ULTRAMagic Interlude - Chapter 6
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Brenna was waiting patiently by her truck for Blood-Wraith. She had woken up early that day to get everything set for the journey. “There you are. Ready to go?”
Blood-Wraith took a second to catch his breath as he leaned on Voidborne. “Yup, I just had to say bye to everyone. Vex is looking after the house, Kresimira is worried for me, and I’m concerned about Desislav…”
She nodded. “Yeah, poor guy has a lot on his mind. I wouldn’t worry too much though. Drago will take care of him.”
“Wait for me!” Auda called out as she ran up. “I’m all ready to go, Brenna, Ma’am!”
Brenna laughed. “Good to hear. Now let’s get moving.”
“Hey, Auda,” Blood-Wraith said as he accepted a hug from her. “Did Sigmund and Tusk change their minds?” he asked as he climbed up into the truck.
“Hehe, nope. I snuck out. Now let’s go before my parents show up.” She quickly shut the door and sat down.
“You sneaky little rogue, you” Brenna remarked. “I figured that was the case.” She started the engine, the truck roaring to life. “What’s in the backpack?” She asked as she began driving.
Auda brought her pack to her legs. “Oh, just some stuff. I brought with me a compass, a first-aid kit, some snacks, water, some tools, books, a blanket, and a light crystal. Also this special stone that can take me back to the forest in case something bad happens.”
“Hum, should I have brought a little more myself?” Blood-Wraith wondered.
As the truck pulled away into the horizon, Tusk rushed with Auda’s parents to The Singing Storm Tower. They were too late. Englehart recognized their plight and assured them that Brenna would make sure Auda came home safe and sound. Auda’s mother, Cordelia, was beside herself in worry and was nearly hyperventilating. Skari, Auda’s father, took the opportunity to ask about Blood-Wraith and the others. The King was more than happy to answer whatever questions the two had and he was certain to profess the skills and merits of Blood-Wraith and Brenna. Keeping Auda’s parents calm was the least he could do.
Riding in Brenna’s truck was interesting as it was a lot bumpier than Blood-Wraith initially thought it would be. Auda was thrilled to see all the sights pass by them. She knew the Unlight was big, but she had no idea it was that big. They reached the Northern Living Ocean and Proteus raised the highway once again. Midway through, he stopped them for a quick chat. He was happy to see Blood-Wraith again and was dying to properly meet Brenna. Once everyone had stretched their legs, they were back on the road again.
The truck made its way into the Deep Unlight and carried on without a problem. Blood-Wraith looked out the window and could see a giant woman in the distance, waving at them. He waved back as she felt incredibly familiar. After some more traveling and Auda getting bored, they finally arrived at their destination. Stepping out of the truck, they beheld the Magician’s Labyrinth. It was an incomprehensibly large structure that looked like an ever shifting amalgamation of towers and fortresses. An imposing, great wall surrounded it as it gave off a truly foreboding feeling. Everyone was a little nervous and hesitant to move forward, as they knew they were facing the epitome of uncertainty and danger.
While Brenna looked for an entrance, Blood-Wraith took the opportunity to explore the area real quickly. There was not much aside from the dusty rocks, but then he spotted something that caught him off guard. “No way, Val!?”
A sullen angel in dark armor was sitting there, slouching on a large rock. Long, silver hair was flowing in the wind as she sighed, waiting for time to crawl on. Her spirits were dull and sullen, but her heart skipped a beat when she heard a familiar voice. “Blood-Wraith?”
“Val! Hey Val! It’s been a while!” Blood-Wraith exclaimed as he ran over to her. He tried to hug her, but the armor was getting in the way.
“Blood, it’s been so long…”
Brenna and Auda came by, searching for the boy. “Hey Blood!?” Brenna called out. “Where are you? I think I found an entrance! Ah, there you are… Who’s this?”
