Region 1 – Duke City
The Summoning of the Archmage!
Adolph Li and Manuel Stunner stood at a respectful distance from the ancient altar, their expressions tight with anticipation. The clearing was unnaturally quiet, save for the rhythmic clinking of trinkets and sacred stones as Priestess Kendra moved with reverence across the circular platform.
The priestess was in her element.
Her hands floated over relics etched with the glyphs of the Oradonian Order—those mysterious mages who walked the thin line between legend and history. Among the sacred symbols lay twin emblems: one for the revered Archmage Amber Nois, and the other for the dreaded Scarlet Raven. Their energies, though dormant, still seemed to hum faintly in the air like echoes from a long-forgotten battlefield.
Kendra moved with solemn precision, her every step seeming to whisper a prayer of its own. Then, without a word, she retrieved a leather-bound tome from beneath her robes. The book looked like it belonged in a museum—or a crypt. Its spine was splintered, its corners curled and weary, as though time itself had tried to swallow it and failed.
She opened it gently, as one would cradle the last breath of an ancestor.
The parchment inside was yellowed and brittle, creaking softly as she turned each page. It smelled of dust, candle soot, and buried truths. Her fingers traced the ancient ink until she stopped at a weathered title:
"Steps to Summoning the Oradonian Mages."
She scanned the page, whispering the words under her breath. Then she read aloud, her voice low and clear:
> "To summon a mage of the Oradonian Order:
If deceased, procure a relic tied to their spirit.
If living, obtain a vessel once touched, worn, or handled by the mage…"
A small smile played at her lips. She reached into a leather pouch and retrieved a crimson robe, crested with silver runes—an authentic piece of attire once worn by Amber Nois. How Adolph Li had come by such an artifact, she didn't ask. Some questions were best left floating in the wind.
She turned the page.
> "The priestess must anoint the relic with her blood and recite the Rite of Echoes.
Beware: if the soul summoned is hostile or unsettled, it may return not in peace—but in fury…"
A chill touched the back of her neck. Kendra exhaled, shaking it off. Amber Nois had been no tyrant. She had been a gentle mage, wise and poised, and her presence had always inspired more awe than fear.
Without hesitation, Kendra took a ceremonial blade and pricked her finger. Blood welled up like a crimson jewel and dripped onto the fabric of the robe. The cloth absorbed it slowly, as if remembering her.
Then she stepped forward, eyes closed, lips parting in incantation:
> "Radzu weit marfon, gruom za bulf nob
Mel cum gari cupbribin mazzimedia
Gravi tasialefi malselfiti duragrodi maso
Ma come drugari gurd bosesewa dako
Omono do fio ko fsrgs fragi firgo Mel chi
Radzu weit marfon—Amber Nois!"
The last phrase she shouted, her voice like a crack of thunder over still waters.
> "Great Archmage, Amber Nois, I summon you!"
Behind her, Adolph Li and Manuel Stunner stood like statues, transfixed. Stunner crossed his arms and tried to look unimpressed, but his foot tapped nervously. Adolph's eyes, however, were filled with quiet hope.
Nothing happened.
Not at first.
The silence stretched. Long enough for doubt to creep in and start rearranging their expectations.
Then, it began.
The air thickened. A single gust swept through the clearing—then another. In seconds, a vortex of wind rose around the altar, spiraling in wild fury. The sky dimmed. Leaves scattered. The robe at the altar flapped violently, clinging to the stone floor like it feared what was coming.
Flashes of white light cracked in the centre of the vortex. One. Then two. Then dozens, each one brighter than the last. The wind roared louder, until it sounded like a hundred voices howling from the beyond.
Kendra remained steady, her arms lifted as if embracing a storm she knew intimately. She had warned the men of this—Manuel Stunner nearly lost his balance and had to clutch the bark of an old tree. Adolph held on to a low-hanging branch, his robes whipping around him like flags in a battle march.
And then—it happened.
A shape began to form within the storm. First a face—serene, eyes closed, as though in deep slumber. Then the neck, the shoulders, the arms, as the figure took on full form, piece by piece, woven by wind and light.
Finally, the storm ceased.
All was still.
Amber Nois lay gracefully at the center of the altar, her body suspended for a brief moment before gently descending, robes billowing like petals floating to the ground. She settled on the stone platform like a whispered promise.
She was stunning.
Not just in beauty, but in presence—immaculate, otherworldly. Her long crimson robes shimmered with threads of silver and blue. Her skin glowed faintly, like moonlight caught in human form. Her breathing was soft but steady, as if waking from a century-long dream.
Adolph Li stepped forward, his voice trembling with awe.
"Archmage… Amber Nois."
Manuel Stunner echoed the words, though his voice trembled slightly—not with awe, but with disbelief.
"…She's real."
Priestess Kendra didn't flinch. She stood with her arms folded across her chest, a calm smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Of course she is. And she hasn't even had her tea yet," she added wryly, her voice carrying a subtle undertone of mischief that made Adolph Li smirk despite the heavy atmosphere.
Before them, Amber Nois remained perfectly still—caught in a state that looked neither dead nor alive. Her body rested gently at the altar's foot, eyes shut as if in deep slumber. Not a strand of her silver hair was out of place. Her crimson robes shimmered faintly with a magical residue, untouched by dust or time.
"Is she… dead?" Manuel asked, the question slipping out before he could check himself. His voice cracked just slightly.
Priestess Kendra didn't answer. She didn't even spare him a glance. Her silence was as sharp as a slap.
She merely turned her head slightly, as though he were no more than a fly buzzing in the corner of the room. The gesture stung. Manuel's jaw clenched. He was the Emperor's Hand, after all. Back in the capital, even high lords bent at his presence. But here—before a priestess and a slumbering mage—he was invisible.
Adolph Li, sensing the tension, stepped forward and voiced the same question, only more gently. "Will she be alright?"
This time, Kendra responded. Her tone was even, instructional, like that of a scholar speaking to attentive students.
"When a mage is summoned, they typically appear in one of three states," she said. "The first are the living—fully conscious, plucked straight from wherever they were. These ones come ready, aware, and often quite irritated. The second… are the hibernating. Like her."
She gestured toward Amber Nois, her expression softening.
"Hibernation is a state some mages enter by choice—sealing themselves off from the world to preserve their life force or deepen their power. It is a sacred practice, and far from simple. It allows them to live far longer than any mortal should. Waking them is easy… but must be done with care."
She paused, her eyes briefly flitting to the crimson-robed figure lying before them.
"And the third?" Adolph asked.
Kendra's voice dropped slightly, like a cold wind brushing across their necks.
"Those summoned from beyond the grave are… unpredictable. Sometimes they return with clarity, other times as fragments—rage, pain, unfinished business made flesh. Most are not quite who they were. And all of them are dangerous."
She stepped forward then, slowly, reverently, until she stood beside Amber's body.
Adolph exhaled in relief, but beside him, Manuel still stood stiffly, his pride bruised.
He narrowed his eyes at the priestess, his voice low. "I should not be ignored."
Kendra turned to him at last, her expression unreadable. "Then perhaps you should start saying something worth hearing."
Manuel recoiled slightly, his face turning red. This Priestess is not easy to deal with.