ULTRAMagic Archive - Entry 15
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Universe-0X
The Cosmos proper is home to many universes, each with their own unique stories and experiences. Some of these are of particular note to entire realms and other universes. Universe-0X is a chaotic universe that has had multiple interactions with the mysterious realm known as The Unlight. Several mages from this universe have even joined the ULTRAMagic Guild. Furthermore, the denizens of Universe-0X have engaged with several universes in its vicinity. This has warranted the attention of organizations such as The Time Watchers, The Multiverse Patrol, and the aforementioned ULTRAMagic Guild.
The Earth of Universe-0X is what draws the most interest in this situation. It is a timeline where humanity is heavily invested in magic, yet continuously falls victim to calamities throughout the centuries. These have led to a version of humanity that is limited to alchemy, has started a two front war between machines and themselves, and is on the verge of a fourth calamity that threatens to wipe them out. Fortune is smiling upon them at the moment, but what led to this situation in the first place?
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Universe-0X
The Cosmos proper is home to many universes, each with their own unique stories and experiences. Some of these are of particular note to entire realms and other universes. Universe-0X is a chaotic universe that has had multiple interactions with the mysterious realm known as The Unlight. Several mages from this universe have even joined the ULTRAMagic Guild. Furthermore, the denizens of Universe-0X have engaged with several universes in its vicinity. This has warranted the attention of organizations such as The Time Watchers, The Multiverse Patrol, and the aforementioned ULTRAMagic Guild.
The Earth of Universe-0X is what draws the most interest in this situation. It is a timeline where humanity is heavily invested in magic, yet continuously falls victim to calamities throughout the centuries. These have led to a version of humanity that is limited to alchemy, has started a two front war between machines and themselves, and is on the verge of a fourth calamity that threatens to wipe them out. Fortune is smiling upon them at the moment, but what led to this situation in the first place?
The First Calamity
The First Calamity occurred 1,000 years prior to Earth-0X discovering The Unlight. An individual by the name of Milosh Proch had found an ancient laboratory that held the secrets of alchemy and necromancy. Of course this was no standard laboratory as it required Milosh’s party to travel three lightyears across Earth, something that cannot be done through conventional means. Opening the structure that was found caused a great upheaval in humanity that led to Milosh and Valentina Pari becoming immortal. Everything was in chaos as now people had knowledge of the arcane arts and were making good use of the knowledge.
After several wars that did great damage to humanity, the Proch family took control of the schools and academies of Earth-0X. This allowed them to limit the knowledge of magic, creating peace for a time. Necromancy was forbidden and the focus was predominantly placed on alchemy. Naturally many people over the years had taken issue with the fact that the Proch’s controlled the education system. The growth of magic had been stunted and the Proch’s had created narratives that hid their misdeeds. On the other hand, many praised them for the very thing they were criticized for. Either way, the Proch’s managed to keep education alive and functioning over the centuries.
The Milosh and Valentina of universe-0X are not to be confused with their Universe-23 counterparts. Milosh-0X is a fairly upstanding individual, despite his flaws. He did not fall to ideological zealotry like his alternate self, who was so arrogant to assume that he could overthrow the Unlight kingdoms of Shadowland and The Iron City. Valentina-0X is a dark angel, just like Valentina-23. The difference here is that Valentina-0X never went to The Unlight (prior to the discovery of it) and had incarnated as a human. Her immortality had embittered her towards Milosh as she desired to return to Heaven someday. She also disagreed with him on an ideological level, believing humanity just needed guidance instead of suppression.
The Second Calamity
500 years later saw the emergence of the Ryder family, close friends to the Proch family. They had made breakthroughs in technology that led to an era of prosperity for humanity. Specifically they had perfected steam engine and eternal combustion technology, even going so far to create rudimentary artificial intelligence. This was not without controversy, as they had been suspected of getting special treatment from the Proch family in regards to their education. Regardless, Ryder machinery was widely adopted across Earth.
The core issues arose when the Ryder’s had the idea to go to a “god” to have him “bless” their machines. The Proch’s had done research into something calling itself “The Machine God,” and they all assumed this entity would grant the machines true intelligence so that they could serve humanity even better. Milosh set out with a team to locate The Machine God and found him in a similar way to how he had discovered the laboratory from centuries prior. What they found was something beyond their wildest imaginations.
No one had expected The Machine God to take the form of a floating city of endless machinery. Still, the team pressed on to the core of it and presented their creations to the god. Sensing their arrogance, The Machine God naturally grew offended. Strangely the god spoke to Milosh in a way that seemed too familiar to be mere a coincidence, even going so far as to reference the things Milosh-23 had done. The Machine God would give the team what they wanted, but this resulted in the machines rebelling against their creators. The machines retreated to a city of their own and named it Fortschritt, where they would then declare war on humanity. Their ultimate plan was to get humanity under control so that they could eventually all explore outer space.
It should be noted that The Machine God is what is known as a “Rogue God.” Some Spirits of the Cosmos reach a point of advancement and enlightenment that allows them to return to God when they arrive in the Ennead. Referred to as gods from this point onwards, a select few amongst them become bored and desire to visit the Cosmos. Unfortunately some of that minority end up going rogue and cause trouble for the Cosmos. The gods that remain pious will employ the help of primordials to subdue these troublemakers. The Machine God seems to be a bit different as a rogue god, however, not hailing from The Source. Regardless, the records show that The Hunger of Old sealed away The Machine god with help from The Madman of Old and The Automaton of Old.