“Brenna, Auda, this is Valentina. She’s the dark angel who gave me my one Alchemy book. Unfortunately she had to go fight the good fight a couple of weeks ago…”
“Um, Blood?” Valentina interrupted. “About that…”
“Yes? What’s up, Val?”
Valentina’s armor turned into nun-esque robes, allowing her to hug Blood-Wraith tightly. “Blood, I was so worried about you, Drago, and the others!” It seemed like she was about to cry.
“Val, what’s going on?”
She set him down gently, almost like she had found a long lost son and did not want to let him go. “I’m sorry, it’s just that it’s been roughly twenty years since I last came here.”
This took a second for Blood-Wraith to process. “Wait…what? But… but… I literally saw you right before the battle with the Lich!”
Brenna realized the boy’s confusion and stepped in to clarify. “It’s alright, Blood. I don’t know if this has been explained to you yet, but… hum, how do I explain this… you know how wonky time is when you go out exploring? Despite us experiencing time, the Cosmos itself is timeless. That technically applies to the Unlight. Now other realms have their own time, leading to a phenomenon we call ‘time desync.’ Someone outside the Unlight could visit and come back ten years later, but for us it’d be like they were only gone for ten minutes.”
“Oh my goodness… So uh, how did things go on your end, Val?” Blood-Wraith nervously asked.
Valentina sighed as her armor came back. “We won, but it took longer than I thought it would. It left me with a lot of thoughts and feelings, which would result in me leaving Heaven…”
Blood-Wraith gasped in shock. “You weren’t kicked out, were you?!”
“Oh no no no! Don’t worry, sweetie, I left of my own accord. I just felt that I needed to broaden my horizons. Things have definitely been interesting since then. And I have been keeping up with Achasiah, don’t you worry.”
“Okay, that’s a relief…” Blood-Wraith felt a wad of guilt form in his stomach. “I wish I could have been there for you.”
“Dear, as much I appreciate that, The Unlight needed you more than I did. You did way more for the Cosmos than I did in that stupid war…”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
Blood-Wraith then indicated he wanted to give her another hug, so she quickly switched back to her robes. “Tell me next time, alright?”
“Sure thing, Blood.” The dark angel then looked at the labyrinth. “Say, Blood, What are you doing out here, if you don’t mind me asking? It’s pretty dangerous… although I suppose danger might as well be your middle name at this point,” she commented with a giggle.
Brenna cleared her throat and puffed out her chest a little. “Now that’s official Iron City Royal Guard business, your eminence… but you’re Blood’s friend, so I don’t mind divulging: We’re here to find Duchess Rose Raynot and Thora Willfort.”
“Yeah, Grandma is close by!” Auda cut in. “I can kind of sense it.”
Valentina stepped over to her. “Auda, was it? My goodness, you have such beautiful hair…”
Auda giggled. “Thank you! My mom says I get it from my grandparents.”
“She’s Tusk’s niece, Val,” Blood-Wraith pointed out.
“How wonderful. Now children, the Labyrinth is not to be taken lightly. Would you perhaps happen to have room for one more in your group?”
Blood-Wraith got excited. “Absolutely! I mean… Brenna? What do you say?”
“Sure. She seems capable enough… I just need to figure out the entrance I found though. I have no idea what I’m dealing with.”
“Well that’s not good,” Valentina noted. “Here, show me where it is and I’ll see what I can do.”
Brenna brought her to a glass-panel-like door. It resembled the stained glass of a cathedral and was quite beautiful. Valentina thought for a second with a couple of ideas floating around her mind. The idea she settled on was simple: song. There were no words, but Valentina created the most melodic sounds from her throat. The door sang back, with the resulting harmonization nearly bringing a tear to everyone else’s eyes over how amazing it was. Upon the song’s conclusion, the door opened and a pathway extended to the group. With renewed vigor, the group entered and began their quest.
