Arcane Advent I:

THE MAGE, THE GIRL, & THE RUINED CITY

By: R.Kain

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 Copyright Notice

THIS IS A TWILIT DREAMS BOOK PUBLISHED BY R.KAIN

AND LULU PUBLISHING.
Standard Copyright @ 2010 by R.Kain
Cover art Copyright @ 2010 by R.Kain

All rights reserved under R.Kain

Published in United States by R.Kain, an imprint of Lulu
Publishing

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Prologue
“...How did it come to this...?”
The horrid sight had been burned into my eyes.
There was no sound around except the howling wind.
This once lively city had now been reduced to a state of
decay and desolation.
The air was filled with a mixture of nostalgia and
sorrow that flowed throughout the city. A breeze came
and brought with it the unmistakable scent of rotting
flesh and decay. Death was all around me and all over
the city.
Was there anyone other than me even alive? This
entire place looked as if a natural disaster had struck.
But I knew better. A natural disaster wouldn't have
caused the sky to turn crimson and the reddish moon to
hold its place above us, without ever changing or
moving.
A howl resounded throughout the air and a
shadow approached from amidst the rubble. I snapped
my attention dead ahead. The source of the sound
appeared before me, at least 140 feet away. It had the
shape of wolf, bearing crimson eyes and bloody fangs.
The wolf-like creature let loose an intimidating
growl, as it spotted me and sprinted towards me with
its four swift legs...
“Ha...” I readied my blade, held in my bloodstained
right hand, and prepare for it. It wouldn't take it more
than 4 seconds to cross this distance...

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 “A natural disaster couldn't have unleashed these
creatures upon us...”
It had gotten even closer, seeking to drive its blood
thirsty fangs into my battered body. It would be over
soon. Very soon.
“Like master told me once before. These are beings
born with only one purpose.” It finally leapt over the
torn ground and opened its mouth to show its fangs. It
went towards my upper body, seeking the soft and
supple flesh that was my neck. It would be an instant kill
with its bite pressure.
“That purpose is to serve their master.” With a
quick swing, I brought my blade down and cut the beast
in half. It was over in an instant.
“Ha...ha...ha” I gasped for air as I fell to my knees.
My head dropped down and I stared at the ground
beneath me. I was exhausted both mentally and
physically. Just how long had I been fighting these
things?
My heavy breathing kept going, no matter how
hard I tried to calm myself. Had it been a few years
since this battle even began?
A soft growl emerged again. I raised my head at it,
only to see six more of the beasts staring at me...
“They're getting ready to pounce again. And they
just keep coming!” How pathetic, I'm already tired from
all this fighting. It hadn’t even been a full day since the
battle against these ‘Familiars’ of his had begun...
I used my blade as a support and stood up. I placed
my right foot forward and my blade in front. There was

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no running from these beasts. Trapped within this
barrier, the only choice is to fight.
“Well...its fine,” I mumbled as I tried to maintain
my stance, “go ahead...keep coming...” I glared at them.
We’ve entered the 10th hour.
“Keep coming and...” I continued to mutter as the
tension boiled up to the breaking point.
“I'LL CUT THROUGH YOU ALL!!” The shout
snapped the tension and they lunged at me. There was
no other choice but to cut them down, as they were
blocking my path.
“These beasts are not my enemy!” They pressed
forward and so did I. “The one commanding them is!”
All of us met in the center of the rubble.
“Their master...” I sliced through them all with
swift swings, leaving pieces of the blood-soaked
creatures that swiftly turned to dust in the wind. I stood
firmly on my two feet and stared at the building ahead
of me, since that was where their master was waiting
for me.
“HE IS MY ENEMY!!” As the final hour would soon
arrive, I braced myself and advanced towards that
building. Where the one who managed to wiped out an
entire city and commanded these creatures was waiting
to meet me with open arms and a sick grin on his face.
By the time the clock struck twelve, one of us would
fall...

