ULTRAMagic Prelude - Chapter 8
Auda could not help but be enthralled by Blood-Wraith, following him wherever he went. He was such a strange person. How did fire that did not burn even exist? Something Tree People were privy to was one’s life force and Blood-Wraith had a very odd one on the grounds that his entire being was his life force. The body everyone saw was just a physical manifestation of himself. This also caused his body to be warm to the touch. Naturally Auda felt the need to leap onto his back while he was reading at the village library.
“Um hey, pardon me?”
Auda giggled. “You’re warm, Mr. Fire.”
“Excuse me, but do I look like a bovidae or an equine to you?”
She laughed. “What are those?”
“Goats and Horses…”
“Okay.” Auda stared at him, then smiled.
With a sigh, Blood-Wraith returned to his business. Despite being unwanted, Auda’s presence was not a hindrance. He was busy looking through the various Alchemical texts the Tree People had. Occasionally Auda would ask about what he was reading, with that being the extent of her disruptions. Some of the texts available were very intriguing, giving Blood-Wraith new insights into some of the things he had been learning. Midway through reading a scroll, Auda got off his back and snatched it from him.
“Hey!?”
“What’s all this yellow stuff?” Auda asked.
“That’s Citrinitas, The Yellowing. It’s an excluded step in the 7 step process for making a Philosopher’s stone…”
“Cool! Grandpa has one of these stone thingies.” She then handed the scroll back to him. “Mr. Fire? Can you help me out with something?”
Blood-Wraith tilted his head. “With what?”
“Follow me! Follow!”
Auda led Blood-Wraith through the village and into a densely wooded area. They then walked down a path that went beyond the buildings and tents, stopping at a tree with incredibly dark bark. Notably it felt more alive than the others. If one looked closely, what appeared to be breathing could be seen. Sizing up the tree, Auda reared up and headbutted it… It shook, but nothing happened. She headbutted it again, this time causing it to groan. Giggling, Auda gave it one more Headbutt. This caused an annoyed face to appear on the tree.
“GEEZ! What Auda?! What is it this time?! Would you just let me be a tree already!?” He snapped angrily.
“Uncle Tusk! Look, fire that doesn’t burn!”
“That’s what you…? Hold on a second…” Tusk groaned and creaked as his body reverted back to a humanoid shape. He looked slightly different from the usual Tree Person. Bark covered his entire body and his core was an eerie, yellow glow that filled his body. “So you’re the entity that disembodied weirdo told me about. So much for being a tree” he lamented as he straightened out his messy, brown hair.
“Forgive me, but what disembodied weirdo?” Blood-Wraith inquired.
“He told me to tell you that’s not important right now. I’m Tusk Willfort by the way. I know this is sudden, but let me ask you a question: Do you know what ULTRAMagic is?” He then began to work the kinks out of his joints, waiting for an answer.
“Um…I think I’ve read about it briefly in my books. The most I see are footnotes though…”
Tusk nodded. “Right. Now what if I told you that your soul can be strengthened, allowing you to learn more than just Alchemy? Which is what I assume you’re learning at the moment.”
“Really? But I’ve just started studying that.”
“No problem, this is a passive trait that will take time to accomplish. You also don’t have to jump into other types of magic right away. This unique trait is intended to give you the insight necessary to allow you to learn more than what you’re learning right now. Whether you actually do that is completely up to you” Tusk explained.
Blood-Wraith thought about it, then spoke. “Okay, but what’s the catch? Why else do I need ULTRAMagic?”
“You know that change you went through at your temple? Our unnamed weirdo helped orchestrate that. He wants you to go through with this. And I can understand why too. It’s a very useful trait to have…” A black overcoat and a scarf that pulsed with the colors of the rainbow appeared on Tusk.
Blood-Wraith was shocked and amazed. “Whoa… so you already have it? What’s it like?” He could sense the power emanating from Tusk.
“It feels like having clarity. Learning things comes naturally and it makes you more durable. In fact, the Chief has it too. Of course you do have the potential to see beyond the veil, seeing things like forbidden primordials and God knows what else…”
“Come on, Uncle Tusk!” Auda exclaimed. “Give Mr. Fire some magic stuff!”
“Hold on, kiddo. He has to accept it first.” Tusk snapped his fingers, causing an Indigo flame to appear. “These are Soul fragments and are what you need to collect. Interested, Blood-Wraith?”
