Young Writers Society

Vera peered intently into the crystal globe, watching as Dynamo strode away from the pit, presumably on the trail of Maxwell Hammer. She couldn’t have him come across Maxwell too early, no, that just wouldn’t do. Giggling absent-mindedly, she waved the image away, and summoned another in its turn; that of Maxwell himself, singing merrily as he went on his way. Vera withdrew a bone from her gleaming white robe, raised it above the globe, and then whispered a Word. Immediately, the air around her darkened as black magic was released into the atmosphere. She arched her back, as the released magic caressed her body, making her tingle and sigh as she watched the bone disintegrate into some fine particles.

The surface of the crystal rippled for a moment, as the motes continued to fall, lacing the ground before Maxwell, with magic. It would make the ground he stepped on, transport him miles rather then mere meters. Undoubtedly he would sense magic in the vicinity, but even as he did so, he would be far away from his original position and by then it would be far too late.

Vera chuckled, and then scampered away from globe and image, to survey herself in the mirror. A small bald woman clothed in a white robe, looked back at her, with dead slate-grey eyes. Vera pouted, she hated when the magic took her hair away. Lifting her hands, she began to stroke her head and as she did so, strands of hair began to appear and before long, she was running her hands through a full head of hair; a delighted smile played about her lips as a seductive, raven haired woman smiled back at her, transformed.

Her demented laughter soon rang out from the deep, well protected cave in which she had taken residence.

Elsewhere in the forest...

Myth watched her master sleeping on the soft nest of leaves he had gathered, or rather she had gathered, he was probably dreaming of ruling all magicians or being the Supreme High Magician. If she wanted to, she could peering into his mind and cast out the dream so she could alter it.

"If you did that, I'd put you in a Tumbling Orb," he said.

Drat! The old man chuckled and got up. He scanned the forest and made a sign to break the protective shield around him, he didn't always trust her, even if she was meant to be his Guardian. She was in human-form, sitting up on a tree but as he got up she dropped down and landed on all fours like a cat. Her master grunted at that.

"It's a pity your powers are limited, otherwise you wouldn't need me," she said. "Why don't you release me, eh? I've served you since you were a boy."

"And you'll serve me until the day I die."

She scowled and muttered in her own tongue, no creature, expect for other daimons, could ever understand her language and she was glad of that. "I'll find someway of getting rid of you master."

"What does that mean?" the old man asked irritably, he was sure she was saying something about him.

"Nothing, now are you going to get a move on? I could have got out of this forest in no time, but no, I'm stuck with you."

"Hold your tongue, daimon, I'm not as strong as I used to be." The old man, Astrath, picked up his things in a bundle and heaved it over one shoulder, with the other hand he held on to a staff that supported his weight. He limped after the daimon-girl and shouted every time she walked to quickly.

Socrow was walking when he heard the sound of metal crashing he ran too direction of the sound and saw he was too late. He said a silent pray and was just about too leave when he saw a rogue stealing the Knights stuff

"How dare you Vagaboud haven't you any honore, fight me for the right to take this Knights items"

A slash of color turned Selena's eyes to the east, she looked to her falcon Silverlight and whispered.
"Fly ahead." The creature let a squawk and took off, closing her eyes she entwined her engery to silverlights. The falcon flew ahead to a man leaving a hole with a what seemed to be dead Knight, but what caught her attention was the crimson red ruby necklace he had taken from the knight. Calling back silverwings she set off after the man in quickend pace. The necklace had belonged to her mother and she intended to get it back, if the man was not cooperative she would kill him.

Dynamo stopped and turned to see who had just spoken to him. He saw a mage staring in his direction in anger.

Dynamo absent-mindedly looked to his left, then his right before asking, "Are you talking to me?"

Socrow headed towards Dynamo, walking around the pit. "Yes. Relinquish the items you stole or you will experience and early death!"

