Tale of The Nightmare
Master Post - Patreon
Before we get into this story, a quick explanation: This story is something I wrote back in 2018 with the goal of emulating what you would see in something like The Poetic Edda. This can be seen as a prototype story for ULTRAMagic Alternate and if I were to canonize it, it would take place during the Epoch of The Cosmos. If you need an explanation for what that is, please read ULTRAMagic Prelude (I am confused as to why you would make ULTRAMagic Compendium your first book regardless). This story is not canon, but I did reuse the concepts here for modern ULTRAMagic Alternate. Furthermore I may revisit this concept if I decided to write prequel books for the Epoch era of the Cosmos. For future reference, Nightmare is the Epoch incarnation of Will and the boy would become Orion in the modern canon.
The Story (7/10/2018):
In the times of Chaos comes a tale,
A tale that survived the test of time.
Beyond the sight of time comes a traveler,
A traveler simply known as Nightmare.
A wanderer whose name is lost to space and time,
A name that cannot be spoken aloud.
Many fear this wanderer for good reason,
As he comes from a time too eldritch to many.
It was a time of chaos and entropy,
The time before time that had yet to settle.
A time impossible to see or hear
That would rend the mind of anyone sane.
Nightmare as he is called wandered this space,
As even he was strange in this space of discord.
No one knew where he had come from,
As he just all of a sudden appeared out of nowhere.
Nightmare was tall and gaunt,
But strong and able none the less.
His eyes were hollow with orbs of fire to guide him,
but this gave him a truly haunting appearance.
By his side was a sword of diamond that shone in the darkness,
A sword that would not break or falter for its master.
On his other side he carried a lantern fashioned from a skull
That gave a haunting, eerie light that illuminated his path.
You come to this tavern Nightmare? Why?
What would bring you out this far into the wastes?
Surely there is not much here for you,
So why come to a wretched land such as this?
My reasons are my own old one.
But alas I have come here seeking a prize.
I seek the treasure of the Beast of Old.
I shall not leave until that treasure is mine.
You dare go after a beast of such might and strength?
Are you mad? Do you have a death wish?
There must be a mistake wanderer,
As no one dares go after the beast.
But Nightmare paid the old man no heed.
He could not be dissuaded from his goal.
The Wanderer sat down at a lone table,
with his drink he remained quiet for the rest of the night.
Night had crept into the tavern,
But night was always present in the wastes.
Dawn and dusk were nowhere to be found
And night ruled for eternity.
As Nightmare rested for his hunt,
Something small disturbed his peace.
It was very quiet, but not quiet enough.
Nightmare had heard the quiet creaking of wooden boards.
Who goes there? Who disturbs my rest?
If you are trying to rob me, intruder,
I have nothing for you to take.
You are wasting your time here.
At first things were still.
But the intruder could not keep still.
It had become nervous and noisy.
Nightmare rose to find the intruder…
What say you boy?
Why go after someone who has nothing?
The only thing more foolish for you to do
Would be to rob me with the lights on.
Please don't hurt me! Wanderer,
You've caught me and I will do whatever you wish.
All I wanted was that strange lantern to light my way,
But now I see that was a foolish goal...
A foolish goal you say?
That makes two of us in that regard.
Even if you could get my lantern from me,
The lantern would not light for you.
Nightmare blew a ghastly breath into the lantern.
The lantern moaned and its fire lit up.
The boy was in full view and quite scared.
Such as a young, messy thief would be.
You planned to steal from me,
But you did not even have a blade ready?
Have you had any training?
A real thief would have already been gone by now.
I did not think I would get this far honestly.
I targeted you as you seemed the easiest.
I would pawn the sword and use the lantern for myself.
I did not think I would be able to even get in here however...
You do not think?
Boy, things do not advance if you do not think.
You thought of a plan,
Which means you are indeed thinking up there.
Please accept my apologies sir,
I am very inexperienced as I am only twelve.
It is hard to get training when you are young.
I had to train myself and you can see how that turned out.
You did well up until you came to me.
You have potential in you boy.
And I can use that potential for my trials.
You shall help me and put your potential to the test.
Nightmare took the boy and tucked him into his bed,
And in turn he would rest in the rocking chair.
The boy's mind was alive and worried as the winds roared outside.
What was the wanderer going to have him do the next day?
As morning came, the lights of the township came to life.
Day never came, so it had to be brought by the townsfolk.
Despite the melancholy the township gave off,
It was a lively place bustling with trade and story telling.
Nightmare and the boy made their way through the township.
A great ship was needed for Nightmare's hunt.
Many ships were considered, but could not meet the call of the hunt.
But alas, there was one that could.
A beast the size of a massive ship lay still in the harbor.
It resisted the waves that crashed up against it as the wind howled.
It awaited who could lead it into danger.
It had grown quite bored waiting for something to do.
Nightmare summoned the harbor master and requested the ship beast.
There was hesitation at first,
But the deal was signed and the beast was given to the wanderer and the boy.
Maybe the Harbour master could finally get the ship beast out of his harbour.
The two stepped into the maw of the beast.
Where they were met with twisting and writhing tissue made of metal.
A cavity had opened up near the back of the mouth
As the beast had invited the two into its core.
Before them stood a series of strange surfaces,
surfaces that showed various information about the ship beast.
From vitals to all sorts of weaponry,
One could tell this creature was ready to hunt.
Nightmare took to this creature like it was his,
But the boy was scared as he had never seen this before.
Nightmare gave the boy his orders and duties.
As they were quickly coming upon the Beast of Old.
The beast of old was truly a fearsome sight.
Even though it was in the ocean,
It ran upon the waves as if they were solid ground.
And its roars pierced the heavens and beyond.
Ready yourself boy for here comes the beast.
Prepare the harpoons as this thing won't stay still.
Once the beast is trapped and still,
I will go into it for what I seek.
The boy thought the wanderer was mad for this.
But it was no time to question his motives or goals.
But at the same time, the boy admired the wanderer.
He was brave despite what the boy had thought of him.
The ship beast swallowed the boy in metal to anchor him in,
As it was time to take aim at the Beast of Old.
The boy may have not been good at theft,
But he was one the best marksmen around.
The Beast of Old was running across the waves
To a place it could never reach at the end of time.
It ran to escape the future that would come,
For it knew its time would come to an end.
The fringes of reality screeched on its hide.
Life became an abstract concept in its fur.
Time came to a halt at its feet.
And all of space wept for the state that it was in.
The first shot was fired by the boy at the Beast of Old.
The harpoon pierced the right front leg,
And was followed by another harpoon that hit the back.
The beast of old had been ensnared by the boy and the ship beast.
The Beast of Old was not going to go down easily though.
It could still move despite being injured.
But the ship beast was not going to let its prey escape.
It let out a mighty howl that knocked the Beast of Old off its balance.
And then it was Nightmare's turn to act.
He ran out of the maw of the ship beast and took to the skies.
Upon wings of darkness he flew to the Beast of Old
And the Beast of Old knew that its time had come.
The Beast of Old howled in pain as Nightmare dug into it with his Sword of Diamond.
Chunks flew out of the beast and plunged into the sea.
Each chunk that left the beast formed a strange being that swam off into the darkness.
Soon Nightmare had found what he was looking for.
A brilliant light radiated from the crevice that Nightmare had dug.
And in that light, Time had reclaimed its child.
The Boy sat there in the ship beast and waited.
It had felt like an eternity had passed him by in his wait.
Boy! I have what I have come for!
Behold the Tear of Time, A child of my Sword of Diamond.
I have reunited it with its father and now it shall help me.
Come boy, we have six other children to collect.
Boy it was no mere chance that you encountered me.
Fate brought us together to complete this quest.
We shall travel all of reality to complete the Sword of Diamond!
You will know great fortune for your help!
Nightmare, that was scary for me.
But you showed me that you know what you are doing.
I will put my trust and faith in you,
But what are we going to eat? That hunt left me hungry...
Haha! We shall eat to celebrate this victory across the sea!
For my next target lies in that land.
Make haste mighty ship beast!
Our celebration shall not be postponed by distance.
And with that, the ship beast set out to the other side of the sea.
Nightmare and the boy were heading towards the edge of reality.
For it was their destiny to complete the Sword of Diamond.
But the flow of time always sings of challenge and mystery.
