ULTRAMagic Interlude BC - Chapter 30
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“I imagine you two are curious as to what exactly happened between Leif and Eustorgio, right?” Vexation inquired. Blood-Wraith and Rose nodded as he sipped his tea. “Eustorgio got pretty reclusive near the end of the Epoch. As you probably deduced by now, for some reason he had this paranoia that he would lose everything if he reincarnated. We tried to tell him that wouldn’t happen, but he didn’t listen. This led to many arguments between him and Leif, with Tiberius often getting involved. These got so heated that I had to take Mal off on adventures while they blew off steam.”
“Oh dear, that’s not good,” Rose commented. “I presume Mal is a primordial deemed stable enough to persist, correct?”
“Indeed… well, in the Unlight at least. I don’t know about the rest of the Cosmos proper.”
“I see. When we’re done, I’ll go speak to Englehart and the council about finding her so she can live with us.”
Vexation raised his cup to that. “Fine with me. Her room in the tower should still be intact. Anyways, things continued to go downhill until Eustorgio had the brilliant idea to turn himself into a lich, The Lich of Old to be precise. Leif was appalled as he viewed that as irreverence. Tiberius was offended when Eustorgio tried to insinuate that his foolishness was comparable to reincarnation. He even called him stupid to his face. I tried to tell Eustorgio that’s not how that worked and offered to create a curse that would return all of his knowledge to him in due time. You can guess how that turned out…”
Blood-Wraith sighed. “So what was Leif’s mentality behind his reaction? I got hints of it back when he was with us, but that was it.”
“Simple: He viewed Eustorgio as a coward who was throwing his potential away. Leif also knew it would lead to nothing but trouble. Eustorgio was still The Mage of Old at the end of the day, no matter how many times he tried to delude himself.”
“A clash of egos” Rose concluded. “Except, we clearly know who was in the right.”
“Yeah…” Vexation had a tinge of regret in his voice. “In hindsight, I probably should have just cast that curse. Sadly it’s history now. Truth be told, I’m kind of surprised how easily Leif forgave him at Aqua World…”
“HOLD UP” Blood-Wraith interrupted again. “You were there too?”
“Yup. Tiberius always hated it when I used curses to hide myself, ha.”
Blood-Wraith gave an exasperated exhale that was more like a groan. “Continue…”
“If I had to guess, Leif probably couldn’t stay mad at him given that he was going out of his way to fix things.”
“The idea that The Lich wasn’t using his full power, but could have is terrifying…”
Vexation paused. “Blood, is all of that still bothering you?” The Boy nodded. “Oh. Well that’s no good…”
“Perhaps you, Deimos, and Tiberius could sit down with Blood and talk?” Rose suggested.
“Yeah, good idea. Blood?”
Blood-Wraith had averted his gaze, but returned his focus to the conversation. “Sure. So what happened between you and The Lich?”
Vexation got up and went into the other room. “YOU KNEW HE WAS GOING TO ASK THAT! WHY ARE YOU SURPRISED?”
“Uh Vex? I didn’t strike a nerve, did I?”
He sat back down. “No, Blood. It’s just… argh, alright, from the top: It was the tail end of my past life. Everyone was gone, my wife had reincarnated, and I was under so much pressure to get things finished up. The last thing I had to do was add something to the seal I placed on curses. I wanted to make it so that my students could easily get past it. Cue me being in need of help and being stupid enough to ask The Lich for assistance. All I needed was for him to spot me while I worked on the seal. And then he ratted me out to the stinking…” Vexation caught his anger. “Sorry, he ratted me out to the Descendants. No offense, Rose.”
“None taken. Your anger is fully justified” she assured. “I must ask: Why didn’t you present your case to the king? Surely he would have given you the time you needed.”
Vexation rested his head in his hand. “The fact that The Lich used me as a distraction in combination with everything that had happened left me incredibly apathetic.”
“So that’s why training has been so difficult?” Blood-Wraith asked.
“Yeah. Not impossible, just incredibly difficult.”
There was a pause followed by silence. Rose could see that the two were bummed out, so she had an idea. “Alright, let’s head over to my gardens.” She went right to the door, indicating for the two to follow.
