ULTRAMagic Babel - Chapter 19
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The Church of Shadowland was the replacement for The Eternal Church, which had been demolished quite explosively a while ago. It had become a place of reverence of God, free from the stains and clutches of Milosh Proch and his ilk… baring a certain shadow construct who had walked in, uninvited to that day’s congregation. Audamar was incredibly unique in comparison to standard shadow constructs. Superficially he resembled a black and red human made of metal and glass. His body was sleek and streamlined, with glowing light pulsing through the see-through parts. As he leaned his arm on the tall side of the lectern and looked up at the stained glass windows, Audamar found himself feeling empty, but not in a hollow way. There was something special in the grand, holy art of the glass, but he could not figure out what it was.
“This is a very nice church,” Audamar said to the priest, who stood off to the side in concern. He then glanced over to the church goers, who were rightfully scared. “How long did it take to build?”
“Thir-thirteen months…” The gray-haired man in white and gold robes shakily answered. “We were quite lucky to have everything in order when the construction started.”
Audamar looked up at the stained glass again, still amazed by how the light beamed through it. “Now why would Milosh want to ruin all of this? Father, I come from nothing and have nothing. Would… would God bless me if I asked?”
“Of course, Audamar,” the priest said as he returned to the lectern. “The Source accepts all who let the light into their lives…”
“Father Arzhel!” a boy in royal attire protested from the pews. It was Prince Folkvar Haugen. “That’s a shadow construct!”
“With all due respect, your highness, it is our duty to guide the forlorn to the light. As a priest it would be irreverent of me to say no. Furthermore he was born of the actions of The Shadow God, who was born of God. Audamar, do you swear that you speak the truth, in welcoming the light into your life?”
“Yes, Father Arzhel,” he replied. It felt a little strange saying that, but it also felt right.
Folkvar groaned as the others looked at him. “Fine, but one wrong step and I’ll have father and Dunja here faster than you can blink,” he warned as he sat back down.
“Fair enough, your highness,” Audamar said with a chuckle.
Arzhel then turned his book to a specific page and cleared his throat. “Kneel before God, Audamar, and I shall tell you the tale of the Cosmos…” As Audamar took a knee, Arzhel indicated for the organist to begin playing, with the man choosing an uplifting, yet subtle composition.
Outside the church, Lia and the others were dealing with the shadow constructs in the square. The group was joined by Fyodor Aleksandrov, Sten’s Royal Advisor, who himself had been on his way to the congregation. Despite his hair being gray and thinning, his void magic-fueled pyromancy was truly formidable. The last thing he expected to run into that day were shadow constructs. He would have to apologize to Sten for doubting his king’s concern over opening up Warehouse Omicron. The battle itself was strange as the shadow constructs were no more useful than headless chickens without a leader, and Audamar was nowhere to be found.
“FUO YLS ULSO!” Fyodor called out, summoning a storm of fiery meteors that took out a group of constructs. “Blood-Wraith! To your left!”
“Right!” Blood-Wraith picked up the construct as Verdant Might and suplexed it, followed by an elbow drop. Another one tried to charge him, but Blood-Wraith responded in kind with a drop kick to the face.
Gummi laughed as he picked off some other constructs with revolvers made of magical fire. “You’ve been watching Friday Night Wrestling, Blood?”
“Absolutely!” he answered as he punched the shadow construct in his headlock.
“He’s been obsessing lately,” Mal added as she used her gravity spells to move Blood-Wraith’s mess out of the way.
“Well I see nothing wrong with that,” Fyodor remarked with a laugh as he set a shadow construct ablaze with a quick flame burst from his hand. “He is a growing lad after all.”
Gratiana plunged one of her spears into a particularly feisty shadow construct and surged electricity through it, electrocuting it and several other constructs. “Well if his duel with Dunja was anything to go by, ha! Andelin, is everyone safe?”
Andelin gave a thumbs up as she stood ready with her hexes before a group of people huddled together in the alley. “Yes, we’re… Wait! Where’s Alaois!?”
