Chapter 2: The Nations Alliance
EARTH
1973
"Mister President, the S-rank portal-type Mage has arrived," a slender man in a black suit said, standing in front of a desk filled with documents and a man seated at the other end, attending to them.
"Good. The sooner I get to the venue, the sooner it ends and I can return to finish signing these documents," the other man replied, taking a look at his watch as he stood up. He took his black suit jacket from the coat rack some paces from his chair.
Both men looked to be in their early fifties, but they still maintained a tough body shape. They were dressed in fancy black suits that had the Etharian (pronounced e-tay-ree-an) golden crest on the jackets. However, the medals and decorative designs on the suit of the man previously sitting made it obvious that he was superior to the other. His face bore a calm expression as though he wasn't stressed out by the work he was just doing.
"You really don't have to go to this meeting. With everything going on in the world, I don't think it's a good idea to have all the major nation leaders in one room," the other man said, leading him out of the office with a black briefcase in his left hand.
"I've told you, Frederick. The head of every major nation will be there. If I don't show up, it'll be seen as an act of disrespect by Etharia to the other nations. Don't forget I was the one who called for this meeting. With the rapid changes Mana has brought to earth over the last 50 years, the Nations Alliance has a lot to delegate. Surely as the Vice-President of Etharia, you understand that?" the second man said, turning to Frederick.
Although the president was concerned with his safety, this was something that needed to be done. He wasn't going to let his fear of the unknown, control his reasoning. Ever since the Great Mana Ascent fifty years ago, a lot of extraordinary things have kept occurring.
The mana saturating the earth enabled some people who could properly wield it to awaken unbelievable abilities. The World referred to this set of Humans generally as Mages. Sadly, there wasn't discrimination as to who got these powers. Both the good and the bad awakened abilities and the governments of the world were having a hard time putting them in order.
"I understand," Frederick sighed. "What I don't understand is why I can't accompany you as well. A meeting in a secret location where only the nation-heads are present doesn't really sit well with me."
They walked into an elevator and it began to descend.
"Haven't I already explained the reason behind that? I'll be as safe as I can ever be. Besides, if you're gone, who's going to take charge of the country? There hasn't been an attack by a dark mage in a few weeks. I need someone capable of handling things while I'm gone," the president replied with an assuring smile.
The elevator came to rest and the door opened, revealing a room full of tough men that were armed to the teeth. Both men walked out to meet up with two others dressed in flashy and highly decorated army uniforms. The president turned to Frederick with an arched brow at the sight in front of him.
"The General and his men are just here if anything goes out of plan. I figured if we can't be with you in the meeting room, we can at least be at the other side of the portal," Frederick said before handing him a golden signet ring. "It's enchanted. If anything goes sideways, press on the top and the General will get you out of there."
"Good thinking." Without a second thought, the president took the ring and wore it on his indexindex finger's good to know Magic can be relied on for better purposes than wrecking havoc."
Frederick turned to a man in a blue suit with spiky purple hair that stood at the far end of the room and called out to him, "Open the portal."
The man nodded and stretched out his hands to the wall in front of him. He closed his eyes as he concentrated his mind on the meeting venue. For a portal-type mage, using Mana was more difficult and complex than mages with other Magic affinities. One small mistake or a lack of focus and you will end up conjuring a portal that leads to the wrong place. Imagine wanting to open a portal to a relaxing beach only to send the people who walk through to their deaths at the bottom of a boiling volcano.
What started as a small, slowly revolving purple disk gradually enlarged until it became a door-sized spinning wheel, radiating an otherworldly aura. As the disk spun with great speed, it made a soft whistling sound in the air.
"It's open," the man announced, turning back to the vice president heaved a sigh, and stood by the side of the portal as he continued to channel his energy to sustain it.
"Be careful," Frederick warned as he handed the briefcase in his hand over to the president.
Frederick's worry for the president wasn't out of place seeing as he wasn't a Mage. If anything was to go wrong in this secret meeting, the president would be completely defenseless.
"I'll be fine."
With those last words, the president strode to the portal and walked in.
On the other side of the portal was an extremely spacious room with a circular array of chairs. There was a golden chandelier hanging from the ceiling just above the center of the room, complementing the other light bulbs illuminating it. The white walls had historical paintings hanging on them. Everything thing in sight appeared to have the best quality making the room look extravagant.
"Glad you could make it, Ed. Please, have a seat," said a bald man seated at a table directly under the golden chandelier.
This table was reserved for the executives of the Nations Alliance of which President Edward was the head. With a sense of purpose, he walked to the table and sat on the chair in the middle.
After Edward, it didn't take long before the other nation heads arrived. With all fifty-two leaders of the major nations in the world in attendance, Edward stood up to speak.
"Good day everyone. I appreciate you all for making time to be here," Edward let out a sigh. "Fifty years ago, a substance we now recognize as Mana was introduced into the Earth. It granted us, humans the power to awaken abilities we could never believe we possessed. Some of us, at least. This much isn't strange to any of you. Unfortunately, while there are those who wish to use this power for good, there are those who would rather abuse it for evil- Dark Mages.
"Terrorist attacks have risen on a colossal scale. A lot of Mages have resorted to using their abilities to oppress those without any. Law enforcement agents are quickly losing control over the citizens. The world is experiencing an imbalance of power the likes of which it has never seen before. I requested this meeting for us, the heads of the most influential nations in the world to solve this global crisis before it gets any worse," Edward concluded, before taking his seat.
An old man probably in his late sixties stood up to speak. He had a neat haircut and a well-shaven beard. He was putting on a Red suit that had some golden stripes beautifying the jacket. What was most noticeable about it was the. The crest of Bacilia ( Bay-sea-lee-ah).
"Mana cannot be taken away from the Earth. That is of course very obvious. Then again, the strong shall always oppress the weak, as history has shown time and time again. The only solution to this crisis will be to eradicate the weak. In clear terms, every person above the age of twelve who can't wield at least a C-rank Magical Affinity must be annihilated!"
The loud sounds of people gasping could be heard across the room. All eyes turned and were fixed on the old man.
Does he know the gravity of the words he just uttered?
Genocide…
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone