ULTRAMagic Prelude - Chapter 3
A couple of days had passed since the last journey on account of Dragoslava having to write up a report on the now named Fire World (A name coined by her). She was a member of The Central Unlight Explorers Guild and was expected to do write ups on her findings. Blood-Wraith took this opportunity to continue his research. Notes and books piled up beside him as he delved further and further into Alchemy. By the second day, he was buried in his studies with papers strewn about everywhere. A lot of the knowledge was still confusing since he was a beginner, but he was making progress regardless.
Dragoslava entered the room, being careful not to step on anything important. “Okay then…oops…careful… Hey, Blood, how’s the…research going?”
“Satisfactory” Blood-Wraith replied as he dipped his quill into an ink well. “I haven’t had a chance to practice yet, though.”
“So… any signs of that dragon yet?”
Blood-Wraith banged the desk. “Shoot! I completely forgot about that!”
“Well how about we go try the telescope? See if we can find anything?”
“Hmm…” Blood-Wraith wrote down one last sentence. “I do want to try another library… also my notes…” He started collecting what was on the desk and organized them into a pile.
Dragoslava picked up a red book. “Oh wow, this one? Hey, did you get to page 167? Because I…”
“If the outcome is explosive, you’re using too much iron.”
“Oh… alright, my bad.”
The two tidied up and organized the myriad of scattered notes. It turned out that Blood-Wraith had taken way more than he had initially thought, and his arm was killing him for it. After that mess was dealt with, they did their best to put the books back. Naturally Blood-Wraith had neglected to keep track of where he had pulled them from. They left the library when they were finished and made their way back to the observatory. Both were eager to start looking as Dragoslava calibrated the telescope. She then hopped into the seat and began moving the room around the tower.
The giant device creaked and groaned at first, but mellowed out as it was used. Dragoslava was not sure where to look, so she just looked in random locations. She had a distinct feeling that the target was being overlooked, but she could not be sure of that. Some beasts roaming the far off lands created some confusion, but were quickly dismissed as not the dragon. The search did not yield much aside from spotting a location of interest.
Dragoslava got up, figuring she would let Blood-Wraith give it a try. “Careful with the focus, it’s sensitive…”
“Read you loud and…clear…” Blood-Wraith was concentrating heavily. After a minute of looking, he spotted something. “There it is! I think…”
“Wow, really? What does it look like?”
“It looks like a four legged dragon with wings… and a cloud thing, corkscrewing around it.”
Dragoslava was excited. “Where is it heading? Can you tell?”
“Hmm… towards a mountain range? It looks pretty stormy.”
“I bet it's heading towards The Roaring Mountains! Come on, if we hurry, we can meet him there!”
And with that, the two were off once again. Dragoslava took Blood-Wraith to a biplane, left behind by her people and still in working condition. Dragoslava lamented that she could not use hers, but it was still in need of repairs. She also did not want to bug Stolon again so soon. As for The Roaring Mountains, they were noteworthy for being close to The Iron City and their perpetual wind storms (hence the name). While the weather did cross Dragoslava’s mind during the takeoff, she did not care. She was definitely being a bit gutsy, much to the chagrin of Blood-Wraith. The non-stop corkscrews and aileron rolls did not help either. Upon reaching the mountains, the two ran into rough flying, with a bumpy landing to boot.
“AND WE COULDN’T HAVE USED A LAND VEHICLE?!” Blood-Wraith angrily exclaimed as he slowly got out of the biplane.
“Aw come on, where’s the fun in that? Besides, the land routes to the mountains are incredibly dangerous at the moment. We’re lucky we didn’t get spotted. Now come on, let’s go find that dragon!” Dragoslava explained, calling out over the howling wind.
