ULTRAMagic Interlude BC - Chapter 31
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“Find the fragment, Desislav?” Dragoslava asked as she looked for a suitable tree. The two were at the Sun and Moon Forest due to a dream Desislav had.
“No, but I’m getting close. I think.”
Continuing her search, Dragoslava came to a fairly healthy, gold-leaf tree. After putting her ear to the bark, she got out a small drill, created a hole, and inserted a spigot. “There we go… now time for a little music.”
Desislav immediately cocked his head towards Dragoslava’s CD player. The music was distorted and loud, with heavy bass and unclear vocals. “Drago, what unholy cacophony are you listening to?”
“Phonk. Vlastimir told me about it. Apparently some musicians in his universe don’t want people to hear their music, they want them to feel it… or so he told me. Of course I had to pop over to Cosmic Music Imports in the Market District and ask Amadeus all about it. Not going to lie, it’s some pretty tight music. Also I guess there’s a more abrasive variant of this called Dubstep… that music’s obnoxious and not my cup of tea.”
Desislav frowned at the CD player. “Jeez, music has fallen…” he muttered to himself. “Anyways, collecting sap I see.”
She shrugged. “Might as well since we’re here.”
Returning to his search, Desislav caught something out of the corner of his eye. An orange flame was dancing about in a small clearing between the trees. Taking a calming breath, he slowly approached, as quiet as a mouse. Of course dead leaves crunched under his feet, with the snapping of twigs worrying him. Fortunately the flame did not seem to notice. Once he was close enough, Desislav leapt into action. He snatched the flame and held onto it tightly. It felt incredibly warm as it bounced around in his cupped hands.
“I got it!” he called out.
“Way to go, Desislav! Bring it over, let’s get a look at it.”
He presented it to her as it calmed down. “It was certainly a feisty little thing. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear it was bouncing around to your, um, music.”
Dragoslava poked it a few times. “Yup, that’s a soul fragment.”
“There was any doubt?”
She nodded. “Indeed. That could have easily been a will-o-wisp. I’ve seen them change colors before.”
Desislav closed his hand, causing the flame to spiral around his arm and go into his head. “Now we just need one more.”
“So what alias are you going to use when you join the guild?” Dragoslava asked as she went back to her tree. The spigot was steadily dripping sap.
“I’m not sure. ULTRAMagic Satyr is off the table, but ULTRAMagic Obsidian seems pretty nice.”
The tree was tapped, so Dragoslava removed the spigot and cast a healing spell. She then moved on to another tree. “That could work, especially if you can fully master your old magic. Ethor wanted to be a geologist, hence why he was obsessed with stuff like obsidian and gemstones… sadly it was that love for geology and the chaos of the great hunt that led to his fall.”
Desislav felt a pain in his heart. “Oh, my apologies, Drago.”
She paused and went to hug him. “Hey, don’t worry about it. You’re here now and that’s what matters… even if you’re not Ethor anymore.”
That statement stuck with Desislav for a moment. “Drago, am I like Ethor?”
“Hum… well, you have his drive. You are a bit shier, but you retained his friendly nature. And thankfully you’re more tempered than he was when it comes to adventures.”
Desislav looked at his hands, then his feet. “All of this is so strange, to be here and like this. Good lord, just wait until my mother learns about all of this…”
Dragoslava chuckled. “I can’t wait to meet her.” After tapping another tree, a question popped back into her head that had been bothering her. “Desislav, can I ask you a question about your father?”
“Uh, sure… why?”
With the next tree setup, Dragoslava started harvesting another round of sap. “Curiosity. Also Vlastimir mentioned something odd. Apparently his mentor was named Gostislav Robles. Does that name ring any bells?”
“No… or at least, I don’t think so. That is odd…”
“So was your dad all that bad?”
Desislav gave a frustrated sigh. “Truthfully, no. He was arrogant and had a massive ego.”
“Oh, one of those types that are not too far off from an Earth spirit?”
“Yeah. Borderline narcissistic, he wanted to be a father, but lacked the maturity and discipline for it. And yes, my parents argued. Loudly. They never struck each other, but I did have to go out a couple of miles while my father acted like a child.”
“I hate to say it, but Ethor’s dad was kind of similar. He shaped up though, thanks to my dad, hehe.”
