Awakening. Force.

The night still hanged in the sky, total chaos in the village as people went to work, gathering the dead and putting away the rubble. Mom had laid me to sleep, to lead the village to deal with the aftermath of this disaster but I couldn't sleep. The fight was still vivid in my mind. Every cell in my body charged with excitement. I never imagined that after my previous life I'd be reincarnated and most especially that it'd be in a world like this one. One filled with such wonder and terror. I honestly am of a complicated mind right now. I can not correctly tell whether I am terrified or excited or just plain insane to be happy in the face of this disaster but I know that I don't want to be powerless again in this world. I have seen the outcome of such a life before and I refuse to lead the same life again.

If this world operates on the survival of the fittest where only the strong freely live then I will strive just as much to be strong so that such a tragedy as tonight doesn't happen to me and those I care about.

I closed my eyes, with only the desire for power in my mind. It wasn't easy to clear my mind of the needless thoughts that pried it's way in but determined I focused and poured every ounce of concentration I had into it.

I could only assume time passed by but by how much I couldn't tell.

I felt hot, not warm because I felt like I was on fire. Every obstacle and hardship began to melt away immersing me deeper and deeper into the unknown and I felt my mind expanding. Gaining new understanding of concepts and knowledge I couldn't yet utter.

All of creation unraveled before me and I saw and finally began to comprehend the energy called "magic power".

It exist in all things, lying dormant in some and active in others. It is woven into the fabric of the universe, a power able to alter reality in so many ways. Limited only by the will and imagination of those who wield it.

A power ignited by desire, the truth of the soul.

In this inner-verse of comprehension, I perceived the essence of magic power and it was beautiful, just stunningly beautiful. A power with a concept so complex but simplified for the basics of use. To live, amidst the chaos of known and unknown forces.

I reached out to touch it but I couldn't. A wall stood before me, weighing down on me mightily. As if to mock me.

I felt infuriated and underestimated. And with my anger I reached for it.

I touched the wall, feeling it's firmness and sturdiness holding me back. It carried a mighty force and pressure that threatened to snuff out my existence but spurn forward by my desire I pushed back, against the wall.

With the sheer force of my will, I met the wall's challenge head on. Pouring every ounce of strength I had into pushing back against this wall.

Crack.

A low sound echoed in my ears and I looked to see a tiny crack in the face of the wall. Just lines barely perceptible but that gave me hope and I pushed back even more.

Crack, crack.

The lines of the cracks became clearly visible and I began to finally glimpse into the world beyond.

With my strongest push I opened a hole in the wall, the size of my pinky and a wave of power beyond Arshüdehem and the arch wizard, even beyond anything I could imagine rushed out to me and then I understood, there are Absolutes in this universe. Beyond comprehension, totally unfathomable entities that mustn't be known. The true unknown.

I froze up before the wave of power and then a gaze fell on me from the other side of the wall.

I was chilled to the bone, the only thing that saved me was the split second decision I made and ran away. Quick.

-

My name is Grandine Fesmus Almaul, a former court wizard in the service of the kingdom of Milday where our village of Whitehold is located.

Due to an incident which resulted in the loss of my left arm, and other injuries I decided to retire and come back home to my village to spend time with my daughter Gwen and her family.

Gwen is happily married to Andros-mikel, the current chief of Whitehold and they recently had a baby boy called Albeom.

Honestly I am very proud of my Gwen, she always knew what she wanted and so I wasn't worried when she quit the king's army and decided to move back to the village to marry Andros-mikel. Everyone in the village knows those two have had a connection between them since they were kids. So it didn't come as much of a surprise when they announced they wanted to start a family together. In fact I think it was the highlight of the village at the time.

The entire event was memorable to the point that they serve as and example and role models for the young and old in the village to this day.

All that aside, on this particular snowy day, I decided to head to the local forest to gather some herbs to brew a potion for old woman Marie as the young ones called her. She has been complaining of back ache for a while now and I decided to help her out as a friend. And besides I quite enjoyed picking herbs and the work involved with brewing a potion. It was refreshing to do something every once in a while.

Anyways, while in the forest, the world suddenly took on a thick shade of black and it took all my strength not to fall unconscious.

An intense presence arrested the world, weighing down on me like the sky was falling. It was devastating and took all my sanity to distinguish that it was the combined magic force of two beings ensued in battle.

I squeezed my staff tightly in my hand and gritted my teeth, terrified of what this could mean for my family and friends back in the village but before I could do anything, something drew my attention down and there I made contact with a messenger. A creature of the magic races, with impressive abilities to move so fast that they become imperceptible to the eye.

"Court wizard Grandine Fesmus Almaul- He" the messenger called me. His lips moving within his helm. He was very short, even a goblin is a head taller than these creatures. But they are strikingly beautiful with sharp silver eyes and knife like pointed ears. His cosmically colored hair couldn't be seen beneath the helm but even so he had a striking appearance in this forest of green. His armor like uniform of silver and blue with red linings was very catchy especially in this environment. And his boots with ancient runes mystically carved into it in complex circles and formations was giving off a unique wave of magic.