Despite being a little shaken up, the two continued into the mountains. What seemed to be the remains of a trail guided them, winding and turning all over the place. The mountains were truly imposing and the raging gusts added to the intimidation factor. While it was quite the experience for Dragoslava, Blood-Wraith had no plans to come back anytime soon. Not helping his case was the abandoned temples and shrines. They were scarce on the outskirts, but numerous within the range. Many depicted entities of impossible forms, with their names being just as incomprehensible and incapable of being understood. Of course Dragoslava just had to rest on the steps of a temple dedicated to a particularly freaky-looking entity.
“This place gives me the creeps…” Blood-Wraith remarked as a chill ran down his spine.
“Shame we’re not here with a cipher. I would love to learn more about these deities…” Dragoslava picked up a random tablet with writing on it out in the open, like it had been left there… “Well I’m sure they won’t mind if I borrow this to study it.”
Blood-Wraith, wanting to get out of the wind, quickly entered the temple. “Careful, some of these steps are loose…” His body was lighting the way, which was fortunate for them.
“Hehe, I’m curious to know if there’s any boobytraps in here…”
“Pardon?” Blood-Wraith had an incredulous, slightly terrified look on his face.
“Yup, traps. I’d imagine there could be cursed linen wraps, fast hardening glue, insect swarms, or even giant cages! I’ve heard a lot of these places prefer to use non lethal traps to not desecrate their sacred grounds.”
“So what’s the verdict so far?” Blood-Wraith was frozen in place out of worry.
Dragoslava stepped on a false stone tile… a pipe rumbled above them, yet nothing happened. “Aw, that’s a bummer. I wanted to know what that would have done…”
“You are crazy, you know…” Before Blood-Wraith could finish his statement, a strange substance came rushing out of the pipe, completely smothering him. The substance clung to him and hardened rapidly, leaving him stuck in place.
“Metal…” Dragoslava complimented as she took out a small hammer from her trench coat. With a few good taps, the shell crumbled. The glue must have been incredibly old.
“EXCUSE ME!” Blood-Wraith shouted. “MAYBE DON’T DO THAT NEXT TIME, OKAY?”
Dragoslava promptly blew him a raspberry. “Oh please, like you were actually in any danger. If that glue was truly strong enough to imprison you, I could have easily transmuted you out of it. Besides, there’s no one else here to test it out.”
“Then how about you stand here and I’ll trigger the trap next time!” Blood-Wraith snapped back, crossing his arms.
“Why not? This stuff is fascinating” Dragoslava remarked as she messed with a piece of hardened glue. She then took a chunk of it and put it in her coat pocket.
“Let’s just keep moving…” Blood-Wraith then accidentally stepped on another trap tile, causing a new torrent of glue to completely cover Dragoslava, turning her into a shiny, statue-esque blob. “HA, KARMA!”
“Hmph…” The shell began rumbling and cracking through her own magical means, allowing Dragoslava to free herself. “Alright, let's press onwards…”
“Something’s wrong with you, really,” Blood-Wraith put forth. “I may not have been alive for long, but even I can tell something’s bothering you…”
Dragoslava gave a nervous chuckle. “Wrong? What’s wrong? I am an explorer after all…”
Continuing on, the two entered a room with an open sarcophagus and a massive stone door that was sealed shut. The shiny black sarcophagus was completely empty and unmarked, making the two wonder what had happened. Looking into it gave them a weird sensation, compelling them to get inside. Dragoslava was quick to note this, despite her waning faculties.
Neither of them wanted to get in, but the feeling was too great. Both of them were in a trance, but Blood-Wraith got in first. Upon relaxing and closing his eyes, the lid of the sarcophagus slid over him and sealed it shut. This caused Dragoslava to snap out of her trance as the temple then began to transform. Everything from the walls to the statues now invoked the image of Blood-Wraith.
“What the… Blood?!” Dragoslava exclaimed as she banged on the sarcophagus.
“Relax, he’ll be fine,” a voice said from the shadows. “This temple is his now…” It clearly belonged to a giant.
