ULTRAMagic Eon 1 - Chapter 3
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Blood-Wraith groaned a little as he sat down with the letter. Having everyone looking at him did not help either. “I cannot catch a break, can I?”
Jonathan shook his head. “Open it up. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“You just had to say that…” he muttered as he undid the wax seal. The quietness was deafening, with only an occasional cough or throat clearing breaking the silence. After a quick read and checking the parchment for any traps, Blood-Wraith sighed, neatly folded the letter, and set it down. “Oh boy…”
“What did it say, Blood?” Barry inquired, everyone sharing his anticipation.
Blood-Wraith took a breath, steadying his nerves. “Can someone call my dad and tell him Valerie feels we need a challenge?” This surprised everyone, with some making subtle gasps.
Deimos walked over and took the letter. “Don’t worry, Blood, I’ll make the call. You guys, um, discuss.”
Ultimatum’s thoughts had been festering in the corner until he finally spoke up. “She’s already on the move!?” he cried, startling almost everyone. “How?!” He could be seen getting visibly upset. “EARLY! This is way too early!”
“I take it we should be concerned then, matey?” Jonathan inquired as he stood up.
“Schwarzes, my boy, relax,” Tiberius interjected. “It’s doubtful Valerie is on the cult’s side and I doubt she’s going to do anything rash. What is getting you all worked up?”
“Tiberius, things happening early is never a good sign…” he said with a slight growl.
Vexation nodded, recalling some past interactions. “True, Schwarzes, but Valerie’s always been a bit quirky…”
“HOLD UP, you’ve worked with her before, Vex!” Ultimatum snapped, a fiery aura engulfing him. “Why are you being so casual about this!?” his voice was starting to rumble.
“ARGH, come on everyone!” Blood-Wraith said as he got up. “Let’s get on this now!”
Zal-Rint could see the others growing worried, so he went over to Ultimatum and patted his shoulder. “Alright, Schwarzes, let’s not lose our heads. Don’t worry, everyone. Aberrations in the flow of time tend to happen, especially in The Unlight. Schwarzes and I will go discuss it now and let you all know if there are actually any issues we need to address…”
“And you’re sure about that?” Blood-Wraith asked.
Zal-Rint chuckled. “Don’t worry, Blood, I’m sure it’s fine. Come on, Schwarzes,” he said as he indicated for Ultimatum to follow.
“Alright, alright…” he said as he took a breath to calm down and left the room with him.
“Very good, you two,” Tiberius complimented as he tapped his staff on the floor. “Hopefully their divination yields results. As for the rest of you, be ready to move at a moment’s notice. While cordial, Valerie is still a crafty one.” This seemed to settle everyone down.
Aureolus nodded and turned his attention to Blood-Wraith. “You’re handling this pretty well, Blood…” he then received one of the most incredulous looks from him ever. “Nevermind.”
Dragoslava shook her head, followed by her shaking Blood-Wraith by the shoulder. “Come on, Blood. We survived The Lich of Old, didn’t we? It’s not going to be that big of a deal.” This made him groan a little.
“I understand how you feel, Blood-Wraith,” said Serjiel. “It can be frustrating to have things like this happen, especially when it’s on an occasion like this. Deviations from the norm always cause some form of chaos, be it an unexpected guest or a rogue demon lord revealing that they had a super weapon the entire time.”
“Aye, this nonsense happened to us all the time out on the high seas,” Jonathan continued. “Having things go according to plan is a luxury you can rarely afford. And even then there’s always a catch. Always have your pistol under your pillow just in case.”
“And don’t even get me started on the time we encountered the crew of The Roving Buccaneer,” Brandr added.
“Or how I failed to apprehend an anomalous dragon back in the Epoch!” Barry commented, humming with electricity that indicated nervous twitching. This warranted a few confused looks from the others.
“Point is that you shouldn’t worry, Blood,” Cronus reasoned. “There will always be that fly in the ointment…”
Drusa cleared her throat. “Cronus…”
He slightly rolled his eyes with a light sigh. “I know, Drusa, I know…”
Blood-Wraith thought about what everyone had said and sighed, indicating that he had relented. “Fair enough, you all have a point…”
Tusk then got up and stretched a little. “I'll go tell dad, Blood. Maybe he can help.”
