ULTRAMagic Interlude - Chapter 14
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This time Blood-Wraith stayed for the feast. He felt obligated to do so considering it was his mission that found Rose and Thora. Things would have been perfect had Dunja not been a concern. Like it or not, he would have to drop everything if she appeared at the Iron City. It made the meal bitter sweet for him. Thankfully, realizing that Dunja was not the villain he thought she was did ease his anxiety a bit.
Everyone else was happy as clams as they ate and chatted with each other. Sigmund and Thora were the exception, as they could sense Blood-Wraith’s unease. There was not much they could do for him outside of reassurances. Still, he managed to put on a smile when talked to. Sigmund felt sorry for Blood-Wraith as the boy had a lot weighing on him. It actually would have been ideal if Dunja had showed up, because then the chief could have defused some of the tension.
Later on while everyone played music and danced, Blood-Wraith spotted a hooded figure in the distance. They gave him a weird feeling, like he had seen them before. He also wondered if they were hungry since they were clearly watching the village. Quietly, Blood-Wraith went over to the leftover food and grabbed whatever he could. After filling a mug with mead, he set out for the strange person. Hopefully they would not run away… Blood-Wraith was full and not old enough to drink yet.
“Um, hey there, stranger. Want something to eat?” Blood-Wraith asked as he approached.
The stranger was startled, being woken from a nap. “What!? Who’s there? Oh… uh, for me?” Notably they had a female voice that was clearly pitched shifted, as if to hide her identity.
“Yes, I already ate. I spotted you in the distance and figured you were probably hungry.”
She took the food with slight hesitation. “Really? Sharp eye… Thank you.” Oddly the stranger did not put her hood down.
“So, um… are you from the forest?”
“No, I just visit here to clear my head,” she answered as she took a bite of the seasoned vegetables. It was hard to notice, but she did lick her lips, clearly enjoying the food. “Thank you for making it stay still, the forest I mean. It was quite the task to track it down every time…”
“You know I had a hand in that?”
The stranger took a sip of her drink. “Of course I do, Blood-Wraith… I mean, everyone knows that at this point.”
“Wait, how do you know my name?”
“Word gets around easily where I’m from.”
Blood-Wraith studied the stranger. It was hard to tell who she was as magic seemed to be obscuring her identity under the cloak and hood. “Mind if I get something off my chest?”
“Go ahead. I have my own share of woes after all…”
He knew he had to choose his words carefully as something was off about this stranger. “I feel icky as of late. I was hoping things would settle down after defeating The Lich of Old. I wanted time to grieve the loss of my friend, but it’s been one thing after another…”
“Oh… I’m sorry for your loss. Mind if I ask who it was?”
“It was Leif, The Dragon of Old.”
The stranger felt her heart ache. “How… how did he die?”
Blood-Wraith gave a faint smile. “He passed away on his own terms after we won. It was inevitable as he needed to reincarnate.”
That was somewhat of a relief, but the stranger still felt responsible. “He’s smiling upon you, Blood-Wraith. I can feel it.”
“You can? Well, thank you. I wish I had something more happy to talk about…”
“You brought Rose and Thora home, didn’t you?”
“Huh, yeah, I did… Stranger, what are your woes? You said you had some, didn’t you?”
She sighed. “Yeah… just the usual of not realizing how good you had it, getting duped by a filthy rat, and realizing your legacy is tarnished beyond fixing…”
“Can’t tarnished and rusted metal be restored?” Blood-Wraith questioned.
The stranger stared at Blood-Wraith for a moment, confused by his query. “Well yes, but that doesn’t change the fact that it happened. You have to remove that layer, weakening the tool as a whole.”
“Okay… but we can always repair the tool with alchemy. Why throw away stuff you can easily fix?”
The stranger paused in disbelief. “You’re optimistic, you know that right?”
“Uh…”
“You can’t fix everything with Alchemy, Blood-Wraith. Some things are just too far gone…”
Blood-Wraith was weirded out, but not about to give up. “Alchemy doesn’t just apply to the physical, it also applies to the spiritual. That’s something I’ve read in my research. We are all Light, we all have Pneuma, and we are all God… I think. Aureolus is a bit different in that regard… argh, my point is that we can all change and improve ourselves, regardless of what we’ve done in life. So yes, you can be fixed with alchemy, mark my words!”
