Time is of the Essence (Maystag)

Tatek had finally reached the cave he had heard about in the last town. Supposedly, there was a group of magicians, wizards and seers here who were wanting to forge a bridge of sorts between this world, which had a limited amout of magic, and another, which was almost entirely made of the wretched stuff, so that this world would become like the other.

Although the cave itself was not magical, the anti-mage could see that the magic within was extremely potent - enough so that Tatek needed to look away every few seconds as he felt his way along the walls just to stay focused. There was a point, however, where he no longer seemed to need to do this; the walls themselves started to ooze magical energy, and when Tatek finally reached the magician's inner sanctum, he could see who was there by who was darker than the cave itself.

Of course by this point, a number of the magicians had seen him. "Why did the traps and alarms not react?" Tatek heard one ask as they watched him.

"Perhaps he knew how to avoid them?" a seer answered, "but either way, he's not one of us, so he's not welcome here."

Hearing those words was essentially a signal to Tatek for him to attack. Focusing his qi to his legs, he ran to the closest foe and jumped on his shoulders; before the man had time to react, the anti-mage had punched his skull in.

One down.

It was at this point where around half of the wizards and magicians started throwing fireballs and lightning bolts at Tatek. Feigning dodging or getting hurt by these, he moved onward to the next opponent, swerving behind him and breaking his neck with qi-enhanced strength.

Now two.

As the various magic-users had not yet figured out that Tatek was immune to their efforts, he was able to dispatch another seven defenders with little trouble. It seemed that attacking through the magic shield of the last one alerted the others to his ability.

That's nine... oh crap; they've figured me out. At least there's only eleven left.

The remaining foes switched tactics from fire and lightning to simple rocks, finding this to be effective. Although Tatek could see the magic-drenched earth, his speed was not good enough to dodge the attacks of eleven foes at once.

****, I didn't realise they'd know how to counteract my immunity so quickly; I'd better get rid of the geokinetics first.

Focusing his Second Sight, Tatek could see that it was only eight of the foes throwing rocks at him, two of which were using telekinesis, not geokinesis specifically. Telekinetics first.

Removing his qi-speed and substituting a qi-shield and strength, the anti-mage started to hit away which rocks he could, and continued his offence, taking out the two telekinetics. By this point however, Tatek's qi was draining quickly.

Gah! These rocks drain my immunity because of their magic as well as draining my qi shield as I hit them away! I need to do this quickly!

The six seers, who were standing off to the side, noticed this and let their wizard friends know.

"So we just need to pelt him with super-strong magic?" one wizard asked.

"That should work. He won't be invulnerable to it for much longer," a seer replied.

"Got it. You all need to protect me while I get this ready though," the wizard responded as he started chanting, "uncerebus et firano langa..."

During this exchange of words Tatek had taken out three of the geokinetics, but could see that he was outclassed.

Ugh; I'd better take out that guy before he finishes. I'm toast if he does.

Although in a quick rush he was able to take out all the seers and the remaining geokinetics, the wizard casting the spell was just finishing, "...gertana un haidari set!"

Seeing the multi-elemental attack coming, Tatek quickly formed a qi shield into an angular shape, diverting much of the magic, but what did hit him depleted him completely of his remaining qi.

****.

As the three remaing foes saw Tatek in weakness, they cautiously walked up to him.

"You are skilled to have survived that; many greater men have died from it before... But now, you die." The wizard formed a ball of pure magic in his hand and pointed it at their assailant. Tatek, knowing this was, quite simply, a do or die situation, scrambled to his feet and stumbled to the nearest way out - the portal to the world of magic.

Though Jonah’s eyes were clenched shut, the nimbus of elemental magic could still be seen through his eye lids. Opening his eyes, he examined his surroundings from the shadows; he was in a cave, seeping with enough magic to makes his skin tingle. Around him mages were scattered, most of them dead. At the far wall of the cave, a large perfectly flat rectangular slab, he could see outside. Though it obviously wasn’t outside, it was so artificial, as if it had been imprinted onto the stone. That’s when Jonah realized what it was.
“Another world!” Jonah whispered with glee. Still in the shadows, Jonah watched as an intruder scurried away, through into the other world. The entire wall seemed to ripple as he did so, magical spikes exploding into the room from it. Some smashed against the wall, the caves foundations beginning to crumble.

Jonah broke into a sprint, running past the mages, some of which began o follow as they realized the caves structure was collapsing. With an extra burst of strength, Jonah dived through the wall, into the world, as rocks began to rain down upon slower mages.

This world was brighter than the cave; something to do with the fact the sun was high in the sky. Around him all he could see was fields, endless plains of wilderness. The intruder and the mages that escaped were no where to be seen, the magic sending them to some other part of the world.