“Thanks, Tusk.”
Gabriella also got up, straightened out her coat, and stepped over to the table. “Blood? Would it make you feel better if I went and informed mom, Achasiah, and Stolon about this?” He nodded. “Alright then,” she said as she gave him a hug.
Weaver also got up and followed her. “I’ll see you off, and then go pick Barna and Gratiana’s brain about this. Maybe they’ll have some insight that can help us.”
“Very good, you two,” Serjiel put in. “Oh, Weaver, how are those two doing? Given that I was unable to attend their wedding.”
“Fantastic. Barna is a lot happier and Gratiana is a far cry from how she was back in Shadowland,” Weaver answered as he left with Gabriella.
Brenna looked around and nodded, figuring she should also do something. “And I guess I’ll go tell the Captain General, aye, Blood?”
“Sure,” he replied. “That’d be perfect. Thanks, Brenna.”
“Well, Blood, at least Valerie’s giving us the courtesy of being polite,” Yoshihiro pointed out. “The Chaos Wasps certainly didn’t do that…”
Blood-Wraith could not help but laugh a little. “You got a point, Yoshihiro. Uncle Vlad certainly wasn’t polite either…”
Dragoslava then got him to stand up. “Come on, Blood, let’s go get some ice cream at Herman’s. Coming, Desislav?”
“Sure,” he replied, already having what kind of scoop he was going to get in mind. “Honestly a part of me thinks dealing with the Lich was easier. We’ll keep you posted if anything pops up, Tiberius.”
“Very good, you three.” He then turned to Alexia and Vexation. “Aside from that little development, things have gone fine I’d say.”
“A bit unexpected, but nothing we cannot handle,” Alexia remarked.
Vexation stroked his chin in contemplation and sighed as Blood-Wraith left. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel there were things I could’ve done beforehand.”
Blood-Wraith went back and forth between his house and the guild over the next couple of days. To rally the guild and potentially interest new recruits (a long shot, but it was still worth it), Tiberius held small fairs at the guild hall. People from The Iron city, The Unending Forest, and Shadowland showed up, amazed by the capabilities of the guild’s mages. Due to his exploits of the recent past, Blood-Wraith did not feel the need to show off, but popped in every now and then. At the middle of the week he was at his house, playing Apocalypse Conquest Requiem II when he heard a knock at his bedroom door.
“Who is it?”
“Me and Dunja,” Dragoslava replied. “Can we come in?”
“Oh, sure…”
Dunja, the queen of the Iron City, slightly ducked under the doorframe. Her lilac hair was tied back in a ponytail and she was wearing casual, yet regal attire. “Sorry if we’re interrupting anything, Blood,” she said as she sat down in a chair at his disorganized desk. It was full of papers, folders, and a toy or two. “So whatcha doing right now?”
Blood-Wraith paused his game to write down some notes. “Just working on my void titan build. I figured I’d try something new.” He then resumed and had his character launch a series of strange attacks against a group of what looked like zombie enemies.
“Nice,” Dragoslava complimented. “Did you do Mads’ quest to get the Sunlight EXP Gem? That should make your grinding go a lot faster.”
Blood-Wraith paused again and gave an annoyed sigh. “For some reason he’s been bugging out and I don’t know why. And I’m on the most recent patch too.”
“Hum, odd…” Dunja remarked. “Well, here's hoping it fixes itself. Now, Blood? I wanted to discuss Valerie, given that I have had a great deal of experience with her.”
“Yeah, that.” Blood-Wraith sighed again as he resumed playing. “It’s… I guess I’m not too worried, given the letter. I’m just not sure how to handle it.”
Dragoslava chuckled as she fiddled around with one of his action figures, which was hers in the past. “Leave it to our first big guild mission to be radically different from The Lich, Milosh, or Karnage.” Blood-Wraith quietly nodded as his character wiped out a horde of enemies with a super attack. The level up to his character that resulted from it was very satisfying.
