Chapter Two: Black Moves Second

With his house burnt down Quinn awakens to find the city furious with the dominion, and the rebellion he had always dreamed of joining has paid him a visit in hospital.

Blinding white light split across Quinn's vision as he dared to crack open his eyes, he felt warm, dry and still very much alive, much to his surprise. Quinn clenched his eyes shut again and made to wipe them, but his arms wouldn't obey, they felt like lead weights and it was as though a stone slab rested on his chest, thus he elected to stay as he was, after all, he could be anywhere! in the infirmary at the dominion capital building in New York, or in the care of necromancers? it could be, how else could he be alive, his throat was slit. However, all the while Quinn could hear hushed voices around him, a Texan voice, a Londoner's accent and three other's he couldn't distinguish, and he only recognized one of them, "Al..." he groaned "Alice?" he asked as he struggled to open his eyes, "Quiet! he's waking up" someone hissed. "Q? Q?? say somthin' sugar, lemme know yall are doin' good" Alice said, her voice lavished with concern, he felt her hand on his shoulder as he mustered all his strength and sat up, only to find the bed came up to meet him again "I love how your voice goes pure Texan again when you're upset" he chuckled, big mistake though, every syllable hurt and every chuckle brought him another throb of pain. "Easy Quinn, just lie still, you've been out for three days and your vocal chords are still knitting back together" said Greenwitch, Quinn could see them now, Alice and Greenwitch stood over him, a dapper looking boy dressed in a grey vest with dark red hair stood just behind Greenwitch, but then he spotted the three other voices. "You!!" Quinn growled, the men turned from their private conversation as Quinn pushed past Greenwitch and heaved himself off the bed, "you f*****g Diafestor b******s!!" he croaked as he summoned a fireball, three elves stood wearing flowing all white robes, their alabaster skin seemed to glow in the sunlight streaming through the stained glass windows. "Quintus no!" Alice yelped as she half held him back and half stopped him from falling over "they aren't with the dominion Q!" Quinn watched as they turned to him "Master Senss, not all of our race owes allegiance to the dominion" said one of them, "we few Elves who remember times that the others have forgotten, live to disassemble this abomination which so very few stand up against" said another, Greenwitch helped Quinn back onto the bed as the dapper boy stepped forward "yeah, save the poetry Mr. Koan, we need to keep it simple for the lad" he said, he was the one with the Londoner's accent, he looked only a few years older than Quinn. "Right so, lemme bring you up to speed sugar" Alice said, she explained everything that had happened after he had been killed, "Greenwitch and a few other college staff forced the dominion agent out of the city and brought you back just in time for a whole army of dominion wizards to show up at the city gates, by this point most of the magicians in the city had agreed to go against the dominion and declare independence if the mayor gave the word, with a little convincing from me, daddy came around and we gave the dominion our answer". Alice glanced to the three elves "a few minutes later these fellas appeared by the merlin statue, once they got here the dominion turned nasty and tried to take back the city by force, if it wasn't for the whole city and the college working with these guys we wouldn't have been able to set up the matrix in time" she said, Greenwitch chipped in next "we built a Yolbride ward to shield the city, young Mr. Coravelta gave us the idea and the magic to make sure it would hold against anything the dominion could throw at us" she said. Quinn rubbed his face "who are they, then, these elves" he asked, "they're with me" said the dapper one, "the name's Bobby Jack, I'm the official Liaison for the Triton republic resistance" he proudly rocked on his heals to show off the insignia on his belt, the symbol of the rebellion against the dominion. Quinn sat forward "the resistance?" his voice sounded happy for the first time in years, and it surprised everyone, Quinn himself included. "Someone's happy to see us" Bobby laughed "yeah I heard about you, nasty bit of business your folks, I'm only sorry we couldn't get you signed up earlier, we could use a free handed mage, especially one that hates the dominion as much as I do, probably even more come to think of it" he said, Quinn sighed as he sat back "you have no idea, I would have tried to contact you but the dominion had it's eye on me constantly, I couldn't so much as sneak out a letter to Alice when she's visiting her family back in the U.S without the dominion reading it first". 