“Why though?” Blood-Wraith questioned.
“Some fresh air, silly. You two need it.”
“I suppose that’d be fine,” Vexation replied as he got up. Blood-Wraith followed him.
Rose took the two to her garden and led them to a patch of dirt near the treeline that she needed to get ready for a new batch of flowers. She figured this would help Blood-Wraith and Vexation improve their moods. It was a nice day with a gentle breeze, perfect for a little yard work. The three began moving pots around and digging holes with their trowels. Gardening was fairly mundane, but Blood-Wraith really liked the beautiful flowers his mom had selected. After several hours of planting, the beautiful flowers were all set. The group admired their work with a sense of accomplishment.
“Well done, you two,” Rose complimented. “Pretty good for a pair of beginners.”
Blood-Wraith noticed how dirty his hands were. “Wow. No one said this was a clean job, did they?”
Rose chuckled. “Certainly a messy hobby, but it’s worth it in the end.”
Vexation got down and admired the gorgeous petals of the flowers. “Say Rose, have you considered using magic to grow your flowers?”
“I have, actually. Truthfully I’m a traditionalist, preferring to grow flowers naturally. I will not deny the beautiful gardens I’ve seen dedicated mages create, however.”
“So there’s more than one way to grow a flower…” Blood-Wraith remarked.
“Precisely, dear.” Rose then looked at the great clock mounted above the back door of the mansion. “Goodness, evening is not too far away. Would you two like to stay for dinner?”
Blood-Wraith hesitated. At first he wanted to say no, but then he remembered how good his mom’s cooking was. “Sure, mom. That’d be great.”
After washing up, Blood-Wraith went to the main lounge and turned on the radio. Radovan was never fond of televisions. In regards to Vexation, he had gone off with Rose to help her cook. Blood-Wraith, in the meantime, had found a station doing a talk show where the hosts were discussing Shadowland. It was a little odd for him given the information Andelin had provided him and Englehart. Some time later, the duke returned home and walked by the lounge. He smiled upon seeing Blood-Wraith listening intently.
“The Iron Horn, one of my favorite talk shows for the past 20 years,” Radovan said as he sat down, across from Blood-Wraith. “Took me until adulthood to actually appreciate them.”
“Hey, dad. They just finished talking about Shadowland.”
He chuckled. “Any news from the front lines?”
“Nothing that would surprise me at the moment, ha… Dad? Are you mad at me for how temperamental I was towards you before my duel with Dunja?”
“Of course not, my boy. We all have our moments of frustration. If anything, I was surprised by your tenacity…”
“Yeah, but I screamed at you…”
“True, but you were clearly standing your ground. As a man, sometimes you have to get tough with people in order to achieve what you want.”
Blood-Wraith nodded as one of the talk show hosts said something that mirrored Radovan’s sentiment. “I still feel bad though…”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. That’s self-awareness, something my father was lacking in… Mind you you do need some discipline, but it shows that you have the ability to improve yourself.”
He smiled, feeling better. “I take it Val asked you guys to talk to me?”
“Right before she left in fact. To be fair, we are hurrying to get our business done so we can be there for you.”
“That’s cool.” The two sat there listening to the radio for a bit, with Radovan occasionally commenting on the talk show. Blood-Wraith eventually had a question pop into this head. “Dad? Do you think I have what it takes to be a knight?”
Radovan thought about his answer for a second. “This may seem like a non answer, but I’m going to say it anyway: I think you have the makings of greatness in you. It doesn’t matter if you’re a knight, mage, alchemist, or guildmaster. Not only did you help save the city, you saved the cosmos and reunited multiple families. Foster that spark, Blood. And don’t be afraid if you get burnt occasionally. Accidents will happen…”
“Like how I thought it was a good idea to scream at you?”
Radovan laughed. “Blood, my boy; It’s not if adversity happens, it’s how you respond to it that matters. Always remember that.”
“He’s given the same speech to me, Blood,” a familiar voice said from the doorway.
“Drago! How’s things going?” Radovan greeted.
“Pretty great, dad. Desislav’s doing fantastic with his training. Oh, and mom says dinner is almost done.”
