A New Plan

The room we're in is richly furnished and quite spacious. The main features include a large table in the center surrounded in a half circle by several comfortable leather sofas. To the right, directly against the wall, is a bookshelf that has books only on the first few shelves. At various points in the room are various works of art, a small statue in one corner, and a large painting in another. All of these work together to give off an undeniable feeling of luxury.

I slowly swirl the cup of liquor in my hand. From the corner of my eye, I can see three other people in the room. Two are sitting to my left, a man and a woman, while the third worriedly paces in front of the window, glancing nervously at his phone from time to time. I take a long sip and feel the fire go down my throat. How much longer do we have to wait?

All of a sudden the man's pacing stops as he reads something on his phone, then he curses loudly. "What is it?" The woman next to me asked.

"That bastard let a couple of kids get the paper. Ha, months of hard work gone down the drain all because of - FUCK!" He slams his fist into the nearby wall in anger.

The man sitting to my left asks. "Let me guess, Laen?"

The man standing by the wall nods and then shakes his head. "Yes, no. Kind of. There were three, and one of them was a Laen. He also had a Familiar."

Liam chuckles. "I knew it. I almost got done in by one earlier this year, the Undead."

The woman turns to look at Liam. "Drew Wright? You met him? How'd you survive?"

"By not being stupid. Those Laen kids are usually weak but there are a few that are worth keeping an eye on. It seems your man met one of them. Still, I don't understand why a piece of paper is so important to you guys."

I explain it to Liam. At first, I wanted to keep it a secret, but I guess it doesn't matter anymore, they probably already know of it. "The piece of paper would have helped get us some powerful helpers. We planned on using it to communicate with some people we wanted to recruit."

"Why don't you use magic to communicate with them? Wouldn't it be easier that way?" Liam asks.

"They're in Lagorra Prison."

Liam opens his mouth in a silent oh. Lagorra Prison is a maximum security prison the government built to contain very powerful criminals, terrorist leaders, drug lords, people like that. Somehow, however, the Laen managed to give it another function, secretly turning it into a place where rouge magicians could also be held. It isn't too surprising though, they have members in high places, so it was probably a piece of cake for them.

A few months ago we had made a plan to bust some pretty powerful Ascendants out of Lagorra, people who we would undoubtedly support our cause, the only hitch was that without their co-operation we couldn't get them out of there. But we had no way to communicate with them. If we attempt to use anything remotely magical, the Laen will discover it immediately. So, instead of exposing ourselves, we had hatched a plan to sneak that piece of paper, containing what those people needed to know, into Lagorra. It would have been difficult, near impossible, but still had a better chance of succeeding than any magical method we could have thought of. But now, the plan has gone bust. The Laen most likely know about it, and they will be on guard now. It can't work anymore.

Liam shakes his head. "That's rough. First, you lose three members trying to subdue a Laen Elder, and now this. It seems the universe wants you to fail."

I drain the cup in my hand as anger smolders within me. A second later the edge of my anger dulls as something stirs within me. My Familiar. Feed, I think to it, feed, and grow stronger. Sooner or later I'll need your help, and when that time comes…

"What are we going to do now?" The man standing by the window has a defeated look.

"Well," I say, thinking of what my Familiar had told me earlier in the week, "we need strong members, but they don't necessarily have to be human, do they?"

The woman raises an eyebrow. "Fasurus?" she shoots an apologetic glance at my chest before saying, "No offense to you or your Familiar but without a host, most Fasurus are currently… too weak. We'd need to find something on the Majin's level if we want to make a difference, but where are we going to find them?"

"They were not this weak in the past. If they can grow weaker, they can naturally get stronger."

"Yes," says Liam with a strange light in his eyes, "but how are you going to get them strong enough in a short period of time."

It is at this point I remember something, he is not one of us. "Liam, would you like to join us?"

He goes quiet for some time, then finally he shakes his head. "Sorry, but I still don't think going against the Laen is a good idea. Still, if you have a method to make Fasurus get stronger faster, I would love to hear it."

I stare at his green eyes. "I'm sure you will."

He shakes his head in disappointment. "If you want powerful members, why don't you try recruiting that Tahku guy? I have a feeling he is stronger than he shows."

"I've tried," the woman says, "but he won't join."

With a sigh, Liam gets to his feet. "Alright, I guess it's time for me to go. You'll be getting the package tomorrow morning, but to be safe, send someone to the location I told you about. Some Laen have been snooping around and I think they might try to intercept it."

I nod. "Don't worry, we will."

And with that, he leaves. Once he is gone the remaining occupants of the room turn to me. "So, what exactly is your plan?" The woman asks. I take a deep breath, then tell them what my Fasuru had explained to me.

They both have unsure looks on their faces by the time I am done. The man standing by the window takes a seat. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this. If the Laen catch wind of it we could be… besides, I don't think I'm comfortable with it."

"Same here." The woman says.

"You don't have to be comfortable with it. I just need access to some of your resources and I can take care of the rest. By the end of next year you'll both have Familiars as powerful as the Majin, and so will the rest of us."

They both look unconvinced but I know they'll give me what I want.

"And what do we do about those kids?" the man finally asks.

"Let them be. They're not our problem. Yes, they interfered, but it's not as though they did it on purpose. And to be honest, right now we have bigger problems than getting revenge on some kids."

Soon they both leave and I am left alone in the now too-large room. I refill my cup and take a swig as a wave of familiar anger returns to me. I close my eyes and for a moment it is almost as if I have been transported back in time. I hear the screams, the cries, then I see him. A figure wrapped in shadows, eyes glowing, and with a very conspicuous mark on his forehead. Then blood.

My eyes snap open. He is dead now, I made sure of that, but it's not enough. It will not be enough until I bring down that damned Order and trample on its ashes. Who? Who gave them the authority to police the magical world? Who gave them the power to decide whether or not people deserve access to magic? Who? Who told them they had to exist in the first place?

Once again my anger is dulled as my Familiar feeds. I would have to let it out soon, to prevent unnecessary problems. I am not like that lucky bastard, Liam after all. Still, I vow to myself once again, the Laen will fall.

But I am not strong enough to bring them down on my own, which is why the Fasuru powerhouses must be released from the Abyss. As for those I work with, I do not particularly care about their motives, for now, we all have the same goal. Free the gods. But how? How are we going to do it when we don't even know where to get the key to the Abyss?

Even if we did get the key, it still wouldn't be easy to free them. At times like this, I wished the rumored Master would lend a hand. I had heard about him long ago. A man rumored to be as powerful and knowledgeable as the Eldest, someone who has lived for thousands of years. But despite all the rumors, there is not one bit of proof of his existence. Well, except that.

I shake my head. Even if he was real the Master doesn't seem to care all that much about the Laen and their activities. In the end, if we want to bring down the Order, we must do it ourselves.