After a slight pause, Desislav spoke again. “That name you mentioned previously is strange. Assuming it’s not a coincidence, that could imply my father ended up here after his exile… Mom’s going to have a conniption.”
“I wish we could find Gostislav. The Stone Sword Dragon is hard to pin down. Englehart has wanted him to live in The Iron City and I’m pretty sure Sten would’ve buried him in money to get rid of Milosh.”
“So he has a reputation then?”
Dragoslava closed her sap bucket and nodded again. “Absolutely. He’s one of the best sellswords in the Central Unlight.”
“Well if he is my brother, I’d like to meet him some day.”
“You probably will, as I imagine people like him will be interested in the guild… Oh yeah, that’s something we’ll have to be concerned about…” Dragoslava took a second to organize her thoughts. “Let’s head back to the plane and jet. I’ve got syrup to make.”
Desislav enjoyed rides in Dragoslava’s biplane. The thrill of soaring through the sky was something he always wanted back on his Earth. His mother told him not to envy the birds, but that did not stop him. Plus the views were utterly amazing and he enjoyed every second of it. Returning to The Iron City in the late afternoon, things were fairly calm as planes left and arrived at Steel Eagle Airport. With her plane all set, Dragoslava and Desislav took a quick stop at the mansion before going to check on Blood-Wraith.
“Hopefully Blood’s doing alright….” Desislav said as they approached his house.
“Agreed, I…”
“IT DOESN’T MAKE ANY SENSE!” They heard him shout.
“Oh boy…” Dragoslava opened the door to see Blood-Wraith angrily pacing about, with Vexation looking somewhere between concerned and not-amused. “Hey, Blood! What’s going on?” she asked.
He stopped and exhaled. “It doesn’t make any sense! The Shadow is a nutter: How can I write what doesn’t exist and exist for what hasn’t been written yet?!”
Desislav thought about it for a second. In truth, it seemed like a riddle. “So, Vex, how’s things going so far?”
He sighed. “We made a breakthrough, but it’s not what Blood wanted to hear.”
“For the love of The Source!” Blood-Wraith had become so frustrated that he was in his true form, blazing with anger.
“Easy brother, easy…” Dragoslava said as she went over to give him a hug. “It’s going to be alright…”
Blood-Wraith begrudgingly calmed down. “Stupid riddle…”
“Drago, doesn’t Rose love riddles and puzzles?” Desislav asked.
“Yeah. Do you think she’d be able to help Blood?”
Vexation shook his head. “As much as I would love to ask her grace, I don’t think she could help. What we’re dealing with is incredibly esoteric.”
Desislav took a seat on the couch. “Well, Blood, I got good news and great news.”
“Really? What’s up?” He also sat down, followed by Dragoslava.
“Firstly, we got some sap from the Sun and Moon Forest…”
“Nice, nice…”
“And secondly, we found my penultimate fragment.”
This made Blood-Wraith perk up. “Congratulations, Desislav. What color was it?”
“Orange. It was a rambunctious little thing, but I managed to sneak up on it. I’m not sure where to find the last fragment, but I should have it in time for the guild.”
“Well at least you're making progress…”
“Hey, don’t put yourself down, Blood…” Vexation cut in, only to receive a glare from him. This warranted a quiet groan. “Okay, Blood? I know you said not to patronize you, but I’m being genuine here. You have the stuff to inherit my teachings. All you need to do is put it together.”
Blood-Wraith groaned and went to the window. “It’d be nice if it wasn’t a paradox I had to put together…”
Desislav thought back to when he was young, as something had popped back into his mind. “You know, Blood, my old village elder had a saying: A paradox is meaningful. A contradiction is meaningless.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Well think about it: A paradox provokes thought while a contradiction insults you and tells you that you can’t trust it. Obviously this shadow entity wouldn’t have told you that riddle if it did not mean something.”
“Agreed,” Vexation replied. “Also that was very insightful, Desislav. Kind of reminds me of what Tiberius used to say.”
“Thanks. We always thought the elder was a little out there. Meeting you guys makes me realize he may have been smarter than my people gave him credit for.”
Blood-Wraith returned to his pacing. “So if that was a paradox, it clearly relates to something coming into existence and if that’s the case… ARGH, my head hurts!” Vex, can we take a break?”
