Mykel walked along a well paved road heading into town. This section he was walking through was all farmland for growing grains and vegetables and a few livestock farms, so there wasn’t much for scenery on either side of him. But straight ahead of him, following the road another few miles down the road was a huge city that looked to be made almost entirely of gold and silver. The city itself was almost blinding to look at in the middle of the day with seemingly every building in the city, gleaming brilliantly in the mid-day sunlight. He continued along the road, stopping occasionally to talk to farmers passing by. Occasionally a small copter or freight would fly quietly overhead, either bringing scouts back with border reports or trade ships bringing back silks, teas and gold from distant cities.  

Finally reaching the gatehouse at the city’s main entrance, Myke was walking across the bridge when he heard a familiar voice calling him. “Mykel!” He looked up and just inside the walls of the city stood a young, small framed beautiful woman. Dressed in a long sleek dress that seemed to change color as the sunlight shined on the dress in different spots and angles. A dress type that was fairly common in the city, though the colors were always inter-changeable. “Glad to see your back home safe” The woman almost cried out as she hastily stepped to embrace him in a long hug. “Rose, it’s good to see you. How are you? How’s the boy?” He asked. 

“Oh, you know Peta, always trying to cause trouble. He seems to have a knack for magic, like his father.” She paused “And you!” She added smiling coyly. “Ha!” Mykel laughed “We both know Aiden could of cast circles around me. Probably wouldn’t even a break a sweat doing it either.” 

“You’re too hard on yourself. I mean look at you, the head of Alchemical Inquiries. Aiden would be very proud of you.” 

Mykel was quite for a long moment before finally speaking “I suppose your right, thank you. Now hows about we find that trouble making boy of yours and find a bite to eat? I’m starved.” 

Rose laughed “When are you not hungry? Come on, I’m sure I know where he’s hiding at” Mykel offered Rose his elbow, she linked her arm in his and they took off from the market section and headed towards the farther end of town where most of the homes of Verdash were situated.  

“So, how is it out there” Rose asked as they turned off the main roadway onto a busy side street. Mykel ran his free hand over his chin in a rubbing motion, a gesture he would often make when in thought. “I cannot lie to you Rose, it’s not good. Somehow this group was able to...” He paused hi statement, glancing around before he continued in a hushed tone. “They took the life from the land.” Rose stopped walking, causing him to stop abruptly in the street. Glancing around again he pulled her to the side of the street, out of the traffic. “What do you mean they... what do you mean by that?” Rose asked voice slightly shaken. Mykel shook his head “I... don’t quite understand it myself but whatever they did to the land... they killed it.” He paused to let a few guards pass by, waving and smiling as they passed and saluted him. “You must keep this to yourself, people will panic. But its been months since their first attack on the land, and still nothing will grow there. Its like the ground cannot support life anymore. And that’s not even the worst of it.” He leaned in and whispered into Rose’s ear. She brought her hand to her face, trying to catch the gasp that escaped her. “Remember what I said, this information is only known to me and the council. We cannot let the people know yet, not until we know more. We will speak more of this later, but I promise, I’ll keep you and Peta safe. No matter what.” Mykel linked her arm in his and turned her to continue their journey to find his young nephew. 

Turning another corner they walked toward a wide opening, the houses on either side were built slightly adjacent to one another, creating a round area in the center of all the homes, where a large tree stood surrounded by a small field of luscious green grass. Around a dozen small children were running around in the grass playing Wizard and Wards. A game where one child is the aggressor, or Wizard, and must try to chase and catch the others, the wards. Only the Wizard was allowed to use spells, just small things like creating a small wall of soft dirt or turning puddles of water to ice. The wards could not use any magic, only their wits and their numbers to try and steal the Wizard’s wand. Generally, this would be just a small stick. Once the Wards had possession of the wand, the Ward holding the wand could use magic to try a beat the Wizard in a dual. If the Wizard won, the game would continue, the wand returning to the Wizard, however if the Ward one the dual, they would get to choose who the new Wizard will be, essentially restarting the game. It wasn’t a very complex game, but the children seemed to love it and had enough competitive nature in them that the Wizard role was rotated around the dozen or so children often, each one trying to prove their worth. 

As they walked toward the field one of the Wards stopped and turned, a short but lean looking boy with a headful of shoulder length, black, wiry hair. “Uncle Mykel!” The boy screamed giddily, running full speed and jumped up into Myke’s open arms. “I missed you uncle, you catch any bad guys out there?” He asked gleefully, hoping to get another exciting story out of his uncle. 

