Kletian Bowa Chapter 2
By DarkLore
Kletian stood with a serious look on his face, sweat dripping from his brow. He held his staff with his right hand, and was preparing his magic with another. Behind him sat Solamnus, the head instructor of the Academy. Today they took their tests to see if they would graduate or not. A magic resistant dummy stood in the back of the room, for students to show their range with spells and that they could cast them with skill.
“Scatter your chilly sharp blades!” With a gesture of his hand, a huge crystal of ice appeared over the dummy. It hung there for several moments, and then disappeared into the air. Kletian looked over at Solamnus, who nodded his head.
Solamnus was a younger man to be the head instructor, only at the age of 40. He wore black robes with runic design on them, and a strange staff stood beside him. Kletian turned back around, preparing for his next spell.
“Poison,” Solamnus said simply.
Nodding his head, Kletian whispered, “Filthy blood of revenge, inject!” First came an aura of greenish air around the dummy, then several bubbles of poison appeared around it. The spell dissipated in seconds. Kletian whirled around, and Solamnus’ facial expression had not changed.
“They tell me that you are an advanced caster, Kletian. Show me what you can really do, and we can cut past this,” Solamnus said, almost angrily.
“Of course, sir,” Kletian said, preparing to cast another spell. “Heavenly bolts, bring god’s justice!” he shouted. Huge bolts blasted through the air, blackening major portions of the wall and utterly destroying the top half of the dummy. The electricity crackled for many seconds, until finally it dissipated. The dummy was totally blackened, and the top half was flaming.
Kletian turned around to see Solamnus’ expression. He had a surprised look on his face, and then said “Most impressive. Your mastery of the elements is quite remarkable, Kletian. I believe that you will do nicely as a wizard when you age and have more experience. I suppose I will see you at graduation.” Kletian then was waved out of the room, and left with a smile on his face…
“Kletian Bowa, esteemed apprentice mage of the Academy, I am proud to
say that you are the top student in your class, and probably all of the Academy.
I am more than happy to say that you have graduated from the Gariland Academy
of Magic. Hold your head up high,” Solamnus said.
Kletian stood up out of his chair, and walked to where Solamnus stood in front of the audience that consisted of most of the school. “Thank you, Sir,” Kletian said, bowing, “it is an honor. I hope that someday I may serve Ivalice as well as you have.”
With that, Kletian simply walked out. Past the gates, he walked into the streets of Gariland. He knew precisely where to go, and walked there with certain astuteness. He left the people at the Academy bewildered. When he arrived at the doors to the small building, he walked up the few stairs and threw open the door. Vormav sat inside, on a chair. Beside him stood a knight in green, who looked very young. Also with him was a young girl, no older than 18, dressed in a green robe.
“Kletian, you came. I was not sure if you would,” Vormav said, getting up to greet him,” these are my children. This is Meliadoul,” Vormav said, leading Kletian to the young woman,” and this is Izlude. He is only 16, but already a fierce warrior.” Kletian could only look into this mans face. Who could make their son fight with a sword at such a young age?
“My father has told me a lot about your magic prowess, and I am impressed from what I hear. Perhaps some time you could teach me a little about magic,” Izlude said, bowing.
“So you are Kletian. I pictured you as older. How old are you? You couldn’t be much older than I am...” Meliadoul said.
“Now now, we needn’t be rude Meliadoul. Kletian is our guest here, and we should treat him so,” Vormav scolded. At this point, Kletian was already skeptical about Vormav. “Meliadoul, Izlude, go to the other room, my and Kletian have some discussions to go through,” Vormav said, and they promptly left.
“Who exactly are you?” Kletian questioned.
“I am Vormav Tingel, a knight of the Murond Church. I am a holy knight of Aujora. I am highly skilled with the sword, as are my associates. You are Kletian Bowa, esteemed mage of the Academy. With the right shaping you could become the most powerful mage in Ivalice. Now that we are acquainted, let’s talk business,” Vormav stated blandly.
Kletian looked around, surprised at what Vormav had said. How much did he know about Kletian?