“Excellent” he replied as he got up. “Let’s go, Blood.”
At the dining hall were Desislav, Kresimira, and Corentin. They were all waiting patiently as Rose and Vexation finished up. “Hey, guys,” Blood-Wraith said to everyone.
Each of them said hi back. “It’s going to be a bit quiet with Vlastimir gone,” Corentin pointed out.
“I’m still amazed at who his grandfather is,” Desislav pointed out.
“I’ll second that, given my talks with Zoltan,” Radovan added. “Man’s got grit and a pure heart.”
“Well I think it’s key to note that no one is born evil,” Kresimira stated. “We’re all victims of our upbringing.”
Blood-Wraith took a moment to process that. “Yeah… what even is my upbringing so far?” This warranted some chuckles.
“It’s a little early for that assessment, but we’ll make sure it’s a good one,” Radovan reassured him.
Vexation stepped into the hall. “Well not to throw Eustorgio under the bus, but the bar isn’t set very high…”
Blood-Wraith gave Vexation an amused look. “Come one, Vex. Let’s not drag Uncle Deimos all day.”
He snickered. “I know, I know. Just getting my snark out before the guild is in full swing.”
Rose then pushed some food trolleys into the hall, each full of steaming, hot food that filled the room with pleasing aromas. “Feeling better I trust, Blood?”
“Definitely… aside from my training.”
She giggled. “Well no one said it would be easy. Alright, everyone, food is ready.”
Desislav was the first to get up. “Thank goodness. My training has me hungrier than a starving wolf chasing a wild boar.”
“Can you tell me about it?” Blood-Wraith asked. “The training, I mean.”
“Sure. Me and Drago have been getting pretty lucky, all things considered.”
Corentin shifted in his chair. “Truthfully I’ve considered pursuing ULTRAMagic myself recently. Things have felt a bit dead-ended ever since I finished Maximus and got married.”
“Corentin, don’t do anything dangerous…” Kresimira cautioned.
Blood-Wraith laughed. “Don’t worry, Sister. I’ll make sure he behaves himself.”
Next: Chapter 31
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Master Post - Patreon
“I imagine you two are curious as to what exactly happened between Leif and Eustorgio, right?” Vexation inquired. Blood-Wraith and Rose nodded as he sipped his tea. “Eustorgio got pretty reclusive near the end of the Epoch. As you probably deduced by now, for some reason he had this paranoia that he would lose everything if he reincarnated. We tried to tell him that wouldn’t happen, but he didn’t listen. This led to many arguments between him and Leif, with Tiberius often getting involved. These got so heated that I had to take Mal off on adventures while they blew off steam.”
“Oh dear, that’s not good,” Rose commented. “I presume Mal is a primordial deemed stable enough to persist, correct?”
“Indeed… well, in the Unlight at least. I don’t know about the rest of the Cosmos proper.”
“I see. When we’re done, I’ll go speak to Englehart and the council about finding her so she can live with us.”
Vexation raised his cup to that. “Fine with me. Her room in the tower should still be intact. Anyways, things continued to go downhill until Eustorgio had the brilliant idea to turn himself into a lich, The Lich of Old to be precise. Leif was appalled as he viewed that as irreverence. Tiberius was offended when Eustorgio tried to insinuate that his foolishness was comparable to reincarnation. He even called him stupid to his face. I tried to tell Eustorgio that’s not how that worked and offered to create a curse that would return all of his knowledge to him in due time. You can guess how that turned out…”
Blood-Wraith sighed. “So what was Leif’s mentality behind his reaction? I got hints of it back when he was with us, but that was it.”
“Simple: He viewed Eustorgio as a coward who was throwing his potential away. Leif also knew it would lead to nothing but trouble. Eustorgio was still The Mage of Old at the end of the day, no matter how many times he tried to delude himself.”
“A clash of egos” Rose concluded. “Except, we clearly know who was in the right.”
“Yeah…” Vexation had a tinge of regret in his voice. “In hindsight, I probably should have just cast that curse. Sadly it’s history now. Truth be told, I’m kind of surprised how easily Leif forgave him at Aqua World…”
“HOLD UP” Blood-Wraith interrupted again. “You were there too?”