Suddenly a sharp gust smacked into him, and Jonah realized the amount of magic in this world. Everything seemed to be made up of it, the plants, the ground, the air, everything.

In the distance, Jonah could see a moving figure, cart shaped. Hopefully they would be kind enough to him were he was and what was so strange about this place. As he set of towards them, the bright sky was filled with hailstones, though the sun still shone and no clouds were to be seen.

“What ever is happening here, something is not right.”

OoC: You can change that post to suit if you think you should, but just remember that Tatek's magic immunity wasn't working when he went through the portal, so magical anomalies would be unlikely I'd think. :/
This post of mine now occurs around a day after Tatek escaped through the portal. (ie. He's at full strength again)

BiC: He didn't know how long he'd been sleeping for, but when Tatek woke up he felt very tired. Looking around, he saw the pile of large rocks he must've slept underneath, and beyond that a rolling plain filled with flowers of impossible colors. As he started to walk around to lessen his tiredness, he realised something was... off.

Hang on... how the heck can I see so much? The land which is usually just a faint blur is now brighter than the bugs flying to and fro which I usually use to find my way around, and wh-

The anti-mage began to remember what had happened when he was last awake. "Oh. Now I get it... I'm in that magical world now," Tatek said to himself quietly.

But now the question is, should I liberate this world of its magic first, or should I try to find a way back home?

It was at this point that Tatek saw that the ground he was standing on was beginning to grow soft.

Oh right; the magic which makes up this world gets destroyed by me automatically. I should probably try to find a way home then.

Comfortable with his descision, Tatek started to walk in one direction until he could find a path, and from there he would find a town. Somebody there might be able to give me a clue on how to get home, he thought.

(OoC: Here it is sorry for the wait. I haven't written out the magical disturbances, simply because the world has just had a massive hole in it collapse, so some problems would be aournd anyway Lets a go )

A day or so had passed since Jonah had entered the world; he was now travelling with the caravan he had seen earlier. They had been friendly, happily letting him journey the plains with them. Now they were at a crossroads, and were to part. Jonah waved them off as they headed deeper into the plains, while he began following the road. The signs pointed towards a place called Zentja, and Jonah now headed towards it with a curiosity burning inside him.

This world was alien to him, simply because of its structure. The entire planet seemed to be mad of magic, pure and raw, condensed into matter. The earth and the sky, plants and water, even the people were burning with magical energy. It was enough to make his nerves tingle with apprehension. Yet, for all the magic, it was so delicate. He could see that while he and presumably the others that entered the world were doing no intentional harm, they were messing the system up.

As if testimony to this, a great flash of fire burnt across the sky, as if it was day. Something or someone with a massive amount of power was doing this and they had to be taken away, by any means necessary.

~<>~~~~~~<>~

High in the tower of Zentja, a shadow clad figure sat hunched in an elegantly carved chair. Before him were five screens of crystal and glass. Running a hand over each of them, they began to glow with blue energy, displaying different points across the world. On one, the figure watched as a man who seemed to have no eyes walked across the plains as if with full sight. On another, he saw a warrior with red eyes, journey with a caravan till parting ways. On the other screens, other men were shown, though the figures interest was not directed towards to them.

The hall tower shook suddenly, and the screens displayed images from around the planet, each one showing an identical tear in the sky, burning with energy. All were the same, save for one that was exceptionally larger.

“Cross-reference locations,” growled the figure, a voice so inhumanely warped that the air was charged with malice. The screens began to match the tears with each person on the screen, the largest matching with the eyeless man. The tower shook again, as the tear matched with the red eyed man grew larger.

“All soldiers mobilize to temples,” it roared. “Unleash the Furies!”

OoC: Gah; problem. I'll be fixing it here though. I'll also be keeping this short to avoid ruining much plot you have planned. Although I expect you to adequately describe the "Furies" in your next post. :/

BiC: It had taken a few hours, but Tatek had finally arrived in a city, which (if the magical signposts heading into the city were as easy to translate as Tatek thought) was called Zentja. Although he had seen many weird things happen since he arrived, to him none of it was weirder than the city itself, where almost all of the taller buildings had decided they didn't agree with gravity, either being asymmetrical to a fault, or having pieces floating in mid air.

I should fix that. Tatek frowned. But first, I have something to take care of...

Not far away, attached to the side of a building a couple of floors up, was a little bug made out of a higher grade magic than the rest of the bugs. Tatek had noticed this a bit more than an hour before entering the city, but this was the first time he was able to reach it. Leaping to the side of the building opposite, Tatek then propelled himself towards the bug, and just before it could gather the energy to fly away, Tatek grabbed it and crushed it in his fist.