Truth be told, the stranger was on the verge of throwing her hood off so she could look him dead in the eye. She stood up… but then composed herself and sat back down with a sigh and finished her food. “Okay then, let me give you some advice…” The stranger had forgotten to shift her voice at this point. “One; If a slimy rat smells like a slimy rat, they are probably a slimy rat. Know a red flag when you see one…”
“Noted…”
“Two: If anyone ever tells you that you need to betray your family because of your bloodline or heritage, deck them right in the face and spit on them…”
“A little violent, but sure…”
“And three! If your most trusted officer betrays you and joins the other side, think long and hard about why she did that.”
“Right… wait, she? Who… who are you, stranger?”
The stranger took one last sip of her drink and set the empty mug down. “Blood, tomorrow I have to face my fate head on. I don’t think that the cards are in my favor, but you… you’ve given me the courage to face it head on.” She stood up, looking confident. “My coffin is waiting for me and I’ll get in it with my head held high and chin up.”
“Stranger?” Blood-Wraith also stood up.
“Can you do me a favor?”
He nodded. “Sure, what is it?”
The stranger held out her hand and presented him a lilac-colored flame. “Take this and remember me. I have no right to ask this of you, but it would be an honor if you did.”
Blood-Wraith hesitated a little, but accepted the gift. This fragment felt different, however. “What’s your name, stran…ger…” She had vanished. Before he could rationalize what had just happened, he felt his head go light and collapsed to the forest floor.
His dream that night was a wild one. Blood-Wraith was in the form of Indigo Wolf, running with a large pack of wolves. They were in a hurry as they dashed through brush and leapt over streams. Eventually everyone came to a stop by a gentle river, needing to rest and catch their breath. Blood-Wraith was lapping up some water when he noticed an older wolf off by the trees. He went over to her, but then she magically ended up further away. Blood-Wraith went over to her again and the same thing happened. This went on for a while until the two came to a perilous cliff.
The old wolf gazed off into the horizon. Blood-Wraith tried to get her attention, but to no avail. He had a sinking feeling that the wolf was going to jump. His fears were confirmed when she backed up and ran for it. She leapt into the abyss, yearning for the plunge into darkness that ensued… except, something had caught her. It was Blood-Wraith, who had her tail in his mouth, desperately trying to pull her up. The old wolf barked in frustration at him, but he refused to let go. Just about as his grip was about to let go, he heard someone call his name.
“Blood-Wraith!”
He could feel his grasp on the dream realm slipping and panicked. With a mighty surge of strength, he flung the old wolf to safety. He then woke up. “DUNJA!” he shouted.
Sigmund was startled by this. “Blood, is everything alright my boy? You slept out here all night…”
Blood-Wraith was starting to hyperventilate as embers began to dance around him, so Thora knelt down beside him. “Hey, easy kiddo. It’s going to be alright…”
“Argh! No, it’s not!” He got up and looked around frantically.
“Blood, tell us what’s wrong...” Sigmund was very worried at this point.
“I know who the stranger is! SHE’S ABOUT TO DIE!”
Sigmund quickly realized what was going on. “Well are you just going to sit by and let it happen!?”
“NO!” Blood-Wraith growled through gritted teeth as he stared in the direction of the Iron City. “NOT AGAIN!” In a burst of energy, he became Indigo Wolf, but this time it was 10 feet tall and engulfed in an aura lilac flame. He howled as loud as he could, startling all of the animals in the vicinity.
“GO! RUN LIKE THE WIND, BLOOD-WRAITH! DESTINY AWAITS YOU!” Sigmund proclaimed with utmost fervor in his voice.
Blood-Wraith roared and took off like a speeding bullet. The forest parted the trees as he thundered through it, shaking the ground as he ran. Nothing could stop him at this point. His heart thumped like an earthquake and his blood surged violently like rapids through his veins. He needed to go faster. Forcing his body to speed up, he rapidly approached the Iron City. The citizens ran for cover as what could be best described as a giant fireball came rushing through the city streets.
Dunja walked to the city square in plain view of everyone. Their voices were hushed as they watched her. The Singing Storm Tower loomed over the former queen, but she was not going to back down. “Englehart!”
The king stepped out into the square, followed by his royal court. “Dunja. Is it finally the fateful day?”
“Yes, my king. Today we settle this once and for all. I stand to lose everything, but I’m not going down without a fight!”