Just as she said that, a young boy no older than 5 came running across the square, crying as he did. “MOMMY! HELP ME!!”
Lia quickly sliced a shadow construct’s head off and immediately ran over to get the boy. “No no-come here, sweetie!” Another construct roared and barreled for Alaois, causing Lia’s blood to run ice cold. She had to act fast, and in one fell swoop she stretched out both of her arms to impossible proportions, scooping up the boy with one arm and smashing the construct with the giant fist of her free arm. There was a round of cheers and applause that allowed Lia to relax, but she was confused as she could not normally do all of that, even with the strange state of her arms.
“Whoa, how did you do all of that, Miss?” Alaois asked as he was set down.
“I… I don’t know…” Lia noted as she looked at her arm as it returned to normal size, which was now shiny purple with gold accents. What appeared to be fire heraldry also emerged from it. “Here, let’s get you back to your parents, where it’s safe…” she said as she held Alaois’ hand.
While Lia was getting Alaois all squared away and receiving gratitude from the Shadowlandians, Fyodor was stroking his beard, thinking about what had just happened. “I wonder…”
“Wonder what, Fyodor?” Blood-Wraith inquired as he walked over and reverted to normal.
“Those are Rahela’s colors, and she is here in the city at the moment…”
“Rahela?” Lia questioned as she returned to the group.
“Yes, The Discordant God of Rubber,” Fyodor clarified. “She was present at the Droomopolis incident, surely you remember?”
“Oh yeah, that…”
Gratiana inspected Lia’s arms, noting a chaotic feeling she knew all too well. Needing to confirm her suspicions, she put her first two fingers against Lia’s forehead and focused. “By the Source, Lia, you’re a Discordant Champion now…”
Lia was quiet for a second, taking it all in. “Wait, really? I’m… I’m like you now?”
“Huh, ain’t that a surprise…” Audamar noted from behind. This naturally made the group nearly jump out of their skin and back up. “What? Oh right, we were supposed to be fighting each other, I guess. The whole ‘contingency’ thing.”
“Source, he’s level 3!” Lia exclaimed, worrying the others.
Audamar looked at his futuristic wings and the orbs that now made up his joints. “Oh yeah, that… Look, guys? I… I don’t want to fight anymore. Like, I get that’s what I’m supposed to do, but I just… I don't want to fight anymore. Milosh is dead, the church is gone, and well, I have God in my life now.”
Andelin and Lia were speechless, utterly dumbfounded by what they were hearing. “Lia, did any of the research account for this?” Andelin questioned. “Any precedents? Any at all?”
Lia thought back for a second, racking her brain for anything that could help. “I… I’m not sure. I mean, it’s not impossible given the potential we intended for his soul. If he doesn’t want to fight…”
“He doesn’t want to fight?!” a voice familiar to Gratiana cried. Appearing in a flurry of electricity was Leonard, the Discordant God of Lightning, startling everyone. The golden lightning that arced through his metal body seemed to be a bit excited, indicating a slight bout of anxiety and nervousness. “God, first Gideon, now you, Audamar?!” Why does this always happen to me? Wait, hold up… Then again, Wulfric and Sylvia have also had problems…”
“Lord… Lord Leonard?” Gratiana stuttered, unsure what to think or do.
Leonard smiled, like seeing an old friend who had been away for too long. “Gratiana, it’s good to see you again. I suppose I better explain why I’m here, ha. Firstly, if all of you are wondering where the knights are, that was my fault. I told Sten to hold off…”
“Ah, I was wondering about that…” Fyodor said as he looked around, seeing the church goers and others gathering around.
“I wanted to test Gratiana, to see if she was ready to return to her duties as my champion… Gratiana, please come back to us. The realm misses you and I want my champion back.”
Gratiana was beyond words, not helped by the crowd of people gathering. It was making her nervous, causing her to wonder if her clothes were messy or if her armor was properly polished. “But I’m not worthy, my lord! You yourself took away my honors.”