The Third Calamity
The Third Calamity occurred in 2000 AD and was caused by Valentina Pari. She had grown fed up with the repeated blunders of Milosh and took matters into her own hands. The mage cast herself out of society and began seeking “forbidden” knowledge. This led her to discovering necromancy (communion with spirits). The demons Asmodeus and Corniger would hear Valentina’s beckoning and lend her their aid. They knew who she actually was and pitied her greatly. To ease the pain of being trapped in an immortal body, they awakened her memories of Heaven and granted her some of her angelic powers.
Valentina got to work creating her own land, the dukedom of Donnerherz. The self-proclaimed duchess went to work finding as many disillusioned, downtrodden, and outcast mages she could find. She promised them freedom and prosperity if they came to live with her in her grand city. Things were going well up until Donnerherz was infiltrated by a member of the Warwik family, claiming to be true to Valentina’s cause. Valentina’s work was deemed heretical and it did not help that a good amount of her subjects were treading into what could be considered degeneracy.
The First Calamity occurred 1,000 years prior to Earth-0X discovering The Unlight. An individual by the name of Milosh Proch had found an ancient laboratory that held the secrets of alchemy and necromancy. Of course this was no standard laboratory as it required Milosh’s party to travel three lightyears across Earth, something that cannot be done through conventional means. Opening the structure that was found caused a great upheaval in humanity that led to Milosh and Valentina Pari becoming immortal. Everything was in chaos as now people had knowledge of the arcane arts and were making good use of the knowledge.
After several wars that did great damage to humanity, the Proch family took control of the schools and academies of Earth-0X. This allowed them to limit the knowledge of magic, creating peace for a time. Necromancy was forbidden and the focus was predominantly placed on alchemy. Naturally many people over the years had taken issue with the fact that the Proch’s controlled the education system. The growth of magic had been stunted and the Proch’s had created narratives that hid their misdeeds. On the other hand, many praised them for the very thing they were criticized for. Either way, the Proch’s managed to keep education alive and functioning over the centuries.
The Milosh and Valentina of universe-0X are not to be confused with their Universe-23 counterparts. Milosh-0X is a fairly upstanding individual, despite his flaws. He did not fall to ideological zealotry like his alternate self, who was so arrogant to assume that he could overthrow the Unlight kingdoms of Shadowland and The Iron City. Valentina-0X is a dark angel, just like Valentina-23. The difference here is that Valentina-0X never went to The Unlight (prior to the discovery of it) and had incarnated as a human. Her immortality had embittered her towards Milosh as she desired to return to Heaven someday. She also disagreed with him on an ideological level, believing humanity just needed guidance instead of suppression.
The Second Calamity
500 years later saw the emergence of the Ryder family, close friends to the Proch family. They had made breakthroughs in technology that led to an era of prosperity for humanity. Specifically they had perfected steam engine and eternal combustion technology, even going so far to create rudimentary artificial intelligence. This was not without controversy, as they had been suspected of getting special treatment from the Proch family in regards to their education. Regardless, Ryder machinery was widely adopted across Earth.
The core issues arose when the Ryder’s had the idea to go to a “god” to have him “bless” their machines. The Proch’s had done research into something calling itself “The Machine God,” and they all assumed this entity would grant the machines true intelligence so that they could serve humanity even better. Milosh set out with a team to locate The Machine God and found him in a similar way to how he had discovered the laboratory from centuries prior. What they found was something beyond their wildest imaginations.
No one had expected The Machine God to take the form of a floating city of endless machinery. Still, the team pressed on to the core of it and presented their creations to the god. Sensing their arrogance, The Machine God naturally grew offended. Strangely the god spoke to Milosh in a way that seemed too familiar to be mere a coincidence, even going so far as to reference the things Milosh-23 had done. The Machine God would give the team what they wanted, but this resulted in the machines rebelling against their creators. The machines retreated to a city of their own and named it Fortschritt, where they would then declare war on humanity. Their ultimate plan was to get humanity under control so that they could eventually all explore outer space.
It should be noted that The Machine God is what is known as a “Rogue God.” Some Spirits of the Cosmos reach a point of advancement and enlightenment that allows them to return to God when they arrive in the Ennead. Referred to as gods from this point onwards, a select few amongst them become bored and desire to visit the Cosmos. Unfortunately some of that minority end up going rogue and cause trouble for the Cosmos. The gods that remain pious will employ the help of primordials to subdue these troublemakers. The Machine God seems to be a bit different as a rogue god, however, not hailing from The Source. Regardless, the records show that The Hunger of Old sealed away The Machine god with help from The Madman of Old and The Automaton of Old.
The Third Calamity
The Third Calamity occurred in 2000 AD and was caused by Valentina Pari. She had grown fed up with the repeated blunders of Milosh and took matters into her own hands. The mage cast herself out of society and began seeking “forbidden” knowledge. This led her to discovering necromancy (communion with spirits). The demons Asmodeus and Corniger would hear Valentina’s beckoning and lend her their aid. They knew who she actually was and pitied her greatly. To ease the pain of being trapped in an immortal body, they awakened her memories of Heaven and granted her some of her angelic powers.