“Well said, my queen. In truth, you have not lost everything; You still have your spirit and no one can take that from you. I must confess that I have dreaded this duel for a long time… but I’d be a coward unfit to be a court jester if I had run from this. I shall give it my all too…”
As everyone else backed up, The two drew their swords. These were the same ones that they were sworn to the throne with. Dunja carried a sterling silver sword with fire regalia and Englehart had a majestic black sword with ice regalia. Before they could begin, however, something got in their way. A giant wolf landed in between them and howled as loud as it could once again. The haunting, yet triumphant vocalization sent chills down everyone’s spine, even Englehart and Dunja. The wolf then burst into a storm of flame only to reveal Blood-Wraith. He stood tall and firm, looking directly at Dunja.
“DUNJA! FIGHT ME!”
“Blood-Wraith!? What? No! This needs to be between me and…”
He cut her off. “If you win, I’ll stand aside. If I win, this stops here and now! You have my word.”
“Blood…”
“Dunja, I was serious about what I said in the forest! I can fix you. We can fix you. You can fix you! I’m not going to stand by and let another friend die all because they said they have to!”
It was at this point when Radovan stepped forward, followed by Rose. “BLOOD-WRAITH, What the Hell are you doing!?” Radovan called out. “Get over here, where it’s safe! This is not your fight, nor your burden to bear!”
“Well too bad, father, because I’m making this my fight!”
“Blood-Wraith Raynot!” Rose exclaimed. “What in the Source has gotten into you!?”
He growled with impatient fury in his voice. “DAMN IT! Both of you get back to the crowd and make sure everyone's kept safe! NOW!”
The duke and duchess were taken aback by this. Radovan was about to go and grab Blood-Wraith when Dragoslava went up and stopped him. She gestured for her parents to follow her back to the others. Blood-Wraith glared at him, with Radovan’s expression turning from confusion to acceptance. The boy had set his mind to this and there was no stopping him at this point. Was it any wonder how he was able to face The Lich of Old? In truth it reminded the duke of his youth.
“I know that attitude of his all too well,” Dragoslava pointed out with a chuckle. “We can’t stop him, even if we tried.”
Blood-Wraith turned his attention to Englehart. “Don’t even think about it, your majesty…”
“If this is truly what you desire, I have no right to say no. You have my blessing. Dunja, do you accept Sir Blood-Wraith’s challenge?”
She sighed empathetically. Sheathing her sword, Dunja got out of both of her whip blades. They banged on the ground with a loud crash as they were activated. “So be it, Blood-Wraith. I just want to warn you though-I’m not holding back, mark my words.”
Next: Chapter 15
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Master Post - Patreon
This time Blood-Wraith stayed for the feast. He felt obligated to do so considering it was his mission that found Rose and Thora. Things would have been perfect had Dunja not been a concern. Like it or not, he would have to drop everything if she appeared at the Iron City. It made the meal bitter sweet for him. Thankfully, realizing that Dunja was not the villain he thought she was did ease his anxiety a bit.
Everyone else was happy as clams as they ate and chatted with each other. Sigmund and Thora were the exception, as they could sense Blood-Wraith’s unease. There was not much they could do for him outside of reassurances. Still, he managed to put on a smile when talked to. Sigmund felt sorry for Blood-Wraith as the boy had a lot weighing on him. It actually would have been ideal if Dunja had showed up, because then the chief could have defused some of the tension.
Later on while everyone played music and danced, Blood-Wraith spotted a hooded figure in the distance. They gave him a weird feeling, like he had seen them before. He also wondered if they were hungry since they were clearly watching the village. Quietly, Blood-Wraith went over to the leftover food and grabbed whatever he could. After filling a mug with mead, he set out for the strange person. Hopefully they would not run away… Blood-Wraith was full and not old enough to drink yet.
“Um, hey there, stranger. Want something to eat?” Blood-Wraith asked as he approached.
The stranger was startled, being woken from a nap. “What!? Who’s there? Oh… uh, for me?” Notably they had a female voice that was clearly pitched shifted, as if to hide her identity.
“Yes, I already ate. I spotted you in the distance and figured you were probably hungry.”
She took the food with slight hesitation. “Really? Sharp eye… Thank you.” Oddly the stranger did not put her hood down.
“So, um… are you from the forest?”
“No, I just visit here to clear my head,” she answered as she took a bite of the seasoned vegetables. It was hard to notice, but she did lick her lips, clearly enjoying the food. “Thank you for making it stay still, the forest I mean. It was quite the task to track it down every time…”
“You know I had a hand in that?”
The stranger took a sip of her drink. “Of course I do, Blood-Wraith… I mean, everyone knows that at this point.”
“Wait, how do you know my name?”
“Word gets around easily where I’m from.”
Blood-Wraith studied the stranger. It was hard to tell who she was as magic seemed to be obscuring her identity under the cloak and hood. “Mind if I get something off my chest?”
