Musings of an Azeroth Mage Book 10

Musings of an Azeroth Mage
 * - ''by Archin



-26-
Archin Brey lay in the coffin, just outside of Stormwind. The Mage had obviously experienced a very painful and unfortunate death. His skin had rotted, and his sandy red-gray hair which sat prominently atop his head in his life was now nothing more than straggly bits of fiber. His bones were exposed, and other than his hair, the only positive way to identify the man was his monocle which rested against his eyeless socket. A grub bore out of his other socket, and began to munch through a cheekbone.  Meanwhile, the living Archin Brey stared down at the coffin, viewing his own corpse curled up and in its destroyed state.  Grraaah!! Archin screamed out of fear and revulsion and whirled around, tearing his eyes from the horrendous image and doubling over. Vomit welled up in his stomach and burst from his mouth, splashing on the ground before him.  Calithos smiled, See anyone you recognize?  Saiko slowly walked around the casket to look inside, but Calithos slammed it shut before she could. Archin dry heaved, hard, and whirled around. His face was an image of rage and revulsion.  Leave your parlor tricks for someone of lesser intellect, Calithos! I wont be made a fool of, and I wont fall for your stupid illusions! Archin seethed and stood eye to eye with Calithos. Saiko handed the Mage a flask of water to wash his mouth out, which he did.  Archin, Calithos calmly replied, Im just trying to show you what could happen to you if you continue down the path you are walking.  Archin bellowed loudly, I dont need you to teach me a lesson, you muckraking idiot! And you dont know the path that I walk, nor the consequences that will befall me, regardless of my decisions! <BR> <BR>Youre so damned stubborn Calithos said offhandedly. <BR> <BR>Saiko watched the two men quietly, choosing not to get in the way. <BR> <BR>Oh shut up! You dont Archin began, but was interrupted as Calithos suddenly grabbed the back of Archins shirt and pulled him toward the casket. The cantankerous Mage tripped on the shovel and fell forward, and Calithos deftly opened the lid of the casket so Archin could see inside. <BR> <BR>With his head inside of the casket, Archin screamed loudly and kicked his leg, the visage of his own dead body all encompassed in his field of vision. He wrestled with Calithos, off balance and shocked by the image, until finally pulling himself out of the coffin and screaming. <BR> <BR>You son of a he stopped himself before openly swearing, restraining himself with the iron will that he possessed. You lay a hand on me again, and Ill blast you all the way to Menethil Harbor! <BR> <BR>Calithos sighed, and his expression showed a look of disappointment in Archin, Ill lose my sight for a while, but itll be worth it. Calithos reached out to touch Archin, who backpedaled suddenly. <BR> <BR>Hell no I know what you want to do! Dont you touch me! Ill not let you force me to see something that never will happen! Archin stumbled and nearly fell, catching himself against a gravestone, trapped between the stone and Calithos. Archin shot a look at Saiko, Dont you let him touch me, mlady! <BR> <BR>Im sorry Archin its probably for the best Saiko quiet replied. <BR> <BR>Calithos hand snapped against Archins forehead and his eyes began to cloud over. <BR> <BR>Get.. off of me. Archin growled and gripped Calithos forearm, but it was futile. <BR> <BR>A Flash of White <BR> <BR>Archin Brey stood in the center of the Trade District of Stormwind, the scene a black and white rendition of a possible, unfortunate reality. The girl, Arilie was huddled in a ball before him. Her eye was destroyed, her skin bleeding a putrid, gray blood, her face was battered and her blood welled out of her thin, beautiful mouth. She stood suddenly, mouthing a scream and spraying blood all over herself, and ran. <BR> <BR>Large hands gripped Archins shoulder. It was Dugald. Another set of hands gripped his wrists and tugged them behind him, tying them firmly together. <BR> <BR>No! Archin