The Coming Darkness

"I'm giving you the command of Team Valor.......I can assure you that you'll avenge your fallen friends." A sense of duty swept over Vaughan after he heard those words. He stood up from the bench and looked straight-forward. The peaceful serenity that surrounded the courtyard calmed the young man's nerves. He took a deep breath, the ice on his arms slowly slipped off, but the strong chilling aura surrounding him and the Headmaster still lingered. “Please prepare for me mission details and potential candidates for the team based on applications, Headmaster. Send a staff member to give it to me, I'll be in the main school building.” Vaughan's voice came out of his mouth almost like it was a command. From here on out, everything Vaughan did would center around the mission, nothing else mattered. He still looked forward as he watched younger newly accepted students wandering about campus. Vaughan looked over his shoulder back at the Headmaster, “I will be in your office this evening with my newly assembled team.” He gave his mentor a slight nod and walked off into the direction of the main school building. As the ice magician walked, he couldn't help but think of the hopeless position he was in. How am I supposed to find adequate teammates? I can't just ask them about their magical prowess or their combat capabilities. Trust is also an issue, I don't know anyone here. Negative thoughts began to frustrate Vaughan, his emotions caused the near by surrounding vicinity around him to become noticeably colder.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
She gave a slight nod to the greeting, "Nice to meet you, Dawn. I-" Here, she coughed for a moment, "sorry for the momentary interruption, my name is Rosalie."


The female, Dawn, seemed rather impatient about something in which Rosalie did not know of. After all, the two had only met but a moment or two ago, and apart from their names, did not know anything about the other. However, Rosalie was an empathetic female, and could sense the other's urgency, "Is there something you must do? If so, please don't let me keep you; I'd hate to stop someone in their tracks." The small girl gave an apologetic smile as she stepped inside the room, and placed the luggage near the closet, her soft blue locks bouncing slightly as she bent down.


(( Yeah, sorry about the poofing


I'm


finals


yeah ))
 
The two made it to the car, with Jacen opening up the trunk of the mid-sized vehicle.


It was a nice car, nothing super fancy...at least on the outside. To anyone else, it was just a silver coupe.


"Alright, this is it...my pride and joy right now." He pulled a small black messenger bag from the trunk and handed it to Enzo, along with a suitcase before taking his luggage out of the car and closing the door.


"Hope that isn't too much for you to carry, I figured I could clear this out and give you the laptop now to save a trip. Power cables, USB, basically everything you need is in there."
 
Aria had slowly began to nod off in front of the door when she was woken by a bubbly voice. In front of her, there was a nice looking lady holding a keycard. On closer inspection, she could see the same dorm number that she herself had. It looked like Aria had found her dormmate. The lady had a better attitude than the receptionist she thought.


Aria became slightly nervous as Belle approached her with a outstreched hand. Gingerly holding out her own hand, she gave a slightly awkward handshake. With a soft voice she answered, "My name's Aria, uh, thank you for asking. So, we have the same room?"
 
"Well Aria, it's nice to meet you." Bella said with a soft handshake before she stood. Bella stood five feet seven inches tall, but she still seemed much larger than Aria. "Shall we take a look at our room?" She said stepping forward, using the key-card to unlock the door. A simple turn of the handle and a gentle push had the door swinging open.


The inside of the room was very bland, white walls and a few chairs in the main area. The kitchenette sat to the back and was separated from the living room by a small bar. The kitchenette had the usual things sink, refrigerator, stove, dishwasher. To each side of the living room there were two short hallways with a door at the end of each, those were their rooms.


Bella motioned for Aria to enter before stepping after, tugging the door closed behind her. "So Aria, where are you from? I'm from Asia, although I may not look it at all. My mother was born in Britian, lovely country. While my father, he was once a devout monk who studied in the Himalaya's, most of that is behind him now. He is a fisherman now, although he still practices his meditation and his martial knowledge." Pausing for a moment as she plopped down on one of the chairs, it was quite comfortable even though it looked rather unremarkable. Bella turned her attention back to Aria, a faint smile tracing her lips.
 
