I know, I know. With so many stories (not only on FictionPress) going, I too cannot believe I actually wrote this down. The truth is this idea was swimming in my head for so long and I liked it so much, that I just really needed to finally let it out. And so, as a result, I upload this.

It’s another action/adventure story in a fantasy world. This one however differs from those I created so far. To start off, although it is fantasy, this world is not rid of technology. Steam engines, gunpowder… it’s not modern technology, however in this world magic and science co-exist and are equal in influence.

As for the genre, like usual, I aimed to make it action/adventure with a lot of fights, however those of you who are counting on a simple “beat them all” thing are in for a surprise. Battles, sometimes humor… all this is merely the surface covering what lies beneath. Naturally I won’t say things straight forward, for I believe there’s nothing worst then a story where the reader has everything handed to him/her on a silver platter.

With all that said, I believe the only thing left for me to do is to invite you to read the first chapter of “Final Magic”, which works mostly as an introduction to the story. Thanks for giving it a shot and I do hope you’re gonna enjoy it. Also I’d be grateful for any comments.

Now lets get it on:

Chapter #1: The Last of the Ecomancers

“Barrick!” a woman in her mid-twenties called as she ran after the man who just jumped onto the horse with her hands reached forward. The figure on the horse glanced back, thus revealing a man with grey hair and blue eyes with a scar running down his left cheek from bellow his eye. He had a beard around his mouth and was dressed dark blue.

“This is useless” he announced with an emotionless voice, making the woman instantly stop in her tracks as she saw his cold glare resting on her. His blue pupils seemed like ice that could froze anything it’d desire. “I know it is painful for you, but this boy cannot stay in this village” and with that he forced a small child, wrapped in white blankets, to his chest. “For world’s sake, he needs to get strong and I can make sure he’ll get strength. You know, just as well as I do, Marla, that destiny cannot be changed.”

“But why Barrick?” the woman, Marla, demanded with tears running down her face. “Why my son?”

“It is the will of Gods” was all the man said before riding off into the night.

A loud horn hit the boy’s ears, making him sit up in an instant. The teenager with long, a little messy, black hair, clipped in a ponytail and blue eyes stood up and walked towards the door located on his left. He glanced outside the wooden wagon and realized the train reached its destination: Senkotsu City.

The boy stretched himself and then put on his dark blue overcoat, decorated with black markings all over. He left it unbuttoned, thus making everyone see a white, sleeveless shirt beneath it and his black pants. He took his large sword, almost as big as he was, with strange runes on the blade and attached it to his back before leaving the wagon.

“Another, freaky dream” he said to himself with a note of annoyance in his voice. “Didn’t had those in a while” and with that he headed towards the exit, giving the tank-engine, which still threw some smoke from its pipe into the sky, a quick glance. With the invention of steam engines and all that other crap, this world truly lost respect it had towards nature he thought with a sigh and then left the station.

---A little later, somewhere in Senkotsu City---

An elderly man opened the door, leading to the tavern, and walked in, making room for a young girl who traveled with him. The man had long, grey hair, clipped in a ponytail and purple eyes. He was wearing a silver armor that covered his chest, shoulders, elbows and knees, yet let many openings, and on top of that a stunning, white cape, with a golden lion’s head printed on it. All the customers also noticed an unusual, silver sword attached to his back.

The girl seemed at least three times younger then the man: she had very long, black hair, also clipped in a ponytail with quite a bit of long braids falling before her face, especially its right side. She had green eyes and was wearing a tight, leisure stockings and white boots. She had a dark blue robe with a golden kanji for ‘sun’ on its back that covered her back and was tied in front just under her chest, thus revealing her rather big breasts being supported by a similar, black material that covered most of her legs. On could also see metal protectors on her hands, huge, yellow shoulder proctors and large, round, ruby earrings.

The man slowly walked towards the owner and with a little tired voice, he asked: “We’re looking for a room for a night. Do you have any available?” the owner only nodded at this and then glanced back at the girl, yet the grey-haired man couldn’t tell whether he was stunned by her beauty or just curious of the symbol on the back of her robe. “Also, we’d appreciate something to eat” he added, once more gaining the owner’s attention.

The owner nodded once more and headed to the kitchen as the older man turned around and walked over to the girl, who already taken a seat at one of the tables. He glanced around the tavern. Most people didn’t even bother to sacrifice their time to observe the new comers, yet some not only seemed to watch them, but also got interested in them, with the girl especially. The swordsman narrowed his eyes as they traveled at one person in particular: his figure was mostly covered with shadows as he sat in the corner of the room, yet you could tell he had medium-length hair that fall freely.