“I want you to join the Murond Glabados Church. High Priest Funeral is starting a sect of templars that are going to reshape Ivalice, and I have personally been sent to invite you to join them. I am to be the leader of the group, and I want you to be my right hand man. I already have several men in this group, and I want -no, need- you to join them. You will go to the Church and train for several months, then when the high priest deems you ready, you will join the knights. How does that sound?”
Kletian stepped back, shaken. Such a proposal would shape his future.
A man wearing teal leather armor and a robe walked into the room then, with a longsword at his side. “Ahh, Rofel, there you are. This is Kletian, the mage I had told you about.”
The man named Rofel looked up, staring Kletian in the eyes. “Hello. Enjoy your stay…” he said, then walked out.
“Rofel is rather soft-spoken…don’t mind him. I want you to stay here for the night, contemplate your decision, then return to me in the morning with it. I’m sure you have some business to attend to, as do I, so I must be going now. Izlude, come, we are leaving now!” Vormav said, looking impatient.
Izlude emerged from a back room, sword at his side. “Yes, father. I am ready to go,” he said, walking out the door with Vormav. Kletian stood in the room, bewildered. He sat down in a nearby chair, thinking about the deciding factor in his life…
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Kletian looked around in awe. This was it. This was the City. He walked over to a nearby pile of rubble with a small contingent of forces. The place itself cried death.
“Balk, you stay here. Kletian, you come with me. I’ll leave the hydra here for your protection if he comes,” Vormav said to a knight in light gray robes.
“Of course,” the man replied.
Vormav and Kletian walked through piles of burnt ashes and cinders with a small group of warriors. They finally reached their destination, it seemed, when Vormav brought the group to a halt. “Here is where you will stay, Kletian. I will leave the rest of this group with you, and I will continue ahead. You have been with me through the thick of this. Don’t let my faith in you be ill placed, Kletian,” Vormav said, giving Kletian a firm grasp on the shoulder. The aging man then trudged further into the ruins, until he vanished from sight.
Kletian studied his surroundings. It was very hilly, and there were several huge columns nearby. Sounds of guns shooting and magic going affray brought Kletian to quick attention. “All of you listen to me. I want the ninjas at the front, a few paces ahead of me. You samurais stay at the side of me, and you mages stay at the back. Get into your positions, and get ready! Now!” Kletian ordered.
He then prepared himself. He grasped his Staff of Zeus firmly in his hand, and ran his hands through his hair. He stretched his limbs, and walked over and took his place on the side of the samurais.
He then saw a group emerge in the distance. In the front was a man in blue armor, with long blonde hair that went about his head wildly. He held a bloody sword in his right hand, and a shield in the other. Behind him were several others.
There was an aged man who bore a huge sword in both hands, who wore armor and had a black hood over his face. He had a smirk on his face.
Behind him walked a female knight who wore armor with blue accoutrements under it, who also had a large sword in her hand. She had long blonde hair, and looked young.
Next to her stood a man with long blonde hair pulled back in a pony tail, who had a gun in his hand.
Behind him stood the traitor. In green robes with golden gauntlets, she bore a huge sword in her hands and looked ready to kill anything that stood in her way.
When he reached striking distance, the man with the ponytail stood apart from the group and pointed his gun at Kletian. Kletian reacted quickly, preparing a spell, but it was not fast enough. Swirling bolts tore through his skin and struck his soul. Angered and injured, he finished his spell preparations. “Incript the dark god into a rotting body!”
Huge bolts of nano energy tore from the sky, ripping apart the man with the gun. He fell to the ground on his knees in obvious pain. “Mustadio!” the main the lead screamed.
A ninja to Kletians right threw a small blade at the man called Mustadio, and it pierced him in his stomach. The man collapsed to the ground, dead. The knight in the brown robes stood and chanted, then swung his blade, “Absorb power in the sky and strike!”