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Hour 1: The First Hour
On that day, 15 minutes before Noon and before
the events that unfolded, I was simply living a semi-
average life as a 21 year old college student. I was
attending a private college for a degree in video game
development.
I was a loner by nature and had been living alone in
this city for 3 years now. I didn't have any real friends or
relatives that lived here, so there was no one for me to
be attached to. Still, I would have never wished what
was about to happen onto the people living here.
Chirp. Chirp. That was the sound of the birds
outside the window of my two-story home. I was still
trying to sleep on my bed after an all-night game
marathon. I was huge fan of RPG games and had finally
gotten my hands on a rare one. In that night, I had
spent all the time trying to find several crystals that had
the power to save two worlds. It’s a common game idea
but the gameplay made up for it.
Needless to say, with no school for a few days and
nothing else to do, I burned out...
Chirp, Chirp, Chirp, the birds kept going. I couldn't
hear the sounds of the city from my room, but I could
hear those blasted birds. Honestly, why did they have to
build a nest next to my house?
Chi—!! The chirping was suddenly silenced. I
mumbled in my half-asleep state. Finally relieved at the
silence, I wasn't even concerned about the reason that
the chirping stopped. That was my mistake.

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 A few minutes later, I began to feel something
crawling on me. It wasn’t something physical, but it felt
like a small weight being pressed on me.
“Uhhhhh...” I gave out a slight moan. That crawling
feeling kept building up more and more as the minutes
passed. It felt as though I was slowly being embraced in
a cold sea of dark mud, holding within it a malicious
intent...
I awoke within a second, after being overcome
with a sense of impending death. “Something's
coming!!” Those words echoed into my head.
With only ten seconds to Noon, I felt an
overpowering sense of terror. It felt as though I was
being crushed by the pressure of the ocean and couldn't
move. My body had became a stone.
“Is this ‘Magick’?” I muttered as the pressure built
up as time passed. Fearing the worst, I muttered with
under my breath a few simple words:
“A man’s home is his castle. Let nothing enter without
his willing it.”
The words triggered a change within the perimeter
of the house. The timing couldn’t have been better, as
once the clock had struck 12, all hell broke loose and
the destruction began.
The air changed, it became cold and ominous; its
very presence made my skin feel like ice. The earth
shook with the force of a quake; I heard the buildings
and bridges collapsing in the distance followed by the
screams of the people. Lastly, the sky turned crimson as

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a wall of red had risen up and the moon, that wasn’t
visible before, had appeared where the sun was.
After that...The blood of the innocent began to
flow. Ear-piercing screams and the sound twisting metal
from various accidents could be heard for 10 minutes.
After that, I blacked out from the pressure of the
Magick.
Once the pressure had finally subsided, I was
awoken by the building next to me crashing down after
its support had given out. I looked at the battery-
powered clock only to see it was 5 minutes until 1 P.M.
“What was that? It was the first time I'd ever felt so
much magical energy.” I made my way out of bed and
down the stairs to the door. I calmed my heart by
breathing slowly and then I opened the door. Looking
outside, I saw everything around me had been reduced
to a state of ruination.
The only building in sight, and possibly in the
district, that was left in its normal condition was my
home. That was only because I had a protective ‘On-lay’
spell placed on my home, which activated at the
incantation I spoke earlier. Thanks to that alone my
home withstood all of the events that had past.
What's worse is that the moment I went outside,
pass the barrier of the On-lay, I couldn’t hear anything
living. I smelled the scent of spilt blood and sensed an
almost demonic presence all around me, as if the end of
everything was upon us.

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 I went back into my home. There was something
dangerous out there, but this place can’t be easily
broken into.
“If I stay here, I'll be safe. It’s as simple as that.” I
told myself those very words. But I still found myself
heading towards the living room. There was no telling
what was going on out there and I don’t like sticking my
nose into the affairs of others as a rule.
“But, I won’t learn anything if I stay here. I can’t
shake that feeling of dread that was pushing me down
earlier unless I go.” I headed to my living room closet. It
was there that I kept the only part of me that wasn't
average. The part of me that was a ‘Mage’.
I opened the door and pulled back a false wall that,
with the help of the internet, I had built. There, I kept
some equipment ready for combat: A cloak, fingerless
gloves, a bracelet, a sword, and ‘Runestones’.
The cloak was black and reinforced with various
runes to protect my body from physical, magical, and
elemental harm to various degrees. The sword was a
katana, a Japanese curved blade. This type of blade is
what I've practiced with day after day for over 3 years
as a way to fill a void inside me, long before I got
involved with this city and magick. This would be the
weapon that cuts through whatever hinders my path.
The runestones that I'd consecrated with my blood
and allowed to gather strength for 9 months were to be
used for multiple purposes. I had more of them, but I
used them in practice to understand their effects...