Things were not so easy-going for Dragoslava back at the Iron City. Desislav had offered to make the two lunches, but it was taking longer than expected. At first she figured her boyfriend was just experimenting. This was called into question when pots and pans began banging around. Then came the profanities. Dragoslava was about to get up, but hesitated. What if she made things worse? After a particularly loud crash, she decided it was time to intervene.
“Desislav! What’s going on?”
“Drago… I just… It’s just…” He stumbled over his words, then growled. “THIS STUPID RECIPE WON’T WORK! GOD, I CAN’T DO ANYTHING RIGHT, CAN I?!”
“Okay, easy, easy. What are you trying to make?” She noticed ingredients were torn up and strewn about the countertop.
He grumbled. “I just wanted to make you a vegetable dish that my mom used to make AND I CAN’T MAKE IT WORK!”
“Hey, it’s alright. It’s no big deal, we’ll just have something else…”
“Something else? SOMETHING ELSE?!”
“Yes?”
“NO!! I HAVE TO GET THIS RIGHT! WHAT GOOD AM I IF I CAN’T EVEN COOK DAMN VEGETABLES!?” Desislav chucked a pot out of a window.
Dragoslava was shaken up from that, but took a deep breath. “Why are you acting like this? What’s gotten into you?”
“EVERYTHING!!!” He paused. “I… I’m sorry…”
Truth be told, Dragoslava was on the verge of tears. She could not back down though, as she knew something great was bothering him. “Damn it, Desislav! If this is about the Metal Oasis, you need to stop beating yourself up over that!”
“And why should I?! I failed you and I failed Blood…”
“No you didn’t! We were legitimately outplayed by the Lich!”
“WE NEARLY DIED!” He shouted.
“SO WHAT!?!” She screamed back. “Shit happens! Why are you dwelling on this!? We almost died, big whoop! We train and get stronger!”
“WE DID THAT! AND THEN EKATERINA NEARLY BESTED US! I HAD TO CHEAT TO SAVE YOU! I’M A USELESS, GOOD FOR NOTHING, SON OF A BITCH!!”
Dragoslava had an idea where he was getting this toxic mindset from. “I overheard you a couple of days ago! If this is about your loser father, stop it! Ignore people like him! He’s just jealous of what you achieved…”
This was interrupted by Desislav roaring as loud as he could and smashing the kitchen countertop, utterly destroying it. He then broke down into tears and dropped to the floor. Dragoslava immediately went to his side and hugged him. This allowed him to eventually calm down, even though he was still upset. Desislav was confused by his girlfriend’s actions. Dragoslava was right there, bearing the brunt of his turmoil. Why? It was not her burden. All of this was his problem that he did not have an answer for… or at least, not one that he was satisfied with.
“Why are you still here?” Desislav asked. “After all that?”
“Because I’m here for you. I am here for you no matter what. I’m not going to abandon you like that. I’m Dragoslava the Indomitable after all!”
Desislav gave a weak chuckle. “Even in the face of my nonsense?”
“Hey, HEY! It’s not nonsense, alright?” Dragoslava wiped a tear from her cheek, then his. “Look, back when I was a girl, my dad would have moments when he’d break down and cry. It hurt to see him like that, but then mom would always be there for him. I didn’t fully realize it back then, but when you love someone, you have to be there for them. You need to let them know things will be alright. I didn’t want to see dad hurt and I'm not about to let you hurt.”
Desislav smiled and hugged Dragoslava back. “Thank you, Drago. It still hurts though…”
“Yeah, that tends to happen. I still haven’t gotten over Ethor’s death…”
Something weird came over Desislav… “Dragy, you need to let it go… oh my, where did that come from?”
“Dragy? How did you…” It was bizarre as that was Ethor’s nickname for her, but then she had an idea. “Hey, if you still feel weak, let’s train you to be an ULTRAMagic mage!”
“Jeez, I don’t know, Drago…”
“Shut up and take my fragment, goat boy!” Desislav laughed as Dragoslava produced a blue flame that flew into his chest. This made him feel a lot better.
