Hello readers! This is another experimental story that may or may not go anywhere. I'm still muddling through school so I don't have a set time for updates sorry! Anyway, Enjoy!
Wizards and Broken chains
'Life is finally looking up.' Revan thought to himself.
Revan is a benevolent man most of the time. But if someone or something threatens him or his loved ones, he will not hesitate to pass judgement on them. He has a slightly buff build, training and his previously nomadic lifestyle made sure of that. Standing at 6'2", he had broad shoulders and visible muscles when he wasn't wearing his robes. You could clearly see his almost neon blond hair in the rare times he wasn't wearing his cowl to cover it up. And probably his most peculiar, or intimidating feature, was his eyes. Even when hiding under his cowl, you could see his lightly glowing pale-blue irises that seemed to make it look like he was looking into you, your very soul, and was passing judgment on you.
His attire consists of a dark-blue robe and cowl, with pale-red hems and embroidery. He wore sturdy leather boots and light chainmail armor underneath his robes. The one thing you could always see with him was a gnarled-looking bleach-white staff with archaic engravings that glowed a pale-blue, just like his eyes.
He was currently in his office, sitting at his large oak desk, shuffling through application forms that were sent to him by self pronounced 'prodigies' that claim that he should feel honored that they chose to apply to his school. However he would refuse them every time. Revan was Archmage of the most accomplished magic academy, Hogw- *cough* *cough* -I mean, Reisen academy of Wizardry and Magic. He is also the youngest Archmage since Reisen himself, nearly six-hundred years prior.
When the previous Archmage, his mentor and best friend, had passed on, he was left the academy in his will and a message about how he wanted to make wizardry go through a new 'Golden Age'. Starting with this very school.
Now, Revan makes sure to try his best at it, never admitting a student into his academy that has less-than-noble intentions. Due to this approach however, there is only about three-hundred students currently attending Reisen academy. But that's okay, Quality over quantity and all that right? His students are the best of the best, all are kind-spirited and ambitious. These students will make wonderful wizards one day, and Revan is proud to say it.
Revan had just finished denying the stack of applications when there was a knock at the door. "Come in!" He called. As his best student, and adopted daughter, walked in and shut the door behind her. "Ah! Melody! What can I do for you?" Revan asked kindly. Revan had adopted Melody when she was left at the academy's doorstep one night. Parents nowhere to be found. So he decided to adopt her. She was only two years at the time. It broke his heart to see something like that. That was seventeen years ago and his daughter was becoming a woman now. Oh how he loved to pull the whole 'intimidating father' routine with all the boys who had a crush on her. Only instead of a normal father, you get an extremely powerful wizard that can simply cast a spell and *poof* now you're a slug. I'm serious, it's happened before.
"Hi Daddy!" Melody replied, jumping across the table at him to give him a bone-crushing hug. Witch he reciprocated in-kind. "How was your day Daddy?" She asked.
Revan answers with a sigh. "Same as usual sweetie, what about you? You seem to be in a good mood this evening." He states.
She looks at him while wearing a pouting expression with puppy dog eyes. "What? I can't be in a good mood for my Daddy?" Oh, gods, that face! I can't bear it!
Revan hugs her tighter. "Of course sweetie! Just please! Stop with the face! You know I can't bear it." he says, and gets a giggle in response.
"I'm sorry Daddy! Sometim-" She is interrupted by the sound of screaming and loud metal scraping. She looks to her father in fear."Daddy? What's happening?!" She asks in a fear-stricken voice.
"Stay here sweetie, as soon as I leave the room, lock the door." Her told her in a calm and commanding tone that left no room for argument. She merely nodded and hugged him as he stood up. She let go of him and sat on his bed in the corner of the room.
Revan closed the door behind him and heard a faint *click* than signaled the door locking. He walked down the hallway and rounded the corner that led to the courtyard and was shocked at what lay before him. In front of him was a heated battle between his students and what looked like orcs of some description. the academy's huge entry doors were broken in and splintered, and bodies from both sides were strewn all over. By this point his shock had faded and was replaced with ang- no FURY!
'How DARE they do this!' he thought. but right before he joined the fray, something caught his attention. It sounded like a weak cough, coming to his left. When his eyes found the source, they widened in fear. for there, less than two meters away, was a student of his. He was leaning against a pillar and his entire chest was riddled with wounds. Not only that, but his entire left arm had been hacked off. But worst of all, he recognized him. One of his best students and friend. 'Silus.'