Valentina got to work creating her own land, the dukedom of Donnerherz. The self-proclaimed duchess went to work finding as many disillusioned, downtrodden, and outcast mages she could find. She promised them freedom and prosperity if they came to live with her in her grand city. Things were going well up until Donnerherz was infiltrated by a member of the Warwik family, claiming to be true to Valentina’s cause. Valentina’s work was deemed heretical and it did not help that a good amount of her subjects were treading into what could be considered degeneracy.
As for why the Warwik family had done this, they had recently emerged as an economic powerhouse that had befriended the Proch’s and the Ryder’s. Several people that owed money to their banks had gone missing and they had sent out agents to find them. One Ryder had an idea of where to look and the rest was history. Valentina was immediately met with threats of military action, but declared that she had no intention to overthrow humanity. She merely believed that she could guide her mages along the right path and avert the wars of their ancient past.
Donnerherz unfortunately maintained a shaky relationship with the human realm (As Donnerherz residents call it) and the country of Fortschritt. Both of their rivals did not trust Valentina and the duchess was equally distrusting. At the same time, the human realm had not had a true reason to attack Donnerherz and the same went for Fortschritt. The machines looked upon Valentina favorably and had considered alliances with her in the past. Of course, such a union could lead to war with the human realm. This is something both parties wish to avoid.
The Fourth Calamity?
The cold war between man, the machines, and Donnerherz had not been favorable to humanity. It caught the attention of the Spiritus Magni of Earth-0X. Unlike their Earth-23 counterparts, they were nowhere near as forgiving. Should things become too chaotic, the Spiritus Magni would wipe the slate clean and start humanity over. The outbreak of Earth-0X’s World War 1 did not help in averting this calamity, but thankfully recent actions of two families had postponed the wrath of the Spiritus Magni.
Something else that was halting the ambitions of the gods was the absence of one of their own. Spiritus Magni Manius had gone missing, turning up in The Unlight as a sellsword named “Captain Roger.” Spiritus Magni Vita of Earth-0X made it clear that she would reconsider their plans if someone from their Earth could bring him back safely… or at the very least, keep an eye on him and make sure he stays out of trouble. Lastly, several gods from other pantheons of Earth-0X sided with humanity. Some of them are Cú Chulainn, Sun Wukong, Susanoo No Mikoto, Anubis, Prometheus, Anansi, and Kali.
The Two Rising Families
Donnerherz unfortunately maintained a shaky relationship with the human realm (As Donnerherz residents call it) and the country of Fortschritt. Both of their rivals did not trust Valentina and the duchess was equally distrusting. At the same time, the human realm had not had a true reason to attack Donnerherz and the same went for Fortschritt. The machines looked upon Valentina favorably and had considered alliances with her in the past. Of course, such a union could lead to war with the human realm. This is something both parties wish to avoid.
The Fourth Calamity?
The cold war between man, the machines, and Donnerherz had not been favorable to humanity. It caught the attention of the Spiritus Magni of Earth-0X. Unlike their Earth-23 counterparts, they were nowhere near as forgiving. Should things become too chaotic, the Spiritus Magni would wipe the slate clean and start humanity over. The outbreak of Earth-0X’s World War 1 did not help in averting this calamity, but thankfully recent actions of two families had postponed the wrath of the Spiritus Magni.
Something else that was halting the ambitions of the gods was the absence of one of their own. Spiritus Magni Manius had gone missing, turning up in The Unlight as a sellsword named “Captain Roger.” Spiritus Magni Vita of Earth-0X made it clear that she would reconsider their plans if someone from their Earth could bring him back safely… or at the very least, keep an eye on him and make sure he stays out of trouble. Lastly, several gods from other pantheons of Earth-0X sided with humanity. Some of them are Cú Chulainn, Sun Wukong, Susanoo No Mikoto, Anubis, Prometheus, Anansi, and Kali.
The Two Rising Families
Two families stepped up to oppose and disrupt the hegemony of the big three (The Proch’s, Ryder’s, and Warwik’s). These families were the Dracul’s and the Leichenberg’s. Both families were rising through society, carving out their own niche that no one could take from them. This had not gone unnoticed by Milosh and Valentina, however. The Former was quite nervous while the latter was very interested in the potential of these families. The machines were also somewhat interested, but ultimately saw these humans as just more humans.
The Dracul’s were thought to have gone extinct with Vlad III Dracula unintentionally ending them in the medieval era. This was disproved when the family reemerged with Zoltan, Vlad IV, Bratoslav, Stanislav, Yelena, and Vesna. The family created excellent mages, had some of the best educators around, and maintained a sterling record with their campaigns and missions. They were not perfect, however, as they did have some vampires in their midst. This had caused some friction in the human realm, spreading fear and rumors about them.
The Leichenberg’s were a family of werewolves from Germany-0X (known as “Almany” in Universe-0X) that had been on the run for the longest time. This was until recent times when they decided to stop running and put their feet down. They accomplished this by taking over the lumber industry. Optimizing the production of lumber, the Leichenberg’s found out how to export wood without ravaging the environment. And it was very profitable for them as Almain lumber was considered some of the best lumber across the world. And just like the Dracul’s, they also produce fantastic mages that are coveted across the human realm.