“Is something wrong, Rogwood?” the girl asked with concern in her voice, gaining her companion’s attention.

“No, it’s nothing” he replied after a short moment of hesitation. “But we should stay on our guards, lady Milia. After all, Siracol is still a few-day journey from here. And after what happened in Bendrax, it’s highly possible that there are people awaiting us on the way…”

“You have no idea, old man” they both suddenly heard a voice and as they looked up, they notice a man in his mid-twenties with medium-length, blonde hair and hazel eyes. He was wearing a blue t-shirt with a black dragon drawn on the back and a little baggy, black pants. But the thing that caught Rogwood’s attention the most was the fact that his right palm had metal plates screwed to it.

The symbol on his back the older swordsman narrowed his eyes as he glanced at the man. There’s no doubt about it, he’s one of the Dragon Claw! And with that thought he readied himself to pull out his weapon the moment the metal-handed man would try anything: “Who are you?” he asked out loud, without even bothering to hide suspicion.

“They call me Izen the Ironfist” replied the man with a smirk on his face. “But that should be of little importance to you. My orders are simple: I am to retrieve the girl an thus I have no interest in you, old man. As long as you’ll stay out of my way, you won’t get hurt…”

“I’m afraid I cannot allow you to touch the girl however” Rogwood responded, getting up slowly. “It is my duty as the knight of the Silver Wing to bring her safely to her destination and to do so, I should not allow people of your kind to do as much as to even lay a finger on her, so do step back and no-one will be harmed today.”

“Strong words, old fart” Izen shoot, still smiling. “But the thing about Dragon Claw you should learn: people that are in our way… die!” and with that he suddenly threw his right hand out, aiming to hit the older man in the face.

In a flash Rogwood reached out for his sword and with one, smooth swing deflected the assault, by hitting the metal plate’s on Izen’s palm with the blade of his weapon. The Dragon Claw member’s eyes widen in surprise at this, giving the older knight time to take action.

Without wasting a second, the Silver Wing knight swung his sword again, aiming to cut his opponent’s chest open, yet this time Izen was better prepared and managed to grab Rogwood’s sword by its blade with his metal palm. As his eyes narrowed, the Dragon Claw member tightened his hand into a fist, making the older man’s weapon break into pieces: “You’re dead, geezer” he announced coldly with an annoyed look on his face.

However Rogwood was far from giving up as the moment his weapon broke into pieces, he launched a punch into his opponent’s stomach. As the attack connected, Izen bended forward slightly due to the impact, thus giving the Silver Wing knight enough time to knee him in the face. Due to the metal protector the older warrior wore on his legs, the Dragon Claw member felt that last assault pretty badly, as he grabbed his face with his metal palm, trying to stop the blood that poured out from his nose. He glanced over to his men, who still stood near the wall, and with the voice that could scare the grim reaper himself, he yelled: “What are you waiting for? Get them!” and in a flash all, four bandits ran after the duo that just left the tavern.

“Lady Milia, please go on ahead” Rogwood told the girl as he came to a stop while they were running through one of the port alleys. “I’ll stop them to give you enough time to disappear. It’s still a long trip to Siracol from here, but as long as you won’t draw too much attention to yourself, you should make it…”

“I’m not leaving you behind!” the girl announced as she dragged the older man by the hand. “We can outrun them and if not, you and I could take them!”

“This is different” replied the knight with a single drop of sweat falling down his face. “This Ironfist guy is stronger then that dagger user in Bendrax! And without my sword, I’m afraid I won’t manage to take him and his goons down!” but the moment he said so, a boy with long, black hair, wearing a blue overcoat appeared and with his back turned towards the two, he announced:

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle that guy. You just get out of here…”

“Who are you?” Rogwood asked, completely surprised at the sudden turn of events. “And why are you so willing to help us, young man?” and with that he threw the teenager a suspicious glance, yet the boy still didn’t even turn around to look at them.

“Don’t misunderstand” the mysterious boy finally replied. “I’m not doing this for your sake or anything. I’ll take that rust-hand guy for my own benefit only, but since he’s after you two, I suppose I can do it before he’ll get you, so just be grateful and disappear…”

“I don’t know who you are, but this is not something to joke about!” the Silver Wing knight announced. “That guy is strong!”

“I don’t care” was the boy’s only response, said still without even turning towards the older man. “Coz I’m even stronger…” and at hearing that Rogwood only narrowed his eyes. After a short moment of hesitation, he ran away, taking Milia by the hand, as Izen and his underlings appeared in the alley.

