The Legend of the Ravens Hood
Disclaimer: I do not own Kings Isle or Wizard101, including all characters, settings, spells, creatures or else wise.
Written by the hand of: Griffinsoul7
Prologue
It was a dark night, and the wind howled, blowing clouds across the dark sky. Walking alone through the darkness was a young witch. The girl was of fair height, with long, dark blonde hair tied back in a tight ponytail. She wore soft boots, and as she walked she made no sound, as if she was stepping on air. A silver chest plate with a rich green cape billowed out behind her. Glancing around, as if to make sure no one was watching, she flipped up her hood. It wasn't just any hood, either, it was a raven hood. The beak gleamed midnight black, as if the whole night were flowing into a black hole. Swirls decorated the sides, etching gold into the forest green background, forming a leaf; the symbol of Life magic. The girl walked faster, and took a brisk pace. The wind became chilly as she climbed uphill. At the top rested an old, crumbling temple of ancient marble. The girl risked a small smile, of all the islands in the Spiral, this was her favorite. It was the smallest island, and undoubtedly the least known.
But it was back to business as she stood at the steps of the temple. Reaching over her shoulder, the girl took out her staff. She twirled it in her hand, the smooth oak curled at the top, and when she held it it hummed with magic, giving a soft glow. A familiar sound echoed through the night sky, and she held out her arm. Claws gripped her arm softly as the raven landed. It's feathers glistened in the moonlight. The Mother brings word, the time is near the messenger whispered. The girl dipped her head in thanks, and lifted her arm, giving the creature a boost as it took to the night sky. She keep her gaze up, and watched the stars shine, twinkling and dancing. The moon was high in the sky -it was close to midnight.
Without warning, the temple rumbled. The girl trained her gaze calmly on the scene. The old marble cracked and groaned, but she stood her ground. The wind picked up, swirling around in great tendrils. The moon centered over the temple, and a blinding silver light flashed. When it subsided a boy lay unconscious on the floor. If she had to guess, he would be around thirteen, two years younger than she. Glancing around once more, she drew her fingers to her lips and gave a soft whistle. Wing beats sounded, and soon enough a large raven swooped down, landing lightly on the ground beside her. Silently, she hefted the boy onto the back of the raven, and flew off into the night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter
I
The
Ravens Hood
Alura
woke to the sound of the raging fireplace, which had presently been lit. The
fire danced a few feet before her, the flames casting flickering light over the
couch she had been sleeping on. Beside the fire was a girl, with fiery red hair
and dark hazel eyes. She was tall and lithe, with a stubborn chin and daring
outlook, her robes were crimson and orange. The Pyromancer smiled, and twirled
a dagger before concealing it in her robes.
“Tired?
You flew quite a ways, or so I’m told. What was your unannounced business on
Midnight Isle about?” Her friend questioned. Alura sat up, blinking the sleep
out of her eyes.
“Don’t
ask questions you know the answers to, Lucca. Could you turn the fire up? I can
barely see in here.” Alura replied, grabbing her staff and standing. Lucca, the
Pyromancer, complied and with a flick of her hand the fire raged brighter. The
firelight now glowed intensely, illuminating the room around them. Lucca took
out her dagger once more, something she did when she was bored, and twirled it
in her hand. “Can I light the Nest?” She asked, a hint of mischievous
excitement in her voice.
“Ah, I’ll take my chances. Besides,
the sun is due to rise within the hour, and we’ve a lot to discuss today, have
we not?” Lucca replied as they entered the great hall. The long room was dark,
with perhaps the slightest hint of the soon-to-come sun. “This is true. Fine,
wake the Ravens Nest, light the tree.” Alura agreed, and stepped back to watch
the show. Lucca unsheathed her two daggers and set them aflame so the fire covered
the blades. The Pyromancer turned to the wall and pointed her dagger, and
flames shot off the tip and to the wall. The special magic lining caught fire,
and the flames spread across the hall, up the stairs, and throughout the tree. Within
seconds the great hall was lit with a warm fiery glow.
Lucca, pleased, sheathed her daggers and turned to Alura with a smirk. "My bets on three minutes, tops. Yours?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lucca was slightly off. It took the Hood
approximately five minutes to reach the great hall, all of them still yawning.
First to arrive was Noah, their Thamaturge. His white hair was messy, as if he
had not brushed it (although he had indeed, Noah’s hair tended to have a mind
of its own) and spikes of it shot out like ice spires. His eyes were an icy
blue, and his robes hues of white and sapphire. Noah whipped out his wand; an
item made of pure, slim, glacier ice, and looked around quickly. Lucca laughed.
“Looking for something, Iceman?” She teased.
