ULTRAMagic Interlude BC - Chapter 25
Previous | First | Next
Master Post - Patreon
Vlastimir and Ekaterina were up early the next day, wanting to get to the colosseum as soon as they could. The Iron Colosseum was a grand structure, dedicated to bouts of skill and might. It reminded Vlastimir of a mix of a sports arena and the Roman colosseum from his universe, albeit leaning more towards the latter. The arena of the Iron Colosseum had returned to normal since the duel between Englehart and Dunja. Various athletes and a couple of sports teams were all over the place. There was even a pair of primary school classes on a small field trip.
“Ah, here’s our spot” Ekaterina pointed out as the two arrived at a large area marked with flags and a sign.
Vlastimir looked around, then got down and patted the dusty ground. “Hmm, very good. Very good indeed…”
“I trust everything’s alright?” Ekaterina asked in amusement.
“Yes. Let’s get down to business.” Vlastimir focused, causing black blood to ooze out his skin. This then formed into what looked like vulcanized, rubber armor. “Don’t worry, I can take whatever you throw at me…”
Ekaterina was amazed by what she saw, but there was a degree of uncertainty. “Are you sure about that?” she asked as she got out their supplies from a pair of duffle bags.
“Positive.”
“I see. I’m still going to be careful though. Now is that a technique or just something you can do?”
“Something I can do. It doesn’t hold up forever, but a little extra protection never hurts.”
“And what if I chop off a piece of the armor?”
Vlastimir thought about it for a second. “Well I imagine we should pause, but my body can handle it if we’re in the heat of the moment.”
“Okay, but what if I actually hurt you? It’s… these things are pretty sharp, you know?” she put forth as she wobbled a ribbon.
For a moment, there was an awkward pause and nothing was said. “Can I get hurt? Oh, what am I saying? Of course I can!”
“Vlastimir?”
“Apologies, sometimes I forget how I work. It’s the consequences of being a dragon in a human’s body.”
“Right.” She was a little weirded out. Despite getting to know him, the true scope of Vlastimir continued to be an enigma.
Vlastimir cleared his throat. “So, what would you have done if you had fought someone other than Drago?”
“Oh, I guess we're starting then.” Ekaterina thought back to the Dark Grand Desert. “Well, I guess I would’ve tried to slash at them?”
“Then do that to me…” Vlastimir watched as a ribbon flew inches before his chest, cutting the air as it went past him. “Um, Eka? You need to actually cut me.”
“I did, didn’t I?”
Vlastimir pointed at his chest and stared at her. “Eka, you can’t do this in an actual fight. You need to be ready to defeat your opponent, not hold them back.”
Ekaterina took a breath and tried again. This attempt left a gash in the chest plate. “Better?”
“Much better. Your opponent won’t take it easy on you, so you can’t take it easy on them. Now let’s try some different slashes” Vlastimir instructed as the armor repaired itself.
Thinking about what she could do, Ekaterina tried all sorts of moves. A lot of them were twirling motions while a few were whip-based movements. Despite being a bit sloppy, a lot of them had a touch of grace to them. Ekaterina had previously mentioned that she had been a child ballet dancer. All of this was a promising start, but Vlastimir was unsure. There was potential in basing one’s moves on a style of dance, but detrimental if the opponent was familiar with ballet. Both of them were beginning to realize this.
“Vlastimir, you wouldn’t happen to know any… oh what’s it called? Martial arts? Yeah, that.”
He thought about it for a moment. “Sorry, Eka, I got nothing useful. Anything I know is either original or what Gostislav taught me… Oh! Maybe my dad knows someone you could study from. He knows all sorts of people.”
Ekaterina wiped the sweat from her forehead. “If he doesn’t mind…” Going to get a water bottle, she noticed that a boy had been watching them. He had messy, brown hair and looked about 12. “Oh hello there…”
“Hi! That was all really cool, Ms. Moore.”
“Oh, well thank you,” she replied with a subtle, awkward smile.
“Do those metal things hurt?” the boy wondered.
Ekaterina finished drinking. “No, but there is a little discomfort when I have to retract and deploy them rapidly.”
“Too cool…”
“Howard Bowen, return to your group!” a teacher called out.