Both families could theoretically take over Earth-0X if they wanted to, but their rivalry prevented them from doing so. Contrary to popular belief, Vampires and Werewolves do not inherently hate each other. In fact, they often get along swimmingly. The issue is that Vlad III Dracula viewed the Leichenberg’s as a threat to humanity and pursued them during his lifetime. Had the voivode not realized near the end of his life that he was in the wrong, the two families would have been at each other's throats in the modern era. Fortunately this conflict settled into a harmless rivalry.
Rostislav and Ludwig
Rostislav Aleksandru Dracul and Ludwig Dieterich Leichenberg were two secret friends from both families. Starting with Rostislav, he was the son of Zoltan and Morana Dracul. Aside from being born a vampire, he had a normal childhood. He would be enrolled in a prestigious mage academy where he would end up meeting his friend and rival, Ludwig. The two met while Ludwig was introducing himself on the first day of class. Rostislav tossed a wad of paper at him and called out “fetch, boy!”
Ludwig on the other hand had an odd childhood. The boy was actually the human incarnation of a demon named Caacrinolaas (known as Glasya-laBolas in universe-23). Despite being known in the Goetia for centuries, Caacrinolaas had just recently come into existence (Inferno experienced time in a non-linear manner, permitting such an odd occurrence). Ludwig’s parents discovered this when their son had gained his wolf form, only for it to be a large dog with gryphon wings. Naturally being a demon caused many to look at Ludwig in a strange light. It never escalated into outright discrimination, but people were weary of him.
The two boys would go on to become accomplished mages in adulthood. One fateful day, the two were invited on a mission to infiltrate the dukedom of Donnerherz. These kinds of missions were nothing new, as Donnerherz held great knowledge and many were always curious to know what was going on there. Valentina rightfully called this out as snooping and would often welcome people to her land, stating that said snooping was unnecessary. Still, these missions persisted, which maintained tension between the dukedom and the human realm.
Ludwig and Rostislav’s squad had been tasked with rescuing another squad that had not reported back in some time. This was Valentina’s doing, but this was not known to the second squad. She was very interested in the two men and wanted to recruit them to her clause. If not that, she at least wanted to tutor them. The only issue was that Valentina had traveled to The Unlight right when she should have met with Ludwig and Rostislav. The realm had recently been discovered by her scientists and her curiosity had got the best of her.
ULTRAMagic Lance
Entering The Unlight
Things became incredibly heated during the rescue mission. Everything was going south as the squad had no idea what they were even up against. Their intel was horrifically outdated and Valentina’s mages were not ones to slow down in their studies. Adding insult to injury, the second squad could not locate the first squad. It was like they had vanished. In the heat of a chaotic encounter, Ludwig was outwitted by a soldier of the duchess and lost the advantage.
On the verge of being defeated, Ludwig had lost his mind. Many things had been building up to this, ranging from his self-esteem issues to political tension towards his family to feeling like he had failed his comrades. He had become so angry that he turned into pure lightning. The resulting thunderstorm was truly apocalyptic, razing the land beyond recognition. As if something beyond the Cosmos itself recognized the problem, Ludwig vanished. Nothing could quell the mage's anger at this point, even if he had defeated Valentina single handed.
Ludwig fell out of his universe into an unending abyss. That Abyss eventually opened up into a strange, barren wasteland being assaulted by a wicked thunderstorm. He was now in the Unlight. Something then clicked in Ludwig's mind: He was angry. He was angry that he failed, failed his friends, failed his superior, failed humanity, lost to Valentina, and had been bested by one of the duchess' underlings! And of course he was also in a strange realm that he had no knowledge of. Is it any surprise that he started screaming?
Ludwig gave off some of the most angered filled, bloodcurdling screams one could ever hear. The white hot anger was so intense that it had burnt away his body, leaving only his Pneuma. It was at this point when the Thunderstorm had embraced him and took on a form only the wildest of nightmares could conceive. Having shed his human body, he slowly created a form that was indicative of his true self, but this form took a while to solidify, so-to-speak. Ludwig’s anger also hindered this process, as it took a long time to subside.
An interesting event occurred during the waning of this storm of anger. A blacksmith was on a mountain top, creating a greatsword for a succubus who had hired him. He was using the thunderstorm to help forge the weapon as he felt it would give it the quality it needed. While he did raise an eyebrow over the screaming that was destroying the land around the mountain, he welcomed the challenge and kept going. If anything, this would make an even greater product for his client. Naturally this storm caught the attention of the early ULTRAMagic Guild, especially since the blacksmith was a member of said guild.
The End of the Storm
In the maelstrom of lighting, Ludwig had been reborn as ULTRAMagic Lance. Ludwig, however, was not in the mood to admire his new form as he was too blinded by anger. He promptly went on another rampage. For an unclear amount of time, he went utterly berserk, destroying things indiscriminately. It did not matter if it was a creature, monument, or a piece of the landscape. Several infamous horrors of the Unlight died during this period, leaving behind charred corpses that hummed with electricity. After one final explosion of anger (accompanied by an actual explosion), Ludwig finally collapsed and passed out. The region would later come to be known as the Thunder Wastelands (formerly the Storm Plateau).
While he had no memory of his rampage for a time, Ludwig did learn a vast amount of new spells based on lighting and glass (the former more than the latter). Ludwig would eventually be found by Cronus (ULTRAMagic Reaper) who would bring him back to the guild. Cronus actually did a little research into Ludwig and felt like he needed to take care of the boy. Cronus was not a perfect father in his own timeline, which compelled him to redeem himself. Ludwig was not himself for a while, so he naturally gravitated to the titan, thinking he was his father.