“I
figured if you woke us up this early there must be something awfully
important.” He grumbled, putting his wand away.
Soon
to follow his entrance was Tanner, the Diviner. Tanner was the tallest member
of the Hood, with dark brown hair and electric sea green eyes. His hair was
side swept, as if a strong wind had blown it aside. His robes were deep purple
laced with lightning yellow, and his staff was the shape of a trident, with
arcs of lightning occasionally leaping from tip to tip.
After
Tanner was Ryan, their Master Conjurer. Ryan was a man of few words, and the
oldest of the group, at age seventeen. His hair was a sandy blonde, and his
eyes a light brown hue. Ryan’s robes were decorated with the colors of the Myth
school, blue and gold. Strapped over his shoulder was a light weight battle
axe.
Soon
after Ryan came Kestrel, the Sorcerer. Kestrel was the youngest of the three
girls of the hood, being age fourteen, and had long brunette hair that reached far down her back. Today her hair
was braided down, making it slightly shorter in length. Kestrel wore simple tan
robes with gold swirls, the hues of balance. Her eyes, like usual, were
twinkling light green with a hint of gold, like a hawks. Strapped behind her
back was her trusty bow, and a quiver of magic arrows that never seemed to run
dry.
The last to arrive, to no one’s surprise, was
Valkoor the Necromancer. Valkoor’s slightly long black hair swayed in an unseen
wind, and his dark eyes gave Lucca quite a threatening look (which Lucca
returned by promptly sticking out her tongue). The Necromancer wore all black
robes. His hand rested on the hilt of a slim silver sword that rested on his
hip.
“This
better be important.” Valkoor warned, turning his gaze to Alura, who met it
calmly. “It is. Come.” She replied, leading the Hood up the great hall to a raised
circle at the far end. On the floor of the circle were symbols of each element,
Alura took her place on the Life symbol. Silently the others followed suit,
until the seven stood in a circle, facing each other as the sun rose and
natural light began to filter through the windows of the giant tree.
It
was time for the daily ritual. Meeting each other’s eyes the seven flipped up
their hoods, ravens hoods, and spoke the Ravens Oath.
Mother
Raven bring us near, to this place we hold dear.
In
the Ravens Nest- we compete to do our
best.
To
work as one these three we train: Fire, Storm and Ice, so only evil is slain.
Under
Mother Raven do we fly, soaring high through the sky.
Train
these three to care: Death, Myth and Life, so never again will they dare.
Never
touch a drop of shade; least to darkness will we fade.
This
is no mere brotherhood
because
to us there is only good,
children
of the Ravens Hood.
The
final words seemed to echo around the tree, resounding off the oak and ringing
in the dawn air. They kept their hoods up, as they should when on duty, and
looked to Alura. Somehow she received the feeling they were not simply waiting
for the day’s to-do list, but for an explanation. She sighed. “As you may know I took leave last night…”
“No
kidding.” Valkoor grumbled. Kestrel promptly elbowed him in the ribs, giving
her friend a look that read be nice.
Alura went on. “…on Mother Raven’s orders.” At this remark the Hood’s interest
perked.
“Mother
Raven sent word?” Ryan asked in his gravelly voice. Alura nodded and went on. “Yes.
The One has come, she said by word of a messenger. I was to go to Midnight Isle
and await his arrival.” Lucca, who had been twirling her daggers, stopped. “He
is here?”
“Yes,
in the infirmary. He is currently unconscious, but he is expected to wake
sometime today.” Alura replied.
“He
came from the Temple, didn’t he?” Kestrel spoke quietly. Alura nodded.
“That
means he’s…” Tanner was cut off by Valkoor.
“He’s
human.”
A silence fell over the
hood and Lucca dropped a dagger. Finally the impatient Pyromancer spoke: “If he’s
not got a drop of magic blood, how is he
supposed to learn all the schools of magic?!”
Chapter II
An Unexpected Visitor
Alura
met Lucca’s flaming gaze. “He must, therefor he will.” She replied, hiding the
doubt that lay inside her. Valkoor was not convinced. “You cannot teach a human magic! It is impossible!” At this
remark Alura’s staff glowed brightly and she turned to him.
“Nothing
is impossible. Don’t you remember? It was once said that penetrating Ravenwood
was impossible, but the thief who stole Bartleby’s eyes proved that wrong. It
was once said that it was impossible to master one pure magic, and nothing
more, but we have proved that wrong. We proved there is no need for secondary
schools, or Astral Schools, or the wretched Shadow Magic.” Alura challenged
Valkoor. The Necromancer simply crossed his arms and fixed her with a look of
doubt. Alura decided to ignore the moody wizard for now, and continue with the
daily routine.