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 That and a certain incident involving an old school
building, a girl, and a fire that no one can pin on me.
After nearly a year of storing energy they should pack
an immense punch.
This bracelet was a ‘Taufr’, a magic talisman which
has had the ‘Uruz’ Rune risted into it. It strengthened
my body, allowing my fist to break stone and my feet to
cut through the wind. Physical healing is also an added
effect, in case I get hurt.
Last were these gloves. It was another taufr that
bore ‘Kauno’ on the outside and ‘Fehu’ on the inside.
With these ‘Projection’ gloves, I could use ‘Gandr’
spells...
“Out of the frying pan and into the fire...”

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Hour 2: Ruined City
I left home after gearing up and walked down the
center streets that led to the middle of the city. The
road itself had newly made cracks in it that weren't
there before and some of the asphalt was uprooted and
scattered. But what was most troubling was the fact
that there were signs of struggles. Blood was splattered
lightly across the ground. I kept walking until I ran
across a large building that collapsed on its side and was
blocking the street.
As I approached it, I noticed various points where
blood was pooled on the ground. This amount would be
fatal for a normal person.
“Did people get crushed by this thing....?” I looked
down and noticed a bloody hand print on the wall
nearby, but still no corpses. The blood looked as if it
was dragged upwards, like the victim was carried into
the air.
A terrifying screech caught my ear and I looked up.
Flocks of what looked like large black birds were coming.
They were stained with blood and had jet-black fangs
and crimson eyes.
Once they noticed me they began barreling down.
It was then that I saw a piece of flesh hanging down
from one of their mouths, like a scrap of meat. These
things must've caused those bloodstains. I knew
instantly that these creatures were dangerous.

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 “I would be at a disadvantage if I let them
approach me. So I'll....” I placed my left hand around my
right's wrist. “Shoot them down!!”
I closed my left eye, so I could concentrate, and left
my right eye open to aim. I had to invoke the gloves
with a ‘Galdr’ so I could get them to activate for the first
time. “The mark becomes power. Uruz bears the
resolve of strength. Words invoke the runes. Kauno
bears the will of flames.”
The runes on the gloves lit up with a reddish glow
and the rune of ‘Kauno’ was planted in the center.
Everything was set. “Now let it be done...”
The birds were roughly 300 feet away. They were
focused completely on me now. That was perfect for
me, since they probably wouldn’t dodge this.
I folded my right hand into the shape of a gun; my
pointing finger and index finger were the barrel and my
thumb was a targeting sight. I silently muttered:
“Cen...”
Fwoosh. Flames arose from my pointed fingers and
shot towards the closest bird. The gloves allowed me to
project my ‘Hamingja’, the magical energy in my body.
The act of projecting magic outwards was called ‘Gandr’.
The rune of ‘Kauno’ granted my gandr the properties of
fire, so this light flame became the bullet which flew
towards my enemy.
The first shot connected and the flame enveloped
the target. The bird was destroyed in a single hit,
leaving only scattered feathers in its wake. I fired
another set of shots.

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 I hit every one of them with precise aim, this was
the result of endless practice. Within a few seconds all
the birds were gone. Some of the feathers landed near
me, so I picked one up. But it suddenly scattered into
dust. It left no trace behind.
“So, the people here were killed and devoured by
these things....?” I looked over to a nearby by building
that had several rough holes in it, most likely from the
quake damaging it. Or so I'd like to think. “No, they
aren't the only ones here.”
I headed from where I was to the nearest edge of
the city. I wanted a closer look at the red wall blocking
the way. Since I was pressed for time, I just activated
my bracelet to strengthen my legs and raise my speed.
Taking to the rooftops, I eventually hit the edge of the
city. In front of me stood a transparent barrier,
unwavering as if it was a giant gate.
I launched a barrage of shots at it, but it was no
good. The gate didn't so much as block it as it absorbed
it, like the shots were fired into water. Whatever was
holding this gate up, it couldn’t be broken with brute
strength.
“Something of this caliber has to be sustained
through several connections to a source. So to break it, I
need to destroy the source...” With that answer
achieved, I no longer had business there. There was no
way out of it without cutting its power completely and if
I stayed here I'd just be a sitting duck.
This might also explain why after an hour had past,
no one had been sent to investigate the city being

