ULTRAMagic (Before) Prelude - Chapter 2
Previous | First | Next
Master Post - Patreon
“Wow, all of that sounds incredible…” Blood-Wraith remarked at Scotty’s explanation of The Dark Divers Guild as they walked back to the guild hall down the dusty dirt road. “Even if I’m not sure what all of that… IGL stuff is…”
“Honestly, Blood, you’re dodging a massive bullet not knowing the ins and outs of IGL…” Zara added. “Some of the crazier stuff from the really screwed up universes that the advanced squads are authorized to explore still messes with me…”
“What’s a bullet?” Blood-Wraith wondered, causing Zara to groan over her gaffe.
Scotty chuckled and indicated for the three to walk down the right-hand path. “Don’t worry, Blood, it’s a figure of speech. And I’d love to give you a run down of Iteration Generation Loss in terms of all that science mambo-jumbo…” That comment made Blood-Wraith laugh, causing Scotty to chuckle again. “...but that would require a whole quantum fishsticks lesson on the expansion and contraction of the universe and…”
“Hold up!” Zara interrupted with a chuckle, with Blood-Wraith continuing to laugh. “Did I hear that right? Quantum fishsticks?”
“Yes, quantum fishsticks,” Scotty answered. “Quantum physics makes my head hurt, so pardon me if I’m a little snarky towards the whole shebang. Either way, the IGL expeditions sort of went on the back burner recently given the fall out from the Audoan Wars. Cleaning up what remains of Audoin’s psychotic knights has been top priority at the moment, and it is the last thing we need here in Fartherlans at the moment…”
Blood-Wraith shuddered at the mention of that ominous name, but he was not sure why. “That… That Audoin sounds like a really bad guy.”
Scotty paused for a second, stopping the group, and sighed. “Good lord, Audoin’s so foul that even the kid can sense it…” He grunted and started walking again. “He’s truly a dangerous man, Blood-Wraith. Nearly destroyed planet Earth in his foolhardy quest to rule it with an iron fist. And while I think he was darn nasty from the git-go, apparently he wasn’t always like that… which is hard to believe given the battering his armies gave America…”
While Blood-Wraith had no memories or experiences of his own, he could sense the anguish Scotty had gone through for what had to have been thankless ages and felt bad for him. “Scotty? Is there any way I can help?”
Scotty paused and gave a soft, warm laugh that was punctuated with sympathy. “My boy, you don’t have any magic though! Audoin is no laughing matter, and even us Azoth Mages couldn’t fully put him down…”
“Well, um, I guess I’ll just have to figure something out then…”
Zara was amazed as she shook her head. “Blood, Scotty knows what he’s talking about-he knows how bad things can get with The Eternal Order and their lackeys.”
Blood-Wraith nodded, despite Zara’s warning. “It doesn’t matter, I want to help Scotty out… Somehow. Where’s this… Earth?”
Scotty shook his head with a smile on his face, admiring Blood-Wraith’s pure heart and tenacity. “While I’m not going to thrust you into my conflicts, Blood, it’s the blue star right over there,” he said as he pointed into the sky. Blood-Wraith seemed to be amazed by its beauty.
Zara began to have an epiphany as they resumed walking, bringing back a nostalgia she could not quite recall. “Wow, kiddo, that’s some determination right there… Jeez, you know who he is starting to remind me of, Scotty?”
“Who’s that, Zara?” he asked in response as he took a second to look around to make sure the coast was clear.
“Mind-Wraith, no two ways about it. I still can’t remember the Epoch fully, but I distinctly remember Mind being just as gungho back then.”
“Wait, Mind-Wraith?” Blood-Wraith interjected, feeling a weird familiarity he could not place. “Who’s Mind-Wraith?”
Scotty cleared his throat as he stopped the trek to get out his binoculars. “He’s a fellow Dark Diver, and maybe you’ll get to meet him if he and Aava finish up that little expedition they’re on…” Scotty trailed off as he scanned the horizon through the lightly scratched lenses of the old-timey binoculars. Something was not sitting right with him as he could sense the magic of an old enemy of his.
Zara could tell Scotty was picking up on something, gripped the hilt of one of her swords, and used her other hand to indicate for Blood-Wraith to back up behind her. “What is it, Scotty?”
