Part 4: Maniacal

The bandits had scattered when the swirling-blue energy disc appeared among their camp in the ruins. Living so near to the Darkfenne and its unnatural forces, the various men and women always kept one eye open for the unusual or wierdly arcane. This new addition left them agast as they were not expecting something to appear in the middle of their 'hidden' campsite.

Vorm, the bandit's Wood Elf leader and hedge-mageling, studied the disc carefully with beady black eyes while his compatriots gathered their weapons and hid. Vorm adjusted his conical hat on his greasy-black hair and drew his old thorn-wood wand.

"Its a Voltori Mage-Gate of some sort. Scatter and prepare! Someone or something valuable should be coming through shortly."

'Shortly' turned into several hours, and soon after that turned into nearly nightfall.

Higgson, a fallen human paladin of Westlock and his second in command, carefully approached Vorm with a worried look, his bow in hand and arrow nocked. Vorm hated his perfect brown hair and condecending attitude. The idiot still wore some pieces of his formerly shiny armor, despite the rust and corrosion clinging to them.

"Should we contact Nespa? She might be able to figure out..."

Vorm hissed at the human and whispered fiercely.

"Do not presume to underestimate me or my knowledge Vlad Higgson! Nespa is only a Fenne-Witch and her knowledge of signs beyond her realm of influence is limited."

A large flash of blue light brought both of their heads around quickly to reveal an older man with white hair and beard in blue robes as he stumbled from the portal's location .The old human leaned heavily on his staff after coming to a sudden stop and swore to himself, "I HATE it when it does..."

Finally noticing all the arrows and spears pointed in his general direction, the older man brought his words up short, "...that."

Vorm smiled a greasy smile, and looked his second in the eye and whispered again.

"Now the fun begins!"

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"Give up wizard! You are surrounded on every side, and have no chance..."

Two more flashes of light from the portal occurred, revealing the newest travelers to be a pale-furred Minotaur and a Raven so black it seemed to swallow its own shadow.

Vadicc muttered to himself, trying not to reveal his distress too obviously as the Portal snapped shut behind them.

"Glad you could join us."

Norch was a credit to his race. He managed to shake off the disorientation of the portal rather quickly and interpose himself between Vadicc and the largest concentration of enemies he could see. His Trident was in both hands now and was set in a point down on-guard postion, left hand near the head of the weapon, with the back end high in the air.  

His familiar rested on a broken pillar nearby. Saying nothing he looked back at Vadicc with its emotionless eyes. Luckily their communication was not limited to physical voices. The Minotaur didn't know they were communicating and intterrupted.

"Master?"

Vadicc quickly realized these were Fringe Bandits, as they used the edges of the Darkfenne to hide after raiding across the border and into Westlock. The Army of Westlock had been trying to deal with them for decades, but the bandits were too few to be considered much of a threat and too good at sneaking across the border at thinly manned areas. The current speaker for these particular Fringe Bandits, a dirty-looking Straywood Wood Elf wearing a stupid looking off-green cone-shaped felt hat, poked his head up above some scattered rocks again and complained in a high pitched and very annoying tone.

"Tell your guard to put down his weapon or he will die first!"

Vadicc counted quickly. There were at least twenty bandits he could see and there were probably a few more that were well-hidden. Most had bows or spears trained on Vadicc and his bodyguard. They seemed to pointedly ignore his Familiar. Fools. He needed to buy the bird time to enact their improvised plan.

"I will not."

"You are not the only one who can cast a spell mage! I will sense if you draw Mana! We don't fear you! Give it up now, and I promise to leave you alive. Your monster and pet will have to die however. My favorite meal is roasted Raven anyway!" A nearly histerical but undeniably maniacal laugh errupted from the elf's lips.

His Familiar cawed noisily and shook his feathers in protest, and the rest of the group of bandits joined in on the laughter of their leader.

Vadicc seethed inwardly at his stupidity. He had used this location during his previous trips to the Darkfenne just because it was safe from prying eyes. It was situated in some ancient ruins just outside the border of Westlock and just barely outside of the Fenne. Obviously these Fringers had agreed with his assessment and used the place similarly.