Dynamo looked over his shoulder at the bag of goods he took from the horse. He looked back at the mage. "That guy was already dead. It's not like he'll be needing this stuff anymore."

"Your lies are meaningless to me. I'll make you pay for killing that knight." said Socrow.

Dynamo saw that he was getting too close for comfort. Dynamo used his thunder magic and dashed a few yards away to the edge of the road. He moved so fast that he appeared as a lightning bolt as he moved. He started rubbing his foot on the ground as if looking for something. "Now, it should be here somewhere."

Dynamo saw the mage running at him. Socrow reached for his magic and quickly chanted an incantation. But, when he came within ten feet of Dynamo his incantation was interupted. Something grabbed his leg and lifted him up into the trees.

Dynamo watched as the mage dangled upside down from a rope. Dynamo lightly slapped his head. "Oh, that's where I put the trap!"

Socrow yelled at Dynamo. "You little brat! Get me down from here this instant!"

Dynamo swung the large sack of items over his shoulder and replied, "You know I'd love to help you, but I have some financial transactions to take care of. Don't worry, I'm sure someone will come along and help you down." Dynamo pointed his finger towards the sky and waved it around. Dark clouds began to form in the sky. When he was satisfied, Dynamo stopped. He looked at the mage one more time. "Well, seeya!"

Using his thunder magic again, Dynamo ran faster than the speed of sound towards the nearest town. When he left, it began to rain.

(OOC: Before you guys say anything, it's thunder magic. Using it to increase your speed will make you almost as fast as lightning itself.)

"Darn" said Socrow.

*****

Giggling happily to herself, Isaure was fire-dancing peacefully in a clearing just as Dynamo ran into her.

"Ouch!" he complained from his seat on the ground while rubbing at his singed hair, "What did you do that for?"

"What did I do that for? You're the one that ran into me!" she said, as she conjured up two hungry firehounds in the ground next to her. The grass that they stod upon immediately blackened.

"Whoa, there!" Dynamo said, quickly scrambling back as the hounds snapped at him from their place at Isaure's side, "Let's not do anything we'll regret later! so, I'm Dynamo."

"Isaure" she said, but then cracked up as he tried to put a grin on his face and step forward to shake her hand. The hounds growled until she spoke to them reassuringly in a language that sounded thike the whish and crackle of flames. "It's OK, they know you're a friend now, and they won't bite or burn you."

"Really?" he asked incredulously, "Can I pet them?"

"Sure" she said, smiling reassuringly.

(OOC: Just to let you know, Dynamo was running at the speed of sound. Running into another person would be the equivilant of formula race car driving through a very thin tree at top speed.(this might be exagurating though) But, I'll let it slid this time.)

Dynamo began to pet the firehounds. They wagged their tails in enjoyment as he stroked their thick coats.

Isaure eyed the bag Dynamo was carrying. Curious, she asked, "What's in the bag?"

Dynamo turned and repied, "Oh, just some stuff I found. I'm going to sell it when I get to town."

A butterfly flew passed Dynamo's face and distracted him. He turned and chased the butterfly, forgeting that Isaure was watching him.

She giggled at Dynamo's childish actions. She asked, "If you're going to town then can I come with you?"

Dynamo stopped chasing the insect. He turned and smiled at the girl. "Sure."

Maxwell walked along. He frowned as a black tinge sparkled around him. Dark magic was being absorbed. This made him smile with pride. Long ago, he had set up a passive magic shield, the work of many months. It would be inactive when there was no magic. When it encountered magic, it would activate by using the magical energy sent at Maxwell.

The best part of it was that it would only absorb incoming spells, not outgoing. It also enabled him to store massive amounts of energy. Just for fun, he focused the energy into a powerful beam. Aiming at a tree, Maxwell destroyed it entirely. No fire, nothing. Only a sizzling hole.

The best part by far was that no one else could do what he could. There was only one energy mage and that was Maxwell S. Hammer. He alone recognized magic for what it really was, a power to obtain ends. The wizards thought of magic as some endowment from God.