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destroyed. There were spells that shift awareness of
locations and people, although using it on an entire city
was questionable. The only questions that remained
were: What was sustaining the barrier and who was
responsible?
Something of this nature would require far more
energy than a normal mage could contain. Something
far greater is at work here. Before I could think about it,
I was put on alert. A low growl caught my ears.
Sweat dripped down my head as I slowly turned it
to the right. There, only 70 feet away, were four large
wolf-like creatures.
“Ah, crap...” I stated with a sigh. “They look
hungry.”
They were similar to the birds I fought earlier; they
possessed jet-black fur that looked as smooth as silk.
However, that splendid coat was stained with patches
of red and their fangs were covered in blood. I felt that
if I had made a single wrong move they'd pounce on me
and tear out my throat.
Both they and I stood with our eyes locked, just
waiting for a chance. Then a piece of a nearby building
fell off and acted as the signal. All of us took off.
I jumped onto a nearby collapsed building and kept
running. They did the same; they were intent on not
letting their prey escape.
“I have to separate them!” That thought ran
through my mind as we leapt onto the next building.
“Cen!!” I fired four shots directly at them. They turned,
narrowly avoiding the shots. They were far too agile to

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hit while we were running and, eventually, they would
catch up to me.
“How do I stop them from moving…!? Bingo!” I
spotted a crack in the rooftop ahead of me and made
my way over to it. “Keep up if you can!!” I said as I
jumped down the crack, that was just large enough to
fit me. It led all the way down to the bottom floor.
As I fell, I turned around and saw one of the wolves
in front of me. It must've been the fastest since the
other two were 10 feet behind him as we fell inside the
large building. I smirked. At this range, and off the
ground, it had no chance of avoiding me. So, I released
four shots back-to-back.
Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang. The shots were all aimed
at the fastest one, every one of them connected. That
was just enough to kill it. I turned and landed on my
feet. The impact caused my bones to shake, but my
body was reinforced. With less than three seconds
before they landed, I began running again.
By the time they landed, I was already outside. The
pursuit began once again.
“I need to end this quickly.” My breathing was
starting to get heavy. I made a sharp right turn into an
alley with wolves pursuing. They followed me and
navigated through the rubble that was scattered around.
One of the wolves fell behind the others.

“Alright, let's try this!” I stopped at the entrance to

the alley and I placed my right hand on the hilt of my
sword that was hanging off my back. I quickly turned

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around while drawing it. The blade spun with me as it
was unsheathed, bearing the naked black steel onto the
fur of the two wolves that were on my trail.
Whimper. That was the last thing that came from
those two as the blade cut cleanly through them,
separating their upper jaw from their lower jaw and
cutting their heads in half. Now all that remained was
the last one.
It was on the trail of the other two and closing fast.
But there was no need to run like before. I pressed
forward with my blade in my right hand behind me.
Once we were only inches away, I raised the blade
above my head, gripped it with both hands, and swung.
A tshink was heard as I brought it down, spilling the
blood of the beast onto the rubble. Its lifeless body fell
and disappeared like dust in the wind. With that, I was
victorious against my pursuers. I lightly swung the blade
down to get rid of the blood on it and put it back in its
sheath. I let out a sigh and walked towards the exit of
the alley once again.
After a while had passed, I rested at the top of a
nearby building rooftop that overlooked the city.
“To think that this city has been reduced to little
more than rubble.” Using the opportunity to check on
my gear, I looked over them for any problems.
“Let's see...huh?”I pulled out the runestones. They
came in a variety of colors but most of them were red,
the color of flames. “I'd better save these in case of an
emergency.”