By the strong smell that wafted through the air, Vadicc also concluded the Darkfenne had grown yet again and was close to swallowing these ruins all together. If he survived this he would have to find a new place  on the edge of the Fenne. Nobody transported into the Fenne by direct magic, unless they wanted to end up in the stomach of a territorial Hydra or a blood-thirsty Bat swarm.

"To whom am I speaking? I would know the name of the badly-dressed man willing to challenge me: Vadicc Sharptongue the Blue Wizard of Victoriana!"

"I'm not that stupid! I won't give you a name to focus a spell on me with...Hey, did you just insult my hat!?"

Vadicc sneered at the indignant mageling, "I am no Warlock using naming magic to curse you. I am a master of the Wizardly arts and a multiple winner of the Mage War arena! You will move aside or I will erase your filth from existence, name or not! Destoying that awful hat will just be a bonus."

Face twisting in anger and rage, the elf spit back furiously at Vadicc, "Fine! Have it your way! I will wash my hat in your blood! KILL THEM ALL!"

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Only three arrows zipped out at the wizard's group however. One was swallowed by Vadicc's hastily raised Voltaric Shield absorbing the arrow into nothingess. The other two were directed at the suddenly moving Minotaur bodyguard. One missed completely and the other buried itself into the fur of the minotaur's muscled shoulder which slowed him about as much as a flea does to a charging Hydra in heat.

The bandit leader spun around, glancing at his various compatriots. Those few standing or shooting were suddenly panicking, but the remainder were incapacitated or comatose. Asleep! They were asleep! The Raven was a spellcasting Familiar!

Blood was spraying everywhere as the Minotaur began moving quickly among Vorm's remaining troops, his Trident and pale fur quickly covered in gore and visera. Stunned by the sudden turn of events, the elf staggered back away from the rampaging guard, who looked more demonic by the moment.

A rough guffaw coughed from the unmoving Raven then, catching Vorm's attention and causing him to spin all the way around comically in search of the sound. The Raven eyed him steadily as their gazes locked.

"As a mage, you should know to never under-estimate any true wizard's companion...but I guess I shouldn't be surprised by the stupidity of someone willing to wear a hat like that."

His vision turning red, Vorm gathered the mana he could build in the last few moments, and threw his biggest attack spell at the raven.

A jet of blue fire several yards long streamed from his hands and struck the broken stone pillar the bird had been using as a perch. The attack cracked it, and burned it clean of detrious and old vines. Several of his companion's bedrolls were on fire too, including his own, but in his anger he barely registered it.

While he had missed, Vorm's mind was clearing of his original panic and fear. He savored the distruction he had caused on the simple broken pillar and started drawing mana again, although it felt greasy and dirty so near to the effect of the Fenne. Turning, he looked about to find either the Raven or the Mage, while his second and his few living compatriots delt with the rampaging minotaur.

Just as he spotted the Mage, partially hiding behind another outcropping of old marble, the Raven familiar struck him suddenly from the air. Sharp talons scratched deep gouges in his forehead and nearly ripped off an ear as he lashed out with fire again, but hitting nothing but a few of his sleeping bandits. He ignored their sudden pain-wracked screams. Letting his rage and pain control his actions, he searched for the raven again, and tried to wipe away the blood running into his left eye.

The wizard's voice came from behind Vorm suddenly.

"You know, I really don't care what your name is."

Turning in triumph Vorm laughed in joy as he attempted to release his Fireblast spell again at the mage...but nothing happened.

"What the..."

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Vadicc laughed in the startled elf's face suddenly and lashed out with all the mana he had absorbed from the fool mageling, into his favorite spell. Vadicc, raised his hands in triumph as lighting danced out from them and slammed into all those bandits standing nearby, leaving them still and smoking on the ground.

Enjoying the feeling of his magic relased again, Vadicc easily reached out and laid the tip of his staff along the dirty wood elf's neck and whispered carefully.  

"Hold still now."

A look of utter confusion crossed the bandit leader's features, but it was suddenly erased by a look of shock, pain and a final agonizing death. The bloody tips of the thrown trident poked out of the bandit's dirty vest and revealed their intense silverish-gleam through the sheen of blood before the body realized its demise and finally fell over.