"Grandine- He" the messenger tilted his head and blinked his eyes questioningly.

"Ah yes. You're... a messenger" I asked in response.

"here. For you" he handed out a scroll with the wizards association stamp on it and I unhesitatingly took it.

Usually I'd question the nature of the message and hesitate to open it but I had a sinking feeling this was no coincidence.

Two huge presences rivaling a force of nature suddenly appeared in this part of our kingdom.

Surely the arrival of the messenger, a race whose services are employed only for matters of importance and emergency is no coincidence.

This sudden chain of events could only mean one thing.

"The village is in danger"

I quickly broke the stamp and unrolled the scroll.

[WIZARDS ASSOCIATION

A MATTER OF URGENCY

DISASTER RANK BATTLE IN PROGRESS.

ORDER: Immediate evacuation of all persons in the territory of the northern forests of Whitehold.

Arch wizard Legilis is currently ensued in a fierce battle to quell the rampage of the calamity rank serpent Arshüdehem.

I bid you shield of the gods! Old friend. survive.

Signed. Grand wizard Aldi]

"Aldi, my old friend"

He took it upon himself to sign the order. That showed how grave the situation was.

Arch wizard Legilis, Arshüdehem.

These are names known throughout the kingdom.

In this world of magic and mystery, there are heights that only a select few can reach.

Every magician has a capacity to their magic, so no matter how gifted you're, there is a limit to a person's power. We call this a magician's absolute.

But there are those who transcend that limit into realms beyond. For the human race, one such example is an Arch wizard, the pinnacle of humanities magic.

They are the embodiment of transcendence. Walking, breathing forces of nature.

And to have an Arch wizard battling another being classified as a calamity, Arshüdehem. the great old serpent that devours the world.

"Indeed, we need the shield of the gods"

I steeled my breath and looked down.

"please sign Grandine-he" the messenger beckoned as he held out a piece of paper before me.

With a trembling hand I reached out with my staff and magically signed to show that I'd received the order and then he rolled up the paper, tucked it away and with a trail, sped away.

Flip…

His figure disappeared leaving me with the burden of the unfolding disaster.

A lot of different thoughts rushed to mind but I shoved them away and quickly wrapped a thick coat of magic around myself and enhanced my physical abilities affording me the ease to move around in this arrested forest.

With all haste incomparable to the messenger, I fled from the forest to the village hoping and praying that we survive this sudden disaster.

In the end though, we weren't able to evacuate in time and took shelter in the church's basement with my barrier cast over the village.

The aftermath of the fight between these two forces of nature was the death of Arshüdehem but even so we too lost many lives and sustained many injuries.

The village laid in ruins, with a huge cut in the ground dividing it into two from the endless blade which fell the great serpent.

What once withstood the attacks of hordes of monsters was now a mere shell of itself. Whitehold, the stronghold, the village in the farthest reaches of the kingdom, that stood against the tide of the monsters of the northern regions was broken. Torn apart by the clash of two super tier beings.

I was made to realize again how powerless I am and was greatly saddened by the loss we had to endure but in my heart I was okay because my family, Gwen, her husband and my grandson were all okay. Safe without a scratch.

To make up for my failure in fulfilling the order issued by the wizard association, I decided to help with the aftermath of the disaster. I tended to the wounded, administered potions and salves. Moved some rubbles away with my magic and comforted the grieving and shaken but still a lot of work remained.

At this point I was beginning to get very tired and decided to have a seat.

Compared to the amount of work still remaining, what I'd done was only a drop in the bucket.

The air was thick with magic power which if left as it is will bring it's own set of problems. New monsters will be born. What remains of the forest will see it's ecology greatly changed as will the weather. A host of characters from around the continent, savory and unsavory will be drawn to this magic filled atmosphere for their own purposes and ambitions and worst of all we will see a massive emergence of the undead.

Suffice to say, the coming weeks was going to be hectic at best so I needed to rest now while I could afford it.

"hahh.." I sighed out my exhaustion and realized it wasn't cold anymore.

It had stopped snowing and the air was warm. Under the cover of night, the ash and snow had mixed together. Leaving only confusing scents in the air.

This too was an effect of the dense magic power in the air.

As I took notice of it, I felt a ripple and something tickled within me.

'..power...?'

My whole body instinctively tensed up and I felt goosebumps.

My eyes squinted and fixed at a certain house, one that I recognized all too easily despite it's half destroyed state. After all I lived in that house with my daughter and her family.

In a sudden revelation I released my magic, enveloping myself and jumping into action towards the house.

The world stood still, as if sucking in its breath and then came an explosion.

BOOM.

I was blown away, far to the point of disorientation and I could barely make heads or tail of anything.

Buildings were swept away, the ground crumbled before my feet and the world was arrested with magic power of a quality and quantity I couldn't even fathom.

And as I looked to the distance, to identify the source of this storm, I saw, floating in the midst of the magic storm, what appeared to be a baby.

'Albeom'.