Over the years, Cronus worked with Ludwig to help him regain his memories and train him. Ludwig definitely felt tinges of anger come back as he regained his memories, but the white hot rage had long since burnt out. He also moved more towards seeing Cronus as a mentor, but was grateful to have him in his life regardless. Relearning his spells was a fascinating experience for Ludwig. Cronus was a bit surprised at just how much rage was funneled into these spells, but at the same time it was to be expected. Where Ludwig got the Soul fragments needed for ULTRAMagic is still a mystery though. The spells Ludwig created in his rage were as follows:
Joining the ULTRAMagic Guild
Once he was ready, Ludwig joined the ULTRAMagic Guild and was welcomed with open arms. This is when he would properly assume the identity of ULTRAMagic Lance. After he was all settled in, he had some unfinished business to tend to. He returned to his timeline right after he had fallen out of it so long ago. Firstly, he had to show off a bit and show off his new power. Then he challenged Valentina to a duel, which went poorly for her. Just as it seemed like Lance was going to deliver the finishing blow, he stopped and helped the duchess up. He had no intention of killing her, as he merely wanted to elucidate her, her followers, and his old friends. They all learned what soul magic was and were taking to it pretty well. With his old timeline on the right path (or so he arrogantly assumed), he returned to the Unlight. Naturally he resolved to go back and visit to check on things every now and then.
Sometime later, Ludwig would be summoned by the Reality Walkers. One of their members, Ignatius Darren Ford, was having trouble with his magic. It turned out that the young man had inherent ULTRAMagic and it was going wild due to a lack of training. Ludwig would take Ignatius to David Livesey (ULTRAMagic Magistrate) as Ludwig felt he was not in a position to be training people. Despite this, Ludwig and Ignatius (who would go on to become ULTRAMagic Infinity) became good friends, even so far as becoming Ignatius' best friend. The two got along well, as Ignatius still had that spark with his inner child alive and well. He was fun loving, goofy, and pleasant to be around. It really took Ludwig's mind away from the grim reality that was his old timeline. Plus Ignatius saw Ludwig as the older brother he never had. Ludwig always had an answer to his problems, even if he did not actually have an answer. And the fact that Ludwig was actually a demon made him even cooler.
In recent times, Ludwig had taken interest in a new guild member, Teunis Van Hautum (ULTRAMagic Ex). Ludwig saw himself in Teunis, given that they both arrived in the Unlight under similar, yet different circumstances. Notably Teunis becomes a bit testy when Ludwig tries to sympathize with him, something that concerned the other members of the guild. Ludwig had also returned to his timeline to assure Spiritus Magni Vita that Manius is safe and was being looked after, despite the fact that he was often butting heads with Teunis (something Ludwig downplayed). The fact that Ludwig’s people were so close to oblivion had been keeping him up at night. It also did not help that Manius is a massive troublemaker, meddling with Universe-23 and Universe-15.
In regards to Ludwig's character
Bringing up the discussion of the strongest ULTRAMagic guild members, Ludwig is definitely up there. Weirdly he is barely talked about in the running for the strongest member. Nothing can beat members such as Dreadnought and Ultimatum, but most life forms were never meant to handle 300 million to a billion volts of electricity. The glass spells would also make Ludwig fairly formidable, if he would just spend some time on that aspect of his magic. The underlying problem holding Ludwig back is that he is not taking advantage of his ULTRAMagic like he should. Ludwig fixates on soul magic and will not discuss the issue, being hesitant to learn anything else. This has Cronus, David, and Ignatius very concerned, with even Teunis raising an eyebrow (leading to disagreements between the two).
Personality-wise, Ludwig can be all over the place. From his old life, he was brave, caring, and willing to take risks. He was also fiercely loyal and bore the worst for his people. Ending up in The Unlight somewhat changed his old outlook. He developed a dose of cynicism after he regained his memories. This made him a bit more stoic, but also came at the cost of his enthusiasm. He was not a grouch, but has been known to be rather blunt at inappropriate times. Something that had also popped up was a slight stubborn streak, mostly seen in his reluctance to study other types of magic.
Aside from his shortcomings, Ludwig is a hard worker and can be very focused when he wants to. This has made him a very desirable squad leader in the guild. When on duty, one will mostly see his professional side. When he is relaxed, especially around Ignatius or his friends in general, he is pleasant to hang around with. Ludwig also loves to have fun when he is like this, happily playing video games, board games, watching movies, playing card games, making art, etc. It is also when he is relaxed that he is at his most productive.
The Dracul’s were thought to have gone extinct with Vlad III Dracula unintentionally ending them in the medieval era. This was disproved when the family reemerged with Zoltan, Vlad IV, Bratoslav, Stanislav, Yelena, and Vesna. The family created excellent mages, had some of the best educators around, and maintained a sterling record with their campaigns and missions. They were not perfect, however, as they did have some vampires in their midst. This had caused some friction in the human realm, spreading fear and rumors about them.
