ULTRAMagic Eon 1 - Chapter 30
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The royal court made their way down to the arena, as Englehart wanted to address the duelists and congratulate them. “Well done! Well done, both of you!” the king declared as he approached, accompanied by the others. “My goodness, Blood! Your magic only gets better and better as time goes on. Playing it safe only to heel-turn head first into uncharted territory is the making of a truly great mage, not afraid to take risks and blazes as many trails as he can!”
“And just where did you learn that void magic, young man?” Dunja eagerly inquired. “A little rough around the edges, but that was impressive for someone new to it.”
Blood-Wraith chuckled and twirled the rose between his fingers as it vanished. “The Screaming God has been getting on my case to learn void since I’ve decided to save curses for absolute emergencies and I finally caved.”
“I was wondering where that magic was,” Valerie noted as she stepped over to them. “I was actually a bit worried about you using curses…”
“Ah, Valerie, would you like to address the audience?” Englehart asked as he indicated for Radovan to hand her the microphone.
“Of course. Thank you, your majesty,” Valerie replied as she tapped the speaker. “Ladies and gentlemen? Sir Blood-Wraith has defeated me and I am a woman of my word. I am hereby dropping my plans to unite The Unlight and I will be working closely with The Iron City and The ULTRAMagic Guild to help keep the Cosmos safe!” She received a round of supportive applause for her declaration.
Torunn then approached and gestured for the microphone. Valerie was a little confused, but handed it off. “Everyone, I have an important announcement I’d like to make! After much deliberation at the behest of Queen Dunja, effective immediately, Valerie is officially inducted into the Blades of Dunja!” There was another, celebratory round of applause.
“Wait, what?!” Valerie exclaimed as Torunn handed the microphone back to Radovan.
“We absolutely insist, dear,” Gratiana said as she stepped over, accompanied by Adriana and Andelin. “Your magic and intellect are second to none, and you’d be invaluable in keeping The Iron City safe.”
“Plus you know a great deal about Anne’s side of The Eternal Order,” Dunja added, leaning in a little. “We need your help now more than ever.”
Valerie was about to speak, but stopped and sighed. She could not say no to a friend. “Fair enough, Dunja. Besides, someone has to have your back,” she assured with a chuckle.
“Now if we could just get Rose to join, it would really be a party,” Torunn pointed out, causing the duchess to smile and shake her head.
Radovan then gestured for Valerie and Blood to stand with him. “Let’s hear it for Sir Raynot and Blade Valerie!!” The audience gave one last round of vigorous applause, commending the fantastic duel and the ever so brighter future ahead of them as the two duelists gave a final bow.
As Valerie and Blood-Wraith met back up with the guild before heading back to the guild hall, Guinevere went and gave her mother a hug while everyone congratulated Blood-Wraith on a job well done. Guinevere could not stop praising her mother’s performance and maturity, while also apologizing for her antics previously. Valerie also apologized and admitted Guinevere was right all along. She was also quite proud of Will’s rescue, assuring her daughter that the Ter Avest wit and spirit was alive and well in her. Before Valerie could take her leave with Guinevere (and Edmund), Tiberius and Alexia insisted that they attend the celebratory feast that was to be held for Blood-Wraith’s triumph. Valerie could not say no to a good time and Blood-Wraith was also very insistent.
The entire guild was in attendance that evening, proud as ever of Blood-Wraith and his success. Things had seemed uncertain at first, but that duel was a guarantee that the guild could work and they could easily get things done if they set their minds to it. Everyone was happy beyond words and it could be felt in the air as they all sat in the main hall, chatting and waiting for the food to be ready. Desislav, Drusa, and Alexia went all out with the night’s meal. A wide variety of dishes with all sorts of meats, breads, and vegetables were prepared, with many delectable scents filling the main hall as the food trolleys were wheeled in. Everyone was invited to dig in as they had all earned it.
Blood-Wraith was sitting with Valerie, Guinevere, The Future Squad, Tiberius, Alexia, Deimos, and Dragoslava as he enjoyed his food. He then looked at Valerie who seemed a little lost in thought. “So, Valerie, what’s next?”
“Oh, I don’t know honestly,” she answered. “I wanted to go off and do a little soul searching, but my draft into the Blades of Dunja foiled those plans.”
“Ahem, mother,” Guinevere playfully interjected. “Let’s not get overly ambitious again…”
Valerie laughed. “I hear you, sweetie. Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere any time soon.” This was met with a positive chirp from Edmund, who was happily gnawing on his food.
“Well even if she did, Baxter and I would have her back in no time,” Deimos boasted, with Vexation shaking his head with a smile in the distance.