“Oh Peta, it’s good to see you too boy. I might have a story or two, come on. If your mother says it’s ok, maybe I’ll tell you over lunch.” He wouldn’t tell Peta the true stories of his journeys, but he could spin a tale close enough that it wasn’t exactly a lie, and they didn’t frighten the young boy either. 

Heading back the way they had come from to the nearest eatery, the three of them went and ate lunch and caught up on everything that had happened in the last month that Mykel was out. A short while later, after lunch was eaten and everyone had talked their fill, Mykel said his goodbyes and promises to come see them before heading back out, then made his way to the capitol house, deep in the middle of the city.   

Making his way through packed streets, people going to and from work or school, or just out for an afternoon stroll through the city. But the streets were wide enough so there was plenty of room for him to zig-zag his way through the moving crowd, stopping frequently to talk to shopkeepers and vendors, occasionally casting simple spells to repair a broken tool, or door hinge. 

Mykel didn’t mind the bustle and hustle of the city, although he much preferred the solitude of his ranch out in the farmland. But he didn’t get there much anymore, the last few years had seen a sharp uptick in these charlatan alchemists’ activities. Which meant a lot more work for him, and non-stop travelling. Plus, he liked the folk around the city, there were plenty drunks and pickpockets to keep his head on a swivel, but for the most part, the folk living in the city were good folk.  

For much of the city folk, they liked Mykel too. They knew he could be a hard ass, and not someone you wanted one your bad side. But if you were kind to him, he was kind to you. Didn’t matter who you were, respect, at least in Mykel’s case, was always a two-lane road.  

Arriving at the front gates to the capitol building around late afternoon, Mykel stopped to appreciate the sun starting to dip below the mountain ranges off to the North. Giving the entire horizon an orange glow, fading away to dark blue on the other horizon. He looked back at the capital and had to squint, the brilliant golden architecture now burning with a furious golden-orange glow with the sunset. As much as it hurt his eyes to look at the glowing building, he had to take a quick moment to appreciate the stunning architecture. Unnaturally smooth sides and corners all fitting together perfectly to make a seamless building. A fascinating structure and one not likely to ever be replicated, as it had been centuries since an Alchemist had the power and knowledge to create structures as large and perfect as this. 

Staring at the front of the building he could see four perfectly smooth towers attached to the walls in front of him and he knew there was one more, a fifth tower on the other side of the building, directly behind the front door. A giant pentagram, an exact replica of the outer line he would draw on the ground when casting certain complex spells, before filling the middle with more lines, glyphs and sigils. 

Finally, he shielded his eyes and walked towards the entrance. Pausing briefly before heading inside for one more look at the Northern horizon. Walking through the doorway and shutting the door behind him, he turned to face a small hallway with a set of double doors on the end, guarded by two Elite Alchemist. “Oi, Panther!” One of the guards called out. “Didnt spect you back for nother few weeks, I trust all is well?” Mykel smiled “Heya Chief, yep all good. Just have a short report for the council and a restock on supplies. I suspect my next trip out will be long.” The guard just nodded “Aye, I gotcha.” Then tossed a look at his comrade. “Yous gonna open the door for em or not? Gods damned slacker gonna catch my boot in his arse if he don’t pick it up!” The other guard, a somewhat new recruit that Mykel had not yet met, practically jumped into motion, fumbling with the key ring on his waist band as Chief yelled at the man. “Yes ser, sorry ser.” Mykel smiled, Chief loved to mess with the recruits and make himself seem like the hardest ass in the capital. Walking through the now open-door Mykel leaned in towards the recruit “Dont be too scared of em lad, he’s a big ol’ softie once you know him.” Looking over at Chief and winking as he spoke that last bit. “Ah come on Myke” He was one of the few people to remove the L from the end of Mykel’s name to shorten it a small amount. “I haven't even made him clean my latrines yet, can’t go soft on him just yet.” Chief said around a large smile. They both laughed as Mykel walked into a large chamber, shaking his head as he shut the door behind him. “See ya Panther.” “Later Chief.” 

Once inside he heard a familiar voice from across the chamber, “Mykel, you old dog! How you doin’?” Looking across the room to the voice shouting at him, was a short, yet stocky looking man wearing a tall stove pipe hat with curly, black hair poking out from the underside of the rim, and a thick beard of coarse hair that covered almost the entirety of the man’s lower face. He a wore large bulky fur coat that was nearly as long as the man was tall, hanging just a few inches from the ground.  

