Disclaimer: I do not own Mage Wars.----------------------------
The young man stared up at the enormous tower in front of him. There was a sign bolted above the enormous wooden door:
Tower of Battle--home to Maegis University's School of WARHe gulped. He still wasn't sure if he had what it took to follow in his father's footsteps to be a Warlord. He did not want to displease his people, but he was a runner at heart. He wasn't the most talented mage. What was he doing in Sortilege, a nation full of powerful mages?
He felt the urge to run away, far away, in the opposite direction of this imposing building.
No, he thought.
I must run forward, not backward.Hesitantly, the young man stepped inside the Tower of Battle.
He found himself in a lounge area, complete with comfy chairs and framed pictures on the walls. Behind the front desk was a tough-looking lady with her hair in a ponytail and some sort of crossbow slung over her shoulder. It looked rather lethal.
The sniper receptionist looked up from her paperwork as the front door loudly creaked shut behind the young man.
She quickly sized him up with a bored expression on her tough face, seeing how little armor he was wearing, how scrawny his arms were, and how skinny he was. The young man blushed from self-consciousness.
"You look lost," she said, simply. "If you're looking for the schools of Arcane, Nature, or Mind, I'm afraid I can't help you. Each school in our university is magically hidden from students of all the others, to prevent unecessary conflict. Your student handbook should have a map inside."
"Um," the young man started. "I know that."
"What?" asked the sniper receptionist, not quite sure she heard right. "Then why are you here? Are you saying that you're not lost?
"I'm not." he said, staring at the ground. "My name is Lee. I'm here to study the art of War."
The receptionist burst into laughter.
"What's so funny!?" Lee demanded, defensively.
"I never thought I'd see another one," said the receptionist. She calmed down and wiped a tear from her eye.
"A few words of advice: Someone like you has three possible outcomes here. Do you have any idea what they are?"
"Um, that I'll become a Warlord or a soldier...or flunk and get kicked out of the University?" Lee asked.
"Well yes," said the receptionist. "But that's not what I meant. Someone like you has three outcomes here. You could succeed beyond anyone's expectations. You could fail miserably and be the embarrassment of your people. Or, you could go halfway between the two options, and become a great magical sniper like me."
"And what do you mean when you say someone like me?" Lee asked, half-indignantly.
"Does it really need to be said?" the receptionist asked, pointedly. "You have weak arms and a thin body. That means that you will have to rely on your wit, focus, and leg strength, if you are ever to succeed here. Also, each year at Maegis University begins with a campus-wide battle tournament for the Freshmages, after which is the initiation ceremony."
She slammed her fist onto the counter, startling Lee, before she pointed at him. With a flash, Lee saw a number write itself onto his shirt: WAR-235671
"That is your tournament registration number," she said. "Your first five rounds will be held here with other War Freshmages. The best Freshmages will get to compete with Freshmages from other schools in our university. Your first match will begin soon. Go down the hallway on the right and climb the stairs to the first arena hall. Good luck!"
"Thank you," said Lee. He bowed before starting to jog towards his first match. Before he'd gotten very far though, he turned around and said loudly, "I forgot to ask, what's your name?"
"Izayoi!" she said.
"Thanks Izayoi!" Lee's voice echoed back, as he rushed to the staircase to the first floor Arena hall. In spite of his great fear, Lee was oddly excited. He had spent the last three years travelling the world, running and running without looking back, before he finally returned to his people as an adult. Was it all worthwhile? Soon, he would see. He had taken the first step on the road to his destiny. There was no turning back, even if he wanted to...
The price of tuition was too high for that.
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So what do you think? Reviews please!
Also, you can submit characters! Freshmages are Level 1 and have a maximum of 20 points in their spellbook, Sophomages are Level 2 and have 40 points max, and so on. Only Senior and Junior Mages have Mage abilities. When submitting a character, you should include:
--Their name
--Their Age
--Their gender (if they are transgendered, write the whole word label for their type of transgender, otherwise just put M or F)
--Their Level (1-4 for undergrads, 5-6 for Graduate students and teachers)
--Their physical appearance
--Their background story
--What type of Mage they are
The more information you fill in, the more I'll have to work with, the less likely I'll fill in the blanks of your character with something you don't like. But the less information you give, the more creativity I'll be able to use to flesh out their character. It's a win-win situation either way.
In any case, don't expect all of the information you provide on your submitted characters to stay the same over the course of the story. Characters grow and change. That's why Freshmages have a limit of 20 spellbook points!
This story idea was inspired by a conversation I had about a possible Mage Wars RPG format.
I think I've said everything that I needed to. Post away!
