Game of The God
What is this?
With so many performing Bards on Avlis, sooner or later the idea of creating a whole stageplay instead of random singing of songs.
Eventually Bill Burnham, Janur da Medican, Lisa Kler, Kalinda Swift and Arena Helerin got together to write and actually perform "Game of the God": A play that dramatizes the events surrounding the discovery of the Vortex of Chaos. The Vortex of Chaos was brought into the world by Andrinor, and the struggle to gain control over it led to the reforming of the various mage orders.
At the time this stageplay was written, only three Mage Orders existed: The Ebony Order of the Moon, the Ivory Order of the Sun, and the Ashen Order of the Stars.
It was performed on stage only once, plans of taking this on tour through the major cities of southern Avlis never bore fruit.
The Cast
- Bill Burnham: Andrinor, and A Commoner
- Janur da Medican, Lisa Kler, Kalinda Swift and "Cat" alternated as the various magicians
- Rego Jert: Ambushing Bandit
- Janur da Medican: "old" Black Archmage
- Lisa Kler: "new" Black Archmage
The Script
Prologue
Enter Andrinor: Looking at the world.
Andrinor (to audience): "I AM ANDRINOR, GOD OF MORTAL MAGIC!"
Andrinor (to audience): "ON A PLACE, MAN CAN NEITHER GRASP NOR HOPE TO UNDERSTAND, I - THE MASTER OF MORTAL MAGIC - WEAVE THE WONDERS OF MY ART. LOOKING DOWN, I SEE MY CHILDREN, PLAYING WITHOUT GUILE."
Enter 3 mages, one white, one grey, one black: They are chasing each other, squambling, and fighting amonst themselves, occasionally one goes sulking into a corner, while the other two make fun of him.
White Mage: "The white mages are supreme, we have the most mages, the best robes and the greatest collection of magical artifacts."
Black Mage: "Ha! You fools! You dabble with magic, yet have not the courage to use it. You are weak!"
Grey Mage: "We seek a balance in the world, neither too light nor too dark, neither to hot nor too cold, neither too..."
White Mage: "You grey's don't know what you want! I do wish you would make up your minds!"
Black Mage: "Haha! On one side we have the weak, and the other we have the meek!"
Grey Mage: "Hey, who you calling meek!"
Andrinor (to audience): "THEY HAVE FORGOTTEN WHAT GREATNESS LIES WITHIN THEM, BUT SQUABBLE OVER NOTHINGNESS. I WILL SHOW THEM WHAT THEY MIGHT MASTER."
Andrinor (to audience): "HMMM, I SHALL SET A LITTLE TASK FOR THESE MAGES, TO TEST THEIR WORTHINESS TO USE MY MAGIC. IF THEY ARE NOT WORTHY...? WELL, WE SHALL SEE..."
Act I : The Discovery
The 3 mages, arguing and squabling as usual.
Enter poor commoner:
Commoner: "Great sirs! Please you must help, a terrible thing has appeared!"
Black Mage: "Why do you disturb us? Can't you see we are important mages, debating the arts of magic? Begone, lest I turn you into a toad!"
Commoner: "But sirs! It is a great whirlpool of magical flashes and deadly rays, the ground shakes, and strange beasts walk upon the earth, you must save the world from this thing!"
Grey Mage: "This Vortex is indeed a strange thing, we must study it more."
White Mage: "This Vortex is an evil thing, too dangerous to remain on this world, it must be destroyed."
Black Mage: "This Vortex is a thing we desire, it holds tremendous power that we could harness and use as our own."
Act II : The Chase
Scene 1: The Black mages
Enter 3 Black mages: They are huddled together in a private meeting
Black Mage 1: "This Vortex has tremendous power." Black Mage 2: "We must learn how to control and use this power." Black Mage 3: "Yes, but we must find it first!"
They leave.
Scene 2: The White mages
Enter 3 white mages: They are huddled together in a private meeting
White Mage 1: "We must destroy this Vortex, it is too dangerous to remain." White Mage 2: "How will we do this?" White Mage 3: "Yes, but we must find it first!"
They leave.
Scene 3: The Grey mages
Enter 3 Grey mages: They are huddled together in a private meeting
Grey Mage 1: "The Vortex is too important to destroy, we can't let the White mages do that." Grey Mage 2: "The Vortex is too powerful to control, we can't let the Black mages use it." Grey Mage 3: "We must stop the others from finding it!"
Enter Andrinor (to audience): "AND SO THE CHASE IS ON!"
Andrinor (to audience): "I WILL LEAVE THIS ARTIFACT, SO THAT THEY MIGHT CAPTURE THE VORTEX..."
Andrinor lays staff on the ground:
Andrinor (to audience): "...LET US SEE WHAT THEY WILL EACH DO WITH IT!"
Andrinor exits stage.
Interlude: Scenes of Chase
Grey retrieves it from ground White and Black chase after white (simply run around) Grey gets attacked by bandit and it is stolen All scatter Blacks confront bandit, take Vortex
Act III : Conclusion
The black mage gathers his minions to use the power of the Vortex.
3 Black Mage gathered together
Master Black: "Now that we have gathered this Vortex, we will put it to use. We can let the mightiest of us, myself, follow Andrinor, to ascend to godhood! Now listen closely, I will explain the Ritual to you."
Mages huddle together, occasionally a "leg of a toad"... "then incant this" ... "really fey blood ?" is heard.
Master Black lays vortex/staff on ground (beneath his feet) **important so that it can be picked up again!
Master Black: "Now that we stand in a circle, I shall invoke the power of the Vortex!"
The single minion pointedly steps out of it.
Master Black: "No! You fool! You have broken the cirlce! I am doomed! Aaarrrggghhhh!" Master Black falls to ground dead.
- New Black master picks up staff.
New Black master: "Godhood was not for that one! Now I am master!"
Other mages exit the stage, and quickly re-enter as Grey, White. Look in amazement at what has happened.
Epilogue
Enter Andrinor: "DO STOP THIS CHILDISH SQUABBLE. YOU ARE KIN, AND YOU SHARE THE SAME DREAM. THIS VORTEX I WILL CLAIM FOR MYSELF, TO GATHER ITS MIGHT. YOU SHOULD TURN TO YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, AND CONTEMPLATE WHAT I TOUGHT YOU. FOR THIS WAS A TASTE OF THE TRUE MAGIC I CAN GRANT YOU."
White: "Oh wise Lord, I thank you for your wisdom."
Grey: "Andrinor, you've shown us the way. Together we will stand."
Black: "True might is what we seek, through you, we will achieve it."
Together: "To honour you, we will unite, to honour you, we will build Magic a city.
Andrinor, to audience: "AND SO I LEAVE MY CHILDREN AGAIN TO THEMSELVES. AGAIN, I HAVE FURTHERED MY POWER, AGAIN MORTALS HAVE HELPED AND AMUSED ME. NOW I CAN AGAIN, STAND ASIDE TO WATCH THEM PLAY. PERHAPS THEY'LL DO BETTER NOW..."
Mages in the background play "tag" again...