Consequences

Consequences

         Artimus Black sits cross-legged on a soft fur throw rug in the center of his black field tent. His eyes are tightly shut and his head bowed as he mouths melodious words almost in a whisper. He has taken much care to remove all physical distractions from his tent for if his deep concentration were to be broken much that he had already accomplished would be lost. Outside great barriers of wood have been set up around the tent to block out any outside noise from penetrating. Around the barrier stand near thirty soldiers heavily armed and ready to stop anyone from passing. All this sits atop a steep hill overlooking a vast plain, and all over this plain, swarming like a nest of ants, is an enormous battle.

         The vast ocean of magic visually flows through Artimus' mind, long ago he learned how to see it. When he was only a boy he had been brought to the wizard school of Castle Xerimus for training. It was there that he had been taught to shatter the barrier that surrounds all non-magic users, the flow of the great magic energy entering his being nearly drove him mad. Like all the other young ones who came to Xerimus he was taught to ignore the overwhelming power of the magical ocean that drove in and through them. Many failed to do so, like so many before, and they were driven mad, some even succumbing to death. Those who managed to bring their minds under control soon felt the awesome power they now had the potential to control. Over time they were taught how to manipulate the magical energy with their minds, it took much concentration and much patience. It wasn't until Artimus left Castle Xerimus that the magic ocean looked different to him, in the school it seemed to his mind to be like standing in an all surrounding grey mist continually rippling. But when he left the school and looked into it again it was as calm as a frozen lake, he knew it was because whenever someone manipulated the magic it would cause a ripple that could be detected by anyone attuned to magic.

         Now he sits in his tent atop the hill overlooking a battle, he is now concentrating on manipulating the magical ocean to do his bidding for the good of his army below. He knows there will be consequences for his actions if he fails, and even if he succeeds he knows that all magic users from many distances in all directions will know he had conjured something big. The feat he is attempting to perform is not an easy task for any wizard, he has studied and practiced for decades to master the art of conjuration and some might even consider him an arch-mage if he choose to join an academy. In his mind he sees the battle as a sea of pure white bodies, those who have not been flooded with magic and it is because of this he cannot attack them directly with the magic energies. Instead he must use all his mind to manipulate the magical ocean until he can bring a creature of his design into the physical world. Despite the physical protections set up around his tent he knows that he could still be attacked by the very same magical energies he is attempting to manipulate by another wizard.

         He works under the knowledge that if the enemy army also has a wizard his hard work will be for naught if his mind is attacked. He was quite certain there was no other wizard who could hinder his progress as he had made a thorough search of the battlefield. Whereas non-magic users showed up as white, those who were able to wield the power would have a shade of gray, even black depending on their power. He was aware of his own shade, dark grey, at times it made him smile to think of all the years of training, practice and pain that it took to get him where he was now. Now all he concentrated on was the grey misty ocean that was magic, it's calm demeanor slowly changing as small magical manipulations took place.

         Down on the battlefield, above the cries of battle, the clash of steel and the spilling of blood, a small flame begins to form in the air. So small is the flame that only the keen observer would notice it, but in a very short time the flame spreads and grows. Even now the soldiers down below can see and hear the spreading flame. The soldiers of Artimus Black's nation know what it is, and the enemy fears what it could mean. Then with the sound of a rushing inferno the flames take shape into a colossal fire wreathed dragon. In his tent Artimus smiles inwardly, another successful summoning, he uses his mind to direct the dragon's rampage through the enemy lines. If it had not been for the small magically endowed pebbles that his own army had in small pouches on their waists then the dragon would be killing everyone.

         As the fiery dragon swaths through the enemy lines Artimus nearly laughs aloud, catching himself just in time, else he would lose concentration. Every aspect of the dragon he has created and summoned with his mind is magic, he controls all aspects of it, the very flame streaming from it's maw shines brightly in the magical ocean. On the instance of the dragons full creation a massive ripple was sent throughout the misty ocean, one that nearly made Artimus lose his concentration, even now with all the disturbance being created he was having trouble, after all the hardest part was not the summoning, it was the controlling. One thing he always regretted about his work though was that he never got to see it with his eyes, as soon as he stopped concentrating his creations would disappear into nothingness.