“I don’t know…” He then put the binoculars away and got down to place his hand on the ground. It glowed with green energy snaking out from his palm into the dirt like roots, followed by him closing his eyes for a second and concentrating. Despite Blood-Wraith being incredibly curious, he remained quiet as he was sure he would receive an explanation in a moment. “Something’s coming, I can smell it on the wind and the roots and fruits are on high alert…”
And Blood-Wraith was naturally confused by that explanation. He was not sure what he was expecting, but that left more questions than answers. “Roots and fruits?”
“Plantamancy, Blood. It may not seem like it, but there are plants and fungi everywhere, and I can talk to them, no matter how deep they are in the ground…”
Zara drew both of her swords, ready to fight as she was starting to sense their adversary too as her blades crackled with violent, red energy. “Alright, where’s the bastard hiding?”
“Zara, language,” Scotty chided in a hushed tone. He then felt something ominous, cocking his head in the opposite direction. His blood ran cold as he knew it was approaching fast, leading to him frantically looking around for somewhere to hide. “Shoot shoot shoot… there, behind that boulder!” he pointed out as he hurried them all behind it. While it could have been bigger, it would have to do.
And it was just in nick of time too, as the menacing clopping of hooves could be heard, followed by a grisly snort into squeal, like the loathsome creature was persisting past the grave. The three carefully peaked out from behind the boulder so as not to be seen and beheld what could best be described as an undead knight on horseback. A wretched revenant the man was, a gaunt, skeletal husk entombed in black and blood red armor that gave no indication of any heroism. The suit was damaged and dirty, with what once could have been a regal, crimson plume sticking out of the top of the helmet. Scotty and Zara knew exactly who it was as the villain meandered about, and while Blood-Wraith had no idea, his blood ran so cold that he was on the verge of screaming. He was able to hold it in, but not without scared whimpering that made Scotty and Zara nervous that they would be heard.
“Damn, Damien Ackerley; so that’s who Barry and the Highway Knight were tracking…” Scotty quietly stated as his fist began to crackle with electricity.
“So what are we going to do?” Zara questioned. “I don’t know how much longer Blood’s going to be able to hold it in…” She indicated down towards Blood-Wraith, who was curled up against the rock, covering his face.
Scotty softly growled. “I wish the guys were here, or anyone really… Alright, um… I’ll jump him when he’s not looking and hopefully chase him off…” Scotty then pulled Zara back behind the rock and put his finger up to his mouth. The knight had wandered near the boulder…
The knight seemed aimless, like the page of a book burning away. His gaze was empty, his breathing raspy and hollow, and it seemed like not much left was holding on inside that brutal armor he wore. There was no emotion in his presence, save for the mad, rambling ideology of an insane tyrant whose shadow was cast long and far over the cosmos. Despite the sorry state of affairs the knight found himself in, he seemed to be looking for someone, and the hoarse words that escaped his decayed vocal chords past his dead lips was “Blood… Wraith…”
That sent a chill down both Scotty and Zara’s spines, immediately telling them Audoin must have been up to no good again. “Alright, I’m going to go for it,” Scotty whispered. “Stay here and keep Blood safe, and don’t come out until I give the signal…”
“You sure about this?” Zara said, her voice a little shaky.
“We’ve got no other choice… both of you cover your ears…” Once Zara and Blood-Wraith were ready, Scotty took a breath, causing a crack of thunder to emanate from him, startling Damien’s horse a great deal.
Scotty ran out from the hiding spot roaring as loud as he could, further leading to the horse backing away while screaming at its attacker. Damien tried to reign it in, but Scotty kept pushing it back by yelling and creating even more thunder. Eventually the horse was far enough away so that it could start galloping to create some distance, but Scotty was not going to let Damien get away like that. He curled his fist and in it appeared a javelin of near-firey lightning that cracked and chirped like the angriest flock of birds there ever was. He threw it as hard as he could and hit the ground just after Damien had moved, but the resulting explosion sent both the knight and his steed tumbling. The horse screamed as loud as it could as it flailed about, but Damien was not done yet and snapped his fingers as he stood up, causing the two to vanish. Scotty knew they were not done yet and waited for Damien’s next move.
