Caster Part One-Choice....Written by Ross a.k.a Leonbow

PROLOGUE

Fire rose from her throne, her eyes of burning yellow, deep seated in a face of pure flame, narrowed as she moved forward, Air stood twenty paces ahead of her, the lace wall portraits billowing in his presence, seeing right through his translucent body, Fire saw a steady flow of water begin to crawl from a once alight fireplace onto the floor and take shape, but still in a constant state of flux, his body was formed. A sudden shake of the marble floor announced the presence of the forth, Earth broke through the ground, a small chasm of seemingly endless beginnings and began her powerful march towards the other three.
The first to act was Air, he grew in form and rose above his siblings, and flew straight for Fire, she screamed, a loud deep roar, which sounded as if it was crackling as she took a direct hit in her middle, but as this happened her own body engulfed Air in a twister, Air then ripped through the tongues of fire and reformed in front of Water, and Fire in her original place. Earth then fully upon them and lunged itself at Fire, and for a moment seemed like he was quenched, but Water had unbound from its form and blew her off, causing small chunks to fall from her form as she crashed into the throne, causing its marble to crack apart, flying onto the floor screeching across it, Which would’ve deafened everyone had they been human.

Ullite lay awake in his single roomed apartment, there was something unsettling about the wind tonight, through the window he could see a full moon.
"Ullite!" came a shrill voice.
"So its begun" He breathed, getting up and dressed.

The terrified spirit walked briskly through the corridor. the walls were made of marble, the colour deepest black. it was always black. it just wouldnt be fitting to have it bright yellow when this was the domain of Elohim, Also known as Yamaraj, the angel of death, or the Reaper. In fact, he was none of these things, though he might as well be. His name was Elohim, and he was the master of the spirit in question, and he did not take bad news lightly.
The nearly transparent spirit opened the huge double doors, and entered the Masters hall. Why must they call him the Master? such a cliche.
At the back of the massive room sat Elohim. His slitted eyes burned with an even brighter flame then normal as he saw the spirit walking across the hall towards him. He better have it, he thought. He better have it.
"Hail, O my Master"called the spirit.'O my Master'? how pathetic was that,thought Elohim,sitting on his onyx throne." i bring news, my lord."
"good news? good news i hope. It would be very...unfortunate...if it is not."
the spirit swallowed hard. Aware he was seconds from painful oblivion, He said:"My master, the Ravens have found the item you asked for."
"ASKED for?i dont thinkso. i dont ASK, i say. and whatever i say,goes.now,about my amulet. you say you have found it? but did i not tell you to come back with it, or not at all? and from what i see, you dont have it." A crackling ball of pure energy appeared around Elohim's fist."i told you. if you do not find it, your life,such as it is, is forfeit. and you have not found it."
"but my Lord, we did find it...it is..."began the spirit.
"No! i have no time for excuses. you may know where it is, but do you know where it is now, several hours after you orignially found it? no? i didnt think so."
"please, my lord, i have served you well..."
"evidently not well enough.goodbye,my pathetic mortal friend. i dont think i shall ever see you again. not that i care, of course."and with a wicked smile, Elohim reached down and covered the spirit's head with his long spidery fingers, and as the spirit fell to the floor, killed by the Reapers touch, Elohim rose from his chair, and a shadow came forward, engulfed him, then recided. the hall rang with the sound of the spirits body hitting the floor.Elohim was gone. He had an amulet to find.

Ullite locked the door to his apartment, then threw the key into his pocket.
"Don't think I'll be comin' back here",He thought.
Then instinct fully he melted a small section of the lock, forming a weak seal, so he could could see if anyone had entered his room while he was away.
A Sigh escaped him, placing a hand on the door, the years of his sheltered life that was spent here flooded through him, a low hum echoed in his head, the voices of the past, sometimes even screams, then it occurred to him, he didn't have to move, living in is own memory, somehow it was safe.
"Rei" he whispered,"I...."
"Ullite",Screamed the same shrill voice as before, it seemed so distant, but it was his future, it beckoned him forward.
A tear.
"Ullite, come on"
"Coming.." putting on a willful facade,"Coming now, get moving, we cant stay here for too long, they will be watching."

