[center][color=Gold][h1]M a n t r A[/h1][/color][/center]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/DDgpDqi.jpg?2[/img][/center]
[sub][hr][/sub][COLOR=Gold][indent][sub][B]Location:[/B] [COLOR=Gold][I]Canoga Park, California
[/I] - [I]Work Day[/I][/COLOR][/sub][sup][right][b]Issue #1.02:[/b] [COLOR=Gold][I]Their New Circumstances[/I][/COLOR][/right][/sup][/indent][/color][sub][hr][/sub]

[indent]After fifteen-hundred years one tended to forget a lot about their past bodies.  Anything past 100 years ago was pretty much a blur while he was in a body.  He was reminded every time he had to swap bodies as he was forced to go through the [i]soulwalk[/i] where he was forced to walk past all the lives he had displaced over the years.  Of course he didn't actually know if they were in fact the real souls of the people pushed out or if they were just the imprints of their minds, left behind in his unconsciousness.  They had never reacted to him before, so perhaps it was the latter rather than the former, course if he learned more magic he was probably sure to find out at some point.

At first when he had started hopping from host to host he had been rather appalled at the situation; eventually the reality of the war being fought won over the casualties of his body hopping.  Archimage was a sorcerer of life, while Boneyard was a sorcerer of death.  The one rejoiced in the wonder of life, the other revealed in the power of death.  Throughout the centuries Lukasz saw many people, even entire cities drained to the last drop by the evil of Boneyard who prolonged his life and grew more powerful through each siphoning of a mage's magic.  Boneyard's hunger for magic would have doomed the world if it had not been for the Archimage and his 12 knights, thousands, millions, or even billions would die under his cruel heel if he had his way.  With that thought in mind each life taken over was just another casualty in this fifteen-hundred year war, a necessary casualty to stop many others.

At least, that was how he managed to cope with it.

Eden Blake was forced to live in reality however, and that reality was a 9-5 job to support her kids.  It was some kind of office job, Lukasz wasn't exactly sure of the details but it was something like a secretary, though no one person she was in charge of.  In any case it involved computers a lot and thankfully Archimage had always been pretty insistent on using technology as their primary weapon against Boneyard so he was already quite familiar with it along with the faint memories that leaked out from Eden's brain into his own memories.  Eden was apparently quite adept at her job.

"Hey Eden!  Your department has been slacking a bit, not sure what is going on with you these days but I need this done by the end of the day!"  One of Eden's superiors barked.  Lukasz didn't know his name but as Eden's superior he had least demanded respect.

[color=Gold]"Of course sir, I'll make sure it gets done."[/color]  The higher up nodded and walked away.  Eden sighed and went back to the computer.

"It's not like you Ms. Blake to get behind, usually you're so poised but these days you seem a little...grouchy?"  Eden raised an eyebrow and looked at the entrance to her cubicle to see a man from the cubicle next to her's leaning in.  He was a bit of a scrawny fellow, not at all like the bodies he had been put in before, but he still would have preferred that to this.

[color=Gold]"There's just been a recent...change I have to get used to is all and it's throwing me off Mr..."[/color]  Eden's eyes wandered to try and find a nameplate or some kind of identification but there was none unfortunately.

"Boy you really are out of it, I know we don't talk much but you should at least remember your neighbor, Thomas Roth."

[color=Gold]"Don't worry, I'll be alright Thomas."[/color]

"Well if you need any help while you're having trouble don't be afraid to give me a call, I'll help out as best I can."

[color=Gold]"Well, thanks, but I'll be fine."[/color]  Eden calmly rejected the offer of help, as at this point Lukasz could easily tell that Thomas was not just trying to be [i]helpful[/i], his eyes were wondering a bit.  Lukasz could emphasize with the man as he was forced to look in the mirror every morning and see what Thomas was seeing right now, an extremely attractive raven-haired beauty with a rocking body.  Boy, if he had been in a male body he probably would have tried get with Eden if he had the chance.  She had a beauty that could attract men with a single look, the effect was kind of ruined though when you realized you were attracted to what was essentially now your own body though.