“Truthfully I was considering calling it a day to let you recover from that experience.”
“Fine with me…” he said as he sat back down.
The rest of the day involved messing around, with Dragoslava bringing the group to the mansion to watch her make syrup. She explained that she had used magic to harvest the sap, as the Sun and Moon Forest rarely saw winter. The spell in question was taught to her by Radovan, who loved Gold Syrup and Silver Syrup. Blood-Wraith had come to love them too, but wondered why they were not widely available. Dragoslava explained that The Great Uncity had forbidden mass harvesting of the forest, with The Market District disallowing the sale of the syrups in that kind of quantity. Thankfully individual harvesting was fully allowed.
As the group chatted, Dragoslava noticed Blood-Wraith staring at the pot. “What’s the matter, Blood?”
“It takes a while, doesn’t it?”
She nodded. “Yeah. The only part I don’t like.”
“Well all good things take time, no two ways about it,” Desislav pointed out.
Blood-Wraith crossed his arms and spun around. “I suppose you’re right…”
“Don’t fret if you can’t figure it out right this second” Vexation replied. “It took me 10 years to develop curse magic, and another five to create the first spell.”
“Wait, really?”
“Indeed. Once we figure it out, you’ll be able to learn it…” he snapped his fingers. “Just like that.”
“So hard to learn, easy to master?” Desislav asked.
“Precisely.”
Blood-Wraith nodded and turned back to the pot. “I see, I see…” He finally returned to his human form. “Do you guys ever get that feeling that you want to go back and stop yourself from doing the thing?” The three nodded. “Okay, good…”
“Well, Blood; if you never do the thing, you’ll never grow,” Dragoslava pointed out. “Many of my past adventures were perilous, but how do you think I was able to get us around so easily back when I found you?”
“Fair point, Drago.”
“Don’t worry, Blood,” Desislav said as he patted him on the back. “A hard day’s work will always be rewarding, regardless of the outcome.”
He looked at him with mild amusement. “Yeah, but you probably lifted firewood and rocks while I’m here studying eldritch magic.”
Desislav laughed. “Doesn’t matter. Hard work is hard work.”
Next: Chapter 32
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Master Post - Patreon
“Find the fragment, Desislav?” Dragoslava asked as she looked for a suitable tree. The two were at the Sun and Moon Forest due to a dream Desislav had.
“No, but I’m getting close. I think.”
Continuing her search, Dragoslava came to a fairly healthy, gold-leaf tree. After putting her ear to the bark, she got out a small drill, created a hole, and inserted a spigot. “There we go… now time for a little music.”
Desislav immediately cocked his head towards Dragoslava’s CD player. The music was distorted and loud, with heavy bass and unclear vocals. “Drago, what unholy cacophony are you listening to?”
“Phonk. Vlastimir told me about it. Apparently some musicians in his universe don’t want people to hear their music, they want them to feel it… or so he told me. Of course I had to pop over to Cosmic Music Imports in the Market District and ask Amadeus all about it. Not going to lie, it’s some pretty tight music. Also I guess there’s a more abrasive variant of this called Dubstep… that music’s obnoxious and not my cup of tea.”
Desislav frowned at the CD player. “Jeez, music has fallen…” he muttered to himself. “Anyways, collecting sap I see.”
She shrugged. “Might as well since we’re here.”
Returning to his search, Desislav caught something out of the corner of his eye. An orange flame was dancing about in a small clearing between the trees. Taking a calming breath, he slowly approached, as quiet as a mouse. Of course dead leaves crunched under his feet, with the snapping of twigs worrying him. Fortunately the flame did not seem to notice. Once he was close enough, Desislav leapt into action. He snatched the flame and held onto it tightly. It felt incredibly warm as it bounced around in his cupped hands.
“I got it!” he called out.
“Way to go, Desislav! Bring it over, let’s get a look at it.”
He presented it to her as it calmed down. “It was certainly a feisty little thing. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear it was bouncing around to your, um, music.”
Dragoslava poked it a few times. “Yup, that’s a soul fragment.”
“There was any doubt?”
She nodded. “Indeed. That could have easily been a will-o-wisp. I’ve seen them change colors before.”
Desislav closed his hand, causing the flame to spiral around his arm and go into his head. “Now we just need one more.”
