Elias sat on a comfortable wooden bench on the balcony sitting outside his room close to the top of Castle Phoenix Spire. A white crystal cast a comfortable light about the area, providing more than enough light to read the fine text in the the tome resting comfortably in Elias' hands. The wizard double checked that the wind ward preventing gales from blowing Elias off the balcony were in perfect order before poring over the complicated wording and fantastical diagrams depicting how to cast a 'perfect illusion' by refracting light. Elias silently laughed at it all, the so called 'wizards' who had written the many tomes of magic in phoenix spire seemed to have a fetish for the complicated. Always over analyzing their spells and masking them so others couldn't' use it. Most of the spells he had read about were far too easy to warrant magic circles combining multiple arrays. It made Elias wish there were a book somewhere that could teach him new magic for a change.

A cloaked droid has been watching him. The machine studied him for a bit before making its move. The droid appeared over Elias as it held a package and dropped it onto the ground. “You’re wasting your potential, boy.” A voice came through the droid. Its voice came through the machine distorted to hide their identity. “You have the potential to grasp true power. Those books, things that you read, made by the weak. They will never accept the things that you have done. They will label you, accuse you, look down on you. They will want to change you into something that they can look at. I will help you and embrace you for the things you have done and for the things that you might do.” The droid removed the cover of the package and revealed an ancient book. The language of the Void rested on the cover of the black book.
“This is my gift to you. Power. Don’t you feel the power within that book? The only power worth living for! The power of the Void is at your fingertips. They will call you a monster because you think differently than them. Right and wrong are just words. The weak would rather categorize you.”

Elias heard a garbled sound whisper through the ward. He looked up from the simple tome he had been reading, noting the drone hovering above him, just outside the bubble. Elias pulled out his wand and carved a circle in the barrier. Wind screeched over the open hole as the drone hovered in and continued speaking. It dropped a simple package about the size of a book at his feet, the droid explained it was an ancient tome full of something called void magic, apparently an ancient and powerful sect of power that many people and magic users hated. The words themselves slid over Elias as he stared at the ancient cover, made of some kind of material he couldn't recognize, if it was even from his universe originally.

"Power you say," Elias questioned, "I like the sound of that." He reached out for the pistol resting below the balcony, on sitting on the bottom of the ward, "I assume I'll need the strength of these souls to access it." Elias quickly settled down and opened the tome to the first page."

Wthin the book, it held many secrets, and teachings. The writings were of a Void Lord that died many years ago.. The teachings of Void Lord Rean were in the book. The book is filled with ancient languages of the Void. The first sentence changed and appeared into a language Elias could read. “There is no such thing as peace, it is a lie. There is only passion. We strive ourselves to be the best that we can and yet, told we are bad for seeking the things that we need or want. Is that so wrong? To strive for things, we want?” The teachings within the book spoke about abilities called “Soul Reaping”. This ability would give the user to seal souls within his body through the words of the Void. Use their essence to strength your own magic and use them to fight for you. Within more pages of the book, there is more. More necromancy abilities that were once considered forgotten.
              

          These spells talked about using the energy of people around you, stealing their magic, and using them in new found forms of summoning Void Demons to fight for you. They also mentioned the words of the “Void”. Photos of them were shown and they look exactly the same on Atir’s arm when she used magic during the raid on the ONI base.
“I am a friend who wants to see you grow. I will never deny who you are and since you never tossed that gun away. That is proof enough that you want me. This droid will return in one week. I will leave more for you to read but do not let the Vampire see these books. She will only call you a monster.” The droid floated and vanished but the sound of the machine could still be heard. It flew out the window and vanished.

Elias was confused at first, staring at a completely alien language on the pages for several seconds before it morphed into english. He noted the first words right inside the cover, written by a man called Void Lord Rean. The words were harsh, but certainly true. Life recently had become more of a struggle to learn and survive, especially during the events back on Reach, Elias certainly did have a passion for magic. It fueled him, drove him forward. Hell, magic was Elias' entire existence. If it wasn't for the incredible power, he would be nothing more than a lame-ass college dropout working in a Library by day and a local bar on the busy days. The book promised something beyond a simple, mundane existence in the world, it illustrated the power of the so called 'void', or at least a section of it. The powers depicted talked about siphoning energy from the people around the caster to fuel their spells, and it appeared to be much easier than channelling the magic itself. Most of the techniques appeared to be things Elias could do easily enough on his own, with the exception of a few.

