I pledge myself to thee!

"A wanderer isn't always lost."

Semi-thundering footsteps, originating from the bottom of buckled jet black biker boots containing red souls, echoed down the hallways of Era. Followed in a relatively short distance behind the pair of boots that repeatedly and swiftly made their presence known was the obvious sound of armor clashing against the shining, reflective floor. Just behind the footsteps conjured by the boots, the armor appeared to be occurring twice as often, and that was for the reason of two figures instead of one following the boots. Downed the curvature, illustrious and grand hallway of Era's interior building walked the young, semi-pale mage of Deniel Decayuss Thormun. Deep within the heart of Era, and escorted by two armored knights very closely--monitored for any suspicious activity--the young mage walked along the hallways casually on the outside, but with his heart racing on the inside; a usual persona people envelop themselves with. Covering up his nervousness was the illusions of confidence and serenity. The young man, aside from his combat boots, wore jet black cropped trousers, matched with an opened jacket containing skull-motif buttons that was worn over a steel grey t-shirt containing a design of randomly arranged skulls upon his neck and chest area. Shoulder-length jet black hair swayed a bit in the bangs region that covered the entirety of his forehead, his ears, and a naturally spiked portion of the black. Just beneath the small strands of hair that successfully managed to make their way past his forehead were a pair of half-closed blood red eyes that looked upon the path ahead of him. Relinquished of his weapon earlier, Deniel felt incomplete without it, but could not argue. Arguing would cause trouble, distrust, and discontent, perhaps even resulting in him not being allowed this opportunity: facing the Magic Council.

Having only heard rumors, whispers, and some tall tales about them, he had no idea what to expect with this audience; the purpose of it was so that the Guildless mage could proclaim his alignment with the "Legal" side of Fiore's Mage system. He had no plans on joining another Guild, but certainly did not want to be associated as neutral, or even dark; he wanted to be accepted as a Legal Mage. And now, as he swiftly made his way down the immense hallway with his arms swinging at his side, the moment of truth was approaching. Just ahead he could see the room in which he was going to enter, and the only thing on the other side of it was pitch blackness. The hallway in which he walked was brightly lit and reflected with the ceiling and floor, but ahead there appeared to be no light within the room; worry started to crowd into his mind. Slowing his pace down a little, the two guards stopped just before the entrance of the door, as they were ordered him to follow no further. The young Nephalem, pausing for a moment, entered...slowly. As he entered, the Nephalem could hear the sounds of his boots against the floor to become more echoed, indicating the magnitude of the room in which he tread upon to be much larger than the hallway. A few steps within the pitch blackness, there was a light, a light that shone upon the Nephalem and followed him whichever direction he would take. Treading on a narrow path surrounded by an immense expanse that could not be seen, the Nephalem arrived at a circular position guarded by a rail on all sides save for the one in which he entered, and that is where he paused.

Within the blackness, a single voice came out. A male's, commanding and powerful, sounding as if he were in his mid life ages. "Deniel Decayuss "Nephalem" Thormun. Birthplace: Unknown. Age: Unknown. Background: Unknown. Parents: Unknown. Alias: Resigned Eclipse Soul Guild Master. My oh my... Mr. Thormun, care to share a few things about yourself?" Standing a brief moment in silence, with his gaze blankly ahead of him, the red eyes of Deniel closed themselves to gather his thoughts before speaking, clearly: "You may call me 'Nephalem' if you wish. It makes no difference... I was born within the land of Sin. Raised within Bellum's prison before being set free for only a year or two, before being sent back to one of their private ..... 'correctional facilities'. My parents were widely known as Arianna the White Angel, and Diabolos the Black Devil..." Several whispers among individuals could be heard in response, particularly nothing his birthplace and background. The male's voice spoke once more. "Within the land of Sin, you say? Raised in a prison? Could you elaborate on that. And tell us the truth, young man." The young man had no intentions of lying, that was without a doubt. Or even twisting the truth. For if he dared to do either, it would surely work against him; he continued. "I mean I was literally born within Sin. I was sent to prison by my parents for...an experiment, I suppose. After being set free, I destroyed an entire village, and was then sent back to prison." Shortly after finishing, yet another voice had spoken up: "How did you get out?" he inquired.


There was more chatter among the several individuals concealed by darkness. This much more concerned and alerted. Obviously Deniel's story did not help his situation, but lying would have made it much worse. The middle aged man that spoke first cleared his throat and continued. "A very intriguing background you have, Mr. Thormun. No doubt scarring, and perhaps politically igniting. But your affairs with other countries within other countries have naught to do with Fiore. Now...let us go back to the beginning of when you entered this country, and have a look." The Nephalem gave a very brief frown, clenching his fists for a moment. His background was only the beginning; in some ways he wished he lied, for he had been tricked. They did not care...only wanted to see who they were dealing with. And so far Deniel had not made the best impression. Regardless, this was only the beginning; they moved on. This time, a young female voice spoke up. "You arrived here in Fiore almost 2 years ago. You have not been here long, yet you have swiftly made yourself known in some way or another. Let us see..." As the female voice trailed off, another one took her place. It seemed to be coming from the same direction and spot, only slightly varied: "It is said that within less than a year you climbed the ranks of Eclipse Soul from a lowly D rank mage to an astounding A rank. And along the way there are several reports." The voice earlier that inquired about how the Nephalem had managed to escape from prison spoke up again.

