ULTRAMagic Interlude BC - Chapter 46
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Auda woke up the next morning and went to Blood-Wraith’s room, wanting to see what he was up to. “Good morning, Blood,” she said with a yawn.
“Morning, Auda,” he replied as he quickly shined his boots on his feet.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to go check in with Theobold, see if dad needs my help, and maybe walk around for a bit.”
Auda nodded, a little disappointed as she wanted to hang out with him. “You could also go to the village and see if Tusk is dragging his feet there.”
He paused. “Actually, I might head there after I go to the barracks… You can play my video games if you want. Need me to explain how they work?”
“Nah, they seem pretty simple.” Auda started flipping through one of the instruction manuals of an action game that was sitting near the console
After saying goodbye to Vexation and Drusa, Blood-Wraith left and started heading towards the knight’s barracks. Theobold was not there, but Brenna was more than happy to let him know that the young knight checked in. Hopping over to the Raynot mansion, Blood-Wraith went looking for his father. Surely his parents needed some help with whatever they were doing.
“Hey, dad? You around?”
“Hello, son,” Radovan said as he exited one of the rooms. “What’s the matter?”
“I’m just wasting time until Tusk shows up… I think. Need help with anything?”
He looked at the boxes that were brought out. “I believe we’re good at the moment. Your mother and I are doing a little more work on the gardens. You can join us if you wish, or you might want to go see Sigmund about Tusk.”
Blood-Wraith nodded, thinking to himself. “Yeah, Auda suggested the same thing.” He sighed. “See you later.”
“Best of luck to you, Blood,” Radovan said as the boy left.
Stepping a safe distance away, Blood-Wraith became Golden Dragon again. With a couple of wing flaps he was at the entrance to the forest in no time at all. Some wondered if turning into a great dragon ever exhausted Blood-Wraith. In truth, it was tiring, but also something he would always enjoy. The walk to the village went fine until Blood-Wraith stepped in a mud puddle, getting his boot all dirty. He complained a little, but ceased when he saw that he was right at the village. Villagers said hello to him as he made his way to Sigmund’s home. Upon knocking on the door, he was greeted by the chief himself.
“Hello, Blood, my boy. What brings you here?”
“Hello, Sigmund. May I come in?”
“Of course, of course. Mind the slight mess. Me and Thora were working on some alchemical formulas the night prior.”
Everything from scrolls, books, bags, and crates were all over the place. Blood-Wraith could tell they had been quite busy. “Sigmund, do you know where Tusk is?”
“I suspect you wish to know what he’s been up to, yes?” Blood-Wraith nodded as Sigmund readied his staff. “Give me one second.” He then tapped his staff on the floor a couple of times.
For some reason Blood-Wraith could sense that something had gone wrong nearby. “So Alexia is hinting at something big, and so is Auda.”
“Indeed. Tusk made an excursion to the Realm of Chaos nearly a month ago. I’ve been getting on his case to go tell you, but he’s been off exploring with his friend, Randalph…”
A moment later, Tusk swung the door open. His face was covered in soot, as if something had exploded. He looked quite annoyed. “FATHER! What was that about!? Do you not see this?” He then furiously waved his hand in front of his face.
“Boy, it’s about high time you got Blood here up to speed.”
Tusk wiped his face with a rag, then looked at Blood-Wraith. “Oh hey, Blood. What’s up?”
“Tusk? As a knight of The Iron City, I’d like to ask you to come with me…” He walked up to him. “Please come to my house and tell me what’s been going on. It’s driving me nuts.”
“Right that… shoot. I’m sorry, Blood. I should have told you two weeks ago. Don’t worry, it’s all taken care of so we got all the time in the world…”
“Then use that time to tell Blood about it” Sigmund chided.
Tusk frowned as his father and Blood-Wraith laughed. “Alright, Alright. I’m going…”
After grabbing a few things, Tusk followed Blood-Wraith back to his house. They swung by a few stores to grab some groceries and then stopped at Herman’s to get some ice cream. This was all at the behest of Tusk, but Blood-Wraith did not mind. He was just glad to have finally gotten a hold of him.
“Alright, I’m back…” Blood-Wraith announced as he entered, him and Tusk focusing on finishing their ice cream.
“There you are, Uncle Tusk,” Auda said as she fiddled with some trading cards on the coffee table from the couch. Blood-Wraith noticed this and looked a little nervous.
“Don’t worry, Blood, she won't hurt them,” Tusk assured. “Hey, Auda. Have fun last night?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I need to sleep over at Blood’s more often.”
A thought occurred to Blood-Wraith in relation to his future plans. “You know, Auda, you could join me during my semester at school.”
Her horns dinged with excitement. “Ooh, could I?”
“I don’t see why not,” Vexation answered.
“Agreed,” Drusa added as they stepped into the room. “It’d get her more acquainted with The Iron City.”
Tusk shrugged. “I’d imagine Skari and Cordelia would be okay with it. In fact they’d probably prefer that over her going off and exploring, ha.”
Vexation nodded. “Oh, Tusk, have you met my wife, Drusa, yet?”
“Um, no. I met Maxima and she did mention you, Drusa. She spoke quite highly of you.”
The goddess giggled. “Well of course she would. I was her teacher after all,” she replied as they shook hands.
Vexation took a seat in his usual recliner. “Say, Blood, how about you and Auda go tell your parents about the school thing while I get Tusk settled in and get Alexia over here?”
“Sure, Vex. Come on, Auda.”
The two briskly walked back to the Raynot mansion and made their way to the backyard. Auda was enjoying the gardens, as they looked even more lively from the last time she had visited. She even pointed out a few golden flowers that were unique to The Unending Forest. Radovan and Rose were a bit far out, trying to get some saplings planted next to a small glen. It appeared as if they were having trouble with the soil.
“Mom, dad? Can Auda go to school with me?” Blood-Wraith inquired.
“Sure, sweetie,” Rose replied. “As long as it’s okay with her parents.”
“I’ll talk to them tonight,” Auda said with some enthusiastic nodding.
“Very good,” Radovan said as he set a bag down. “Speaking of which, I should speak to Englehart about extending school enrollment to the Tree People. It seems fair enough to me to offer the courtesy given how you are now our neighbors, Auda.”
As Auda cheerfully nodded some more, Rose set a sapling in a bag on the ground. “Thora was mentioning wanting to be a teacher again back in the labyrinth. Perhaps we could even send our own to the forest for classes and lessons.”
“That would be really cool,” Auda said in agreement. “The old school house is all full of dust and cobwebs, but grandma could get it cleaned up.”
“Oh, Auda? You wouldn’t happen to know any magic relating to botany, would you?”
Auda took a look at what she figured was the problem spot. “Give me a moment, Mrs. Raynot.”
What ensued was a thorough inspection of the ground with the Raynot’s quietly watching as Auda worked. First she took some soil and rubbed it between her fingers. She then ate some. Following that, she sniffed the ground and even licked it. It was a quirky set of tests, but it was clear that Auda was on to something. After one more visual inspection, she sat down to think.
“So what’s the verdict, Auda?” Blood-Wraith asked.
“The soil. It needs some umph to it…”
“Does it need some fertilizer or clovers?” Rose wondered.
“Hum…” Auda put her hand before her eyes and pulled out the tiniest flame from her core. After saying some kind of spell, the ember turned into a decently sized fireball, crackling with life. “Let’s see…”
Rose watched as Auda put the flame into the ground, causing some nearby wilted flowers to perk up and bloom. The soil looked as if life was visibly returning to it. “How wonderful,” she congratulated as she clapped. “I think you may have fixed the issue, Auda.”
“Thanks. The problem was probably a lack of energy in the soil due to how far out we are.”
“How interesting,” Radovan remarked. “Looks like you have your grandmother's green thumb, Auda.”
As he said that, Auda picked up a signal of sorts on her horns from Tusk. Alexia was at Blood-Wraith’s house, so it was time to head back. When they arrived, everyone was at the dining table, chatting and waiting patiently.
“Welcome back,” Tusk said. “So how’d it go? Are Rose and Radovan down for you going to school with Blood, Auda?”
“Yup, I just need to ask mom and dad first,” she answered as she sat down at the table.
“Hey, Alexia,” Blood-Wraith said as he also sat down. “Did last night go well?”
“Certainly. Tiberius’ room is just how he left it. I plan to stay there when I’m not at the guild.”
“Awesome. Now Tusk, the Realm of Chaos?”
He chuckled and took a deep breath. “Of course. So I’m going to preface this tale by saying that I’ve been there before. While dad was my teacher, Ealdhelm the Destroyer was my mentor. I know he sounds fearsome and he is, but he’s also one of the greatest people you’ll ever work with. Ealdhelm helped explain a lot of concepts that didn’t make sense to me.”
“So who is this Ealdhelm then?” Blood-Wraith questioned.
“Ealdhelm Thorne is the leader of The Arbiters of Droom,” Alexia responded. “They are a group of six, mighty ULTRAMagic warriors stationed in the city of Droomopolis. Their roots are in the Epoch of the Cosmos, as I was tutored by Waltheof the Shield when I first achieved ULTRAMagic.”
“They are some of the strongest mages around, Blood,” Tusk continued. “Ealdhelm could have easily crushed Milosh and the Lich with one arm tied behind his back.”
“So why didn’t he?” Blood-Wraith was perplexed to say the least.
“Well he and the arbiters were dealing with the Discordant Gods of Chaos at the time.”
That gave Blood-Wraith chills. “Were those gods that bad?”
“They’re certainly a handful,” Tusk said with a light laugh. “Ealdhelm was able to lend us a hand despite that. Remember that sword I used during the final battle with the Lich?”
Blood-Wraith thought back to then. “Yeah, I was wondering where that came from.”
Auda looked a little antsy, as if she really wanted to say something. “Blood, Ealdhelm is the strongest. I should know as I went there. Also Quasar wants to join the guild.”
“Who’s Quasar?” Blood-Wraith continued to be confused.
Tusk laughed. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Auda; but yeah, this little stinker snuck into Droomopolis. As for Quasar, let’s just say Ulrich Sagan, the Discordant God of Gravity, would like for his son to join the guild when he’s ready.”
Blood-Wraith shrugged. “Alright then, fine with me. The more the merrier.”
“Anyways, enough preamble. Let’s get into this. So it all started the day after I got back to the village from Corentin and Kresimira’s wedding…”
To be continued…
Next: Chaos
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Master Post - Patreon
Auda woke up the next morning and went to Blood-Wraith’s room, wanting to see what he was up to. “Good morning, Blood,” she said with a yawn.
“Morning, Auda,” he replied as he quickly shined his boots on his feet.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to go check in with Theobold, see if dad needs my help, and maybe walk around for a bit.”
Auda nodded, a little disappointed as she wanted to hang out with him. “You could also go to the village and see if Tusk is dragging his feet there.”
He paused. “Actually, I might head there after I go to the barracks… You can play my video games if you want. Need me to explain how they work?”
“Nah, they seem pretty simple.” Auda started flipping through one of the instruction manuals of an action game that was sitting near the console
After saying goodbye to Vexation and Drusa, Blood-Wraith left and started heading towards the knight’s barracks. Theobold was not there, but Brenna was more than happy to let him know that the young knight checked in. Hopping over to the Raynot mansion, Blood-Wraith went looking for his father. Surely his parents needed some help with whatever they were doing.
“Hey, dad? You around?”
“Hello, son,” Radovan said as he exited one of the rooms. “What’s the matter?”
“I’m just wasting time until Tusk shows up… I think. Need help with anything?”
He looked at the boxes that were brought out. “I believe we’re good at the moment. Your mother and I are doing a little more work on the gardens. You can join us if you wish, or you might want to go see Sigmund about Tusk.”
Blood-Wraith nodded, thinking to himself. “Yeah, Auda suggested the same thing.” He sighed. “See you later.”
“Best of luck to you, Blood,” Radovan said as the boy left.
Stepping a safe distance away, Blood-Wraith became Golden Dragon again. With a couple of wing flaps he was at the entrance to the forest in no time at all. Some wondered if turning into a great dragon ever exhausted Blood-Wraith. In truth, it was tiring, but also something he would always enjoy. The walk to the village went fine until Blood-Wraith stepped in a mud puddle, getting his boot all dirty. He complained a little, but ceased when he saw that he was right at the village. Villagers said hello to him as he made his way to Sigmund’s home. Upon knocking on the door, he was greeted by the chief himself.
“Hello, Blood, my boy. What brings you here?”
“Hello, Sigmund. May I come in?”
“Of course, of course. Mind the slight mess. Me and Thora were working on some alchemical formulas the night prior.”
Everything from scrolls, books, bags, and crates were all over the place. Blood-Wraith could tell they had been quite busy. “Sigmund, do you know where Tusk is?”
“I suspect you wish to know what he’s been up to, yes?” Blood-Wraith nodded as Sigmund readied his staff. “Give me one second.” He then tapped his staff on the floor a couple of times.
For some reason Blood-Wraith could sense that something had gone wrong nearby. “So Alexia is hinting at something big, and so is Auda.”
“Indeed. Tusk made an excursion to the Realm of Chaos nearly a month ago. I’ve been getting on his case to go tell you, but he’s been off exploring with his friend, Randalph…”
A moment later, Tusk swung the door open. His face was covered in soot, as if something had exploded. He looked quite annoyed. “FATHER! What was that about!? Do you not see this?” He then furiously waved his hand in front of his face.
“Boy, it’s about high time you got Blood here up to speed.”
Tusk wiped his face with a rag, then looked at Blood-Wraith. “Oh hey, Blood. What’s up?”
“Tusk? As a knight of The Iron City, I’d like to ask you to come with me…” He walked up to him. “Please come to my house and tell me what’s been going on. It’s driving me nuts.”
“Right that… shoot. I’m sorry, Blood. I should have told you two weeks ago. Don’t worry, it’s all taken care of so we got all the time in the world…”
“Then use that time to tell Blood about it” Sigmund chided.
Tusk frowned as his father and Blood-Wraith laughed. “Alright, Alright. I’m going…”
After grabbing a few things, Tusk followed Blood-Wraith back to his house. They swung by a few stores to grab some groceries and then stopped at Herman’s to get some ice cream. This was all at the behest of Tusk, but Blood-Wraith did not mind. He was just glad to have finally gotten a hold of him.
“Alright, I’m back…” Blood-Wraith announced as he entered, him and Tusk focusing on finishing their ice cream.
“There you are, Uncle Tusk,” Auda said as she fiddled with some trading cards on the coffee table from the couch. Blood-Wraith noticed this and looked a little nervous.
“Don’t worry, Blood, she won't hurt them,” Tusk assured. “Hey, Auda. Have fun last night?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I need to sleep over at Blood’s more often.”
A thought occurred to Blood-Wraith in relation to his future plans. “You know, Auda, you could join me during my semester at school.”
Her horns dinged with excitement. “Ooh, could I?”
“I don’t see why not,” Vexation answered.
“Agreed,” Drusa added as they stepped into the room. “It’d get her more acquainted with The Iron City.”
Tusk shrugged. “I’d imagine Skari and Cordelia would be okay with it. In fact they’d probably prefer that over her going off and exploring, ha.”
Vexation nodded. “Oh, Tusk, have you met my wife, Drusa, yet?”
“Um, no. I met Maxima and she did mention you, Drusa. She spoke quite highly of you.”
The goddess giggled. “Well of course she would. I was her teacher after all,” she replied as they shook hands.
Vexation took a seat in his usual recliner. “Say, Blood, how about you and Auda go tell your parents about the school thing while I get Tusk settled in and get Alexia over here?”
“Sure, Vex. Come on, Auda.”
The two briskly walked back to the Raynot mansion and made their way to the backyard. Auda was enjoying the gardens, as they looked even more lively from the last time she had visited. She even pointed out a few golden flowers that were unique to The Unending Forest. Radovan and Rose were a bit far out, trying to get some saplings planted next to a small glen. It appeared as if they were having trouble with the soil.
“Mom, dad? Can Auda go to school with me?” Blood-Wraith inquired.
“Sure, sweetie,” Rose replied. “As long as it’s okay with her parents.”
“I’ll talk to them tonight,” Auda said with some enthusiastic nodding.
“Very good,” Radovan said as he set a bag down. “Speaking of which, I should speak to Englehart about extending school enrollment to the Tree People. It seems fair enough to me to offer the courtesy given how you are now our neighbors, Auda.”
