Two symphonies

In a world where magic was bought and sold like common goods, there lay a Kingdom by the name of Dare. In this kingdom, magic was not only a common thing, it was loved. Many practiced it as an art, and would group together into small communities of these “Mages” as they were called.

          These communities were called guilds. Together, the wizards in the guild would work together towards fame and riches. They would do simple tasks like scaring away the odd goblin, to extremely hard ones like battling a demon of the abyss for the safety of an entire castle.

          Now, Our story is about two of these such guilds. Their names are Blue Phoenix the guild of the guardians, and Black Dragon the leaders of the ranks of the Dark guilds.

          Fireballs rained down on Cedar Town from the skies. Cries of the wounded and dead echoed through the flaming city. “Hurry men! The dark mages are taking the City! Think of you wives and-“

          The commanders cry was cut off by a loud explosion. He resumed his encouragement. “We cannot allow the city to be taken by the Black Mages! Hold them men! Just until the Council’s mage team gets here!”

          “Well, you don’t have to hold them anymore. We may not be the Council’s team, but we are Blue Phoenix!”

          The voice rang throughout the town. The commander’s face creased. “Blue Phoenix? Are they a new guild? I have never heard their name before.” He said to the sergeant near him.

          The sergeant just shrugged, and raised his spear once more. Suddenly, there was a loud shaking near the place where the Black mages were fighting the soldiers. The commander dropped his weapons, and sprinted towards it.

          When he reached the source, his mouth hit the floor. Standing against the army of over one hundred black mages, stood a single man. He was nothing special in stature, just a tall man, with, long flowing gray hair.

          “I am the Guild master of Blue Phoenix! Leave this city at once, and I will not destroy you!” He roared.

          The sea of Black Mages parted. A man in purple robes with a tall black scepter strode forward. The commander staggered backwards. “The Black Headmaster!” He whispered.

          “Why don’t you and your guild leave now, and I won’t destroy you?” The Black Headmaster asked quietly.

          Blue Phoenix’s Master just glowered, and increased his power. The other did the same. As they fought, the rest of Blue Phoenix ran up behind their headmaster. With a single wave from the headmaster, the all charged forward, each using their own type of magic.

          The commanders eyes were wide, as he watched explosions of fire, ice and black. He even saw several wild animals, and mages that seemed to shift into them. He now understood why the city guards never had a chance. The mages’ power was in a whole different level.

          As the two guilds fought, in a house at the outskirts of the city, a Black Mage ran across the grass towards a lonesome house. “This is the last one… He must be in here!” He whispered to himself.

          The Black Mage blew the door in with a punch surrounded with black fire. He glanced inside. There were three people in the house. The parents, and a little bundle of cloth. The Black Mage’s eyes flew towards the bundle, and he grinned. His hand rose, and the man and woman knew no more.

          The Black Mage shoved through the ranks of his fellow mages until he reached the front of the mass, next to the headmaster. “I have retrieved our objective, master.” He muttered into the headmasters ear. The other nodded slightly, and the Black Mage returned to the mass of mages.

          The commander watched as the Black Dragon’s headmaster raised his hand to the air, and launched a flame in the shape of a Dragon, wreathed in black flames, into the sky. The dragon formed into a flag shape, the universal symbol of surrender. Blue Phoenix’s master nodded, and backed away. One of the Black Mages stepped forward, and waved his hand. A black fog flew in from the sky, and surrounded them. When it was gone, so were they.

          There was a stunned silence.  Blue Phoenix’s Master turned to the citizens that were watching. “My fellow people, The Black Mages have left. We, The Blue Phoenix, request permission to join your town, and set ourselves up to take jobs, as well as help protect the town. Of course, if we are accepted, we will gladly help rebuild Cedar Town.

          The commander thought for a moment. “I think that will be fine with us, I would normally ask the mayor, but he was knocked out when the assault started. I believe I speak for the people?” He called out.

          There was a general murmur of agreement from most of the people. The Headmaster nodded. He waved to his Guild members, and they all ran off in different directions. “I sent them to help with anyone trapped, or hurt. We have several healers and paladins among us.” He explained.

          Many years passed, and nobody ever discovered what happened to the small boy that disappeared, and the Black Dragon was not heard from. They started to fade from memory, and into Myth. Blue Phoenix grew steadily stronger, with many new recruits, and mages. They worked their way up the ladder of guilds, as the world fell into peace. But, nothing good lasts forever.

          “Laxus, hurry up! If you don’t finish your fiftieth lap within the hour, you have to do another ten!” Called the instructor.

          Laxus sighed. As long as he could remember, he had been a member of Black Dragon. They had saved him from the evil guild Blue Phoenix, who held the guise of a holy guild, and brought him here, to this underground cavern. The entire guild was underground, training for the day when they would send Blue Phoenix crashing to the ground.

          Laxus increased his pace. As he ran, his breathing deepened, and he grew tiered. He began to slow down. “Laxus, you have twenty two more laps, no stopping!” The instructor yelled.

          “My mental barrier is weakening, What if…” Laxus started.

          “That is the point of this exercise. Stop fighting them, and become one with them!” He called back.

          Laxus shuddered, and the mental barrier dropped. The second it fell, whispers filled his head. The shadows. They spoke to him, whenever he dropped his mental wall. They promised greatness, and much more. But, he always felt there was something wrong about it. He never listened.

          The instructor grinned as he watched the ten year olds face crease with concentration. The boy was communing with the shadows. He turned, and strode out of the cavern.

          Laxus didn’t notice his instructor leave. He was too busy trying to drone out the shadow’s voices. “Be quiet!” He screamed.

          Suddenly, they all fell quiet. Laxus’s eyes widened. They had never listened to him before.

          What was different this time? He looked around. Nothing unusual. He was jogging, humming a tune in his head that he had heard the band play earlier. He stopped running. The shadows stayed silent. He resumed running, and stopped imagining the tune. Immediately, the shadows returned. A huge grin split his face. He could control the shadows.

          Three sharp whistles pierced the air. Shadows from the cave all collected in one spot. Slowly, they rose from the floor, and formed into a black mass. The mass grew arms and legs, and slowly formed into a humanoid. “What…would you have me do, Master?” It rasped.

          Laxus grinned. After three years, he had finally been able to force the shadows to take a three dimensional form. He hummed out a low tune. The monster turned, and its fist launched out, stretching, and blasting through the wall. Laxus hummed a long sad note, and the form melted into the ground.

          He strode to the wall, and glanced at the hole the being had made. A perfect circle. It had hit so hard, the wall didn’t even crack, like a shot from one of the “Guns” that the Black Dragon guild had made.

          The “Guns” Were long sticks made from metal, with wood at the back. You would load some black powder into them, and push a button. Then, they would shoot the little ball of concentrated magic you put in it, and it made a perfect hole.

          Laxus returned to training, unknowing of the eyes that watched him.

          “Guild master Zoro, Laxus has progressed greatly, and has large control of the shadows. I have made sure that he believes that Blue Phoenix killed his parents, and I have nurtured his rage. He will be a perfect weapon for us.”

          Zoro nodded slowly. “How much longer, until you have him take the exams against the other students, to root out the weaklings, and send him to eliminate Blue Phoenix once and for all?”

          “Two years, master. He hasn’t gained full control of his shadows yet.”

          Zoro nodded once more, and sent the Black Mage out of his room.

          Tabitha ran through the Halls of Blue Phoenix. She ran into the Head master’s room. “Master Lairno, I did it! The light will twist to my command with almost no effort! Look!” She cried happily.

          She whistled several soft notes, and the light streaming through the windows bent, and slowly formed into a sword. She raised the sword and swung it at Master Lairno’s desk. Right before it hit, she whistled sharply, and the sword dissipated.

          With a soft hum, the light formed into a shining man, with a sword and shield. The headmaster stood, and looked it over. “Absolutely perfect! Why, this golem looks just like the real…” He said.

          “Don’t look at me like I am a statue!” The glowing man said.

          The headmaster jumped. “Tabitha, you molded a light spirit?” He asked guardedly, his gaze on the glowing man.

          Tabitha nodded happily. “His name is “Paladin!””

          The headmaster nodded. “Good work. I think it is time.”

          Tabitha’s face creased. “Time for food?” She asked, hopefully

          Master Lairno laughed. “No, for your first job. In the neighboring town, Delhi, there have been sightings of some Black mages. Would you go inspect it with a few instructors?” He asked.

          Tabitha nodded. “Sure! When do I go?”

          “You leave in three days.”

          Laxus stood idly in the battle ring. His gaze drifted of his opponent. It was a boy, who had the speech magic. Essentially, the boy spoke matter into existence. A useful skill, but nowhere strong enough to beat him.

          A single whistle summoned the boys own shadow to strangle his feet, and gag him.  When the boy fell to the ground, and didn’t move for ten seconds, The instructor called the match.

          The rest of Laxus’s opponents fell just as easily. “I announce Laxus the winner of the competition! As a reward, he will be able to participate in the next mission, in which we are stealing an expensive orb from Delhi’s bank! Laxus, you and the two others who placed in second and third, will meet with me in three days. Good luck.”

          Laxus strode out of the room, and sat down on his bed. With a soft hum, a sheet of shadows rose from the ground, and covered him. He fell into a dreamless sleep.