In the world of Teotlcan, powerful organisations carve out their influence in the 3 continents.

  The Royals have remnant political influence from the last age, as well as mighty battalions of their trustworthy knights.

  The Churches have access to holy artifacts with power to reshape mountains, and the reverence of countless worshippers.

  The 12 Magical Houses have unimaginable wealth that rivals the largest treasuries, as well as countless talented arch mages, not to mention sages.

  Yet, the Commission stood above it all. It keeps the balance of these powers, even going as far as to regulate them.

  How is this possible?

  The answer is simple.

  Overwhelming might.

  10 Arch Sages. Each at a pinnacle of magic that has the potential to challenge divinity itself.

  Livia Ignis was one of these terrifying beings.

  The tiny projectile from the lich stopped dead in its tracks, halted by a mere mana shield.

  The impact sent shockwaves all around them, revealing the enchanting cloaked figure.

  Yvette Yeltz, the commission sage, had moved away to a different, higher rooftop, her water orbs replenished and shining like jewels in the air around her.

  Sage Yeltz smiled in satisfaction at the lich, as the tiniest flicker of emotion twisted Varian Greenwich's mustache in panic.

  “Fu-” He mouthed.

  A terrifying explosion fell from the heavens itself, tearing through the air with the speed and the force of the mountain.

  The lich decided to bear the brunt of the spell, conjuring a large bubble of water from his staff that surrounded him on all sides in milliseconds.

  The rooftop where he was hit simply vanished in the heat and sheer might of the explosion.

  Despite the protection of Sage Yeltz, even the rest of the buildings stood with cracks in their exterior, a testament to the power of the explosion that had just bore down on them.

  The lich floated in the air, blinking rapidly at his current predicament.

  With a grunt, he reluctantly pinched a large pearl on his staff, shattering it into pieces.

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  The wooden staff crackled in place, the wooden texture seemingly flaking off in pieces. It left behind a white surface in their place. Upon closer inspection, one would see the dense engravings that lined its long, ivory surface.

  It was a bone staff.

  The cloaked figure’s face was no longer hidden, her hood blown back by the winds created in the explosion. She was smiling broadly, and rather delightedly.

  She looked like a young woman, deceptively so, given that her age likely stood in the 50s. Her ashen hair flowed down in waves, seemingly detached from any winds about herself. She had intense black eyes, one that seemed to carry a burning fire within.

  Her feminine figure was outlined with each step, as the fluttering of her cloak danced about her edges. She wore a monocle, and two jet black gloves, the colour of ash.

  Her monocle caught the light of the setting sun, hiding one of her terrifying irises.

  She held a shepherd’s staff, made of dark, black oak, inlaid with intricate red veins. A few gems, charms and bells hung from its top, creating a colourful array of personality. The ignivite veins exuded a small glow around the staff to highlight the craftsmanship of the creation, inducing an illusory aura.

  She was smiling, her mouth stretched in an enchanting manner. Yet, no onlooker would feel comfort in her charms.

  She exuded a horrifying miasma, one that seemed to come from the depths of evil itself.

  This was the source of her power.

  She owned devils.

  Devils were the higher forms of the Daemons, denizens of the spirit world who served two primordial angels.

  Daemons were a rare race in the spirit world, hunted relentlessly by the three draconic legions for their disruptive nature, with demons, demon lords and devils making up their hierarchy.

  They were impulsive beings, hostile to humanity by nature.

  Their contracts were, however, known to carry quite enormous power. This was largely due to their rare ability to manifest themselves in the plane of reality without an appropriate vessel. This power was limited by each daemon’s own abilities, but it was a tremendous capability that allowed outsized influence in the material plane.

  However, Ms. Livia would not be an arch sage if she were bound in contracts with spirits as repulsive as devils..

  After all, contracts were not the only way to utilise the power of spirits.

  You could simply… dominate them.

  Arch Sage Livia tapped her staff lightly on the roof, calling a horrifying spirit world creature into reality.

  The pitch black shadow had no discernible features, and its outline changed constantly, as if it were made of fire. However, its chilling, blood red eyes showed sentience, and enmity.

  The creature followed the arch sage’s lead, assisting her mana manipulation obediently as she conjured thousands of terrifying fireballs, each heating up from the colour of warm orange all the way to pure, blinding white.

  A bombardment ensued, the lich helplessly defending itself with more of its barriers, and making minimal movements to evade the fireballs about the spot.

  His movements showed clear impatience and tension. One that seemed to come from a different, more pressing concern in his mind.

  The Arch Sage moved with precision, elegance and poise, shifting throughout her projectiles as she left the unholy creature to continue the barrage.

  Her feet lifted themselves into the air, and a delicate explosion propelled her forward towards the frowning lich.

  She twirled her staff with a single hand casually, creating a black, circular void in the air.

  This darkness was a mana infused plasma, one burning with such intensity that it scorched the air itself, creating ripples in space.

  The void lunged at the lich, who reacted now with a little more emotion.

  He finally leapt from his position, with wind beneath his feet. His burrows frowned in concentration, as he took care to dispel the fireballs coming his way.

  The corrosive shadow consumed all that stood in its path, and more. It tore a gash in the building and the surroundings, melting metal and soil into magma, and evaporating any trace of organic matter into puffs of smoke.

  The Arch Sage looked almost delighted at the lich’s evasion, her monocle caught the sunlight once more, accentuating her sweet, malicious smile.

  The commission forces had the upper hand at the moment, and the lich could no longer remain passive.