel any remorse or constraint in their emotions or actions. They’re actually enjoying this, like some sort of sick game.

“Oh looky here guys!” The tallest of the group slowly steps in front of his comrades, gesturing with his axe towards us. “Another two fresh kills!”

I can hear them giggling between themselves, grins and laughs like a hyena and I feel my anger being to rise. These people who lay siege and destroy my home, kill people I considered family and now they have the nerve to mock me.

I draw my sword and place myself into an aggressive stance, tip of my blade aimed towards their leader.

“Oh that cute, you’re going to try and take us all on… you ready to die that much boy!?” He barks.

I stare the man down and he gets the point that I’m not like the other people he’s butchered.

‘‘The question is, are you?”

I quickly turn to Lucina.

“One last fight and then we’re free, I need you to dig deep, hit me with every support spell you’ve got and then fight beside me the best you can”

I can see her confusion on her face, with just me and her this time she’s not sure if we can survive this time round.

“We don’t need to do this, we can try another path….” Lucina stutters, but at that moment the sound of more soldiers approach.

“No time Luci! we either fight here and escape or die trying.” She snaps to attention, now, she’s ready to fight.

Lucina rips open her book and starts chanting faster than I’ve ever heard. The magic hits me hard enough that for a brief moment I actually lose myself, but that might be for the best with what's in hand.

The magic cloaks and swarms around me, energy slowly returns as an invisible armour covers my flesh. Now I'm ready to fight.

Wasting no more time the men in front of me charge head first towards me, I start to run to meet them halfway. Our shouts and cries fill my ears as we run, all aiming to end this fight. Just as we approach the halfway mark I flip my sword into both my hands, showing the face of my blade to the enemy and charge the light crystal in its hilt with magic. They already know I intend to use magic but are too late to stop their charge.

.’Faxinanis’ I close my eyes briefly as the blade quickly begins to light up and illuminate the entire room, blinding the enemy soldiers. as I skid to a halt I open my eyes to find all of them disillusioned and frantically trying to calm down as to not to bump into each other or me.

The nearest soldier drops to his hands and knees, desperately trying to find his weapon after dropping it nearby, I don’t hesitate and run my sword through his head. One of the soldiers regains his sight a bit earlier than anticipated and charges at me again, swinging two twin short swords furiously hoping to make contact.  His movements are erratic and i can avoid them quite easily, you can almost see the fear in his eyes as he tries to cut me. He wasn’t prepared to have to actually fight here.

He finally tires himself and tries to go for a final overhead cut with both swords. but he takes to long and leaves himself exposed, giving me ample time to slice through his stomach. it takes a second to register what had happened to him before he drops to his knees and crumples over.

The spells that Lucina had casted over me had started to fade now, and I can feel myself starting to tire somewhat, who would have thought cutting through flesh would take so much strength or the heat of the battle would numb me to what I had just done.

The three left standing are now back to their sense. Cautious now, they slowly back away to give themselves space but close enough to jump into action if need be. They’ve seen how I can fight and that I'm at least capable with a sword. I can almost see the gears in their head turning with how they’re going to approach me.

It’s at that moment that the spear-wielder of the group thrusts at me, aiming multiple times for my face. I slowly step backwards biding my time to counter. The soldier takes one big step and thrusts once more, I go to catch it but realise too late. It’s a feint.

He quickly withdraws it and thrusts again for my leg, cutting my shin. Blood quickly runs down my leg as the shock of pain makes me buckle briefly, dropping myself to a knee. I look up at the man who wounded me but before the fight goes any further, a ball of flame flies past me and through the chest of my opponent. The smell of burning flesh now fills my nostrils as another enemy drops dead in a terrifying yell.

“Not bad you little runt.” The leader who initially called us out steps forward, he flicks his wrists. He gently spins around his twin axes like a taunt, testing me.

I slowly approach the men, sword ready, my mind trying to breakdown and analyse my opponents though the fog of pain and fatigue. The leader is a hefty man that looks like one of those mountain creatures in Lucina’s books, His beard is long and covers most of his face, but underneath his helmet and facial hair you can see two very clear and focused eyes.

To his side is a man wielding a similar style sword to me, much taller and slimmer than his leader but you can still seem the refinement of muscles underneath the armour. it also dawns on me that this man has actually kept the most distance away from me this entire time. even when they charged us and when my spell activated he was always at the back of them all.