Vaughan reached the front desk at the main classroom building. “I'm here from direct orders from Boone. I need to use your intercom.” Vaughan pulled out his identification card and showed it to the lady at the front desk. She looked at the card, and back at Vaughan. She nodded her head and handed him the mic. Vaughan cleared his throat, and carefully spoke into the mic, “This is Vaughan Halstead, I am a returning student of Sorcerers. For those of you wanting to see if you can beat an experienced Sorcerer in a friendly duel, please meet me outside of the main school building in the courtyard.” Vaughan handed the mic back to the lady and headed back to the courtyard. The young ice mage reviewed his thoughts as he walked. This act would surely attract some of the more experienced students, but that didn't necessarily mean they would be useful for this mission. He needed a wide array of people, this would be the first step of a few he would have to take in creating an adequate team by this evening. He reached the middle of the courtyard, which was empty now. He extended his arms away from his body, and focused his thoughts on the creation he was about to make. Ice began to form on the ground, and a large dueling ring made of ice rose from the ground. Vaughan would use this to see how combatants would react to a foreign field. He stood in the middle of the ring, and waited for people to show.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Zack flinched upon hearing the voice over the intercom. At first, he wondered about the significance of a "friendly duel" between students, then he got it: It MUST be because students would be able to meet other people during this time! Zack had well heard how people can become friends through a friendly duel, so he figured that he might as well. Besides, he was a lot better at combat than at socializing. But...seeing as though it was a friendly match, he'd have to hold back. A LOT. Still, he figured it was a good idea.


Zack wasn't far from the courtyard anyway, so he made it there early. He became a little surprised, however, once he saw the arena formed from ice. He then remembered that this was a school of magic, so his suprise calmed down a bit. He expectantly looked towards the only other person there so far, asuming he was the one holding the event. Rather than confronting the man and having to talk, Zack simply took a deep breath then waited.
 
Volitaire overheard the unfamiliar yet young voice over the intercoms. He describes himself as a returning student under command from the Headmaster to use the intercom to attract the attention of students who feel they could defeat a experienced Sorcerer in a friendly spar. Only the first day and there was already some competition among the students. He felt there must have been a reason for this to have happened if under the commands of the Headmaster. Volitaire was only but a self-acclaimed novice, ignorant towards his actual skill as a Dark Caster. He figured this should be something he shouldn't involve himself in. He wasn't one for fighting even if it was just a friendly spar. His spawns didn't know the meaning of "friendly", nor did his spells. They're sickening attributes would spell a horrid end if one were to cross them foolishly. He decided to remain as the pacifist. But he had this lingering premonition that the call to battle would cause some outside noise. He didn't want his ears ringing with the sounds of clashing Magi in the nearby courtyard. He pulled a very basic MP3 player from his knapsack. An 8Gig, it was all he could afford on his salary when he worked at the Orphanage part time along with living there. He plugged his earphones in and stuffed them into his ear and cranked up the volume and attempted to find the most relaxing song he could. Upon searching through his music directory he found the





for such an occasion. Pressing play, the melody began to stabilize Volitaire's once rickety thoughts as he enjoyed the gentle piece.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
"Oh, sweet car!" Enzo shouted. He had expected to see something run down, but instead, it was beauty on four wheels. A rich friend is what Enzo wanted, not to use them for money, but to be able to a lot of things he was never able to do, like skydiving, go-kart racing, or anything expensive like that.


The feeling of sudden weight on his hands brought Enzo back to reality. Jacen explained the contents of the bag just after that, and Enzo nodded. "Boy, you come prepared." Now if only Enzo were prepared for today, instead, he had slept in a little too late. Just as the two were making their way back to the dorms, they heard Vaughans voice on the intercom. Enzo stopped in his tracks, confusion on his face. "A duel? Why would anyone want to fight?" Enzo wanted to see what this was all about. Luckily for him, in order to get to the dorms, they had to pass by the courtyard out in front of the school.


He saw two people standing there, that he didn't recognize. One of those men must be the one on the intercom... Enzo wondered. The next thing to pop up into view was the boxing ring made of ice. His eyes widened at seeing how well-done it was, but it also meant that the man meant business. All the while, Enzo totally forgot the fact that he had to carry the laptop back to his dorm, and watched the courtyard with a dumbfounded face.
 
As Silver finished up in her room and started heading back to see if Zack was still okay, she heard an announcement over the speaker. A friendly duel, hmm? A grin spread across her face. Silver couldn't pass up an opportunity like that. As she arrived at the nurses office, she found that Zack wasn't there. She frowned a bit, but figured he must have just left, despite her asking him not to. Ah well. He'd be fine on his own, right?


