ULTRAMagic Shadowland - Chapter 15
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Andelin continued to play her games over the next couple of days. While Gratiana and Gummi kept the cult distracted, Barna and the others continued to move forward with their plans. The repeated challenges were bothersome, but admittedly offered a reprieve from the tedium of covertly transporting explosives. Aureolus definitely enjoyed them. He was having so much fun that Barna put him in charge of solving them. At the moment he was chasing around a cloud of darkness, trying to catch it. As Dunja and Turi watched, they had a feeling something was very familiar.
“You know, Turi? I’m pretty sure that’s Weaver over there…” The Owl gave a hoot in agreement.
“Hey, Dunja!” Torunn called out as she approached. “How goes Andelin’s tomfoolery?”
“Hey, Torunn. Things seem to be alright. Nothing too out of the ordinary has occurred.” Turi walked across the table to Torunn as she sat down.
“Turi, back so soon? Is everything alright in The Iron City?”
Dunja handed her a letter she had already read. “I guess so. The only thing of importance here is that I apparently need to send Turi back there at you know when.”
Torunn nodded as she put the paper back into the envelope. “Bizarre… Well, good news on my end: We got the last handful of cult compounds under control. The Church is still an outlier, obviously. And as for 10 and Lambda, those are being heavily guarded.”
“Makes sense, given that those held most of Milosh’s pet projects…”
“That and whatever that hellspawn Gudrun is working on…”
Dunja shuddered. “The sooner we get rid of the cult, the better.”
Aureolus meanwhile was on the verge of catching the cloud. Using his void magic, he created an illusion of himself to trick the cloud into moving where he needed. Once its guard was down, Aureolus sprung into action and tagged it. “HA! Got you!”
“Good job, Aureolus. Here you go…” It handed him another special card, but left its hand out a little too long.
“Hey, wait a second. That skin color…”
“Whoops! Um, Gotta go! See you all later!” The Cloud exclaimed as it scurried off.
Aureolus checked the card, then looked over to Dunja. “That was Weaver, wasn’t it?”
She silently nodded. “I’ve fought him enough times to know his methods all too well.”
“Aunt Dunja, If I were to fight him, how would I do that?” Aureolus asked as he sat down next to her. “Just as a hypothetical. Also hey, Torunn.”
Dunja went through her memories, trying to figure out some good advice. “Well, he’s a very in your face kind of fighter. While incredibly fierce, he can only focus on one opponent at a time in the heat of the moment. Of course I rarely fought him alone…”
“Proving he doesn’t do well alone and needs to work on that” Torunn added. “We’re both technically outsiders, hailing from the same timeline. I remember he always had a hard time fitting in due to being awkward around the others. Personally I think his brain was born different, which unfortunately led to his people generally disliking them. It sucks too because he has an amazing work ethic with his blacksmithing. A little too well in certain instances, but I’m not complaining. The kid did a fantastic job on my current hammer.”
Aureolus thought for a second. “So I take it this contributed to him being captured that one time, right, Aunt Dunja?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I hate to say it, but me and Andelin did take advantage of him by going after him while he was alone.”
Torunn chuckled, but it sounded a bit regretful. “I remember that day all too well. I had gotten on his case about being too reliant on us, so he went overboard and decided to go off on his own. In hindsight, I should’ve recognized that he was tense leading up to that and that was his mental breakdown…”
“Oh my, is he doing better now?” Aureolus inquired.
Torunn nodded. “Yeah, I’d say so. What better way to get someone to change than conflict? It’s not how I should have handled it, but it did get him to be more open with his thoughts and feelings.”
Dunja sighed and got up. “I really do need to make it up to him someday…”
“Aren’t you doing that now by helping us out?” Torunn put forth.
“Well, yeah… but I still feel bad.”
Aureolus gave his aunt a reassuring hug and began walking. The three had to go inform Barna on what had happened. As they made their way back to the mansion, Aureolus quickly realized something: He was lost. One minute he was with his aunt and the next he was alone. Making things worse was that he was seemingly trapped inside a… giant balloon? It took the form of a tent that had no exit. Pushing a hand on the wall did nothing as it kept stretching and stretching. Sticking his leg into it did no good either. Seeing that he was not getting anywhere, Aureolus decided to try going inward.
Traversing the tent was an odd experience. It was made of what felt like rubber and another material that was hard, smooth, and shiny. The lighting was dim and there were many obstacles in the way. Aureolus found himself crawling, jumping, and climbing all over the place. After one last crawl through a tight tube, he found himself in a hall of mirrors. Making his way out further led him to a hallway with a lit room at the end. Faint music could be heard and the smell of freshly baked cookies wafted in the air. It was incredibly strange given that the tent was seemingly empty.
