Kletian Bowa Chapter 1
By DarkLore
The darkness had settled over the Gariland Magic Academy like a plague. Most of the students were sleeping, but this was not the case for all. Especially not for Kletian Bowa. He padded down the dark, torch-lit halls, and finally made it outside. He walked ever so quietly to the training halls, and pushed open the door. He walked blindly into the darkness, feeling his way along the walls. He picked up a torch from the scone, then whispered his magic. "Destruction of nature, gather in flame!" The torch lit up brilliantly, and the room was partially illuminated. Kletian smiled, then walked into the room and lit a few more torches. Well, he had his fire element down at least. He looked around at the bleak walls around him.
The place itself seemed to emanate despair. There were many scorch marks on the floors from where students had become angry with each other, or themselves, and there were also blood stains in places from combat training.
He trained deep into the night and early morning, working on all of his magic, practicing all of his spells. He slumped down onto the stone floor, exhausted. He looked outside the window, and found sunlight on the horizon. It was early morning. Magic drills would begin within hours, and Kletian had no sleep, and had no energy left for spell casting. He put out the torches, and left the room, heading off to the quartering chambers for at least a few hours of sleep.
It was then that for his first time in his life he saw him. He wore full armor, with bits of purple here and there. He bore a sword at his side. He was leaning on the side of the quartering building, and had a clear view of what he was doing inside the building. "I'm sorry, I know that I'm not supposed to, but I just couldn't sleep, and..." Kletian said, shaking his head and wondering what his punishment would be.
"I believe that I may have given you a wrong expression of me. I am not a Gariland guard.." the man said, staring into Kletians eyes with an unusual look.
"Then who are you, and why are you here?" Kletian questioned.
"My name Vormav Tingel. Other than that, who I am is not important. I'm impressed with your magical abilities, Kletian. I can see why you are said to be head of the class."
Kletian looked Vormav straight into the eyes, "Yes, I am the best in my class. Why are you here?"
"You can help me, and I can help you. You can learn from me, and I can learn from you. You will learn nothing of value here, any more. Come with me, and I can show real magic, Kletian."
"I am only weeks away from graduating, and your asking me to leave? No, that is unacceptable. Tell me more about what you want me to do for you, and what exactly you are proposing, and I will consider it after I graduate. Otherwise, there is nothing I can do for you," Kletian said, brushing past him and walking into the quartering chambers. "Come back tomorrow, I will be training. Perhaps we can speak more on this issue then."
He walked into the depths of the chambers, not really caring what "Vormav" had to say. He had heard from these type of people before. They all wanted him for something pointless, guarding chocobo carts, guarding royals, obtaining items, the list went on and on. And he had begun to treat them all the same as he had treated Vormav.
He opened the door to his bunks quietly, and took off his training equipment. He put on a light robe, then layed down to the comfort of his bed. Sighing, he rubbed his head into the pillow. What a long training session he had had today. As he drifted off to sleep, he had the image of an image of himself, dressed in gold armor, with gray robes draped over himself. He stands next to Vormav, and some other man he does not know who is dressed in teal. He looks older, and has a smirk on his face...
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Kletian ducked the blow from the priest’s staff, then stepped back and cast his spell. "Out of the ground, raze all greenery in flame!" Fire sprout from his fingertips, and enveloped the priest. A final blow with his staff killed the priest. He saw a knight in teal engaged in combat with one of the priests, and a knight in purple was killing another.
He saw a bloodied priest in a corner, chanting. "Aurora, exhale bloody air! " Darkness devoured the cleric, and he fell over, dead. An old man walked out from a room, befuddled.
The knight in teal yelled "Lord! There is Funeral!"
The knight in purple only smiled, saying "Yes, Funeral it is. We will deal with him in a moment," then he delivered the telling blow to the cleric he was fighting.
Kletian looked around him, wondering how they could afford such a grand structure. It was it with several torches, and the walls resembled marble. There was a large red carpet rolled out through the center of the room. Stairs led up to a grand throne-like chair, which the old man called "Funeral" gazed at.
The teal knight leapt up the stairs, and grabbed the old man by the collar. "Where are they?"
"What? What are you talking about? What are you doing?" the old man asked.
The knight in purple gave the remaining priest in the room a dark look, and he staggered out of the room, drenched in his own blood. Kletian turned around, and whispered words. "Swirling bolts, gather and strike with power!" The priest collapsed in a bloody heap on the carpet as several bolts of electricity struck his body. "Funeral" was horrified, until the knight in teal tightened his grip on the old mans collar.
"Where are the Scriptures, old man?!" he yelled, throwing the man on the floor. The knight in purple walked up to the old man, and picked him up by his hair with his left hand. With his right, he drew his sword. With a slash, the old man fell on the floor.
"Refresh your memory?" the purple knight asked. When the old man didn't respond, the knight in purple picked him up and threw him down the steps.
"Please...they are not here."
"Oh? And where would they be, then?"
"He has them...please, spare me!"
The knight in purple gave a look to Kletian, and they both exited the room. The knight in teal drew a sword, and plunged it into Funerals back. "Uhhh" Funeral moaned. The knight in teal then left the room, leaving the dying man in his wake.
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”Kletian, wake up!” Kletian hung his head up in an agonizing fatigue. It was another student at the Academy. Was his name Valmyr? Perhaps, Kletian didn’t really care at the current moment though. “You’ve been up again all night, haven’t you? Well, regardless, you have to get up to train. So get up!”
A moan escaping his lips, Kletian got up and began to put on his gear. He shook his head. What a strange dream he had had. He finished donning all his equipment, and then took his staff from the corner of his bedpost. As he stumbled down the steps of the quarters, he was suddenly aware that the staff he had taken was not his. In his hand was a staff of beautifully carved oak, embedded with runic design. He shook his head as he went back inside, wondering who among his peers could have such a staff. When he got back to his bunk, he could not find his staff anywhere. He then saw the note that had been scrawled onto a sheet of paper for him.
“Kletian-
The staff is a gift from me to you, as a token of my sincerity. A powerful warlock named Zeus once wielded it. He put his own runic design into this staff, and I obtained it by no small means. Make good use of it. -Vormav”
Who was this Vormav man, and where and how could he come by such a staff? Marveling at the staff, he walked out of the quarters and back to the training room. At the gates of the Academy stood Vormav. He simply smiled at Kletian, and just watched him as he went by. Kletian walked over to him, baffled. “Where did you come by such an item?!” he demanded.
“Just a small favor,” Vormav replied. Dismissing him with a hand, Kletian walked into the training halls for another agonizing day of training…