Some mages are more equal than others

"Please pardon the delay young man. I came as soon as Marshall activated the signal."

Zanir attempted to reply to the strange wizard, only to find that the sound-waves froze as they left his mouth. Seeing this, the stranger chuckled before releasing the spherical spell sealing the area. The nearby space gradually returned to a normal color.

Stunned by the sudden appearance of an unknown mage, several reactions occurred simultaneously by the parties involved. Captain Marshall and his men let out cheers of excitement and relief. Nearby, the bishops of Helios moved into a defensive position. Zanir, his guards, and the nearby Rangers took the chance to distance themselves back a few steps.

Confusion spread throughout the scene like pond ripples. The bishops whispered quietly among themselves, discussing the new development, while the mage merely waved at Marshall before motioning Zanir over.

"Come, come! It's not often that I have the chance to meet a fellow spatial mage."

Well, that certainly explained some of the recent events, but it didn't answer the many questions he still had. With his interest now piqued, Zanir made his way over to speak with the spatial mage, making a mental note that he was likely involved with the crown.

Delivering a very firm handshake, the spatial mage made his introduction. He made sure to wave his hands in a demonstrative manner which really emphasized what he was saying.

"Xander Crestwald, head royal magician to King Reginald the second, Intermediate spatial magician, at your service!"

"Zanir Coffey, Merchant of the Dragon's Den association, self-taught magician."

"Wait, wait, wait a minute.. Did you say self-taught?"

"Yeah It-"

Approaching mid-conversation, the church bishops tried interrupting, only to be shut down by Xander.

"Look fellas, it's been a long day, so why don't you guys take a hike?"

"Even the powerful must answer for their corruption Mr. Crestwald. We cannot compromise, as we have our orders."

Tension filled the air as negotiations broke down. The brightly glowing wands confirmed they'd been charging up for an attack the entire time. Feeling that they were out of options they released their attacks at the group.

Three large golden fireballs shot from their staves and combined into a single powerful attack. Xander waved his hand creating a blue portal between the group and the fireball. Nobody noticed the similar orange portal opening up behind the bishops.

As the massive golden fireball entered the portal it seemed to disappear. Subsequently, the massive explosion brought everyone's attention directly back to the group of bishops, as they were blasted by their own attack.

"That wasn't very nice. I asked you, politely, to leave."

Waving his hands again, Xander made the nearby pegasi vanish.

"Now you can't leave."

It was at that moment the color drained from their faces. All of their strength and vigor vanished. Marshall and several soldiers moved in while carrying clubs. Xander turned back to address Zanir nonchalantly, as if this kind of thing happened often.

"Now, where were we? Ah, you know what, those guys really ruined my afternoon! Let's get something to eat, whaddya say?"

"Sure, I've never met a spatial mage before, let's talk over food and drink. I've got a lot of questions."

"Spatial mages stick together and we're very loyal. Here kid, let me give you the rundown."

Once again a simple hand gesture from Xander summoned an entire dining room set. It wasn't a very flashy or ornate set. Instead, it had a certain quiet sophistication to it, a sort of refined elegance coupled with neutral color tones.

Light discussion went back and forth as they talked about magic in general and business. Apparently spatial mages were an extremely rare subset of mages. Accruing a vast amount of wealth and power, they rose to dominate the entire spectrum of mages and stand alone at the peak.

Every new spatial mage was a potential shift in power between the various kingdoms, empires, and even continents. Xander went on to explain that the organization was divided into different geographic regions called districts. For a very nominal union fee he could join, if he wanted to.

"Now our district fee is two thousand gold coins. This covers the cost of any basic materials you might need, as well as library access, personal training, and so much more. You don't have to make any decisions right away, take some time to think about it."

"I'll need a few days to wrap up business here. How can I get in touch with you when I'm ready?"

"Here, take this amulet. It's on a secure channel."

Xander brought out an amulet that looked just like the one that Reed gave him. Confused, Zanir brought it out to show Xander.

"Interesting. May I ask who gave that to you?"

"A druid gave to this me. That's not a problem is it?"

"Haha, not at all.. How do I put this? Reed works very extensively with our organization. I didn't know you were already connected like that. I can tell that you're going places kid. Lemme mess with this wino."

Holding his hand out, Zanir passed the amulet over to him. Xander activated the amulet to contact Reed.

"Hey Weed, Weeeeed! Pick up the amulet!"

Crackling, the amulet tuned a bit to lock onto the static filled response.

"Ughhh, Slander is that you? Wait a second.. how did you get on this amulet?"

"I'm with Zanir! How come you never mentioned you met a brand new spatial mage? You finally drank yourself stupid?"

"Bah, I'm just saving him from you rotten lot. You spatial mages are always so full of yourselves. Anyways, what's up?"

"Hanging out for a few days at Ranger HQ while he wraps up. You gonna come by and drink or what? Been too long since I seen ya man."

"Ughhh, give me a little bit to work off my hangover and I'll be right over there. You gotta try my newest batch. It's so strong that I might be able to tolerate you."

"Alright, alright just take care ya old bastard and stay safe 'til this all blows over."

After ending the transmission, he handed the amulet back to Zanir. It seemed like they were really good friends.

"Let's raise a toast to Reed! I swear that fucker can shapeshift gills with how much he drinks!"