Leonard exhaled with static coming from his breath, knowing she would say that. “Gratiana, once a Discordant Champion, always a Discordant Champion. I only took away your powers so you wouldn’t use them against Dunja.”
Gratiana sighed, knowing Leonard was not going to take no for an answer. How Gideon was able to get out of becoming his champion still eluded her to this day. “Fine, but I’d like Barna to be here…”
Leonard clapped with a laugh. “One Schindewolf blacksmith coming up!” he declared as he snapped his fingers with a buzz of electricity and a flash of light.
“Well you see, brother, the pattern is… WHAT IN TARNATION?” Barna cried, all disoriented. “Gummi? Dear?”
“Hey, dad,” Gummi replied. “So about the mission to Omicron… it’s um… it’s going…”
“Weird, very weird,” Blood-Wraith added.
Mal nodded. “Audamar discovered God and Leonard is up to stuff.”
“Right, right, one second, kids…” Barna said as he looked around, putting it all together. Audamar smiled at him, causing Barna to back up a step towards his wife. “Gratiana?”
“I’m so sorry to pull you away from your business, Barna, but do you think I’m worthy of being a Discordant Champion again?”
“Worthy? Of course you're worthy! Why wouldn’t you be…” He then looked at Leonard and leaned back a little. “Ohh, I see…” Barna then hugged Gratiana and kissed her. “Absolutely, my love.”
Gratiana then turned to Leonard and held out her hand. “Alright, I accept.”
Leonard eagerly took her hand, with blue lighting surging down his arm and into Gratiana. “Ladies and gentlemen, give a warm round of applause for our returning champion, Gratiana!”
The body-shaking jolt was not pleasant, but Gratiana felt a great bliss when the flash of light happened. When she came to, she looked down to see that her form of metal and blue lightning had returned to her. “Oh my goodness…” The following applause and cheering made it all the more splendid.
“We’re not done yet, however,” Leonard said as he stepped over to Audamar. “Now, Audamar, listen closely, my boy: I, I’m the Discordant God of Lightning. And you don’t say no to The Discordant God of Lightning…”
“Gideon not withstanding,” Gratiana said with a giggle, warranting chuckles from the others.
“Ha, I am going to enjoy having your wit back in the sky fortress,” Leonard complimented, then turned his attention back to Audamar. “So, Audamar, are you serious about welcoming God into your life?”
He shrugged. “I guess so, given that we’ve come this far.”
“Then I challenge you to fight Gratiana and Lia at the Maelstrom Colosseum in my domain! Show us what you’ve got and prove your worth!”
“Hey, wait a second!” a purple haired woman in a futuristic bodysuit who suddenly appeared out of nowhere protested. “You can’t just go and declare challenges for me!”
Leonard shook his head and chuckled. “I can, I did, and come on, Rahela; it’ll be fun. Besides, it’ll give Lia a chance to test her mettle.”
Rahela groaned, then went and put her arm around Lia’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, we’ll talk more once gramps is done blowing wind.”
Leonard frowned, then turned back to Audamar once more. “So what do you say, Kid?”
Audamar was actually fairly nervous, all things considered. One minute he was wasting away in Omicron, next he was attending church, and now he was being challenged by a Discordant God of Chaos. Despite all of the uncertainty, something told him to go for it. “I accept, Lord Leonard.”
“That’s what I like to hear! I like the cut of his jib already…”
“Oh, pardon me, Lord Leonard,” Folkvar interrupted as he stepped forward. “I should probably go tell my parents about all of this…”
“Haha, yeah, you probably should, given all of the trouble I’ve caused…”
“Good, call Folky,” Rahela said as she snapped her fingers, summoning a futuristic door in the middle of the street. “Here you go.”
“Thanks, Rahela,” Folkvar replied as he opened the door. “Ha, if Audamar pulls anything funny, he’ll have to deal with Leonard and Rahela,” he partially muttered to himself as he stepped into Castle Haugen.