“So what alias are you going to use when you join the guild?” Dragoslava asked as she went back to her tree. The spigot was steadily dripping sap.
“I’m not sure. ULTRAMagic Satyr is off the table, but ULTRAMagic Obsidian seems pretty nice.”
The tree was tapped, so Dragoslava removed the spigot and cast a healing spell. She then moved on to another tree. “That could work, especially if you can fully master your old magic. Ethor wanted to be a geologist, hence why he was obsessed with stuff like obsidian and gemstones… sadly it was that love for geology and the chaos of the great hunt that led to his fall.”
Desislav felt a pain in his heart. “Oh, my apologies, Drago.”
She paused and went to hug him. “Hey, don’t worry about it. You’re here now and that’s what matters… even if you’re not Ethor anymore.”
That statement stuck with Desislav for a moment. “Drago, am I like Ethor?”
“Hum… well, you have his drive. You are a bit shier, but you retained his friendly nature. And thankfully you’re more tempered than he was when it comes to adventures.”
Desislav looked at his hands, then his feet. “All of this is so strange, to be here and like this. Good lord, just wait until my mother learns about all of this…”
Dragoslava chuckled. “I can’t wait to meet her.” After tapping another tree, a question popped back into her head that had been bothering her. “Desislav, can I ask you a question about your father?”
“Uh, sure… why?”
With the next tree setup, Dragoslava started harvesting another round of sap. “Curiosity. Also Vlastimir mentioned something odd. Apparently his mentor was named Gostislav Robles. Does that name ring any bells?”
“No… or at least, I don’t think so. That is odd…”
“So was your dad all that bad?”
Desislav gave a frustrated sigh. “Truthfully, no. He was arrogant and had a massive ego.”
“Oh, one of those types that are not too far off from an Earth spirit?”
“Yeah. Borderline narcissistic, he wanted to be a father, but lacked the maturity and discipline for it. And yes, my parents argued. Loudly. They never struck each other, but I did have to go out a couple of miles while my father acted like a child.”
“I hate to say it, but Ethor’s dad was kind of similar. He shaped up though, thanks to my dad, hehe.”
After a slight pause, Desislav spoke again. “That name you mentioned previously is strange. Assuming it’s not a coincidence, that could imply my father ended up here after his exile… Mom’s going to have a conniption.”
“I wish we could find Gostislav. The Stone Sword Dragon is hard to pin down. Englehart has wanted him to live in The Iron City and I’m pretty sure Sten would’ve buried him in money to get rid of Milosh.”
“So he has a reputation then?”
Dragoslava closed her sap bucket and nodded again. “Absolutely. He’s one of the best sellswords in the Central Unlight.”
“Well if he is my brother, I’d like to meet him some day.”
“You probably will, as I imagine people like him will be interested in the guild… Oh yeah, that’s something we’ll have to be concerned about…” Dragoslava took a second to organize her thoughts. “Let’s head back to the plane and jet. I’ve got syrup to make.”
Desislav enjoyed rides in Dragoslava’s biplane. The thrill of soaring through the sky was something he always wanted back on his Earth. His mother told him not to envy the birds, but that did not stop him. Plus the views were utterly amazing and he enjoyed every second of it. Returning to The Iron City in the late afternoon, things were fairly calm as planes left and arrived at Steel Eagle Airport. With her plane all set, Dragoslava and Desislav took a quick stop at the mansion before going to check on Blood-Wraith.
“Hopefully Blood’s doing alright….” Desislav said as they approached his house.
“Agreed, I…”
“IT DOESN’T MAKE ANY SENSE!” They heard him shout.
“Oh boy…” Dragoslava opened the door to see Blood-Wraith angrily pacing about, with Vexation looking somewhere between concerned and not-amused. “Hey, Blood! What’s going on?” she asked.
He stopped and exhaled. “It doesn’t make any sense! The Shadow is a nutter: How can I write what doesn’t exist and exist for what hasn’t been written yet?!”
Desislav thought about it for a second. In truth, it seemed like a riddle. “So, Vex, how’s things going so far?”
He sighed. “We made a breakthrough, but it’s not what Blood wanted to hear.”
“For the love of The Source!” Blood-Wraith had become so frustrated that he was in his true form, blazing with anger.