Out of a blazing, vortex-like portal of shadows Damien charged at full speed on his horse, a jagged and fierce claymore at his side ready to behead his opponent. Scotty knew this tactic all too well, but the usual magic that manifested as rusted blood was nowhere to be seen on the blade, which told him that Damien was on his last legs. This put a subtle, smug grin on his face, with Scotty bulking up as electricity surged through his muscles. Damien thought he had Scotty once and for all, but was caught off guard when his horse was lifted up and hurled across the rocky land. With the knight’s sword on the ground and the horse back to flailing about, Scotty saw an opening he needed to take.
Reaching for the sword, Scotty ran towards Damien ready to run him through. The villain still had his shield in hand, a sturdy enough hexagonal shield (despite the wear and tear), and blocked the attack. Scotty stumbled, but he recovered by slamming the shield with the sword over and over again. He could at least break the blade if he could not get rid of Damien. The banging of the weapons prompted Blood-Wraith to peek out from behind the rock, despite Zara's insistence against it. The clash he saw was beyond belief and he was utterly amazed at Scotty’s impromptu swordsmanship. Zara could see that Damien was starting to fight back with the shield and wanted to help, but Blood-Wraith needed protection and it was best that Damien did not learn that his apparent target was nearby.
“Damn it all!” Scotty grunted after being knocked back. Damien summoned a blade of rusted blood in his free hand, meaning they were not done yet. Scotty spat on the ground as he twirled the sword in his hand. “You blaggards just don’t know when to quit while you’re ahead, do you?” All he got was an ear grating growl that sounded like wind forced through a broken flute and shook his head. “Alright, the old fashioned way it is…”
Just as the two were about to clash once more, something broke the rhythm of the battle. The thundering noise of a vehicle engine with at least eight cylinders to it was fast approaching and the thing that sent Damien flying back with a burst of heated energy was a sight to behold. Another knight had joined the fight on Scotty’s side and was adorned in dark grey armor that looked like a futuristic interpretation of a medieval knight with the heraldry and aesthetic styling of a supercar. His face could not be seen, but the oversized jousting lance he carried was enough to make anyone avoid challenging him. This man was further joined by a brown-haired man who appeared in a flurry of electricity, dressed in a futuristic, black and silver bodysuit that glowed with cyan energy.
“Thanks for keeping Damien in one place for us, Scotty!” the brown-haired man said as he hummed with excited, arcing electricity.
“As wishful as that is, Barry, I don’t think that was what Scotty and Zara were up to,” the fellow knight pointed out, not amused by Barry’s naivete.
Scotty let out a relieved grunt and pointed the sword at Damien. “Highway Knight, Barry, thank God you showed up regardless. Get him out of here!”
The Highway Knight laughed, as if he was about to alleviate some pent up frustration. “Brace yourselves…” His armor rumbled and the exhaust pipes coming from his pauldrons shook violently as unseen engines roared as loud as they could, scaring Damien and his horse. They tore out of there as fast as they could, vanishing in a blazing cloud of black and orange smoke. “Miserable coward…”
“Well shoot, we almost had him that time…” Barry lamented. He then noticed Zara and someone else peeking out from behind a boulder. “Zara, hey! Who’s that behind the rock with you?”
Scotty stumbled over his words and followed after Barry. “Now hold up, Barry, easy does it now…” The Highway Knight laughed again, incredibly curious to know what the big deal was as he began to follow the two.
Next:
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Master Post - Patreon
“Wow, all of that sounds incredible…” Blood-Wraith remarked at Scotty’s explanation of The Dark Divers Guild as they walked back to the guild hall down the dusty dirt road. “Even if I’m not sure what all of that… IGL stuff is…”
“Honestly, Blood, you’re dodging a massive bullet not knowing the ins and outs of IGL…” Zara added. “Some of the crazier stuff from the really screwed up universes that the advanced squads are authorized to explore still messes with me…”
“What’s a bullet?” Blood-Wraith wondered, causing Zara to groan over her gaffe.