“If it helps you feel better, Valerie isn’t a bad person,” Dunja clarified. “A rogue? Sure. Outright bad? Absolutely not. She probably wants to work with the guild in some capacity… in her own special way.”
Blood-Wraith had to pause once more. “Pardon?”
“She sent me a letter too, from herself, alluding to what she’s been up to. Turi brought it in and Silver Owls are very protective of their masters. So if he’s trusting her, you know she’s at least on the level.”
“I see. So what did Valerie say?”
“Well it sounds like she’s on the same page as us in regards to The Eternal Order in that she wants to stop them too… how i’m not sure as she hinted towards a potential meeting soon…”
That actually sounded fairly appealing to Blood-Wraith, as it would mean he would be able to make sense of what was going on. “I wouldn’t mind that. It would be ideal to get to know her.”
“...And she told me not to tell you this, but she has been keeping an eye on you.”
This gave him slight goose bumps, causing Blood-Wraith to get up and frantically check his window. Notably the sill had signs of water damage. “Okay, where is it?! I knew I was spotting something out of the corner of my eye!”
Dragoslava gave a light chuckle and patted his shoulder. “Blood, it’s probably gone by now. I’d imagine she has the info she wants.”
“Good lord…”
“To be fair, Blood, she can read my reports for The Central Unlight Explorer’s Guild too.”
“Valerie always loved to do her research,” Dunja recalled. “It’s how she’s been able to stay one step ahead of the likes of Milosh and Anne.”
“I guess that’s good to hear,” Blood-Wraith remarked. He then closed his game and shut off the console, feeling too distracted to play. “So what’s Valerie like, Dunja?”
She chuckled a little, a bit of nostalgia coming back to her. “She’s a blast to be around. She’s witty, nice, sassy, fun loving, and charismatic. Valerie can be a bit of a fast talker at times, but she knows exactly what to say to put you into a good mood. And another thing is that she is dedicated to learning. In fact, she probably resurfaced because there’s such a big concentration of ULTRAMagic mages at the moment.”
Blood-Wraith slowly nodded. “I see…”
Dragoslava shrugged. “I don’t know, Blood. She seems pretty cool, all things considered.”
Feeling a bit confused and unsure, Blood-Wraith took the two to the kitchen for a quick bite to eat. A light snack always helped Blood-Wraith think clearly. His kitchen was modest, yet spacious with a small, glass table off to the side. While Dragoslava and Dunja took a seat, Blood-Wraith quickly whipped up a rice cake slathered in peanut butter. It made him smack his lips a few times, but the savory creaminess combined with the airy crunch soothed his nerves as he leaned against the countertop. After washing his food down with some orange juice, he thought to himself and grumbled a little.
“Well, she can’t be all that bad if she sent us those letters…”
“Mm-hmm, yes, Blood,” said Dragoslava. “We’ve been over this, stop worrying.”
“Easier said than done…”
Dunja had acquired a paring knife and was cutting herself some apple slices. “Look at it this way, Blood; You’re not in my position, dealing with a psychotic subversive with a god complex on Tuesdays and a superiority complex on Fridays. You’re encountering a fellow mage who wants the same thing as you.”
“Right…”
“...and even if you two can’t see eye to eye, you two can at least learn from each other. And if the worst case scenario happens and we cannot best her, well, siding with her isn’t the worst thing ever. She’s not out to pillage and plunder like Milosh was, I can say that with confidence.”
Blood-Wraith sighed a little and nodded. “I suppose you’re right, in that not being the worst outcome…”
“Until that day comes, Blood,” Dragoslava cut in. “We won’t back down! We’ll show Valerie why we, The ULTRAMagic Guild, are tough enough to keep the Cosmos safe!”
“Yeah!” Blood-Wraith said as he high fived his sister. “Thanks for the talk, you two.”
“No problemo, Blood.”
Dunja smiled. “We’ll always be here for you, Blood. And besides, you helped me back in The Unending Forest, so now it’s my turn to return the favor.”