“Easy brother, easy…” Dragoslava said as she went over to give him a hug. “It’s going to be alright…”
Blood-Wraith begrudgingly calmed down. “Stupid riddle…”
“Drago, doesn’t Rose love riddles and puzzles?” Desislav asked.
“Yeah. Do you think she’d be able to help Blood?”
Vexation shook his head. “As much as I would love to ask her grace, I don’t think she could help. What we’re dealing with is incredibly esoteric.”
Desislav took a seat on the couch. “Well, Blood, I got good news and great news.”
“Really? What’s up?” He also sat down, followed by Dragoslava.
“Firstly, we got some sap from the Sun and Moon Forest…”
“Nice, nice…”
“And secondly, we found my penultimate fragment.”
This made Blood-Wraith perk up. “Congratulations, Desislav. What color was it?”
“Orange. It was a rambunctious little thing, but I managed to sneak up on it. I’m not sure where to find the last fragment, but I should have it in time for the guild.”
“Well at least you're making progress…”
“Hey, don’t put yourself down, Blood…” Vexation cut in, only to receive a glare from him. This warranted a quiet groan. “Okay, Blood? I know you said not to patronize you, but I’m being genuine here. You have the stuff to inherit my teachings. All you need to do is put it together.”
Blood-Wraith groaned and went to the window. “It’d be nice if it wasn’t a paradox I had to put together…”
Desislav thought back to when he was young, as something had popped back into his mind. “You know, Blood, my old village elder had a saying: A paradox is meaningful. A contradiction is meaningless.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Well think about it: A paradox provokes thought while a contradiction insults you and tells you that you can’t trust it. Obviously this shadow entity wouldn’t have told you that riddle if it did not mean something.”
“Agreed,” Vexation replied. “Also that was very insightful, Desislav. Kind of reminds me of what Tiberius used to say.”
“Thanks. We always thought the elder was a little out there. Meeting you guys makes me realize he may have been smarter than my people gave him credit for.”
Blood-Wraith returned to his pacing. “So if that was a paradox, it clearly relates to something coming into existence and if that’s the case… ARGH, my head hurts!” Vex, can we take a break?”
“Truthfully I was considering calling it a day to let you recover from that experience.”
“Fine with me…” he said as he sat back down.
The rest of the day involved messing around, with Dragoslava bringing the group to the mansion to watch her make syrup. She explained that she had used magic to harvest the sap, as the Sun and Moon Forest rarely saw winter. The spell in question was taught to her by Radovan, who loved Gold Syrup and Silver Syrup. Blood-Wraith had come to love them too, but wondered why they were not widely available. Dragoslava explained that The Great Uncity had forbidden mass harvesting of the forest, with The Market District disallowing the sale of the syrups in that kind of quantity. Thankfully individual harvesting was fully allowed.
As the group chatted, Dragoslava noticed Blood-Wraith staring at the pot. “What’s the matter, Blood?”
“It takes a while, doesn’t it?”
She nodded. “Yeah. The only part I don’t like.”
“Well all good things take time, no two ways about it,” Desislav pointed out.
Blood-Wraith crossed his arms and spun around. “I suppose you’re right…”
“Don’t fret if you can’t figure it out right this second” Vexation replied. “It took me 10 years to develop curse magic, and another five to create the first spell.”
“Wait, really?”
“Indeed. Once we figure it out, you’ll be able to learn it…” he snapped his fingers. “Just like that.”
“So hard to learn, easy to master?” Desislav asked.
“Precisely.”
Blood-Wraith nodded and turned back to the pot. “I see, I see…” He finally returned to his human form. “Do you guys ever get that feeling that you want to go back and stop yourself from doing the thing?” The three nodded. “Okay, good…”
“Well, Blood; if you never do the thing, you’ll never grow,” Dragoslava pointed out. “Many of my past adventures were perilous, but how do you think I was able to get us around so easily back when I found you?”
“Fair point, Drago.”
“Don’t worry, Blood,” Desislav said as he patted him on the back. “A hard day’s work will always be rewarding, regardless of the outcome.”
He looked at him with mild amusement. “Yeah, but you probably lifted firewood and rocks while I’m here studying eldritch magic.”
Desislav laughed. “Doesn’t matter. Hard work is hard work.”
Next: Chapter 32
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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