mouthed, but there was no sound to his voice, Get your hands off of me! <BR> <BR>His weapons were stripped and his monocle knocked from his eye in the commotion. Kiiyue stood before the Mage and knelt, picking up the monocle and looking at him. <BR> <BR>You bastard she mouthed. <BR> <BR>Get off of me you son of a #@%$!!! Archin roared and clawed at Calithos forearm. His eyes shot open and he stared at Saiko, who watched quietly, Get him off.. of me..please! Archin begged to the Night Elf. <BR> <BR>Im sorry Archin she whispered back. <BR> <BR>A Flash of White <BR> <BR>Archin Brey stood in murky mass of darkness. Before him was a large podium, in which a large, faceless figure stood looming over him. His hands were bound behind him and his bowed. <BR> <BR>The Court of Stormwind finds you Archin Brey guilty of attempted murder. You are sentenced to life imprisonment in the Stormwind Stockades with no chance of removal. The voice echoed loudly in the mind of Archin and chilled his very soul. <BR> <BR>Archin fell to his knees before the judge, and a figure dashed in behind him. It was his wife! Yumeko, flanked by a fiery, angry Infernal! They had come to save him! <BR> <BR>But several muted flashes erupted behind the omnipotent Magistrate, and Yumekos body buckled. Blood welled out of fresh bullet holes in her beautiful frame, and she collapsed dead. <BR> <BR>No!! Archin bellowed and jerked suddenly. He closed his eyes tight, the vision of his wife falling before him almost too much to bear. Tears streamed his face. Calithos stood quietly, still holding the thrashing Historian. Saiko watched sadly, unaware of the horror the man was experiencing. <BR> <BR>A Flash of White <BR> <BR>Archin Brey fell to the floor in the Stormwind Stockade. Gazing up at the men and women around him, they were commoners. Filth. Roughage. Uneducated and undeserving people that neither had the right nor the power to touch him. <BR> <BR>But these were not any normal circumstances. <BR> <BR>One of theirs had been harmed. One of their own had been brutalized. Now, lying before them, was an all-too-smart-for-himself Mage that was ripe for the taking. <BR> <BR>They dragged Archin to a corner of a cell and slammed his back against the bars. A swift blow to the face sent the Mage reeling. A fireblast and the attacker was gone. A fireball, and the second was a writhing mass of flesh. <BR> <BR>Frost Nova Blink Flamestrike. <BR> <BR>They were falling Archin was winning. <BR> <BR>A sly grin crossed the face of Archin Brey. He was right all along. He was untouchable. <BR> <BR>The large metal bar that slammed into his skull from a rogue behind him proved otherwise. Slumping onto the floor, Historian Brey was in no position to fry anyone. Archin was lifted unceremoniously up to a standing position, only to be punched in the face and his eye bruised harshly. <BR> <BR>Knives were opened up, and the men and women grinned evilly in the direction of the helpless Archin Brey. He was an intellectual! He was a clean, conscious, and rational man. <BR> <BR>But no he was not a clean man. Not by a long shot. <BR> <BR>They stabbed him in the gut and slashed at his chest, he screamed in abject horror as his blood spilled onto the floor. Thrashing, Archin tried to fight back, but it was useless. The pain, the searing, damning pain that wracked his body proved to only rekindle their bloodlust. <BR> <BR>He fell to the floor, and one prisoner looming over the fallen Mage mouthed, Eye for an eye <BR> <BR>Dropping a hungry, rabid rat onto the face of Archin, the animal gnawed hungrily on his left eye. The same eye that Archin had taken from Arilie. <BR> <BR>For all of his will, his stubborness, his resoluteness, and his inability to accept nor fear anything that stood in his way. Archin wanted, more than anything, to die. <BR> <BR>Thankfully, there was mercy in his future. A female prisoner produced a ragged, dirty, metal knife, placed it to Archins throat the source of his power, his spells, his diatribes, his boasting <BR> <BR>..and jerked her wrist. <BR> <BR>A Flash of Red <BR>