A Storied Past

I was born on a continent that sat across the vast sea. This continent held creatures of many races. Unlike the continent we were now on, my home continent did not have the races separated into different realms but rather a single domain. I was born to a young mother. My father had been forced to go to war by those he considered friends, and he had never returned. When I was six years old, my mother passed with a terrible cough. I mourned my mother's passing greatly, but I knew I would want for nothing, as the local church had been like a second home for my mother and me since I could remember. Upon giving my mother, the Prayer for the Dead. The local pastor, Father Jophes, took me to live at the boy's dormitory the Church ran. I was educated in the church as I helped as a Brother-in-training.

Upon reaching the age of ten, I was evaluated by a visiting elder of the Church. They had a stone they could use to uncover my latent talents. The elder told me of my excellent prospects as either a scholarly brother or an elite soldier of the Church. Knowing my father had fought when it was his turn, I made my choice quickly. I lived in a smaller town all my life, but now that I was to be trained, I had to head to the city. I thanked Jophes for the care he had given me and the future he had assisted me in finding.

I next spent two years in the capital city at the Church's training barracks. Here I was just one of many of the unsorted chaff of new young recruits. No one here was being trained in a specialty yet. We were learning all the basics of discipline and combat. My Gods-given talents shone during this time, and I was found to be the golden wheat of the group. I was informed of my natural alignment to be a Magebreaker. The week after graduating basic training, four Brothers in strange orange garb came to collect another member of our group and me.

The Magebreakers took us via a nearly mind-shatteringly gruelling hike to the nearby mountains. During the journey, the other boy failed in his resolute devotion to the cause and fell to his death. I persevered; I survived and made it to the mountaintop monastery. I spent the next six years of my life atop the mountain, leaving only upon my eighteenth birthday to help collect the newest recruits from the city and returning them to receive my graduation and induction as a full-blown Brother-Magebreaker.

Now ready to aid the people of the land in the Church's name, I set out to the outskirts. I arrived at a small outpost-monastery, where a total of ten Brothers and Sisters were under the command of a relatively new to the post Mother. I was the only combatant assigned to this area. The Mother explained that my time spent here was more likely to be close to a standard brother's duty. I would be expected to be performing charitable works and helping to bring the community together.

For the next twenty months, my days were filled mainly with helping the small local town and surrounding community. There were about three hundred people in the town and another two hundred in the surrounding farms. I would help prepare religious day feasts, doling out soup to families who were having a tough month, filling in for an injured farmhand, repairing fences and roadways, and whatever else I could live up to the example that the others at the monastery had set.

I would occasionally have to fulfill my more specific martial duties. These tasks mainly came in the form of fighting off attacking beasts and monsters. I had battled wolves, bears, kobolds, giant tarantulas, orcs and many others. One thing I had yet to fight since my full induction into the order was a Mage. This may sound strange to an outsider that a Magebreaker had yet to fight a Mage. Now, strictly speaking, I had fought Mages, but they were members of the church with whom I had sparred and practiced. What I had yet to fight was a Mage that had become a target of the Church. Typically there were two types of Mages we would have to hunt. First was a Lost Mage that had allowed too much mana to flow through them, the raw power eventually warping their mind and making them unstable. The second, the more deplorable of the two, was an Evil Mage. They were whole of mind and were actively choosing to use their mystical powers to harm others.

It was a day like any other in the town, and I had just finished repairing a leak that had appeared in the roof of a local family's house. I remember the mother of the cat-man family was thanking me, "I really appreciate what nyah did for us-"

Bong. Bong. Bong. I felt my blood run cold as I watched the sweet motherly cat-woman in front of me look to the west, where the monastery was located. Her ears twitched at the repeated peals of the large brass bell that hung in the monastery's belfry. My sense of dread came from knowing that the bell was reserved to signify only the worst emergencies. Excusing myself, I ran like the wind to get back to the others at the chapel. There I was, the last to arrive; upon entering the room, all eyes looked to me, a mixture of confusion, doubt and worry apparent on all the faces before me.

A throat being cleared directed our attention to the Mother. She stood at the pulpit at the front of the room, looking towards us. With the Mother clearly waiting to speak, we all took a seat in the pews to await her direction.

"I have received an emergency communique from the Church of an escaped criminal. This man is wanted for several murders and for performing heinous forbidden research. He is a powerful Gravimancer. He was last known to be with an escort containing several Magebreakers and a few squads of knights being led by a paladin. He was being transferred to the Capital to face his sentencing in front of the king and the pope. After the group failed to make a checkpoint, the closest garrison dispatched a few Shadowhunters to investigate."