The room in question was a lounge, albeit with inflatable furniture. Over on a couch was a woman in a black and red suit, waiting patiently. “Aureolus! There you are. Here, have a seat with me.”
“You’re Andelin, I presume?” He was a little nervous, but the plate of cookies over on the coffee table (or what constituted as a coffee table) was too enticing.
“That would be I: Andelin the Doom, Andelin the Cursed Child, Andelin of the Gold Blood; Andelin Sylvia Lillemor Lindbek, betrothed to Teunis Van Hautum, also of gold blood… Go ahead, I made them for you.”
Aureolus sat down, taking a cookie. It was chocolate chip. “So… Do you know where Weaver and Gabriella are?”
She got out the cards in question. “They’re right here. Of course, you’ll have to best me in a duel to get them…”
“We’re pretty sure they’ve been working with you.”
Andelin had a grin with subtle smugness and silently laughed. “Okay, fine; We’ve been working together. I had a feeling you guys were on to us. Weaver’s too proud to alter his tactics so he doesn't get found out…” This warranted a groan from him, muffled by the card.
“I take it they’re alright then?”
She nodded. “Absolutely. I was never one to dirty my hands with fisticuffs…”
“Disregarding the fact that you locked us up in cages…” The angel quietly pointed out.
“Shh, that’s not important…” Andelin said as she shuffled them back into the deck.
Aureolus gave her a slightly judgmental look, then took another cookie. “So what is this place?”
“It’s my own personal realm, a home away from home. It’s a whimsical place where I can collect my thoughts and lollygag around.”
“A circus tent?”
She nodded again. “If I had my way, I’d find some people to live here so we could play and have fun all the time!”
“I see… Sounds like a bit of a hassle, but I suppose that could work… Argh, getting back on track: Mind if I ask who you are and where you’re from?”
Andelin chuckled. “Of course. I’d ask the same of you, but let’s be real, I already know who you are. Oh boy, where do I even begin?”
Starting with her background, Andelin explained that she was from the fallen kingdom of Feuerland. It was far to the north of Shadowland, tucked away in The Lost Mountains (well past The Roaring Mountains). The people of Feuerland were very superstitious, and Andelin’s birth did not help. She was deemed a cursed child because her blood was pure gold. Many saw this as a bad omen, a sign that the kingdom had become greedy and profane. The chaos her existence caused was immense, leading to Andelin either being worshiped as a god or condemned as a witch. It was not an ideal place to grow up in.
“That sounds awful. How did you cope with it all?” Aureolus wondered.
“I didn’t. I’m pretty sure all of that made me mad, HA!” After an awkward pause, she spoke again. “Fortunately a girl my age, from the noble family of Arlotti, convinced her parents to foster me. And that girl’s name was Gratiana.”
Aureolus was surprised by this. “Really? That’s so kind. Are you two still friends?”
“Of course we are! She kept me safe and I will always be indebted to her… and it’s a good thing that she finally came to her senses. I did not want to have to keep her in a card to prevent her from doing something foolish.”
“Oh… Wait a second! She’s on Aunt Dunja’s side now?”
“Our side, Aureolus. Everything is going topsy-turvy for Milosh because I turned my back on him.”
That was a lot to take in, so Aureolus took a second to pace and organize his thoughts. “Alright then… how do I trust you?”
“Simple; Delphine, The Discordant God of Desire. She asked me to take my coup and realign those efforts with Sten’s ambitions. And I can assure you that’s the honest truth as I would never lie on my master’s honor, nor would I lie to a fellow steward of the goddess.”
“You know about my meeting with her?”
Andelin had a smug grin. “Aureolus, dear, I know exactly what all of you have been doing these past two weeks.”
He smiled and nodded. “Right, forgot. My bad. So, before I ask the big question, can I ask why you joined Milosh? Also I’d like to know why your blood is gold specifically.”
Since Aureolus looked like he had had his fill, Andelin politely asked if she could have one of the cookies. “Oh wow, I did a good job on these… Ahem, I joined Milosh because I thought he could get me back on my feet and provide me with the arcane knowledge I desired. It was promising at first, given Dunja and The Lich… Up until they failed to produce any usable results and I quickly realized Milosh and The Lich were a pair blithering, imbecilic philistines. Fortunately Delphine eventually came along, giving me what I was looking for. From that point on I went through the motions up until Blood-Wraith was born. I won’t lie, Milosh was incredibly alluring back then too.”
