Drazaria grumbled as he woke, rolling onto the floor to get out of bed. It wasn’t a long way to go, as his bed was a mattress on the floor. He huffed, detangling himself from his blankets and crawling across the small loft space to the ladder to the bottom floor. He moved his base around a lot, so space management was key.

His calloused feet hit the cold wooden planks of the floor first, but he didn’t seem to notice. He blearily stumbled over to the washroom, handling all his morning business. A hot shower - courtesy of a patched-together system of pipes and magic - helped wash the sleep out of his mind, though his body was still sore from restless tossing and turning. It would have to do.

Drazaria dried off with a towel enchanted to be extra effective and never damp. He didn’t keep a mirror - considering the series of straight-edged scars covering his left side, heavily around his face and arm, the man didn’t much care to look in one. Most called him the Eyestealer - his very first ignominious title, for the left eye that hadn’t always been his. It had a yellow iris with a horizontal pupil and small yellow ovals ringing it like a starburst on a black sclera. His right eye was a normal brown human eye - if a bit bloodshot.

He didn’t care to sleep in clothes and also didn’t care much for the clothes he had. He pulled on a short, sleeveless black tunic that had seen better days, tucking it into skintight soft breeches secured by a wide cloth belt. Scars made people look intimidating, so he’d torn the bottom half of the left pant leg off to keep his on full display. He didn’t bother with shoes.

Next was a pair of fingerless black gloves - the right glove coming up to his elbow, the left stopping only at his wrist. Last was a blood red coat, the embroidered green hem ragged and dirty and the left sleeve torn off, the right being of three-quarters length and having an embroidered hem. Drazaria pulled his hair out from under the collar, letting it fall on top of the hood. Thus dressed, he was ready.

He walked through the main room of his home—a circular building with a cooking pit in the center. One side was covered in shelves built into the stone walls, broken only by a messy desk. The other side had kitchen supplies and a small table with a single chair. Stepping into the warming morning air outside his small stone tower, Drazaria half grinned, the scars at one corner of his mouth making the full effect difficult.

Today was the day he stole Swordheart and used its power to steal the Basin from the human kingdom of Ballatsa.

Drazaria made his way through the forest on foot, though he did magically enhance his walking speed. Or rather, to be more accurate, he made each step cover more ground than it should so that he could walk further using less energy.

He’d been preparing for this day for the past five years. Ultimate power hadn’t been a particular interest of his in the past, but he found the idea rather appealing as he got older and presumably wiser. Drazaria had already held many jobs and practically lived a few separate lives - at least, they felt like separate lives to him. He could mark his past thirty-seven years into neat little sections based on the names he’d gone by: Mazart, Zawn, Wren, Drazaria. He was currently still Drazaria, but that could change.

He knew exactly where he was going - the Guardian Temple. He would have to fight the current Guardian for Swordheart, but he was fairly confident he could win. Drazaria had been trained in magic since he was thirteen and was easily one of the most powerful sorcerers in Vaseridan - even as a human.

Drazaria found himself close to the Temple in very little time and looked down at it from the top of a small gorge. At one point, it had been an elaborate kradreen cave system. According to legend, Swordheart had fallen from the sky and split the earth in two - right down the center of the building. From his view at the top of the gorge, Drazaria could see the rooms left open to the elements on either side. Silently floating tan stone platforms formed bridges between the two halves, a glowing crystal at the midway point powering the magic that sustained them.

Without further contemplation, Drazaria jumped, wind roaring in his ears. The nearest platform was approximately thirty feet down from the top of the gorge, and the human sorcerer used magic to slow his fall - landing softly on the highest one.

The moment his feet touched the platform, the glowing crystal in the center turned red, and the platforms shifted and rearranged themselves. Drazaria widened his stance for balance, watching with interest as all the platforms came together to form a seamless whole with a whisper of stone against stone. A proper battlefield for the challenge, he guessed. Not exactly an ideal security system, however.

It only took a few minutes for the Guardian to appear - with a few others behind them.

Shit, Drazaria thought, New Guardian.

“I’ve come to challenge you for Swordheart, Guardian!” he called out, pacing his end of the platform. He hated being still; it left an itch under his skin. He took in his opponent and the others behind them.

A teenaged woozhi with teal scales, followed by a teenaged human with brown skin, short black hair swept to the side, and a left arm of a Nakin marking them as a sorcerer. And behind them, the nakin that likely provided the arm. At least, the carapace was both orange and green on the pair of them. There was a second teenaged human, white with blue hair in a long braid. And behind them-

Vasskr, Drazaria huffed, Finally fulfilling his Role as Mentor.

