Lost Thought
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Cyde - The Story of a Warmage
Cyde was born in Anzion to a very well off land owning family with a long tradition of military upbringing. Despite the martial upbringing he always had a knack of getting in trouble, always giving the excuse that he was just curious or wanted to know how something worked. Even from a young age he showed an inclination towards the magical arts, and his family happily provided him with anything he wanted in his personal studies.
When he was 15 he followed a captain in the local military that had been talking about some secrets in the southern desert, and was caught eavesdropping on what he found to be a very mundane conversation once it got underway. However what he had heard was much more than what he understood of it. While running away he tried using cantrips to evade pursuit, but was no match for the captain who promptly escorted him back to his house after being caught. Syde was locked in a back room while his parents and the captain talked, and quickly escalated to yelling between both his father and the captain. Syde lost track of time as before the yelling stopped. More time elapsed before the door was finally opened for him. This felt like a normal occurrence to Syde who had become use to getting in trouble, but this time it was different. When the door opened his father stood over him and only said "I'm sorry son" before a sharp pain and everything went black.
When he awoke he was in the back of a caravan that was on the move. Very groggy he tried to get up, but found his wrists chained behind his back and one ankle chained to the ground. There was one book in the caravan against the wall next to him, and a makeshift bed that he was laying on, however all else was empty and as much as he tried to yell to get someone to answer him no sounds came out of his mouth. After a short time he resigned himself to reading the book, which was entitled "Academy, the Fundamentals" The book was very interesting to Syde and he became engrossed in it, finishing it twice over the course of the next couple days. The book went over the basic ideals of the Academy for Warmages, and talked in length about how picking one true specialization was the only reasonable choice for any profession. Only in this specialization can anyone reach their full potential in anything they do. It also went over the duties of a Warmage in comparison to soldiers and other 'support' mages. Who even then were both described as too varied in their duties, however both were needed for any successful military campaign. At the end there was a brief chapter on tactics, that in this book boiled down to listen, obey, and do all you can to devastate the enemy.
All concept of time was lost before the Caravan finally came to a stop during daylight. A few moments passed and Syde reached to be sure to have the book with him for whatever was going to happen next. A few more moments and finally the back of the caravan opened and bright light flooded in, blinding Syde for a moment. At the doorway stood the captain from Anzion, and before Syde could speak he heard "Be quiet and follow me, obey and your new life here will be pleasant, disobey me and I can ensure you that every day you will wish you were back home"
Cyde tried to speak, and was surprised as he opened his mouth and sound came out, but all he got out was a low squeak before the Captain spoke again in a stern voice. "Quiet and follow" and with that the captain unlocked his chains.
All he could do was listen and obey the captains command without any knowledge of where he was, what was going on, or why he was taken from his home. When he emerged from the caravan, book in hand, the Captain smiled at him and gave him a pat on the head as he spoke to an armored man that didn't appear to carry any weapons. "This is the boy I've told you about, a little wild, but with the potential I know only you could enjoy working with my friend. Without any training he almost fooled me" the captain said with a chuckle.
The armored man replied "it's good to see you captain, I hope all is well in Anzion, I assume it must be for you to take a personal leave to bring me a student."
"My messengers have assuredly told you of this boys predicament, it is something I had to deal with personally. I believe he will serve us well" Looking down at the boy for emphasis he continued "And I trust you to handle it if he doesn't"
The armored man laughed a bit and knelt down to Cyde's level. "you know I will. He seems quite terrified though, I hope you treated him well on the trip down."
Cyde spoke up at the mention of being scared "no I..." was all he got out before a gloved hand struck him across the face with enough force to knock him to his knees. Hurt, he looked up at the captain who had delivered the blow.
Suddenly serious the Captain quoted again "Quiet and follow, these are the only words you need to know. If you understand you can nod your head, but don't expect such lenience if you speak again"
As Cyde nodded the armored man reached out a hand and helped him to his feet. "You can call me Master Kindal little one. The captain is stern, but it's for your own good. You won't last long here if you can't follow simple orders." Syde nodded again.
With that Master Kindal handed the Captain a bag that chimed with the sound of coin and the captain departed.
Over the next few months Syde learned that his parents had to use him as a bargain to keep their status and land. The Captain wouldn't settle for anything less for his crime, which he was told was treason, though he never understood what was treasonous about what he had done or heard. The place he had been taken to was a small Warmage academy at the edge of the desert where he was to be trained as a Warmage and personal student of Master Kindal. He was told this was the premier school for Warmages with training courses that used the harsh climate of the desert as part of the training to harden the mages to be more than the weak wizards and sorcerers that would back him up in a field of battle. He was also trained in only the specialization of war, how to perform the spells while in restricted movement of armor, and over and over how perfection of one school of magic was the only way to achieve the power a warmage needed to perform his or her duties.