Next: Chapter 7
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Master Post - Patreon
Brenna was waiting patiently by her truck for Blood-Wraith. She had woken up early that day to get everything set for the journey. “There you are. Ready to go?”
Blood-Wraith took a second to catch his breath as he leaned on Voidborne. “Yup, I just had to say bye to everyone. Vex is looking after the house, Kresimira is worried for me, and I’m concerned about Desislav…”
She nodded. “Yeah, poor guy has a lot on his mind. I wouldn’t worry too much though. Drago will take care of him.”
“Wait for me!” Auda called out as she ran up. “I’m all ready to go, Brenna, Ma’am!”
Brenna laughed. “Good to hear. Now let’s get moving.”
“Hey, Auda,” Blood-Wraith said as he accepted a hug from her. “Did Sigmund and Tusk change their minds?” he asked as he climbed up into the truck.
“Hehe, nope. I snuck out. Now let’s go before my parents show up.” She quickly shut the door and sat down.
“You sneaky little rogue, you” Brenna remarked. “I figured that was the case.” She started the engine, the truck roaring to life. “What’s in the backpack?” She asked as she began driving.
Auda brought her pack to her legs. “Oh, just some stuff. I brought with me a compass, a first-aid kit, some snacks, water, some tools, books, a blanket, and a light crystal. Also this special stone that can take me back to the forest in case something bad happens.”
“Hum, should I have brought a little more myself?” Blood-Wraith wondered.
As the truck pulled away into the horizon, Tusk rushed with Auda’s parents to The Singing Storm Tower. They were too late. Englehart recognized their plight and assured them that Brenna would make sure Auda came home safe and sound. Auda’s mother, Cordelia, was beside herself in worry and was nearly hyperventilating. Skari, Auda’s father, took the opportunity to ask about Blood-Wraith and the others. The King was more than happy to answer whatever questions the two had and he was certain to profess the skills and merits of Blood-Wraith and Brenna. Keeping Auda’s parents calm was the least he could do.
Riding in Brenna’s truck was interesting as it was a lot bumpier than Blood-Wraith initially thought it would be. Auda was thrilled to see all the sights pass by them. She knew the Unlight was big, but she had no idea it was that big. They reached the Northern Living Ocean and Proteus raised the highway once again. Midway through, he stopped them for a quick chat. He was happy to see Blood-Wraith again and was dying to properly meet Brenna. Once everyone had stretched their legs, they were back on the road again.
The truck made its way into the Deep Unlight and carried on without a problem. Blood-Wraith looked out the window and could see a giant woman in the distance, waving at them. He waved back as she felt incredibly familiar. After some more traveling and Auda getting bored, they finally arrived at their destination. Stepping out of the truck, they beheld the Magician’s Labyrinth. It was an incomprehensibly large structure that looked like an ever shifting amalgamation of towers and fortresses. An imposing, great wall surrounded it as it gave off a truly foreboding feeling. Everyone was a little nervous and hesitant to move forward, as they knew they were facing the epitome of uncertainty and danger.
While Brenna looked for an entrance, Blood-Wraith took the opportunity to explore the area real quickly. There was not much aside from the dusty rocks, but then he spotted something that caught him off guard. “No way, Val!?”
A sullen angel in dark armor was sitting there, slouching on a large rock. Long, silver hair was flowing in the wind as she sighed, waiting for time to crawl on. Her spirits were dull and sullen, but her heart skipped a beat when she heard a familiar voice. “Blood-Wraith?”
“Val! Hey Val! It’s been a while!” Blood-Wraith exclaimed as he ran over to her. He tried to hug her, but the armor was getting in the way.
“Blood, it’s been so long…”
Brenna and Auda came by, searching for the boy. “Hey Blood!?” Brenna called out. “Where are you? I think I found an entrance! Ah, there you are… Who’s this?”