Elohim sttod in the deserted graveyard. he looked disapprovingly down at the stone tomb in front of him. He was strangely excited, whoch was unusual for him. he also sensed something....powerful.vastly powerful. it was here allright. oh yes, it was here. but could he even go near it, let alone wear it?
Well, no time liek the presetn. he must try. with uncanny ease, he effortlessly ripped the stone lid from the tomb, and peered inside.
there was the obvious skeleton. the predictable objects these pitiful mortal thought there dead relatives would need. hah. how very ignorant.
ah yes....there it was. the silver case. very irritating.silver. even now he felt its cold aura stinging his essence. he could not remain for long. but it proved it. whoever made this knew what they were doing.
but a mere glass case could not stop him. he reached down, and ignoring the painful icy feel of the silver case, drew it out. there, he held it in his spidery hand, and after a few moments of gathering stregth, he crused it between his thin fingers with abnormal strength.as dust spiraled downwards, he caught the flash of red and gold as the amulet fell to the floor. it was definitely it: he would be able to feel its aura from a very long way away. well then.this was it.
and with this, his excitement overcame him, and he let his guard down. had he checked he would have a powerful ward on the amulet. as it was, he picked it up with no care, and as he did so, he realised his mistake. a massive fiery pain coursed through his body, he would have screamded,but the pain was so great it knocked him unconcious, and his esscence came apart, and reverted to its purest form. this remained for less then 10000th of a second, then disappeared to his own realm, where no creature of any realm could dwell, except those of essence. he floated back and forth, and in the graveyard, the amulet lay on the ground, smoking slighty, giving off heat at precisely 113 degrees celcius, then, as according to its defenses, transported its self to its second hiding place. the Ahku Amulet would remain undiscovered for now.

"Ullite..?" asked that voice again.
"What!?" he barked,ignoring the softness with which she spoke,"What is it now?"
"I was just going to ask what was on your mind,you never seemed so distant before, except when..."
"Don't, just don't, I'm fine,o.k?
"Alright, once we get to the Adurain house we can stop any of this from happening, we both know this world and our future is more important than her,"
"Do I?" He thought,"Let's just get it over with" was the only reply he could give, no cheerful "Don't worry" or,"It's for the best" as per usual.
Tightening his hooded cloak was the only therapy.
"Just one unthinkable act,and we have saved the world,billions of lives,millions of good, many more bad, am i really any better if i do this?" thoughts like that spread their way around his head.
The marble shrine drew into view,street lamps lit the Adurain house, it rested just across from the towns main river. The main reason for living here, for the Adurain family anyway.

The Raven peered through the dark windows. it was perched on a dangerously thin ledge, and often had to flap its wings in order to stay balanced. though the Raven stared into the house, its eyes were dull, but there was a sharp, powerful intelligence behind them.
Elohim looked through the Raven's eyes. His essence still pained him, more so for the precious strength he needed to control the Raven. but he must, he had to find it before it was moved again. he would dearly have loved to return to that miserable little realm, but he could not. his tender essence had still not recovered from the assault launched on it by the amulet.
and so he must look through this mortal bird's eyes. he looked through his damaged eye's, and saw nothing but darkness. but...
yes it was there. not the amulet, but an aura remarkably similar to it. he did not understand that...how could it be?
"Ah. i thought you might arrive now, my small feathered friend. i have been expecting you. in fact, i could simply not wait until you arrived."
Oh. that couldn't be good. Elohim knew that voice. he knew it very well. .as the man began to reach towards the Raven, he would kill it, and drive the inhabiting spirit, Elohim, to the very brink of death.Ha. Death. wasthat was irony. and so Elohim exerted a great change upon the Raven. for perhaps half a second, the Raven appeared not as a bird, but as Elohims true form. and that can drive even the most powerful demon to the edge of insanity. unfortunately, the man(well,he wasnt really a man- lets just say the spirit,as it is the closest word to it in this language) was made of stronger stuff. even so, it gave him a huge shock, and he stumbled back. this gave Elohim the time to force the Raven to flee, while at the same time, withdrawing his fragile essence from the Raven.
Elohim was not happy. he had recognised that spirit. all the more dangerous was the fact he'd been expecting him. this was worrying indeed. well, there was only thing for it. he must revive his essence immediately. it would not be an easy task, and would be very painful. but he was not safe. He must do it.