“I see. So what about the gold blood?”
“I’m not sure. I could never get ahold of the holy texts that talked about it as they got burned in a fire… and not even Delphine is sure. What we do know is that it keeps me healthy and young. Plus it makes Alchemy very easy even though I rarely use it. This could all be connected to my past life for all we know…”
“A past life? What was that? Do you remember?”
“YES. I was a god!”
Aureolus was skeptical. “You were a god? A god from The Source?”
“Indeed! I was The Cheerful God… up until I got stripped of my honors and powers. Gee God, I’m sorry I wanted to make everyone happy! What better way to say you’re on the wrong side of history than to have The Hunger of Old, The God of Logic, and two whelp demigods thump your arse all the way back to The Ennead!!” She ranted, gritting her teeth.
Aureolus was taken aback. “Are… you okay?”
“It’s cool, we’re fine” Andelin answered as she straightened out her top hat and took another cookie. “It’s ancient history at this point.”
“Right… Can I ask the big question now?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Where’s The Fear of Old? Aunt Dunja said you know where it is.”
Andelin gave a playful, mischievous laugh. “I know exactly where he is! In fact, I need you guys to talk some sense into him… BUT FIRST! You need to beat me in a duel!”
This made Aureolus a little nervous. “What kind of duel?”
“A duel of magic, a duel of cards” she replied as she presented a full hand. “Show me your moves, show me your skills and I will tell you where The Fear is!”
This sounded exciting… until Aureolus remembered a small issue. “Andelin? My deck isn’t ready. I’m still trying to come up with spells for the minimum amount I should have.”
Andelin smiled and sat Aureolus down next to her. “Here, take out your cards and we’ll work on it together, hexer to hexer.”
“You’d do that for me?”
“Of course. We are friends now, aren’t we? Besides, you got the ULTRAMagic Guild coming up soon. Surely you’d want to put your best foot forward, wouldn’t you?”
Aureolus nodded and began placing some cards down. “Thank you, Andelin. That’s really nice of you.”
“No problem. Show me what you have so far and we’ll work on it from there.”
Next: Chapter 16
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Master Post - Patreon
Andelin continued to play her games over the next couple of days. While Gratiana and Gummi kept the cult distracted, Barna and the others continued to move forward with their plans. The repeated challenges were bothersome, but admittedly offered a reprieve from the tedium of covertly transporting explosives. Aureolus definitely enjoyed them. He was having so much fun that Barna put him in charge of solving them. At the moment he was chasing around a cloud of darkness, trying to catch it. As Dunja and Turi watched, they had a feeling something was very familiar.
“You know, Turi? I’m pretty sure that’s Weaver over there…” The Owl gave a hoot in agreement.
“Hey, Dunja!” Torunn called out as she approached. “How goes Andelin’s tomfoolery?”
“Hey, Torunn. Things seem to be alright. Nothing too out of the ordinary has occurred.” Turi walked across the table to Torunn as she sat down.
“Turi, back so soon? Is everything alright in The Iron City?”
Dunja handed her a letter she had already read. “I guess so. The only thing of importance here is that I apparently need to send Turi back there at you know when.”
Torunn nodded as she put the paper back into the envelope. “Bizarre… Well, good news on my end: We got the last handful of cult compounds under control. The Church is still an outlier, obviously. And as for 10 and Lambda, those are being heavily guarded.”
“Makes sense, given that those held most of Milosh’s pet projects…”
“That and whatever that hellspawn Gudrun is working on…”
Dunja shuddered. “The sooner we get rid of the cult, the better.”
Aureolus meanwhile was on the verge of catching the cloud. Using his void magic, he created an illusion of himself to trick the cloud into moving where he needed. Once its guard was down, Aureolus sprung into action and tagged it. “HA! Got you!”
“Good job, Aureolus. Here you go…” It handed him another special card, but left its hand out a little too long.
“Hey, wait a second. That skin color…”
“Whoops! Um, Gotta go! See you all later!” The Cloud exclaimed as it scurried off.
Aureolus checked the card, then looked over to Dunja. “That was Weaver, wasn’t it?”
She silently nodded. “I’ve fought him enough times to know his methods all too well.”
“Aunt Dunja, If I were to fight him, how would I do that?” Aureolus asked as he sat down next to her. “Just as a hypothetical. Also hey, Torunn.”
