Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Mages of Asmadur ❯ Prologue ( Prologue )

Disclaimer: This story was written by a fan only for the enjoyment of other fans, without any monetary compensation. Gundam Wing and its characters are registered trademarks of Bandai Entertainment Inc.â„¢ and Sotsu Agency. All rights reserved.

 

A very special Thank You to Anne Olsen for Beta-reading.

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Mages of Asmadur

 

Prologue

 

Duo knocked at the door but didn't wait for an invitation to enter before he opened it and poked his head into the room.
“Is anybody hungry?” he asked. “ The girls, Trowa, and I are going downstairs for dinner. It's Thursday - there will be chocolate pudding for dessert.”
Heero Yuy, lying belly-down on his bed with a chessboard in front of him, nodded. “I'll go with you.” He turned his head toward his roommate as he rose. “Wufei?”

The Chinese boy looked up from the book he was reading. “Go ahead without me. I'll catch up with you once I'm finished with this chapter.”

“Oh, come on, Fei. Your book will be still here when we get back, trust me.” Duo rolled his eyes. It was a mystery to him how anybody could choose a book over chocolate pudding. “What are you reading anyway? I could have sworn you already went through every book in the library.”
Heero took his friend by the arm and pushed him out of the door with gentle force. “Leave him be, Duo. He said he will join us later.” He looked back over his shoulder before leaving the room. “We will hold you a seat, Wufei.”
“Thanks. And make sure Maxwell doesn't eat my pudding.”

“Sure thing.” Heero grinned as Duo snorted in exasperation.

The girls, Dorothy and Relena, and Trowa were already waiting by the stairs. The small group reached the lobby just in time to see the figure of a man materialize on one of the phasing platforms. He was young, tall and had ginger colored hair and blue eyes. He wore an elegant, black mage's robe over a white shirt and dark trousers.

The youths greeted him as the mage walked past them and he returned their greeting with a polite nod.
“Who was that?” Relena wondered.
“Treize Khushrenada.” Dorothy replied. “I remember seeing him at Grandfather's house a few times when I was younger.”

“The Treize Khushrenada?” Duo asked as all heads turned to get another look at the mage. Every student at the academy was familiar with the name Treize Khushrenada. After all, it was said that he was the best pupil the school had ever seen, and nobody had even come close to the test scores he had reached. His magic powers had surpassed those of many of his instructors even before he completed his apprenticeship, and at the age of twenty he had been the youngest mage ever to be accepted into the supreme council. But all that had happened before any of them had joined the academy.
“I wonder why he is here?” Heero mused.
Towa shrugged, his eyes following the tall man down the hall. “Considering the time of the year, he might be here to pick an apprentice. But that's only a guess.”
“Na,” Duo shook his head. “I've heard he doesn't take pupils.”

 

*****

Arch Mage Dermail could sense his visitor's presence even before there was a knock at the door to his office.
“Please, come in.”
Treize Khushrenada walked into the room and greeted the older man with a nod. “Arch Mage.”
“Ah, Treize.” The headmaster gave him a polite smile. “It's nice to see you again. Please, take a seat.”
“You asked to see me. Is something wrong?” the ginger-blond mage asked, as he pulled a chair closer to the desk and sat down.
“Nothing is wrong,” Dermail assured him. “I just wanted to talk to you. Can I offer you something to drink? A glass of wine perhaps?” he opened the doors of the liquor cabinet with the flick of his wrist, revealing a number of bottles and glasses.
Treize shook his head. “Thank you, but I'm fine.”
“Very well,” the arch mage nodded. Another flick and the cabinet closed quietly. “It has been a long time since I have seen you, Treize. How have you been?”
“I have been alright,” the younger man replied. “Please tell me you didn't have me come all this way just to ask me how I'm doing.”
“No, there is something else I want to talk to you about. Although I have to admit I'm somewhat concerned about you. Over the past five years we have seen you here at the academy less than a dozen times.”
“I have been busy,” the younger man told him. “And I don't really feel like socializing.”
Dermail looked at him firmly. “You can not go on like this, Treize. You need to move on.”

“I don't want to.” Treize replied, sounding very much like a stubborn child.
The headmaster sighed. He knew only to well that the young mage could be just as headstrong as he was talented. After a moment of silence he spoke. “Well, things haven't changed much here at the academy since you left. However we do have an unusual large number of pupils this year ready to begin their apprenticeship. Which is the reason I wanted to talk to you...”
“No!” Treize exclaimed firmly. “I will not take an apprentice. So unless you have anything else to discuss with me, I'll be on my way.” The mage rose and headed for the door.
Dermail frowned. Treize could be so unbelievably pigheaded. “What happened five years ago was a terrible thing. But don't you think it's time for you to come out of your self-imposed isolation? Stop being selfish Treize. Wallowing in self-pity won't achieve anything.”