The first few years left Syde with no time to himself, every moment of every day was filled with training, studying, watching the use of magic, and spotted with the more serious training that made this academy special. Warmages in training were regularly forced to use their spells upon each other in mock battles where only the strongest were left conscious, and many were killed. This trained the students to accept the death and injury of those around them and of themselves as a needed sacrifice to achieve the best results. In these first years, he survived very few fights without being caught by a spell from an opposing mage and knocked unconscious. The school also did not believe magical healing would allow the body to develop the strength it needed to survive war, and anytime a student was injured they were stabilized and left to recover by their own means until they could move again. Once they could move on their own, they were given magical healing to remove the scars and deformities caused by the powerful spells that were thrown in the mock battles.
With no bearings of where he was other than in the south along the desert, and no means of escaping the confines of the academy Syde had no choice but to accept this training as a new way of life. Years felt like days as time went by and he developed his strength. After the first few years Syde became very competitive in the mock battles, and rarely lost any size of engagement. In the mock battles once he and a few other mages grew to know each other he took command, understanding the capabilities of those around him and using them to the best potential to win the battles.
The years continued to blend together until one day when Syde was 21 a sorcerer wandered out of the desert to the gate of the school. He sat outside the gate for days, demanding that the master of the academy accept his challenge of a duel to the death to prove the strength of their mages. After a week the academy decided that they had no choice but to send Master Kindal to accept the challenge. Once the duel was accepted the sorcerer wandered out into the desert a few miles from the school and waited for Master Kindal to start the duel. He stood and let the Master strike with his most powerful spell, and although he looked torn up and injured from the spell he muttered with blood spitting from his speach. "Is that all your school has to offer?" With that the sands around the sorcerer blew into twisters as he summoned a magic that Syde had never seen or even heard of before. The seconds felt like an eternity as the sands blew faster and faster, finally taking a life of their own as they burst at Master Kindal. At first it looked like Master Kindal had withstood the brunt of the blow, but the wind picked up a second time and as a second burst of sand hit him, what had been Master Kindal disintegrated and blew away, no trace of the man left anywhere.
Last edited by Lost Thought, 1/26/2009, 9:30 pm
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11/3/2008, 3:24 am
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Lost Thought
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Re: Syde - The Story of a Warmage
Syde was awestruck, how could this man withstand such power and still have it in him to wipe Master Kindal clean from the face of the desert. He couldn't fathom what kind of magic could perform such a feat. As the rest of the congregation that came to watch the duel stood, no one knowing what to do the desert sorcerer started walking back out to the depths of the desert as if nothing had happened. Syde couldn't resist the urge to know what had brought this man so much power and while everyone stood paniced and unsure of what to do with the death of Master Kindal he ran after the sorcerer. It took almost an hour to catch pace with the sorcerer, who all but ignored him as he approached.
Syde walked along side the man for hours, not saying a word as they walked deeper and deeper into the desert until finally the man stopped and stood, looking at him.
"How?" was all the Syde could manage, the magic emanated from the man with an almost palpable force.
For a few minutes the man looked over Syde before finally speaking. "That academy won't do you any good boy, only the desert can bring you the power that you saw. The desert tests, hardens, and prepares those that survive it better than any petty school." the last words were almost spit from the mans mouth.
"But How?" was again all that Syde could manage to speak in the face of this magic.
The man made a broad motion over the desert. "The desert holds your answers, only it can teach you what you want to know. Seek it's knowledge and the power will be yours if you can survive it's tests."
"How can a desert hold knowledge, all it is is sand. People like you and Master Kindal hold the knowledge that I want, the true secrets of magic."
The man replied again "The knowledge of the desert is in the sands, in the rocks, in the ruins. Seek it out and you will find it, you can be assured. But it's something you must do by your own means." With that the sorcerer made a quick hand gesture and dissipated into a cloud of dust that rushed away on the winds.
Syde let himself fall to the sand and sit, contemplating what he was just told for what felt like hours. Once he finally stood up he felt a new determination. With Master Kindal dead he had no allegiance to the academy, he would take the sorcerer up on his word and devote himself to finding the knowledge of the desert and what secrets it may hold.
Despite the martial upbringing and training, Syde still has a hard time caring to listen to anyone if he thinks he can gain something from an action. He also doesn't like to lead people he doesn't know, believing that it's too much of a hassle forcing people to do things they may not want to do, and preferring to just do his own thing and letting others compensate. He is confident, however unfounded it may be, that he can handle his job in any situation, and welcomes the challenge of it.
His motivation is 2 fold, first of all is to gain the power that he saw from the desert sorcerer. That power which can only be found in the sands and ruins of the desert as he was told. Once he feels he has reached that power he plans to return first to the academy and make a similar challenge as the desert sorcerer once did, and then continue from there to confront the Captain that had taken him from his home. But first and foremost comes the strength granted by the desert. He cares little for pain after the academy training and will readily accept anything that doesn't kill him if he thinks he can learn something of the ancient magic in the desert from it. But he's not entirely unprepared for the consequences, and will back off when he feels there's no avenue for success. Strategic retreat is better than death.
The one thing he admires in others above all else is a strong determination of their goals and a focus in training, for perfection of a single element is better than a little training in everything. Anyone who can't decide what they want isn't worth his time.
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11/3/2008, 3:24 am
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