A Mage's Wrath

Chapter 2

When they got to the dining room, Veata was back in her seat already, and everyone looked up to watch Ignacia and Kaj settle down. The hairs on the back of Ignacia's neck began to prickle, hating the attention and dreading the scolding from Master Agha that was bound to come.

However, he stayed silent, which surprised her, but was grateful.

I'd hate to get embarrassed. She risked a glance aside at Salil, who was sitting next to her. Especially in front of him.

She focused her vision on the table before her. In front of everybody on a plate lied a grilled salmon, along with some rice on the side. In the table's center was a bowl of fresh strawberries. Right away, Ignacia's mood lightened at the sight of the delicious, plump red berries. She almost began to reach for one before she heard Salil start the line of 'thanks' to Master Agha.

"Thank you, Master Agha," he acknowledged.

"Thank you, Master Agha," followed Kaj.

Next came her. "Th-thank you, Master Agha," she slightly stumbled. Gladly, she realized that no one noticed.

"Thank you, Master Agha," Veata said lastly.

"You are very welcome, you four," responded Master Agha. "Now, you may all eat."

A second after the traditional saying was over with, Ignacia bolted her hand toward the berry-filled bowl and plucked up a strawberry, plunging it into her mouth. Her teeth sank deep inside the fruit, the tangy juice seeping onto her tongue. She chewed it slowly to savor the wonderful taste.

"Why do you always do that?" a voice interrupted her eating. She swallowed and turned to her side.

"Do what?" she asked Salil, her heart beginning to beat faster. Why does he always pick on me?

"Every time we have something in the middle of the table, you always eat one of that food first, before your main meal. Why don't you just wait until you are done with everything else?" He had the most disgusted and confused look on.

Ignacia moved her gaze to Master Agha, but for some reason, he seemed very intrigued with his cooked salmon. She glanced at Veata, who was staring at her, and then Kaj, who had his head lowered and had been looking at her as well, but swiftly repositioned his eyes to look at his plate. Her focus returned to Salil to reply, "Why does it even matter? It's my choice."

The Water Elemental Mage only rolled his eyes and muttered "Bird-brain" in response, turning back to his meal.

Ignacia solemnly ate her meal, only having a couple more strawberries at the end, way less than normal since she came here. Only Master Agha and she were left after Veata excused herself from the table and went elsewhere. The red-haired girl was beginning to push away from the table until Master Agha called her to stay. Once he began talking, she thought it was on the topic of the way Salil had been treating her, but again he shocked her.

"Ignacia, the Elemental Mage of Fire," the Master started, his voice rumbling with wisdom, "you have only been here for two weeks now. Has anyone told you the purpose of the Elemental Mages throughout those two weeks?"

She began to feel a bit uncomfortable. "N-no, they have not"- she paused for half a second -"M-Master Agha." Panic was growing in her chest.Was I supposed to ask someone? she thought to herself. Wouldn't Kaj have told me?

But there was no anger brewing in the midst of Master Agha's calm expression. "That is all right - I wanted to tell you myself, anyway.

"Long ago, a man called the Scourge of Life took over almost every place in the world of mages. It was a disastrous time - the Scourge's soldiers would patrol every village, no matter how big or small it was, nonstop. Fights would break out from riots and strikes, causing countless unnecessary deaths every day. The Scourge would punish families by demanding his soldiers to murder their children, young or old - he would have even done it himself.

"Then, about seven years into his dreadful ruling, four of the greatest mages came known - the Elemental Mages of Water, Earth, Fire, and Air. They had trained in this very place, the Mage Sanctuary, after they Found that they were destined to be the Elemental Mages to save Zertima. Once they had all reached over the age of fifteen, they traveled to the Scourge of Life's palace, a castle in the highest of mountains called Mage's Peak. It still stands to this day, as it is the castle the king or queen of Blazerg resides in. It is guarded by three dragons of a species known as pastrices, one of the most deadly creatures in all the land and seas, and can live for centuries.

"However, there is a new threat now. After over two hundred years, a man that is rumored to be the reincarnation of the Scourge rules the provinces of both his own province of Blazerg and, only two years ago, Miknul. He is slowly beginning his fight to possess all of Zertima, as certainly a man with that much power with just himself is ambitious enough to carry such a hunger. He has been ruling in the palace of Mage's Peak for nearly ten years now, and is considered the king of Blazerg. He is known as the Venom's Curse."

Master Agha unexpectedly paused abruptly. He took a deep breath, as if calming himself down, or releasing stress. His ancient brown eyes focused immensely on Ignacia as he continued.

"Saving the entire mage world depends on you, Ignacia, and the other Elemental Mages. It depends on me, too, for I am the one to train and care for you until then. But what it mostly depends on is teamwork. I did notice how Salil had treated you during supper, and I am very aware of how he behaved with Veata and Kaj. I do not even need to be told directly that he has been bullying you as well. Salil is an aggressive young mage, if not a very skilled one, but he needs to learn by himself that in the end he'll need to work with everyone in order to succeed." He laid a gentle hand on Ignacia's shoulder. "Everything will be better when this is done with."

With that, Master Agha left his seat and went down a hall toward his bedchamber. Ignacia was alone in the dining room, her mind racing with all the information that she had just heard from one sitting.

A danger so great and maleficent has returned to the world for a second time, as if in revenge. It came back thirsty for what it wants, and does not care what it had to do to get it.

Our duty is to kill the bane of the mage world. Our duty is to protect every single person. With the power of the elements.

And teamwork.

~*~*~*~*~*~

As you read, this chapter gave a lot of background of the Elemental Mages, what their purpose is, and a little bit of history of Zertima, the mage world. I loved making up the names for the dragon species and provinces - it's a way you can add a lot more originality to the book. (I consider making up words as one of my "specialists" XD)

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