Silver made her way back to the courtyard, hoping to see the person of which the voice belonged to. As she arrived, she noticed a large ice-arena thing. That wasn't there earlier. Seeing the man not too far away in the middle of the ice arena, Silver tilted her head. Was that who made the announcement? She walked next to the ice, not yet wanting to step on it. She wanted to see what might happen first. That's also when she noticed Zack and another boy not too far away. She walked over to him, and a smile appeared on her face. "Ah, there you are!" She glanced back to the male in the middle, keeping an eye on him in case he decided to do something while she wasn't looking. Though, she had to admit to herself, he looked to be a challenge. She could at least hope he was, since he did say he was experienced.
 
A number of people began appearing around the courtyard. Vaughan could tell most of them were impressed by the “dueling arena”, but that necessarily was not a good thing. He looked over to two people who came close to the arena, one boy and one girl. He scanned over the boy quickly. He looks awfully young, maybe he's a spectator? Vaughan looked over the girl. What a cute girl, a spectator? No her posture says otherwise. The young man sent a smile towards the direction of the nearby spectators. “Hello I am Vaughan, but you can call me V! Please take a seat, we will begin shortly!” Vaughan gave them an enthusiastic introduction as he extended his right arm towards the two people. He had his hand palm facing up as he raised up two fingers slowly. Behind the two people, a small seating section solidified from Vaughan's ice. “Please take a seat,” Vaughan sent the girl a wink and a small ice flower appeared in her hand.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Silver had turned her attention back to Zack, waiting for a response from him. She figured she had to be patient with him, since he seemed to have difficulty just talking. She didn't mind in the slightest, though. Suddenly that guy started talking. When Silver looked back at him, she noticed he was talking to a group of spectators. People had shown up to watch this? Really?.. She made a mental note of his name, and brushed some hair out of her face as he spoke. As the ice chairs appeared behind her, she blinked a couple times and turned her attention back to Vaughan, just in time to see his wink and feel the small ice flower appear in her hand. Silver looked down to it, taking a second to realize what it was. Of course, her face flushed a bit as she glanced back up to him. She couldn't help but wonder, what was that for?
 
An announcement came over the intercom, the man sounded like a student letting everyone know that their would be friendly duels in the courtyard. Intrigued Bella stood burshing her hair back over her shoulder as she turned towards the door. "Aria my dear, we'll have to cut our introductions short, you can follow me to the courtyard and watch or you can stay here and get settled. Maybe you'll get to see me fight." Bella flashed a quick smile as she turned to leave the room.


After leaving her room and the dormitories all together she eventually made it to the courtyard. The once empty area was now filled with a large arena made purely out of ice. "What a magnificent structure, albiet a tad flashy." She said wandering near the structure, a slender finger running across its cold surface.


She turned her head to view the young ice mage as he spoke to another female student. So he did this, even more impressive, she thought to herself as she made her way towards the mage. She saw him wink and create an ice flower for the female student, she chuckled softly to herself before she spoke. "So you did all of this?" She said gesturing to the arena. "I would love to participate, although I would inquire as to the reason behind all of this. It seems a bit abrupt."
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The blue haired female gazed worriedly at the other- that is, until a voice blared through the hallways. Instantly, her expression shifted from calm and friendly to that of urgency.

"I...uhm...."

Her brows furrowed as she attempted to keep talking to the other,

"Uhm...I have to..."


Rosalie took a few steps to the door, then turned, an apologetic smile on her face,

"Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Dawn."

And with that, she was out.


Rosalie ran as quickly as her frail body would allow, huffing and puffing by the second set of stairs. However, in her eyes resided a determined gaze.




"I have to take this chance..."


She'd reached ground floor, rounding the corner as the great arena of ice appeared before her eyes. Rosalie let out a surprised gasp as she found herself staring at the structure. However, the female had been in so much awe that she forgot to stop running. A single,

"Ah!"

slipped from the female's mouth as she crashed into a tall, dark haired male with green eyes. Rosalie felt hersel falling, and a thud followed.
 
Zack looked at Silver when she said hello to him. Before he could reply, the man who Zack had already confirmed was holding this event had begun talking. Zack didn't try to interrupt, he heard about how rude that was. As soon as the man said "Please take a seat", Zack quickly sat down, not wanting to anger the man. He suddenly became surprised to find himself sitting on ice. Not that it phased him, he had his jacket after all (a good jacket indeed). However, he was expecting to fall backwards. People played that joke on him before, but he never resisted for the fear that he might anger them. The fact that someone was curtious enough not to play that joke soothed Zack and helped calm him down. All he did now was wait for a good time to talk to Silver (that and fiddle with his sword a little).
 