“Who are…whaa…” Dragoslava’s speech trailed off as she beheld what must have been a 20 foot tall dragon with a shadowy lesser dragon enveloping it.
“NOW LET’S GO LOOT THE TREASURE ROOM!” The shadow shouted with glee, visibly irritating the dragon.
“TYRANT! Silence! Ahem, pardon my alter ego. I am Leif and I noticed you two following me in the biplane.” Leif looked youthful, but had all the hallmarks of an older dragon. He had two massive horns, sharp teeth, well-developed wings, and black scales that shined like beautiful obsidian.
“I’m Dragoslava and uh, Blood-Wraith is in there…” As she said that, the giant door opened up and the sarcophagus slowly went inside. “What’s even happening?”
“Let’s see for ourselves.” Leif led the worried explorer into a glorious, yet empty treasure room. His feet landed heavily on the stone floor with each step.
Once the sarcophagus stopped in the center of the room, the lid opened and out popped Blood-Wraith. What was most intriguing was that his once dull, gray skin had become a magnificent, shiny black. It contrasted nicely with his flames. He looked a little confused, glancing around the room with intrigue.
“Dragoslava? Is that you?” He asked. “Was I wrapped up like a mummy? Or was that just my imagination?”
“Oh my goodness, come here!” She then hugged him tightly.
Leif chuckled. “I said he would be fine, didn’t I? It’s a pleasure to meet you, Blood-Wraith.”
The boy looked up at the giant dragon, utterly amazed by what he was witnessing. “I have a feeling I am supposed to meet you?”
Leif nodded. “Yes, except, I am not supposed to meet you quite yet… oh, wait… now I am. Sorry about that.”
Blood-Wraith was confused. “What?”
“Allow me,” Dragoslava interjected. “Are you 5th dimensional or higher, Leif?”
“I am indeed 5th dimensional,” Leif answered. “Maybe I should have worked towards becoming 6D back in the epoch, but that’s in the past now.”
“Okay, that makes sense,” Dragoslava noted. “He’s one with the flow of time, Blood. Not omniscient, but if he’s confirming what you’re thinking, he’s our dragon.”
Blood-Wraith nodded, but was still puzzled. “So what just happened? What is all of this? Do you know, Leif?”
“The entity that presides over this temple most likely wanted to give it to one of you. Some demigods wish to become true deities, yet have no one to bless. I suspect this one sees great potential in you, Blood-Wraith, going so far as to refine your body. If certain events in the future are to happen, then this should help you greatly. As for the whole deal with the sarcophagus, it most likely derives from a culture outside of the Unlight. Most likely Earth-23 from the Cosmos proper, if I had to guess.”
Blood-Wraith felt compelled to pick up a strange amulet nearby and began moving to the exit. “Let’s head home. This is way too much to process… also don’t get any ideas, sister. I made it so all of the traps ignore us.”
As soon as they left the temple and headed towards the biplane, Dragoslava felt something odd in her trench coat: It was a map. It detailed the perfect route from The Iron City back to the temple. Now she was truly weirded out. Adding insult to injury, the biplane was gone! Leif deduced that it was back at the city, so he offered to take the two home. On the way back, the three discussed exploring and naturally Dragoslava asked the dragon if he wanted to join them. Leif was more than happy to accompany them as he definitely needed company. His alter ego’s unending wise cracks never ceased to get old after a while.
Upon arriving at The Singing Storm Tower, Leif shrunk down to the size of a lion. “Will this form do?”
“Of course,” Desislav replied. “Hell, you could’ve probably gone a little bigger… Um, thanks, Drago…”
“Oh shoot! I did it again…” Dragoslava complained, stomping her feet in anger at herself. She then went and hugged Desislav as an apology.
“It’s alright, I’ll deal. I’m actually quite familiar with Dragons” Desislav pointed out. “By the way, your sister wants to see you and Blood-Wraith. She’s in your office as we speak.”