The Leichenberg’s were a family of werewolves from Germany-0X (known as “Almany” in Universe-0X) that had been on the run for the longest time. This was until recent times when they decided to stop running and put their feet down. They accomplished this by taking over the lumber industry. Optimizing the production of lumber, the Leichenberg’s found out how to export wood without ravaging the environment. And it was very profitable for them as Almain lumber was considered some of the best lumber across the world. And just like the Dracul’s, they also produce fantastic mages that are coveted across the human realm.
Both families could theoretically take over Earth-0X if they wanted to, but their rivalry prevented them from doing so. Contrary to popular belief, Vampires and Werewolves do not inherently hate each other. In fact, they often get along swimmingly. The issue is that Vlad III Dracula viewed the Leichenberg’s as a threat to humanity and pursued them during his lifetime. Had the voivode not realized near the end of his life that he was in the wrong, the two families would have been at each other's throats in the modern era. Fortunately this conflict settled into a harmless rivalry.
Rostislav and Ludwig
Rostislav Aleksandru Dracul and Ludwig Dieterich Leichenberg were two secret friends from both families. Starting with Rostislav, he was the son of Zoltan and Morana Dracul. Aside from being born a vampire, he had a normal childhood. He would be enrolled in a prestigious mage academy where he would end up meeting his friend and rival, Ludwig. The two met while Ludwig was introducing himself on the first day of class. Rostislav tossed a wad of paper at him and called out “fetch, boy!”
Ludwig on the other hand had an odd childhood. The boy was actually the human incarnation of a demon named Caacrinolaas (known as Glasya-laBolas in universe-23). Despite being known in the Goetia for centuries, Caacrinolaas had just recently come into existence (Inferno experienced time in a non-linear manner, permitting such an odd occurrence). Ludwig’s parents discovered this when their son had gained his wolf form, only for it to be a large dog with gryphon wings. Naturally being a demon caused many to look at Ludwig in a strange light. It never escalated into outright discrimination, but people were weary of him.
The two boys would go on to become accomplished mages in adulthood. One fateful day, the two were invited on a mission to infiltrate the dukedom of Donnerherz. These kinds of missions were nothing new, as Donnerherz held great knowledge and many were always curious to know what was going on there. Valentina rightfully called this out as snooping and would often welcome people to her land, stating that said snooping was unnecessary. Still, these missions persisted, which maintained tension between the dukedom and the human realm.
Ludwig and Rostislav’s squad had been tasked with rescuing another squad that had not reported back in some time. This was Valentina’s doing, but this was not known to the second squad. She was very interested in the two men and wanted to recruit them to her clause. If not that, she at least wanted to tutor them. The only issue was that Valentina had traveled to The Unlight right when she should have met with Ludwig and Rostislav. The realm had recently been discovered by her scientists and her curiosity had got the best of her.
ULTRAMagic Lance
Entering The Unlight
Things became incredibly heated during the rescue mission. Everything was going south as the squad had no idea what they were even up against. Their intel was horrifically outdated and Valentina’s mages were not ones to slow down in their studies. Adding insult to injury, the second squad could not locate the first squad. It was like they had vanished. In the heat of a chaotic encounter, Ludwig was outwitted by a soldier of the duchess and lost the advantage.
On the verge of being defeated, Ludwig had lost his mind. Many things had been building up to this, ranging from his self-esteem issues to political tension towards his family to feeling like he had failed his comrades. He had become so angry that he turned into pure lightning. The resulting thunderstorm was truly apocalyptic, razing the land beyond recognition. As if something beyond the Cosmos itself recognized the problem, Ludwig vanished. Nothing could quell the mage's anger at this point, even if he had defeated Valentina single handed.
Ludwig fell out of his universe into an unending abyss. That Abyss eventually opened up into a strange, barren wasteland being assaulted by a wicked thunderstorm. He was now in the Unlight. Something then clicked in Ludwig's mind: He was angry. He was angry that he failed, failed his friends, failed his superior, failed humanity, lost to Valentina, and had been bested by one of the duchess' underlings! And of course he was also in a strange realm that he had no knowledge of. Is it any surprise that he started screaming?
Ludwig gave off some of the most angered filled, bloodcurdling screams one could ever hear. The white hot anger was so intense that it had burnt away his body, leaving only his Pneuma. It was at this point when the Thunderstorm had embraced him and took on a form only the wildest of nightmares could conceive. Having shed his human body, he slowly created a form that was indicative of his true self, but this form took a while to solidify, so-to-speak. Ludwig’s anger also hindered this process, as it took a long time to subside.
An interesting event occurred during the waning of this storm of anger. A blacksmith was on a mountain top, creating a greatsword for a succubus who had hired him. He was using the thunderstorm to help forge the weapon as he felt it would give it the quality it needed. While he did raise an eyebrow over the screaming that was destroying the land around the mountain, he welcomed the challenge and kept going. If anything, this would make an even greater product for his client. Naturally this storm caught the attention of the early ULTRAMagic Guild, especially since the blacksmith was a member of said guild.
The End of the Storm
In the maelstrom of lighting, Ludwig had been reborn as ULTRAMagic Lance. Ludwig, however, was not in the mood to admire his new form as he was too blinded by anger. He promptly went on another rampage. For an unclear amount of time, he went utterly berserk, destroying things indiscriminately. It did not matter if it was a creature, monument, or a piece of the landscape. Several infamous horrors of the Unlight died during this period, leaving behind charred corpses that hummed with electricity. After one final explosion of anger (accompanied by an actual explosion), Ludwig finally collapsed and passed out. The region would later come to be known as the Thunder Wastelands (formerly the Storm Plateau).