A larger crowd was circling around the arena. As expected, a lot of the younger students came out to see the show, but he could not find any potential candidates solely on look. He knew combat prowess did not equate to looks, but sometimes the more confident-looking students had good control over their abilities. Vaughan raised an eyebrow when the pink-girl approached him. He listened to her speak. She seems confident in her abilities, one to pay attention to, Vaughan thought to himself silently. “You will find out soon enough, that is if you can beat me at my own game?” Vaughan let his reply come off off as a question. His eyes wandered to the boy who was sitting in one of his ice chairs, he seemed distraught about the ice. “Do not fret, the ice will not melt as long as it has my magic flowing through it,” Vaughan reassured the boy. Suddenly, someone ran right into Vaughan's back. He turned around and saw a blue-haired girl on the ground. “Are you alright?” The young man helped her up.
 
Dawn was taken aback by her roommates manner. She was being.......nice? How odd. How strange. How peculiar. This Rosalie also had a frail exterior, as the green-haired girl could decipher from her impending cough and energy signature. A balance between power and fragility. A marvel towards both science, and magic. "You're too kind." Dawn had never been one to express her departure with heart-felt goodbyes or a marvelous exit theatrics (unless, of course, it was a requirement of a mission). So she only provided an acknowledging tilt of her head, a physical notification, if you will. Wasting no time the striking female proceeded in her naturally elegant walk through the door-frame. She was met by a gust of the cool, hallway air, clearly a reactant to the excessive lack of students crowding it with their heat and meager presence. Dawn knew that the message she was waiting for would happen any second, and everything would change. Though she knew she couldn't allow herself to get caught in the crowd sure to develop at that exact moment. Her pace quickened, swift and pertaining to it's original grace.



"Vaughan Halstead, I am a returning student of Sorcerers. For those of you wanting to see if you can beat an experienced Sorcerer in a friendly duel, please meet me outside of the main school building in the courtyard"





"Just what I needed to hear."

She mumbled as the young man's voice echoed throughout the area, bouncing from every speaker which decorated the school. It was then doors began to open, and the growing curiosity of the students exploded within their own publicity. Dawn had been waiting for that announcement to be created since her arrival here. This meant that what she has been working towards was finally, truly, falling into place. Yet, her confidence and determination only brought more attention to her as she continued to move, the amount of people within the halls expanding ever so fast. Ignoring the stares of her peers, she headed straight to the ground floor.

Dawn folded her arms, intensely gazing at the enormous ice-rink. At her entrance many heads turned, yet with a cold glance from her own bright eyes, they returned attention towards the young man, Vaughan. This was it, the first chance she had dire need to take.

She carefully watched as the girl, Rosalie, had run into the ice-mage. Her own sights flickered to him, immense extensive in intelligent calculation. She gave of a clear anticipation regarding this "friendly fight", and obvious motive for her actions. Patently waiting for him to speak with Rosalie, the captivating female. She would beat him at his own game, after all.....it was all part of the plan.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
"Are you alright?"


The female blinked, realizing what had just occurred.

"Ah...yes, I'm fine."

she replied, her cheeks now a pale pink from embarrassment. After all, it was much too clumsy to trip and fall on someone. Rosalie had made up her mind to be as graceful as possible, not some fool who could not even hold her ground on ice.


Rosalie dusted herself off, then regarded the other with interest. He was rather tall, quite a bit taller than she, and his eyes glistened likeemeralds- snake like, but enchanting.

"Apologies for knocking into you like that,"

she said,

"And your name is...?"


Rosalie gave a slight nod as a greeting, then turned her eyes to see his answer.
 
Zack looked up at the man who had just spoke to him, then looked down again. That's not exactly what I'm worried about... he thought. He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, now with both hands. Zack began to wondr if he would win or lose. He didn't care so much either way, it was just to the effectiveness of the extremity. If he lost, how badly would he lose? Would he someho get cut so they'd find out his secret? Or...how might it go if he won? What if he somehow accidently gave his apponet a serious injury? Worse...what if he lost all control over himself again? That would be the worse possible outcome. Come to think of it, Zack didn't care what happened to him so long as he didn't hurt everyone else too badly.
 