Vadicc walked over and looked down at the dead elf, and screwed his face into a grimace.

"By Asyra's blessed arse, that has got to be the stupidest looking hat I have ever been witness to."

Part 3: Deluded

The familiar smell of mold and mildew filled Vaddic's nose as he journeyed down into his tower's dark catacombs. He was greeted by the hungry sounds of his caged Dark-Fenne Hydra. The shriek-hiss of one of his most prized possesions put a smile on his face as he nearly-unconciously released a minor spell that activated the creature's cage to provide sustenance for it. Noises even worse and louder started up as the happy Hydra dug into the large bovine that was magically projected into its cage.

Waving his hand at the portal chamber's massive stone door, its rolled aside as he approached, and just as easily rolled back into place after he had passed with barely a vibration or noise to accompany it. He found his companions standing in the blue light of his Voltori Gate readying themsleves in the chamber's storage area, packing supplies and various maps for their journey to the Darkfenne.

The largest carry-pack looked heavy to Vadicc, but his Minotaur picked it up by its straps and hooked it casually over its white-furred shoulder. He then steadied himself by leaning on his massive Trident, its sharp base spike digging another hole in his Great Aunt Emeldar's favorite rug.

Remembering how much he hated his aunt, he let his smile grow bigger as he finally stopped next to his Familiar and scuffed his boots on the rug for good measure.  

"Are we ready then? Do we need any further provisions or supplies?"
Perched on a crate nearby, the raven responded casually, "Yes Master."

Vadicc rasied an eyebrow at that.

"What? No 'I have a bad feeling about this' or 'My job is to warn you when you are sticking your neck too far out' stuff from either of you?"

The Minotaur and Raven looked at each other and back to Vadicc.

Vadicc lost his smile then as he stared at his Bodyguard and Familar. Norch was an unusual version of his species. Born weak and prone to sickness, he was an Albino minotaur with white-yellowish fur and red-tinged eyes that glowed vaguely in the dark. Minotaurs believe that strength of body, will, and spirit are their birthright and obviously live for the thrill of combat to test themselves. Vadicc was amazed Norch hadn't been sacrificed at birth to the Minotaur's "spirits" to prevent similar "weakness" from cropping up again.

Norch was truly different however, as he grew slower than his fellows and was always the weakest physically as a youth, but his mind and strength of purpose burned brighter than any other in his tribe, Vadicc had been told. Painstakingly, over years of training and work, his body finally became his. He became one of the strongest of his tribe, if not the most powerful one, and had yet to be defeated in their ritualized combat circles once he had reached his adulthood and competed. His endurance had been measured and found to be amazing to even Minotaur standards. The downside of course was that he was not as tall as most Minotaurs and was truly an ugly specimen of the species. Vadicc liked him because he had intelligence, youth and energy about him that was more than a common Mintaur bodyguard usually had.

His Familiar on the other hand was a standard raven however, rasied in the Familiar kennels by the Beastmasters of Straywood, he had been born and raised to be a Mage's Familiar. While he looked normal, the raven had a strength all his own. Most Familiars whined and griped on what they wanted or not wanted to do. Vadicc's raven acutally worried about his health and looked out for his well-being most of the time.

Strangely he also wouldn't tell Vadicc his name. All Familiars had a name, either chosen by the Familiar or given by the Beastmaster that raised them. Vadicc had taken one look at the Familiar, felt the Mana flow easily between them, and offered the Beastmaster double the cost for the raven immedately. He hadn't even been shopping for a Familiar. The Beastmaster had consulted the raven for a second, and replied with a grin Vadicc had only seen on a jungle-devil baboon once. A dead jungle-devil baboon.

"The price is fine, but there is a an additional cost."

Wary, Vadicc had eyed the Elf carefully, fully expecting him to ask for his Mage Staff or some other moronic addendum to the staggering sum he had offered.

"We will not tell you his name now. You must earn it from him."

Smirking lightly at what he thought was a bad joke he had replied easily in the affirmative.

Now he sighed heavily and looked on the namless raven Familiar and Albino minotaur, and wondered why he seemed to gather the wierdest companions.