“Yup. Tiberius always hated it when I used curses to hide myself, ha.”
Blood-Wraith gave an exasperated exhale that was more like a groan. “Continue…”
“If I had to guess, Leif probably couldn’t stay mad at him given that he was going out of his way to fix things.”
“The idea that The Lich wasn’t using his full power, but could have is terrifying…”
Vexation paused. “Blood, is all of that still bothering you?” The Boy nodded. “Oh. Well that’s no good…”
“Perhaps you, Deimos, and Tiberius could sit down with Blood and talk?” Rose suggested.
“Yeah, good idea. Blood?”
Blood-Wraith had averted his gaze, but returned his focus to the conversation. “Sure. So what happened between you and The Lich?”
Vexation got up and went into the other room. “YOU KNEW HE WAS GOING TO ASK THAT! WHY ARE YOU SURPRISED?”
“Uh Vex? I didn’t strike a nerve, did I?”
He sat back down. “No, Blood. It’s just… argh, alright, from the top: It was the tail end of my past life. Everyone was gone, my wife had reincarnated, and I was under so much pressure to get things finished up. The last thing I had to do was add something to the seal I placed on curses. I wanted to make it so that my students could easily get past it. Cue me being in need of help and being stupid enough to ask The Lich for assistance. All I needed was for him to spot me while I worked on the seal. And then he ratted me out to the stinking…” Vexation caught his anger. “Sorry, he ratted me out to the Descendants. No offense, Rose.”
“None taken. Your anger is fully justified” she assured. “I must ask: Why didn’t you present your case to the king? Surely he would have given you the time you needed.”
Vexation rested his head in his hand. “The fact that The Lich used me as a distraction in combination with everything that had happened left me incredibly apathetic.”
“So that’s why training has been so difficult?” Blood-Wraith asked.
“Yeah. Not impossible, just incredibly difficult.”
There was a pause followed by silence. Rose could see that the two were bummed out, so she had an idea. “Alright, let’s head over to my gardens.” She went right to the door, indicating for the two to follow.
“Why though?” Blood-Wraith questioned.
“Some fresh air, silly. You two need it.”
“I suppose that’d be fine,” Vexation replied as he got up. Blood-Wraith followed him.
Rose took the two to her garden and led them to a patch of dirt near the treeline that she needed to get ready for a new batch of flowers. She figured this would help Blood-Wraith and Vexation improve their moods. It was a nice day with a gentle breeze, perfect for a little yard work. The three began moving pots around and digging holes with their trowels. Gardening was fairly mundane, but Blood-Wraith really liked the beautiful flowers his mom had selected. After several hours of planting, the beautiful flowers were all set. The group admired their work with a sense of accomplishment.
“Well done, you two,” Rose complimented. “Pretty good for a pair of beginners.”
Blood-Wraith noticed how dirty his hands were. “Wow. No one said this was a clean job, did they?”
Rose chuckled. “Certainly a messy hobby, but it’s worth it in the end.”
Vexation got down and admired the gorgeous petals of the flowers. “Say Rose, have you considered using magic to grow your flowers?”
“I have, actually. Truthfully I’m a traditionalist, preferring to grow flowers naturally. I will not deny the beautiful gardens I’ve seen dedicated mages create, however.”
“So there’s more than one way to grow a flower…” Blood-Wraith remarked.
“Precisely, dear.” Rose then looked at the great clock mounted above the back door of the mansion. “Goodness, evening is not too far away. Would you two like to stay for dinner?”
Blood-Wraith hesitated. At first he wanted to say no, but then he remembered how good his mom’s cooking was. “Sure, mom. That’d be great.”
After washing up, Blood-Wraith went to the main lounge and turned on the radio. Radovan was never fond of televisions. In regards to Vexation, he had gone off with Rose to help her cook. Blood-Wraith, in the meantime, had found a station doing a talk show where the hosts were discussing Shadowland. It was a little odd for him given the information Andelin had provided him and Englehart. Some time later, the duke returned home and walked by the lounge. He smiled upon seeing Blood-Wraith listening intently.
