Guest Hydrus Posted July 7, 2002 Report Posted July 7, 2002 Tape One The tape is clearly taken from a handheld camera, as the picture continually jitters around. At first it points only at the ground, but eventually it moves up and focuses on a tall man sitting on an ornate throne. The man could be anywhere from sixty to ninty, a thin grey beard protrudes from a scrawny pointy face. Piercing blue eyes stare at the camera with a bored expression, his head resting on his hand to support this emotion. He wears flowing red robes with golden trimming. The room is otherwise bare grey stone. Without much warning the man speaks, presumably at the person holding the camera. "Honestly Hands, stop playing around with that thing and turn it on!" A muffled reply can be heard from behind the camera. "How should I know what the red light means? Oh for goodness sake, just point it at me. There, good, leave it." he says with a voice that expects to be obeyed. The camera comes to something of a halt, and the man on the throne sits up. He starts what sounds like a practised speech. "Good Evening mortals. My name is Lord Luther of Diel'tyr, and I am the Archmage who is going to set the record straight." he says with the slightest of smiles. "Allow to me to tell you a little about myself. Well, where shall I commence? I am a wizard. I'm a sorceror, a warlock, a shaman, a conjurer. A mage. But no ordinary mage, I am an Archmage. In fact, I am the premier magic manipulator in three dimensions. I hold power over eighty-three legions of warriors. Phoenxes, Dominions, Dragons, Elementals, all of these bow to my every command. I can crush mountains with a wave, dry up oceans with a flick of my wrist and destroy entire empires with my merest whim. I have influenced the very stars and planets themselves. I am immortal. Death itself cannot conquer me. My enemies would rather choke on their own tongue than face my eternal wrath. "And just the other day, I saw Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. "Well, I can't say I was impressed. I mean really, you mortals think everything is so easy. Say a few magic words, wave a little stick and voila! Magic just seems to happen! And you think wizards and witches run around in big pointy hats and ride broomsticks! Hah!" At this point the man seems to check himself and calm down. He shifts his weight and continues. "Ahem, well, now we come to my purpose in this little video. I am going to open your eyes. I will show you exactly how hard magic can be. Magic is not something you can play around with. It is cruel, unforgiving and remorseless. If used incorrectly, magic would not hesitate to...murder your pet kitten or whatever it is you mortals foolishly hold dear. So, how am I going to accomplish this seemingly impossible task? I will train one of you in the exact science that is magic. I will show you how hard it is to learn these things by making one of you do it. You'd better look out, because it may well be you." The man begins to laugh in a somewhat maniacal manner, then frowns as the camera continues to film. "What are you waiting for? Turn that damn thing off!" The tape ends....
Guest Hydrus Posted July 8, 2002 Report Posted July 8, 2002 Tape Two This time the scene is quite different. The camera is being held by someone sitting in the back seat of what looks like a plush limosine. Beige leather seats and carpets adore the insides of the vehicle. The camera is being aimed through a closed window however, and outside lies a massive cityscape. Towering skyscrapers, bustling streets full of pedestrians walking in all directions, and myriad advertising signs can all clearly be seen. Outside, it is a beautiful day. The sun shines through a cloudless sky. The limosine is being driven down the street and presently turns left. A voice speaks, the same one heard on the earlier tape. "Well, here we are. In the very heart of what you fools refer to as civillisation. Millions of people just wandering around, living out their lives, content in the knowledge that magic is nothing more than fairytale used by mothers to induce sleep in their offspring. One of them is about to get a very big surprise indeed. Stop here, Hands." The car comes to a halt, and the man repositions himself so that he is facing directly into the camera. "We are in the mortal city of Sydney, at the place known as Bondi Beach, to be exact. Here I will select a single individual to become my apprentice and to learn just how real magic is." The man closes his eyes for a moment, and his red robes transmogrify into a long black leather trenchcoat. A pair of dark sunglasses appear on his face, and his hair is combed back. The man smiles slightly, and gets out of the car. The tape ends...