Mykel smiled and started across the room towards the man. “Auri, my friend. How have you been? I see you have a new coat, and I assume a story as eccentric as you are about how you acquired it.” The coat was brilliantly white and one of the thickest furs skins Mykel had ever seen. He chuckled as he eyed over his friend and his, strange taste of fashion. Though Mykel knew he was not very fashionable himself. He still thought he looked better than Auri whose large, bright white fur made the top of his person, which was very dark from his hair, beard and tall hat, stand out like sore thumb. 

Auri laughed as they embraced for a small hug. “Ah friend, you know me too well. And tonight, we drink, and I will tell you of the great Katerina. A bear so big, I could have made 4 of these fine coats for myself!” He laughed again “Aye, a good story. You’ll love it, I have no doubt. But I suppose first we must go to the council and hear those lazy bastards.” 

It was Mykel’s turn to laugh this time. “Are you not one of those lazy bastards now?” 

Auri laughed even harder this time, a deep, coarse laugh. “Aye, I suppose I am now.” 

They laughed a bit more and talked of Auri’s time on the council. Two months ago, Auri was promoted to head of Alchemic Teachings, deciding on how and what new Alchemists would be trained, but quickly stepped down after the majority of Alchemists voted him into the Alchemy council seat, replacing Rahl, the Creator. An alchemist from a long line of alchemists who would be considered royal, had Verdash stayed a hierarchical society 100 years ago. Instead there was a revolution, though a civil war is a more apt description.  

Three months ago, Rahl had been allegedly discovered selling weapons and supplies to the rebel “Alchemists”. A heinous crime, and one he should have been hung for, had he not escaped with the help of his few alchemist loyals. And there were still several citizens and even a few council members who seemed were not wholly convinced of his betrayal.   

Verdash lost a council member, and several good Alchemists that day. Mykel remembers well, since he was the one to strike down two of the three Alchemists working with Rahl. And the third Alchemist was caught and hung for murdering two guards and Aiden Faldheim, Mykel’s older brother, creating the distraction needed for Rahl to get out. 

Mykel swore vengeance that day. To find Rahl and the rest of these charlatans, and bring them to justice, or the to the end of his barrel. 

Auri parted from Mykel and headed up to the council chambers. Mykel hung around on the bottom floor a few more minutes chatting up some other Alchemists, getting what news he could from around the country. About ten minutes after Auri had left, Mykel started heading up to the top floor to the council chambers. 

A few moments later he pushed open the doors to the chamber and walked into a large round room decorated with paintings of past council members, a few paintings depicting one of the great battles of the past, and a plethora of banners in all colors hanging everywhere. 

On the far side of the room, opposite where Mykel entered, was a long-curved table that spanned to almost a quarter of the curved perimeter. There were seven chairs along the table, three on the left, three on the right, and one right in the middle. Sitting on each chair, save the one empty chair in the middle, were the council members of Verdash. 

On the far left at the end of the table sat Margarette Stapling, council member for Entertainment. She oversees everything from theatre shows, to the occasional orchestra, parades, and of course the brothels.  

Next to her sat Tymothe Dashem of the builders, overseeing all construction and manufacturing. His family had helped build Verdash many years ago.  

After him was Auri, Mykel’s longtime friend, Alchemy council member. He oversaw all things Alchemy in and outside of the city aside from any military operations, as well being the direct superior to Myke, and Auri’s previous role, Head of Alchemic Teachings.  

The middle chair was empty, Elder Dynum had been hurt in Rahl’s escape three months ago and was still recovering. The Elder was more of an advisor role, but could overrule anyone with the correct proceedings. 

On the other side of Elder Dynum’s empty chair was General Benjamin Ward, the head of all military actions, and intelligence. Aside from the Elder, and Auri. Ward was the only other council member that was considered a superior to his role. 

Next to him, sat Al Brown. He oversaw all agriculture in and outside the city, making sure Verdash has the food and medicine it needs. 

And finally, on the far right, at the end, sat Wyllum Alyxander. He oversees all retail and trade in and out of the city.  

  As Mykel approached the council, stopping when he reached the center of the room and getting down on one knee. “Hail council. I come with news from one of the outer farming outposts.” 

“Hail Alchemist” General Ward replies. “Tell us what news the Panther Alchemist brings? Have you located that demon Rahl?” 

“General Ward, no I did not locate Rahl, but rest assured, I will find him and bring him to justice.” 