A warcry breaks my concentration, the leader swings an axe at my head, I block quickly. The ringing of metal now fills my ears from the force of his swing deafening me for a moment. I see a blur behind me and Lucina shouts my name, I realise I’ve been surrounded, I dodge around the leader just in time to miss the second soldiers sword. I quickly drop to the floor and sweep my leg quickly smearing blood over the floor and aiming for both men  back legs.

The second man backs away in time but the leader can’t move that quickly and hits the floor hard, I quickly scramble to my feet and thrust my sword towards his heart. Just as I'm about to hit my mark the second soldier comes back into play, blocking and throwing away my strike.

“You’re beginning to become a real pain” I growl at the new annoyance in my life.

He cracks a smile, something that actually unnerves me somewhat.

“Id I'm that much of a pain, then shut me up!”

We both run and clash again, our blades dance as we both aim for a killing blow, footsteps and metal clangs all throughout the hallway, while our respective sides wait and watch for a moment to jump in.

He’s cocky but I can tell he’s better than me and I feel that I'm beginning to lose this fight. the fatigue is once again beginning to set in, a few times I’ve come close to losing my head or a limb, a blow cuts through my face, leaving a clean cut through my cheek and eyebrow. My arms struggle to hold my sword now due to how hard they’re shaking and the loss of blood I’ve had during this battle has not helped my mindset.

I look to Lucina whose eyes are glowing with magic as she mutters an incantation. I suddenly turn to see their leader charge right past me and my opponent, axes at the ready to cleave through Lucina.

“Shi- Lucina! move!”

I try to push the man’s blade away but he applied his full weight on me and my sword, lowering me to a knee and cracking the blade.

I suddenly hear a confused screams, followed by crunching and a thud. I look towards my opponent's face, and you can see fear in his eyes. I turn just enough to see the evidence of what Lucina had done with her wind magic, a body literally twisted and crushed into a horrifying pile of flesh and bone.

With a final roar the man pushes against my blade and I hear the noise before I feel it. The warriors strikes my sword once more and breaks through the blade, shards of metal fall between us as I use the momentum of his cut to back myself away. I look at him to see his wide smile, he thinks he’s won already. I take one moment to regain my breath, to try and regain my composure and prepare myself for one last skirmish.

I charge at him with my hilt and my opponent raises his blade slowly, he mocks me, thinking I’ve finally gone mad or gotten desperate.

What he didn’t notice was the bright blue crystal on the other side of the hilt.

“Gelensis!”

The warrior realises his mistake as the crystal begins to glow and as ice slowly forms where my blade once was. I run him through his chest before he has chance to split me in two, his look of shock frozen on his face as I remove my blade and he falls to the floor defeated, the battle won.

I turn to see Lucina running towards me and I muster what little energy I have into a smile, but I notice something, she looks scared, desperate.

“Lucina whats wro-” She pushes me to the ground and that’s when I spot him, my final opponent, in his dying breaths trying to kill me with one final swing of his sword.

But Lucina had spotted him before my weary body could, and rushes to my aid.

The fight took longer than I thought, as the full force of the army had now broken through the barrier and were marching towards the Main Academy gate. I can feel beads of sweat rolling down my face as we run, the running and fight both taking their toll on my body.’damn it’ I think to myself ‘we've got to hurry’

Lucina and Dante aren't looking much better.

Dante has his sword over his shoulder and his run has slowed down to a fast jog. now that I've had a proper look at him, he may have been injured after all, looks like the magic that surrounded him wasn't strong enough to protect him from everything. blood slowly trickles from his forehead where a blade has clearly cut him, but only just. his arms are bruised and bloody, small indents show a possible close-call with a mace or staff.

Lucina was now using her magic to enchant her body, specifically her legs.

It’s allowing her to keep up with us but I can tell just from looking at her using this much magic without a crystal aid is taking it’s toll on her.

Her eyes, which were shining so brightly with magical power when we fought, are now barely a dull light. Her expression, usually calm during spellcasting, is now scrunched up in pain. If we don’t get to the grand hall soon we’re going to need to stop somewhere, cause right now if the three of us get spotted, I don’t think we’ll be able to put up much of a fight.