“Brenna, Auda, this is Valentina. She’s the dark angel who gave me my one Alchemy book. Unfortunately she had to go fight the good fight a couple of weeks ago…”
“Um, Blood?” Valentina interrupted. “About that…”
“Yes? What’s up, Val?”
Valentina’s armor turned into nun-esque robes, allowing her to hug Blood-Wraith tightly. “Blood, I was so worried about you, Drago, and the others!” It seemed like she was about to cry.
“Val, what’s going on?”
She set him down gently, almost like she had found a long lost son and did not want to let him go. “I’m sorry, it’s just that it’s been roughly twenty years since I last came here.”
This took a second for Blood-Wraith to process. “Wait…what? But… but… I literally saw you right before the battle with the Lich!”
Brenna realized the boy’s confusion and stepped in to clarify. “It’s alright, Blood. I don’t know if this has been explained to you yet, but… hum, how do I explain this… you know how wonky time is when you go out exploring? Despite us experiencing time, the Cosmos itself is timeless. That technically applies to the Unlight. Now other realms have their own time, leading to a phenomenon we call ‘time desync.’ Someone outside the Unlight could visit and come back ten years later, but for us it’d be like they were only gone for ten minutes.”
“Oh my goodness… So uh, how did things go on your end, Val?” Blood-Wraith nervously asked.
Valentina sighed as her armor came back. “We won, but it took longer than I thought it would. It left me with a lot of thoughts and feelings, which would result in me leaving Heaven…”
Blood-Wraith gasped in shock. “You weren’t kicked out, were you?!”
“Oh no no no! Don’t worry, sweetie, I left of my own accord. I just felt that I needed to broaden my horizons. Things have definitely been interesting since then. And I have been keeping up with Achasiah, don’t you worry.”
“Okay, that’s a relief…” Blood-Wraith felt a wad of guilt form in his stomach. “I wish I could have been there for you.”
“Dear, as much I appreciate that, The Unlight needed you more than I did. You did way more for the Cosmos than I did in that stupid war…”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
Blood-Wraith then indicated he wanted to give her another hug, so she quickly switched back to her robes. “Tell me next time, alright?”
“Sure thing, Blood.” The dark angel then looked at the labyrinth. “Say, Blood, What are you doing out here, if you don’t mind me asking? It’s pretty dangerous… although I suppose danger might as well be your middle name at this point,” she commented with a giggle.
Brenna cleared her throat and puffed out her chest a little. “Now that’s official Iron City Royal Guard business, your eminence… but you’re Blood’s friend, so I don’t mind divulging: We’re here to find Duchess Rose Raynot and Thora Willfort.”
“Yeah, Grandma is close by!” Auda cut in. “I can kind of sense it.”
Valentina stepped over to her. “Auda, was it? My goodness, you have such beautiful hair…”
Auda giggled. “Thank you! My mom says I get it from my grandparents.”
“She’s Tusk’s niece, Val,” Blood-Wraith pointed out.
“How wonderful. Now children, the Labyrinth is not to be taken lightly. Would you perhaps happen to have room for one more in your group?”
Blood-Wraith got excited. “Absolutely! I mean… Brenna? What do you say?”
“Sure. She seems capable enough… I just need to figure out the entrance I found though. I have no idea what I’m dealing with.”
“Well that’s not good,” Valentina noted. “Here, show me where it is and I’ll see what I can do.”
Brenna brought her to a glass-panel-like door. It resembled the stained glass of a cathedral and was quite beautiful. Valentina thought for a second with a couple of ideas floating around her mind. The idea she settled on was simple: song. There were no words, but Valentina created the most melodic sounds from her throat. The door sang back, with the resulting harmonization nearly bringing a tear to everyone else’s eyes over how amazing it was. Upon the song’s conclusion, the door opened and a pathway extended to the group. With renewed vigor, the group entered and began their quest.