Scotty chuckled and indicated for the three to walk down the right-hand path. “Don’t worry, Blood, it’s a figure of speech. And I’d love to give you a run down of Iteration Generation Loss in terms of all that science mambo-jumbo…” That comment made Blood-Wraith laugh, causing Scotty to chuckle again. “...but that would require a whole quantum fishsticks lesson on the expansion and contraction of the universe and…”
“Hold up!” Zara interrupted with a chuckle, with Blood-Wraith continuing to laugh. “Did I hear that right? Quantum fishsticks?”
“Yes, quantum fishsticks,” Scotty answered. “Quantum physics makes my head hurt, so pardon me if I’m a little snarky towards the whole shebang. Either way, the IGL expeditions sort of went on the back burner recently given the fall out from the Audoan Wars. Cleaning up what remains of Audoin’s psychotic knights has been top priority at the moment, and it is the last thing we need here in Fartherlans at the moment…”
Blood-Wraith shuddered at the mention of that ominous name, but he was not sure why. “That… That Audoin sounds like a really bad guy.”
Scotty paused for a second, stopping the group, and sighed. “Good lord, Audoin’s so foul that even the kid can sense it…” He grunted and started walking again. “He’s truly a dangerous man, Blood-Wraith. Nearly destroyed planet Earth in his foolhardy quest to rule it with an iron fist. And while I think he was darn nasty from the git-go, apparently he wasn’t always like that… which is hard to believe given the battering his armies gave America…”
While Blood-Wraith had no memories or experiences of his own, he could sense the anguish Scotty had gone through for what had to have been thankless ages and felt bad for him. “Scotty? Is there any way I can help?”
Scotty paused and gave a soft, warm laugh that was punctuated with sympathy. “My boy, you don’t have any magic though! Audoin is no laughing matter, and even us Azoth Mages couldn’t fully put him down…”
“Well, um, I guess I’ll just have to figure something out then…”
Zara was amazed as she shook her head. “Blood, Scotty knows what he’s talking about-he knows how bad things can get with The Eternal Order and their lackeys.”
Blood-Wraith nodded, despite Zara’s warning. “It doesn’t matter, I want to help Scotty out… Somehow. Where’s this… Earth?”
Scotty shook his head with a smile on his face, admiring Blood-Wraith’s pure heart and tenacity. “While I’m not going to thrust you into my conflicts, Blood, it’s the blue star right over there,” he said as he pointed into the sky. Blood-Wraith seemed to be amazed by its beauty.
Zara began to have an epiphany as they resumed walking, bringing back a nostalgia she could not quite recall. “Wow, kiddo, that’s some determination right there… Jeez, you know who he is starting to remind me of, Scotty?”
“Who’s that, Zara?” he asked in response as he took a second to look around to make sure the coast was clear.
“Mind-Wraith, no two ways about it. I still can’t remember the Epoch fully, but I distinctly remember Mind being just as gungho back then.”
“Wait, Mind-Wraith?” Blood-Wraith interjected, feeling a weird familiarity he could not place. “Who’s Mind-Wraith?”
Scotty cleared his throat as he stopped the trek to get out his binoculars. “He’s a fellow Dark Diver, and maybe you’ll get to meet him if he and Aava finish up that little expedition they’re on…” Scotty trailed off as he scanned the horizon through the lightly scratched lenses of the old-timey binoculars. Something was not sitting right with him as he could sense the magic of an old enemy of his.
Zara could tell Scotty was picking up on something, gripped the hilt of one of her swords, and used her other hand to indicate for Blood-Wraith to back up behind her. “What is it, Scotty?”
“I don’t know…” He then put the binoculars away and got down to place his hand on the ground. It glowed with green energy snaking out from his palm into the dirt like roots, followed by him closing his eyes for a second and concentrating. Despite Blood-Wraith being incredibly curious, he remained quiet as he was sure he would receive an explanation in a moment. “Something’s coming, I can smell it on the wind and the roots and fruits are on high alert…”
And Blood-Wraith was naturally confused by that explanation. He was not sure what he was expecting, but that left more questions than answers. “Roots and fruits?”