As Lucina pushes aside debris and bodies out of our way with her magic a feeling of relief sweep over me, as I finally spot the grand hall’s Giant doors, we were almost home free.

“Home stretch guys, come on!” I cheer, almost falling over my own feet as I sprint towards the our goal, safety is moments away.

Then I hear it, a catapult flings multiple fireballs over the walls and straight into the courtyard we’re running in. they hit the floor, hard. earth, fire and stone scatter from their impact. In the nick of time I pull out a water crystal, once again muttering a one word spell. “Amplecti.” A sphere of magic water and ice quickly form around me, blocking my body from the flying debris, it shattering against the shield as I continue to run.

The other two aren't so lucky, Dante blocks as much as he can with his sword and vambraces as he runs, but it still slows him down as I see small chunks cut through his clothes and his face.

Lucina got hit the most. Choosing to focus on her speed spell over a defensive one she tries to dance through the carnage and the flying remains of the courtyard but a large chunk of stone smashes straight into her legs, sending her flying across the courtyard and hitting the floor hard.

“Shit...keep going!”  I shout towards Dante, as I rush over to Lucina, she’s struggling to get up. She’s alive which is a good start, but she won’t be moving quickly any time soon.

I quickly scoop her up and try my best to run while carrying her. She’s light, but the fighting and running is now really starting to show on me,  especially after that last incident. I'm actually struggling to keep hold of her.

Lucina weakly grips onto my shoulder, trying to pull herself up to me. “Drop me, run you fool!”

I feel the vein in my head throb, did she really just say that  

“You're lucky my hands are full otherwise I’d kick your ass for a comment like that”

“Like you could” she sniggers

“I don’t know, I'm feeling quite luck-......”

I don’t even get to finish that sentence before another strong presence of magic crosses my mind, I turn my head to spot three enchanted lances aimed at the grand hall’s doors.

“Raziel keep running”

I look up to see Dante now at the gate, but he’s no longer running. I can feel the magic around him increasing in strength as an aura slowly forms around him. The magic is transferring from his body to his sword and back again, building up each time it get passes back to the Dante.

What the hell is he thinking? I continue to approach the gate, what happens next happens in a flash. Dante, now finished channelling his magic, changes into an aggressive stance. He takes one look at me, winks and mutters a single word. I couldn't hear him properly, but it sounded like ‘live’.

He uses the channelled magic to propel himself blade first into the closest lance. knocking the lance off course and sending it flying over the castle, imitating my initial attack on that soldier.  but he’s too slow to react to the next one, the force it took to throw off that lance was more than he intended to use, and it hits him square in the chest.

I close my eyes and continue running, knowing I can’t save him. It wasn't enough, I can hear the sound of metal piercing flesh and the last breath of one of my dearest friends as he gasps

We all run as fast as we can through the ruined hall, sweat rolling down our foreheads and I’m struggling to breath in this dust filled air as we travel through the former halls and ruined rooms of the once great academy.

My eyes can’t help but try take in everything as we continue running. As I look at the debris of the castle I can spot the bodies of students and staff alike slain by the siege weaponry. I also see what I can only assume was the vanguard of the Janjuen forces, also dead and scattered. ‘Good’, I think to myself. ‘At least it isn’t a completely one sided blood bath.

I look at my companions for now to see how they’re faring, realising while I was focusing on  what was around me and on myself, I had never spared a thought to the people closest to me at the moment and what they were thinking.

Dante is actually smiling, but it's a nervous smile. I see his thumb unseal and reseal his shortsword from its scabbard repeatedly as he runs. He’s waiting, practically itching for a chance to cut something or someone down, if only to make himself feel safer.

Coming from a line of soldiers he always had a great passion and thirst for battle, it's what made him a great sparring partner and an even greater man to have at your side during a scrap.

Lucina is….well honestly I could never read Lucina at times like this. In times of danger or action, it’s like she shuts off part of her brain, becoming this focused force, aiming purely on one goal. It’s kind of scary really, behind that sweet smile is a women that could quite easily bring the strongest warrior or mage to their knees.

At this point the goal is survival, I can see her using her telepathy magic to have her tome float next to her, ready to fire off a spell at a moment's notice.

We continue our way through the castle as quickly as we can. as we turn a corner we catch a small unit of soldiers coming straight at us from down the hallway.