Light trickled down the marble walls as if golden water was being poured continuosly from above.
"Ever wonder where this immaculate light comes from?" Ullite whispered,breaking the silence that had been held all the way through the shrine.
"Yeah, i did once, but Old Man Adurain told me, comes from that other world, you know from those affiliated to light" Illite explained.
"Makes sense I guess," Pausing for a second then,"I think Choice is right up there" pointing to the solid door ingraved with letters spelling out Choice.
"I'm so glad I brought you, i think id be lost without those incredible observation skills of yours" a slight tone of sarcasm in her now soft voice.
"That makes one of us" he mumbled.
Turning around so quick Illites knife nearly fell from its leather pouch.
"No, we can do this, just shut up and open the dorr, this is not a time for second thoughts, remember he will be in a state of Hum, he wont be able to see us,"
"And Rei will be unconscious due to its nature, i know, lets go."
That ended the conversation and spurred him to push the door marked as Choice. It opened revealing Rei and her Grandfather.
A nod from Illite signaled go, Ullite walked straight at the only Elder Adurain.
The room that the four occupied now was a perfect square, held by four columns in the middle, and inside that was a perfectly square pond, and that was where Rei lay, one hand in the pond, the rest unconscious on the floor, he long brown hair tucked neatly in her light blue hood, next to her lay her Grandfather, tall and knelt, grey hair tied back, his hands placed in the symbol of the Hum in front of his chest, completely oblivious to what was going to take place.
Ullite took the sword from its hilt.
"Now!" screamed Illite, breaking the symbol of the Hum and pulling the man back to this world of consciousness,his fierce green eyes opened, darted to Illite, but it was too late Ullites sword had expertly pierced his heart, ending his life, his limp body landing with a thud next to Rei's.
Ullite left out a yelp, his sword crashing to the floor sending an echo throught the room, on all fours he began to cry.
"I'm sorry Old Man, i'm sorry, Rei you..."
"Ullite, come on we must get out of here before she wakes up, you know what will happen if we don't"
And so they left the room called Choice and walked down the corridor laced with Golden light, onto the street onlooking the river.

"Shes waking up boys!" a low voice, just a blur to her.
"She must've been really wasted to be out this long" a higher voice, a dim outline of a person.
"Shes mine".
Illite's eyes focused. The scene was a dimly lit room, five men stood around one nearest her.
He was leaning over her, breathing heavily.
"Your breath is rotten" a flurry of laughter.
"No really, it is" she reached for her knife, but couldn't.
"Ah you've tied me up, shows ye know how to treat a woman in your little gentleman's society"
"Yeah, we do, would you like to join our little gentleman's society!" piped up one of them.
"I would love to, but i make it a point not to join gangs with people facing the death penalty"
The closest guy with the rotten breath grabbed her by the hair, and leaned in close, his teeth were stumps of brown as a smile stretched along the dirty face.
"Your feisty, i like that in my women"
Illite began moving her fingers, feeling the very slight bumps in the air, willing it to move, sent it for the straps at an incredible speed slicing them open. Then with one more blast the knife slid into her hand and sunk into the chest of the man over her, pushing him onto the floor.
Bending the air to her will she sent it at the remaining four, pinning them to the wall, a slight crack as they hit.
"Hmmm, its a wooden wall, thats stupid in a city like this"
Then by sheer force of will, a gale blasted the gang threw the wall onto the street bellow.
Leaping out and landing elegantly on a cushion of air, Illite turned and said to the barely conscious men, "I'm no ones woman"