What really stuck out were the symbols of the void. Apparently brands that helped with channelling the dark power, though they appeared strikingly similar to the ones on Blue's arm. The basic concepts were simple, it was almost as if the tome was nothing more than a book given to beginners.

Despite all that, Elias started practicing. He pulled out his necromancy wand and conjured a stone zombie with one of the souls tethered to his revolver and began practicing the energy siphoning. He practiced this every night on the balcony, waiting for the next drone.

As the voice, had promised, right on time, it arrived. The droid waiting for the ward shield to open. The droid had another package but this time before it dropped anything, it stopped, and turned on a hologram. A feminine figure appeared but wearing dark clothing. Her face was covered by a mask and the aura she gave off was…cold. Elias even could feel her presence is heavy with Void Magic. She looked at Elias and scanned the room. “You have been practicing, good” the voice said. It still is manipulated to cover the identity but revealing herself is a next step. “I have returned as promise but I feel frustration within you. I am Lord Srox and I am a Void Lord. I have been aware of your abilities, Elias. I aim to make sure you reach that potential. I have the next steps and once you master these. I will give you the book called, Mhekrerr. The first teaching of Living Void Magic. Though, the book here will finalize everything you have learned in the first book. Please do forgive me, these are indeed beginner books but I don’t want to push things. I know you are also under the training of the fool you call Kittania. She will never accept who you truly are. I know you have tasted necromancy and we both know she will talk down to you because of that. I will do anything within my power to make sure you reach your true power. To understand both sides of the coin, you must broaden your view of magic. Not just the Dog-matted viewpoints of light magic. “ The book fell to the ground after she finished talking.
               
            “Remember, you must strengthen your resolve and have no fear. Your anger and hate will fuel you. Yet, do not give into your emotions as the magic will kill you slowly. You must have limits.” She waved her hand and the book moved in front of Elias. “I will return in one week, I promise.” The droid turned off the hologram and it flew off and vanished. The book contained enchantments that amplified the books last teachings. There is also something else it teaches, mediation. It states to control your emotions, you must mediate and control the magic within you. How each time you use the Darker side of Void Magic, your emotions have the chance of taking you over. Through meditation you can balance yourself and meet other Void Lords, possible his current teacher, Lord Srox.

Just as promised, another drone swooped down from the sky a week later. Elias quickly opened a hole to allow the drone through. He expected a new book, but what he wasn't expecting was a garbled holographic message of a vaguely female looking warrior calling herself Lord Srox. She talked about her watching Kitty's training and how controlling she had been of Elias' growth. She wasn't really proving to him that necromancy was a bad thing, just highlighting her personal bad experiences with it, but the new lessons in the so called 'living' void magic would make up for what Kitty hadn't been teaching him. Elias nodded.

"At least you told me you were watching," Elias replied, "Besides, this void magic stuff is nothing like anything I've done before. I'd rather have read the beginner books first."

Elias thanked Lord Srox as she disappeared and dropped the book. Elais' read through went much faster than the previous night, many of the concepts he had gleaned from the first were confirmed in this second book of basic teachings, though it involved meditation, a way to keep your emotions in check so that the power wouldn't consume him. He'd done meditation in the past as training for other forms of magic, so Elias decided to try this unique form. He envisioned a perfect balance of light and dark, the yin and the yang, and sat cross legged on the balcony outside. Focusing on keeping the two energies in a perfectly balanced rotation.