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 These stones were one of my few trump cards in
case something went down. It was better to be
prepared for everything. I put the stones into their
pouch and pulled out my sword to wipe off any
remaining blood from those wolves. Suddenly, a loud
crash came from below me.
“What the—!!” The building began to collapse and
I slid towards the edge. I kicked my legs down and stood
as the roof began to fall further. From there, I leapt to
the next rooftop, as this building completed its collapse.
I looked over the edge.
That’s where I saw it. A colossal creature with pure
red eyes that looked like finely cut rubies. Its body was
strongly built, and it stood on two legs while its
monstrous arms lay at its side. Just by looking at it, I
knew right away. I couldn’t beat that thing right now.
“I have to get out of here!” My mind focused on
that single fact. But it spotted me and moved over to
this building. It raised its arm and smashed it into the
side of the building. I fell to the earth, narrowly avoiding
the rubble that followed.
The howls it let loose echoed throughout the area.
I backed up slowly, while it stared at me. It raised its
massive arm up once again, and brought it down on top
of me. I struggled desperately to hold it up with both of
my arms. But, no matter how hard I tried, this massive
weight was overpowering me.
My muscles & skin began to rip as my bones
themselves were cracking. Blood began pouring from

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the torn skin. I began to sink deeper into the ground as
it broke up. It couldn’t support this weight.
“Can't....Hold.....Longer”
CRACK. I heard a loud crack, but it's wasn’t from
the ground. My bracelet had a large crack in it. In order
to keep this from crushing me, I've had to use so much
magical energy that the bracelet is breaking from the
strain of it, along with the pressure of holding this up.
Once it breaks, I was dead.
“I...hope....this....doesn't...overheat the...Taufr!” I
was left with no choice but to fully invoke the Taufr. I
had only stated the name of the rune to partially
activate it. But it can go just a step further. However,
there was a price. Fully activating any magical item
increases its chance of overheating and breaking.
“It'll be fine if it's just for a second...” I silently told
myself as I gathered my thoughts. The creature howled
as it tried to use all it's might to crush the insect before
it. I began a new galdr:
“Proud aurochs, fierce and free. Though you have
disappeared from time’s wrath, bestow thy strength to
me. I invoke, ‘Uruz’!!”
Its howl grew even louder, as the runes of the
bracelet glowed a dim, proud, orange color.
“These words carry my will!!!!” The runes began
to shine even brighter. The blood disappears; broken
bones and ripped muscles began to heal. However, the
light shines even brighter. The radiance shines so bright,
it was as if it was trying to swallow us all.

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 “Have...to...control...it!” The Taufr was reaching its
full strength. The Uruz rune represents the Auroch, a
now extinct creature of great power. It granted strength
and healing among other things, but was hard to
control. Just like they were.
Crack. Crack. Smaller cracks were appearing. I let
out a scream as I began my counter-attack. I pushed its
arm back up, but just barely. It was too much weight
and I didn't have enough time before the Taufr breaks.
“GET...” I pushed it with everything I had. Yet, it
barely moved a step back. “AWAY!!” With the small
opening I made, I smashed the ground beneath our feet.
The creature lost its balance, as I quickly leapt back. I
cleared the length of a football field in a single jump.
However, it didn’t intend to let me go. It began to
walk towards me. I couldn’t keep the bracelet active
anymore without it breaking. “No choice then...”
I reached for my blade as it closed in. I was
preparing to use my last resort. My final and most
powerful art, bestowed upon me by my master. But,
before I could get ready, it stopped and walked away.
“Huh?” I stared with my hand on the blade.
Stumped, I looked at it until it disappeared behind
several broken buildings. I sat and thought as the
adrenaline wore off. It was then I noticed a strange
magic circle some distance away.
“I see. That must be one of the connectors to
where the barrier is being fed energy. In that case, that
must've been the ‘Guardian’ of this area.” A type of
familiar that guards a certain location or person. It

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attacks when something that isn't supposed to enter its
territory does. It stopped chasing me once I left the area,
since that was all it was programmed to do.
I laughed like a madman, as my consciousness
wavered from doing so much. I finally succumbed to my
fatigue and blacked out muttering the words:
“I...got lucky...”

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