“Also there’s something important we need to address,” Blood-Wraith put in. “Tiberius?”
“Indeed, Blood,” he replied. “Could you do the honors, Cronus?”
Cronus chuckled as he stood up. “Let’s put Valerie’s membership to a vote! Any opposed? All for?” Everyone else raised their hands for the latter with supportive cheers. “Welcome to the guild, Valerie!”
“What-but-huh!?” She was stunned, with Guinevere chuckling to herself. “Goodness, this day is just full of surprises. I-I happily accept!” This earned her a round of applause.
“Besides, you have newfound ULTRAMagic and need training,” Tusk pointed out as he took a bite of his food. “Jeez, you guys are giving me the same anxiety I had before we set out with Leif to go fight The Lich…” Some of the others chuckled in response to that.
As everyone returned to eating, Rostislav had a question he had been wanting to ask pop back into his mind. “Hey, Valerie? I got to ask you something: How in the blue blazes did you plan to unite the whole dang Unlight?” he questioned with a laugh.
“Agreed, because The Unlight is so big it’s not funny,” Dragoslava added. “And it’s still expanding to this day. We may even see our part of The Unlight become ‘The Outer Unlight’ in the future.”
“And I will second that given the data on the Abyssal Unlight we’re receiving,” Deimos put forward. “The Eye Planet that has been following The Unmariner has been fairly vocal about that.”
“Oh, hold up,” Will interrupted. “Does that mean The Deep Unlight would become the new Unlight, so-to-speak?”
“Yes indeed, Will,” Deimos answered with a teacher’s pride. “And the Trench Unlight would become the Deep Unlight, the Abyssal Unlight would become the Trench Unlight, and so on and so forth.”
“Jeez, ain’t that something else?” Yale remarked. “And I can barely wrap my mind around the expansion of the universe back home…”
Valerie cleared her throat, regaining everyone’s attention. “To answer your question, Rostislav: I… I have no idea. Truthfully it was a ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ kind of plan. I’ll admit I was being reckless and headstrong…”
Deimos nodded and took a sip from his mug. “I can relate, as that mentality got me here after you split me.”
“Don’t fret over it too much, Valerie,” Alexia reassured her. “The Epoch-guild felt a similar conundrum and weren’t sure how to go about keeping the early Cosmos safe. Tiberius, wasn’t Mind-Wraith worried in particular?”
“Goodness, that brings me back,” he recalled as she set his mug down. “I’d say the poor lad was somewhere between Blood and Valerie.”
“The dangers on the horizon were quite frightening for everyone as none of us were sure how the Cosmos would turn out. And the eternity it took to arrive at modernity did not help in the slightest.”
Valerie let that sink in as she ate some more. “It’s definitely comforting to know that I’m not alone in the concern I have for the Cosmos. Goodness, it goes back that far…”
Vexation leaned towards the group and laughed a little. “Mind-Wraith would definitely appreciate your concern, but also would definitely have some choice words for you and Blood.”
Blood-Wraith chuckled and shook his head. “Oh, Will? Now when you head back to the future, I want you to take things seriously, okay? Ask for help if you’re stuck and be careful in battle… especially with that ‘Mega Cannon’ spell I’ve been told about.”
Will smiled and laughed. “Will do, Blood. And don’t worry, Antares and Marcus will get on my case if I slip up again.”
“All of that is along the lines of what I’ve been trying to teach him as his mentor,” Rostislav added. “These things take time, unfortunately.”
“Good lord, Teunis was so right…”
Rostislav had some annoying memories come back and patted Will on the shoulder. “Hold up, Will. If Teunis picks on you again, I’m going to give him what for!”
“But Rostislav, he has a point. My recklessness is messing things up. Remember how he had to cover for me at Dust Gullet Gulch? I was out of my depth in that showdown with Dirtbag Jones…”
Ludwig finished some of his food and groaned a little. “As valid as most of Teunis’ critiques are, he has been a bit on edge as of late…”
“Dealing with The Eternal Order I trust?” Dragoslava wondered with a chuckle.
“Amongst other issues, but for the sake of the timeline I shall arrest my details.”
“Fair enough-don’t want to blow a hole in the flow of time and whatnot,” she conceded.
Blood-Wraith then realized something and scratched his head, looking around for someone. “Hey, where’s Schwarzes? Wasn’t he supposed to be here?”
Will also looked around, his neck emanating a soft plume of gray smoke. “Yeah, he just sort of vanished after we got back…”
Rostislav laughed as lightly flicked Will’s neck. “Ha, I thought me and Jack got your dullahan venting under control.”