“What are you supposed to be?” the Ironfist asked the teenager as he realized the boy was blocking his way.

“Izen the Ironfist” the mysterious boy stated, completely ignoring the man’s question. “A member of the Dragon Claw with the bounty of fifty gold pieces. A pity, coz I usually don’t go after small fries, but since I’m out of money for the time being, the reward for you will have to do…”

“What’s this, you asshole?” Izen asked as his eye twitched in anger. “A brat like you wants to try and take me down? You must be out of your mind! Knowing that I’m from the Dragon Claw should be enough reason for you to just say that you’re sorry and get the hell out of my way!”

“I dislike useless talking” the boy shoot back calmly, once more completely ignoring the man’s comment. “Will you go peacefully or do I have to mess you up in order to bring you to the government officials?”

“You know what, I don’t even feel like wasting my time on fighting an idiot like you” Izen announced as he glanced over to his men. “Kick his ass so that he’d learn his place” and the instant he said so, his four subordinates charged straight at the boy, who only went into his fighting stance.

As the first of the goons came close enough, the boy launched an attack with his opened palm at his stomach at such a speed, the man didn’t manage to block in time. As the attack connected, the bandit let out air from the impact and bended over due to the power of the assault. As he did so, the mysterious teen propped his right hand on his back and jumped into the air, throwing his leg at the other, incoming opponent, kicking him hard in the face.

The boy then grabbed the first man’s shirt while he landed safely on the ground, and spinning on his foot, he carried him along, then tossing him right at the third charging bandit, making the two crush hard into each other. Meanwhile the boy kept spinning on his foot, this time aiming a spin kick into the fourth attacker’s face and once the assault connected, he came to a stop as his opponent’s head titled to the man’s left.

Without wasting a second, the boy elbowed the man he just kicked into the ribs and then threw his hand up, thus smashing his fist into the bandit’s chin. As the goon took few steps back in order to keep his balance, the teen began moving his right hand quickly, forming a strange symbol in the air, which then shun with golden light before him.

In the next instant a sudden gust of wind blew straight at the bandit, thus sending him flying back and crashing hard against the wall of one of the buildings. Seeing this Izen’s eyes widen in both surprise and fear as he once more glanced at the boy. After a second he managed to calm down a bit and then narrowed his eyes, keeping them set on his adversary: “You’re Barrick the Ecomancer…”

“You only just noticed?” the teen replied, his face still calm without any emotions showing on it.

“Well, it’s not like I’ve ever seen your face so do excuse me for not realizing that earlier” the Ironfist responded with a smirk as he held out his metal hand forward slightly. “I did heard about you. You caused the Dragon Claw quite a bit of trouble, hunting down some of our members. We were told to use any means necessary to catch you, should running into. Once I’ll bring you down, I’ll certainly get promoted to a higher rank.”

“You know, high ambitions are usually the cause off the hardest downfalls” the boy only replied, making his opponent’s eyes narrow in annoyance.

The Dragon Claw member charged forward with his metal fist ready, yet as his punch got thrown at the boy’s face, he quickly ducked under it and spinning on his foot, he delivered a powerful elbow into Izen’s stomach, making the man gasp for air. Seeing an opening, Barrick threw his leg up, making a kick connect with his opponent’s face, thus making the Ironfist fall backwards.

“Stinking brat!” Izen yelled, propping himself against the ground with his hand and aiming a kick at the boy’s back, yet the ecomancer avoided the assault by jumping into the air. Upon both flipping and somersaulting above the Dragon Claw member, Barrick landed safely on his feet, while the Ironfist already stood back up as well. Instantly his fist went for his opponent’s face, yet also this time the teenager dodged the attack by leaned right a bit. As the assault came next to his head, the mage grabbed the bandit’s arm and once more spinning on his foot, twisted it, tossing the man over his shoulder and making his opponent land hard on his back.

At this point rage completely taken over Izen as he shoot up again and furiously began throwing punches at the boy. Upon swinging his fist parallel to the ground, Barrick ducked under it and delivered a hit with an opened palm into the man’s chin, making him take few steps backs.

“Enough” announced the ecomancer as he once more moved his right hand quickly, making a new symbol shine in the air. In a flash the boy slammed his hand to the ground, making dirt shoot out from it and ram hard into Izen, thus sending the Dragon Claw member into the wall. As the Ironfist felt to the ground, Barrick slowly walked over to him and grabbing him by the collar, he dragged him through the docks.