The kradreen with orange glowing markings and tusks was Drazaria’s brother, and his four eyes widened in surprise upon seeing the human sorcerer. He glanced at his charge and backed up before slowing his jog to a more stately walk. He tilted his head at his brother - he would follow Drazaria’s lead.

At least, until they had a proper conversation later, the human surmised.

“Holy shit, Jax,” the teenaged sorcerer loudly whispered, “Do you know who that is?”

“Uh, no?” the teal woozhi replied, equally bad at whispering.

“Well?” Drazaria took a wide, ready stance - hands tensed at his sides, “Who am I beating today?”

“That’s Drazaria the Eyestealer!” the bug-armed teen replied, “The Malignant Maelstrom himself!”

Drazaria rolled his eyes at the titles - he never really cared for titles, especially when all of his were about how terrible he allegedly was. Though they did have their uses when it came to intimidation.

“It does not matter who he is, Guardian,” Vasskr said - a bit loudly, caring for his brother’s titles even less than the man himself, “You must face every challenger.”

“I’m waiting!” Drazaria added, curling and uncurling his fingers. Kids. Why did it have to be a kid? He couldn’t hurt a kid. But he needed Swordheart, so he couldn’t back down, either.

The teal woozhi - Jax, their name was Jax - finally stepped forward, clearing their throat… and glancing back at Vasskr.

“I told you how to summon your Guardian armor,” the kradreen said, “Now is the time.”

Armor was good - magical armor that would allow Drazaria to at least pretend to give his all was even better, as far as he was concerned.

“Oh, they’re gonna die,” the bug-armed sorcerer lamented, clutching the sides of their head.

“Don’t be so fatalistic, Tedi!” the Nakin said, giving them a thump on the back, “They could survive! Probably!”

“Whoo! Go, Jax!” the other human shouted, “Kick his butt!”

Jax took a deep breath, then took another step forward and called out, “By the might of the cosmos, I accept your challenge!”

Teenagers, Drazaria thought, but kept to himself as he watched light surge out from behind the Guardian - gathering in a gemstone hanging from around their neck. Likely a lesser focus for Swordheart. As the light spread and transformed into glowing transparent armor, the crystal holding the platform in place sent out a transparent barrier around them. Until the challenge was over, it seemed they were locked in.

Would it have trapped me if I tried to enter the Temple without making a challenge? Drazaria wondered, wishing this would all happen faster.

Finally, Jax looked ready - well, as ready as someone who’d clearly never held a weapon before today could, Drazaria supposed. Their grip on the glowing blue staff was all wrong, but that was their problem, not their challengers’.

“Here I come, Guardian!” Drazaria called out as a warning - though barely one as he charged, green magical energy gathering around both hands and feet. It enhanced his speed and strength, so that when he slashed down at the young Guardian, his hand cracked the stone of the platform in the wake of their hasty dodge. As the sorcerer looked up, he just caught Vasskr’s arched right brows.

Shut up, Drazaria thought, turning to chase the teen with more magic-enhanced punches and kicks. Jax was barely dodging the blows, going on all fours and looking appropriately panicked. He didn’t need his brother judging him for going easy on a kid.

“You can’t beat him by jumping around, Jax!” the blue-haired human teen yelled, “Hit him!”

I like that one, Drazaria half smirked, coming to a stop, “Yeah, Guardian - hit me!”

Jax hesitantly stood up, halfway across the platform, “I’m… I’m not dumb enough to fall for that!”

The sorcerer barked a harsh laugh, “I think we established I don’t need to trick you, kid. I’ll give you a free hit - just this once.”

He had an ulterior motive - he wanted to know how much of a punch the Guardian magic packed so he could regulate his own magic use accordingly. If he knew how strong the hit was, he could guess how strong the armor was - though, since the magic was defensive, it was probably better as armor than a weapon. Still, it would give him a starting point to make sure he didn’t do any lasting damage.

Jax shifted their weight uncertainly, glancing over at their friends and Mentor for guidance.

“Do it, Jax!” the blue-haired human called out.

“It’s gotta be a trap; don’t fall for it!” Tedi, the other human, countered.

“Do what you think is right, Guardian,” Vasskr supplied unhelpfully - likely knowing what his brother was up to.

While the teen contemplated, Drazaria’s eyes roved the platform - the damage from his blows was already mending itself. Neat bit of enchantment, there.

“... alright, you asked for it,” Jax finally made up their mind, and charged with an unsteady cry that was probably supposed to be intimidating.

Drazaria kept his word - unmoving as the teen rushed forward and swung the staff at his middle…