Guest Hydrus Posted July 8, 2002 Report Posted July 8, 2002 Tape Three This time the camera is following the man as he walks along the concrete footpath adjacent to the beach. Hundreds of people can be seen down on the sand, swimming, building sandcastles or playing beach volley ball. The man begins to talk. "Now, just so you know, Hands has the camera again. I've made him invisible so as not to dismay the general public, although I doubt if anyone would notice. You mortals have such terrible tunnel vision. You see only what you wish to see. "Now, how am I going to select the perfect candidate from this lot of scum, I hear you ask? Simple really. I could take anyone of them. With my prowess and experience I could mould anyone of these buffoons into a wizard. However, some physical characteristics are conducive to a quicker learner. Firstly, they should be young. An older person may find it difficult to accept such and 'outrageous' concept as magic. They should also be fairly fit, as being a wizard does require a certain bit of running around. Finally, this time I think I shall select a male. Not to say that females are any less magicly abled, rather, the last time I chose a woman...Well, let's just say I've never been so humiliated in my life. Stop that sniggering Hands! You're supposed to be invisible for Lucifer's sake. That's better. Now then, I think he should make a good apprentice." Presently the man stops and points at a boy of about fifteen, sitting alone on a bench, staring out to sea. He has brown curly hair and is wearing old looking blue pants and a dirty black shirt. He is obviously a local rather than a tourist. The man, Luther, walks directly up to the boy, followed hurridly by the camera. Luther sits next to the boy. "Greetings." "G'day." "My name is Lord Luther of Diel'tyr. I am an Archmage, and I have selected you to be my apprentice." There is a noticeable pause. "My name's Craig." "Hmm, we will have to work on that. Craig simply isn't very awe inspiring. You would not bend to someone's will because their name is Craig." "I kinda like it though. You don't look much like a...a what did you call it?" "An Archmage." "Yeah, you look pretty ordinary to me mate." At this point Luther flinches visibly. Then he begins to laugh gently. "Your first lesson in magic my young friend. Nothing is as it seems. Fair is foul and foul is fair. Everything can and often does change in the blink of an eye. Like this scene for example. You couldn't get more glorious weather. Nothing could go wrong on a day like this?" "Uhh, spose not." "Wrong." Luther stands up and walks a few paces back. He turns to Craig. "I'd start to run if I were you." "Why's that?" "See that tree?" He points to a tall fir tree next to the bench. "Yeah." "It's not a tree anymore." And with that, the tree changes. In less than a second, it reshapes itself into a massive monster with body and head of a lion, and huge leathery wings. It is easily the size of a lorry, and in a bad mood. People everywhere stop what they are doing. There is a two second pause in which no one and nothing moves. At the end of this period of time, four thousand three hundred and eighty six beings have decided to run. One has decided to chase. The monster runs at the nearest person and tears them to shreds with it's terrifying talons. It leaps into the air slightly and grabs hold of a small car parked at the side of the road. The monster flings it through the air into a building across the street, causing a large explosion. Screams can heard everywhere. As if by signal, the monster changes it's attention to Craig, who had tried to run along the road. With a few bounds the monster catches up to the young boy. He stops, turns and screams. The monster rears up a massive claw in preparation to kill the boy, but, without warning, everything freezes. Luther appears out of nowhere, and walks calmly up to the boy, who has crouched into the foetal position. Luther sighs. "Oh, get up. It won't hurt you now, I've stopped time." It takes a few minutes, but indeed Craig does get up and look around at all the frozen people, caught in mid flight. The monster roars silently at him from above. "What is that?" "A manticore. Nasty creature. Extremely bad tempered, and with strength and speed to support it. But you take my point?" "What?" "Nothing is as it seems, boy. The golden rule of magic. You have to be on guard at all times. The enemy will always attack when you least expect it, and by the way you least expect. Now, get it the car." Luther motions to the limosine, which has pulled up out of nowhere. "Do I have to become your apprentice? I mean, do I have a choice?" "Hah! Good to see you're keeping your sense of humour up. You'll need it." The tape ends...
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