“What the hell?” yelled Izen, yet found himself incapable to fighting back anymore. Without even glancing back, the teenager replied with his voice still as emotionless as before: “What does it look like I’m doing? I already told you, I’m taking you to the authorities to collect the reward money. You get thrown into prison and I get those fifty gold pieces the government gives for you. Simple as that.”

“Just wait, I’ll kick your ass!”

“In best case scenario, it’s doubtful…”

At this point Izen’s eye twitched from anger, especially as he realized the boy was right. Calming down a bit, he finally spoke up again, this time with a smirk appearing on his face: “Okay, you may have defeated me, but there’s no way you can beat Sandro. He’ll be coming to this town soon and once he’ll find out you’re here, he’ll get rid of you once and for all!”

“Sorry, but I don’t plan to stay here longer then till tomorrow’s morning” Barrick replied calmly. “Whoever this Sandro guy is, I’m afraid I won’t have the pleasure to kick his ass…” and with that he continued forward.

---Some time later---

“Man, this won’t do” Barrick complained as he gazed at the small sack of gold while he exited the government headquarters of the city; a small, one of the very few, stone buildings, where he placed Izen in a cell. “This will barely be enough for lunch and a room in a tavern, to skip the train ticket. I guess I’ll just have to free ride again” but with those words he noticed someone coming towards him and raised his eyebrow at the duo: “What are you doing here?”

“Back when you popped out of nowhere to help us out…” began Rogwood as he settled his eyes on the young man. “I didn’t realize it, because the situation was rather absorbing, but after a short analysis, I could help but notice that you’re an ecomancer, aren’t you?”

“Even if I am, what do you care?”

“Then everything is coming to its place” the older knight replied with the sigh of relief. “Our meeting was arranged by destiny, my boy. All the circumstances leave no question about it. As the last of the ecomancers, your fate is connected with lady Milia. That is why you helped us and why you came to this town in the first place. Finally the prophecy can be fulfilled!”

“Look, I don’t know what you’re talking about gramps, but the thing that brought me to this town was a train” Barrick responded with annoyance sounding in his voice. “And that is exactly the thing that’s gonna take me out of it first thing tomorrow. By that time this conversation will be over and we’ll never see one another again” and with that he turned to Milia, making her blush slightly: “Sorry girly. I don’t know what you’re grandpa is talking about, but I’m sure as hell that I’m not interested. Good luck to you two…” and so he turned around, ready to walk away, however he instantly got stopped Rogwood:

“You cannot go. This is your destiny! It was written ages before that you’ll be the one protecting lady Milia! Fate has finally allowed you two to meet, thus the prophecy is starting to fulfill itself already! You can’t escape from it, Barrick the Ecomancer!”

And at those words the teenager froze, his eyes shooting opened. In a flash he regained his posture and without turning around, he narrowed his eyes. Looking over his shoulder, he gave the old knight a suspicious glance, before he spoke up: “How do you know my name?”

“All shall be revealed” the man responded rather humbly. “I assure you I know more about you then you can imagine. However this is not a place for such conversation. Please, follow us to a more private place, so that we could talk more freely” and with that he went down the street with Milia following him just after she gave Barrick a worried glance.

The boy looked at them for a moment and then followed. Little he did not know was that at this point the wheels of fate already began turning. For both his past and this world’s future were about to collide as a mysterious figure stood in the shadows of a tree on a hill near the city. The observer settled his eyes on the town as a tiny smirk crossed his face.

Tens of wooden huts laid near the ocean, almost as if the were stuck to it. A single rail track went through the center of the town, with the station covered by the smoke from all the tank engines using it to ‘rest’ before continuing their journey. A peaceful village, like hundreds, even thousands, other around the world. But this one was different for one, particular reason. Suddenly the figure’s eyes caught a glimpse of a small cemetery on the outskirts of the city, making his smirk widen.

So this is Senkotsu City? The figure thought to himself, still smiling. This is where the girl is. This place is a real shit hole. There’s just a small garrison of government military. This will hardly be a challenge. But how well… orders are orders. With lord’s Drakan resurrection coming up, it’s best to not stand out. My dear, our little hunt has just began…

---this is just the beginning---

And this concludes the first chapter. Hope you had at least as much fun reading it as I had writing it. And please leave a review once you’re done with it. I’d really like to hear your opinion. Now, before ending, I just want to do the same thing I do in my other, two stories, meaning give you both volume cover and title page for this chapter. I do this now, coz at the start it may have been a tiny spoiler. So, here goes:

Volume Cover: Barrick is surrounded by a ring of stone spikes that shoot from the ground

Title Page: a pistol laying on an opened magic book

And that’s really that. Thanks for reading. Best wishes and have a great day! Until next time, hopefully!