2 Chapter 002

There is a realm, a small pocket of space that had been pried away from the hands of greedy immortals, and made to follow the rules of its master.

The environment was always bright, with all the various shades of orange and red mingling together to make a kaleidoscopic homage to the color of flames. The temperature was hot enough to melt metal. It is a world ablaze, with a single island floating with impunity to the horrible environment around it.

The island is large, considering the space available to it, taking up a good tenth of the realm, hovering towards the center of the flaming realm.

In the very center is a large, majestic tower, with smaller buildings surrounding it, and a wall around the collection of buildings. Any space beyond the wall is burnt, immolated by the heat of the world that wasn't protected by the tower.

Inside the tower, with its numerous floors and firm stone framework, there is no movement. The walls are covered with tattered and ancient tapestries. The artwork has long since worn and faded. Shelves buckle under the weight of once impressive contents, littering the floor with moldy piles of random things that occasionally burst into flames, to be immediately put out by the powerful magics within the tower.

The same magic protects one room from the ravages of time. There would be cobwebs, if spiders could survive here. There would be rats, if they could survive. Without a host, not even parasites are alive in this floating mausoleum.

Nothing, that is, until the screech of stone moved against stone rings out.

"Oh fuck, that's heavy…" Complained a smooth, deep voice sounding amused instead of angry. "Now where is…" Standing up, the naked man looked around in silence.

Hair that mimicked flame was the most obvious trait that the man held. Blue at the base, flowing to a yellow/orange combination at the ends is tied back in a tail, holding the curls from the man's face.

His face is smooth, a slightly elongated nose and warm eyes and was commonly seen with a half-smirk that suggested he was pleased with the world at all times.

He's tall…ish, around six feet tall, depending on the previous sculptor, with broad shoulders and muscles that suggested more for activity than research.

Scratching his bare ass with a couple long fingernails, the man sighed and stepped out of the rock coffin, looking down at the remains of the ichor that had protected his body until it was needed.

"Awesome! looks like I died again." Clapping his hands loudly, he rubbed them together and headed towards a table nearby. "Let's see what I did since… I…" Pausing at the desk, he frowned and scratched at his scalp, jostling his hair.

"I guess I didn't do anything.." Furrowing his brows, he frowns but shrugs it away and plucks a burnt orange robe from the back of a nearby chair and covers himself with it.

"Emily.." He calls out, striding towards the door of the protected room. He begins to raise his voice, when he realizes the tower was silent. "Emi.." The name trailed off, and he slows his step to take in the state of disrepair his manor was in.

"Anyone?" He calls out, not expecting a response.

Moving more quickly, he makes his way through the house, inventorying what had happened and how much changed while he wasn't present.

"Fuck…" He finally summed up his feelings on the matter, four hours later, settled in his chair in the only room that had any viable furniture left. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck."

"Okay, think Tri.." Ruffling his hair with his nails once more, he looked at a small ball on his desk. It was lit up, showing the realm, and the lack of inhabitants. "On the bright side, you don't have to worry about paying all those people…" A wry chuckle escaped as he rolled his eyes at himself.

"Ohshit… Gunther!" He exclaimed and turned to stare at a portrait on the wall furthest from the entry of the room.

The painting was of a banister overlooking a beautiful sunrise. The light bounced off the water, as the surf sprayed the sandy shore of a beach. A few buildings, with some people in the middle of a morning routine, are seen.

"Well, at least that still works." He said aloud, and stood up. Looking around for a moment, he considered the coffin and then sighed yet again. "No. Need the materials. That's going to have to wait."

Suddenly, he wrinkled his nose and raised an arm. "Annnnnd, I need a bath. Oh shit, I stink."

After his bath, in the robe he'd first put on, the mage stared at the painting for a few hours longer. And, as he stared, the scenery changed. The time of day changed, the people in the painting moved, and grew more numerous, then less.

Tapping his fingertip on the desk a couple times, Trimagus finally stands up and after gathering what viable material he could find in the room, he strides towards the painting. With a movement of his hand, and a few words of power, he stepped through it and looked over a balcony to a private room in a modest three floor home on an island.

"Ohthankfuck." He muttered aloud to himself, relief washing over him as he confirmed he wasn't trapped in a realm, all alone, with no way to obtain materials or materials enough to find a way to obtain more …A scream from behind him broke him from his circular thoughts.

Turning around, he noticed a naked woman grabbing for her towel, screaming loudly.

"Hey, whoa, whoa ... no on.. stop screaming!" The smooth voice began, then with a snap of his fingers, the girl's voice was inaudible. "There. That's better. Fuck."

The girl's eyes bulged even more, clawing at her throat with one hand while holding the towel to her breast with the other.

"Oh, come on. Stop that. I'm not going to do any.. No no. Come on.." The mage sighed, and made another few movements, snapping his fingers again, causing her to be flung into a chair. "There. Now you can't hurt yourself while I figure out what the fuck is going on."

The girl turned pale, the man didn't care.

"No one's supposed to rent this room. Ever. Never ever ever." He explained, tapping a finger against his lip, then turns to look at her. "Sorry, about scaring you. This is my room, you're not supposed to be in it."

The girl's eyes opened even wider, wider than he'd thought possible, and then before he could say anything else, they sagged shut and she passed out.

"Oh, come on…" Trimagus muttered, as he bent to grab her from the slumped position on the bed to laying in the large king size bed that dominated the middle of the room. "At least let me say something cool or some shit before you pass out." Pouting, he went to grab a bucket and a towel.

"It's gonna be a long day…" He muttered to himself, as he begins tending to the girl.