“The Iron Horn, one of my favorite talk shows for the past 20 years,” Radovan said as he sat down, across from Blood-Wraith. “Took me until adulthood to actually appreciate them.”
“Hey, dad. They just finished talking about Shadowland.”
He chuckled. “Any news from the front lines?”
“Nothing that would surprise me at the moment, ha… Dad? Are you mad at me for how temperamental I was towards you before my duel with Dunja?”
“Of course not, my boy. We all have our moments of frustration. If anything, I was surprised by your tenacity…”
“Yeah, but I screamed at you…”
“True, but you were clearly standing your ground. As a man, sometimes you have to get tough with people in order to achieve what you want.”
Blood-Wraith nodded as one of the talk show hosts said something that mirrored Radovan’s sentiment. “I still feel bad though…”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. That’s self-awareness, something my father was lacking in… Mind you you do need some discipline, but it shows that you have the ability to improve yourself.”
He smiled, feeling better. “I take it Val asked you guys to talk to me?”
“Right before she left in fact. To be fair, we are hurrying to get our business done so we can be there for you.”
“That’s cool.” The two sat there listening to the radio for a bit, with Radovan occasionally commenting on the talk show. Blood-Wraith eventually had a question pop into this head. “Dad? Do you think I have what it takes to be a knight?”
Radovan thought about his answer for a second. “This may seem like a non answer, but I’m going to say it anyway: I think you have the makings of greatness in you. It doesn’t matter if you’re a knight, mage, alchemist, or guildmaster. Not only did you help save the city, you saved the cosmos and reunited multiple families. Foster that spark, Blood. And don’t be afraid if you get burnt occasionally. Accidents will happen…”
“Like how I thought it was a good idea to scream at you?”
Radovan laughed. “Blood, my boy; It’s not if adversity happens, it’s how you respond to it that matters. Always remember that.”
“He’s given the same speech to me, Blood,” a familiar voice said from the doorway.
“Drago! How’s things going?” Radovan greeted.
“Pretty great, dad. Desislav’s doing fantastic with his training. Oh, and mom says dinner is almost done.”
“Excellent” he replied as he got up. “Let’s go, Blood.”
At the dining hall were Desislav, Kresimira, and Corentin. They were all waiting patiently as Rose and Vexation finished up. “Hey, guys,” Blood-Wraith said to everyone.
Each of them said hi back. “It’s going to be a bit quiet with Vlastimir gone,” Corentin pointed out.
“I’m still amazed at who his grandfather is,” Desislav pointed out.
“I’ll second that, given my talks with Zoltan,” Radovan added. “Man’s got grit and a pure heart.”
“Well I think it’s key to note that no one is born evil,” Kresimira stated. “We’re all victims of our upbringing.”
Blood-Wraith took a moment to process that. “Yeah… what even is my upbringing so far?” This warranted some chuckles.
“It’s a little early for that assessment, but we’ll make sure it’s a good one,” Radovan reassured him.
Vexation stepped into the hall. “Well not to throw Eustorgio under the bus, but the bar isn’t set very high…”
Blood-Wraith gave Vexation an amused look. “Come one, Vex. Let’s not drag Uncle Deimos all day.”
He snickered. “I know, I know. Just getting my snark out before the guild is in full swing.”
Rose then pushed some food trolleys into the hall, each full of steaming, hot food that filled the room with pleasing aromas. “Feeling better I trust, Blood?”
“Definitely… aside from my training.”
She giggled. “Well no one said it would be easy. Alright, everyone, food is ready.”
Desislav was the first to get up. “Thank goodness. My training has me hungrier than a starving wolf chasing a wild boar.”
“Can you tell me about it?” Blood-Wraith asked. “The training, I mean.”
“Sure. Me and Drago have been getting pretty lucky, all things considered.”
Corentin shifted in his chair. “Truthfully I’ve considered pursuing ULTRAMagic myself recently. Things have felt a bit dead-ended ever since I finished Maximus and got married.”
“Corentin, don’t do anything dangerous…” Kresimira cautioned.
Blood-Wraith laughed. “Don’t worry, Sister. I’ll make sure he behaves himself.”
Next: Chapter 31
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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