Things were not so easy-going for Dragoslava back at the Iron City. Desislav had offered to make the two lunches, but it was taking longer than expected. At first she figured her boyfriend was just experimenting. This was called into question when pots and pans began banging around. Then came the profanities. Dragoslava was about to get up, but hesitated. What if she made things worse? After a particularly loud crash, she decided it was time to intervene.
“Desislav! What’s going on?”
“Drago… I just… It’s just…” He stumbled over his words, then growled. “THIS STUPID RECIPE WON’T WORK! GOD, I CAN’T DO ANYTHING RIGHT, CAN I?!”
“Okay, easy, easy. What are you trying to make?” She noticed ingredients were torn up and strewn about the countertop.
He grumbled. “I just wanted to make you a vegetable dish that my mom used to make AND I CAN’T MAKE IT WORK!”
“Hey, it’s alright. It’s no big deal, we’ll just have something else…”
“Something else? SOMETHING ELSE?!”
“Yes?”
“NO!! I HAVE TO GET THIS RIGHT! WHAT GOOD AM I IF I CAN’T EVEN COOK DAMN VEGETABLES!?” Desislav chucked a pot out of a window.
Dragoslava was shaken up from that, but took a deep breath. “Why are you acting like this? What’s gotten into you?”
“EVERYTHING!!!” He paused. “I… I’m sorry…”
Truth be told, Dragoslava was on the verge of tears. She could not back down though, as she knew something great was bothering him. “Damn it, Desislav! If this is about the Metal Oasis, you need to stop beating yourself up over that!”
“And why should I?! I failed you and I failed Blood…”
“No you didn’t! We were legitimately outplayed by the Lich!”
“WE NEARLY DIED!” He shouted.
“SO WHAT!?!” She screamed back. “Shit happens! Why are you dwelling on this!? We almost died, big whoop! We train and get stronger!”
“WE DID THAT! AND THEN EKATERINA NEARLY BESTED US! I HAD TO CHEAT TO SAVE YOU! I’M A USELESS, GOOD FOR NOTHING, SON OF A BITCH!!”
Dragoslava had an idea where he was getting this toxic mindset from. “I overheard you a couple of days ago! If this is about your loser father, stop it! Ignore people like him! He’s just jealous of what you achieved…”
This was interrupted by Desislav roaring as loud as he could and smashing the kitchen countertop, utterly destroying it. He then broke down into tears and dropped to the floor. Dragoslava immediately went to his side and hugged him. This allowed him to eventually calm down, even though he was still upset. Desislav was confused by his girlfriend’s actions. Dragoslava was right there, bearing the brunt of his turmoil. Why? It was not her burden. All of this was his problem that he did not have an answer for… or at least, not one that he was satisfied with.
“Why are you still here?” Desislav asked. “After all that?”
“Because I’m here for you. I am here for you no matter what. I’m not going to abandon you like that. I’m Dragoslava the Indomitable after all!”
Desislav gave a weak chuckle. “Even in the face of my nonsense?”
“Hey, HEY! It’s not nonsense, alright?” Dragoslava wiped a tear from her cheek, then his. “Look, back when I was a girl, my dad would have moments when he’d break down and cry. It hurt to see him like that, but then mom would always be there for him. I didn’t fully realize it back then, but when you love someone, you have to be there for them. You need to let them know things will be alright. I didn’t want to see dad hurt and I'm not about to let you hurt.”
Desislav smiled and hugged Dragoslava back. “Thank you, Drago. It still hurts though…”
“Yeah, that tends to happen. I still haven’t gotten over Ethor’s death…”
Something weird came over Desislav… “Dragy, you need to let it go… oh my, where did that come from?”
“Dragy? How did you…” It was bizarre as that was Ethor’s nickname for her, but then she had an idea. “Hey, if you still feel weak, let’s train you to be an ULTRAMagic mage!”
“Jeez, I don’t know, Drago…”
“Shut up and take my fragment, goat boy!” Desislav laughed as Dragoslava produced a blue flame that flew into his chest. This made him feel a lot better.
Next: Chapter 7
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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