Jaux Ballad has always wanted to enter the realm of magic, but could not do so by regular means. In his desperation to become a magician he finds himself with more power, and more trouble, than he could ever have imagined.

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Wenlia cursed loudly and slammed her fist into the magic circle that was drawn on the wall. Blue sparks spouted from the symbols and patterns.

Rilane sat nearby with a grim frown.

"What's going on?!" yelled Helsfur as she entered the room.

"Suhara Ballad's distress beacon activated," said Wenlia, "but I can't open a portal to her location. There's something disrupting my dimension magic."

"Do you at least know her location?" Helsfur asked.

"Yes," said Rilane, "she's on a research trip in one of Ginrook's forests."

Helsfur sighed. "Okay, open a portal as close as you can. We'll fly to wherever she is. Gather as many people as you can, Rilane. Marlifa and I have a bad feeling about this."

Rilane nodded and held up a yellow crystal to her mouth.

=+=+=

Suhara coughed and opened her eyes. She was awoken by the heat beating against her face. The protective dome that Oreno provided had finally run out of power, so Suhara was exposed to the disastrous elements.

The Winter Sight was still activated, but it was difficult to see due to all the magic that filled the forest.

"Jaux, you are in the presence of the High Priestess of Bright Noon." said Theema.

"W-what? Here?" said Suhara. "How can that be?"

Suhara blinked rapidly to clear away the grime in her eyes. The heat wave of her Dragon Tongue had exhausted, but the forest was still being toasted by the fires that remained. She observed the pandemonium in front of her.

It looked like a war.

Cilna was fighting with the Ginrook Paladins against the undead army. Weapons smashed against the rotten bodies of zombies, sending foul organs raining onto the ground. The undead weren't difficult to right against. Unfortunately, there were too many. The horde of rotten bodies poured against the warriors without any sign of ending.

The castle's front gate, which Cilna crashed through earlier, was refortified. It was obstructed with a chunk of opaque white ice. Spells flew out from some of the castle windows, which struck the undead that were getting too close to the castle walls.

The massive and bulky man was fighting against a mysterious black-haired lady. The man's robes were shredded and burned, no doubt from the fire magics bursting out from the lady's staff. The lady was unharmed. At first glance, it looked as if she hadn't been hit a single time.

The man and lady were shouting at each other as they fought. Suhara couldn't make out what they were saying, but it was clear that they hated one another. Their private battle used excessive force. A few of the trees nearby were either ablaze or knocked over.

The lady's unharmed image was ruined by a spike of stone that burst out from the ground. It ran up and through the heart of the mysterious lady, sending blood out her back and high into the air.

Suhara gasped at the sight of death and pushed herself off the ground.

"Worry not for her, child." said Theema.

The mysterious lady's entire body burst into flame. A great and shimmering fireball expanded out of the abrupt blaze that consumed her. Oddly, no intense heat radiated from the shining combustion. It only felt warm.

Suhara held up a hand to shield her eyes from the light. The bright fire had an even brighter magic shining from within. Staring at the sun would be easier.

The lady stepped out unharmed from the fire. There was a single hole in her shirt, indicating where she had been struck by the spike. Flames streamed out from her staff as she continued to fight.

"What was that?" asked Suhara.

Theema explained, "Senkreig of Bright Noon provides his high priest with his power of immortality. Mortal death can not conquer the undying flames of his priest unless death is honestly desired."

"So... that man can't win?" said Suhara.

"That is not the case," said Theema. "The man is powerful, there are still many paths to triumph he can achieve. Immortality only provides unending life, victory is never guaranteed."

Suhara pulled out her wand and staff. "Then I have to help," she said.

A blob of inky black substance shot out from Suhara's wand and latched itself onto the massive man's foot. The magic tar rooted him down to the ground. It prevented him from dodging the golden flamethrower that blew out from the tip of the mysterious lady's staff.

The man roared as he was overwhelmed by the conflagration. The flames were diverted away by some kind of barrier, but the bare heat pierced through and roasted his skin.

Blue flashes of light surrounded the man and the lady.

A chill descended on the fiery forest. Flames began to diminish until they were just piles of smoking ashes. Necromancers converged on the location of the battle, while a cold blizzard poured out from their magical staves.

The lady shrieked as the cold blasts coated her under layers of ice. She dropped her staff, and the golden flamethrower faded.

Suhara jumped over to one of the necromancers, then swung her staff. The stone staff slammed into the necromancer's head. There was a loud crack, before the necromancer collapsed into the ashy ground. Another pair of necromancers screamed out in agony as they were burned by invisible flames.

Two chilling torrents turned on Suhara, freezing her in seconds. The ice formed faster on her than on the woman. Moments after she was covered by the frost, her body shifted into darkness and teleported away from the fight.

"You are outmatched," said Theema, "It is unwise to oppose them."

The ice wasn't thick enough to hinder all of Suhara's movements. She broke herself out of the chilling substance with her augmented strength. "No, I have an idea," she said, "Just give me a minute, and then take me back over to that priestess."

"Very well," said Theema.

Suhara put away her magical staves and gripped her hands together. Her eyes closed as she focused. A mist of darkness slowly dripped out from her skin like translucent sludge, it covered her in a thin and lucid film. "Take me back, now." she whispered.