As Auda cheerfully nodded some more, Rose set a sapling in a bag on the ground. “Thora was mentioning wanting to be a teacher again back in the labyrinth. Perhaps we could even send our own to the forest for classes and lessons.”
“That would be really cool,” Auda said in agreement. “The old school house is all full of dust and cobwebs, but grandma could get it cleaned up.”
“Oh, Auda? You wouldn’t happen to know any magic relating to botany, would you?”
Auda took a look at what she figured was the problem spot. “Give me a moment, Mrs. Raynot.”
What ensued was a thorough inspection of the ground with the Raynot’s quietly watching as Auda worked. First she took some soil and rubbed it between her fingers. She then ate some. Following that, she sniffed the ground and even licked it. It was a quirky set of tests, but it was clear that Auda was on to something. After one more visual inspection, she sat down to think.
“So what’s the verdict, Auda?” Blood-Wraith asked.
“The soil. It needs some umph to it…”
“Does it need some fertilizer or clovers?” Rose wondered.
“Hum…” Auda put her hand before her eyes and pulled out the tiniest flame from her core. After saying some kind of spell, the ember turned into a decently sized fireball, crackling with life. “Let’s see…”
Rose watched as Auda put the flame into the ground, causing some nearby wilted flowers to perk up and bloom. The soil looked as if life was visibly returning to it. “How wonderful,” she congratulated as she clapped. “I think you may have fixed the issue, Auda.”
“Thanks. The problem was probably a lack of energy in the soil due to how far out we are.”
“How interesting,” Radovan remarked. “Looks like you have your grandmother's green thumb, Auda.”
As he said that, Auda picked up a signal of sorts on her horns from Tusk. Alexia was at Blood-Wraith’s house, so it was time to head back. When they arrived, everyone was at the dining table, chatting and waiting patiently.
“Welcome back,” Tusk said. “So how’d it go? Are Rose and Radovan down for you going to school with Blood, Auda?”
“Yup, I just need to ask mom and dad first,” she answered as she sat down at the table.
“Hey, Alexia,” Blood-Wraith said as he also sat down. “Did last night go well?”
“Certainly. Tiberius’ room is just how he left it. I plan to stay there when I’m not at the guild.”
“Awesome. Now Tusk, the Realm of Chaos?”
He chuckled and took a deep breath. “Of course. So I’m going to preface this tale by saying that I’ve been there before. While dad was my teacher, Ealdhelm the Destroyer was my mentor. I know he sounds fearsome and he is, but he’s also one of the greatest people you’ll ever work with. Ealdhelm helped explain a lot of concepts that didn’t make sense to me.”
“So who is this Ealdhelm then?” Blood-Wraith questioned.
“Ealdhelm Thorne is the leader of The Arbiters of Droom,” Alexia responded. “They are a group of six, mighty ULTRAMagic warriors stationed in the city of Droomopolis. Their roots are in the Epoch of the Cosmos, as I was tutored by Waltheof the Shield when I first achieved ULTRAMagic.”
“They are some of the strongest mages around, Blood,” Tusk continued. “Ealdhelm could have easily crushed Milosh and the Lich with one arm tied behind his back.”
“So why didn’t he?” Blood-Wraith was perplexed to say the least.
“Well he and the arbiters were dealing with the Discordant Gods of Chaos at the time.”
That gave Blood-Wraith chills. “Were those gods that bad?”
“They’re certainly a handful,” Tusk said with a light laugh. “Ealdhelm was able to lend us a hand despite that. Remember that sword I used during the final battle with the Lich?”
Blood-Wraith thought back to then. “Yeah, I was wondering where that came from.”
Auda looked a little antsy, as if she really wanted to say something. “Blood, Ealdhelm is the strongest. I should know as I went there. Also Quasar wants to join the guild.”
“Who’s Quasar?” Blood-Wraith continued to be confused.
Tusk laughed. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Auda; but yeah, this little stinker snuck into Droomopolis. As for Quasar, let’s just say Ulrich Sagan, the Discordant God of Gravity, would like for his son to join the guild when he’s ready.”
Blood-Wraith shrugged. “Alright then, fine with me. The more the merrier.”
“Anyways, enough preamble. Let’s get into this. So it all started the day after I got back to the village from Corentin and Kresimira’s wedding…”
To be continued…
Next: Chaos
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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