Mark of the Ranger

XII. The Mark of Strength

As my team and I sat quietly in our dormitory room, we heard Oculus make an announcement. He uses a special magic to project his voice into every room, and he uses that to communicate with the entire Ranger Headquarters. "David C. and his team, please report to my office. David C. and his team, please report to my office." We all glanced at each other. Had we done something wrong? Certainly they hadn't finally found out about the potion incident? "Let's head down to Oculus' office, and hope that he didn't find out about the potion incident." Since David was our makeshift leader, we obeyed and followed him to Oculus' office.

As we strolled nonchalantly to the crystal chamber that was Oculus' office, I thought about why he would have called us. Maybe it was for a special mission, and not for our regular debriefing. Perhaps, oh, perhaps, we had just earned one of our first marks. That would be amazing.

David held open the door and stood to the side to let us all in. "Thanks," I uttered to him. He nodded, stepped into the room, and closed the door behind him. We took a moment to marvel at the amazing room Oculus resided in for his working hours.

Oculus told the story of this room very often. He hadn't actually asked for such a grand room, he simply wanted a desk and room to pace. However, the architects had insisted upon this flamboyant design, and they said they had plenty of extra crystal. After some severe persuasion, Oculus had finally caved in and let them build this room. Hence, he now worked in a giant crystal chamber, and he admitted once that he actually liked this design.

My teammates and I looked between each other for a moment, then proceeded with the walking towards Oculus' desk. He had thrown away the crystal one that came with the room and had replaced it with a simple, sturdy oak one. It was out of place, but it was still a nice desk.

We stepped up a small flight of stairs, put in there for some dramatic effect, and stood to face Oculus. He was looking out his stained glass window, which he also thought was overkill. He must have heard our incoming footsteps, because he snapped out of a trance and turned to face us.

Oculus was an amazing mechanical wonder. His armor plating was mostly cream-colored, but it was a dull gray at his joints. He had a silver mouth piece with no lips, and one big red eye that stared straight through physical reality and into a different plane of existence. His core was from a normal human--that was how automatons worked--but when I saw him fight, he was flawlessly powerful. I heard from many Machinists that they had never made an automaton like him since. Commander Tallen van Rook may have been known as the greatest Outland Ranger ever, but I knew that Oculus was the real best.

"Ah, David C. and his compatriots," Oculus hummed. "Have a seat." We sat down at the crystal chairs that were put there for occasions such as this. Oculus sat down, as well, and went right to the point. "Now, you're probably wondering why you're here." We all nodded, as if that was obvious. "Well, I suppose you know about the ball in celebration of the Grand Warlock," he started, and we nodded again. "Okay, so that's off the board. Now, I'm going to make this simple. Give me your Marking arms."

My teammates and I exchanged excited glances. It was inevitable: we were obtaining our first Mark, aside from the One Mark, of course. We rolled up our sleeves and raised our arms, pointing straight to Oculus. He pulled a pen out of his drawer--his Marking pen. As soon as the pen drew close to David's arm, it began to glow red. The Mark of Strength! Oculus made a quick slash on David's arm, leaving a red mark. It glowed with power--ready to give David strength whenever he needed it. He next went to my arm, and drew another Mark of Strength on my arm. He did the same for all of us, even Elena. It was odd, as usually, a wood elf's first Mark was Agility.

"Congratu--" Oculus began, before a messenger broke into the room. Messengers were easily distinguishable by their wings that sprouted from their backs. Aside from that, they looked like normal postmen. "Oculus!" he cried out. "There is bad news!" he stopped for a moment to catch his breath.

"What bad news?" Oculus asked frantically. "Spit it out, man!"

The messenger complied. "It's the Grand Wizardess! She's dead!"

*****

As we flew on Tombstone to the gathering hall, which was located in the center of the Five Lands, we contemplated the new bad news that had come from the messenger just a few days ago. "Talk about a downer," I muttered to them, nearly losing my balance and falling off of Tombstone, which would have been instantly lethal. Jeff snorted. "I'd rather not. I wonder how she died? The messenger neglected to tell us that." Elena shushed us. When we were about to protest, the pointed down at the ground.

On the ground, of course, was the gathering hall. It was a grand thing, at least ten stories high, and with a triangular roof. Light positively flowed from the building, encasing every bit of the surrounding area in its glow. Is that where we land? sqwaked Tombstone. David confirmed, and we began our quick descent.

Something that any person must do in their life is fly on an Outlandish Falcon. They are blazing fast birds, almost abominably so, and it's a great deal of fun to ride them. Tombstone was no exception to the general speed of an Outlandish Falcon, and we must have been going fast enough to create a sonic boom. I know that Tallen van Rook had done that once.

As we landed gracefully, thanks to a slowing swoop done by Tombstone, I took another look at the building. "Let's go in, and have some fun," I dmeanded of my friends.