It was time to free the world from the evil wizard oppressors.

By the evening, he had arrived at his alma mater: The Wizard's Institute. The only school dedicated to the instruction of wizards. He stood in front of the gate. It was said that the door would always be closed for expelled student or unworthy. The gate was only slightly open now. Sure enough, when he approached it, the gate slammed shut.

He had been the pupil of Radin, the only scientific wizard. He had proven the one thing that wizards could not accept, that they were humans. Even now, they taught that only certain heritages had wizard blood. This was a lie. Everyone had magic, they just would only teach it to the elite. Occasionally, some wizard would feel pity for some bright young man, and take them in.

Maxwell S. Hammer was one such man. Radin, living in exile, taught him after his expulsion. One day, he was finishing the last lesson, when wizards came. Radin told Maxwell to run. Maxwell ran, for Radin wasn't supposed to have apprentices. The wizards entered and a short while later, there was a flash of light. A minute later, the wizards had dragged the dead man out of the house.

They searched for Maxwell for a while, but they never found him. The minute their spells touched Maxwells shield, the spells were absorbed.

Maxwell looked at the institute with hatred. They had killed the master for telling the truth. Now, it was time to avenge him.

Maxwell grabbed the magic gate and began to suck all the energy out of it. A ball of white energy surrounded him, growing larger and larger. In an instant, the gate shattered inward. The magical wards that protected the Institute was now negated. The air hummed with energy as Maxwell strode up toward the institute.

The teachers now came after him. They fired killing spells, but the spells were just absorbed. Maxwell now used the energy. He used it to enhance his reflexes, speed, and agility. In an instant, the teachers were dead as Maxwell cracked their skulls open.

He could have used magic, but the hammer was more satisfying. He now approached the courtyard but stopped. All the students were gathered in the courtyard. They were each holding hands, in a single moment of concentration, they sent a large continuous beam of magic at him.

They were correct in many respects. The more people in a chain, the more powerful the effects of the spell. Most magical defenses would have buckled under that much power.

But not Maxwells. Since they were powered off the energy they absorbed, they actually became many times stronger.

There biggest strength was about to become their biggest weakness. By casting the magic together in a continuous burst, they had opened up a direct line of magical energy between them and Maxwell. Maxwell now began sucking energy from all of the student simultaneously. Magical energy crackled as the shield ballooned. Maxwell sucked every last joule of energy he could.

Then he used it for a final time. In a moment, the magic expanded into a massive shockwave, destroying the buildings, students, and the wall around the institute in a single horrifying crack.

In the center of it all, Maxwell S. Hammer straightened his tie, and hiked out of the crater.

News of the complete destruction of the Institute spread quickly.

Vera sighed contentedly. She was happy. Chaos was spreading throughout the land and her Masters were happy for this, rewarding her with more power. As the dead and dying increased in number, so too did her strength. She now had a legion of dead warriors, many of which were mages. Vera shivered with delight at this thought. Mages were not like other spirits, their substance lasted far longer and they were capable of so much more. True, it had drained her momentarily, to capture and bind so many spirits, but it had been well worth the effort.

However, there was one hitch in her plans: Maxwell. He was far stronger then she had imagined, not that he was a threat to her, far from it, but he had the potential to mar her other, delicate plans. He couldn’t harm her, for while it was true that her black magic would be useless against him, her Spiritual Power would not. It was not a magical ability, and indeed could be taught to most people if only they had the discipline and mental flexibility to cope with the training. And should he, by some miracle, succeed in killing her, she would only return. She had mastered Death and was not afraid of it. Vera laughed maniacally, then turned and walked out of the Seeing Room, with its crystal globe, into her main chamber; dominated by her Throne of Bones. Moving with a languid, fluid grace, the powerful sorceress practically danced across the room.