A blade of pure electricity ripped through the fabric of existence, and struck the ninja who had thrown the blade. He collapsed into a bloody heap, dead. The man in blue armor would be upon them soon, and he screamed at himself to prepare him for battle. The female knight in blue stood her own ground, then chanted, “Life is short…Bury! Steady sword!”
Pillars of ice struck the ninja to Kletians left, as well as the samurai to his side. The ninja fell to the floor, dead, while the samurai held his ground. Kletian gave a signal to the samurai, and they charged the man in blue. The female knight in green chanted, “Disaster cries out to smash all!”
A huge, spinning purple blade spun through the air, and struck through the weakened samurai, killing him. The other one engaged in combat with the knight in blue, but was quickly dispatched. Kletian turned to the mages in back of him, desperately, screaming, “Do something!”
They bumbled around, but were quickly moped up by the long-range attacks of the contingent of knights. Kletian stood by himself against the knight in blue then.
“My spirit of rest will consume the purest of souls!” Kletian shouted at him. Archaic hurricanes imbued with magic ripped through existence, enveloping the knight in blue. The man stood for several moments, stunned.
“Inject my foes with evil spirits!” Kletian screamed, and watched as a huge cross of negative energy struck his foes. They were all stunned by the attack, but even Kletian knew that it was only temporary.
“Brush off vanity and show reality!” Kletian whispered. A circle of energy appeared around the knight in green robes, and brought her to her knees. The knight in blue was almost upon him. He had to act.
“Time has come…crash down on the wicked!” Kletian said. A huge meteor struck the greater part of the battle, crushing everyone except those nearby. The knight in blue was upon him now, swinging his sword. Kletian barely blocked the blow, then managed a weak counterattack. The knight ducked it, then….
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Kletian looked up sleepily. Next to him stood a figure in a light green robe. He could tell by the way the cloth hugged her body that she was female. “Sir Kletian? My father’s friend?” she asked.
Kletian sat up, then recognized it was Meliadoul, Vormav’s daughter. He wrapped his sheet around him, embarrassed. All he was wearing was a light robe that was so thin that it could be seen through. “Yes, that is I. What do you want, Meliadoul?” he asked.
“Well, I wanted to talk to you about my father,” she responded, “and let you know how he is before you make any decisions. He has many mood swings, although you may not see it in him. He has hit me and my brother before…more than once.” Kletian looked at her, intrigued. Vormav did not seem this way. She sat down on the bed next to Kletian. “I am afraid that if you join him in his quest, he may either corrupt you to become like him, or incur his wrath…” she said, drearily.
“I am not afraid of your father. He knows that.” “Well, there have been a number of circumstances…” Meliadoul began, telling tales of the times that her father had hit her. “I’m sorry, but I can’t stay awake much longer,“ Meliadoul informed him. “That is fine, but please finish your story before you leave,” Kletian replied. She finished the story, telling of her father’s ambitions for her and Izlude to become knights of the church, and that he believed he could accomplish this via hard punishment.
“I can relate to your tale… my father was harsh on me as well. I guess we have things in common,” Kletian said, smiling. He grasped her hand in his, and they stood up. “I will not let your father hit you, Meliadoul…I will try to stop him…”
They grasped each other close, faces inches apart. “Thank you Kletian…” Her breath was warm on his skin.
He brought his lips to hers, and she placed her hands on his hips. He ran his hands down her leg, touching every part of her fully through the thin robe. She broke their grasp to take off the robe, revealing full breasts and a developed body.
“Kletian…take me from my father. Show him that he cannot control me!” She stepped closer to him, and began to remove his robe. She ran her hands down his body, groping him while he stood pondering. As she began to bring her head down to him, he realized what he was doing. As her lips touched him, he moved away.
“What is wrong?” she asked, eyes wide. “We cannot. You are Vormav’s daughter, and I cannot betray his trust. I am sorry.
He put his robe back on, and then took one last glimpse at her. She was an object of beauty. He picked up her robe, and touched her body one last time as he gave it to her. “Kletian…I’m sorry…” she said, and then walked out of the room.
Kletian sat down on his bed, pondering what had happened between them. This certainly did not help him make his decision….