Ch. 2 The Eye of Bosoto

The Eye of Bosoto stood in the living room of the Orphanage. Crammed in like sardines they barely fidgeted as they looked ahead towards the crowd of nervous kids. Their leader Galdin, a pale and feeble looking middle aged man stood at the front eyeing each child with his cold sunken in eyes. A smile passed his thin lips as he began his usual speech. "Remember kids, an unchecked mage, is a dangerous mage."

Wittorf despised that line. He knew that their deep seeded hatred for mages had lasted since the first mage was born over 1000 years ago. Their speeches were always dripping with venom for mages. Wittorf did everything in his power to irritate them when they showed up. But something was off. Usually it was only a handful of them, but this time there were more than a dozen. Wittorf was made uncomfortable by this fact and waited to see what they wanted.

The rest of the kids shifted in their seats, Wittorf could tell that they were as uneasy as he was. They nodded in unison at the words that came out of Galdin's mouth. Scanning the room Wittorf could see Quinn calmly and carefully absorbing every word the man spewed. He never understood why his friend was so fascinated by these people. They constantly used false claims to hide the fact that they just wanted to overthrow the mages again. It was clear as day to Wittorf, but for some reason Quinn lapped up every word.

Galdin continued to drone on for hours and Wittorf was already in his own mind thinking back to the history lessons. The Eye of Bosoto, a religious group that sprouted during the age of Spellborns, constantly spouted about the blasphemous nature of magic and those who wielded it. For years they reigned supreme forcing those with powers to bend to their will. Over 1000 years they dictated what was considered normal during the age of Spellblood but something changed 15 years ago. Out of nowhere they lost their power and the mages quickly made a stand to stop the bloodshed. The Eye of Bosoto was too large to completely extinguish so the mages let them continue their teachings but now the coin was flipped.

Stirred from his day dreaming Wittorf heard Galdin's voice rise almost to a yell. "We have sworn to protect the good people of this land from blasphemous mages. Today we bring you a taste of what humanity has accomplished!"

The leader turned around swiftly and grabbed a strange metal gauntlet from one of his disciples he turned back to reveal it to the kids. The crystal in the center seemed to radiate some kind of energy, the gears around it slowly spun. "This is the beginning of a new age! Behold what is possible when you put your faith in us!" He put the gauntlet on and clenched his fist.

The gem began to glow even brighter and the gears turned rapidly. Suddenly the leader was enveloped in a white bubble. He looked at the kids in anticipation for their reaction. They were mesmerized by the display. Quinn was pushed forward in his seat looking at them is amazement. Wittorf's eyes were wide in disbelief. He knew for a fact that man was no mage, yet he was able to pull off magic?

"What kind of magic is it?" Quinn asked his eyes squinting to see if he could find the trick behind it.

The leader laughed and put his arm in front of him. The force field arced with unstable electricity but continued to radiate around him. "This is not magic my boy but the combined efforts of the Eye of Bosoto's main engineers. We call them Enchanters, members who imbue technology with the power to rival that of a mage."

He looked over at his disciples and nodded, they began to unsheathe their swords. He looked at the children and smiled. "This is something you all will be able to have if you join up with us." Galdin was breathing heavy now with excitement his eyes were wide with obsession. "Gone are the days of the chosen few hovering over us. Gone are the days where we have to cower in fear of them."

The disciples raised their swords and rushed to attack their leader. Not moving from where he stood the leader raised his arm in the air and the swords bounced off the force field. Not able to come in contact with his body.

Galdin Snapped his fingers and the force field dissipated into sparkling dust around the leader. Some of the kids made small noises of approval and Quinn shook in his seat. The leader continued his speech, this time with a captivated audience, all except for Wittorf who waited for his moment to irritate them again. It was perhaps his favorite part of this whole thing.

"With your faith and help we can bring true peace to the world. Before we leave are there any questions?" The leader asked as he took a deep breath and regained his composure he looked around with a grin.

Wittorf hand shot up in an instant. This was the only time when he could actively voice his opinions of them. The leader scanned the room ignoring Wittorf. He then bowed. "Thank you for your time and enjoy your dinner."

They shuffled out of the house when Wittorf blurted out something. "You guys talk about peace and justice but what about the innocent mages you slaughtered, did they deserve peace and justice?"

The leader glanced over at the young boy his deep dark eyes seeped into Wittorf, Galdin smiled with a slight sinister expression. "An unchecked mage is a dangerous mage."

The leader bowed slightly to Lana who nodded back with a slight scared smile and the group departed. A few of the followers of Bosoto stared down Wittorf on their way out with a displeased look plastered on their face. Wittorf noticed them and returned the look. He never liked them and now that they had fancy toys he was even more cautious of them.

They ate their dinner and went to bed. The next morning Quinn shoved Wittorf out of his bed as he made a hard thud on the ground. Startled from the sudden wakeup call Wittorf looked at Quinn with irritation. Quinn looked more excited than usual. They left their room to find Stephanie was already waiting for them by the entrance.

Quickly looking over to Wittorf and Stephanie with an energetic expression Quinn exclaimed. "Did you see that last night?" They all walked out of the orphanage as Quinn continued. "They have magic without casting spells! Everyone knows that guy is not a mage. So how did he pull off something so awesome?"

Wittorf waved him off "It's some trick, they spout off about mages being the enemy and yet they are trying to harness the same powers as them. Isn't that a bit hypocritical?"

They walked down the path towards the forest to their usual location and Stephanie chimed in. "I think it's kind of cool how they did that. What if everyone could do that?"

Quinn nodded in agreement and continued. "Exactly Steph, imagine how much more we could progress if everyone could use magic without needing to be a mage?"

They made it to the open area in the center of the forest. Quinn and Wittorf started to stretch and Stephanie shook her head. "Do you guys have to do this every time?"

Quinn walked over to a bush and pulled out a branch that looked like it had a few good hits already. Wittorf pulled a smaller stick out of his belt and pointed it at Quinn. "Ready for the fight of your life?"

Quinn gave his stick a few good swings and exhaled loudly. "Still going the magical route?" He placed the sword in a ready position before he focused on Wittorf. "Don't cry when I beat you again."

Looking determined Wittorf smirked back. "I can feel it today, I will definitely cast a spell this time!"

They stood at the ready preparing for another fight. Wittorf raised his makeshift wand and Quinn tightened his grip on his makeshift sword. Stephanie sighed and raised her hand in the air. "On the count of three, one, two…"

A ball of fire came shooting out of the tree line and straight towards Wittorf.