Magi Games

The Finals: Sara_R_Stark

This entry was written by Sara_R_Stark who wrote the guild Crimson Shadow. Enjoy :)

The smoke had begun to fade months ago. Now, the sky was a crystalline blue when it wasn't filled with the Dragon Empire's parasitic warships as their impenetrable blockade was strengthened tenfold. The remaining Magi still stranded in the forests of Kypha had formed a small colony. Most of them had been killed off in risky raids, and their numbers had dropped to less than fifty, though their strategic attacks had allowed them the pleasures of at least a semi-comfortable lifestyle. When they weren't fearing for their lives or hiding out in the vast expanse of Tythan's wilderness as the Dragon Empire's troops tramped through the forest, they were content.

About a week after the attack, one of the guild leaders went off on their own and returned to their 'base camp' with a radio, one of the special ones used by Evina that broadcasted the entirety of the Magi Games as well as radio stations from neighbouring planets. Supposedly it was once used to contact the others, though no one could seem to figure out how that function worked. Either way, the radio was used almost daily to get a report of the state of the known galaxy as it was slowly taken over and forced to submit to the Dragon Empire.

By the next week, five other planets were reported to have been conquered and their citizens either killed or forced into the army. Three weeks later, an entire system had been taken down, and more were on the way. Days later, Marko heard that the empire had nearly reached Iryda and he stopped listening. Any news of the loss of his homeworld was too much for his already suffering heart to bear, and he would rather stay ignorant than fret for the safety of his entire planet.

Marko had been counting the days since the Dragon Empire first attacked. It had been just over a month before the Magi decided to launch their first full scale attack on one of the empire's main food pantries. They had taken down half the guard there and fled with pounds of rice, dried fruits and vegetables, and sacks of dried meats. As well as the food, they had snatched up a stack of notebooks and a container of pencils, and Marko had been drawing in his ever since, allowing himself to pass the time and fade away from the brutal reality that had become his life.

Exactly 42 days later, while the dawn was still fresh, the Magi held an emergency meeting. Marko was roused from a particularly fitful slumber as someone shook his shoulder, alerting him of the gathering. Still half asleep, Marko shoved his notebook into his pocket and got up to join the other Magi circling around one of the giant stones in the middle of the clearing typically used as a speaking podium. The guild leader from Black Dragon who had been deemed the leader of their group stood atop the stone, arms crossed over his red tunic as he gazed across the clearing. It was funny, Marko thought, how Rovad had become such of a father figure to everyone there in such little time. He had a very calm nature and it was extremely easy to be around him. He would periodically check in on each individual Magi, allowing them to rant about their problems and offering them a shoulder to cry on.

When Rovad had gotten around to Marko, he had found the young Magi drawing beneath one of the trees, lost in his own world. He crouched down next to the youth, watching him in silence as his pencil danced masterfully across the page. Grinning, his eyes crinkling at the corners, he gently took the book from Marko's hands and began to flip through the art, whistling appreciatively at how detailed the sketches were. They were of past guildmates whom he recognized from the games, as well as scenery likely from his homeworld of Iryda. Rovad stopped on one drawing in particular, a beautiful sketch of a river snaking through a sunlit clearing as it faded into a waterfall spilling over a shimmering cliff. Raising his eyebrows, he passed the book back over to Marko, a questioning look in his old eyes.

"It's from my homeworld," Marko smiled sadly. "My family grew up as farmers, and they had such expansive land that I simply had to explore it all. One day I stumbled across the river and decided to follow it for a bit until I eventually hit the falls. It sort of became my own hideaway when things got bad, and it's the one thing I miss terribly from home."