Greenwitch left for Quinn to talk with Bobby and Alice and the Elves left with her, Alice talked about her first contract, an assassination on a necromancer hiding out in a hut to the east of the city, Bobby talked about how having an entire city and it's magicians gives the resistance the first real clout they've had. "We're no longer just a petty annoyance to them now, we have the most important city in the world under our belt, over 30,000 magicians, including the world best college, It's legendary headmaster and, if you're with us, the worlds only other free handed mage" Bobby said "we have enough power now to start recruiting even more into our ranks and we can finally start making our first moves against the dominion" Quinn nodded "trust me, I'm with you, but only if you agree to one thing" he said. Bobby nodded "name your price" he said, Quinn "the humans can't know anything, we need to take the world joy machine before the dominion uses it to introduce themselves" he said, Bobby raised an eyebrow "what's your meaning sugar?" Alice asked, "I mean, the entire human population and it's technology on the side of the dominion could crush us in little under a day, the dominion could set a troll on Washington and conveniently swoop in to save the day, one warlock's mesmer on the president later and we're toast" he explained. "You're goddamn right!" Bobby growled "why didn't I see this earlier!" he paced quickly "I need to go, you're right, taking the world joy machine is our top priority now" he made towards the door "oh! but Quintus" he turned back just as he reached the door, it was only now that Quinn realized he was in the college infirmary, several others were in beds around the room, some even hidden beneath white sheets, Quinn's heart sunk when he saw the sleeve of a tweed jacket poking out from underneath one. "Allot of people in this city are willing to die for it, some even have" he said grimly "I suggest you come up with a speech or something, people will be looking to you now, you've hated the dominion the most and you are the one who instigated their independence" Bobby turned and left on that final note, Quinn had felt happy for the first time in many years, but now he felt like a villain, Alice shook his shoulder "now don't you be thinking about that too hard Y'hear?" she said, she took off her hat and looked him in the eye, the way she did every time she got it into her head that Quinn was about to do something stupid. "Mr. Markus didn't die because of you, he died because people in this city, including him, had taken enough of the dominion's horse s**t, sugar you were the last straw is all" Alice sat on the bed next to him "ok Alice, I get it" he said, despite his feeble protest she hugged him tight, shoving his face into her chest and holding him there "don't you be crying now honey pie" she said "I'm no-" she cut him off again "ain't none o' this your fault" she stroked his hair "Aliphease Jane Tuckus!" Quinn growled, Alice instantly let go "sorry" she stood up, "I need to go, ma' daddy's waiting for me, wants me home all safe and sound until Greenwitch gives us the all clear, you should come by at three, he'll be addressing the folk gathered by the city hall" she started walking away "oh, one last thing sugar" she said and walked backwards towards the door "Doctor Goldev said she was taking anything she could restore from your house up to your tower, whatever that means, you should go check it out" with that, the room fell quiet as she left, the only sounds were of the injured breathing as they slept. 

Quinn had a visit from the nurse telling him he was clear to leave the infirmary, and that the time was just past 11am, unfortunately all his clothes were either destroyed in his burnt down house or two torn and ragged to wear, reluctantly Quinn found himself in the lost and found cupboard, which was probably bigger than any of the potions class rooms. Quinn clicked his fingers and a ball of light appeared and began circling his head, illuminating the room around him, the room was filled with dust old books, clothes and all sorts of junk, there was even a few tomes, staffs and wands lying around, which made Quinn wander why they hadn't been collected yet, as he stepped over a pile of dirty looking college robes Professor Greenwitch climbed over the huge pile in the center of the room, "Professor?" Quinn asked, "ah! Quinn, I thought you might come here, oh, but have you seen a book titled 'Holly fire and the seven colors?'" she asked. Quinn glanced around briefly "no... did you loose one?" he asked, she smiled and shook her head "no, I'm just looking for one" she chimed merrily, "w...wouldn't the library be a better place to look?" Quinn asked glancing around for something half decent to wear, as it was the plain white medical overalls he was wearing were already covered it dust and dirt "no, it wouldn't be in the library, it's extremely rare, quite a priceless artifact" she said "only three copies were ever made" she said before bending over and moving a pile of dirty rags "aha!" she exclaimed as she heaved a huge old book from a pile of socks. Quinn stood in awe "but, you just said only three were ever made? why would something so valuable be in here?" he asked, Greenwitch giggled "you can find absolutely anything you need in here, you just have to know exactly what you need, take right now for instance, what do you need?" she asked, Quinn laughed as if she didn't know "clothes" he replied, Greenwitch looked him over and frowned "no... I don't think so, you already have clothes on" she said, "these? I can't wear these?" he said tugging at the now pitted overalls. "Yes you can, you don't need clothes, think Mr. Senss, what do you really need?" she asked, Quinn bent down to pick up a shirt, but threw it back down at the sight of a dead spider curled up inside it "I need an outfit, something someone like me would wear, probably enchanted too, I don't have any stabilizing jewelry" he replied, Greenwitch stopped at the door and turned to look out into the vast room "something enchanted that someone like you would wear? Hmm... try over in the top right corner, careful though Quintus, there are something things in this room that are better left alone, remember only take what you need from the lost and found, not what you want" she said with a warning glint in her eyes before heading out the door and closing it behind her. Quinn sighed "ok, only what I need" he repeated to himself before setting off, wading through lost possessions, he spotted a few soul gems and mana spheres along the way, the temptation to pick one up was strong but it the headmaster warns you about something, you better heed it, eventually he reached the top right corner of the room and looked around, but his little sphere of light didn't reveal much, certainly not what he needed it to, so he dispersed it and threw his arms wide "ilinae moxima" he whispered, instantly the room was filled with brilliant ocean blue light and as he looked around he spotted something glint under a pile of dirty hats and cloaks. 