         Artimus could feel that the battle was nearly won, the enemy was fleeing and he was glad at that for the great mental strain the dragon had put on him had tired him. He swept the dragons fire up the hill that the enemy was retreating to in an act to catch them as they reached the crest, it was then that he felt the faint hint of another's mind probing the battlefield in search of him. Artimus knew he no longer had a choice, he had to take his concentration off the dragon and use his mind to find the other wizard before he himself was found. With a crackling and hissing the summoned magical creature vanished swiftly into nothingness and the battle once again was joined. Artimus once again swept over the battlefield and up into the enemy camp beyond, the other wizard was not within either place. Truly there was a strong user in search of him, one that was able to extend their mind to extreme distances to search for him. To Artimus, however, this was not a new tactic, he had fought many battles in the past and seen many defenses.

         Summoning more of his bodies strength he extended his search, this act he knew was a dangerous one since the dragon had almost depleted his reserves for the day. In the end though it was not in vain, he found the other wizard nearly a day's walking distance from the enemy camp atop a hill in a forest. He was impressed to say the least, but since he was able to find him he didn't think much else of the distance. Ripples continually emanated from the enemy wizard's location, Artimus knew soon he would find him and attack through the magic ocean. Withdrawing his mind back to his own location Artimus used the magical energies surrounding him to create a mental barrier to protect against the magical forces his enemy would be using against him. He knew it wouldn't stand up to much, but it would be enough for him to gather his strength to mount an attack. Suddenly the probing of the other wizard swept over Artimus, he could almost feel his enemy smile as he attempted to launch a surprise attack along the same probing tether from his mind. It was a weak attack, one that the mental barrier easily stopped, but had the barrier not been there Artimus would surely have been knocked out of concentration and then would have been seriously vulnerable.

         The other wizard waited no time to launch his next attack, it was a powerful concentrated ripple sent through the grey mists of magic, once again the mental shield stopped this attack, Artimus was grateful it had not hit, it would surely have destroyed his mind. Artimus was struggling to keep his thoughts clear, the mental shield was helping, but he knew it would not last for much longer. The other wizard sent another volley of powerful ripples towards him once again, the shield rippled as they struck nearly giving way. Artimus could tell the other wizard had trained hard to accomplish what they were doing now, but he felt that the attacks were somewhat sloppy, many of the ripples passed by doing no harm at all. Artimus launched a counter attack, a small one just to give himself time to prepare for a larger volley, he didn't expect it to do much and was surprised when he felt the other wizards magical aura stagger backwards from it. Using the opportunity Artimus sent another weak volley, however this was deflected for his enemy had also manipulated the magic ocean into a mental shield. It was a battle of power now.

         After several minutes of no attacks Artimus had used the time to construct a large condensed ball of magical energy to send at his enemy. He could feel that the same was being done for him and that he should attack before that happened. As Artimus launched his attack he pondered what might have happened if he'd discovered the other wizard before summoning the dragon. He knew he would have spent less energy on such a massive summon so that he could save energy for the battle he was now in, one that he could easily lose. The large attack he had just launched had drained him nearly to exhaustion and creating another attack might even make him faint and then all would be lost. Watching his magic attack travel through the grey mist to his enemy was taxing enough, but he was pleased when he sensed the other wizards mental shield fail as it was struck. Though the shield was down the attack had not been strong enough to continue into the enemies mind, the counter-attack was already on it's way. Using the last drops of his power he strengthened his own mental shield and hoped against hope it would hold.