‘“Coming through gents!” I hear Dante howl as he breaks into a full on sprint, drawing his sword completely as he charges his opponents, eyes aflame with excitement.

Lucina is right behind him, her tome floating and open as she recites an incantation, her eyes now turning a luminous white as the spell grows in power.

Not one to be left out the chaos, I frantically reach into my satchel and pull out a wind crystal. I kiss it for good luck,  throw it behind me, draw my sword and mutter one spell

“Vidis”.

The crystal reacts to my magic and words, propelling me with a gust of wind, sending me flying ahead of my friends. I use the momentum to my advantage, aiming my sword for the centre troops chest as a soar past them.

I land my mark, not only running him through, but taking him down to the other end of the corridor with me. The sudden stop as I impale the soldier has left my arms shaking and a steady pain growing through my right shoulder. Luckily not my sword hand, but still an inconvenience.

I quickly remove my sword from the man and turn to help, but find that I’m not needed. Dante practically dances between the young soldiers, cutting them down one by one. It would be almost beautiful if it wasn’t so bloody, or if he wasn’t laughing so maniacally.

Lucina is right behind him, acting as support, her wind magic has covered Dante in some sort of shield, diverting any strikes that come near him and adding more speed to his own.

I can’t help but groan as I wake up this morning. I can tell I'm up earlier than usual. I feel every ache and twinge as I rise and stretch out of bed. I guess the sparring last night got a little out of hand, I mumble feeling every fresh bruise on my skin. 

After my inspection I try to remember what I had planned for today Wednesday. Wednesday….beast studies in the morning followed by a gem-workshop, I swear old man Kenezhal has a bone to pick with me.  Thinking aloud I slowly looking around the room for my stuff which is scattered around the foot of my bed. No matter, he shouldn’t be too much hassle today…..

The moment I step away from my bed and start for the door, something thrums across my magical senses: a mounting surge of power. As I turn to face it I begin to hear the faint beat of drums, it slowly getting louder to the point it echoes through the building. The drum beat is cut short by the loud grinding of machines and  the screams and chants of soldiers and mages.

An ominous sense hits my stomach and I hit the deck as fast as I can. Suddenly, an enchanted steel lance pierces the dormitory tower, shattering most of the room I'm in and sending some of the students who hadn’t woken to a crumbled rubble tomb, far far below.

I rush back up to my feet to investigate the new hole in the wall. Everyone who is still alive is now up. panicking as they too try to understand what just woke them and what is going on.

I freeze the moment I spot what's heading towards us. From the mountains and forest paths I see it slowly approach, a small army from the neighboring country, Janjuen. clearly from that first lance they’re not hear to just talk, or to capture.

I’m still stuck in the same spot, trying to regain my composure and calm down, but the panicked remarked of my fellow students is not helping me in the slightest

“What about our treaty with them?!”

“They killed Flamel!”

“We’re all going to die!”

I finally manage to pull myself together thanks to the annoyance of these people.  Turning around I whistle as loud as I can.

“Everyone get the hell out of here, head for the grand hall!” I order, trying to come across as assertive and as strong as I can. Any less and people will either second guess me or just not listen.

It seems to have done the trick, as people turn to hear what I have to say.

“Head for the grand hall, there’s a hidden exit underneath it that will get you to reach the capital!”

I see one head pop out “ But what about our stuff?”

I go slack jawed for a moment. Seriously? There’s an army of bloodthirsty soldiers coming at us, and you’re asking about your luggage? Seriously?!

“You grab any crystals, potions and weapons you have in the tower and dorm rest room, everything else you leave here!”

The young one tries to combat with my order again. “But, but all of our books, our clothes, our….”

If I’m shaking this hard I can only imagine then I can only imagine how the younger of this lot are. I don’t even give him time to finish the sentence, run at him and grab his cloak, pull him in so there’s an inch between our faces and let rip

“Do you want to die today kid? DO YOU?!” I point with my other hand towards the open hole of the dormitory, where the army can now be clearly seen, as the war machines are being set for another attack.

“They are literally on our doorstep and have no quarrel with levelling this place to the ground, do you think they will be kind enough to let you leave with your belongings?!” I drop him and walk over to my own chest and bed. “I repeat, grab your weapons, your satchel if need be and any crystals and potions, then get the HELL out of here!”

