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The year was 2016: an ordinary April day that could not better emphasize all the events that had occurred, the major global changes, technological progress, and more. At the end of 2010, a resident of HeroesWorld City made an amazing discovery: in the harsh winter cold, returning from another exhibition of his brilliant paintings, he found a dried rose lying on the snow. As a creative personality, the artist could not let it pass unnoticed. Kneeling in the same white snow, WhiteLizard took the poor plant into his frozen hands, and then true miracles happened: the flower suddenly bloomed and filled with life. Scientists explained this phenomenon as a connection between brain impulses and surrounding chemical elements and physical properties, but among the people, it is simply called magic or sorcery. In the end, opinions diverged: some believed that everything had a scientific explanation, while others believed in magic. This phenomenon was called...
But as it later turned out, Lizard was not the first to encounter this strange phenomenon: completely different people, in different periods of history and time, used magic. This allowed a look at world history from a completely different perspective — many great people of the past were also great sorcerers who, in their time, left behind many records containing secret knowledge (later all of these were collected into the archives of academies in various countries). After I:Scintilla received public recognition, magical schools and scientific centers began to open throughout the world. Eventually, it became known that not every person is sensitive to magic; this shattered the dreams of many people about a future as a mage.
HeroesWorld City had one of the most sought-after academies, whose director, or in other words, archmage, is Magnus de Gautier. Magnus achieved such a high and honorable position thanks to his impressive successes in this field; he was also one of the few who developed their abilities across practically all magical directions, and as an archmage, he also had full access to the archives, which further enhanced his magical abilities. The man through whom magic became known was also here — he was a teacher. In addition to healing magic, Lizard also studied the paths of fire, and always spoke about how fire magic is beautiful and can be simply mesmerizing, while at the same time reminding that it is one of the most dangerous and destructive schools.
People whose connection to magic was weak did not despair of dedicating their lives to this cause either. Thus, many people became so-called battle mages. The emphasis was primarily placed on combat skills, and magic helped them in this, making their strikes more destructive and fast, and themselves more agile and strong. Examples include Arandor, Hostor, and Werewolf. And while the first two were enrolled in the academy, the latter was an employee of one of the private companies that use mages for various tasks. Yes, as predicted from the very beginning, magic began to be used not only for peaceful purposes but also for personal ones. Officially, the use of magic outside special institutions (schools, scientific centers) was prohibited and prosecuted by law worldwide. Naturally, far from everyone obeyed this law: these could be ordinary thieves, killers, or even entire criminal groups.
Most mages (particularly battle mages) preferred to use melee weapons. And it is exactly about this that WhiteLizard is currently telling his students:
- As you already know, using magic solely through the power of thought is practically impossible. Today I will show you how some ordinary objects can be used for spellcasting. To start, I'll give a simple example — he extended his right hand forward palm up, bending his fingers slightly, and then a small fireball ignited a couple of centimeters above his palm — previously I told you that this is just the initial stage, and further on one can create different combinations, correct? As an option, I can either concentrate magical energy to maintain the form and then launch it in one direction. Or I can create a stream of continuous flame...
One of the students interrupted the teacher, asking a question that was quite timely — "last time we asked you if you could cover your body in fire? You never answered."
Lizard extinguished the flame in his hand, smirked slightly, and then replied — "theoretically, one can cover their body in a shroud of fire, but for this, very strong concentration and skill are needed... I, unfortunately, or perhaps even fortunately, cannot do such a thing."
- Now let us continue our topic for today — the fair-haired Lizard took a steel sword from the cabinet — "the previous question was quite timely, because now I will explain the necessity of weapons in spellcasting. Even if I could cover my hand in flame and not burn myself, I still would not be able to achieve an effect like that which is possible using a weapon." — Lizard took the sword by the hilt and then, using his skills, set it on fire; the blade became covered in flames — "see? In the end, we have a deadly weapon that we can boldly charge with fire without fear of wounding ourselves, while this does not require as much concentration from us as setting the body on fire. Of course, whether the flame will be constant and steady, or short-lived and uncertain, depends entirely on your focus and skill. And now I..."
When the lesson ended, Naira Drake appeared in the classroom doorway; she was also a teacher at this academy. Her subject is the school of water.
- Hi, Nay. — the guy kissed the girl, and she returned the gesture. — how are you doing?
- Lizard, later: Magnus is urgently gathering all teachers and guardians of the academy for an important announcement; we need to go.
A few minutes later, the main hall was filled with people in various clothing. Most of them preferred bright attire: robes, gowns, and such. Lizard clearly stood out among them, as he was dressed in jeans and a shirt. Magnus sat in a chair, or rather on a throne, as usual — all in black. When everyone sat down and silence fell, they waited for the archmage to speak (it was forbidden to interrupt him in the academy).
- Dear friends, I am forced to inform you of a most unpleasant incident that took place right here in our academy. One of the most respected members of our academy, Master of Air Magic, Vegtam, is accused of the premeditated murder of one of the teachers to cover up the crime, and the murder of ten more students for the purpose of experiments. Vegtam is accused of studying... — he hesitated slightly — a forbidden branch of dark magic, namely: necromancy. As has become known, this morning, Vegtam left the academy.
Whispering began in the hall. Suddenly, Arandor's voice was heard from the room: - "Magnus, send me and my friends to search for him; we will bring him back!".
To which Magnus coldly stated that he had appointed a punitive squad that would either capture and return the necromancer for justice or kill him. And at the end, he added: "and let this event not disturb you; attend to your usual affairs and duties".
Academy students were required to live within it. No, they were not there as if in a prison — in their free time, they could leave its walls and go into the city. Just like in ordinary schools, there were weekends and "holidays" here. The school day ended by six o'clock in the evening. Today it ended earlier. Six people stood at the exit. They met to discuss today's event. These people were: Lizard, Naira, Arandor, Hostor, Nebo, and Drakkoshka.
Hostor and Arandor were guardians, or rather "sentinels" of the academy. Sentinels are predominantly battle mages who perform various roles in the life of the academy: normally they were responsible for order, and sometimes carried out important assignments for the academy. Drakkoshka was a teacher of shapeshifting. This school represented the ability to modify one's own body using magical energy — starting from turning into the smallest animals and ending with turning into giant ones, or transforming separate parts of the body into inanimate objects. Nebo was a chronicler and librarian. He was responsible for access to the first levels of the archive. Naturally, he took advantage of his position.
The sentinels argued that they needed to go after Vegtam, as he was not only an academy mage but also their friend. The others disagreed, as they did not want to contradict the Archmage. In the end, they reached no compromise.
Meanwhile, the punitive squad was already ready. It consisted of five people. It was led by Siverfale — one of the best guardians of the academy. Loading into a van, they set off in search of the necromancer...
Written as usual — spontaneously.
Everything was written from scratch, without using any other worlds (therefore I am proud of myself and can go to sleep) or stories on ХВ as a basis.
Inspired by the music of I:Scintilla, hence the title :smile04:
