A peaceful intermission... possibly.

Posts : 7

The few couple of months had been a rollercoaster of events great enough to bring a huge enhancement of power for Arcturus Bedlam… or so he was inclined to believe.

Truth was, some important stuff had clearly happened around two months ago in which Arc was involved and had resulted in a significant increase of his magical skills. For some reason however, Arc could not remember a damn of what had happened during that time.

It was frustrating to say the least; this was not something that had happened before to the young mage. And for someone who calls himself a wizard to go and have mental issues is not exactly a happy situation to be in. Sadly for him, there was not much to do about it, at least which he could do alone. Arc had already tried several mental exercises and even some experimental magic to no avail, this thing was not something he could fix on his own. This however, did provide one very probable answer.

At one point Arc thought that perhaps his lapse of amnesia was self-inflicted, a measure to forget something which could bring danger to his persona or maybe an experience too traumatic had hindered his rational thinking. Nevertheless, if that was the case it would be likely that Arc would already have been able to find the way he did it, and he had not yet. It was not likely this was self-inflicted at all.

That path of thought settled, it meant someone or something else had messed up with Arc’s mind, and that was not something he was even a little bit pleased about.

The people of the tower did remember what happened before, and that could help Arc to at least get a basic understanding of what happened during his amnesiac adventure. The young mage decided to walk around the tower grounds and see if he can gather some useful information.

“A good start would be knowing what was the source of that pesky mist.” The mage murmured quietly to himself. “And why the hell did it took me so damn long.” Unavailability to understand something easily makes Arc a grumpy person.

The mage wandered around the tower grounds, he was unsure of what to look for, but finding someone with vast knowledge of the tower lore was probably his best option.

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wc: 392

Admin Posts : 229

Current Event: A Misty Persuasion
Current BGM:

For some time the tower had become like a second home for the mage, an odd life that had started in Midgar now found its way here with ner a thought beyond what had lain in the past before. There was a time when Arc had been nothing more than just a simple magic user, barely trained in the arts. But thats when disaster fell upon Midgar and destiny seemed to come a'callin. For some time an odd mist had circled around the tower and though Arc solved this issue he couldn't remember just what he had done to solve it, and strangely...whilst the mages of the tower recalled that he had in fact put a stop to the whole thing...the details for them were rather blurry too.

So now the mage would begin looking to find the source of the strange mist by finding an age old sage or perhaps someone who looked as if they knew something about the Mist and the obviously dark powers behind it. The first person Ark would see would be an old grizzled wizard, his robes were mouth eaten and his beard long and grey. He seemed to be holding the hand of someone, a child....as the small figure came into view Arc would likely be astonished by the kid's appearance. His face was...black, not as in he had dark skin but rather as if he had no face at all. He wore a large steepled hat and his eyes were a glowing yellow. His clothes seemed like patchwork, as if he was the doll of some child that had been stitched together with rags.

None the less there was a sense of great magic coming from within him, perhaps he was a new student here. But there was something else, looking into the childs eyes, into his soul.....it was almost as if Arc was staring into that same mist once again.....

Posts : 7

Being recognized in the tower brought a bizarre sensation to the young mage. Arc knew he had done something of great magnitude to help out the tower’s inhabitants, however the fact that he was unable to remember how he did it made all that new fame feel kind of undeserved. Not that he was treated like some kind of celebrity but Arc was used to have a low profile wherever he went. The fact he drew curious looks from some of the tower’s students was already something big for him. That’s what a childhood of being poor makes for your ego I guess.

Arc decided to not make much of the attention he was getting and rather focus on searching the tower for someone who might know something related to his situation. The Tower of Mages was a big place, and Arc had not been around enough to know all the faces of those who studied in it, so seeing new faces was a very common occurrence for him… or new to his amnesiac state of mind at least.

Not more than thirty minutes had passed when Arc found someone who looked like a possible source of information. Arc was doing a turn on a corridor when he saw an old wizard a few meters away. Wizards where never known to keep themselves in top shape fashion wise, and this old timer was a great example of that cliché. His robes looked old and unkempt and he had large gray hair and beard.

The sage’s appearance was not the most interesting part of the picture though. There was a childlike being next to the old man, grabbing his hand actually. That was not a normal boy or girl, starting by the fact that it lacked a discernible face. Arc was not very close but he could tell that the darkness surrounding the face from that child was not natural, perhaps it was the work of some sort of magic to hide one’s face, but he could not be sure of that. The kid-like figure wore a large steepled hat and even though his face could not be seen, two large and yellowish eyes popped out of the darkness. Even though the image of that little mage was pretty uncommon, it did not looked very threatening for Arc.

That was only for his appearance though. Arc could sense powerful magic emanating from the little guy, and something about his appearance could not help but remember him of that same mist he allegedly had got rid of. Could this mage be related to the mist’s original appearance? Perhaps Arc had already met him before but could not remember. It would be embarrassing to ask if they had met before but Arc would not bother to come up with something, better eat his ego for a little while.

“Excuse me.” Arc asked politely as he approached the pair of mages. “This is terribly embarrassing for me to say, but have we perchance met before?” The young mage could not help but feel a little dumb asking such question. “My memories have been somewhat fussy since my last meeting with that dreaded mist that used to be around, but I think something triggered up here after seeing you two gentlemen.” Arc was speaking in a manner that would make his former mentor proud of him, being polite at the right times would get you surprising results according to him. “My name is Arcturus Bedlam, but it is possible you already knew that... I mean if indeed we have met before.” For a moment Arc feared he was making a fool of himself, but probably that would be just inevitable being amnesiac and all that.

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wc: 620

Admin Posts : 229

Current Event: A Misty Persuasion
Current BGM:

The old man would look at Arc strangely, the younger boy on the other hand would merely pull down the front of his hat as if trying to hide his face. ” Can’t say that we have met you before lad, I’ve been away in the Mist Continent for the past five years now…just came back when I found this young potential apprentice”. The young black mage was clearly shy, though was there a connection there? This old man had been in the Mist Continent for five years…mist…the substance in that region of the world that created monsters. Perhaps their return was not connected to the Mist, but there may indeed be information that you could get from them…at least concerning the substance that haunted the region they had travelled from.

” Though you mentioned the mist that was surrounding the tower? Yes I had thought that was quite strange…the others here said that it had contained some kind of magic, sounded a lot like the Mist around where we had just came from. Not normal for it to travel out this far…..still there are ways and means I suppose…”.

Looks like the old man did indeed know something, the other mage though just stood there silently listening into the conversation either not having anything to contribute ir simply being too nervous to speak up. ” Hm yes, I suppose the old tunnels under the tower might be connected to the ist Continent…I don’t see it travelling in the wind…..oh sorry, just thinking aloud…Well come now Vivi, I’m sorry young master but we must be on our way!, Good luck to you”. What was it that the old man had mumbled about, tunnels under the tower?

If nothing else it was who investigating.

[ Travel to the Tower’s basement levels and look for entrances to the Underground Tunnels]

Posts : 7

It had been embarrassing for Arc, but not nearly as bad as it could have been under other circumstances.

The old mage looked confused as he answered Arc’s query on whether they knew him. It became quite apparent why after he stated he had been away from the tower for the past five years. This of course meant that the reason why Arc had felt compelled to talk to them was entirely due to the little mage’s appearance.

Arc’s hunch had been right; the little mage, Vivi, had been too shy to even speak up during their brief meeting. Even for someone who emanated powerful magic and hid his face behind a veil of darkness, the little mage’s eyes reflected an innocent nature, at least as far as Arc could perceive.

The sage had come up with a pretty interesting piece of information. Whatever region he had just returned from had contained a pretty similar mist, if not the same, and the old mage had insinuated the possibility of it travelling all the way to the tower of mages. Arc missed his chance to inquiry more about the mist with the aged wizard as it seemed he was in a bit of a hurry. “Thank you very much for your time.” Arc said as the older mage got on his way, dragging with him the little one.

Arc thought of coming back and having a more extensive talk with the mage at a later time, however for now the aged mage had given him enough information to start his own investigation. His next destination would be the tower’s underground tunnels.

As the mage walked toward the lower inhabited levels of the tower, he began to wonder about that little mage. Vivi had been very intriguing to say the least. Not only did he exude a powerful magic aura but the old mage had said he was a new apprentice, which meant that he held an extraordinary potential then. It would be interesting to try and talk to him later. He would probably have knowledge on the mist as well, that if Arc was able to make him talk at all.

Arc remembered his last passage around the tower’s basement. Those underground tunnels the old sage spoke about were probably where Arc had found the key to the mist the last time. His last solid memories where of him finding something pretty creepy down there, honestly right now Arc wondered how had not been obvious to come down here without having to consult it with anyone first.

The apparent last level of the tower was kind of deserted. The place had several empty boxes lying around and there was light only near the stairs where you came down from. Arc took out his pocket flashlight and moved on. This place had probably seen more lively days on the past, but its current state told that had probably been a long long time ago. Arc made his way around rubble and dusty furniture as he looked around for the access to the tunnels. The young mage remembered little from his last passing but it was enough to avoid getting terribly lost.

Eventually arc found the gate he was looking for. It was rusty and made a terrible sound as Arc pulled it open. The mage almost felt a little alarmed, if anyone or anything was down there it would have surely heard that door squeaking. There was no going back now though, whatever he could find in these tunnels, Arc felt confident enough of his magic skills to handle it.

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wc: 598

Admin Posts : 229

Current Event: A Misty Persuasion
Current BGM:

Sometimes the physics of the tower were difficult to handle even for the most experienced mages. The tower proper was a quasi-dimensional building that existed both in and out of time for every world simultaneously. In short, much like the grand magisters themselves the tower was both "there" and "not there", so the idea of a basement that was actually grounded in the reality of this world was strange when the rest of the tower was concerned.

None the less the moment that Arc got down to the basement he would be met with both the rusty gate and the distinct feeling of moisture in the environment. As he delved lower into the bowels of the tower he would find that same mist seeping up through pores and cracks in the walls. The old tunnels below the tower seemed to be at least partially explored as some flooring and wall had been added, though the further in Arc went, the mist would become thicker and his footing less stable.

As for the mist itself it would seem to be having a strange effect on Arc's ability to cast his spells. Quite literally magic was sparking at his fingertips, as if the mist itself was having an enhancement effect upon his ability to cast...though that in itself could be dangerous. A few minutes into the mist and the flooring it seemed would become more stable again, the mist slightly thinner as a breeze blew through the opening to more tunnels. There were three directly ahead of Arc, all three seemed ot have some sort of insignia inscribed upon the top. One appeared to be like a man running on land, another a man holding a spear above water and the final one a man being picked up by some kind of giant bird.

[Choice Event

Tunnel A
Tunnel B
Tunnel C
Screw this, I'm going back

[*]