It's early spring, and the outside of the Long territory in a clearing in the jungle stood a familiar structure. It resembled the one found in Tamiko's valley but was fully functional. Surrounding it was a group of mages wearing black hoods chanting in unison. Large amounts of mana began gathering from the surrounding area swirling around the structure. An older man clad in mithril armor wearing a grey hood stepped forward. He placed an unusual looking orb inside the structure, and pulses of blue light began radiating from it. The land trembled and a small portal began to open within it.
"It's working!"
"Of course it is."
"What else would you expect from our savior!"
The mana swirling around the portal slowed down and then rapidly dissipated. With this, the growing portal started closing again. The man in a grey hood stepped forward trying to force the portal to stay open, but his efforts only sustained another minute as it disappeared. Seeing this all the men were disappointed, but the man in a grey hood stepped forward as the whispering halted.
The man in the grey hood is Agustus and was an orphan of the wars that plagued the neutral territory. After he lost his family Master Shen found him and took him into the guild. Shen raised him like a son, and with his guidance Agustus became a powerful mage. When Agustus grew older and became a member of the circle he began questioning the guild's neutrality. Unsatisfied with their inaction to help those struggling around him he deserted the guild and slaughtered members of the guild when stealing scrolls from the library.
It's been twenty years since, and Agustus has gathered many followers. The mages guild has yet to discover their intentions, but their existence is known. They have been diligently hunting them, but Agustus has always stayed one step ahead. Agustus knew they couldn't linger in the area, but needed to lift their spirits.
"This is a failure but it's still progress and brings us one step closer to a new world. We can't let this slow us down because the world needs us to save it." Augustus declared.
The men's doubts were swept away as they began applauding their leader. They quickly gathered their things and kept an eye out for enemies. The mages guild has been closing in on them lately, and staying in one place for long was unwise. It was common practice for them to abandon the location as soon as possible making their exit very abrupt. Besides the structure standing in the jungle their presence was completely swept away.
An hour after their absence the portal flared up again bigger than before. It was no failure, and it simply needed more mana to produce the proper results. Through the portal, one could a large planet with seven landmasses surrounded by water. The structure began humming loudly as the ground quaked again stronger than before. Around the main portal formed a series of little ones through the clearing.
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There was a large expo being held by a tech CEO, and philanthropist named Wesley Silver. During the main event, his company was planning to unveil a new form of renewable energy. All along the outside of the expo was a series of cops cars lined up with their lights flashing. They were directing the flow of the track and helping move the crowds along.
Walking into the expo center was a man with shaggy black hair, trimmed goatee, and blue eyes. He was wearing khaki pants and a black dress shirt with a black mask around his mouth. Around his neck was a journalist pass and in his hands a camera that the man was carefully adjusting. His name was Brian, and this was his first major story.
'They should be arriving soon so I need to get a good spot.'
As Brian was working his way to the event hall he noticed heavily armed security. Each of them was wearing a custom black suit, carrying a modified MP5 slung around their shoulders, and were constantly observing the crowds. There are many corporations at risk of losing millions if something like this were to succeed, and because of that, a private military contractor has been hired for security. Each of them tasked with protecting the public from any 'accidents' that could occur, and halt the unveiling.
Brian continued through the halls and was in the main event center. With his pass, he was able to get right up to the stage for taking his photos. Looking around he noticed all the reporters who beat him to the punch. Right behind him, the seats were rapidly filling with people so heading back to the entrance wasn't possible.
'Wish I could afford a suit like that. Maybe if I got here sooner I could've got that bonus.' Brian sighed.
"Still rocking the shaggy hair huh?"
Brian turned around hearing a familiar voice. Walking up towards the stage was a petite woman with short blond hair styled into a pixie cut with dazzling hazel eyes. Her name is Taylor, and they went to high school together. They use to party with the same group of friends, and she was Brian's first crush. She was wearing the same suit as the rest of the security but wasn't visibly carrying a firearm. When the other officers stationed through the area saw Taylor they quit talking and focused on their surroundings.
Next to Taylor was the very man Brian was eagerly searching for, and the host of tonight's event. Wesley was wearing a blue, and white suit with a smartwatch on his wrist. When approaching the stage the crowd got excited and tried to get closer, but the security wasn't having it. Since Brian had a reporter badge and was being waved through by their boss they let him through.
"Never thought I would see you again," Brian told Taylor as they hugged.
"Wish I could talk more, but maybe we can catch up tonight. You can take your pictures from here and if anyone says something let me know," Taylor said as she waived Wesley forward.
'It's been so long since I've seen her, and she's still as kind as I remember. Wish we didn't have to wear these masks. Seeing that beautiful smile one more time would've been nice.'
Wesley was walking by and stopped to politely shake Brian's hand to show he was friendly to the crowd. A bright blue light appeared around them and pulled everything within its reach. A series of people came crashing down onto a forest floor with strangers, and random items crashing all around them. The sound of someone screaming was echoing through the forest as a strong scent of copper filled Brian's nostrils.
Looking over while pushing himself up from the ground Brian saw half a body, and blood rapidly soaking into the earth. Clinging to the dying man's remaining arm crying was an old woman talking in a foreign language.
'What's going on?'