 Quinn bent down to heave the pile away and underneath it was an immaculate, perfectly folded set of clothes, they were white with gold patterns and runes, he picked up the set and underneath them was a pair of gauntlets, they were made of a sort of metal, the same brilliant white as the outfit and with a similar gold pattern design, Quinn shrugged and began to undo the buttons on his overalls, within minutes he was dressed in the outfit, however his feet were bare and the fabric crackled and nipped at his skin with a sort of energy he hadn't felt before. Picking up the gauntlets  he turned them over to find a note stuck to the palm of the right hand, it read "Don't forget, the king can only move one square at a time, he needs to rely on his knights, bishops, castles and pawns to really be effective, but even all of this is useless without the king's crown, you must find the crown" Quinn turned the note over, blank, he read it again to make sure he hadn't missed anything and put the gloves on, the inside was lined with a soft, leather like material that made the gauntlets feel like an extension of his own hands. Once the last glove was on the crackle of energy intensified, it was making him itch now as he looked around for something to wear on his now dirty cold feet, he spotted a pair of boots in a pile a few meters away that looked the same as the gauntlets "must have just been kicked when someone was looking for something" Quinn mumbled, the outfit so far looked like a cross between a suit and a set of robes, with most of the overall outfit confined to a tight fit and a coat like piece with a hood and large sleeves, like an open set of robes, only a coat... if that makes any sense. Quinn bent down to picked the boots up and a pair of relatively clean socks and sat to put them on, to his surprise once the last boot was on the static sensation disappeared and with the boots clanking and scuffing the ground he looked around "it's not exactly what I was looking for but oh well, beggars can't be choosers" he said and turned to leave, but just then something caught his eye, a large glint in the corner of his vision and he turned to look, nestled neatly on a dust old velvet cushion was a gold necklace with a ruby set into the middle of it, as he looked more closely Quinn saw rings and coins scattered around the cushion, they looked enchanted, and powerful too "It wouldn't hurt to take just the necklace, would it? I mean I need stabilization gear, may as well take what I can get" he reasoned and bent down to pick up the necklace. Just as his finger brushed the metal the chain lashed out and wrapped around his wrist "what the?!" Quinn tried to yank his hand back, his mind flashed back to his dream, of the black figure showering him in gold and jewelry, the chain began to climb up his arm, getting longer and longer as it reached for his neck, he lost his concentration and his light spell disappeared, plunging him into darkness, the ruby on the necklace blazed a menacing red, basking everything in a bloody glow as Quinn stumbled and fell on his back, he managed to grab the chain with both hands and snap it, but it just clinked right back together, eventually it reached his throat, still sore from being slashed and began to tighten, he could feel his breathing becoming harder and harder as he struggled against the chain, his hand fumbled in the darkness for anything to pry the necklace from him. As he began to gag his hand rested on something, a pole perhaps, yes! he yanked it and hit the necklace with it, the red glow revealed it to be a shoddy and rotting wooden training sword, 'this will have to do' Quinn thought and slid the wood under the chain around his shoulder and pushed, he thought the rotting oak would break but much to his surprise the chain lifted away without much effort and as soon as it was off he breathed quickly, the ruby glowed brighter, in the darkness it split in two, a row of gleaming red teeth appeared below forming a grinning maw. Quinn scrambled to his feet, the metal boots scratching the stone floor as he tried to find his way through the mountains of dirty clothes, the monster behind him shrieked and screamed at him, red claws slashed just an inch away from his face as he turned back and held the sword in his right hand while pumped as much mana into his left hand as he could, it crackled and snapped with electricity as he slashed at the maw.  