- - - - -
Tale of The Nightmare © 2018 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Before we get into this story, a quick explanation: This story is something I wrote back in 2018 with the goal of emulating what you would see in something like The Poetic Edda. This can be seen as a prototype story for ULTRAMagic Alternate and if I were to canonize it, it would take place during the Epoch of The Cosmos. If you need an explanation for what that is, please read ULTRAMagic Prelude (I am confused as to why you would make ULTRAMagic Compendium your first book regardless). This story is not canon, but I did reuse the concepts here for modern ULTRAMagic Alternate. Furthermore I may revisit this concept if I decided to write prequel books for the Epoch era of the Cosmos. For future reference, Nightmare is the Epoch incarnation of Will and the boy would become Orion in the modern canon.
The Story (7/10/2018):
In the times of Chaos comes a tale,
A tale that survived the test of time.
Beyond the sight of time comes a traveler,
A traveler simply known as Nightmare.
A wanderer whose name is lost to space and time,
A name that cannot be spoken aloud.
Many fear this wanderer for good reason,
As he comes from a time too eldritch to many.
It was a time of chaos and entropy,
The time before time that had yet to settle.
A time impossible to see or hear
That would rend the mind of anyone sane.
Nightmare as he is called wandered this space,
As even he was strange in this space of discord.
No one knew where he had come from,
As he just all of a sudden appeared out of nowhere.
Nightmare was tall and gaunt,
But strong and able none the less.
His eyes were hollow with orbs of fire to guide him,
but this gave him a truly haunting appearance.
By his side was a sword of diamond that shone in the darkness,
A sword that would not break or falter for its master.
On his other side he carried a lantern fashioned from a skull
That gave a haunting, eerie light that illuminated his path.
You come to this tavern Nightmare? Why?
What would bring you out this far into the wastes?
Surely there is not much here for you,
So why come to a wretched land such as this?
My reasons are my own old one.
But alas I have come here seeking a prize.
I seek the treasure of the Beast of Old.
I shall not leave until that treasure is mine.
You dare go after a beast of such might and strength?
Are you mad? Do you have a death wish?
There must be a mistake wanderer,
As no one dares go after the beast.
But Nightmare paid the old man no heed.
He could not be dissuaded from his goal.
The Wanderer sat down at a lone table,
with his drink he remained quiet for the rest of the night.
Night had crept into the tavern,
But night was always present in the wastes.
Dawn and dusk were nowhere to be found
And night ruled for eternity.
As Nightmare rested for his hunt,
Something small disturbed his peace.
It was very quiet, but not quiet enough.
Nightmare had heard the quiet creaking of wooden boards.
Who goes there? Who disturbs my rest?
If you are trying to rob me, intruder,
I have nothing for you to take.
You are wasting your time here.
At first things were still.
But the intruder could not keep still.
It had become nervous and noisy.
Nightmare rose to find the intruder…
What say you boy?
Why go after someone who has nothing?
The only thing more foolish for you to do
Would be to rob me with the lights on.
Please don't hurt me! Wanderer,
You've caught me and I will do whatever you wish.
All I wanted was that strange lantern to light my way,
But now I see that was a foolish goal...
A foolish goal you say?
That makes two of us in that regard.
Even if you could get my lantern from me,
The lantern would not light for you.
Nightmare blew a ghastly breath into the lantern.
The lantern moaned and its fire lit up.
The boy was in full view and quite scared.
Such as a young, messy thief would be.
You planned to steal from me,
But you did not even have a blade ready?
Have you had any training?
A real thief would have already been gone by now.
I did not think I would get this far honestly.
I targeted you as you seemed the easiest.
I would pawn the sword and use the lantern for myself.
I did not think I would be able to even get in here however...
You do not think?
Boy, things do not advance if you do not think.
You thought of a plan,
Which means you are indeed thinking up there.
Please accept my apologies sir,
I am very inexperienced as I am only twelve.
It is hard to get training when you are young.
I had to train myself and you can see how that turned out.
You did well up until you came to me.
You have potential in you boy.
And I can use that potential for my trials.
You shall help me and put your potential to the test.
Nightmare took the boy and tucked him into his bed,
And in turn he would rest in the rocking chair.
The boy's mind was alive and worried as the winds roared outside.