Blood-Wraith studied the flame for a minute. Normally he would have hesitated, but something was telling him to go for it. “Alright, let’s do this.”
Grasping the flame with his left hand, Blood-Wraith felt nothing at first. This changed when his fire turned to Indigo. A wave of energy overwhelmed him, causing his body to convulse a little. The Indigo then coalesced into one of his eyes, changing its color. He could not help but joyfully laugh as his body began to transform. Blood-Wraith then went from a mostly humanoid form to a wolf-like form. Once finished, he let out a long, loud howl. Auda and Tusk were not sure what to make of this.
“Mr. Fire turned into a beastie!” Auda commented.
“What the… Huh, it must be some kind of latent ability he has, prompted by the fragment… I think.” Before Tusk could finish his thoughts, Blood-Wraith noticed something. First he sniffed the air. Once he was sure of it, he barked and bolted off. Tusk then sensed something he did not want to. “BLAST IT ALL! That stupid Lich is back! Auda, head back and warn the village. I’ll follow Blood-Wraith!”
“Right right right!” Auda repeated as she darted towards the village.
Tusk sprinted towards the last shrine. Having not moved for so long prompted him to cast a spell that hastened his movement. He thundered through the forest, forcing his body to move. By the time he could see Blood-Wraith again, the shrine was quickly approaching. Tusk was then greeted by the sight of a woman and a satyr being flung against the trees. A gaunt, skeletal figure clad in black and golden robes stood at the shrine, undoing the locks. This was The Lich of Old.
“A trivial threat, unworthy of my time” the primordial remarked. Blood-Wraith lunged at the Lich with a roar, but was knocked back. “Well now! A tenacious little whelp, aren’t we?”
“Ah jeez, I’m going to feel that one in the morning” Dragoslava groaned as she tried to get up. Tusk ran over to help her.
Desislav was quite insulted. “Alright buddy, if that’s all you got, you’re a complete joke.”
The satyr stomped forward, crushing the skulls of several skeletons that tried to rise from the ground. Before he could approach the Lich, a skeleton his size arose from the ground. It carried a giant blade, but Desislav was not phased. He reared up and barreled right into it, knocking it prone. It tried to go for its blade, but Tusk knocked it away with an energy blast. Desislav then summoned a glowing great hammer, giant in size and might. He immediately slammed it down on the skeleton, shaking the ground, and destroying everything under it.
New Skeletons were beginning to appear, but Tusk and Dragoslava had them mostly under control. “These bone boys don’t quit, do they!?” Dragoslava pointed out, tossing an explosive orb at a group of them.
“Unfortunately not!” Tusk called back as he decked a skeleton in the face with a fist of transmuted iron.
Desislav at this point was sending every skeleton that approached him flying. Other times he completely obliterated whatever the hammer made contact with. Not wanting to drag this out, he began approaching the Lich. His target was distracted due to trying to fend off Blood-Wraith. “THINK FAST, BONE BAG!” the satyr shouted as he swung his hammer with all of his might.
Time became incredibly slow for the Lich as he quickly realized what was happening. What could he do? He was frozen as the hammer flew right at him, making contact, and sending him flying into the shrine. This took out the front wall, leaving him dazed and reeling. Sadly fortune had shined upon him as the scroll he needed was unfurled before him.
“HA! Just as I figured: The Metal Oasis!”
“DAMN IT!” Desislav shouted. A skeleton tried to ambush him, but he took its head and crushed it in his hand. Blood-Wraith was also upset, barking wildly at the Lich.
“As much as I would love to continue this bout, I have more important matters to tend to!” The Lich then turned into a giant, skeletal bat. After screeching at his opponents, he took off into the sky and vanished. Blood-Wraith tried to leap after him, but to no avail.
“Well shucks, he got away…” Dragoslava lamented. She then noticed the wolf creature. “Blood? Is that you?”
Blood-Wraith barked happily… then went back to his normal self. “Whoa… what happened? And why am I craving meat?”
Just then, an odd man with pink hair and red eyes came stumbling through. “Some nice…meaty nice meat chunks… of MEAT.” He then disappeared into a random portal.
“What the Hell was that?” Desislav asked.
“Oh don’t mind him, that’s just Vlastimir,” Tusk answered. “He’s a mad sellsword who pops up from time to time. How he got into the forest is beyond me… Anyways, the name’s Tusk Willfort.”
