The Black Mage

Shara mumbles something unconsciously in her sleep and trembles slightly. "...Sorry..." She mumbles, as if she can hear the whole conversation. "I didn't want... to burden you."

"Oh, you're not a burden. I am just not used to carrying something over a long distance. Let's not forget that constant sprint within the forest."

Razor helps himself to a nearby chair. Just something about Catfolk when it comes to other people's home. They don't really quite have the politeness to ask for permission, much like how a cat does what it pleases.


The entrance of the secret city was quickly invaded by rain, inside the mountain. In the small puddles of water comes in a skinny creature. The armor seemed advanced as it is made of black leather and had metal plates tailored into the knees, shoulders, elbows, chest and thighs. Due to the tightness bones can be seen, but there are other miniature metal rods that outline the skeleton. The skinny thing seemed to slither on the water face down; though it had arms and legs. It stands up by managing to flip itself backwards onto one foot. It's face is covered by long wet hair. Gender cannot be placed as it's armor is tight enough to see some features but still it is questionable. It points a clawed glove at the house. Chuckling a little it falls face-first onto the water again as it slithered to the house.

Shara's whole body jolts and she sits straight up. "...Something is inside the city...!" She whispered. Her eyes widen with a strange fear, giving off a green glow. "Something.... strange... I-I can't tell what it is... but it's coming..."

"Sharaes! Lie down!" Blaine hisses, throwing her hat off her head, dragging the blankets on the bed over her head. "Lie still and do not breathe!"

Laying still, Shara doesn't let so much as a breath of air pass her lips as she tries to stop her trembling, laying as still as possible. "What is that thing...?"

Razor looks out of a window to see the skinny creature make it's way to the house. Before Razor could head to the door to confront it everything went dark. Rain can be heard, and there seems to be a storm inside the mountain. Razor can feel the floor is wet, and raspy breathing can be heard.

Sitting with it's legs crossed the skinny creature is seated on a surface nearby. The rain is pouring down more ans bolts of thunder are more frequent.

"So sad, the dead still suffer."

The creature sounds like a male as it spoke.

"The drowned, still drowning. The beheaded, looking for their heads. The bled, still bleeding. The sick, still sick."

In between sentences the creature spoke.

"I can see them, always seen them."

It drags it's clawed gloves down on the floor, the claws screech as they cut into the surface. It stands up with one leg as the other leg is still crossed.

"I came for the little mage."

Blaine clears his throat to speak. "I'm afraid there are many Enlightened in the city, you will need to be more specific." His yellow eyes dart to the bed for a millesecond, to see Shara's outline. "Just be still... just be still..." He thinks, over and over.

Shara sits up very slowly, without her hat. She silences both Blaine and Razor before they speak. "What is it you want with me?"

Shara is quiet, before she stands out of the bed, picking up her hat and her staff off the floor. She places her hat on her head and her attention turns to Blaine and Razor. "Razor, you and Blaine are to stay here." She says. "No buts."

Blaine stops himself from speaking and looks down. Once Shara has spoken, nothing else is to be said. "...Yes Shares." He says, sitting weakly in the chair.

"Now as for your friends. They will face the dead."

Blue flame appears on the creature's hands as he just touched Blaine's and Razor's heads with the flame.

Razor can feel that freak touch his forehead. Instantly Razor falls to the floor, and blacks out. He seems to be in a different place, as all of the sudden he's in a waist-deep flooded version of his hometown. Everything seemed to be blue as it is raining. Trudging through the water forward he can see the human outpost not far away. Razor makes that his priority, at least he will get out of the water there hopefully. On the way he can hear his name called. His ears perk up time to time to see the source of where the voice is coming from. Looking behind him he sees if there is anyone, as soon he turns his head back he then sees a huge crowd of transparent Catfolk soldiers. They all had limbs missing and seemed to still be bleeding. Not only the Catfolk were there, Humans too. These were the Catfolk and Humans who died at the outpost. Razor never thought there were so many. In the water he can see that freak, who is also transparent slither around. He rises from the water a distance away from Razor, and seems to be standing on the water.

"These are the Catfolk you were suppose to die with, and these are the Humans you have killed."

"No no please don't hurt them!" Shara pleads, trying to grab the strange creature. "I'm begging you, I'll go peaceably!"