The wooden play thing felt heavier now but what difference would it make, he swung and swung, keeping the monster at bay until his back slammed against a wall, he yelped and ducked in time to evade another swipe, he struck out with his left hand and a bolt of lightning struck the beast between the eyes, it howled and slinked back into the depths of the lost property room just as Quinn found the door and burst through it, students looked at him in surprise as he scrambled up and peered inside. Quinn slammed the door shut and huffed as he turned away from the lost property room, he stepped back and tightened his fists, "oh, the stick" he remembered and looked down at the wooden training sword, but it was no longer there, in it's place was a polished steel basket-hilt sword with a gold fuller and hilt, it was about 26 and a half inches, surprisingly balanced and light with a diamond set into the pommel, the blade itself was covered in etchings, symmetrical patterns and even a few Okturian symbols, he remembered the white figure in his dream, offering him an old wooden sword, and he also noticed that the symbols on the sword matched those he saw in the dream. "Was that..." he shook his head "Impossible, only the ancient ones have visions so precise" he mumbled, he looked around to see students staring at him "what?" he asked, one student laughed "you're dressed like an angel and have a sword in your hand, what do you think?" he gestured, Greenwitch strode past with her tome "ah yes! I forgot that was in there, yes, that's definitely something someone like you would wear, the sword though, I wasn't aware we had any swords in there before but, like I said, you can find anything you need in there, I trust you didn't try to take anything else?" she asked. Quinn pressed his lips "no.." he said, Greenwitch smirked "well, in that case you should probably head up to tower Drolldem-Ru, I've had a bed and anything we could salvage from your house put there" she said, Quinn nodded and glanced down at the sword "and Mr. Senss" Greenwitch called as she walked off "yes professor?" he glanced up "buy a scabbard for that sword please, before you cut someone's arm off" she said and disappeared around the corner. Quinn didn't have time to traipse around the city trying to find somewhere to buy a scabbard, and thus elected to use a spell to encase the blade in a protective barrier and looped the hilt to his waist using a piece of string, walking through the college he got allot of mixed opinions from the other students, anger, disgust, appreciation, fear and quite allot of flirty smiles, which he didn't like one bit. Standing at the foot of the staircase running up through all 66 floors of tower Droll Quinn groaned, his body still ached from dying the first time, this climb might just check him off for good, he sighed as he begrudgingly begun to take the steps one at a time, then he remembered something he had learned in school about aura pools, he looked down to see a pool of shimmering blue liquid, spirals of ethereal energy spun upwards through the center of the tower. Quinn elected to test a theory rather than take all those stairs and stepped into the pool, immediately he felt his body being flushed with raw mana, flux buildup was expelled and any magical impurities within him or in the outfit disappeared, he looked down into the liquid and for a moment he thought he saw a glowing golden orb at the bottom, just beneath his feet, he dismissed it and focused on his magic, he let the raw mana course through his veins and fuel a normally taxing spell, these aura pools dispersed raw mana throughout the college, there was one at the foot of the merlin statue in the courtyard, that one was the biggest, and every tower had one at it's base and half way up. 

Quinn closed his eyes and splayed his hands open as wide as he could, taking in the air around him and condensing it, he felt the air gust around him to fill the ever growing void as he packed more and more air into the single spaces beneath his palms, with one last second to fuel the spell he released the air and was sent rocketing up through the center of the tower. Floors zoomed by him faster than he could register as the air in his hands continued to push him upward until he reached the floor with the biggest ceiling, which connected the three branching towers, holding himself in the air he maneuvered so that he wouldn't fall down the chute again and landed with a muffled clang on the ground. Quinn looked around, they hadn't been so far up in the tower during the tour and he hadn't had a chance to explore before his incident with the dominion agent, he turned on the spot, studying the doors carefully until he spotted 'Drolldem-Ru' on a gold plaque above one of them and with a wave of his finger strode towards it, he stopped just outside and pressed his palm against the oak, usually when someone is allot a workspace like this there's an enchantment on the door which seals it shut until the owner, now Quinn, let's out a slither of mana into the wood, the door was already unlocked however which meant Debby Goldev must still be inside. Quinn silently pushed the door open and stepped inside, there were three floors to the tower, the ground floor was a work space with all sorts of apparatus and a runic matrix hanging just below the ceiling, the stairs were set into the walls and spiraled up with the cylindered shape of the tower, he ascended the first flight of stairs and stepped into the lounge area, there was a fire blazing in a pit in the center of the room, three armchairs and a sofa were arranged around it in a semicircle and behind them were bookshelves that spanned about a quarter of the wall space, there was a small kitchen area with cupboards, a stove running on mana fueled fire and one of the human inventions known as a fridge-freezer, this area took up a small section of the room opposite the stairs leading up, which connected to the stairs Quinn had just used. Quinn looked around, things were pretty bare side from one or two books on the shelves and the floor was covered in a soft, clean red and black floral carpet, something scraped and scuffed upstairs "Doctor?" Quinn called, he heard frantic whispering and a loud thud prompted Quinn to ascend the stairs to the next floor, as soon as he entered what was now the bedroom Quinn knew he and the doctor wouldn't be getting along very well for the next few days. Obviously she had been trying to move a big heavy vas into the room by herself and had fallen over, but it wasn't that, it was how she had fallen and what she was wearing that prompted Quinn to cover his eyes "Merlin's beard Goldev! don't you wear pants?!" Quinn growled as he turned away and walked back downstairs, "Quintus! I'm so sorry!" she had been on all fours trying to clean the spilled dirt with a brush, however she wore a skirt, and Fellions don't really wear... under-garments.  