“Desislav Robles,” Desislav replied as he shook Tusk’s hand. “That’s Dragoslava Raynot. And I assume you’ve met Blood-Wraith already?”
“Yeah, considering the wolf form was my fault…”
Dragoslava stepped over to the two. “Thanks for the assist. I actually thought this would be easy. How wrong I was… SEE? This is why I wanted you with us, Desislav.”
“My head feels like I just got through an earthquake…” Blood-Wraith stated.
Desislav shook his head. “Well ain’t this a pickle? Let’s head back before Blood keels over, ha.”
“Sure thing” Tusk replied as he went to retrieve the scrolls from the ruined shrine.
The walk back was oddly relaxing, despite everything that happened. A group of warriors from the village ran into them, originally going to provide assistance. Since the conflict had ended so quickly, all they could do was escort the group back. Tusk was a bit embarrassed to be returning to the village, so he tried to avoid eye contact. Some of the villagers were definitely glaring at him. Sigmund was waiting with Auda at his home, hurrying the group inside once they approached.
“Before anyone speaks, do not apologize. I saw the battle through my crystals. What matters is that you learn from this and confront the Lich until you win” Sigmund declared. “What have you learned?”
“Uh…” Blood-Wraith was a little woozy. “ULTRAMagic…”
“The Lich is heading to The Metal Oasis and is stronger than he initially looks” Desislav stated.
Dragoslava nodded. “Whatever he is after is pretty stinkin’ cursed. The Metal Oasis was always regarded as a bit of a forbidden place by my people.”
Sigmund thought for a second. “Perhaps the next course of action here is to follow the Lich’s league. I feel this situation will require us to adapt on the fly…”
Dragoslava groaned with utmost displeasure. “Are you saying we should go to The Metal Oasis and make our own dagger? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure that’s what he’s doing. Why I’m not sure, but it gives me the heebeegeebees regardless.”
“If that's what it takes” Sigmund answered. “Now, the three of you, go on and get some rest. Tonight we shall have a feast in your honor” he announced.
Desislav was a little perplexed. “Really? Despite what happened?”
“Well of course. Regardless of what happens next, you still got the Lich to leave the forest. A win in my book, if you ask me. I have confidence that you will be able to stop him. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some matters to tend to. I presume I’ll see you all later tonight?”
“Sure. See you later, Sigmund” Desislav answered as he left with Dragoslava and Blood-Wraith, who each said goodbye as they left.
Tusk was hiding in the corner of the room and tried to sneak out with the group. “Tusk?” Sigmund called out. “Come here…”
“Ooh, Uncle Tusk is in trouble…” Auda teased as she left.
“Yes, father?” Tusk nervously asked as he approached.
“What happened to you? What happened to the curious, bright-eyed sapling that was so eager to achieve ULTRAMagic? Don’t answer that, I already know the answer.” He sighed. “Ever since you got your last fragment, you’ve been growing complacent and stagnant. You even reverted into a mere tree. What’s going through your head, boy?”
“I don’t know, Dad. A lot of things are. There’s so much happening, mom’s disappearance, so much that I have learned that I don’t know how to process and…”
“Tusk, look me in the eye when you speak. I’m not mad, I’m disappointed in you. And what would your mother and Master Ealdhelm think if they saw you like this? You’re not going to get any answers to your problems if you just sit around all day, doing nothing. You’re wasting your potential.” Sigmund then took up his staff and tapped it on the floor. “Starting now, I hereby order you to temporarily leave the village and the forest. Do not return until you have achieved something truly great!”
“Wait, what? Seriously? But Dad…”
Sigmund tapped his staff on the floor once more. “No buts, those are for sitting. As soon as our guests depart, you’ll go with them… Also you must show up to the feast tonight. It’s been too long and I want to spend some time with you before you leave.”
Tusk sighed. “Yes, father…” He then trudged out of the room, feeling defeated.
“And son? Try to look at this in a positive light: You always said you wanted to travel, right?”
Tusk nodded. “Yes…”
“Dragoslava is an explorer, so I foresee you discovering all sorts of wondrous places. Who knows, maybe you’ll even find Thora while you’re at it.”
Sigmund had a point. “Sure thing, dad.” This was going to be an interesting time for the sullen mage, no doubt about it.
Next: Chapter 9
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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