Dunja went through her memories, trying to figure out some good advice. “Well, he’s a very in your face kind of fighter. While incredibly fierce, he can only focus on one opponent at a time in the heat of the moment. Of course I rarely fought him alone…”
“Proving he doesn’t do well alone and needs to work on that” Torunn added. “We’re both technically outsiders, hailing from the same timeline. I remember he always had a hard time fitting in due to being awkward around the others. Personally I think his brain was born different, which unfortunately led to his people generally disliking them. It sucks too because he has an amazing work ethic with his blacksmithing. A little too well in certain instances, but I’m not complaining. The kid did a fantastic job on my current hammer.”
Aureolus thought for a second. “So I take it this contributed to him being captured that one time, right, Aunt Dunja?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I hate to say it, but me and Andelin did take advantage of him by going after him while he was alone.”
Torunn chuckled, but it sounded a bit regretful. “I remember that day all too well. I had gotten on his case about being too reliant on us, so he went overboard and decided to go off on his own. In hindsight, I should’ve recognized that he was tense leading up to that and that was his mental breakdown…”
“Oh my, is he doing better now?” Aureolus inquired.
Torunn nodded. “Yeah, I’d say so. What better way to get someone to change than conflict? It’s not how I should have handled it, but it did get him to be more open with his thoughts and feelings.”
Dunja sighed and got up. “I really do need to make it up to him someday…”
“Aren’t you doing that now by helping us out?” Torunn put forth.
“Well, yeah… but I still feel bad.”
Aureolus gave his aunt a reassuring hug and began walking. The three had to go inform Barna on what had happened. As they made their way back to the mansion, Aureolus quickly realized something: He was lost. One minute he was with his aunt and the next he was alone. Making things worse was that he was seemingly trapped inside a… giant balloon? It took the form of a tent that had no exit. Pushing a hand on the wall did nothing as it kept stretching and stretching. Sticking his leg into it did no good either. Seeing that he was not getting anywhere, Aureolus decided to try going inward.
Traversing the tent was an odd experience. It was made of what felt like rubber and another material that was hard, smooth, and shiny. The lighting was dim and there were many obstacles in the way. Aureolus found himself crawling, jumping, and climbing all over the place. After one last crawl through a tight tube, he found himself in a hall of mirrors. Making his way out further led him to a hallway with a lit room at the end. Faint music could be heard and the smell of freshly baked cookies wafted in the air. It was incredibly strange given that the tent was seemingly empty.
The room in question was a lounge, albeit with inflatable furniture. Over on a couch was a woman in a black and red suit, waiting patiently. “Aureolus! There you are. Here, have a seat with me.”
“You’re Andelin, I presume?” He was a little nervous, but the plate of cookies over on the coffee table (or what constituted as a coffee table) was too enticing.
“That would be I: Andelin the Doom, Andelin the Cursed Child, Andelin of the Gold Blood; Andelin Sylvia Lillemor Lindbek, betrothed to Teunis Van Hautum, also of gold blood… Go ahead, I made them for you.”
Aureolus sat down, taking a cookie. It was chocolate chip. “So… Do you know where Weaver and Gabriella are?”
She got out the cards in question. “They’re right here. Of course, you’ll have to best me in a duel to get them…”
“We’re pretty sure they’ve been working with you.”
Andelin had a grin with subtle smugness and silently laughed. “Okay, fine; We’ve been working together. I had a feeling you guys were on to us. Weaver’s too proud to alter his tactics so he doesn't get found out…” This warranted a groan from him, muffled by the card.
“I take it they’re alright then?”
She nodded. “Absolutely. I was never one to dirty my hands with fisticuffs…”
“Disregarding the fact that you locked us up in cages…” The angel quietly pointed out.
“Shh, that’s not important…” Andelin said as she shuffled them back into the deck.
Aureolus gave her a slightly judgmental look, then took another cookie. “So what is this place?”
“It’s my own personal realm, a home away from home. It’s a whimsical place where I can collect my thoughts and lollygag around.”
“A circus tent?”
She nodded again. “If I had my way, I’d find some people to live here so we could play and have fun all the time!”
“I see… Sounds like a bit of a hassle, but I suppose that could work… Argh, getting back on track: Mind if I ask who you are and where you’re from?”
Andelin chuckled. “Of course. I’d ask the same of you, but let’s be real, I already know who you are. Oh boy, where do I even begin?”