Elohim swirled and spun in his chaotic realm,his wounded essence slowly healing. He would be safe, for nowit was only a matter of time before he came. But even so, a question burned at the back of his mind.
How? How could he be there?
another creature like Elohim, a creature of essence, how could it be in the mortal realm without the words of binding? without something to tie it to any realm, a creature of essence could not stay for more then a minute. unless, they happened to be bound by their name. such happened with Elohim, but Hawke's name had never been mentioned. How could Hawke stay there? it seemed completely impossible.
well, it seemed the amulet was sought after by more then Elohim. he must reach it first. perhaps it was time to call in a favour.
through a great exertion of will, Elohim opened a portal to the mortal realm. anyone who understands the exact nature of essence will be able to understand how, but such things are beyond human comprehension.
Elohim sent his vast mind into the world, searching for his servant, the one who would bring him back. it was vital he come back soon, but he was weak he no longer bind himself into a mortal form. depsite the fact that humans had several religions including Elohim, which he could use to tie himself there, he needed a good deal of strength to do so, strength that he did not have. and so he called upon his servant Veroq. Veroq was an interesting being, a creature not of essence, but not of earth either. most curious.
despite this, or maybe because of, Veroq was exceptionally powerful by mortal standards. of course, you couldn't even begin to compare him to the limitless magical strength of a being like Elohim, or Hawke, but he had something that they did not; a solid body, which couldn't be harmed in a way that essence could.
luckily, Veroq had decied to serve Elohim, and so he had the upper hand. Veroq would summon him,(this would be an unpleasant process; it often invovled the spirit in question subsiding into essence's purest form, something strangely similar to washing-up water. very messy) and then he would search for the amulet. this time he would not underestimate whatever was protecting it. besides, Veroq would help him. hopefully.
and so, when Elohim finally located his servant, he was expectant. he was sure that Veroq would have sensed that he had been Expelled from this world. by using more of his precious strength, he spoke, though it is too complicated to explain how.( it involves much vibrating of air in a very precise way, as well as buffing it back into its original position, not to mention proton acceleration, light, and energy manipulation. dont bother your little mortal head about it)
the point is, that Elohim spoke to Veroq.
" Veroq, i have a job for you.i presume you can guess what?"
"ah yes, my master. you wish me to summon you back to our realm? may i warn you, this will not be a pleasant-"
"YES!I know it wont be nice, im not a moron, unlike you. I must come back to your ohrrible little world, as Hawke is also here, after the amulet. we must get there before him. now your instructions; set up the 7 star pentagon, and inscribe in hebrew, arabic and latin.Yes, latin.i know its unorthodox, but it will speed the process up. and be sure to include my proper name.
"master, shall i send the ravens? they have been rather bored of late."
"yes, yes, the ravens, dont forget to tell them to find the Ahku Amulet and not that damn TV company.lord, that was a trial. why cant they call themselves something more sensible, instead of causing my ravens to flock by the dozen and rip the TV's apart. so yes, give them very specific instructions. And Veroq?"
"yes? what else must i do?shine your ectoplasmic shoes?"
"first of all, it's essence. how many times? secondly, dont take that tone with me, bub, or youll find yourself as the main course at a paticularly greasy barbecue.and thridly, dont mess this up. seriously. its very unhealthy for you. health meaning, you'll live.unhealthy meaning the opposite. got it? good. now then, my essence is as damaged as it is without being forced to stick around in your pathetic little world."
and so Elohim retreated back into his realm. perhaps he made a few too many threats, but it was worth seeing Veroq's face pale like that. perhaps he would soon be back on earth.
ah welcome thought to Elohim, perhaps. but certainly not to the rest of the universe.

( i will make a seperate post soon for the Caster series in chronilogical order, anyone who wishes to become a mod for this section let me know!!! anyway hope you all are liking the series i am writing and hope that ypu all are enjoying the series of others i will start to interweeve my plot ver soon!!! )