“Sorry, teacher's calling. Bye, Ms. Moore. Good luck to you!”
“Bye, Howard. Best of luck to you too!”
Vlastimir stepped over to also get a drink. “Ha, I think he was attracted to you.”
Ekaterina gave him a light slap on the arm. “Oh stop it, you.”
“No, really. Boys like attractive women.”
She blushed and chuckled. “Anyways, he said my ribbons were cool.”
“Well of course they are. Something to consider is that only we saw your bad side. Everybody else is seeing your good side, so I say keep it up.”
Ekaterina nodded as that was a fair point. “I suppose you’re right, Vlastimir. Kids are fairly impressionable though.”
“Sure, but you’re leaving a good impression, no doubt about it.”
She looked at him with a look of mild bewilderment. “You have a response for everything, don’t you?”
“Actually no, I don’t. I just have had plenty of time to think things over. The stuff I don’t know drives me to madness. IT DRIVES ME TO DRINK… barring the fact that I don’t drink.” That made Ekaterina laugh.
After setting up the magic barrier they were provided, the two got back to practicing. This time Vlastimir wanted to see what Ekaterina could do aside from slashing. She was a lot happier to do this instead. There was a roadblock in regards to the magnetic properties of her ribbons, however. Dragoslava was the only one they knew with metal skin, the thing the power was meant to counter. Furthermore, what if Dragoslava had not used her powers that fateful day, or even had them in the first place? It was certainly a conundrum with no clear answers.
“This doesn’t feel right,” Ekaterina commented as she held Vlastimir five feet in the air by his torso. “It doesn’t feel like I have the advantage.”
“Drago needs a way to counter you and you need to learn how to fight people who aren’t Drago… On a somewhat unrelated note, this makes me really question how The Lich thought he was going to win and maintain victory.”
“I know, right?” Ekaterina replied, a touch of catharsis in her voice. She set him down gently. “I’m not going to lie, the only thing that was keeping me on board was the promise of power. It was annoying given how much of an arrogant corpse he was… you want to call it a day?”
Vlastimir sucked his armor back into him and stretched his arms. “I guess so. It’s not like there’s anything important or drastic on the horizon… relating to us, at least”
As the two began packing up, Rose approached them. She had caught wind of their activities and wanted to speak to them. “Ah, there you two are…”
“Oh hello, your grace,” Ekaterina welcomed. “What’s up?”
“I heard about what you’re doing and I thought I could potentially help. Would the both of you like to come with me to a special place tomorrow?”
“Ooh, what kind of place?” Vlastimir inquired.
“Deep in the city is a special hall where I learned swordsmanship. I believe my old master is still there, so I figured why not take you two to see him?”
They both thought about it and nodded. “It would be an honor, your grace,” Ekaterina answered.
“Excellent. I’ll be around at 8 AM tomorrow, so get a good night’s sleep.”
With that locked in, Vlastimir and Ekaterina were excited. Back at the tower, Englehart gave the two some background on Rose’s former sword master. Vilho Rinne was one of the oldest Descendants known, having been born when the Primordial Hunters were still around. The man was an expert with a sword, but ironically he started out as a farm hand. An encounter with a swordsman primordial changed that, leading to Vilho embarking on the path to his current skill set. The King was a little confused in regards to Rose’s actions as Vilho was selective of his students, but he figured the master would be generous since it was the duchess presenting the two.
The walk to Vilho’s hall the next morning was fascinating. Rose led Vlastimir and Ekaterina to a truly strange part of The Iron City. It was mostly deserted and the architecture was more ornate than before. Strange, eldritch statues could be seen all over, making it feel like they had entered a different realm. The two were amazed at the buildings, as they had become more fantastical and eerie. They were starting to look more like towers that could not have been built by mere man.
After a quick elevator ride from a building that bore resemblance to a church, the three walked across a bridge high in the air. It overlooked the city below it, giving a truly breathtaking view. “I hope you two aren’t overwhelmed by all of this,” Rose stated, a bit concerned.
“No, it’s fine,” Vlastimir replied. “I saw stranger things when I accidentally explored The Unwinding Fortress.”
Ekaterina was looking out towards a giant clock tower in the distance. “How do you even build such structures like this in the first place? The majority look impossible to build.”