Through meditation, Elias body began to swirl with Void Magic. Circling his body and a red hue flowed from his body. The feelings and emotions within him swirled and balanced. The stress from Kittania’s training and the secret training seem to melt away but that craving for more sat at the bottom of his emotions. Like a faint scratch on the back of his neck, the need for more is there. Within a weeks’ time another droid had come. It waited for the ward shield to open and it came through. The droid held a larger package this time. The droid dropped the book, “As promised, here is the book called, “Mhekrerr”. This will teach you the first and second stages of Void Living Magic. Make sure to read these pages perfectly and to be sure you mediate. Remember, the weak will down look others who seek power. Finding meaning in their hollow words to label you and put you down. The more you dip in this magic, if people find out, the more the weak will accuse you of being a monster. Labeling you as doing something wrong. I will be back next week and you will show me the power that you have learned. We will meditate together and I will meet you in the other realm.” The distorted voice said. The machine got up and left out the window, vanishing.

 The book also had ancient writing on it. Within the text, the wording changed, and showed Elias the power of Living Void Magic. The book spoke about taking the blood or DNA of their victims. Making copies of that person, unable to be detected as fake, and perfect copies. He would be able to mimic their emotions, dreams, and thoughts. Making them the perfect copies to take information from his targets. These fake copies could steal information from their sleeping targets. Not harming them but the only adverse effect is lack of energy the victim would feel. More or less these fake people would be spies that could never be detected.

For a power so supposedly dark and evil, it was surprisingly balanced, a sort of take what you earn deal. The concept of taking what is in your power. Many of the concept weren't unlike the Necromancy Elias had recently worked with. Only more refined and a whole lot more powerful.

Elias sat crosslegged in a meditative position and placed the new book ahead of him. With a light charm of wind magic, lifting the book in the air and slowly opening the cover. In a state of half-meditation and half-focus, Elias studied the pages inside the book.

"So you want to keep up the suspense, huh," Elias replied to the hologram's garbled message, "Which means I already know who you are..." The wizard frowned. There could only be one person in the galaxy who knew exactly who Elias was. He had his suspicions before after seeing the void brands in the first few books, but now he was beginning to suspect that Blue had something to do with this so called 'Lord Srox'. A rival, perhaps. The power Elias was learning certainly seemed to be different than what he had seen Blue use back on Reach. He continued his meditation, pondering on the identity of the being under that mask

It had been one week and the droid had comeback. It waited for the ward shield to be dropped. It came into the room and it dropped another book. “This book is the next step in understanding the power of Void Magic. Many have read it and only few would have the courage to use it. Remember, everything in magic has a price, you can never freely use it. The details are within the book and be sure to keep practicing and meditating. I might comeback at a later time. Contractual work to fight against The Darkness. I may return to you through meditation and not by droid.” The voice said from the droid. The droid hovered a bit and left. Lord Srox did feel bad as she couldn’t be there in person but the Alliance would never allow someone like her to be there but soon, if thing went according to plan. They wouldn’t be able to stop her from coming.
               
              Within the text, it had many teachings. It would teach the user to extend their own life from taking the energy and magic from other beings. These abilities can only effect organics and it doesn’t effect machine beings. These techniques are also listed as “Dangerous” to try and use on Void Lords and powerful magicians using light magic. The book also talked about having a balanced mind and soul while using such magic. If things get chaotic through your emotions, you could kill yourself or the victim you’re effecting. It only listed to take what you need not what you want. Greed is a powerful emotion that can lead to fear and fear within Void magic can lead to your death. Everything must be balanced and go smoothly.
             

        The droid however never left this time. It watched the boy from a distance. Lord Srox wondered if the boy could be pushed by his emotions. Tipping him further down the path of darkness or maybe fully revealing herself. She could not make rash choices but at the same time, she is also needed on the Darkness front. She would never lie to the boy but delay the truth. He is not ready.

It was awkward, having the strange drone watching over Elias as he read through the new texts. He flipped the pages normally this time, since he'd found meditating while reading only sapped his strength rather than conserved it.

Of of the Tome's many teachings, many were listed as dangerous. Having a balanced mind was necessary for completing many of the spells. Especially the spell for extending one's life. Elias thought back to his explosion against Kitty from the weeks before. He'd absorbed an immense amount of life energy from the plant life surrounding him and hadn't expelled all of it. He wondered if the residual energy now ran within him, extending his own lifespan by who knows how many years.