"Time to go."

He waved a hand and linked himself to the great swirling portal, its effect centered in the Voltori artifact Gate against the far wall. The gate's motion increased steadily.

"Yes Master."

The dual reply had brought him up short, and he glanced back at the smiling minotaur. He looked at the raven too. Can a raven smile? He really felt they were almost plotting something, but brushed that off as he felt the portal steady upon their destination.

Turning suddenly, he tapped out a staccato beat with his staff upon the floor then pointed it dramatically at the portal.

"To the DARKFENNE!"

Blue-light swallowed him.

The minotuar and raven looked at each other.

"Should we stop him?"

The raven replied with weight in his voice, "The question Norch, is CAN we stop him. For now he needs this, so let's go."

Two more flashes of blue-light lit the chamber, reflecting off the distant scales of a happily dozing hydra.

Mage Wars Fan Fiction

Tales of a Mad Mage
By: themadone

Part 1: Deranged

"The Voltori Mage-Rod is not a Myth! I have seen hints of it in the ancient texts. I also think I can remake it, with your help."

The Raven familiar eyed the Wizard carefully tipping his head in various directions, but saw no magical or demonic influence upon the older man.

"You may be certain Vadicc, but that does not mean you are not crazy or just plain power-hungry."

Chuckling, the Wizard dramatically turned away from his black-feathered companion, causing his ornate blue robe to flow outward in a sweeping motion. The Raven tensed as he felt his master suddenly draw in Mana, thrust his crooked finger at a dark corner of the room, and spoke an ancient Voltori word of power.

Lightning flashed and a wiff of smoke erupted from the scorched shadows. Something small and quick scuttled through a crack in the ancient tower wall into unknown darkness.

"Damn..those Darkfenne Roaches get everywhere, and move too fast!"

"You should never have tried to use them in an Arena battle, Master."

"Yes, well...Foresight is a spell I haven't quite learned yet. Besides I thought a swarm of them would prove the perfect distraction in battle."

"At least they are giving you target practice. You were missing more often than not against that Araxian Warlock."

Vadicc replied petulantly, "He had hexed me! What was I supposed to do? How can a Mage be expected to cast lightning straight... which is a difficult enough thing to do in the first place...while his skin is peeling off?"

Grabbing an ancient black-leather book with no writing or ornamentations other than silver corner plates on the cover, Vadicc placed it on the desk next to the Raven's favorite gold-plated perch, and opened it to a book-marked area. The book mark appeared to have been once a strip of fine leather, but was now warn down by the centuries to nothing more than a meaty-looking string.

"See here in my copy of the 'Sayings of a Deranged Ivarium Journey-man' where the author claims to have met the Bog Queen who told him of an ancient device of untold Voltari power!"

"Yes... I have to agree that is exactly what it says. You do realize the book actually has 'Deranged' in the title right?"

Vadicc waved a blue-veined hand in dismissal, "Bah...the book doesn't have a title really. 'Deranged' was titled thus because the author wandered out of the Darkfenne and died the day after he penned the manuscript."

The door to the room shook slightly as someone pounded casually on it, "Master? I heard something..."

Vadicc smiled and spoke casually over his shoulder, "Nothing Norch! Just another Roach sighting."

"Yes Master... If you need me just call."

The Raven cocked his head to the side and eyed the closed door, "Your new Minotaur bodyguard seems to be working well enough."

"Yes, we'll see. I miss Unglish of course, but he was getting old, and I would have had to replace him soon enough. He did once tell me he felt that going out during a Mage War match was better than 'retiring' back to his people. Evidently Minotaurs think dying of old age is a 'bad' death."

"So that's why you threw him against that demon the Warlock summoned in that last battle?'

"No...it was a close match however, and I needed him to hold off that demon so I could finish my final spell. I don't know if he sacrificed himself on purpose in the end, but I doubt he meant to light himself on fire and burn to death."

 A long look of sadness and loss crossed the mage's face for only a moment as he stroked his flowing beard.

"Anyway...I have more proof to offer you about the rod! Shall we?"

The Familiar nodded and blinked away a small tear for the crusty Minotaur, "Of course Master. Please continue..."