If there was one thing Quinn hated above all else it was being flustered "I'm so sorry you had to see that Quinn, I didn't realize-" Quinn held up a hand and stopped her, she was younger than he and much shorter, his demeanor was strong and he could tell already Debby was a particularly weak willed individual, even if she was only young, "I'm willing to forget whatever I saw up there, and trust me I want to" he said sternly, Debby's ears were flattened back and her face was bright red as she rubbed her arms, she was wearing a yellow and red dress top and skirt with a white shirt underneath, her hair was tied back in a braided bun with a red ribbon. Debby said nothing as tears welled in her eyes, Quinn chewed his mouth "now don't o crying, come on you're a college tutor" he said, Debby nodded but still she silently cried, Quinn despised hugging, holding hands, being cute or kind, he was very rarely affectionate even with Alice, and most of all he hated people crying, but there was something about Debby that made him feel thoroughly evil about the whole thing, as if he was the big bad wolf scaring a little kitty, she deserved a little consolation... right? Quinn sighed and gingerly walked over, begrudgingly and awkwardly he held out his arms. Debby threw herself into Quinn's embrace and he had to hold her by the shoulders to stop her going to her knees, he was hating every second of this but it was the quickest way to get her to stop crying as she nuzzled her face into his chest, "Debby" he said, she had stopped sobbing now "I think that's enough now" Quinn said and he tried to pull her away, she mewed softly and resisted "don't you like hugs?" she asked as she wrapped her arms around his waist, barely. "No doctor, I don't please let go" he said blankly, Debby sighed "I do" she sighed merrily, "doctor Goldev" Quinn growled and she let go, her ears pricked up "sorry, sorry" she straightened herself out "I'll clean up the mess upstairs, have a cup of tea or something" she said and went back upstairs, Quinn sighed and followed her "no doctor, you have business to attend to in the college, In can take care of this mess" he said, Debby turned to him and pawed his chest "no! I did this I have to clean it up, besides, I'm your personal tutor, you have to do as I say, now go have a cup of tea" she said, Quinn shook his head and picked her up, she yelped and struggled a little but put up no real resistance as Quinn set her down in the living room "you're younger than me, you're not my personal tutor and you're most certainly not cleaning up, my bedroom, my mess" he said and went back upstairs. After a lengthy protest Debby gave in and Quinn cleaned the dirt, he put the plant pot in the living room instead claiming he had his eye on a particularly large mana flower the alchemist in the shopping district had reserved for him, to even greater protest Quinn asked her to leave, he had allot of thinking to do before he visited the mayor, "I can't just go Quintus, I have nothing better to do than help" Debby said as she sat in the armchair opposite him, Quinn was sat facing the fire with his leg's crossed, the metal gauntlets and boots were resting on the floor against the chair as he drummed his fingers, he sighed. "You're persistent, I'll give you that, but you do know I'm an officially diagnosed sociopath?" he said, Debby sat forward "no, really? I always thought you were just grumpy" she giggled, Quinn huffed "no, when..." he turned to the only thing they found in the wreckage of his house "when the dominion found out I was a free handed mage, they sent a legion of their finest warlocks to secure me for training and conditioning, my parents were the first in hundreds of years to resist them, and in return for standing up for what was right they had my entire family executed".  

He breathed deeply as his grip on the chair tightened "I watched as my family and anyone who defended them was torn limb from limb by thralls, burned alive, holes punched through their heads, I bathed in the blood of twenty six that day" he said grimly, "I ran, faster than I ever have or will in my whole life, and the dominion presumed until someone in the city saw me breaking into my parents old home that I was dead, so until yest... until three days ago they simply kept an eye on me, but joining the college meant the possibility of becoming to powerful, to dangerous to take alive". "So they sent an agent to retrieve you" Debby said, "yes" Quinn said, "soaked in the blood of my family I swore an oath, an oath to the one thing that should never be sworn upon that I would slaughter every last dominion loyal magician or human without even the slightest hesitation, so I give you this warning doctor Goldev, If I find out you're a dominion b***h, no matter where you run or hide I will find you and tear your tail off before I end you" he growled "same goes for anyone, Alice, Greenwitch, anybody" he stood up. Debby flinched as Quinn took a step towards the stairs, he sighed "I'm sorry, Debby, you should go" he said, Debby stood up and cautiously walked past him "I would never betray you Quinn, not if I had a choice" she said and descended the stairs to leave the tower, leaving Quinn with allot to think about, including the planning of a speech. Quinn put his gauntlets and boots on again after a quick shower in the on-suite bathroom in the bedroom, he groomed his hair and put on fresh undergarments, the outfit was easy to clean and once he was all done, in his words he felt "fresh as the dickens", he headed out of the tower and made his way to the ground floor, gliding down was far easier than going up, he simply let himself freefall until about a meter from the ground he used a cease movement spell and space around him froze in place. "Merlin I could get used to that" he chuckled as he stood up and straightened himself out, keeping to a rhythm he walked with a through the college, students flew, skated and teleported past him on there way to class, reminding him, he could just stay here and learn, as he had intended to, but the opportunity to take down the dominion has finally presented itself, and after everything that has happened so far, he can't let it all be for naught now. It took Quinn about an hour to make it to the city hall, people were already gathered, the plaza was packed with people and as soon as someone spotted him everyone turned to watch at he made his way inside, Alice was already waiting for him outside her father's office "c'mon sugar, daddy's been waitin' for you" she said and pushed open the doors, she was playing with her deck of playing cards as she walked over and sat on her father's desk, technically Alice's cards acted as her tome, she was a sorceress and could use her cards to do pretty much whatever she wanted, if she needed a sword she would use the cards to form a sword with magic, everyone called her Black Jack in school. The high backed chair behind the desk turned from the stained glass windows and a rugged ginger man sat forward in it, he wore a cowboy's hat just like Alice and had a chuck style beard, his eyes were bagged and his skin tanned and course "Quintus, I trust Alice here has told you what's happened so far" he said, his voice was low and gruff, and so, very, richly Texan, "yes sir" Quinn replied as he took a seat "I'm sorry sir, I didn't want anyone to get hurt" he said, the Mayor waved dismissively "nonsense, whether or not you had truly died folk wouldn't have stood for that Elf almost setting fire to the whole damn city, you were the last of many straws son" he stood up "It's been a while" he offered his hand, Ben had practically raised Quinn after his own parents died, they were good friends.  