“Go ahead. I have my own share of woes after all…”
He knew he had to choose his words carefully as something was off about this stranger. “I feel icky as of late. I was hoping things would settle down after defeating The Lich of Old. I wanted time to grieve the loss of my friend, but it’s been one thing after another…”
“Oh… I’m sorry for your loss. Mind if I ask who it was?”
“It was Leif, The Dragon of Old.”
The stranger felt her heart ache. “How… how did he die?”
Blood-Wraith gave a faint smile. “He passed away on his own terms after we won. It was inevitable as he needed to reincarnate.”
That was somewhat of a relief, but the stranger still felt responsible. “He’s smiling upon you, Blood-Wraith. I can feel it.”
“You can? Well, thank you. I wish I had something more happy to talk about…”
“You brought Rose and Thora home, didn’t you?”
“Huh, yeah, I did… Stranger, what are your woes? You said you had some, didn’t you?”
She sighed. “Yeah… just the usual of not realizing how good you had it, getting duped by a filthy rat, and realizing your legacy is tarnished beyond fixing…”
“Can’t tarnished and rusted metal be restored?” Blood-Wraith questioned.
The stranger stared at Blood-Wraith for a moment, confused by his query. “Well yes, but that doesn’t change the fact that it happened. You have to remove that layer, weakening the tool as a whole.”
“Okay… but we can always repair the tool with alchemy. Why throw away stuff you can easily fix?”
The stranger paused in disbelief. “You’re optimistic, you know that right?”
“Uh…”
“You can’t fix everything with Alchemy, Blood-Wraith. Some things are just too far gone…”
Blood-Wraith was weirded out, but not about to give up. “Alchemy doesn’t just apply to the physical, it also applies to the spiritual. That’s something I’ve read in my research. We are all Light, we all have Pneuma, and we are all God… I think. Aureolus is a bit different in that regard… argh, my point is that we can all change and improve ourselves, regardless of what we’ve done in life. So yes, you can be fixed with alchemy, mark my words!”
Truth be told, the stranger was on the verge of throwing her hood off so she could look him dead in the eye. She stood up… but then composed herself and sat back down with a sigh and finished her food. “Okay then, let me give you some advice…” The stranger had forgotten to shift her voice at this point. “One; If a slimy rat smells like a slimy rat, they are probably a slimy rat. Know a red flag when you see one…”
“Noted…”
“Two: If anyone ever tells you that you need to betray your family because of your bloodline or heritage, deck them right in the face and spit on them…”
“A little violent, but sure…”
“And three! If your most trusted officer betrays you and joins the other side, think long and hard about why she did that.”
“Right… wait, she? Who… who are you, stranger?”
The stranger took one last sip of her drink and set the empty mug down. “Blood, tomorrow I have to face my fate head on. I don’t think that the cards are in my favor, but you… you’ve given me the courage to face it head on.” She stood up, looking confident. “My coffin is waiting for me and I’ll get in it with my head held high and chin up.”
“Stranger?” Blood-Wraith also stood up.
“Can you do me a favor?”
He nodded. “Sure, what is it?”
The stranger held out her hand and presented him a lilac-colored flame. “Take this and remember me. I have no right to ask this of you, but it would be an honor if you did.”
Blood-Wraith hesitated a little, but accepted the gift. This fragment felt different, however. “What’s your name, stran…ger…” She had vanished. Before he could rationalize what had just happened, he felt his head go light and collapsed to the forest floor.
His dream that night was a wild one. Blood-Wraith was in the form of Indigo Wolf, running with a large pack of wolves. They were in a hurry as they dashed through brush and leapt over streams. Eventually everyone came to a stop by a gentle river, needing to rest and catch their breath. Blood-Wraith was lapping up some water when he noticed an older wolf off by the trees. He went over to her, but then she magically ended up further away. Blood-Wraith went over to her again and the same thing happened. This went on for a while until the two came to a perilous cliff.
The old wolf gazed off into the horizon. Blood-Wraith tried to get her attention, but to no avail. He had a sinking feeling that the wolf was going to jump. His fears were confirmed when she backed up and ran for it. She leapt into the abyss, yearning for the plunge into darkness that ensued… except, something had caught her. It was Blood-Wraith, who had her tail in his mouth, desperately trying to pull her up. The old wolf barked in frustration at him, but he refused to let go. Just about as his grip was about to let go, he heard someone call his name.
“Blood-Wraith!”