While he had no memory of his rampage for a time, Ludwig did learn a vast amount of new spells based on lighting and glass (the former more than the latter). Ludwig would eventually be found by Cronus (ULTRAMagic Reaper) who would bring him back to the guild. Cronus actually did a little research into Ludwig and felt like he needed to take care of the boy. Cronus was not a perfect father in his own timeline, which compelled him to redeem himself. Ludwig was not himself for a while, so he naturally gravitated to the titan, thinking he was his father.
Over the years, Cronus worked with Ludwig to help him regain his memories and train him. Ludwig definitely felt tinges of anger come back as he regained his memories, but the white hot rage had long since burnt out. He also moved more towards seeing Cronus as a mentor, but was grateful to have him in his life regardless. Relearning his spells was a fascinating experience for Ludwig. Cronus was a bit surprised at just how much rage was funneled into these spells, but at the same time it was to be expected. Where Ludwig got the Soul fragments needed for ULTRAMagic is still a mystery though. The spells Ludwig created in his rage were as follows:
- Glasscherben
- Glasscherben Sturm
- Glasscherben Sturm - Wutanfall
- Gewitter Wut
- Blitzkrieg
- Blitzkrieg - Voller Amoklauf
- Donnerschlag
- Blitz Versuch
- Kugelblitz
- Stromschlag
- Stromschlag - Todeszelle
- Ultimativer Lichsturm
Joining the ULTRAMagic Guild
Once he was ready, Ludwig joined the ULTRAMagic Guild and was welcomed with open arms. This is when he would properly assume the identity of ULTRAMagic Lance. After he was all settled in, he had some unfinished business to tend to. He returned to his timeline right after he had fallen out of it so long ago. Firstly, he had to show off a bit and show off his new power. Then he challenged Valentina to a duel, which went poorly for her. Just as it seemed like Lance was going to deliver the finishing blow, he stopped and helped the duchess up. He had no intention of killing her, as he merely wanted to elucidate her, her followers, and his old friends. They all learned what soul magic was and were taking to it pretty well. With his old timeline on the right path (or so he arrogantly assumed), he returned to the Unlight. Naturally he resolved to go back and visit to check on things every now and then.
Sometime later, Ludwig would be summoned by the Reality Walkers. One of their members, Ignatius Darren Ford, was having trouble with his magic. It turned out that the young man had inherent ULTRAMagic and it was going wild due to a lack of training. Ludwig would take Ignatius to David Livesey (ULTRAMagic Magistrate) as Ludwig felt he was not in a position to be training people. Despite this, Ludwig and Ignatius (who would go on to become ULTRAMagic Infinity) became good friends, even so far as becoming Ignatius' best friend. The two got along well, as Ignatius still had that spark with his inner child alive and well. He was fun loving, goofy, and pleasant to be around. It really took Ludwig's mind away from the grim reality that was his old timeline. Plus Ignatius saw Ludwig as the older brother he never had. Ludwig always had an answer to his problems, even if he did not actually have an answer. And the fact that Ludwig was actually a demon made him even cooler.
In recent times, Ludwig had taken interest in a new guild member, Teunis Van Hautum (ULTRAMagic Ex). Ludwig saw himself in Teunis, given that they both arrived in the Unlight under similar, yet different circumstances. Notably Teunis becomes a bit testy when Ludwig tries to sympathize with him, something that concerned the other members of the guild. Ludwig had also returned to his timeline to assure Spiritus Magni Vita that Manius is safe and was being looked after, despite the fact that he was often butting heads with Teunis (something Ludwig downplayed). The fact that Ludwig’s people were so close to oblivion had been keeping him up at night. It also did not help that Manius is a massive troublemaker, meddling with Universe-23 and Universe-15.
In regards to Ludwig's character
Bringing up the discussion of the strongest ULTRAMagic guild members, Ludwig is definitely up there. Weirdly he is barely talked about in the running for the strongest member. Nothing can beat members such as Dreadnought and Ultimatum, but most life forms were never meant to handle 300 million to a billion volts of electricity. The glass spells would also make Ludwig fairly formidable, if he would just spend some time on that aspect of his magic. The underlying problem holding Ludwig back is that he is not taking advantage of his ULTRAMagic like he should. Ludwig fixates on soul magic and will not discuss the issue, being hesitant to learn anything else. This has Cronus, David, and Ignatius very concerned, with even Teunis raising an eyebrow (leading to disagreements between the two).
Personality-wise, Ludwig can be all over the place. From his old life, he was brave, caring, and willing to take risks. He was also fiercely loyal and bore the worst for his people. Ending up in The Unlight somewhat changed his old outlook. He developed a dose of cynicism after he regained his memories. This made him a bit more stoic, but also came at the cost of his enthusiasm. He was not a grouch, but has been known to be rather blunt at inappropriate times. Something that had also popped up was a slight stubborn streak, mostly seen in his reluctance to study other types of magic.
Aside from his shortcomings, Ludwig is a hard worker and can be very focused when he wants to. This has made him a very desirable squad leader in the guild. When on duty, one will mostly see his professional side. When he is relaxed, especially around Ignatius or his friends in general, he is pleasant to hang around with. Ludwig also loves to have fun when he is like this, happily playing video games, board games, watching movies, playing card games, making art, etc. It is also when he is relaxed that he is at his most productive.