Next: Chapter 4
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Master Post - Patreon
Blood-Wraith groaned a little as he sat down with the letter. Having everyone looking at him did not help either. “I cannot catch a break, can I?”
Jonathan shook his head. “Open it up. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“You just had to say that…” he muttered as he undid the wax seal. The quietness was deafening, with only an occasional cough or throat clearing breaking the silence. After a quick read and checking the parchment for any traps, Blood-Wraith sighed, neatly folded the letter, and set it down. “Oh boy…”
“What did it say, Blood?” Barry inquired, everyone sharing his anticipation.
Blood-Wraith took a breath, steadying his nerves. “Can someone call my dad and tell him Valerie feels we need a challenge?” This surprised everyone, with some making subtle gasps.
Deimos walked over and took the letter. “Don’t worry, Blood, I’ll make the call. You guys, um, discuss.”
Ultimatum’s thoughts had been festering in the corner until he finally spoke up. “She’s already on the move!?” he cried, startling almost everyone. “How?!” He could be seen getting visibly upset. “EARLY! This is way too early!”
“I take it we should be concerned then, matey?” Jonathan inquired as he stood up.
“Schwarzes, my boy, relax,” Tiberius interjected. “It’s doubtful Valerie is on the cult’s side and I doubt she’s going to do anything rash. What is getting you all worked up?”
“Tiberius, things happening early is never a good sign…” he said with a slight growl.
Vexation nodded, recalling some past interactions. “True, Schwarzes, but Valerie’s always been a bit quirky…”
“HOLD UP, you’ve worked with her before, Vex!” Ultimatum snapped, a fiery aura engulfing him. “Why are you being so casual about this!?” his voice was starting to rumble.
“ARGH, come on everyone!” Blood-Wraith said as he got up. “Let’s get on this now!”
Zal-Rint could see the others growing worried, so he went over to Ultimatum and patted his shoulder. “Alright, Schwarzes, let’s not lose our heads. Don’t worry, everyone. Aberrations in the flow of time tend to happen, especially in The Unlight. Schwarzes and I will go discuss it now and let you all know if there are actually any issues we need to address…”
“And you’re sure about that?” Blood-Wraith asked.
Zal-Rint chuckled. “Don’t worry, Blood, I’m sure it’s fine. Come on, Schwarzes,” he said as he indicated for Ultimatum to follow.
“Alright, alright…” he said as he took a breath to calm down and left the room with him.
“Very good, you two,” Tiberius complimented as he tapped his staff on the floor. “Hopefully their divination yields results. As for the rest of you, be ready to move at a moment’s notice. While cordial, Valerie is still a crafty one.” This seemed to settle everyone down.
Aureolus nodded and turned his attention to Blood-Wraith. “You’re handling this pretty well, Blood…” he then received one of the most incredulous looks from him ever. “Nevermind.”
Dragoslava shook her head, followed by her shaking Blood-Wraith by the shoulder. “Come on, Blood. We survived The Lich of Old, didn’t we? It’s not going to be that big of a deal.” This made him groan a little.
“I understand how you feel, Blood-Wraith,” said Serjiel. “It can be frustrating to have things like this happen, especially when it’s on an occasion like this. Deviations from the norm always cause some form of chaos, be it an unexpected guest or a rogue demon lord revealing that they had a super weapon the entire time.”
“Aye, this nonsense happened to us all the time out on the high seas,” Jonathan continued. “Having things go according to plan is a luxury you can rarely afford. And even then there’s always a catch. Always have your pistol under your pillow just in case.”
“And don’t even get me started on the time we encountered the crew of The Roving Buccaneer,” Brandr added.
“Or how I failed to apprehend an anomalous dragon back in the Epoch!” Barry commented, humming with electricity that indicated nervous twitching. This warranted a few confused looks from the others.
“Point is that you shouldn’t worry, Blood,” Cronus reasoned. “There will always be that fly in the ointment…”
Drusa cleared her throat. “Cronus…”
He slightly rolled his eyes with a light sigh. “I know, Drusa, I know…”
Blood-Wraith thought about what everyone had said and sighed, indicating that he had relented. “Fair enough, you all have a point…”
Tusk then got up and stretched a little. “I'll go tell dad, Blood. Maybe he can help.”