Quinn shook the mayor's hand "a pleasure as always ben" he said, Alice twirled a card between her fingers "now y'all have gotten the howdys over and done with shall we get down to business?" she asked, Ben nodded "yes Alice, I think it's high time we made our announcement" he walked around the table to the door "announcement sir?" Quinn asked, Ben stopped and turned back "we're preparing the city for war, the shield will hold but eventually we'll need to drive back the dominion agents on our doorstep, for now, we get ready, every able and willing man and woman will be taught how to fight, and I want you, son, to give the folks something to really fight for" he said. Quinn stood on the top step of  leading into the city hall along with Sophie Greenwitch, Alice and Bobby Jack as the Mayor gave a speech reassuring the safety of the city and the strength of the community's magic as a whole, and then came the part Quinn was dreading "now, I believe Quintus Senss has a few words to say" Ben stepped down from the podium and Quinn stepped up "afternoon" he said, he sighed and rubbed his brow "most of you already know who I am, what I've been through and what I've done, but for those of you who don't" he looked around, almost half the city was gathered in the streets to hear him now. "11 years ago, everything I held dear was taken from me, my life as I had intended then was over when the dominion discovered my existence as a free handed mage" he summoned a stream of water to circle above them and display images from his past "I was forced to watch my family and friends being slaughtered through the veil of blood that soaked me, without discrimination or remorse the dominion shattered me, turned me into what I am now through a torture worse than any physical pain, and I know for a fact that every hour of every day these monsters, these sons of b*****s who sit on their thrones of bone, do this relentlessly, to anyone with so much as a thought of free will" Quinn dispersed the water. The crowed was a painting, fear, anger and hate splashed across their faces "I know for a fact, some if not most of you, have felt the hand of their so called 'justified sacrifice', I'm willing to bet some of you have even known people who have been taken away" he licked his lips "declaring independence has awoken the fat wretch we wall emperor, the entire magical population of earth is watching us now, we need to set an example here that will last for an eternity!" he said, a few calls and cheers rose from the masses "we need to show the world that these oppressors can not and will subject us to their tyranny any longer, together, with the Triton Republic resistance, we will throw these b******s out, we will end the suffering of so many and we will, have the emperor's head on a pike!!" Quinn smiled as the crowd rose into a roar of applaud "no longer will we be denied the freedom we deserve, no long will we live in fear, for on this day, I begin the path to fulfilling the oath I took so long ago, to dismantle this dominion and free magic from it's clutches!". With that Quinn stepped down and Ben began to add to the roar of cheering and chanting with his own, equally powerful speech, joined by Bobby and Greenwitch, Quinn sighed with a smile as he imagined the world without the dominion, he looked around again, just to one last time soak in the sight of everyone rallied to the same thing as him, for the first time he and Alice smiled, together, even Quinn was surprised, that’s when he caught the glint in the crowed, something flashing in the light Quinn's smile faded as he stood up and realized what it was.  