Come to think of it, in his last male body which lasted pretty much literally only a few hours before he had been killed by Warstrike, he remembered seeing Eden's face before he left to join the other knights.  If he was not mistaken, the black chick who he assumed had been the man's wife, was at Eden's house with when he left her.  It had been a very short and violent life for his few hours as...Carl?  Well Carl was dead now so no use dwelling on it.

Thomas tried to put on a smile as he retreated to his cubicle.  Ugh, it just felt wrong to have a man look at his body in such a way, even if it was actually Eden's body.  He should be the one looking at her like that, not that scrawny pipsqueak but instead he was her.

[color=Gold]"Pft, that guy has no backbone."[/color]  Eden blew away a curl before promptly forgetting about Thomas to focus on her job.  Only a few more hours before she would be free to search for clues about how to free Archimage and track down Boneyard's goons.  No doubt Notch wasn't too happy he hadn't been the one to kill Lukasz's last body.[/indent]

[sub][hr][/sub][COLOR=Gold][indent][sub][B]Location:[/B] [COLOR=Gold][I]Boneyard's Prison[/I][/COLOR][/sub][sup][right][b]Issue #1.02:[/b] [COLOR=Gold][I]Their New Circumstances[/I][/COLOR][/right][/sup][/indent][/color][sub][hr][/sub]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/pXTaUzo.jpg?1[/img][/center]

[indent]Deep underneath Boneyard's palace was the wet, stone cells of the tyrant's prison.  The stench of rot, decay, and feces wafted around in the dampness.  With virtually no light, the cells were designed in order to drain the will of any prisoner such inside, the only company one had were the biting bugs and the strange creatures that were this world's rats.  Boneyard didn't mind any of this in the least, in fact, he revealed in the misery in brought whenever he went down there to check on the fools that opposed him, in particular one very important fool.

"I commend your resolve brother, but you will tell me eventually where you sent your last hope, and who that woman Mantra is!"  Boneyard watched as his brother writhed against his chains as his torturer, Notch, went to work with his blade.  The Archimage looked like a bloody mess with cuts and bruises all over his skin.  His body was haggard as Boneyard continued to drain Archimage of his magic.  The Archimage was powerful, but he was also a mage that had reached his limits centuries ago and had stagnated, it had only been his experience that had put him on a level playing field, and the fact that Boneyard was forced to remain in his conquered realm most of the time.

Boneyard had no such limits, as he simply drained the magical energy from others, but that also meant he needed a way to replenish his reserves and unfortunately for the Archimage he would be a ready supply for quite some time.

"Little brother, you know that since this war started I was prepared to die to save Earth from your grasp.  If you let Notch go too far with his torture I will surely die and you will have learned nothing.  Surely you must know I was prepared for an event such as this."

"You always were a schemer Archimage, but what you fail to realize is that here, in my realm, I am [i]GOD[/i].  As long as I am in control you will never be able to die, older brother.  While you may have the mental fortitude to resist Notch's skills with a blade, every mind has a breaking point, especially if the time we have together is eternal!"  Boneyard grinned, his half robotic face restricted part of his mouth's movements which made it look eerie and twisted.

"Notch, be sure to continue peeling Archimage down, but try not to kill him since I'll have to waste power bringing him back again."  Notch bowed as boneyard flung his cape around and stomped out of the prison.  Notch grinned as he turned back to the Archimage.

"Say Archimage, I have this game I want to try.  See for every notch on my blade I'm gonna carve out a little piece of ya.  Consider it payback for all the times that solider boy of yours, Lukasz managed to kill me over the centuries.  Torture is no fun without a little sentimental value no?"  Archimage gritted his teeth as Notch went back to work.

"Oh...I'll have to add another because that woman got in way and stole the mask from us.  I'm still pissed about that.  Who did you send into her anyway?  All your soldiers were muscle-brained idiots as I recall...well if we meet again I'll be sure to find out even if you don't tell me!"[/indent]