“Thanks, Tusk.”
Gabriella also got up, straightened out her coat, and stepped over to the table. “Blood? Would it make you feel better if I went and informed mom, Achasiah, and Stolon about this?” He nodded. “Alright then,” she said as she gave him a hug.
Weaver also got up and followed her. “I’ll see you off, and then go pick Barna and Gratiana’s brain about this. Maybe they’ll have some insight that can help us.”
“Very good, you two,” Serjiel put in. “Oh, Weaver, how are those two doing? Given that I was unable to attend their wedding.”
“Fantastic. Barna is a lot happier and Gratiana is a far cry from how she was back in Shadowland,” Weaver answered as he left with Gabriella.
Brenna looked around and nodded, figuring she should also do something. “And I guess I’ll go tell the Captain General, aye, Blood?”
“Sure,” he replied. “That’d be perfect. Thanks, Brenna.”
“Well, Blood, at least Valerie’s giving us the courtesy of being polite,” Yoshihiro pointed out. “The Chaos Wasps certainly didn’t do that…”
Blood-Wraith could not help but laugh a little. “You got a point, Yoshihiro. Uncle Vlad certainly wasn’t polite either…”
Dragoslava then got him to stand up. “Come on, Blood, let’s go get some ice cream at Herman’s. Coming, Desislav?”
“Sure,” he replied, already having what kind of scoop he was going to get in mind. “Honestly a part of me thinks dealing with the Lich was easier. We’ll keep you posted if anything pops up, Tiberius.”
“Very good, you three.” He then turned to Alexia and Vexation. “Aside from that little development, things have gone fine I’d say.”
“A bit unexpected, but nothing we cannot handle,” Alexia remarked.
Vexation stroked his chin in contemplation and sighed as Blood-Wraith left. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel there were things I could’ve done beforehand.”
Blood-Wraith went back and forth between his house and the guild over the next couple of days. To rally the guild and potentially interest new recruits (a long shot, but it was still worth it), Tiberius held small fairs at the guild hall. People from The Iron city, The Unending Forest, and Shadowland showed up, amazed by the capabilities of the guild’s mages. Due to his exploits of the recent past, Blood-Wraith did not feel the need to show off, but popped in every now and then. At the middle of the week he was at his house, playing Apocalypse Conquest Requiem II when he heard a knock at his bedroom door.
“Who is it?”
“Me and Dunja,” Dragoslava replied. “Can we come in?”
“Oh, sure…”
Dunja, the queen of the Iron City, slightly ducked under the doorframe. Her lilac hair was tied back in a ponytail and she was wearing casual, yet regal attire. “Sorry if we’re interrupting anything, Blood,” she said as she sat down in a chair at his disorganized desk. It was full of papers, folders, and a toy or two. “So whatcha doing right now?”
Blood-Wraith paused his game to write down some notes. “Just working on my void titan build. I figured I’d try something new.” He then resumed and had his character launch a series of strange attacks against a group of what looked like zombie enemies.
“Nice,” Dragoslava complimented. “Did you do Mads’ quest to get the Sunlight EXP Gem? That should make your grinding go a lot faster.”
Blood-Wraith paused again and gave an annoyed sigh. “For some reason he’s been bugging out and I don’t know why. And I’m on the most recent patch too.”
“Hum, odd…” Dunja remarked. “Well, here's hoping it fixes itself. Now, Blood? I wanted to discuss Valerie, given that I have had a great deal of experience with her.”
“Yeah, that.” Blood-Wraith sighed again as he resumed playing. “It’s… I guess I’m not too worried, given the letter. I’m just not sure how to handle it.”
Dragoslava chuckled as she fiddled around with one of his action figures, which was hers in the past. “Leave it to our first big guild mission to be radically different from The Lich, Milosh, or Karnage.” Blood-Wraith quietly nodded as his character wiped out a horde of enemies with a super attack. The level up to his character that resulted from it was very satisfying.