Starting with her background, Andelin explained that she was from the fallen kingdom of Feuerland. It was far to the north of Shadowland, tucked away in The Lost Mountains (well past The Roaring Mountains). The people of Feuerland were very superstitious, and Andelin’s birth did not help. She was deemed a cursed child because her blood was pure gold. Many saw this as a bad omen, a sign that the kingdom had become greedy and profane. The chaos her existence caused was immense, leading to Andelin either being worshiped as a god or condemned as a witch. It was not an ideal place to grow up in.
“That sounds awful. How did you cope with it all?” Aureolus wondered.
“I didn’t. I’m pretty sure all of that made me mad, HA!” After an awkward pause, she spoke again. “Fortunately a girl my age, from the noble family of Arlotti, convinced her parents to foster me. And that girl’s name was Gratiana.”
Aureolus was surprised by this. “Really? That’s so kind. Are you two still friends?”
“Of course we are! She kept me safe and I will always be indebted to her… and it’s a good thing that she finally came to her senses. I did not want to have to keep her in a card to prevent her from doing something foolish.”
“Oh… Wait a second! She’s on Aunt Dunja’s side now?”
“Our side, Aureolus. Everything is going topsy-turvy for Milosh because I turned my back on him.”
That was a lot to take in, so Aureolus took a second to pace and organize his thoughts. “Alright then… how do I trust you?”
“Simple; Delphine, The Discordant God of Desire. She asked me to take my coup and realign those efforts with Sten’s ambitions. And I can assure you that’s the honest truth as I would never lie on my master’s honor, nor would I lie to a fellow steward of the goddess.”
“You know about my meeting with her?”
Andelin had a smug grin. “Aureolus, dear, I know exactly what all of you have been doing these past two weeks.”
He smiled and nodded. “Right, forgot. My bad. So, before I ask the big question, can I ask why you joined Milosh? Also I’d like to know why your blood is gold specifically.”
Since Aureolus looked like he had had his fill, Andelin politely asked if she could have one of the cookies. “Oh wow, I did a good job on these… Ahem, I joined Milosh because I thought he could get me back on my feet and provide me with the arcane knowledge I desired. It was promising at first, given Dunja and The Lich… Up until they failed to produce any usable results and I quickly realized Milosh and The Lich were a pair blithering, imbecilic philistines. Fortunately Delphine eventually came along, giving me what I was looking for. From that point on I went through the motions up until Blood-Wraith was born. I won’t lie, Milosh was incredibly alluring back then too.”
“I see. So what about the gold blood?”
“I’m not sure. I could never get ahold of the holy texts that talked about it as they got burned in a fire… and not even Delphine is sure. What we do know is that it keeps me healthy and young. Plus it makes Alchemy very easy even though I rarely use it. This could all be connected to my past life for all we know…”
“A past life? What was that? Do you remember?”
“YES. I was a god!”
Aureolus was skeptical. “You were a god? A god from The Source?”
“Indeed! I was The Cheerful God… up until I got stripped of my honors and powers. Gee God, I’m sorry I wanted to make everyone happy! What better way to say you’re on the wrong side of history than to have The Hunger of Old, The God of Logic, and two whelp demigods thump your arse all the way back to The Ennead!!” She ranted, gritting her teeth.
Aureolus was taken aback. “Are… you okay?”
“It’s cool, we’re fine” Andelin answered as she straightened out her top hat and took another cookie. “It’s ancient history at this point.”
“Right… Can I ask the big question now?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Where’s The Fear of Old? Aunt Dunja said you know where it is.”
Andelin gave a playful, mischievous laugh. “I know exactly where he is! In fact, I need you guys to talk some sense into him… BUT FIRST! You need to beat me in a duel!”
This made Aureolus a little nervous. “What kind of duel?”
“A duel of magic, a duel of cards” she replied as she presented a full hand. “Show me your moves, show me your skills and I will tell you where The Fear is!”
This sounded exciting… until Aureolus remembered a small issue. “Andelin? My deck isn’t ready. I’m still trying to come up with spells for the minimum amount I should have.”
Andelin smiled and sat Aureolus down next to her. “Here, take out your cards and we’ll work on it together, hexer to hexer.”
“You’d do that for me?”
“Of course. We are friends now, aren’t we? Besides, you got the ULTRAMagic Guild coming up soon. Surely you’d want to put your best foot forward, wouldn’t you?”
Aureolus nodded and began placing some cards down. “Thank you, Andelin. That’s really nice of you.”
“No problem. Show me what you have so far and we’ll work on it from there.”
Next: Chapter 16
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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