She seated herself with an exhalation of pleasure, for as always, the bones gave out a faint moan of pain; remnants of their souls still remained to feel, keenly, the agony she meted out. Vera closed her eyes, centering herself and slipping into a light trance. The, she extended her mind, just as she had been taught, and called.

“Come”

It was an imperative, laced with the promise of release, however, it was impossible to resist. She felt the many souls, all bound in some way to her abode, flock to her throne. Opening her eyes, she surveyed them all neutrally as a ruler would his people. Lifting her hand, she selected one of the spirits and called it forth; simultaneously dismissing the rest.

“So, Headmaster, how does it feel to be bested by one of your own?” She called down.

“He is not and was not ever ‘one of our own’,” he spat with venom “that creature is unlike any other; an outsider. A freak.” He said this last with finality.

“Ah, such love is to be commemorated. You’ll be delighted to hear then, that he is your assignment” Vera said with an amused sparkle in her eyes. “You will track him, undetected, for your substance resides on/in the ether; he should not be able to sense what is not on his plane of existence. However, just to be careful, you are to dim your essence.

Seeing his blank look, she elaborated “Lower your atomic vibrations, and you will be virtually undetectable, even to a wizard of profound power.”

“What makes you think I’ll do your bidding witch?” he said resentfully.

In an instant, her joviality faded along with the veneer of humanity, until what stood before him bristling with anger was exposed; a Necromancer of vast strength and cunning, her head was as a waxen skull, ancient and malevolent.

“You will do as I say, finite creature” She boomed “Or you will suffer a millennia of unprecedented pain and suffering” So saying sent a bolt of dark energy through the ether, striking him dead centre in the skull. The Headmaster screamed silently in agony, back arched, non-existent vocal chords straining. Every atom of his being was burning, indeed a lesser spirit would have been erased. When the pain faded, he was left huddling on the floor, nearly sinking through the ground he was that diminished in strength.

“Now go”

Still wracked with pain, he could do no more then what she asked.

"Hey you!"
Selena watched as the man with the necklace looked at her.
"Yes?"
Her eyes turned a dangerous green, "You have something of mine you thief."
There was another women with him, well a girl

Whoops i hate it when i do that...sorry.

"Oh really whats that?" he leaned back on his hands, this angered her even more.
"The necklace you found, back on that Knight in the forest. Its mine and I want it back."
He pulled it from his pocket, "Oh this old thing. You want it come and get it."
A aura of fire erupted from around her and her hair seemed to float mixing with red of the fire, caught by surprize Dynamo jumped up.
"Cant say I didnt ask nice the first time." She unsheated a mean looking sword that just as beautiful it had an ivory hilt with flames climbing the metel and it appered to have a purple look surronding it. This women apparentally had strong powers.
"Okay, perhaps we got off to the wrong start, Im Dynamo and here you can have the necklace if you want it."
The fire dissapered and she took it from his extended hand, "Im Selena, Selena countess. This necklace belongs to my mother, when she was alive she was the most powerfull women in our village and whats left of her remains in this necklace."
Dynamo wrinkled up his face," Do you mean like her ashes?"
"No, her remaining magic and her soul." She clipped the necklace and it glowed purple.
"Well your more than welcome to join me and Issaru if you'd like."
"As long as you two stay out of my way I will."
It was then Dynamo noticed the scar on her face and one on her bicep.
"You battle a lot?" he asked motioning to her scars, all of a sudden he was pushed up against a tree and surroned by what appered to be a lighting storm.
"lets get one thing straight, if you want to stay on my good side you'll never mention, ask, or stare at my scars. If I catch you staring at them you'll wind up like that Knight, in a hole so deep you'll never escape."
She released him and he fell at least a foot, was it possible she had lifted him that high?! What was with this firey women.

(OOC: Just to let you know, Angelbaby, when you're talking about one person it's spelt 'woman.' If you're talking about more than one, it's spelt 'women.' It's a common mistake.)

Selena turned around and walked away. Dynamo placed his hands behind his head and said to himself, "Geez, what crawled up her butt and died?"

