Guardians Of The Arcane Chronicles

Chapter 1: Hijacked

Felix Pagonis leaned against the slightly vibrating windows, soaking in the light from the moon. His ride only emitted a dull humming despite the sheer amount of arcani channelled into its technomagick engines to keep it aloft, courtesy of the Grand Artificers of Sirius City.

A never ending sea of wispy clouds swam leisurely below the hovering airship, shielding it from any hostile prying eyes while the starry twilight sky blanketed it cosily. Most would pay a fortune just for a view like this, but Felix could not be bothered at the moment. He was on a mission.

And he was absolutely bored out of his mind.

"Alright Guardians, I'm going to go through this one last time just in case any of you weren't paying attention," a deep voice directed itself towards him. Felix shifted his body lazily and gave his leader the slightest fake smile he could muster at the moment.

"Target is a sky library just one hundred and sixty two metres below us. Meta hostiles have taken over and are holding the entire place hostage. Their demands are unclear, and their motives are suspected to be racially charged."

"What's the point of taking a bunch of harmless magi librarians hostage? They're not proving anything by hijacking a place with such low security." A guardian rolled his eyes, waving his hands around gracefully as protective symbols flashed over his cloak. "I swear, metas are such dumbasses."

Felix glared at him.

"Mage Palladius Severan, might I remind you that our objective is to save people and not speculate about politics?"

"Yes, Warlock Vulcan." Palladius looked away begrudgingly.

"Preliminary intel reveal fifteen hostiles led by this lady, Lucia Angelo." Warlock Vulcan conjured an image of a green haired woman with his staff. Felix glanced at the brief description below the name. He made sure to take note of 'Body transmutation: Organic quartz armour' under the 'Abilities' header.

"Fortunately for us, most of them seem to be focused near the courtyard," Vulcan continued his briefing. "Sorcerer Deusdedit, you're in charge of clearing out the hostiles. Make some noise if you have to; draw their attention to you."

He turned to Felix.

"Pagonis, you're his buddy for this mission. Provide him with assistance if he needs it. You can move things with your mind; try not to let the situation get too messy. As for the rest of us, we wait for their signal before extracting the hostages. This mission is straightforward; do not make me write another incident report."

A gust of cold wind swept into the airship as the bay doors opened. Felix's eyes darted to the Sorcerer, who, like him, had not uttered a single word onboard the ship. Unlike his fellow magis, Sorcerer Gaius Deusdedit was dressed in tighter, more tactical clothes instead of the loose flashy robes they loved to sport. Felix's brown hair ruffled in the wind as he approached him hesitantly.

"Hey Gaius, uh..." he started awkwardly, raising a fist for him to bump. "Let's do our best, eh?"

Gaius shifted his narrow green eyes to his fist and back to him, insistent on keeping the awkward silence. He sprinted off without warning, leaping out of the doors and disappearing into the clouds.

"Rude..." Felix muttered.

"Was... Was he wearing a levitation cloak?" a concerned voice asked.

"No." Felix could almost taste the disgust in Palladius' response. He rolled his eyes as he prepared to jump off as well.

"That unrefined boy never uses it."

~ ~ ~

A tiny figure fell from the sky, practically invisible against the backdrop of the dark night sky covering him. A three storey high tower slowly came to view as he flipped his body over, choosing to fall feet first instead. His feet glowed slightly as magic channelled into them. The figure's descent slowed even further, until the solitary man patrolling the field became visible.