I do not trust the trail of magic that was flowing between that bug and those towers in the middle of the city.

Tatek hadn't really noticed, however, that the ground he had leapt off, the building he vaulted from, the building he caught the bug on, and the ground he landed on afterward, all became craters of increasing size. In fact, the crater which used to be the ground he had leapt off of was now forming a deep pool of lava. Had Tatek actually looked back at it though, he would've merely seen the crater...

OoC: The bug was the thing which let the "shadow clad man" from your post watch Tatek, in case you couldn't tell. Tatek will now be looking out for such things.

(OoC: For some reason i imagined you saying "Shadow Clad Man" with extreme malice BiC)

Jonah wandered about the city with a smile on his face, the strangeness of the various buildings amusing him. Many were simply floating, others moving, changing into new buildings at random. The people on the streets were also a spectacle, each one different, all buzzing with magic. So entranced by the city of Zentja, he did not notice the golden bug floating along behind him.

Above him, Jonah could see more people, some flying, others simply leaping from building to building. One man stood out form the others though, his leaping causing effects he had appeared not to notice. After each bound, the area around him seem to dissolve, leaving large craters, filled with lava and fire.

Jonah leaned close to the pool of fire, noting that it alone seemed to be void of magic. It was simply just molten rock. Coating his hand in shadows, Jonah reached into the pool, the heat dispelled by his magic. Locking safety spells around it, Jonah pocketed a small orb of it.

At that moment, a siren sounded. The effect was immediate. Al the people on the street began to run in terror, rushing into the nearest building. The leaping man seemed oblivious to its warning, and so was obviously not of this world, one of the few that had escaped the cave.

Jonah leaped into the air with speed, deciding against fleeing like the rest. He swiftly rose level to the man, following him while remaining undetected. Suddenly the man turned, though seemed not to see Jonah, perhaps due to his lack of eyes. He was instead staring at the colossal tower in the centre of the city. It began to glow, magical energy surging through the tower. It shot out of the towers tip, a spire of pure energy. The sky lit up with fire as it rose higher.

Jonah turned back around to face the man, startled by the fact the man was standing next to him, his fingers clenched around a golden bug.

“They were spying on you,” the man muttered as he crushed the bug into dust. The sky cracked with thunder and lightning, as they noticed two massive rips in the air, black and crimson scars in the sky.

Five chunks of magical energy fell around them, appearing as smoldering rocks. They began to grow, forming female shapes, bat winged women, each with flesh scarred and rotten. They snarled with lustful anger, talons erupting from their fingers. Jonah drew his blade, preparing to fight, while the man did nothing.

The two fell into the building, the man’s steps having eaten through the magical brick work. Above them the Furies looked down, before diving towards them.

(OoC: The reason a pool of lava did not form on the building, is because it is no where near the ground. )

OoC: Minor characterisation problems in your post, but nothing plot-breakingly so. I'll post in my post as what Tatek would've done, without taking away any plot elements.

BiC: Realising that leaping from building to building was quicker and easier than walking, Tatek continued to do so. As he went further into the city, he noticed other people doing the same, and so took the mental stance that his actions would not seem too out-of-place.

It was not long until Tatek's vision blurred, and he heard a ringing in his ears. It was not so much so that he could not continue his way, but he still did not like it.

Magic sound, perhaps? Tatek thought. Ah well, without there being an apparent source, I can't do anything about it.

Suddenly, a huge burst of magic could be seen coming from inside the large tower in the middle of the city. Landing on a rooftop, Tatek turned towards it.

What the heck is that? He wondered as the magic left the tower, And behind...

The blurred vision the noise had given him seemed to have left him unaware of the man following him, but now that the man was closer, Tatek could sense him. Moving toward then man when he stopped, Tatek saw one of the transmitter bugs hovering near the man's head. Quickly, he crushed this bug and alerted the man, who seemed unaware of it.

Suddenly, five bolts of magic flew from the sky, slowly forming humanoid shapes.

These things have no qi... they will not be a problem.

Although unconcerned with any danger the magical figures could pose, Tatek still faced them, barely noticing the man next to him draw his sword.

Tatek had now however become aware of what his immunity to magic was doing to the city around him, as was made painfully obvious as he and the man near him fell into the building below. Landing with a roll, he called out his plan as the nearby civilians ran out into the street to find another building to hide in.

<You take the one on the left, and I'll take the four on the right.> After pointing left and then right, Tatek jumped up and punched straight through the first foe, landed on the third floor of the building, waiting to see what would come next.

OoC: Edited to adjust for translation convention - Tatek speaks Chinese, not English.