"...Arch....mage..." Silus choked out between raspy coughs. He was on his way out, that much was certain.
Revan crouched next to his broken form. "Silus, my friend... what is happening?" Revan asked between sobs. Revan had known Silus from before the boy could walk. He was a close friend of the family and had been for awhile.
"Sla-*cough*-vers. Slavers sir. There's too many of them, they came out of nowhere, they were cloaked with a invisibility spell!" He said before being reduced into more coughing fits. "Archmage.. Revan, please, it hurts.... it hurts so much." He pleaded.
"....*sob* of course my friend. you may rest easy with the knowledge that you and all who have fallen will be avenged. Of this I swear." Revan then raised his hand, palm facing Silus' heart. "Goodbye my friend." He then focused a miniscule amount of power through his open palm, willing his magic to end his friends suffering. He did it in the most painless way possible, he instantly cut off all feeling to his nervous system and stopped his heart.
Revan got up and walked into the fray with nothing but pained fury etched onto his face. He then took a deep breath and bellowed. "YOU FOOLS HAVE THE GALL TO ATTACK THAT WHICH I HOLD DEAR?! YOU DARE INVOKE THE WRATH OF A WIZARD?! YOU WILL FACE THE CONSEQUENCES!" With this he let loose a blast of energy and hurled it across the courtyard at the mass of enemy troops that had stopped once they heard his shout.
The mass of orcs then seemed to burst into nothing but blood and gore. giblets and bones hurtling in all directions. that got the attention of the remaining slavers and they now targeted him. 'good, better me than my students.' he thought. he began crossing the courtyard, intending to meet them head on, but they seemed to hesitate now. they had seen his power and were now afraid... and rightfully so.
He raised his staff towards them and let loose electricity, lightning arcing at them and singeing them. although one was still alive. He used telekenesis and brought the terrified orc to his face, suspending him in the air.
"Tell me orc, I know there is a wizard in your ranks." He brought him closer."WHERE IS HE?!" He shouted at him.
Most orcs would have spat in his face by now, but he was steadily feeding fear and his worst nightmares into him, breaking his resolve. "Mast'r goin' to Archm'ge's offic' goin' t' k'll 'em." With that Revan snapped his neck.
"Melody!" Revan then began sprinting for all his worth towards his office, hoping he wasn't too late. He arrived to find the door broken down and splintered. "Melody! Sweetie? Where are you?!" He stepped in to find a sight that made him feel rage, sorrow, anguish, and much more. For there on the floor, was the limp form of his daughter. Her lifeblood spilling out of a knife wound in her neck. He looked around, trying to find her assailant, only to find a broken window that shattered outwards. Walking over to it he peered out to see a body splayed out on the cobblestone below. He walked over to his daughter's body. He knew she was dead already. he simply knelt down and cradled her limp body in his arms and sobbed. He lost track of time, but he dimly noted that the sounds of combat had ceased. the only sounds were his cries of anguish, echoing throughout the academy.
He heard footsteps approaching. He didn't care, he was dead to the world right now. only when he felt a hand on his shoulder did he look up. There, eight students stood battered and worn. They too had tears in their eyes. for they had also lost many loved ones today. "Archmage....what do we do?" He asked. Revan recognized her, she was only a first year student. He invited her here only a month ago.
Revan dreaded the answer to this next question. "How many of you made it?" He asked solemnly.
She cried even more now. "I-It's ... just us sir..."
He couldn't choke back his sobs even if he tried. 'three-hundred students.... and only eight survived?! Why?!' that was the worst part. His daughter managed to kill the wizard in charge of the slavers, but now he'll never know why. Why had they been attacked? Why did his only family member have to die? 'My baby girl..' He was running out of tears at this point.
Finally, he managed to pull himself together. He rose, holding his daughter in his arms. "Come, let's go into the courtyard." He ordered.
The walk to the courtyard was a silent one, the only sound being the occasional sniffle from one of the students. once they arrived Revan gently set his daughter down and made his way to the center of the yard, all the while preparing his magic. Then he raised his hands skyward and a beam of glowing energy shot up. It hurt to look at it directly. He then focused his left palm down to the ground. He sent another burst that anchored the distress signal. With that set up, he made his way over to his only remaining students and sat down next to his daughter's body. He addressed his students."Get some rest, the King will see our beacon and will sent aid. Even though it is too late for it...." The students gathered around him, sitting and leaning against him for support. They soon drifted to sleep.