Rose briefly joined them in gazing out towards the city. “Magic and the doings of the original War Machine of Old. That’s the best explanation I can offer at the moment. We're not even sure how some of this came into being. Now come, Rinne Hall is just up ahead.”
Rinne Hall looked fairly ordinary for the area, yet still managed to stand out. Aside from the look of the building, two statues sat at the sides of the front doors. They each depicted a bizarre, gargoyle-like creature that felt like they were watching anyone who approached. Rose walked up to the entrance and began working with an ornate, keypad mechanism that kept the doors locked. After entering in a special code, the hall opened up.
Things inside smelled dusty and old, indicating that no one had been there in a long time. As one would expect, it looked like a standard guild hall. Rooms could be seen down the hallways, the furniture was bygone and worn, and sunlight showed through the dirty windows. Despite how quiet it was, an ambient energy could be felt that suggested the hall could spring back to life at any moment.
“Rose, you dare bring outsiders here? I thought I taught you better…” An older voice said with a chuckle. Sitting at the end of a long table was an elderly, yet strong-looking man. His hair was white and his skin was aged, but his sharp, copper eyes told one that he still had vigor in him.
“Master Vilho! I know it’s been a while and this is quite sudden, but would you be willing to speak with these two aspiring swordsmen?”
“Depends. I trust that they are the ones in question?”
“Indeed. This is…”
“Vlastimir Dracul and Ekaterina Moore. One who helped Leif defeat The Lich of Old and one who served the latter. Quite the interesting encounter we have here.”
Ekaterina was amazed. “Pardon me, master, but how did you know all that?”
“When you get to my age, you have more time to learn things such as divination. Plus Leif and I were friends, having met way back in the day. He was keeping me updated on the goings on of The Great Hunt and whatnot. Now since Rose was clearly insistent on bringing you two here, how about you have a seat and tell me about yourselves?”
“Why sure, Master Vilho,” Vlastimir agreed as he sat down. “I can’t help but feel I’ve heard your name before though…”
“Well I’d imagine so since Gostislav Robles was one of my students. He came through a couple of years ago and mentioned you. Speaking of which, let’s start with your story.”
Next: Chapter 26
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Master Post - Patreon
Vlastimir and Ekaterina were up early the next day, wanting to get to the colosseum as soon as they could. The Iron Colosseum was a grand structure, dedicated to bouts of skill and might. It reminded Vlastimir of a mix of a sports arena and the Roman colosseum from his universe, albeit leaning more towards the latter. The arena of the Iron Colosseum had returned to normal since the duel between Englehart and Dunja. Various athletes and a couple of sports teams were all over the place. There was even a pair of primary school classes on a small field trip.
“Ah, here’s our spot” Ekaterina pointed out as the two arrived at a large area marked with flags and a sign.
Vlastimir looked around, then got down and patted the dusty ground. “Hmm, very good. Very good indeed…”
“I trust everything’s alright?” Ekaterina asked in amusement.
“Yes. Let’s get down to business.” Vlastimir focused, causing black blood to ooze out his skin. This then formed into what looked like vulcanized, rubber armor. “Don’t worry, I can take whatever you throw at me…”
Ekaterina was amazed by what she saw, but there was a degree of uncertainty. “Are you sure about that?” she asked as she got out their supplies from a pair of duffle bags.
“Positive.”
“I see. I’m still going to be careful though. Now is that a technique or just something you can do?”
“Something I can do. It doesn’t hold up forever, but a little extra protection never hurts.”
“And what if I chop off a piece of the armor?”
Vlastimir thought about it for a second. “Well I imagine we should pause, but my body can handle it if we’re in the heat of the moment.”
“Okay, but what if I actually hurt you? It’s… these things are pretty sharp, you know?” she put forth as she wobbled a ribbon.
For a moment, there was an awkward pause and nothing was said. “Can I get hurt? Oh, what am I saying? Of course I can!”
“Vlastimir?”
“Apologies, sometimes I forget how I work. It’s the consequences of being a dragon in a human’s body.”
“Right.” She was a little weirded out. Despite getting to know him, the true scope of Vlastimir continued to be an enigma.
Vlastimir cleared his throat. “So, what would you have done if you had fought someone other than Drago?”