This time Deniel could get an assessment of his voice; he spoke relatively swiftly, but coherently, and seemed to be much younger than the first man. "Many deaths and serious injuries have been reported. Whether vicious animals or petty criminals. In most cases they are said to have been fairly brutal...or even ending with a stab in the chest. How do you justify this?" Deniel could feel his heart beginning to race once more and butterflies flow into his stomach. Shit! Now he wished he were not so violent within his jobs...for the first time it was coming back to bite him. In this situation, he would have perhaps asked Nidhogg or even his parents to give him some kind of advice on what to say. But at the current moment, neither was available. He was on his own, defending himself against people who seemingly knew everything about him from the moment he arrived in Fiore. He was at a serious disadvantage, but was not interested in giving up quite yet. "Any deaths of innocents?" He slowly asked them, given the brief response of "No". That was good. He never killed innocents.

"Then that is the only argument I need. The death of petty criminals, or serious wounds benefit the society of Fiore and the common good. Vicious animals had bounties put up on them; I doubt merely wounding an animal would stop it from its assaults. Or perhaps experienced hunters would come along." There was brief talk of both agreements or disagreements, to which the one who questioned Deniel spoke up against: "The Magic Council does not permit the death of criminals, but rather their capture or imprisonment. You may have left it up to--"

"The Rune Knights were not there!" Showing a sign of defiant nature, a thing that could very well easily work against him if he did not recover soon, the Nephalem continued: "They were not there. If they could do their jobs, I wouldn't have to be there. But fortunately I was. If you want criminals apprehended rather than killed, get your knights on duty. But for a mage who followed the orders of the job, get it done no matter what, and received no orders from you or Master Zeno...I believe I have done nothing wrong."

There was brief silence. No one dared to speak. The one whom Deniel interrupted was infuriated, and perhaps would demand to have the Nephalem removed, but a new voice spoke up. This one sounding of an old man. "If we were to order you to apprehend a criminal rather than kill him, would you obey us, Mr. Thormun?" Deniel said no words. He merely nodded. Then the old voice continued, going off of the last subject Deniel had alluded to. "Wizard Saint 0...Zeno Sombras. An unfortunate loss, and perhaps would have resulted in the demise of Eclipse Soul. Yet, you, a member only one year in administration, were appointed Guild Master. And in only several months, you resigned. Why?" A question that the Nephalem could barely even answer. He considered it so many times during the day, yet a clear answer could never be given even to himself. Yet, deep within him, he knew it was the right choice. Given no choice, he attempted to give his best explanation as to why he made such a...seemingly illogical decision. "I felt as if I were too young and too inexperienced for it." The very first voice, the middle aged man, spoke up: "Yet the girl you left in charge, Alyia, is younger than you are. And you could have very easily remained within the guild." That was true, but Deniel was not finished yet. "Younger, indeed, but certainly much more experienced than I. And if I stayed within the Guild...I would not truly be 'free'. I spent over 14 years of my life trapped within a cell. I am nearing the 20th year of my life, and wish to see the world. I want to do what I wish to do. I want to go where I wish to go. And I want to know more about the world other than the cynical, sociopath view of a child and teenager trapped in a cell..."

"I have heard that you are interested with the title of Wizard Saint. You realize that with that title comes a great responsibility. One far greater than that of a Guild Master. One that requires the following of the Magic Council, of leadership, of extreme skill, and one that does not go against what we wish. Thus far, it appears as though you are not capable of such. What makes you believe you are?" A tough question, indeed. One that was even capable of striking down into the seemingly impenetrable Nephalem's mind. So far it appeared as though they were tricking him into saying things that worked against him, so to say, and were now turning it right back on him. Unfortunate, indeed; the Nephalem would have to muster up all of this intellect and cerebral power to get himself out of this fiasco.

Thinking for several moments, he cleared his throat and spoke up: "It was not to say I could not handle the responsibilities...I merely felt as if they were not mine to be held. You'll find my leadership skills are nothing less than astounding. My skills could rival any of yours if you so wish it!" The last comment caused several gasps and exasperated thoughts, but even above them beginning to protest with one another, the Nephalem continued, "My past is troubled, indeed! But it has not yet killed me nor an innocent. As a Guildless mage, I go off of my own accord and regard, yet still retain myself within the Magic Council's wishes. If granted the title of Wizard Saint, you shall be in my command! Loosely, of course."

"Loosely!?"

"Loosely! Your formal wishes and commands will be obeyed, but I will chose how to live my life. You may chose mine as a servant of the Council, but I shall choose it as a Wizard Saint: a free life that I control, that upholds the highest authority of justice and valor, that intentionally upholds the council's will of just, but defies that of corruption! A weapon for Fiore to strike fear into enemies, if any. And a man who will represent to all Legal Mages: a troubled past and a dark personality does not mean you must stray to the path of evil!"

There was moments of silence. The Nephalem continuing had worked to shut them up, and they sat and listened. And upon finishing, the last words echoed throughout the room until at last there was true, serene, silence. After the silence came several, inaudible whispers. At last they were hushed when the first voice, the middle aged man spoke up. "Deniel... place your right fist over your heart. And salute us with your left hand." The Nephalem silently obeyed.


Immediately the lights of the entire room were suddenly bright and shining on, no longer covering Deniel. In front of him and around him was a chasm in the shape of a dome, and in front of him were the members of the Magic Council, standing up and applauding him.

Notes