Revan awoke to the sound of shouts and footsteps. Fearing that the slavers had returned, he shot up and readied lightning spells in his hands. When he found the source of the sounds, he let his spells dissipate. It seemed the King himself had come, along with a regiment of royal guards. The King, seeing Revan through all the bodies, made his way over to him.
Most people bow to him, but Revan has known The King since they were children. "Revan... what happened my friend?" The King addressed him.
"Hello old friend. They were a large band of orc slavers. I'm afraid that this will be the end of this school. only myself and eight students managed to survive the battle." Revan began to choke up again. "They killed Melody... They killed my daughter." Revan was sobbing again.
The King didn't hesitate to embrace his long time friend, And did his best to comfort him. "This cannot be accepted. I swear to you my friend, we will avenge them, this means war." Revan knew he would say that. And he was counting on it.
"The orcs must be stopped, they have been a thorn in our side for long enough!" The king turned to his men. "Send message to the capitol, At dawn we ride to war." The soldier, probably the messenger, mounted his horse and sped off.
Revan then looked to his remaining students. "I know you have all been through a lot, but I am now giving you all a choice: You may return to your families, or you may accompany me in my travels. But know that I will be going to war, and that you will still be under my teachings. There is no shame in leaving." He told them.
The majority of his students grew a hard expression. They would never leave his side. They would stand by him for as long as they could. He allowed a sad smile to cross his features. "Very well. But first we must attend to our fallen and nurse our wounds. These souls fought valiantly. they will be buried in the wizard's tomb, below the school." He told them.
Over the next few hours, Revan, the students, soldiers, and even the King himself, had gathered the bodies and buried them in the crypt. The only one left to bury was Melody. As he carried her, the soldiers parted to allow him to pass. He walked outside, for the place he would bury her was only about a mile out of the academy. After a few minutes of walking, he came to a hill. there were already three filled graves there, as well as an empty one for Melody. A casket had been prepared and he gently set her into it. With the help of his students, they lowered the casket into the ground. He thanked his students and went to grab a shovel, only to be surprised to see his students and the King with shovels in hand. He grabbed another one handed to him and they all set to work filling in the grave. All of this was done in silence. A ceremony was held, and they left. However before they did, Revan knelt in front of the newly placed gravestone. It read: Here lies Melody daughter of Revan. May her songs be heard to calm the dead and show them the way to peace.
It's been three years now. Three years since the attack on the academy. The remainder of the orc's slaver Empire is in shambles. Revan and his students had made sure of that. Millions of slaves were freed in the war. Revan had become a beacon for all the enslaved and captured throughout the world. Slave revolts and rebellions had sprung up all over. The escaped slaves would turn to him for purpose. And soon, Revan had an army of followers. Slavery had been completely abolished. The name Revan the Liberator had been spread all throughout the world.
Revan had developed a spell to locate any and all aspects of slavery. Using this he managed to eradicate the orcs and any who tried to sell slaves in secret. He gathered his students and asked them to assist him in using the spell one last time. They agreed of course. and set about channeling some of their power into Revan. Revan focused and sent out a wave of blue energy. The spell was simple, if the wave came back red, it would lead him to any and all slavers in tat direction. however, this time the spell came back a sickly orange color. This had never happened before. Him and his students were confused by this. Revan knew that the spell had found slavery somewhere, but it must have been some distance away. It didn't matter to him though. He would go any distance to free those slaves. He needed a way to reach them however, when he remembered a forgotten spell that he had found many years prior, and decided that that was the only course of action left to him. With this, he turned to his students.
"My students...my friends. We have found more slavery. However, it is very far. I am afraid that I only have enough power to go alone. I am sorry but that is the only way." The students knew better than to argue with him. however he was caught off guard by the sudden rush of bodies. He hugged them back for all he was worth. He then said a teary farewell and began charging up the spell to open a long-range portal. The portal opened up before him and through it saw what looked like a throne room. although he could see no people through it. He turned to his students one last time and offered them a sad smile which they returned. He then stepped through the portal.
Once through the portal, it swiftly closed behind him. He looked around to see the shocked faces of small horses wearing some kind of golden armor. 'Well... this is new.' He thought. He heard the sound of someone clearing their throat and turned to see a larger horse that seemed to have a shimmering white coat and long multicolored mane that blew in a non-existant breeze.