“Noah,
Lucca, there has been a disturbance in Olde Town in Wizard City; Ambrose has
requested your assistance. You are to report immediately after breakfast.”
Alura began, and Noah and Lucca nodded sharply.
“Valkoor
and Kestrel, you’re to head to Krockotopia, something about a big breakthrough
or discovery, unfortunately a monster was let out when they opened the tomb.”
“On
it.” Kestrel promised.
“After breakfast.” Valkoor added.
Alura continued: “Ryan, you’re on your own today, a troll somehow found its way
to Triton Avenue and is clueless on how it got there. He’s not hostile but they’ll
need your help to guide him back to Cyclops Lane.” Ryan nodded. Finally, the
Theurgist turned to Tanner. “Tanner, you’ve got the day off. As for me, I’ve
got the boy to tend to." With that, the Hood disbanded for breakfast.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Breakfast was done and gone, and all those with
quests had departed, leaving Alura and Tanner behind. The Midnight Manders (The
cooks and cleaners of the Ravens Nest, set there by Mother Raven herself, who
also were treated with respect and had their own rooms in the tree. Midnight
Manders are dark skinned and have small amounts of death magic.) were cleaning
up the long table and Alura quietly helped carry dishes right of the hall and
into the kitchen. Tanner was nowhere to be seen, and she suspected he was
probably roaming the fields around the Nest.
The
Ravens Nest was home to the Ravens Hood, a large hollowed out tree rather like
Bartleby. On the first floor was the great hall, to the right the kitchens and
Mander’s quarters, to the left was the commons and the infirmary. The second
level housed the rooms for the members (there were eight, one was always left
empty for the ‘One’), and the third was the magic studies, practice rooms and
armory.
Alura
took the winding staircase up to the second floor, and walked the long oaken
hall to her quarters. On the door was a leaf, the symbol of Life magic, and
bellow it the number seven. Alura opened her door, which swung open with a creek,
and stepped into a room designed to fit any Theurgist’s standards.
The
floor was a carpet of vibrant green leaves, as if they’d freshly fallen; the
ceiling was the swirls of the trunk of the Nest. A window faced west, with no
pane to separate the fall breeze from her room (of course, in winter Noah came
to freeze her window over, and keep in the heat). Around the room were small
bits of furniture, a desk with a mossy stump as a chair, a dark oaken dresser
for her robes, a wind chime, a locked chest, and a bed with a canopy of leaves
and vines hung over it. On the bed, something stirred.
A
creature with the body of a cat, and wings like that of bats took flight to
greet Alura. Its tail was slightly poufy, and its ears had tuffs of fur coming
off the edges. The beings fur was a forest green, dappled with patches of
darker hues. Its eyes were a rich emerald. The Forest Beast meowed greeting to its
owner, and Alura allowed him to land in her arms. “Hello to you too, Oliver.”
Alura addressed him. Oliver made a purring sound in her arms, content. Alura
let herself give a small smile and set him on the floor gently, opening the
door so he could wander the corridors (although Oliver much preferred to fly
the skies during the day, he did enjoy visiting with the others pets as well).
Oliver meandered into the halls and disappeared from view
with a meow. Her pet taken care of, Alura turned to the window. Outside long fields
of golden grass swayed in an autumn breeze. The few trees that stood mottled about
the plain swayed in the wind, occasionally losing a crimson colored leaf.
The Nest was quiet, as silent as the stalking cat. Only a
Master Theurgist, like herself, could feel the very vibrations of the plant,
the life energy than ran through its roots and pooled at its center. For
minutes Alura stood, listening to the heart of the tree.
Clip-clop-clip-clop,
the familiar noise drifted to the Theurgist’s ears. Alura turned and walked
into the corridor to greet the unicorn. Zela (pronounced: Zee-la) stood in front of her, white coat shinning, silver horn
gleaming. Her tail was braided to match her mane, her eyes sparkled a kindly
sky blue.
“Alura, you may wish to come to the infirmary. The boy is
waking.” Zela spoke in her nickering voice.
“Thank you, Zela! How much longer, do you suppose?” She
asked the medical advisor. Zela shrugged (in the unicorn fashion of shaking
their head and snorting) and replied, “Not sure, miss, any time now.” The nurse
turned tail and trotted to the stairs (which were especially wide and made for
an equine creature).
The two reached the infirmary within the minute, and
Alura approached the boy for the first time since the night before. He looked
to be Kestrel’s age, fourteen, with dark brown hair and fair height. He wore
the oddest robes, those of a human, some odd blue pants and a simple t-shirt.
