The First War Mage: City in the Sky

I could feel the wind pulling me around while overwhelming forces of mana were colliding all around. I could hear buildings collapsing, it sounded like entire mountains were shifting and moving while walls of sand moved into view just to disappear as they were impacted by massive boulders.

Visibility was almost nothing, I could barely see more than a few feet from the blowing sand so dense that it was nearly pitch black all around me. I could feel Tulip desperately trying to hold onto my arm that was tightening around hers to just try and keep ourselves from being blown apart from each other.

Finally I felt my back hit the hard stonework left on the ground, mangled and shattered to little more than gravel, it dug deep into my skin as I rolled across it, I could feel Tulip let go of me in the impact as I heard a shout of pain from her similar to my own that turned to a low groan as I slid to a stop.

“Ughhh….” I groaned as the pain echoed through my body, I could feel blood leaking from shallow wounds all over as my eyes slowly cleared and focused onto the still mass that was laying only a handful of feet away. “Tulip?...” My voice groaned again.

Nothing but silence returned to my ears.

“Tulip?!” I shouted out again as panic began rising through my body, rushing through my body nearly as fast as my heart was racing. “Tulip, where are you?!” I shouted out again, desperate to hear or see anything.

I couldn’t see or hear anything. The howling winds, the dense sand thicker than any fog blocked out any hope of seeing movement. Only the shadows of objects flying through the air gave any sense of movement.

In desperation I opened my senses to the mana around me, to try and feel where Tulip was in any sort of off chance I could sense her.

But the instant I opened my senses to the world of mana I could feel overwhelming pressure crashing down upon me. LIke the very sandstorm bearing down upon the city was a massive flex of someones mana, like the entire storm was an overwhelming spell.

I could feel a second overwhelming source of mana like a blanket, it was warm and almost familiar. I could tell after just a few heartbeats that it was Brimrose, she was trying to cover the entire Keep in a shield. A shield that was being endlessly battered by an easily equal, and possibly even greater source of power from its outside.

I could feel the warring flashing bursts of raw power from James and Tyrosa colliding, they were nearly on the complete other end of the city. At least that was my best guess as to where they were, the weight of the mana from the storm was so intense that it was practically choking everything else out.

I couldn’t feel anything else, everything else was being utterly choked out by the overwhelming forces. Surrounding the entire city, I kept trying to search as I slowly crawled back to my feet, my eyes desperately moving around to pick out anything in the endless shadows but I couldn’t see even the slightest hint of Tulip.

“Tulip, where are you?!” I shouted out with all my might, my voice was shaking turning into a shrill shriek. Desperation filled my voice while mana started to rush across my body. First just as a thin shield to stop the sand from pelting me so aggressively, and then electricity slowly started circulating so that I could even move through the storm.

“Ughnnn…” My eyes snapped over as I heard a pained groan, it sounded so close yet I couldn’t see anything. No sign of rubble, no sign of anything other than maybe half a foot of visibility all around me.

“Tulip?!” I shouted out again as I slowly made my way towards the sound.

“I… I’m here…” Tulip eventually coughed out, sand shifting around as she raised an arm up. In mere moments she had been completely covered in a small dune. My hand flicked out, the electricity clearing from it just before grabbing Tulip’s arm to pull her up.

“Are you alright?” I asked almost immediately. I could see she was bruised and battered, her clothes torn from the impact and the side of her head bleeding. But she otherwise looked fine, or as fine as one could be after that impact.

“Y-yea… I think… Just… Really shaken up.” Tulip muttered out. Her eyes were fogged, she looked dazed and I was fearing the worst for a few moments before she blinked and seemed to clear her head with a quick shake. “I… What do we do?”

I opened my mouth, but before I could even think of a reply the winds suddenly stopped all around us.

I could feel pressure building up all around me, like an entire mountain was approaching. Mana so volatile that it was undoubtedly the thing fueling the entire storm, I could feel it watching me. I could feel it approaching, I could feel each step it took.

Dread covered my face as I turned to look in the direction it was coming from, I knew in an instant that this was the worst possible thing to happen. My mouth opened slowly as I barely had a chance to glance at Tulip.

“Kirin, what's going on? Why are you so pale?” Tulip asked quickly, fear was rushing into her voice.

“Run.” I spoke slowly as my gaze shifted forwards. “Run now!” I shouted at Tulip as I turned to start trying to run.

The wind stopped entirely. The sand rushing around us calmed down like the eye of the storm itself was approaching, I could see the outer edge of it, a spot where it became even more volatile than anywhere else. A barrier that was trying to prevent us from having any chance of getting out.

The heat of the sun beating down on my back as I turned to try and run. But the instant I tried to take a step I felt the ground give way underneath me, Tulip however managed to start running. She was practically invisible in the middle of the storming mana thanks to the cuffs on her wrists.

“Kirin!” Tulip shouted as she noticed that I wasn’t following her, she turned for a second, but I shouted at her in return.

“RUN! It’s almost here, just run!” my voice screamed out, for seconds that felt like decades Tulip sat there, she was torn. I could see it in her eyes, she desperately wanted to help. “GO!” I shouted again.

Tulip finally relented and turned, she started running towards the wall, towards the bell tower that was miraculously still standing in the distance.

Finally my eyes turned back towards the edge of the storm wall. I could see a large figure approaching slowly, I could feel each of its individual steps as it approached with seeming hate in its very existence.

“Oh my… Now that was rather selfless of you.”

She could barely breathe.

All around her sand was pelting her furiously, trying to crawl its way into her lungs. And she couldn’t for a moment shift her mana to make a shield to cover her face. Tulip just had to grab a part of her top, trying her best to cover her mouth and nose as she ran.

Where was she even going?

She could hear the chiming of the bell tower, the bell at its top swinging wildly and violently. So quickly that the occasional chime was more like a continuous series of deafening crashes as it threatened to tear itself completely free from the tower.

But it was the only structure still standing other than the keep, and she couldn’t run through whatever was behind her. Even without being able to feel mana, even without being able to open her senses to it thanks to the cuffs she could feel the overwhelming pressure that had been approaching Kirin.

And she just left Kirin alone.

‘I couldn’t do anything about that… Right?’ Desperately in her head she was trying to justify her fear, her panic.

‘But Kirin never ran when you were in danger…’ Her thoughts betrayed her, guilt was rushing through her body.

“I can’t fight that… Not without my magic…” Tulip’s thoughts became words as she kept moving forwards. Her eyes moved up, watching the top of the tower where she could see a figure moving around. Almost like watching her approach.

“Maybe… I can still try and do something…” She continued as she approached the tower. Like her instincts were guiding her towards it, like some part of her was screaming at her that she could do something if she just got up there.

“Please Kirin… Just stay alive until I can help you.”