Vaughan gave a slight grin as he studied the girl in front of her. Easy on the eyes, formal. Potential as a magician? Maybe. “It's quite fine. My name is Vaughan, nice to meet you.” He gave her a slight wink and walked past her and onto the arena. He scanned the area around him. A number of people kept their distance from the arena, probably just spectators. There were four people however, that were close, probably people interested in challenging him. The small boy with the sword, the pink-haired girl, the girl he gave a flower, the blue-haired girl.... He loomed his eyes over at a another person standing off to the side. She had a green complexity, quite sunning actually. She had an distinct aura about her. All of the people close to the arena did, now that he thought about it. Vaughan smiled as he slowly unbuttoned his black blazer jacket. He tossed it out of the arena, and undid his tie as he spoke. “Who would like to be my first opponent?” Vaughan asked with a confident voice, but not an intimidating one.
 
Zack sighed and whispered to himself. "I guess I've got nothing less to lose..." He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. He simply stood up and looked to Vaughan. He didn't say anything, he didn't DARE say anything. But, the sooner it was over, the sooner it was over. That's what Zack was looking for. A quick fight to be over as soon as possible. Still...he hoped he would gain at least one more friend from this.
 
Bella watched as Vaughn undid his shirt and threw it into the ring, pulling loose his tie afterwards. She looked around the crowd as he spoke, “Who would like to be my first opponent?” She noticed one young man stand, he seemed timid, almost scared. He said nothing he just looked at Vaughn.


Bella slowly approached the edge of the ring, the temperature around her dropping despite the intense heat. "It looks as though you have two of us who are willing to duel. It makes little difference to me whether I go first or second." She turned towards the young boy who had stood, flashing him a smile. "You presented yourself first love, albeit quietly. Should you wish to fight I'll take a seat, just don't wear him out." She giggled softly as she bent down undoing the straps on her black leather boots, kicking them to the side of the arena.
 
The young ice prodigy's eyes widened when he saw the silver-haired boy stand up, accepting to be the first opponent. What a pleasant surprise, Vaughan thought to himself. Out from the side the pink-haired also spoke up, wanting to be the next opponent. An idea assembled in Vaughan's head. “How about both of you come up to duel me? Watch your step coming up though, it might be slippery.” The young man gave them both a friendly smile. This will help me see if they can work together as a team to take me down... Vaughan thought to himself as he waited for the two to step up into the arena. “Also, in order for you two to win in this friendly competition, you must get me on one of my knees.” He didn't plan to make this duel last long, he was going to test them as quickly as possible, and see what their natural reaction would be. Instinct is key.
 
Zack blushed when the girl complimented him. He tried not to show it and he quickly shook it off. Then, he heard Vaughan speak again:


"How about you both come up and duel me?"


Zack wasn't sure what to think. It wasn't so much that he thought he'd make a bad partner or that she would, it was just that he never faught with another person on his side before. He wasn't entirely sure how to manage. His attacks were somewhat hard to control, and if he made a mistake, he could end up hurting her. He started to shake a little. "I..." he began, but stopped. He remembred why he was here, so he didn't oppose. I'll just have to deal with it... The boy made his way onto the arena, slipping a little at first but very soon did he get the hang of it. He gripped his right arm again for comfort and waited.
 
"Exuse me, pardon me, watch the bag, lady." said a small but intelligent voice as Enzo's familiar, Kenji, moved through the crowd like a snake in sand, until he had emerged on the other side, and in Vaughan's view, as well as anyone else. Kenji cleared his throat loud enough that it temporarily stole him the spotlight.


"My partner, Enzo, will be your opponent as well."The fox familiar said confidently, and kept his stance firm as eyes moved onto him. Standing on two legs, Kenji would point directly through the crowd behind him, splitting it apart with just his attempt to redirect the attention. At the end of the crowd, stood a confused Enzo, with bags in hand. He could feel the eyes all on him suddenly, and he felt crushed by it. "He said you're pretty weak looking, 'V'."


"WHAT?!" Enzo shouted in panic. He fell over from the sudden attention placed on him, luckily not dropping the bags. "I said n-no such thing!"Kenji had only given Enzo a smirk before looking back to Vaughan and the other 'future combatants'. "What are the stakes here? Money? Slavery? Public humiliation?"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 7 (members: 0, guests: 7)
Back
Top