“Oh, I guess we're starting then.” Ekaterina thought back to the Dark Grand Desert. “Well, I guess I would’ve tried to slash at them?”
“Then do that to me…” Vlastimir watched as a ribbon flew inches before his chest, cutting the air as it went past him. “Um, Eka? You need to actually cut me.”
“I did, didn’t I?”
Vlastimir pointed at his chest and stared at her. “Eka, you can’t do this in an actual fight. You need to be ready to defeat your opponent, not hold them back.”
Ekaterina took a breath and tried again. This attempt left a gash in the chest plate. “Better?”
“Much better. Your opponent won’t take it easy on you, so you can’t take it easy on them. Now let’s try some different slashes” Vlastimir instructed as the armor repaired itself.
Thinking about what she could do, Ekaterina tried all sorts of moves. A lot of them were twirling motions while a few were whip-based movements. Despite being a bit sloppy, a lot of them had a touch of grace to them. Ekaterina had previously mentioned that she had been a child ballet dancer. All of this was a promising start, but Vlastimir was unsure. There was potential in basing one’s moves on a style of dance, but detrimental if the opponent was familiar with ballet. Both of them were beginning to realize this.
“Vlastimir, you wouldn’t happen to know any… oh what’s it called? Martial arts? Yeah, that.”
He thought about it for a moment. “Sorry, Eka, I got nothing useful. Anything I know is either original or what Gostislav taught me… Oh! Maybe my dad knows someone you could study from. He knows all sorts of people.”
Ekaterina wiped the sweat from her forehead. “If he doesn’t mind…” Going to get a water bottle, she noticed that a boy had been watching them. He had messy, brown hair and looked about 12. “Oh hello there…”
“Hi! That was all really cool, Ms. Moore.”
“Oh, well thank you,” she replied with a subtle, awkward smile.
“Do those metal things hurt?” the boy wondered.
Ekaterina finished drinking. “No, but there is a little discomfort when I have to retract and deploy them rapidly.”
“Too cool…”
“Howard Bowen, return to your group!” a teacher called out.
“Sorry, teacher's calling. Bye, Ms. Moore. Good luck to you!”
“Bye, Howard. Best of luck to you too!”
Vlastimir stepped over to also get a drink. “Ha, I think he was attracted to you.”
Ekaterina gave him a light slap on the arm. “Oh stop it, you.”
“No, really. Boys like attractive women.”
She blushed and chuckled. “Anyways, he said my ribbons were cool.”
“Well of course they are. Something to consider is that only we saw your bad side. Everybody else is seeing your good side, so I say keep it up.”
Ekaterina nodded as that was a fair point. “I suppose you’re right, Vlastimir. Kids are fairly impressionable though.”
“Sure, but you’re leaving a good impression, no doubt about it.”
She looked at him with a look of mild bewilderment. “You have a response for everything, don’t you?”
“Actually no, I don’t. I just have had plenty of time to think things over. The stuff I don’t know drives me to madness. IT DRIVES ME TO DRINK… barring the fact that I don’t drink.” That made Ekaterina laugh.
After setting up the magic barrier they were provided, the two got back to practicing. This time Vlastimir wanted to see what Ekaterina could do aside from slashing. She was a lot happier to do this instead. There was a roadblock in regards to the magnetic properties of her ribbons, however. Dragoslava was the only one they knew with metal skin, the thing the power was meant to counter. Furthermore, what if Dragoslava had not used her powers that fateful day, or even had them in the first place? It was certainly a conundrum with no clear answers.
“This doesn’t feel right,” Ekaterina commented as she held Vlastimir five feet in the air by his torso. “It doesn’t feel like I have the advantage.”
“Drago needs a way to counter you and you need to learn how to fight people who aren’t Drago… On a somewhat unrelated note, this makes me really question how The Lich thought he was going to win and maintain victory.”
“I know, right?” Ekaterina replied, a touch of catharsis in her voice. She set him down gently. “I’m not going to lie, the only thing that was keeping me on board was the promise of power. It was annoying given how much of an arrogant corpse he was… you want to call it a day?”
Vlastimir sucked his armor back into him and stretched his arms. “I guess so. It’s not like there’s anything important or drastic on the horizon… relating to us, at least”
As the two began packing up, Rose approached them. She had caught wind of their activities and wanted to speak to them. “Ah, there you two are…”
“Oh hello, your grace,” Ekaterina welcomed. “What’s up?”