His figure twitched, as if in a bad dream. Zela nudged Alura’s shoulder with
her muzzle. “I think it best if I make myself scarce, a unicorn being his first
vision would give him quite a fright.” She whispered. Alura nodded as the
unicorn clopped off into the great hall.
As if on que the boy awoke. His eyes flashed open, and
with a start Alura realized they were a pierce grey, the same hue as her own. He
looked her over with a curious expression, and asked a question any respectable
boy in his position would do.
“Who are you?”
“Alura, Master Theurgist, though I doubt that means
anything to you.” Alura replied, giving a slight bow. The boy shook his head. “May
I ask your name?” Alura pressed. The boy thought for a moment. “My name is
Coren.” He said at last, with a look of confusion on his face.
“Well, Coren, welcome to the Ravens Hood, an elite group
of wizards and witches.” Alura said. Coren blinked numbly. Alura took the
chance to explain: “This may come as a shock to you, but you have crossed from
the human world into a world of magic, called the Spiral.”
“You’re funny.” Coren said after a long silence. Alura
frowned at his doubt, and was about to tell him more when a sudden noise made
her freeze. “No.” She whispered, and her face paled. Coren looked at her with a
slightly worried expression. “Uh…you ok?” He asked, sitting up and attempting
to stand. Alura grabbed for her staff which she had tucked under the bed (so as
not to disturb the boy with a glowing stick). Coren starred at the pulsing glow
of the magical weapon. “You have a glowing stick. That’s not weird.” He spoke,
and Alura couldn’t help but laugh at the statement.
“It does more than glow, kid. You may want to stay here…”
She warned, and ran in the direction of the great hall. A loud crashing noise
was steadily getting louder, and Alura feared for the worst. If Coren saw a
magical creature too soon, it could shock him back into a coma. Of course,
Mother Raven’s prophecy stated that he would be the one to dispel the darkness.
Alura supposed she would need him awake to do so. Pity, it would be so much
easier the other way.
Alura was almost to the great hall when a loud roar
echoed down the hallways…a roar that sounded all too familiar to an experienced
witch. She burst through the doors just in time to confirm her fear…a cyclops was
ragging the great hall.
Chapter
III
The Eighth
Member
This cyclops, however, was different from most she had
encountered. Its kilt (very manly for a cyclops) was black, which was very
unusual. Alura ran out into the great hall, holding up her staff as it began to
glow brightly. The creature turned and roared at her.
“Do you speak?!” Alura asked in a shout. The cyclops
promptly thrust out his hand and casted a swarm of blood bats at her. “Take that as a no.” Alura mumbled to herself
crossly, and held up her staff. It hummed and glowed, and the oncoming blood
bats slammed into a wall of green energy, a Guardian Shield. The shield
absorbed the attack and Alura twirled her staff in quick retaliation, slamming
it into the floor of the tree. A leprechaun jumped to life in front of her and
tossed a cascade of its gold on the cyclops, laughing hysterically as it did so
(as leprechauns have virtually no sense of danger).
The rain of metal seemed to have no effect on her foe and
the cyclops raised his hammer. Alura paled, sensing the oncoming danger and
rolled out of the way just in time to see her magic shield crumble to nothing
under the attack. This cyclops was unnaturally strong; rarely did a single blow
take out her shield!
Alura danced around the cyclops, avoiding his minor
attacks. Where in the Spiral was Tanner?! Surely he would have heard the
commotion by now? But Tanner became the least of her worries as Alura saw none
other than Coren walk into the great hall. He stopped in the threshold and
stared, frozen, at the creature.
Well. There goes the prophecy. Perhaps he would have to
save the world in coma after all.
Smash!
The cyclops’ hammer landed on the end of Alura’s cape, and dragged her to the
ground with a thud. A scream sounded, and it took Alura a moment to realize it
was not her voice that had screamed, but Coren’s. He had a quite the girly
voice when terrified.
Thoughts aside, the cyclops raised his hammer for another
attack, and Alura rolled aside and leapt to her feet. Her enemy cast another
spell, sending a troll after her. But Alura had had enough, she threw up
another Guardian Shield (it was one of her favorite spells), and the troll
dissipated into nothing as it met the magic barrier.
Alura was glowing. By avoiding the cyclop’s attacks, she
had built up quite the storage of magic. She held up her staff, which shone more
brightly than ever, and slammed it into the ground with a force that shook the
tree. She began a slow chant, which evolved into song.
Sure, the other schools had Vexes and Curses and Charms,
but why cajole things into your bidding when you can create? Song was the voice of creation, and like any Master
Theurgist, Alura had a beautiful voice. Her song started low, with no words
really, but a series of magical murmurs and notes. Alura’s song began to
quicken in tempo, swirling into a powerful melody of ancient whispers. With a
final breath she sang out the last note, a low strong voice.