He could feel his grasp on the dream realm slipping and panicked. With a mighty surge of strength, he flung the old wolf to safety. He then woke up. “DUNJA!” he shouted.
Sigmund was startled by this. “Blood, is everything alright my boy? You slept out here all night…”
Blood-Wraith was starting to hyperventilate as embers began to dance around him, so Thora knelt down beside him. “Hey, easy kiddo. It’s going to be alright…”
“Argh! No, it’s not!” He got up and looked around frantically.
“Blood, tell us what’s wrong...” Sigmund was very worried at this point.
“I know who the stranger is! SHE’S ABOUT TO DIE!”
Sigmund quickly realized what was going on. “Well are you just going to sit by and let it happen!?”
“NO!” Blood-Wraith growled through gritted teeth as he stared in the direction of the Iron City. “NOT AGAIN!” In a burst of energy, he became Indigo Wolf, but this time it was 10 feet tall and engulfed in an aura lilac flame. He howled as loud as he could, startling all of the animals in the vicinity.
“GO! RUN LIKE THE WIND, BLOOD-WRAITH! DESTINY AWAITS YOU!” Sigmund proclaimed with utmost fervor in his voice.
Blood-Wraith roared and took off like a speeding bullet. The forest parted the trees as he thundered through it, shaking the ground as he ran. Nothing could stop him at this point. His heart thumped like an earthquake and his blood surged violently like rapids through his veins. He needed to go faster. Forcing his body to speed up, he rapidly approached the Iron City. The citizens ran for cover as what could be best described as a giant fireball came rushing through the city streets.
Dunja walked to the city square in plain view of everyone. Their voices were hushed as they watched her. The Singing Storm Tower loomed over the former queen, but she was not going to back down. “Englehart!”
The king stepped out into the square, followed by his royal court. “Dunja. Is it finally the fateful day?”
“Yes, my king. Today we settle this once and for all. I stand to lose everything, but I’m not going down without a fight!”
“Well said, my queen. In truth, you have not lost everything; You still have your spirit and no one can take that from you. I must confess that I have dreaded this duel for a long time… but I’d be a coward unfit to be a court jester if I had run from this. I shall give it my all too…”
As everyone else backed up, The two drew their swords. These were the same ones that they were sworn to the throne with. Dunja carried a sterling silver sword with fire regalia and Englehart had a majestic black sword with ice regalia. Before they could begin, however, something got in their way. A giant wolf landed in between them and howled as loud as it could once again. The haunting, yet triumphant vocalization sent chills down everyone’s spine, even Englehart and Dunja. The wolf then burst into a storm of flame only to reveal Blood-Wraith. He stood tall and firm, looking directly at Dunja.
“DUNJA! FIGHT ME!”
“Blood-Wraith!? What? No! This needs to be between me and…”
He cut her off. “If you win, I’ll stand aside. If I win, this stops here and now! You have my word.”
“Blood…”
“Dunja, I was serious about what I said in the forest! I can fix you. We can fix you. You can fix you! I’m not going to stand by and let another friend die all because they said they have to!”
It was at this point when Radovan stepped forward, followed by Rose. “BLOOD-WRAITH, What the Hell are you doing!?” Radovan called out. “Get over here, where it’s safe! This is not your fight, nor your burden to bear!”
“Well too bad, father, because I’m making this my fight!”
“Blood-Wraith Raynot!” Rose exclaimed. “What in the Source has gotten into you!?”
He growled with impatient fury in his voice. “DAMN IT! Both of you get back to the crowd and make sure everyone's kept safe! NOW!”
The duke and duchess were taken aback by this. Radovan was about to go and grab Blood-Wraith when Dragoslava went up and stopped him. She gestured for her parents to follow her back to the others. Blood-Wraith glared at him, with Radovan’s expression turning from confusion to acceptance. The boy had set his mind to this and there was no stopping him at this point. Was it any wonder how he was able to face The Lich of Old? In truth it reminded the duke of his youth.
“I know that attitude of his all too well,” Dragoslava pointed out with a chuckle. “We can’t stop him, even if we tried.”
Blood-Wraith turned his attention to Englehart. “Don’t even think about it, your majesty…”
“If this is truly what you desire, I have no right to say no. You have my blessing. Dunja, do you accept Sir Blood-Wraith’s challenge?”
She sighed empathetically. Sheathing her sword, Dunja got out of both of her whip blades. They banged on the ground with a loud crash as they were activated. “So be it, Blood-Wraith. I just want to warn you though-I’m not holding back, mark my words.”
Next: Chapter 15
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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