"Who are you to tell me what to do?" Lucian's voice cut through the tightness of the high hall, like a knife. It crossed the room, severing the shock lines on Lord Tyrian's face as he stepped forward, written sharp as a jab.
"I am your father," Tyrian shouted, and the composure started breaking from him. "I am the head of this house, who gave everything for our legacy. Do you think you can defy me?"
Lucian rises to his feet and steps down from the chair. His great body, his giant aura casts a shadow before him as he approaches his father. "Legacy? Your legacy lies upon the ash heap of my suffering. You've taught me naught but to suffer scorn and neglect. I will be no pawn in your games once more.".
The nobles sat in a heavy silence under wide eyes that filled the hall as the nobles uncomfortably shifted in their seats. Tyrian's anger became desperate and said, "You are blind, Lucian to your power. You will be consumed alive by it if you do not learn how to harness it.".
"Control?" Lucian laughed. "What do you know of control? You play with the cloak of the sword, but fear what may come to pass. I am not your child no more. I am the Supreme Being, and I shall forge my own destiny."
David stood beside Lucian, witnessed the exchange that seemed to bear weight. Tension was ripe in the air, and David moved forward raising his hand. "Enough of this farce"
And he, as by some inspiration, clapped both hands together; the air was changed altogether, so that guests were unreal and misty, as if they were evaporating. In a minute the hall was empty, and their gossip was drowned in the stillness. All the nobles were whisked away to their homes, frightened and perplexed.
David! Tyrian cried, but no other word would come before an immens rush of power enveloped him and all his family. The next instant they all were in their rooms sealed tight, unable to move. Their doors closed over with a shimmering barrier, an acute reminder of their power now so much smaller.
"'Welcome to your new reality,' David said calmly, his gaze roaming over the cowed features in the room. 'You will have time enough to think on what you've done, Lord Graves.'
'Let us out now!' Tyrian yelled, pounding on the door. But David just shrugged as if something else utterly unmoved him.
'What are you going to do next?' he asked Lucian, his eyes shifting, shining a different light in them.".
He took a deep breath; the weight of the moment settled on him. "I want to build a pantheon, a place where gods come, but their power is not something to be reckoned lightly," Lucian said.
David raised an eyebrow. "A pantheon? You're going to create a divine assembly?
Ah yes now full of fervor Lucian said, "I want to collect the most powerful existences - not only to be at the top but also to be the very core of the universe itself. We shall forge for ourselves a new fate-unshackled from previous constrains.".
"I can do that," David said, and a ray of adoration leapt into his voice. "But you are going to have to find the talented people who might be able to move up. Power cannot be taken. It is earned."
Lucian nodded, the face of his pantheon swirling through his mind. "Then, I must find talented people worthy to join my ranks. But where do I begin?"
David thought for a moment. "There are dimensions of which you know nothing, full of magical energy and sorcery. One of those is very old and touches the magical world a lot. Magic there runs like water. Potential here for greatness is limitless.".
"There's a place that has encompassed the dimension you are referring to." Lucian demanded, excitement rushing through his veins like water. "Take me there. I want to see that world and find people to help me build my pantheon."
"Very good," said David, and in a gesture, the air around them rippled like a ripple in a pond. In that instant they were covered by a cocoon of light, the world around them dissolving into colors and shapes.
Lucian was thrust through the soft of space by a creative power that wrapped itself about him like a woolen blanket. A minute passed; light vanished; he stood in what seemed an interminable landscape, where the deep blue and violet painted the sky.
Under it lay a city: towers which seemed to defy the heavens, glowing runes overhanging the sky above them, magic like an energy that just kept pulsating. The air was full of enchantment, and he could feel reverberations of power around his form.
This is the Realm of Arcanis," David declared, sweeping his arm toward the throng of colors that seemed to swirl in the very air. "It is a place where magic is not a means but a way of living. Come and you will see those who lay dormant.".
Lucian stepped forward, drinking in the view. The streets were alive and full, teeming with mages practicing their craft in open squares, merchants boasting huge wares of shimmering potions and artifacts. His heart leaped in joy-this was an atmosphere that seemed full of promise.
"Listen to who influences you," David said. "Seek out those whose power speaks to you. You will see them by the aura they carry.".
Lucian waded through crowded streets, seeing the people around him-each of whom imbued a slightly different variation on their unique magic. Younger mages there created illusions with laughter-filled peels as they brought forth fantastical creatures to dance in mid-air. An old sage taught students a little ways off; his voice boomed because he trained those he taught in all the complications of elemental magic.
However, Lucian looked for more, he required potential people to be groomed and matured into great ones. He therefore focused his attention closely, attentive to everything that surrounded him with energies.
He stumbled into a dark alley and came to rest on a little girl sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed, not more than ten years of age. Ethereal lights danced around her, flickering like flame against the wind. He was curious and bent his knee upon approaching her.
What are you doing? He asked softly.
She was opening her eyes now to the brilliance of the iris, which seemed like it shimmers with magic. "I am trying to summon a familiar," she whispered firmly but softly. "But it is running away from me now."
Lucian could feel a spark in her and declared, "You have a gift, one that will let you become something extraordinary with proper guidance." He now felt the energy within her manifesting.
She batted off the coverings, hope slithering across her face at this. "Really? You think so?"
"I know so," he said, straightening up. "What is your name?"
"Elysia," she said, a grin breaking across her face. "I want to be a great mage, like the ones in the stories!
The smile back revealed this new purpose now growing in Lucian. "Well then, Elysia, for I do believe that I might help you unlock your true potential, and together we shall create something magnificent and truly wonderful."
David suddenly came out from behind Lucian, sporting a knowing smile on his face. "You've had your choice, my lord," he said. "Shall we acquire some more talented souls?
"Yes," said Lucian, to wit, excitement ran through veins. "Careful we should be, though. Let's recon the city for those who have it in them to climb up,".
Bright streets diffused a purpose in Lucian's heart. There, before him, the alignment of destiny stirred and echoed every step toward the promise of the pantheon he would make; it had untold secrets, waiting for one to unlock all of that.
Now that he had Elysia, and that David was there to lead him, Lucian was ready to shift the very paradigm of existence itself. What was now lying in front of him was just a starting point for his journey, and nothing was going to deter him now as he built towards the divine assembly he desired.