What really stuck out to Elias was the light magic. A balance to the many dark powers from within the void. The applications of manifesting light as a physical weapon. It gave Elias tons of ideas, all he really needed was a way to manifest the power. Elias calculated the risks in his mind and triple studied each page before moving on, he decided not to practice any magic for that week.

Two weeks had past and still no droid or Lord Srox appearing through in his meditation. The day after the droid had appeared. Waiting as it normally did outside the ward. Once allowed in, it came through and dropped off two more books. It hovered in place, “Apologies, my young friend. I have been busy with the conflict on Norma Prime. As promised, the next stages of training. These are more advanced forms of Void Magic. Spells and abilities only Void Lord would know. I do in fact believe you have the natural talent to learn anything. These books will be hard and will test your resolve and they will make the weak break in sorrow. I will wait patiently till the next time we meet and I hope to see you still all in one piece.” The distorted voice said as the droid floated up and vanished.
               

             The books would teach Elias about Blood Magic. The form of Blood Magic had many different stages. The first stages of this blood magic are using the targets blood against them. Using that blood and create stronger runes, weapons, and making “Organic” weapons. These “Blood” weapons cover be harnessed to attack anyone around in the area. The next stage the blood could be used to create creatures. These blood creatures are listed as very dangerous and known to kill their masters. These creatures are also connected to wiping out many species. These creatures are called the Seobsavian, the plague horde. If mastered, these creatures could be used to clear out entire planets and systems. They’re extremely intelligent and follow the “Horde Summoner”. Listed within the book is the name of the last known “Horde Summoner”, Void Lord Anu Mau.
              

               The second book talks about using the emotions against your enemy. Taking their fear, anger, hatred, sadness, love, and using it as a weapon. How to manipulate one’s reality to the one you want them to see. There is a second stage, using souls, and forces those emotions on your target.

The droid disappeared more quickly this time, much to Elias' relief. The feeling of being watched only ended up being more stressful. He flipped through the pages within this newest book.

Blood magic immediately stuck out as a powerful magic. A style that could use a being's own blood against them (provided they had any) and the creation of dangerous, yet powerful weapons. Another powerful spell being the summoning of these so called "plague hordes" who were just as likely to kill their master as they were to wipe out an entire planet. Elias made a mental note not to touch that one, especially if they exclusively followed a being that wasn't him. Summoning minions and golems with souls of the dead would work just fine in his book.

This time there was no visit from the Droid. The only thing Elias would find is an odd book resting on his bed. This book gave off a cold vibe and the writing on the book is a bit different than Void Writings. Upon opening the book the words changed and a warning appeared. This book talked about a prediction of the return on Void Lord Anu Mau. Speaking of the darkness that he will bring and how death follows him. He originally created the Void Magic tradition and Void Clans. It also spoke of how only the blood of family can defeat him. Then the last page there is something different. The Void Branding spell. The spell to begin the training as a Void Lord and walk down the path. You could either join Anu Mau’s clan or join another to fight him.
               
        Within the last page, there is also a note, folded neatly and placed between the last pages. “My friend, dark times are coming. I must bid you ado and continue down my own path for now. Destiny has binds us together. We will meet soon and you must make a choice. I wish we could meet on better circumstances but with the wars, this makes it impossible. My last teachings are within this book. Understand the Void Lord Anu Mau and seek out old texts about him. He is coming…”

Elias read the note before beginning his examination of the pages within the final book. He didn't believe in things such as 'destiny', much less cared about them. Even prophecies were sketchy business in his eyes. On the other hand, an opportunity to finally meet this Lord Srox person wasn't something Elias could quite pass up. He needed to know who felt it right to give Elias access to such dangerous power as that from the void.

Elias later carefully examined the pages in the new tome. Even after hours of reading, it still felt like someone had just pulled it out of a freezer. It talked of some kind of 'void clans' and a special brand meant to give one access to the complete power of the void. He decided to put that in the back of his mind for a while. Elias couldn't be hasty and give himself such a dangerous power without thinking about it properly, the wizard began preparing materials for a trip to meet up with Lord Srox.

[End]