By this point, my face was already creased with worry. Hearing of the significant number of sturdy individuals the Church had sent to guard this Evil Mage made it evident how powerful the Mage was. I had a feeling that I knew what words were going to come from the Mother's lips next.

"The Shadowhunters found the spot where the Evil Mage had made his escape. Sparing you all the ghastly details, only one Magebreaker from the entire force was still alive. However, his legs had been crushed during the fight. Do not worry John, he will survive, but he is being teleported to the city so that specialized healers can repair the extensive damage."

The Mother had seen the worry etched on my face and had taken the time to help alleviate my fear for a brother's life. She had not attained her place just through sheer seniority, and her leadership skills were as apparent as always.

"Now, of great concern for us here, is that the Shadowhunters tracked his direction of bearing, and they still pursue him. However, his current path leads this way. Based on the estimations, he is about half a day away. The Church has reinforcements en route. The Mage who transported with the injured brother is resting for his ability to be ready again. He will have reinforcements to us in seven hours. John, we will bring the townsfolk into the monastery and engage the magic defences. You will have to stay on watch outside, in case his arrival is sooner than predicted. If he shows up, just attempt to delay him until the backup arrives."

"Yes, Mother," I kneeled in front of the Mother and bowed my head.

"Join hands, Brothers and Sisters, as we lend John our strength." The Mother and all the rest of the disciples in the monastery joined hands and encircled me as they started to chant and cast Light magic spells to aid me in the encroaching conflict.

The majority of the seven hours passed, with no hints of the villain arriving. I had been patrolling the forest tree line in the direction of the escape. A kilometre behind me stood the monastery. The Mother had erected several magical barriers around it using the defensive ruins carved into the very masonry of the structure. The townsfolk had all gathered inside the monastery buildings for shelter. One never knew what a magic-wielding criminal was liable to do.

Between the monastery and my current position was a stone platform, upon which was inscribed the locator rune for a mass teleportation spell. The Church had designed this magical design to assist the Mage that sent the reinforcements with finding the town.

I had been stretching and keeping my muscles warmed up for the engagement that could happen at any second.

Finally, it happened.

The summoning circle behind me started to shimmer as several mirage-like images started to solidify. Standing before me on the platform were just three people. Now, usually, one might be apprehensive of only three reinforcements arriving. In this instance, however, I felt my entire body shiver in dread for the poor Evil Mage and just what had befallen him.

The three people who had shown up were Arnus, the head of my order, Seraphill, the head of the Valkyrian Order of Shieldmaidens and Verethenean Margintiil, the head of the College of Magic in the Capital.

Just as I was about to start heading over to greet the trio of great warriors, I heard the branches a few metres behind me break. The Evil Mage had used his gravity-manipulating ability to levitate and may no noise in his approach. I spun around the meet him with a Dispell. As I rotated on the spot, I saw the three great heroes immediately prepare for battle and come running my way.

I had not finished my rotation when I felt a hand grasp my shoulder and heard the Mage cast a spell unlike any other I had ever heard.

"I blacked out at that point. While unconscious, I had a dream. In that dream, a voice that identified itself as Jupiter told me that I need not try to return home, as my fate lies here. And that when I awoke, I was to follow the smoke in the sky. When I awoke, I was alone in the Southern forests of the Empire. I followed the smoke and found Luna under attack. I rescued her, became the owner of her seal, and we began to travel together. Upon reaching Moro, I joined the Guild, and after proving ourselves, we were given a tip of a Runesmith who may be able to undo Luna's seal being located in this city.'

Mother Superior Aberdeen nodded as I finished my story. She had taken my story as truth, as she was dabbing a few tears away from her eyes as she spoke, "Brother John, it seems you have been through much. Even during your story, I could still sense the faith you place in Jupiter. If you need any assistance while you remain in the city, let me know. And Luna, dear, take care of this man. He is quite the catch."

"Of course, Mother Superior!" "Thank you, Mother." Luna and I replied with a pair of bows. Aberdeen marked our guild tags to indicate our completion of the delivery of the letter.

"Gods above, please guide and watch over these children as they seek their fates as you desire of them." Holding her hand in front of her with her plan facing us, Mother Superior Aberdeen's magical blessing wrapped around us. Power flooded through us as the Mother granted a buff to us.

With our first task finished, we returned to our carriage and headed back to the main path to the inner wall.