         As his enemies attack struck Artimus felt his shield fail and although most of the attack was dissipated some of it made it through. The force of the blow knocked him from his cross-legged position and onto his back. His mind was in agony, he could feel that although it hurt badly the attack hadn't done any serious damage. His only problem now was he'd lost his sight into the magical realm and his mental and physical energy was at it's end, he lay on his back staring at his tents ceiling. Many say they see their lives flash before them when death is near, Artimus believed this was now happening, but all he was seeing was his training at Castle Xerimus. He found this odd, but he did nothing to stop it, he was far to tired to do anything else. Suddenly like a rock striking his head his memories stopped to a class he had attended early in his training years. The memory was slightly foggy, but he recalled the professor saying something about forbidden acts, one of them was the drawing of magical energies to fuel your own. The consequences of it were said to be death, or complete mental vegetation.

         Artimus opened his eyes once again, he knew he shouldn't attempt a forbidden act, but he'd rather die trying then die by the attacks of an inferior wizard. Working as fast as his mind would allow he thought of all the ways such an act could be accomplished, the final thought of it was to channel the mists of the magical ocean directly into his body. He didn't bother to sit back up, instead he lay there concentrating with all his remaining might and very slowly he could feel himself getting stronger. He wasn't sure why he hadn't been attacked again, perhaps his enemy found he was no longer a threat and was now working on his own summoning. Whatever the case Artimus thought no more of it then one does of breathing. Soon he could felt he could sit up, surely the other wizard could notice him again, but it didn't matter for drawing on the magical energy Artimus was able to once again surround himself in a magical mental shield far stronger then the one before. His enemy could was attacking him again, but the magical attacks were absorbed with ease by Artimus' new mental shield. Now he did laugh aloud and found that he was still able to keep his concentration.

         Artimus felt that he now had enough energy and attempted to break his magical energy manipulation. It was here he learned why such acts were forbidden, he was unable to stop the flow of energy into his body. Panic overtook him and he nearly dropped the mental shield. Nothing mattered to him now besides to the mental shield, beside that he tried everything he could to stem the flow of the grey mist entering his magical aura unhindered. Nothing seemed to be working and already he could feel his life being over shadowed by magic, soon he would be dead. It was then that a thought came to him, perhaps if he could expend all his energy at once he'd break the flow and save himself. He once again searched out his enemy and summoned all the energies in his body to form a sphere of power in the magical ocean around his foe. It was a massive source of ripples, one that his enemy could undoubtedly feel. When Artimus felt he could take no more of the steady flow he released all the energy inside of himself. The giant bubble suddenly contracted onto his enemy, as he had intended, it's force crushing not only the other wizards magical aura, but his physical body as well.

         As the bubble came to it's smallest point it then exploded outward in a cataclysmic explosion that not only sent immensely powerful waves throughout the ocean of magic, but it also blasted the hill that the other wizard had been on into dust that was scattered far and wide. The force of the physical explosion also snapped down trees of the forest in all directions. In the end all that remained of the hill was a deep crater that would eventually become a deep lake. The shock-wave of magic spread through the magic realm all the way to Artimus who was once again thrown backwards by the sheer force of it. This time however he was knocked unconscious.

         Artimus Black awoke some time later, his head was aching more then anything he'd felt before. Despite the pain he thanked his luck he was alive, as far as he could tell the magical energies that had been about to kill him were gone. Yet something was different, he wasn't sure what it was until he tried looking into the magical realm and it was here that he found he had been punished. He was no longer able to see the magical energies, he was blind to magic. He was suddenly filled with a deep depression, but he didn't let that overwhelm him, he recalled the day he had first learned to see the magical ocean and sat down to once again attempt the feat. After an hour of trying to see magic once more he stopped in despair, it was not like before, there was no barrier of un-magic surrounding him. As far as he could tell whatever divine being had gifted magic to the world had also taken that gift away from Artimus and taken the ability to once again see it. He now knew why such acts were forbidden, he had broken the laws of magic and because of it magic was no longer a gift he was worthy to receive.