“If it helps you feel better, Valerie isn’t a bad person,” Dunja clarified. “A rogue? Sure. Outright bad? Absolutely not. She probably wants to work with the guild in some capacity… in her own special way.”
Blood-Wraith had to pause once more. “Pardon?”
“She sent me a letter too, from herself, alluding to what she’s been up to. Turi brought it in and Silver Owls are very protective of their masters. So if he’s trusting her, you know she’s at least on the level.”
“I see. So what did Valerie say?”
“Well it sounds like she’s on the same page as us in regards to The Eternal Order in that she wants to stop them too… how i’m not sure as she hinted towards a potential meeting soon…”
That actually sounded fairly appealing to Blood-Wraith, as it would mean he would be able to make sense of what was going on. “I wouldn’t mind that. It would be ideal to get to know her.”
“...And she told me not to tell you this, but she has been keeping an eye on you.”
This gave him slight goose bumps, causing Blood-Wraith to get up and frantically check his window. Notably the sill had signs of water damage. “Okay, where is it?! I knew I was spotting something out of the corner of my eye!”
Dragoslava gave a light chuckle and patted his shoulder. “Blood, it’s probably gone by now. I’d imagine she has the info she wants.”
“Good lord…”
“To be fair, Blood, she can read my reports for The Central Unlight Explorer’s Guild too.”
“Valerie always loved to do her research,” Dunja recalled. “It’s how she’s been able to stay one step ahead of the likes of Milosh and Anne.”
“I guess that’s good to hear,” Blood-Wraith remarked. He then closed his game and shut off the console, feeling too distracted to play. “So what’s Valerie like, Dunja?”
She chuckled a little, a bit of nostalgia coming back to her. “She’s a blast to be around. She’s witty, nice, sassy, fun loving, and charismatic. Valerie can be a bit of a fast talker at times, but she knows exactly what to say to put you into a good mood. And another thing is that she is dedicated to learning. In fact, she probably resurfaced because there’s such a big concentration of ULTRAMagic mages at the moment.”
Blood-Wraith slowly nodded. “I see…”
Dragoslava shrugged. “I don’t know, Blood. She seems pretty cool, all things considered.”
Feeling a bit confused and unsure, Blood-Wraith took the two to the kitchen for a quick bite to eat. A light snack always helped Blood-Wraith think clearly. His kitchen was modest, yet spacious with a small, glass table off to the side. While Dragoslava and Dunja took a seat, Blood-Wraith quickly whipped up a rice cake slathered in peanut butter. It made him smack his lips a few times, but the savory creaminess combined with the airy crunch soothed his nerves as he leaned against the countertop. After washing his food down with some orange juice, he thought to himself and grumbled a little.
“Well, she can’t be all that bad if she sent us those letters…”
“Mm-hmm, yes, Blood,” said Dragoslava. “We’ve been over this, stop worrying.”
“Easier said than done…”
Dunja had acquired a paring knife and was cutting herself some apple slices. “Look at it this way, Blood; You’re not in my position, dealing with a psychotic subversive with a god complex on Tuesdays and a superiority complex on Fridays. You’re encountering a fellow mage who wants the same thing as you.”
“Right…”
“...and even if you two can’t see eye to eye, you two can at least learn from each other. And if the worst case scenario happens and we cannot best her, well, siding with her isn’t the worst thing ever. She’s not out to pillage and plunder like Milosh was, I can say that with confidence.”
Blood-Wraith sighed a little and nodded. “I suppose you’re right, in that not being the worst outcome…”
“Until that day comes, Blood,” Dragoslava cut in. “We won’t back down! We’ll show Valerie why we, The ULTRAMagic Guild, are tough enough to keep the Cosmos safe!”
“Yeah!” Blood-Wraith said as he high fived his sister. “Thanks for the talk, you two.”
“No problemo, Blood.”
Dunja smiled. “We’ll always be here for you, Blood. And besides, you helped me back in The Unending Forest, so now it’s my turn to return the favor.”
Next: Chapter 4
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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