I Am The Court Mage 1

First, it came as a small mote of light.

Then it burst into a brilliant spark, flowing through the void and molding itself into a shape. Time was born and space expanded, infinite possibilities condensed into a singular instance to form what was now a newborn world forged through flame and ice before life itself flowed through the earth after a long time.

The elements which molded the world converged, dancing against one another for what could be incomprehensible time to mortal minds and with the Song of Creation reaching its peak, soon came the steady decline. The dancing elements soon came to rest as land, sea and air grew still, the planet pulsing with life… So much life that they condensed themselves into singular beings that would become the Gods worshipped by mortals that would come afterwards.

With Gods came Mortals, and in between them Demons.

With Life came Death, and in between them, Magic.

Mortals wielded Magic as a means to shape the world under the guidance of the Gods, and with Magic they were able to build civilizations, raise Kingdoms and Empires that dotted the land. Mortals lived prosperous lives until one day there came the spark of ambition.

Oalda, a once humble Kingdom had come upon great breakthroughs in terms of developing the Magical Arts alongside Technological advancement, giving rise to a nation with powerful arsenal at their disposal. They were able to unravel the secrets of Magic and used it as a means to conquer their neighboring lands.

The continent of Vergor was soon roused to action, its many Kingdoms and Countries gathering together to combat this threat. But before Oalda could take their arms and advancement to the battlefield, a weapon they were developing had gone out of control.

It ravaged the mighty Kingdom from within and trampled the hubris the Oaldans into the dirt. A massive entity that was said the first instance of a Demonic appearance. The entity was called the Blue Calamity, shapeless in its appearance as it sent its many servants to sunder Oalda from within.

The entire continent could only watch as the Oaldans were wiped out by their own creations and an agreement was made between the gathered Kingdoms. Such an event could never take place again be it in the present or in the future.

The world would learn from the mistakes of the Oaldans and they would move on, banning the practice of Occultism, the utilization of the Magic of Demons. While this edict was agreed upon by the surrounding kingdoms and countries, there would still be some who would use this opportunity to exploit lost Oaldan Tech and Magic.

Which brings us to the City of Mysterille, within the Kingdom of Rula right in the pits of the Pleasure District. One man sought the guidance of Demons in realizing his desires. For 33 years of his life, he had risen and fallen in terms of social status, finding not even the warmth of love. But now even such a simple wish was out of his reach in his state, living in an old attic of a brothel run by his relatives.

The man was once a Mage! An esteemed individual capable of wielding wind and earth! But now, he had been stripped of his title and his status all because his benefactor was found threatening to oppose a powerful noble!

The fallen Mage grit his teeth.

He would show them, he would summon a powerful Demon who would become his Wife and Sword! Maniacal gleam twinkled in his eyes as crystallized light emerged from the pool of reagents he had gathered, utilizing forbidden Oaldan Technology he had kept hidden after stealing it from his benefactor.

“It’s here… She’s come!” the man excitedly gasped as he held out his hand, “Our offspring will be the stuff of legends! Come forth Succubus, gather the carnal essence filling this District! Embrace meeee!!!”

BLAM

The door opening cut through his bestial squealing as a sharp spike of magical energy occurred. Crystallized flames flung themselves through the air and pierced through the manifesting Demon, dispelling it at the last moment.

“NO MY WIFE!” The fallen Mage cried out before falling to the ground, desperately gathering at the broken pieces of the Demon.

A girl’s voice spoke behind him and said, “Neto Halan, you’re under arrest for noise complaints, excessive display of public indecency and practicing a banned art within Rula Territory. Talk about escalation.”

“You dare get in the way, you bitch?!” a noxious colored cloud formed and the man swung his hand to blast the intruder with his spell.

“Ice,” the girl whispered and the man soon found his entire hand frozen solid, his magic dispelled. Recognition filled his eyes as he came to recognize who it was that was standing before him.

“Y-You?” the man choked, staggering back and falling down his rear, “Why are you here? And why me of all people? You’re the gods damned Royal Mage, why are you picking on me?!”

The girl tapped her staff on the ground and leaned on it, “Well, it’s not like I have anything better to do. Still, not like you can do anything about it?”

The man’s cheeks puffed up and the girl raised an eyebrow in surprise, only for the man to belch out noxious fumes from his mouth and fill the attic with a thick curtain of toxic green gas. The girl reacted, sweeping her staff to blow away the fumes just as the sound of glass breaking was heard.

“Damn it,” she sighed before she aimed for the air and blasted the ceiling with a pillar of wind, “GET BACK HERE! WHY ARE YOU RUNNING?!”

“STAY AWAY FROM ME YOU CRAZY BITCH!”

“WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!” the girl roared as she jumped on the roof and tapped her feet with her staff. Glowing lines etched themselves upon her thighs and legs before she dashed forward to give chase, “COME HERE AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE, ASS CRACK!”

Spheres of ice, flame and wind swirled behind the girl as she gave chase through the rooftops, watching her target take a leap and hit the streets below. She jumped higher and further than before, swinging her staff down to hammer a sphere of flames on her foe.

He was fortunate enough to take a dive and evade, rolling on the ground as embers danced in the air. The girl then swung her staff and caused a vacuum to drag everything that wasn’t nailed down towards her.

“L-Leave me be!” the man wailed as he slammed his palm to the ground and managed to propel himself backwards with an explosion of smoke.

The girl sighed as she growled under her breath, “That’s what they all say.”

She pursued him as he ended up out of the streets of the Pleasure District right into the Merchant’s Alley. It was a crowded place filled with people from all over the continent. People of every shape and size, and races filled the streets only to part from the chase

“Out of the way! Out of the way! The Devil herself is after me!” the Mage cried out as he reinforced his limbs.

“Who are you calling the Devil?!” the girl roared as she twisted the current of the winds to push her further and close in the gap between her and her foe.

Some city folk watched the ongoing chaos and simply stared at the familiar sight. They could only hope that the poor man wasn’t going to end up floating the canal by the end of this. A silver comet rushed by chasing some poor soul and people knew better than to get in the way of an ongoing chase.

The girl leaped over carriage, slid under animals, and slid past crowds of people while her target got closer and closer to her. The man took a last ditch effort and fired a blast of magical energy into the ground, detonating the floor he stood on.

This launched him into the air and the girl saw him expand his throat before he belched out thick solid smoke.

“Flame Guardian,” the girl whispered as she summoned a Living Armor clad in flames as it used it burning shield to protect her and others from the man’s attempt to fight back.

The man’s eyes widened at the sight.

“That’s a Saint Class Spell! She can cast it instantly?!” the man choked as he felt a chill down his spine.

The girl was behind him, her staff raised as she held a sphere of violent wind at its tip. She weaved the spell upon swinging her staff, “Air Burst.”

The man was slammed out of the skies and right into the Fiery Armor’s shield, smashing into it before it sent him hurtling to the ground. The stone pavements cracked and split upon contact before he rolled to a halt as the girl landed before him.

The Flame Guardian vanished as the girl tipped her wide brimmed hat and fixed her light violet hair. Her clear green eyes looked down on him in annoyance as she leaned on her staff.

“That’s a far as you can go, buddy,” she chuckled with a smirk on her lips, “Try harder next time.”

“How about you try not to spook the foreign tourists,” a commanding voice spoke from behind her.

The girl turned and saw a man in full armor walking up to her with a contingent of guards in two, his visage scarred and wrinkled from the years yet the light in his eyes betrayed his appearance. He had much life in him, that’s for certain.

“By the Divines, child. The Princess could only save you from your mischief for so long,” the man said as the guards behind him moved in tandem to apprehend the villain, “Are you listening, Ava?”

Ava winced at that before shrugging, “Of course I am, Captain Marford. You know I always am. But don’t you think that the weekly chases are pretty much a staple for our City?”

“As the Royal Mage your job is to attend to the matters greater than busting pests like these,” Marford said as he glanced at the fallen mage being carried away, “Leave these matters to us, your talents are needed elsewhere.”

“To be honest, it is fun to head out here and get my hands dirty myself. If I stuck myself in that room with the old people, I might just age myself,” Ava replied as she glanced down at her colored nails, “Not only that but it gives me a better view of what’s happening on the ground floor. The people upstairs are more than often stuck in their high towers to truly see what was going on at the ground.”

“Please don’t let the High Nobles hear you say that. We have enough trouble as it is,” the Captain said as he crossed his arms, “As Captain I would advise you to not do this again but considering you outrank me…”

“It’s the thought that counts, old man. But truly how many does this make it?” Ava said as she glanced at the streets becoming normal again, “That’s the 12th person with Oaldan Technology this month, the 56th in the last three months.”

“Aye. There’s been word that the King’s Knives, those secretive blades are on the hunt for where these heretical objects are cropping up in the hands of fallen Mages. I’m sure you’ve discussed the matter in a meeting with the High Nobles?” the Captain said as he turned to the Mage.

“That’s why I’m here,” Ava replied as she leaned on her staff, “This is my city and we’ve let these villains run for long enough.”

“Child,” the Captain sighed.

“Oh don’t worry, I’m not going to scorch the earth like with the last gang. Hopefully,” Ava snickered as she cracked a mischievous grin.