It was like a nightmare, you try to scream but nothing comes out, you can't move and you're forced to watch things play out, a scene flashed in his mind, like his recurring dream, only everything was dark, Quinn saw a boney pale hand reach over a chess bored and pick up  the black bishop. Moving across it took a white pawn and flicked it off the table, and into the grass, Quinn awoke on the floor, Greenwitch was Kneeling over him, there was so much screaming, and crying, someone was crying, "what happened?" Quinn groaned, Greenwitch helped him sit up, but said nothing, "what happened, tell..." he looked around, Bobby was with his three Elves among the crowed, six dominion agents had managed to slip past the ward somehow and they were striking out at anyone they could, trying to thin the numbers no doubt, the crying turned into wailing as Quinn turned to see Alice, and the mayor, dead in her arms. Quinn scrambled to his feet, he cupped his throat and poured mana into a spell, when he opened his mouth his voice boomed from the sky like a god's "Enough! everyone get to your homes, we'll deal with the dominion" he released the spell and turned to Greenwitch as the dominion agents split up and ran for different streets "Professor, get one of them, alive" he said, she nodded and took out her scepter, with one swing she propelled herself into the sky and took off after one of the agents, Quinn made for Alice, but the sight of her so upset deterred him, she shouldn't have to fight now. None the less when Alice spotted Quinn running down the steps she couldn't help but feel the urge to follow, she was sad, scared, but most of all angry, she looked down at her father, shot in the head by a crude human weapon, she held him tight. Quinn bolted down the street, barging past panicked citizens as he chased the agent who had used the gun to kill one of the only family members he had left, he would have cried, but he had cried enough in his lifetime to bother, instead he focused on running, and being very, very angry, he summoned all his strength and ran, the agent turned a corner and Quinn used an ice blast to swiftly slide around the corner and keep after him. Eventually Quinn got close enough and let off a fireball which struck the man square in the back, he tumbled forward and groaned as he rolled onto his back, Quinn slammed his foot down on the man's hand as he raised his wand and screamed, Quinn ground his heel hard and only after a grisly crunch did he lift it away, the man rolled in the mud as Quinn readied a shock spell and thrust his palm into the man's back, but he rolled and stood up, the man raised his wand and a jet of flames sprung forth, Quinn blocked it with a ward and used his magic to pool the dirty water from the ground into a ball around his fist. The man ducked in time to avoid the punch, which had turned to ice and broke against the wall, Quinn raised the shards and together with a thunder bolt sent them flying into the man's knees, more screaming as his kneecaps were both shredded and charred, Quinn wasted no time and began to kick the man repeatedly In the stomach, "you, dominion, b*****d!" he roared, he stepped back and rolled his neck. Placing his palms together a stream of magical words rolled from his tongue and as he pulled his hands apart, energy whirled and warped within them, "this is for Ben you bas-" Quinn was cut off when he caught something in the corner of his eye, he ducked just in time to avoid a fireball, another dominion agent, a woman this time, an Elf "the mayor is just the first of millions, when we win, and we will, there won't be a magician alive who could possibly stand against us" she said, Quinn growled and made to use his spell on her, but with a quick tap on her staff and his hands froze in ethereal rope "if you win, what will you have? eh? what possible outcome could there be where you truly win, there's a war coming and the humans, whether or not we like it, are going to find out in some way, when they do, they will destroy us, or you". 

Quinn bared his teeth as the male agent stood up clutching his hand to his stomach "you mean, you'll use the world Joy machine to slowly introduce yourselves as the heroes in all of this, and when it's too late to retaliate you'll enslave them, just like us" Quinn spat, the Elf laughed "you are a smart one aren't you, you're absolutely right, but we have plans far greater than that, things your so called hero, Merlin could only begin to imagine, we plan to prove the superiority of our kind over all others, as the rightful children of the gods" she grinned, the man walked past Quinn, kicking his knee hard as he did, Quinn roared as the force broke his leg. "And you, you would just let them take over?" he asked once he bit through the pain, "oh trust me, I'm fine with it all, you really should have gotten in with us while you had the chance, soon, all the dominion's loyal subjects will become as fair and great as the Elves, he said, the Elf smiled fiendishly at him as they drew closer, "see Quintus, this one has the right idea, and those get it right, get rewarded" she pulled the man in and lavished him in kissed, Quinn's hatred burned as he watched one of his own swap spit with a monster, "oh, I'm sorry? did you want some?" the Elf grinned. Quinn struggled against the magical bindings as she walked towards him, she knelt in front of him and held his hair, putting down her staff she used both hands to caress his face, "what? don't tell me some, small part of you wants to, you know it's where you belong, with the ones who will rule the world" Quinn clamped his mouth shut but the Elf clicked her fingers and he lost control of it, she kissed him, deeply, forcing her long silky tongue into his mouth, Quinn felt disgusted, he would have gagged, and frankly wanted to, he wanted to bite her tongue off and kill her. But the Elf was right, some small, and growing part of him was intrigued by it all, what did the man mean by becoming like the Elves, and what were they planning that could make them so powerful, the Elf drew back "oh, but you can't, the emperor wants you dead now, he had me ordered to kill you and anyone else who dared to deny our superiority" she caressed his cheek before smacking it and grabbing his chin, she spat in his eye and used her other hand to scrape long marks into his neck. The man grinned, but it faded when the Elf softened again "but, I could have you stripped of your magic, you could become my pet, the emperor want's you dead because of your power, come on, you know it would be so much easier" she cooed, she licked the spit from his eye, his cheek and neck and kissed him again, the small part of him was growing bigger now, it would be easier, "no, the emperor ordered us to kill him, if we-" the elf spun around and shot an arc of lightning into the man's head, it punched straight through and he fell in a crumpled heap "he was week anyways" she muttered, she turned back to Quinn "see, I just killed him for you, I can be kind too" she stroked his face, drawing him closer to her, she pulled him into an embrace "I can make everything better, all you have to do is give up your magic, think about it, living in luxury as my pet". The urge to give in was so strong now, Quinn's mind was filled of thoughts, indulging in carnal delights with the Elf, serving her day and night, doing her every bidding, it sounded like heaven, but something was nagging at the back of his mind, an image from his recurring dream, the fearful blue eye, it reminded him of the final look on his mother's... the thought slipped away as the Elf soothed and caressed him, Quinn whimpered with delight as he pressed his face into hers, "see, it's not so bad, we aren't the evil ones here Quintus, we're just trying to establish order, for everyone" she whispered. 