“Heh, sorry about that…”
“Can’t really fault him given how chaotic things have been,” Yale reasoned.
Just as Tiberius was about to speak on the matter of Ultimatum’s absence, he entered the hall with Zal-Rint and three others. “Sorry we’re late, everyone!” Ultimatum announced. “We had to round up Mal, Auda, and Valentina.”
“And we also had some flow of time shenanigans to address with Beorhtric and Wynnstan,” Zal-Rint added. “Is the food still warm?”
“Of course!” Desislav replied. “And don’t worry, we made more than enough.”
“Mr. Fire!” the red haired tree person in a school uniform called out as Blood-Wraith got up to greet her while the others exchanged greetings. “That was so cool!”
“I take it you saw the whole thing, Auda?” Blood-Wraith asked as he was hugged and swung around.
“Yeah, the whole school watched it!” she said as she set him down. “We were all rooting for you and all of that was awesome! The way you cast the serpent, the flames, the webs, and the dancing? Amazing!” she was tapping her feet a little on the last bit.
“Well hey, go get some food and I’ll tell you more about it!”
“Yes yes yes!” she replied as she went over to the trolleys.
Valentina also picked up Blood-Wraith for a hug. “Blood, I’m so proud of you! That was some of the finest magic I’ve ever seen.”
“Thanks, Val. It was certainly a rush.”
“I’d dare say you’ve made Mind-Wraith very proud, Blood,” Mal said as she gave him a calmer hug.
“Thanks, Mal.”
“And Valerie, it’s a pleasure to meet you and to have you as a member of the Blades of Dunja.”
Valerie smiled as she shook Mal’s slender hand. “Likewise, dear. I just hope I can live up to everyone’s expectations.”
Jonathan then stood up with a hearty sailor’s laugh, feeling full of energy. “You know what, everyone? This all calls for some music! I’m getting out my fiddle. Brandr, get your drums.”
“Haha, will do, John!” he replied as he also got up. “It’s music time. Anyone got a flute or a guitar?”
“I’m a good flutist,” Gabriella replied.
“And I’ve always been pretty good with an acoustic guitar,” Weaver added.
“Pull ashore, mateys!” Jonathan invited. “It’s going to be singing and dancing tonight.”
Next: Chapter 31
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Master Post - Patreon
The royal court made their way down to the arena, as Englehart wanted to address the duelists and congratulate them. “Well done! Well done, both of you!” the king declared as he approached, accompanied by the others. “My goodness, Blood! Your magic only gets better and better as time goes on. Playing it safe only to heel-turn head first into uncharted territory is the making of a truly great mage, not afraid to take risks and blazes as many trails as he can!”
“And just where did you learn that void magic, young man?” Dunja eagerly inquired. “A little rough around the edges, but that was impressive for someone new to it.”
Blood-Wraith chuckled and twirled the rose between his fingers as it vanished. “The Screaming God has been getting on my case to learn void since I’ve decided to save curses for absolute emergencies and I finally caved.”
“I was wondering where that magic was,” Valerie noted as she stepped over to them. “I was actually a bit worried about you using curses…”
“Ah, Valerie, would you like to address the audience?” Englehart asked as he indicated for Radovan to hand her the microphone.
“Of course. Thank you, your majesty,” Valerie replied as she tapped the speaker. “Ladies and gentlemen? Sir Blood-Wraith has defeated me and I am a woman of my word. I am hereby dropping my plans to unite The Unlight and I will be working closely with The Iron City and The ULTRAMagic Guild to help keep the Cosmos safe!” She received a round of supportive applause for her declaration.
Torunn then approached and gestured for the microphone. Valerie was a little confused, but handed it off. “Everyone, I have an important announcement I’d like to make! After much deliberation at the behest of Queen Dunja, effective immediately, Valerie is officially inducted into the Blades of Dunja!” There was another, celebratory round of applause.
“Wait, what?!” Valerie exclaimed as Torunn handed the microphone back to Radovan.
“We absolutely insist, dear,” Gratiana said as she stepped over, accompanied by Adriana and Andelin. “Your magic and intellect are second to none, and you’d be invaluable in keeping The Iron City safe.”
“Plus you know a great deal about Anne’s side of The Eternal Order,” Dunja added, leaning in a little. “We need your help now more than ever.”
Valerie was about to speak, but stopped and sighed. She could not say no to a friend. “Fair enough, Dunja. Besides, someone has to have your back,” she assured with a chuckle.
“Now if we could just get Rose to join, it would really be a party,” Torunn pointed out, causing the duchess to smile and shake her head.
Radovan then gestured for Valerie and Blood to stand with him. “Let’s hear it for Sir Raynot and Blade Valerie!!” The audience gave one last round of vigorous applause, commending the fantastic duel and the ever so brighter future ahead of them as the two duelists gave a final bow.
As Valerie and Blood-Wraith met back up with the guild before heading back to the guild hall, Guinevere went and gave her mother a hug while everyone congratulated Blood-Wraith on a job well done. Guinevere could not stop praising her mother’s performance and maturity, while also apologizing for her antics previously. Valerie also apologized and admitted Guinevere was right all along. She was also quite proud of Will’s rescue, assuring her daughter that the Ter Avest wit and spirit was alive and well in her. Before Valerie could take her leave with Guinevere (and Edmund), Tiberius and Alexia insisted that they attend the celebratory feast that was to be held for Blood-Wraith’s triumph. Valerie could not say no to a good time and Blood-Wraith was also very insistent.
The entire guild was in attendance that evening, proud as ever of Blood-Wraith and his success. Things had seemed uncertain at first, but that duel was a guarantee that the guild could work and they could easily get things done if they set their minds to it. Everyone was happy beyond words and it could be felt in the air as they all sat in the main hall, chatting and waiting for the food to be ready. Desislav, Drusa, and Alexia went all out with the night’s meal. A wide variety of dishes with all sorts of meats, breads, and vegetables were prepared, with many delectable scents filling the main hall as the food trolleys were wheeled in. Everyone was invited to dig in as they had all earned it.
Blood-Wraith was sitting with Valerie, Guinevere, The Future Squad, Tiberius, Alexia, Deimos, and Dragoslava as he enjoyed his food. He then looked at Valerie who seemed a little lost in thought. “So, Valerie, what’s next?”
“Oh, I don’t know honestly,” she answered. “I wanted to go off and do a little soul searching, but my draft into the Blades of Dunja foiled those plans.”
“Ahem, mother,” Guinevere playfully interjected. “Let’s not get overly ambitious again…”
Valerie laughed. “I hear you, sweetie. Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere any time soon.” This was met with a positive chirp from Edmund, who was happily gnawing on his food.
“Well even if she did, Baxter and I would have her back in no time,” Deimos boasted, with Vexation shaking his head with a smile in the distance.
“Also there’s something important we need to address,” Blood-Wraith put in. “Tiberius?”
“Indeed, Blood,” he replied. “Could you do the honors, Cronus?”
Cronus chuckled as he stood up. “Let’s put Valerie’s membership to a vote! Any opposed? All for?” Everyone else raised their hands for the latter with supportive cheers. “Welcome to the guild, Valerie!”
“What-but-huh!?” She was stunned, with Guinevere chuckling to herself. “Goodness, this day is just full of surprises. I-I happily accept!” This earned her a round of applause.
“Besides, you have newfound ULTRAMagic and need training,” Tusk pointed out as he took a bite of his food. “Jeez, you guys are giving me the same anxiety I had before we set out with Leif to go fight The Lich…” Some of the others chuckled in response to that.
As everyone returned to eating, Rostislav had a question he had been wanting to ask pop back into his mind. “Hey, Valerie? I got to ask you something: How in the blue blazes did you plan to unite the whole dang Unlight?” he questioned with a laugh.
“Agreed, because The Unlight is so big it’s not funny,” Dragoslava added. “And it’s still expanding to this day. We may even see our part of The Unlight become ‘The Outer Unlight’ in the future.”
“And I will second that given the data on the Abyssal Unlight we’re receiving,” Deimos put forward. “The Eye Planet that has been following The Unmariner has been fairly vocal about that.”
“Oh, hold up,” Will interrupted. “Does that mean The Deep Unlight would become the new Unlight, so-to-speak?”
“Yes indeed, Will,” Deimos answered with a teacher’s pride. “And the Trench Unlight would become the Deep Unlight, the Abyssal Unlight would become the Trench Unlight, and so on and so forth.”
“Jeez, ain’t that something else?” Yale remarked. “And I can barely wrap my mind around the expansion of the universe back home…”
Valerie cleared her throat, regaining everyone’s attention. “To answer your question, Rostislav: I… I have no idea. Truthfully it was a ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ kind of plan. I’ll admit I was being reckless and headstrong…”
Deimos nodded and took a sip from his mug. “I can relate, as that mentality got me here after you split me.”
“Don’t fret over it too much, Valerie,” Alexia reassured her. “The Epoch-guild felt a similar conundrum and weren’t sure how to go about keeping the early Cosmos safe. Tiberius, wasn’t Mind-Wraith worried in particular?”