When the three of them made it to the closest city, Dynamo went off towards the market district on his own. Before he left he said, "I've got some... financial transactions to take care of. I'll meet up with you guys later."

He walked through the district looking for someone who would pay decent money for the things he found. When he looked at a few merchants he noticed their attention was drawn somewhere else. Dynamo followed their gaze and saw a large gathering of people ahead in the middle of the street. He ran up to the crowd and pushed his way through. In the middle of the gathering he saw three overly muscular men surounding a 14 year old girl who was lying on the ground. She looked like she took a pretty bad beating from these guys.

Dynamo wondered why everyone was just staring instead of doing something to help the girl. But then he recognized the symbol on the headbands these guys were wearing. The symbol was three downward pointing swords going over each other. These guys were part of a dangerous gang in this city known as the Dreadnaughts. It sickend Dynamo to see these guys picking on a helpless girl.

One of the gangsters pulled out a dagger and asked the girl, "Got anything to say before I kill you, little girl?"

The girl struggled as she slowly got to her knees. She was obviously in great pain. With the strength she had left, she horked a giant lugy at the gangster's face.

The gangster was furious. He whiped the disgusting fluid from his face with the sleeve of his shirt. "You asked for it, brat!" He grabbed the front of her shirt and pulled her to her feet. He held the dagger over his head to lunge it into the girl's body.

A bolt of lightning passed right behind the gangster. His hand no longer had the dagger in its grasp. Confusion rolled over the man's face as he stared at his empty hand.

"Looking for this?" The gangsters looked and saw Dynamo. His back was slightly turned towards them. His right hand held his bag that was hung over his back. He twirled the gangster's dagger in his left hand for everyone to see. He easily kept a straight face, but meanwhile he was thinking, I've always wanted to do something like this. This is so cool!

The gangster that held the girl by her shirt tossed her to the ground and joined his companions as the squared off towards Dynamo. "How dare you interfere with Dreadnaught business! Who do you think you are, kid?" This guy was really pissed now.

"Dreadnaught business? I didn't know beating up young girls was one of your gang's priorities."

"That's it! You're going to be sorry you ever messed with us!"

Dynamo smiled in a childish manner. "Oh, am I?" He used his thunder magic on the dagger he spun in his hand. Electricity engulphed the tiny blade and turned it into dust. The gangsters obviously didn't notice, because they were advancing towards him.

Dynamo dropped his bag on the ground. With a bright, almost blinding flash of light he disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the men... carrying all their clothes in his arms.

The crowd of people that surrounded the area bursted into laughter at the sight of the gangsters standing in their underwear. Dynamo joined the crowd and laughed too. The gangsters were fuming with rage. Even though they were unarmed, they charged towards Dynamo intending to rip him apart with their bare hands.

With another flash, Dynamo ran to one of the market stalls and grabbed a rope, came back and tied up the gangsters, all within 3 seconds. He tied the rope so that the end of it was long enough to be tied to something else. He looked around and spotted a horse attached to a cart.

The crowd was still laughing as Dynamo took the end of the rope and dragged the gangsters over to the cart. He tied the rope to the back of the cart as tight as he could. Then he walked around to the horse and smacked it on the butt. The horse let out a loud negh (I think that's how it's spelt) and galloped away through the city, dragging the near naked gangsters along with it. Dynamo placed his hands on his hips and laughed as he watched the men being dragged away.

The girl that was being harassed by the gangsters let out a moan of pain. Dynamo walked over to her and helped her to her feet. "Hey, are you ok?"

The young girl went weak in the legs and would have fallen to the ground if Dynamo hadn't kept a good grip on her. "Hey, try to keep on your feet, ok?"

The girl moaned, "Alright."

Dynamo helped the 14-year-old to a bench away from the big crowd. He sat her down and sat next to her. He saw a large bruse on her arm. He gently grabbed her arm and examined to see if anything was broken. Nothing seemed to be. "You seem to be ok, nothing serious."