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The Church of Shadowland was the replacement for The Eternal Church, which had been demolished quite explosively a while ago. It had become a place of reverence of God, free from the stains and clutches of Milosh Proch and his ilk… baring a certain shadow construct who had walked in, uninvited to that day’s congregation. Audamar was incredibly unique in comparison to standard shadow constructs. Superficially he resembled a black and red human made of metal and glass. His body was sleek and streamlined, with glowing light pulsing through the see-through parts. As he leaned his arm on the tall side of the lectern and looked up at the stained glass windows, Audamar found himself feeling empty, but not in a hollow way. There was something special in the grand, holy art of the glass, but he could not figure out what it was.
“This is a very nice church,” Audamar said to the priest, who stood off to the side in concern. He then glanced over to the church goers, who were rightfully scared. “How long did it take to build?”
“Thir-thirteen months…” The gray-haired man in white and gold robes shakily answered. “We were quite lucky to have everything in order when the construction started.”
Audamar looked up at the stained glass again, still amazed by how the light beamed through it. “Now why would Milosh want to ruin all of this? Father, I come from nothing and have nothing. Would… would God bless me if I asked?”
“Of course, Audamar,” the priest said as he returned to the lectern. “The Source accepts all who let the light into their lives…”
“Father Arzhel!” a boy in royal attire protested from the pews. It was Prince Folkvar Haugen. “That’s a shadow construct!”
“With all due respect, your highness, it is our duty to guide the forlorn to the light. As a priest it would be irreverent of me to say no. Furthermore he was born of the actions of The Shadow God, who was born of God. Audamar, do you swear that you speak the truth, in welcoming the light into your life?”
“Yes, Father Arzhel,” he replied. It felt a little strange saying that, but it also felt right.
Folkvar groaned as the others looked at him. “Fine, but one wrong step and I’ll have father and Dunja here faster than you can blink,” he warned as he sat back down.
“Fair enough, your highness,” Audamar said with a chuckle.
Arzhel then turned his book to a specific page and cleared his throat. “Kneel before God, Audamar, and I shall tell you the tale of the Cosmos…” As Audamar took a knee, Arzhel indicated for the organist to begin playing, with the man choosing an uplifting, yet subtle composition.
Outside the church, Lia and the others were dealing with the shadow constructs in the square. The group was joined by Fyodor Aleksandrov, Sten’s Royal Advisor, who himself had been on his way to the congregation. Despite his hair being gray and thinning, his void magic-fueled pyromancy was truly formidable. The last thing he expected to run into that day were shadow constructs. He would have to apologize to Sten for doubting his king’s concern over opening up Warehouse Omicron. The battle itself was strange as the shadow constructs were no more useful than headless chickens without a leader, and Audamar was nowhere to be found.
“FUO YLS ULSO!” Fyodor called out, summoning a storm of fiery meteors that took out a group of constructs. “Blood-Wraith! To your left!”
“Right!” Blood-Wraith picked up the construct as Verdant Might and suplexed it, followed by an elbow drop. Another one tried to charge him, but Blood-Wraith responded in kind with a drop kick to the face.
Gummi laughed as he picked off some other constructs with revolvers made of magical fire. “You’ve been watching Friday Night Wrestling, Blood?”
“Absolutely!” he answered as he punched the shadow construct in his headlock.
“He’s been obsessing lately,” Mal added as she used her gravity spells to move Blood-Wraith’s mess out of the way.
“Well I see nothing wrong with that,” Fyodor remarked with a laugh as he set a shadow construct ablaze with a quick flame burst from his hand. “He is a growing lad after all.”
Gratiana plunged one of her spears into a particularly feisty shadow construct and surged electricity through it, electrocuting it and several other constructs. “Well if his duel with Dunja was anything to go by, ha! Andelin, is everyone safe?”
Andelin gave a thumbs up as she stood ready with her hexes before a group of people huddled together in the alley. “Yes, we’re… Wait! Where’s Alaois!?”