Now everyone gets the hint, the horde of students jumps for the remains of the stairs as I frantically scour through my own gear for my crystals and sword.

I grab my satchel first, double checking it’s content as fast as I can without dropping anything. when did my hands become so sweaty?

“Map, crystals, tome, the hell are my potions?.....fuck it no time!” I grab my sword last, two crystals being embedded into the guard, one of ice and one of light. I pray I don’t have to use it.

“Ready to go Raziel?”

I wasn’t prepared to hear a voice and can’t help but jump back and reach for my sword. to my relief it turns out it’s my two closest friends, Lucina and Dante.

“Didn’t I tell you idiots to run?”

Lucina storms up and taps me in the chest. Oh crap she’s got that angry face on again  

“And weren’t we the one’s who said ‘to have each others backs until the end’? cause right now it looks like that end may have come earlier than intended!” She says.

Dante approaches this time, slapping me hard on the same shoulder he hit during sparring “I think what Lucina is trying to say is, we need to stick together as we’ve got more chance of survival” He steps back a bit just to point and emphasise, starting with Lucina. “Between the beautiful mage of the winds” then to me “to our noble of all trades” and then presses his fist to his chest “to the handsome blademaster, between the three of us we can handle anything!”

I’m about to make a sarcastic retort, but I hear the sound of further demolition work by our new neighbours and decide against it.

The night sky is lit up by a perfect full moon, casting the three figures huddling around the table practically in daylight. A blue crystal levitates above the center of the table, gently rotating. It pulses with energy, flashing gently in time with its rising and falling. One of the figures, in Erudipesar’s distinctive student garb, steps forward warily.

 "Is that what I think it is?"

Another student, the shortest of the group, nods. All three of them seem excited, but this one is fidgeting and almost dancing from foot to foot.

 "It’s a fortune crystal!" they whisper. “If someone can fill it with magical energy, it’ll show them their future!!” The first figure looks over at the second, crossing their arms. "And what makes you so sure I can do it?" The third speaks quietly. "You're one of the most powerful students here. If anyone can, it's going to be you." "You flatter me. Very well then, let's begin." The first figure approaches the crystal, spreads his arms towards it and concentrates, slowly starting to chant under his breath. The crystal rises higher, and its pulsing begins to increase in speed. He raises his voice, chanting louder, eventually ending in one word and a sharp clap. The crystal changes colours entirely, a vivid purple, and the pulsing hits the pace of a heartbeat before the shard lands slowly in the young student’s hands. The other two students slowly approach their friend, murmuring. "Do you think it worked? "Only one way to find out, I guess." The student grips the crystal in both hands, focusing his will upon it, until something feels like it clicks. The power surges back through him, and his eyes glow white from the return of magic as he staggers back from this new sensation. Images and visions begin to fill his mind as he tries to maintain balance. ‘What is this I see?’ he asks himself, as, before his mind’s eye, flickering briefly past...

A castle- A white winged creature- A purple guardian- Vast deserts- The emblazoned word ‘State’- Magic- Machines-

and-

and- He takes it all in, staring at it all with childlike bewilderment and curiosity, and then the images turn dark. Flashes, scattered images, looming impressions. Death- Despair- A great evil- The blinding word ‘Fairfax’- and-

and-

and-

All of this information hits the young mage hard, and he stumbles, dropping the crystal. It shatters into useless shards around his feet as he nearly misses his grab for the table, his friends rushing up from where they had backed off. The short student grabs onto his sleeve, eyes shining. "So? SO?! What did you see? What happened?" "Your guess is as good as mine.... a load of random crap that made no sense." The young man looks at his hands, hints and shadows of images flickering through his fingers. The other two look at each other, then at the shards. "Really? Reckon people just made it all up?" "Could be, could be....” he closes his hands, and pushes off of the table. “Well I'm calling it a night, laters..." "Goodnight Raziel,” says one friend. "Night Raz," says the other. As he approaches the stairs to his room he looks out into the sky. He muses to himself, watching the curls of the night fog rise below, matching the gathering clouds slowly obscuring the moonlight.

"No… that crystal worked all right, and it showed me things that I'm sure will change everything. A castle, some sort of winged creature, State, a world of both machinery and magical creativity.” He chuckles to himself. ”Interesting...how very interesting...