“That was low!” Treize spun around, crystal-eyes eyes sparkling with rage.
A lesser man would have cringed under the mage's look, but Dermail didn't even blink.
“How dare you call me selfish?” Treize snarled.
“Forgive my choice for words.” The arch mage leaned back in his chair. “But tell me, Treize, what would you call a person who is wasting all of his talents and skills rather than passing them on to somebody else?” he asked calmly.
Treize snorted. “Even if I would agree, I doubt that the council will ever allow me to teach another apprentice, considering what happened to my last one.”
“The council, or more precisely most of its members, does not hold you responsible. You did what you had to do. Nobody could have predicted what happened back then. You can't change the past. You can only let go of it and concentrate on the future. Treize, you are still one of the most powerful mages in Asmadur. You have a lot to give and a lot to teach.”

“Fine,” Treize said suddenly after a long moment of silence. He returned to the chair that he had occupied only a few minutes ago and sat down again. “But under one condition. I want to choose my pupil myself.”

“Fair enough,” Dermail nodded. He reached into his desk and pulled out a small stack of files.
“Heero Yuy,” he said as he opened the first folder and pushed it toward Treize. “His strength lies in potions and spells, but he is also a very decent enchanter. I had few students as resolute and hard working as he is.”
The younger mage nodded as he examined the picture of a young boy with unruly chocolate brown hair. He had to admit that the boy had a very determined look in his eyes.
“Duo Maxwell. He will make an excellent charm-caster some day. A sister from the Maxwell orphanage brought him to the council to be tested, after it was discovered that he possessed magical abilities. Although magic doesn't seem to be his only gift.” the headmaster couldn't help but chuckle when he thought about the boy with the long, braided hair.
Treize raised one eyebrow and gave the headmaster a surprised look.
“Duo is quite a character.” Dermail explained before he picked up the next file. “Next we have Trowa Barton. His astral and mental powers are remarkable. I remember when he was only in his second year; the students had been given the assignment of trying to levitate a small stone. After attempting several times unsuccessfully to move the pebble he suddenly managed to make it float several feet over the ground. In the end however it turned out that the rock never left the ground at all. Trowa had just fooled everybody, including myself, with the illusion of a floating rock. That, I have to admit, was rather impressive.”
“I think I remember the boy.” Treize said after a look at the picture. “Wasn't it master mage Rashid who discovered him and insisted that he was tested?”
“Correct,” the arch mage confirmed. “ Rashid also expressed interest in taking the boy as his apprentice.”

Treize nodded in acknowledgement and went on to the next file.

”Chang Wufei is a member of the Long clan and was sent here by his elders. Wufei has been chosen to eventually replace their present summoner. His test scores so far have been the best I have seen in a long time and he has great potential…”
“But?” Treize asked as he studied the boy's pictures. His features were unmistakably Asian, with golden tanned skin and jet-black hair and eyes.
“I don't think his heart is really in it.”

“Then why is he still here?”
“Because he meets and exceeds all the requirements,“ the arch mage replied. “Not to mention that it would be a waste of great potential to send him away. Then we have Relena Darlian. She has excellent healing abilities, but that's not surprising. After all, she comes from a long line of healers.”
“Darlian…Darlian?” Treize repeated. “The name doesn't sound familiar at all.”
“She was adopted when she was still a baby. Darlian is the name of her adoptive parents”

“I see,” the mage nodded, but he didn't ask for her real name.

“And last but not least we have Dorothy. You do remember my granddaughter, don't you?”
“I surely do.” Treize nodded. “And I presume that you are planning on teaching her yourself?”
“I was thinking about it, but feel free to choose her if you wish.” The headmaster closed the last file after the ginger-blond mage had finished reading. “These are the six students who have already passed the preliminary tests and are ready to begin their apprenticeship. We have five more pupils who will be tested by the end of the month. If you wish, I can show you their files as well.”

Treize shook his head. “Thank you, but that won't be necessary. I have already made my choice.”

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T.B.C.

 

Author's Note: 

I didn't really want to start a new fic before I have at least one of my others finished. So I had this one outlined and put aside. But when a few weeks ago “Making Magic” came out, the newest add on to The Sims game, I started putting the settings of this story into the Sims world.
You really should check out my companion website to this fic. It has not only background info but you can also take a virtual tour through the academy and look at photos of some of the characters. More will be added as the story developed.
I made 2 entry pages. If you have a slow computer or one that doesn't allow java applets please use this link

http://www.gundam-wing-fanfiction.net/sims/academy1.htm

For java enabled computers use this entry page. The java version is a little cooler IMHO.
http://www.gundam-wing-fanfiction.net/sims/academy.htm< /font>