Just as she said that, a young boy no older than 5 came running across the square, crying as he did. “MOMMY! HELP ME!!”
Lia quickly sliced a shadow construct’s head off and immediately ran over to get the boy. “No no-come here, sweetie!” Another construct roared and barreled for Alaois, causing Lia’s blood to run ice cold. She had to act fast, and in one fell swoop she stretched out both of her arms to impossible proportions, scooping up the boy with one arm and smashing the construct with the giant fist of her free arm. There was a round of cheers and applause that allowed Lia to relax, but she was confused as she could not normally do all of that, even with the strange state of her arms.
“Whoa, how did you do all of that, Miss?” Alaois asked as he was set down.
“I… I don’t know…” Lia noted as she looked at her arm as it returned to normal size, which was now shiny purple with gold accents. What appeared to be fire heraldry also emerged from it. “Here, let’s get you back to your parents, where it’s safe…” she said as she held Alaois’ hand.
While Lia was getting Alaois all squared away and receiving gratitude from the Shadowlandians, Fyodor was stroking his beard, thinking about what had just happened. “I wonder…”
“Wonder what, Fyodor?” Blood-Wraith inquired as he walked over and reverted to normal.
“Those are Rahela’s colors, and she is here in the city at the moment…”
“Rahela?” Lia questioned as she returned to the group.
“Yes, The Discordant God of Rubber,” Fyodor clarified. “She was present at the Droomopolis incident, surely you remember?”
“Oh yeah, that…”
Gratiana inspected Lia’s arms, noting a chaotic feeling she knew all too well. Needing to confirm her suspicions, she put her first two fingers against Lia’s forehead and focused. “By the Source, Lia, you’re a Discordant Champion now…”
Lia was quiet for a second, taking it all in. “Wait, really? I’m… I’m like you now?”
“Huh, ain’t that a surprise…” Audamar noted from behind. This naturally made the group nearly jump out of their skin and back up. “What? Oh right, we were supposed to be fighting each other, I guess. The whole ‘contingency’ thing.”
“Source, he’s level 3!” Lia exclaimed, worrying the others.
Audamar looked at his futuristic wings and the orbs that now made up his joints. “Oh yeah, that… Look, guys? I… I don’t want to fight anymore. Like, I get that’s what I’m supposed to do, but I just… I don't want to fight anymore. Milosh is dead, the church is gone, and well, I have God in my life now.”
Andelin and Lia were speechless, utterly dumbfounded by what they were hearing. “Lia, did any of the research account for this?” Andelin questioned. “Any precedents? Any at all?”
Lia thought back for a second, racking her brain for anything that could help. “I… I’m not sure. I mean, it’s not impossible given the potential we intended for his soul. If he doesn’t want to fight…”
“He doesn’t want to fight?!” a voice familiar to Gratiana cried. Appearing in a flurry of electricity was Leonard, the Discordant God of Lightning, startling everyone. The golden lightning that arced through his metal body seemed to be a bit excited, indicating a slight bout of anxiety and nervousness. “God, first Gideon, now you, Audamar?!” Why does this always happen to me? Wait, hold up… Then again, Wulfric and Sylvia have also had problems…”
“Lord… Lord Leonard?” Gratiana stuttered, unsure what to think or do.
Leonard smiled, like seeing an old friend who had been away for too long. “Gratiana, it’s good to see you again. I suppose I better explain why I’m here, ha. Firstly, if all of you are wondering where the knights are, that was my fault. I told Sten to hold off…”
“Ah, I was wondering about that…” Fyodor said as he looked around, seeing the church goers and others gathering around.
“I wanted to test Gratiana, to see if she was ready to return to her duties as my champion… Gratiana, please come back to us. The realm misses you and I want my champion back.”
Gratiana was beyond words, not helped by the crowd of people gathering. It was making her nervous, causing her to wonder if her clothes were messy or if her armor was properly polished. “But I’m not worthy, my lord! You yourself took away my honors.”