Quinn pushed back and looked her in the eye "kiss me Quinn, prove your loyalty to the dominion and seal your servitude to me" she stroked his hair, his mind was so blank and buzzing with happiness he didn't know what she was saying any more, but he understood when she pursed her lips, he leaned in. A millisecond before his lips caressed hers, the Elf pulled back "Quintus no!" Alice screamed, Quinn turned to her, his eyes milky and his lips dripping with sparkling blue liquid, "Quinn" said the Elf, she put her staff in his hands and helped him stand up, a fireball appeared at the end of the staff as the Elf leaned over his shoulder and whispered in her heavenly voice "shoot her Quinn, she's trying to stop you being happy" she said, Quinn turned to her "I want to be happy" he murmured, the Elf nodded "then sho-" Alice cut in "don't listen too her Q! sugar, remember what people like this b***h did to your family, think about Professor Markus, and my daddy, y'all gotta remember" she sobbed, the something nagging at the back of Quinn's mind grew stronger, Quinn stepped towards Alice, the Elf put a had on his shoulder "Quintus dear, she's deceiving you, we didn't kill your family" she cooed "she did" she pointed his head at Alice and Quinn growled and Alice stepped back. Suddenly Greenwitch entered the alley, the Elf stepped back "no!" she cried, Quinn stepped between them, "I want to be happy!" he roared, Greenwitch was taken aback as he raised the staff, aiming the fireball at her, Greenwitch noticed his eyes, and the blue liquid running from his mouth "she makes me happy" Quinn mumbled "good boy Quintus, now kill her" the Elf said, Greewitch huffed and with a flick of her scepter she knocked Quinn down. Pretty colors danced on Quinn's vision as his ears rung, he saw Alice stand over him, she bent down and he sat up to kiss her, there was a sharp sting and the world snapped back into it's cold, grey norm, Quinn staggered upright, wincing as he remembered his broken leg "Quintus! kill them, now!" the Elf screeched, Quinn turned to her "lady, I don't know what the f**k kind of s**t you had me on, but it was f*****g good" he said, Alice smacked him again "sorry" he rubbed his cheek and shook his head "but" he let his hand rest on his hip, the sword was still their in it's protective barrier. Quinn drew the sword and mumbled something quickly in magic, with a wince his leg snapped back into place "but, you're after all, just another dominion b***h" he growled, he leapt forward past Greenwitch and rolled underneath a lightning bolt, he got to his feet in time to block a swipe from the Elf's staff and he swung blindly, he caught something but the sword passed right through, with a scream the Elf staggered back, Quinn opened his eyes to see her severed right arm twitch on the ground "you stupid f*****g brat!" she screeched as she used magic to stop the bleeding, she backed away "you had a chance to be happy, but now, when we free Asmodiack, you'll die, all of you! Die!!" she stumbled and Quinn made for her, Greenwitch let off a fireball and Alice flicked a card at her which exploded upon impact,  the smoke cleared and the Elf was gone "f*****g damnit!" Quinn growled as he raced out from the alley and into the street, "she's gone" Greenwitch said, Alice appeared besides him "Alice, are you o-" Quinn doesn't remember much after that, apart from a fist flying towards his face. 

Author's Note

This chapter may have a few elements towards the middle and end which you might think are a little, naughty, but they're designed to make Quinn and the reader feel uncomfortable, to explore the side of Quinn that despised intimacy, for now.
Again, do let me know if there are any drastic spelling or grammar mistakes, I did proof read it but I'm not the best at it.