“To trial, you mean?” Tymothe spoke up, “I mean we just still don’t know for sure that he was working with the rebels. Ward tried to arrest him, without talking to any of us. And Rahl took off, seems just as likely to me that Ward could be with the rebels, and trying to push out any council members not willing to work with him” Not hiding his contempt nor accusation. “How dare you sir!” Replied Ward, anger rising in his voice. “My work, my life is for the good of Verdash. I would nev...” Before he could go on Auri broke in. “Ahh can you two quit your bickering? Every damn day with the two of you, do you think that’s maybe what these rebels wanted, maybe Rahl is with them, maybe he is not. If he had been innocent, I don’t think he would of ran off with those other alchemists. Either way the council can’t fix anything, nor help anybody if we can’t agree on shite.” 

“Auri is correct, while we sit here and bicker, the rebels move ever closer to their goal.” Al Brown, the Agriculture council member, says. “The more life they steal from the land, the harder it is for the rest of the farmers to make up for the loss. We could be looking at a shortage come winter if nothing is done.” 

The room was silent for a moment as Myke stood back up, dusting himself off then continued with his report. “I found three rebels at the outpost. They ambushed me, managed to get two of the bastards. But the third. . . She did not look, nor feel like an Alchemist, but she did something. Maybe it was some strange Alchemy she spelled on me” Mykel says. 

“What did she do to you? Auri asked. “Also, I want to meet this girl, to get one over on the Panther Alchemist. Ah, that must be a fine woman.” He added with a slight chuckle. 

A few members chuckle, and Margarette speaks for the first time since Mykel walked in. “I do not think you would know what to do with a headstrong woman like that, Mr. Golbin.”  

Auri broke into his coarse laughter, filling the room with his rumbling voice. “Aye your probably right about that one, my dear. That being said, maybe I do need me a good strong woman to take the reins.” He looks over at Margarette and winks. “If you know what I mean.” Auri pulled out a long wooden pipe and began to load tobacco from a small pouch, waving a hand to quiet the others and allow Myke to continue. 

After a few chuckles from the council, Mykel went on. “We were speaking, she said her boss was interested in learning more about me. Seems like he already knew a decent amount, though my life is not exactly private. The moment I went to pull the trigger on my gun to end her miserable life, I was hit by an ache in my head that I feared was tearing me apart from the inside, as well as severely afflicting my balance. I remember almost falling over right there. And all this lasted no more than a few seconds but was apparently more than enough time for the rebel woman to escape, without a trace.”  

“Was this some Alchemy she pulled on you? Auri asked with a touch of concern rising in his voice. 

“No, at least I don’t think so. She never had a moment to do anything. Unless they have learned to cast Alchemy with their minds.” Mykel replied quickly. “Nor do I know of any Alchemy that can alter a person’s reality, or mind state.” 

“Hmm, I cannot say I’ve ever heard of Alchemy that can do that.” Auri said while taking long puffs of his pipe. Exhaling a cloud of smoke, he went on “But this raises some serious concerns if this is something these rebels have learned to do. Who knows how far they can take this… magic.” 

General Ward spoke up again “We need to know exactly what this magic, or Alchemy can do. Before making any rash decisions, I believe we need to know how far they can take this magic. Can they incapacitate our Alchemists? Dare I even think that this magic could lead to some sort of mind control?” 

“I agree with the General that we need to know more before anything to drastic is done. Though I think we can forget about the mind control. There have been many Alchemists in our countries lifetime that have tried controlling others through Alchemy. None of them ever came close to success, but still we should find out what we are up against.” Replied Auri 

Mykel knelt before the council. “I will find you answers.” Then stood up and turned to walk out. Before he could get out Auri called to him. “Dinner before you head out Panther?” Mykel turned with a small smile on his face “That would be nice, friend.” Then walked out. Leaving the council to discuss his findings and decide on his next course of action. 

A few small notes: As I stated in the Prologue, details and such may be subject to change as I continue to create this story. In Chapter 2 I had named the land Mykel lived in Ahlantees, while I like the name it feels to obvious a reference, so I decided to change the land's name to Verdash. Fits better I think. Also you may of noticed I left out descriptions for the whole council aside from Auri. Part of this is because I think I struggle a bit with my descriptions, and was having trouble deciding on what these characters wear, how they compose themselves, in some ways, who they are and their role in this story. Will be updating descriptions and roles as I continue to build/create this world. If it was not apparent before this you should know now that this is a rough draft of this story and a bit of a experiment on my story writing and world building skills. Subject to change.