Blaine's head hits the table, his eyes wide.

Inside of his head, the whole world is grey, he's standing in a field, surrounded by human children. He himself is only nine. Some of these children are missing limbs, some have eyes torn from their sockets. Some are missing their lower bodies, on the grass, holding themselves up by their hands. Blaine is sickened to his stomach by this sight. Suddenly, each child begins to pelt him with stones, calling him a freak.

With both of them on the floor, he picks Shara up and walks out of the house. Once outside the home he lays down with her on his back. He starts slithering on the water again, but this time the city is flooded with a foot deep of water. As soon he leaves the city door, the water in the city had disappeared. As he went though, outside he is still slithering through water that is appearing in front of him.

Razor continues to trudge on. One of the visions approach Razor, a Catfolk.

"You didn't die with us, why?"

"Out of my way."

He pushes the ghost away, surprisingly they are solid. Continuing on he was bombarded by the dead's questions of why Razor didn't die.

"Do you think you are better than your brethren? Why you out of everyone survived?"

Razor felt that these ghosts are trying to keep him from going to the outpost. Then if that's the case, Razor then must go there. He managed to push the ghosts out of his way as he made his trudging into a slow run.

"Te-tell me now, where you're going with me..." Shara whispers, frightened as her knuckles go white, from the intense grip on her maplewood staff. "And what did you do to Blaine and Razor?"

The children keep hitting Blaine with the stones, he covers his face and begins to cry. "No, stop it, please!!"

The laughs and taunts are all in Blaine's head, when a clear voice, his own, can be heard.

"You realize what you have to do. You have to kill them."

"Bu-but they're already dead..."

"Humans are scum. Stealing the essences of magic from the planet. Killing the Enlightened. And now endangering Sharaes. You know you want to kill them."

The young Blaine snaps, as the humans continue to pelt him with stones, and pounds the bottom of his staff against the ground. A loud clap of thunder echoes in the grey world, and yellow forks of lightning rain down, striking the humans, making them scream and fall. Those who are not taken down by the lightning begin to cry in terror, as Blaine strikes his staff again, the skies beginning to spit fire.

He stops suddenly and slides out from under her. He stands up straight.

"I am promised. To stop seeing the dead, once I take you back to the Humans."

Razor made it past the Catfolk. Then came the Humans, they had weapons on them. Once Razor touched them his hand went through instead. He managed to doge away from their swords by ducking. Nothing he can do about these humans, just have to go through. Razor doges and moves away from the ghost's swords. Till one of the blades connected with his back, making a gash across. Still Razor moved. It was then at the outpost walls he sees a Catfolk knelled down, with his hands ready to launch a soldier. Razor places his foot on the hands of the soldier's hands.
Just like the outpost he was flung over the walls, but this time he landed on the walls instead of on the corner. That freak is still floating in front of him, until a light seems to be coming from below within the water.

"Wh-why do they need me?" Shara sniffles, crying a little. "What can I do that any other Enlightened can't?"

Blaine, pained by this vision, begins to see everything going dim, as he faints.

[ - Internet's getting shut off tomorrow, so I might not be on as much to post. Feel free to continue without me. Now I'm off to karate class. ]

"Why they need a powerful Enlightened, more powerful than me. I can end the world if I wanted. You can do better."

He sits down and crosses his legs.

"And I don't need a staff to do what I can do."

Razor made his way down the stairs of the outpost, but steps in really deep water. Making his way towards the light he was interrupted by something in the water. Now Catfolk do not like water as much as cats, and if there is something else in the water that has a bad presence, that just tears it for Razor. He swims back almost frantically back on the steps as what seems like a gigantic eel comes right out of the water. It has glowing white eyes that appear to be dead, a large mouth filled with teeth and more rows behind each set. It makes some sort of a roaring scream at Razor.
Razor starts backing up on the stairs.

Shara's eyes begin to fill with tears. "Wh-why do you want to help Humans?" She asks, rubbing her eyes. "And even if you take me and lock me up, what makes you think I'm even going to cooperate with you?"

Shara begins to cry a little more, and looks down quietly. "F... fine... I'll help you, please just don't hurt them!" She pleads, rubbing her eyes with her large sleeves.