The Theurgist’s staff glowed briefly, transferring its
golden light to the oaken floor. The light traveled between her and the
cyclops, stopping in the middle and fading. Where the light had been the tree
floor began to shudder, and great roots and vines of wood rose up and twisted
into a large being. Alura spoke the last words of the spell:
“Let Nature’s Wraith be upon you!” She yelled, and the
treant attacked.
The cyclops raised its hammer and slammed it into the
treant. The treant, however, held up its tangled hand and intercepted the blow,
slowly coming closer to its foe. The cyclops faltered, and in its confusion the
treant took its mighty hand and slammed it into the cyclops’ chest. Vines and
brambles began to wrap around the monster, trapping him in a wood cocoon. The
treant, his job done, melted back into the floor.
Alura sighed, and her staff’s glow faded with her energy.
She was unrested, and quite exhausted. The Theurgist turned back to Coren, who,
to her surprise, was no longer frozen. She began to approach him when he held
up his hand and pointed at her…no, not at her, behind her! Before Coren had time to speak the word that
corresponded with his action (as he was about to say: “Look!”) Alura whirled
round to see a dreaded sight.
The cyclops was not defeated. He had broken free of his
entanglement and was looking for his hammer, which he had dropped in his fight
with the treant. Alura whispered some less than lady-like things under her
breath. “Coren, stay behind me!” She yelled, her staff collecting its glow
again. “No need to tell me twice!” Coren managed a reply from behind her, Alura
was impressed he could even speak. The enemy turned to the pair, and Alura was
about to begin a spell when something broke her concentration.
Lightning arched across the room and shocked the cyclops.
Tanner had arrived from the main doors, and was sprinting down the great hall,
holding his trident up for another attack. He uttered a word and pointed his
trident, a silver cobra landed in front of him. Sparks of electricity crackled
from its fangs, and it hissed dangerously. The cyclops turned to the snake and
held up its hammer.
But Alura knew the snake wouldn’t last. The Storm Cobra
was a beginner spell, a simple distraction. She started her spell, forming a
very fast paced song with high notes and staccatos. Across the room, Tanner was
muttering a Vex. They ended at the exact same moment.
A lot happened at
the same time. The cyclops had taken a minor shock from the cobra, but had quickly
dispelled (ha-ha, dispelled) of the snake. He then turned to Alura and Coren, and was lumbering in
their direction. Clouds began forming near the ceiling as Tanner’s Vex neared its
end, and tall emerald grass began growing on the floor. When the spells ended,
the grass grew and tangled the cyclops in its place, while the dark clouds
swirled above. There was a loud crack and boom as Tanner’s thunderstorm
unleashed it’s fury upon the cyclops. When the clouds cleared and the grass
retreated, there was no sign of the cyclops. He was finally defeated.
Tanner frowned and walked over to Coren and Alura. “You
ok?” He asked, before looking over Alura’s shoulder and spotting Coren. “He’s
awake? And not dead?” Tanner asked in a surprised and cheerful voice. “Uh…I’m
standing right here.” Coren mumbled.
“Coren, this is Tanner, Master Diviner.” Alura introduced
them.
“So…you can tell the future?” Coren asked.
“Ha! I wish. No, Diviner is the name for a student of
Storm Magic.” Tanner grinned and his trident crackled.
“Tanner, where were
you? I could have needed your help earlier.” Alura questioned.
“I’ll tell you later, for now; don’t you have some
explaining to do?” Tanner’s eyes flickered over to Coren. Alura nodded, “That I
do. If you want answers, follow me.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alura showed Coren to the third floor, which was composed
of three main rooms. To the left was an open space with various dummies and
duel circles: the practice room. On the right were bookshelves and cluttered
desks: the library. The two rooms were divided with a low row of shrubs. In the
far back was a door, which Alura lead Coren through. They stepped inside
another large circular room, flickering with colors.
Much like the replica of the Spiral in Ambrose’s house,
the armory had one as well. The Spiral of colors and islands spun slowly from
the ceiling, sustained by magic itself. On the floor was the chart of magic
schools, with balance in the middle. Rows of books lined the walls, with gold
engraved titles such as: The Study of
Pure Magic or The Secret of Ravens
Stealth. Thin windows filtered in sunlight (these ones with panes) and
locked chests were lined against the far wall. Coren starred in awe.
“Welcome, to the Spiral.” Alura said. “Now, let us begin
your initiation.”
Next: Chapter IV, The Plot Afoot
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