Suhara shifted back into a black mass, which stretched through the forest and deposited her next to the Bright Noon Priestess. The moment that she felt the burning sensation of a successful teleportation, Suhara unleashed a pulse of shadowy energy form her body.

The dark pulse washed over the necromancers, and they began to collapse onto the floor. Their bodies violently shook after they fell.

The demon root wand was immediately pulled out. A ray of dark magenta light burst from Suhara's wand and melted the ice that covered the priestess.

Suhara failed to notice that her disabling curse didn't affect the massive man. The second she finished defrosting the priestess, a forceful explosion detonated by her feet. She was hurled into a tree, and the priestess landed next to her.

The necromancers stood back up as the disabling curse wore off.

"Hurry, Gable." said one of the necromancers. "We must go retrieve the heart before they move it."

"Yes, I am aware." said the massive man. "Freeze the High Priestess again, make sure her mouth remains exposed."

"What of the other girl?"

Gable glanced over at Suhara, then aimed his staff up at a tree. "I'll kill her, it is no problem."

Branches snapped off from the tree. The wood broke apart into dozens of sharp stakes. They swirled around in the sky above, then fell towards the girl like a volley of arrows.

Suhara screamed as giant splinters pierced through her chest. Blood poured out from her deadly wounds.

Gable and the necromancers left after the priestess was frozen solid. They began to rush towards the front gate of the castle, where Cilna and the Ginrook Paladins were still fighting.

A barrage of spells flew from the tips of the necromancers' staves. The magics pelted down on the enchanted armor of the paladins, forcing them back while the undead continued to swarm.

Any paladin that attempted to approach Gable toppled over when they got close. Their minds burned, and they had to drop their weapons and clutch their head. Gable's mind magic easily scrambled their brain. The necromancers finished the job by freezing the downed paladins.

Spells flew out from the castle windows and struck a few of a the necromancers. The necromancers collapsed, but none of the spells were able to punch through Gable's personal wards.

Once Gable was close enough to the castle entrance, he thrust out his staff and blew away the ice obstruction with an explosion. Many researchers yelled in fright and ran through the castle. Rales and Celner blocked off a few of the hallways they retreated through in an effort to delay the necromancers.

"Bring one of them back, alive." said Gable. "I'll extract the information we need from its mind."

The necromancers murmured in agreement, before they stormed through the castle.

Out in the forest, Suhara coughed some blood as she regained consciousness. Her regeneration abilities kept her from dying outright, but the splinters were still lodged painfully in her chest. Blood dyed the front of her robe, and she couldn't move without reopening wounds. Her mind felt faint from the agonizing injury.

Suhara felt like she was back in Broken Space. The pain and dizzy head were similar to when she was nearly killed by Seventy-nine. Luckily, there we no lost limbs this time.

The Bright Noon Priest was sealed nearby in a block of ice. Her labored breaths could be heard through the only opening in the frozen prison. She was being kept cold, but alive.

Suhara reached up to one of the large splinters. She grabbed the spike, but Theema's voice rang through her mind before she tried to pull.

"Do not remove the stake." said the goddess.

"W-what?" Suhara mumbled as she let go of the splinter. "Why?"

"You've lost too much blood, losing any more may kill you." said Theema.

"They're in the castle, and the paladins are losing," said Suhara. "I can't remain here."

Theema's voice increased in volume. "I am not suggesting that you do. I merely have some advice that you should take. The High Priestess lay frozen at your feet, so she is defeated. Take her power for yourself. Our contract will be complete, and you will have no fear of death. A quarter of eternal life is still eternal life, weakened as it may be."

"Oh, alright." Suhara nodded and raised her left hand. "It won't affect her powers, will it?"

"Nay, you do not take enough soul to disrupt the High Priestess's immortality." said Theema.

Suhara's left arm darkened as the third circle opened up into a swirling void. She slid herself closer to the priestess, then plunged her left arm into the ice. The intangible arm reached through the ice and into the priestess's body.

The priestess's quivering breath gasped as her immortal magic was absorbed by the enchanted left arm.

When Suhara extracted her arm, the third circle pattern had been filled with a bright yellow glow. It looked like a miniature sun resting on her skin.

"At last." Theema's voice whispered with a triumphant tone.

=+=+=

The administration of the Marlifa Lyceum began to pour out of a whirling blue portal that opened up in the sky.

"There!" Wenlia yelled and gestured towards the gray smoke that rose from the forest. "That's were they must be!"

"What's going on? It seems there is a forest fire in progress." said Hawkshire.

Rilane held up her hand. A yellow glow illuminated her skin. "No idea," she said, "but I'm detecting a lot of malice and distress. There's a load of minds down there. I think Miss Ballad may be present, but I can't feel her thoughts."

"Hawkshire, Wenlia, we will search for Miss Ballad." said Helsfur. "Everyone else, see about controlling that wildfire!"

The teachers replied with their understanding, then began to fly towards the smoking forest.

They didn't get too close before something made them stop with surprise.

From deep within the smoking forest, a tall pillar of dark purple flames shot up into the heavens above.

The sky turned black.

Darkness reigned.