The girl looked at Dynamo as he stroked her arm. Her face went red and she jerked her arm away from him in emmbarrasment. "I'll live." She tried not to look in Dynamo's face.

"You took quite the beating from those guys. If I didn't show up when I did, you'd be dead by now." He told her.

The girl looked at him, surprised. "You... did you save me from them?"

Dynamo rested his arms behind his neck and leaned back. He bragged, "Yup. Right now, the horse I tied them to should be on the other side of the city." He laughed. "You should have seen their faces when the horse dragged them away wearing nothing but their underwear!"

The girl couldn't help but laugh, too. "You must be really strong if you were able to puplicly humiliate members of the Dreadnaughts so easily." Her face started to go red again. "Umm, what's your name?"

Dynamo looked at her and answered the question with another question. "What's your's?"

"Karen."

Dynamo smiled. "Well, Karen, it's nice to meet you. My name is Dynamo. But highly respected mages sometimes refer to me as 'Gaurdian of the Skies', although I'm not completely sure why." Dynamo began to wonder why the gang members were hassaling her in the first place. "If you don't mind me asking, why were those guys beating you up for earlier."

A look of dread went across her face as she looked away. Reluctantly, she told him, "My dad had a debt to repay to that gang from long ago. They demanded a very large sum of money from him, even though it was much more than the debt actually was. My family didn't have enough money to pay them, so my dad refused to give them anything. That's when they killed him and took lots of valuable posesions from our home. Ever since, it's just been me and my mother. I wanted to exact my revenge on that evil gang and demanded those men to take me to their boss. Of course, they refused and started beating me to death right before you showed up."

Dynamo felt very sorry for Karen. Although he didn't remeber his own parents, the consept of losing a loved one would be very hard on someone. He gave her a reasuring smile. "Don't worry, Karen. I'm going to find the gang's hide out and and exact your revenge for you."

Karen gave him a scared loook. "You're not serious, are you? Even if you are strong enough to take care of a few of the gang's goons, that doesn't mean you're strong enough to take down the whole gang."

"Don't worry. I have a few friends that can back me up."

"But, I heard that the gang leader knows dangerous magic."

Dynamo stiffened his face. "He knows dangerous magic? I guess that makes him a mage, then." He smiled again. "All the more fun!" Dynamo tried to think of any other ways he could help this girl, then he noticed his bag of items he found on the dead knight's horse. He walked over to the bag, picked it up and walked back over to Karen. He handed the bag to her. "Here. The money that can be made from this stuff would be more useful to you than it would for me."

"I can't take those. They look too valuable." she said while looking in the bag.

Dynamo smiled again. "I won't take no for an answer, and it would be rude otherwise not to take it."

"OK." She stood up and recieved the bag from Dynamo. It was a lot heavier than she anticipated.

Dynamo turned around and started running. He shouted behind him, "Don't worry, I'll teach that gang leader a leson for you!"

Karen shouted back, "Will I ever see you again?"

"Definetely!" Dynamo replied before using his magic to run at supersonic speeds again.

He stopped a few seconds later beside an outdoor resturant that Selena and Isaure were having lunch at. Selena asked, "What took you so long?"

"I got help up. Listen, we've got a job to do."

"What's that?" Isaure asked.

"We're going to take down the leader of the Dreadnaughts gang."

Both of them looked at Dynamo as if they were looking at a mad man.

Leaning over in his chair Shlear put his hand on dynamo's shoulder, "Ahhh the dreadnaught gang, a fine bunch of chaps to mess around with eh?" either startled or just annoyed dynamo made no comment. "I've run in with them many a time befor', you kno' just to have a bit o' fun. I heard you talking about taking down their leader, huh? Would ye' mind if ah' came along?" I asked grinning as I walked around to their table.

((OOC: AngelBaby, it's spelled Isaure, not Issaru... And does Selena have a bio?))