“Wait, what!? My sister? Kresimira?!”
“Yes? You didn’t know she was here? I assumed you did…”
Dragoslava took Blood-Wraith by the hand and zipped off, leaving the satyr and the dragon behind. At some point in the recent past, her beloved sister had vanished and this had bummed her out. She was dying to see her again. In Dragoslava’s office was a tall woman, organizing the mess and clutter. This woman had an eerie, yet kind demeanor to her. Her long, lavender hair was somewhat untamed and floated freely, her scarlet eyes were piercing yet calm, and she smelled of fresh lavender on a rainy day. She also wore a strange, long sleeved dress that was wispy at the top and goopy at the bottom. One could easily tell that she was in a bit of a phase at the moment.
“Big sis!” Dragoslava exclaimed as she ran up and hugged Kresimira.
“Drago! Oh my goodness, it’s been too long!” She said as she hugged back.
“You haven’t changed a bit! What happened to you?!”
“Look at how much you have grown, Drago!” Kresimira let go to get a good look at her younger sister. “And not much. I figured I’d explore the tower a bit and ended up getting lost.”
“Blood! This is my older sister, Kresimira. Kresimira, this is…”
Kresimira chuckled. “I know, Drago. I may have been lost in the crimson library, but I wasn’t completely unaware.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Kresimira,” Blood-Wraith said as he held out his hand.
“Likewise, Blood-Wraith” she replied with a hug. “Now speaking of all the stuff with books being read, I found some the two of you might be interested in. This quest started when I found a cookbook for Desislav…” She then picked up four big books and set them down on the desk.
Dragoslava was awed by one of the books, as it was truly gigantic. “Sis, what is that?”
“The Unlight Almanac Volume 1. Thank the source that I took up weight lifting when I was younger…”
“This is incredible. Blood, take a look at this.”
Blood-Wraith studied the huge book for a second, then turned to his books. “The Alchemical Codex?”
“Yes,” Kresimira replied. “I can tell just by looking at you that you’re a natural alchemist. Also I looked through your notes while you were gone.” She then slid one of his note pages forward, having made several corrections.
“Hmm…oh? Oh! OH! That’s what I did wrong with my sculpture?”
Kresimira nodded. “Yup. Don’t worry sweetie, Alchemy runs in our family. In fact, I’d be more than happy to be your teacher. You’re doing pretty good as is.”
“Oh, well sure. That’d be fine with me” Blood-Wraith replied as he continued to read through the corrections.
Dragoslava rummaged through her trench coat pocket to retrieve something. “Hey sis, I don't mean to rush this on you, but could you look at this tablet and tell me what it says… or at least what it indicates?” She handed over the tablet from the temple. The only change was that it now also depicted Blood-Wraith.
“Aside from our darling little alchemist to be? Hmm… truthfully it looks like The Great Unspeaker… or one of his offspring. Very interesting indeed.”
“Who’s that?” Blood-Wraith inquired.
Dragoslava groaned. “Some legends say he’s a chaotic entity that presides over the Unlight. He’s a messenger for entities far beyond our comprehension, communing with strange beings called ‘Astral Entities’ and whatnot.”
“Oh!” Kresimira remembered something. “Um, before I forget: dearies, someone we know is out there in the city” she pointed out.
“Who?” It then occurred to Dragoslava. “Oh good lord, don’t tell me it’s him…” She groaned again.
“Yup. Barna asked him to stay behind too, I guess,” her sister lightly complained, although it almost sounded like she was happy about that fact.
Once more, Blood-Wraith was perplexed. “Who? Who is this mysterious person?”
With a pat on the shoulder, Dragoslava replied “Don’t worry about it too much. Just stay in the tower and don’t go wandering the city without me or Kresimira.”
“Oh…okay then.” How ominous, Blood-Wraith thought. While a part of him wanted to know more, he knew it was best to heed his sister’s advice for now.
Next: Chapter 4
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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