What was the wanderer going to have him do the next day?
As morning came, the lights of the township came to life.
Day never came, so it had to be brought by the townsfolk.
Despite the melancholy the township gave off,
It was a lively place bustling with trade and story telling.
Nightmare and the boy made their way through the township.
A great ship was needed for Nightmare's hunt.
Many ships were considered, but could not meet the call of the hunt.
But alas, there was one that could.
A beast the size of a massive ship lay still in the harbor.
It resisted the waves that crashed up against it as the wind howled.
It awaited who could lead it into danger.
It had grown quite bored waiting for something to do.
Nightmare summoned the harbor master and requested the ship beast.
There was hesitation at first,
But the deal was signed and the beast was given to the wanderer and the boy.
Maybe the Harbour master could finally get the ship beast out of his harbour.
The two stepped into the maw of the beast.
Where they were met with twisting and writhing tissue made of metal.
A cavity had opened up near the back of the mouth
As the beast had invited the two into its core.
Before them stood a series of strange surfaces,
surfaces that showed various information about the ship beast.
From vitals to all sorts of weaponry,
One could tell this creature was ready to hunt.
Nightmare took to this creature like it was his,
But the boy was scared as he had never seen this before.
Nightmare gave the boy his orders and duties.
As they were quickly coming upon the Beast of Old.
The beast of old was truly a fearsome sight.
Even though it was in the ocean,
It ran upon the waves as if they were solid ground.
And its roars pierced the heavens and beyond.
Ready yourself boy for here comes the beast.
Prepare the harpoons as this thing won't stay still.
Once the beast is trapped and still,
I will go into it for what I seek.
The boy thought the wanderer was mad for this.
But it was no time to question his motives or goals.
But at the same time, the boy admired the wanderer.
He was brave despite what the boy had thought of him.
The ship beast swallowed the boy in metal to anchor him in,
As it was time to take aim at the Beast of Old.
The boy may have not been good at theft,
But he was one the best marksmen around.
The Beast of Old was running across the waves
To a place it could never reach at the end of time.
It ran to escape the future that would come,
For it knew its time would come to an end.
The fringes of reality screeched on its hide.
Life became an abstract concept in its fur.
Time came to a halt at its feet.
And all of space wept for the state that it was in.
The first shot was fired by the boy at the Beast of Old.
The harpoon pierced the right front leg,
And was followed by another harpoon that hit the back.
The beast of old had been ensnared by the boy and the ship beast.
The Beast of Old was not going to go down easily though.
It could still move despite being injured.
But the ship beast was not going to let its prey escape.
It let out a mighty howl that knocked the Beast of Old off its balance.
And then it was Nightmare's turn to act.
He ran out of the maw of the ship beast and took to the skies.
Upon wings of darkness he flew to the Beast of Old
And the Beast of Old knew that its time had come.
The Beast of Old howled in pain as Nightmare dug into it with his Sword of Diamond.
Chunks flew out of the beast and plunged into the sea.
Each chunk that left the beast formed a strange being that swam off into the darkness.
Soon Nightmare had found what he was looking for.
A brilliant light radiated from the crevice that Nightmare had dug.
And in that light, Time had reclaimed its child.
The Boy sat there in the ship beast and waited.
It had felt like an eternity had passed him by in his wait.
Boy! I have what I have come for!
Behold the Tear of Time, A child of my Sword of Diamond.
I have reunited it with its father and now it shall help me.
Come boy, we have six other children to collect.
Boy it was no mere chance that you encountered me.
Fate brought us together to complete this quest.
We shall travel all of reality to complete the Sword of Diamond!
You will know great fortune for your help!
Nightmare, that was scary for me.
But you showed me that you know what you are doing.
I will put my trust and faith in you,
But what are we going to eat? That hunt left me hungry...
Haha! We shall eat to celebrate this victory across the sea!
For my next target lies in that land.
Make haste mighty ship beast!
Our celebration shall not be postponed by distance.
And with that, the ship beast set out to the other side of the sea.
Nightmare and the boy were heading towards the edge of reality.
For it was their destiny to complete the Sword of Diamond.
But the flow of time always sings of challenge and mystery.
- - - - -
Tale of The Nightmare © 2018 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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