Leonard exhaled with static coming from his breath, knowing she would say that. “Gratiana, once a Discordant Champion, always a Discordant Champion. I only took away your powers so you wouldn’t use them against Dunja.”
Gratiana sighed, knowing Leonard was not going to take no for an answer. How Gideon was able to get out of becoming his champion still eluded her to this day. “Fine, but I’d like Barna to be here…”
Leonard clapped with a laugh. “One Schindewolf blacksmith coming up!” he declared as he snapped his fingers with a buzz of electricity and a flash of light.
“Well you see, brother, the pattern is… WHAT IN TARNATION?” Barna cried, all disoriented. “Gummi? Dear?”
“Hey, dad,” Gummi replied. “So about the mission to Omicron… it’s um… it’s going…”
“Weird, very weird,” Blood-Wraith added.
Mal nodded. “Audamar discovered God and Leonard is up to stuff.”
“Right, right, one second, kids…” Barna said as he looked around, putting it all together. Audamar smiled at him, causing Barna to back up a step towards his wife. “Gratiana?”
“I’m so sorry to pull you away from your business, Barna, but do you think I’m worthy of being a Discordant Champion again?”
“Worthy? Of course you're worthy! Why wouldn’t you be…” He then looked at Leonard and leaned back a little. “Ohh, I see…” Barna then hugged Gratiana and kissed her. “Absolutely, my love.”
Gratiana then turned to Leonard and held out her hand. “Alright, I accept.”
Leonard eagerly took her hand, with blue lighting surging down his arm and into Gratiana. “Ladies and gentlemen, give a warm round of applause for our returning champion, Gratiana!”
The body-shaking jolt was not pleasant, but Gratiana felt a great bliss when the flash of light happened. When she came to, she looked down to see that her form of metal and blue lightning had returned to her. “Oh my goodness…” The following applause and cheering made it all the more splendid.
“We’re not done yet, however,” Leonard said as he stepped over to Audamar. “Now, Audamar, listen closely, my boy: I, I’m the Discordant God of Lightning. And you don’t say no to The Discordant God of Lightning…”
“Gideon not withstanding,” Gratiana said with a giggle, warranting chuckles from the others.
“Ha, I am going to enjoy having your wit back in the sky fortress,” Leonard complimented, then turned his attention back to Audamar. “So, Audamar, are you serious about welcoming God into your life?”
He shrugged. “I guess so, given that we’ve come this far.”
“Then I challenge you to fight Gratiana and Lia at the Maelstrom Colosseum in my domain! Show us what you’ve got and prove your worth!”
“Hey, wait a second!” a purple haired woman in a futuristic bodysuit who suddenly appeared out of nowhere protested. “You can’t just go and declare challenges for me!”
Leonard shook his head and chuckled. “I can, I did, and come on, Rahela; it’ll be fun. Besides, it’ll give Lia a chance to test her mettle.”
Rahela groaned, then went and put her arm around Lia’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, we’ll talk more once gramps is done blowing wind.”
Leonard frowned, then turned back to Audamar once more. “So what do you say, Kid?”
Audamar was actually fairly nervous, all things considered. One minute he was wasting away in Omicron, next he was attending church, and now he was being challenged by a Discordant God of Chaos. Despite all of the uncertainty, something told him to go for it. “I accept, Lord Leonard.”
“That’s what I like to hear! I like the cut of his jib already…”
“Oh, pardon me, Lord Leonard,” Folkvar interrupted as he stepped forward. “I should probably go tell my parents about all of this…”
“Haha, yeah, you probably should, given all of the trouble I’ve caused…”
“Good, call Folky,” Rahela said as she snapped her fingers, summoning a futuristic door in the middle of the street. “Here you go.”
“Thanks, Rahela,” Folkvar replied as he opened the door. “Ha, if Audamar pulls anything funny, he’ll have to deal with Leonard and Rahela,” he partially muttered to himself as he stepped into Castle Haugen.
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