“I heard about what you’re doing and I thought I could potentially help. Would the both of you like to come with me to a special place tomorrow?”
“Ooh, what kind of place?” Vlastimir inquired.
“Deep in the city is a special hall where I learned swordsmanship. I believe my old master is still there, so I figured why not take you two to see him?”
They both thought about it and nodded. “It would be an honor, your grace,” Ekaterina answered.
“Excellent. I’ll be around at 8 AM tomorrow, so get a good night’s sleep.”
With that locked in, Vlastimir and Ekaterina were excited. Back at the tower, Englehart gave the two some background on Rose’s former sword master. Vilho Rinne was one of the oldest Descendants known, having been born when the Primordial Hunters were still around. The man was an expert with a sword, but ironically he started out as a farm hand. An encounter with a swordsman primordial changed that, leading to Vilho embarking on the path to his current skill set. The King was a little confused in regards to Rose’s actions as Vilho was selective of his students, but he figured the master would be generous since it was the duchess presenting the two.
The walk to Vilho’s hall the next morning was fascinating. Rose led Vlastimir and Ekaterina to a truly strange part of The Iron City. It was mostly deserted and the architecture was more ornate than before. Strange, eldritch statues could be seen all over, making it feel like they had entered a different realm. The two were amazed at the buildings, as they had become more fantastical and eerie. They were starting to look more like towers that could not have been built by mere man.
After a quick elevator ride from a building that bore resemblance to a church, the three walked across a bridge high in the air. It overlooked the city below it, giving a truly breathtaking view. “I hope you two aren’t overwhelmed by all of this,” Rose stated, a bit concerned.
“No, it’s fine,” Vlastimir replied. “I saw stranger things when I accidentally explored The Unwinding Fortress.”
Ekaterina was looking out towards a giant clock tower in the distance. “How do you even build such structures like this in the first place? The majority look impossible to build.”
Rose briefly joined them in gazing out towards the city. “Magic and the doings of the original War Machine of Old. That’s the best explanation I can offer at the moment. We're not even sure how some of this came into being. Now come, Rinne Hall is just up ahead.”
Rinne Hall looked fairly ordinary for the area, yet still managed to stand out. Aside from the look of the building, two statues sat at the sides of the front doors. They each depicted a bizarre, gargoyle-like creature that felt like they were watching anyone who approached. Rose walked up to the entrance and began working with an ornate, keypad mechanism that kept the doors locked. After entering in a special code, the hall opened up.
Things inside smelled dusty and old, indicating that no one had been there in a long time. As one would expect, it looked like a standard guild hall. Rooms could be seen down the hallways, the furniture was bygone and worn, and sunlight showed through the dirty windows. Despite how quiet it was, an ambient energy could be felt that suggested the hall could spring back to life at any moment.
“Rose, you dare bring outsiders here? I thought I taught you better…” An older voice said with a chuckle. Sitting at the end of a long table was an elderly, yet strong-looking man. His hair was white and his skin was aged, but his sharp, copper eyes told one that he still had vigor in him.
“Master Vilho! I know it’s been a while and this is quite sudden, but would you be willing to speak with these two aspiring swordsmen?”
“Depends. I trust that they are the ones in question?”
“Indeed. This is…”
“Vlastimir Dracul and Ekaterina Moore. One who helped Leif defeat The Lich of Old and one who served the latter. Quite the interesting encounter we have here.”
Ekaterina was amazed. “Pardon me, master, but how did you know all that?”
“When you get to my age, you have more time to learn things such as divination. Plus Leif and I were friends, having met way back in the day. He was keeping me updated on the goings on of The Great Hunt and whatnot. Now since Rose was clearly insistent on bringing you two here, how about you have a seat and tell me about yourselves?”
“Why sure, Master Vilho,” Vlastimir agreed as he sat down. “I can’t help but feel I’ve heard your name before though…”
“Well I’d imagine so since Gostislav Robles was one of my students. He came through a couple of years ago and mentioned you. Speaking of which, let’s start with your story.”
Next: Chapter 26
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Comments
Post a Comment