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[hr][quote=Steve Ditko]"I prefer conflicts that are based on reality rather than based on fantasy. When you get wound up with super villains, super fantastic gadgets and super incredible action, everything has to be made so deliberately that it all becomes senseless. It boils down to what you want a story to stand for. Every person, whether he wants to be or not, is in a continuous struggle. It is a struggle to keep his mind from being corrupted."[/quote][hr][/color][color=gray]
[b]The Sanctum Sanctorum,
Greenwich Village
NY[/b][/color]


[color=c76414][b]"Doctor Strange. Tell me if I'm stepping out of line but you seem troubled."[/b][/color]

[color=4064a4][b]"Am I that transparent, Wong?"[/b][/color] Strange asked guardedly. He sat, hunched on a small armchair in the corner of the room. His face betrayed little of his thinking. Two weeks had passed since Strange had begun instruction under his new teacher, Wong. The physical manifestation of the Mentor's Stone was Strange's only link to the ways of his order, save for the books and scrolls that filled the Sanctum. The artifact had been in possession of Sorcerers Supreme for thousands of years. harking back to the sorcerer who discovered it, Kan, all the way to the last to inhabit the role, The Ancient One. Like his mentor, this stone had a way of reading a soul.

[color=c76414][b]"I have acted as witness to some of the most brilliant Sorcerers this world will ever know, many of which saw great tragedy."[/b][/color] Wong began. [color=c76414][b]"It is only natural for those that spend so much time with so much power. So believe me when I say that while I am incapable of experiencing it, I am quite knowledgeable on the subject of grief."[/b][/color]

Strange fell into silence.

[color=c76414][b]"Don't dwell on your worries, Strange. Don't dwell on the past. Man's most fatal enemy is one of his own making: his doubts."[/b][/color] Strange looked up at this and forced the beginnings of a smile. He was right. Strange had to push on. Getting up, he went to the chest that still stood in pride of place in the centre of the study room. Out of respect for his fallen master, Strange had taken to wearing the cloak and amulet handed down to him. Despite this, he was no closer to knowing their purpose. Indeed, his minimal knowledge extended to many any of the objects that he now presided over.

[color=4064a4][b]"Okay, Wong. Humour me for a moment, if you will."[/b][/color]

[color=c76414][b]"Of course."[/b][/color] The avatar of the Mentor's Stone nods.

[color=4064a4][b]"What on Earth is this?"[/b][/color] Reaching into the chest, he produced an axe. Its hilt was wrapped with coarse leather bindings, while the axe blade bore intricate engraving in a script that was foreign to him. It appeared to made of a brittle substance, and possessed no more weight than a man's razor. It had clearly seen better days, the surface looking ready to crack under even a modicum of pressure.

[color=c76414][b]"The weapon is known as the Axe of Angarruumus."[/b][/color]

[color=4064a4][b]"Angra..."[/b][/color] Strange started to parrot.

[color=c76414][b]"Angarruumus."[/b][/color] Wong repeats. [color=c76414][b]"It is a powerful mystical vessel, with a long and bloody history. You should see it as a great honor that the Ancient One would choose to bestow it upon you."[/b][/color] Strange sized it up in his hand, moving it in the air.

[color=4064a4][b]"It doesn't look like it will be of much use in its current condition."[/b][/color]

[color=c76414][b]"Looks can be deceiving. The items true power does not lie in its physical form. You may discover this in time."[/b][/color]

A sheathe materialised on Strange's belt. For that moment, Strange placed it back in the chest. He was filled with questions.

[color=4064a4][b]"What do you know of this cape?"[/b][/color]

Wong smiled, as if he had been awaiting this. 

[color=c76414][b]"You wish to learn the secrets of the Cloak of Levitation?"[/b][/color]

[color=4064a4][b]"Levitation?"[/b][/color] Strange asked, bemused. Wong nodded.

[color=c76414][b]"Follow me."[/b][/color]