Lastly, the arrival of ULTRAMagic Richter, a comrade from his timeline, seems to have triggered him a bit. He is not hostile towards him, but he is not that friendly either. Their old rivalry resumed, much to the chagrin of The ULTRAMagic guild. It was clear that they were still friends, however. The higher ups of the guild just wished they were more open about their friendship. There was no reason for the two to be hostile towards each other since they were guildmates.
The Aftermath and Ramifications
In regards to Valentina, she had been in The Unlight for some time, interacting with Lance and people from Universe-0Y. The 0Y individuals were of interest to her as she wanted to bring them to her universe, of which she began making preparations for (it was perfect timing too as she planned to meet with a group of mages with people from the Dracul and Leichenberg families…). Valentina was also thoroughly impressed with Lance, wanting to know his name. The mage was confused at first, since he had met Valentina before. Realizing what had went wrong so many years ago, Lance took off his suit’s helmet and took the opportunity to mess with her a little:
“Pardon my saying, your grace, but you already know my name: Ludwig Dieterich Leichenberg.”
The Duchess’ heart nearly stopped as her blood ran the coldest it had ever been. She dropped everything and immediately returned to her timeline, only to find a wasteland and both groups of mages fighting tooth and nail. Valentina stopped the conflict immediately and brought everyone to her castle. Not too long afterwards was when Ludwig of the past showed up to challenge her. Ludwig’s soul magic caught her off guard, leading to the demon besting her. Naturally she apologized for not being there on that important day and wanted to know all about the things he had learned while he was in The Unlight. The situation was fairly awkward for Ludwig of the past, but thankfully his future self stepped in and handled talking with Valentina.
Due to the circumstances surrounding Ludwig and the Universe-0Y guests, two people eventually left for the Unlight. These would be Rostislav and Manius. Rostislav had achieved ULTRAMagic thanks to Valentina’s help and wanted to know what Ludwig was up to. He would come to be known as ULTRAMagic Richter (albeit he entered the Unlight somewhat desynced from when he left his universes). Manius on the other hand was looking for greener pastures. He had taken the form of a human mage amongst Valentina’s ranks and felt that he had seen it all. To him, the Unlight was the solution to his problems, leaving his fellow Spiritus Magni concerned for him.
As for the families of importance, Milosh had been having an interesting time. The Proch’s lost the premier authority for magic as Valentina was now offering to teach other forms of magic to those eager to learn. This had greatly disrupted the power he and the big three families held. The Dracul’s and the Leichenberg’s were also able to establish ties with Donnerherz, serving as ambassadors for the human realm. The machines were also considering ceasing their conflict with the humans in hopes of ending The Great War, which would ideally appease the Spiritus Magni.
Next: Overflow Realms
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Treasure Island © 1883 Robert Louis Stevenson
The Aftermath and Ramifications
In regards to Valentina, she had been in The Unlight for some time, interacting with Lance and people from Universe-0Y. The 0Y individuals were of interest to her as she wanted to bring them to her universe, of which she began making preparations for (it was perfect timing too as she planned to meet with a group of mages with people from the Dracul and Leichenberg families…). Valentina was also thoroughly impressed with Lance, wanting to know his name. The mage was confused at first, since he had met Valentina before. Realizing what had went wrong so many years ago, Lance took off his suit’s helmet and took the opportunity to mess with her a little:
“Pardon my saying, your grace, but you already know my name: Ludwig Dieterich Leichenberg.”
The Duchess’ heart nearly stopped as her blood ran the coldest it had ever been. She dropped everything and immediately returned to her timeline, only to find a wasteland and both groups of mages fighting tooth and nail. Valentina stopped the conflict immediately and brought everyone to her castle. Not too long afterwards was when Ludwig of the past showed up to challenge her. Ludwig’s soul magic caught her off guard, leading to the demon besting her. Naturally she apologized for not being there on that important day and wanted to know all about the things he had learned while he was in The Unlight. The situation was fairly awkward for Ludwig of the past, but thankfully his future self stepped in and handled talking with Valentina.
Due to the circumstances surrounding Ludwig and the Universe-0Y guests, two people eventually left for the Unlight. These would be Rostislav and Manius. Rostislav had achieved ULTRAMagic thanks to Valentina’s help and wanted to know what Ludwig was up to. He would come to be known as ULTRAMagic Richter (albeit he entered the Unlight somewhat desynced from when he left his universes). Manius on the other hand was looking for greener pastures. He had taken the form of a human mage amongst Valentina’s ranks and felt that he had seen it all. To him, the Unlight was the solution to his problems, leaving his fellow Spiritus Magni concerned for him.
As for the families of importance, Milosh had been having an interesting time. The Proch’s lost the premier authority for magic as Valentina was now offering to teach other forms of magic to those eager to learn. This had greatly disrupted the power he and the big three families held. The Dracul’s and the Leichenberg’s were also able to establish ties with Donnerherz, serving as ambassadors for the human realm. The machines were also considering ceasing their conflict with the humans in hopes of ending The Great War, which would ideally appease the Spiritus Magni.
Next: Overflow Realms
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Treasure Island © 1883 Robert Louis Stevenson
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