“Goodness, that brings me back,” he recalled as she set his mug down. “I’d say the poor lad was somewhere between Blood and Valerie.”
“The dangers on the horizon were quite frightening for everyone as none of us were sure how the Cosmos would turn out. And the eternity it took to arrive at modernity did not help in the slightest.”
Valerie let that sink in as she ate some more. “It’s definitely comforting to know that I’m not alone in the concern I have for the Cosmos. Goodness, it goes back that far…”
Vexation leaned towards the group and laughed a little. “Mind-Wraith would definitely appreciate your concern, but also would definitely have some choice words for you and Blood.”
Blood-Wraith chuckled and shook his head. “Oh, Will? Now when you head back to the future, I want you to take things seriously, okay? Ask for help if you’re stuck and be careful in battle… especially with that ‘Mega Cannon’ spell I’ve been told about.”
Will smiled and laughed. “Will do, Blood. And don’t worry, Antares and Marcus will get on my case if I slip up again.”
“All of that is along the lines of what I’ve been trying to teach him as his mentor,” Rostislav added. “These things take time, unfortunately.”
“Good lord, Teunis was so right…”
Rostislav had some annoying memories come back and patted Will on the shoulder. “Hold up, Will. If Teunis picks on you again, I’m going to give him what for!”
“But Rostislav, he has a point. My recklessness is messing things up. Remember how he had to cover for me at Dust Gullet Gulch? I was out of my depth in that showdown with Dirtbag Jones…”
Ludwig finished some of his food and groaned a little. “As valid as most of Teunis’ critiques are, he has been a bit on edge as of late…”
“Dealing with The Eternal Order I trust?” Dragoslava wondered with a chuckle.
“Amongst other issues, but for the sake of the timeline I shall arrest my details.”
“Fair enough-don’t want to blow a hole in the flow of time and whatnot,” she conceded.
Blood-Wraith then realized something and scratched his head, looking around for someone. “Hey, where’s Schwarzes? Wasn’t he supposed to be here?”
Will also looked around, his neck emanating a soft plume of gray smoke. “Yeah, he just sort of vanished after we got back…”
Rostislav laughed as lightly flicked Will’s neck. “Ha, I thought me and Jack got your dullahan venting under control.”
“Heh, sorry about that…”
“Can’t really fault him given how chaotic things have been,” Yale reasoned.
Just as Tiberius was about to speak on the matter of Ultimatum’s absence, he entered the hall with Zal-Rint and three others. “Sorry we’re late, everyone!” Ultimatum announced. “We had to round up Mal, Auda, and Valentina.”
“And we also had some flow of time shenanigans to address with Beorhtric and Wynnstan,” Zal-Rint added. “Is the food still warm?”
“Of course!” Desislav replied. “And don’t worry, we made more than enough.”
“Mr. Fire!” the red haired tree person in a school uniform called out as Blood-Wraith got up to greet her while the others exchanged greetings. “That was so cool!”
“I take it you saw the whole thing, Auda?” Blood-Wraith asked as he was hugged and swung around.
“Yeah, the whole school watched it!” she said as she set him down. “We were all rooting for you and all of that was awesome! The way you cast the serpent, the flames, the webs, and the dancing? Amazing!” she was tapping her feet a little on the last bit.
“Well hey, go get some food and I’ll tell you more about it!”
“Yes yes yes!” she replied as she went over to the trolleys.
Valentina also picked up Blood-Wraith for a hug. “Blood, I’m so proud of you! That was some of the finest magic I’ve ever seen.”
“Thanks, Val. It was certainly a rush.”
“I’d dare say you’ve made Mind-Wraith very proud, Blood,” Mal said as she gave him a calmer hug.
“Thanks, Mal.”
“And Valerie, it’s a pleasure to meet you and to have you as a member of the Blades of Dunja.”
Valerie smiled as she shook Mal’s slender hand. “Likewise, dear. I just hope I can live up to everyone’s expectations.”
Jonathan then stood up with a hearty sailor’s laugh, feeling full of energy. “You know what, everyone? This all calls for some music! I’m getting out my fiddle. Brandr, get your drums.”
“Haha, will do, John!” he replied as he also got up. “It’s music time. Anyone got a flute or a guitar?”
“I’m a good flutist,” Gabriella replied.
“And I’ve always been pretty good with an acoustic guitar,” Weaver added.
“Pull ashore, mateys!” Jonathan invited. “It’s going to be singing and dancing tonight.”
Next: Chapter 31
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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