“Plantamancy, Blood. It may not seem like it, but there are plants and fungi everywhere, and I can talk to them, no matter how deep they are in the ground…”
Zara drew both of her swords, ready to fight as she was starting to sense their adversary too as her blades crackled with violent, red energy. “Alright, where’s the bastard hiding?”
“Zara, language,” Scotty chided in a hushed tone. He then felt something ominous, cocking his head in the opposite direction. His blood ran cold as he knew it was approaching fast, leading to him frantically looking around for somewhere to hide. “Shoot shoot shoot… there, behind that boulder!” he pointed out as he hurried them all behind it. While it could have been bigger, it would have to do.
And it was just in nick of time too, as the menacing clopping of hooves could be heard, followed by a grisly snort into squeal, like the loathsome creature was persisting past the grave. The three carefully peaked out from behind the boulder so as not to be seen and beheld what could best be described as an undead knight on horseback. A wretched revenant the man was, a gaunt, skeletal husk entombed in black and blood red armor that gave no indication of any heroism. The suit was damaged and dirty, with what once could have been a regal, crimson plume sticking out of the top of the helmet. Scotty and Zara knew exactly who it was as the villain meandered about, and while Blood-Wraith had no idea, his blood ran so cold that he was on the verge of screaming. He was able to hold it in, but not without scared whimpering that made Scotty and Zara nervous that they would be heard.
“Damn, Damien Ackerley; so that’s who Barry and the Highway Knight were tracking…” Scotty quietly stated as his fist began to crackle with electricity.
“So what are we going to do?” Zara questioned. “I don’t know how much longer Blood’s going to be able to hold it in…” She indicated down towards Blood-Wraith, who was curled up against the rock, covering his face.
Scotty softly growled. “I wish the guys were here, or anyone really… Alright, um… I’ll jump him when he’s not looking and hopefully chase him off…” Scotty then pulled Zara back behind the rock and put his finger up to his mouth. The knight had wandered near the boulder…
The knight seemed aimless, like the page of a book burning away. His gaze was empty, his breathing raspy and hollow, and it seemed like not much left was holding on inside that brutal armor he wore. There was no emotion in his presence, save for the mad, rambling ideology of an insane tyrant whose shadow was cast long and far over the cosmos. Despite the sorry state of affairs the knight found himself in, he seemed to be looking for someone, and the hoarse words that escaped his decayed vocal chords past his dead lips was “Blood… Wraith…”
That sent a chill down both Scotty and Zara’s spines, immediately telling them Audoin must have been up to no good again. “Alright, I’m going to go for it,” Scotty whispered. “Stay here and keep Blood safe, and don’t come out until I give the signal…”
“You sure about this?” Zara said, her voice a little shaky.
“We’ve got no other choice… both of you cover your ears…” Once Zara and Blood-Wraith were ready, Scotty took a breath, causing a crack of thunder to emanate from him, startling Damien’s horse a great deal.
Scotty ran out from the hiding spot roaring as loud as he could, further leading to the horse backing away while screaming at its attacker. Damien tried to reign it in, but Scotty kept pushing it back by yelling and creating even more thunder. Eventually the horse was far enough away so that it could start galloping to create some distance, but Scotty was not going to let Damien get away like that. He curled his fist and in it appeared a javelin of near-firey lightning that cracked and chirped like the angriest flock of birds there ever was. He threw it as hard as he could and hit the ground just after Damien had moved, but the resulting explosion sent both the knight and his steed tumbling. The horse screamed as loud as it could as it flailed about, but Damien was not done yet and snapped his fingers as he stood up, causing the two to vanish. Scotty knew they were not done yet and waited for Damien’s next move.
Out of a blazing, vortex-like portal of shadows Damien charged at full speed on his horse, a jagged and fierce claymore at his side ready to behead his opponent. Scotty knew this tactic all too well, but the usual magic that manifested as rusted blood was nowhere to be seen on the blade, which told him that Damien was on his last legs. This put a subtle, smug grin on his face, with Scotty bulking up as electricity surged through his muscles. Damien thought he had Scotty once and for all, but was caught off guard when his horse was lifted up and hurled across the rocky land. With the knight’s sword on the ground and the horse back to flailing about, Scotty saw an opening he needed to take.
Reaching for the sword, Scotty ran towards Damien ready to run him through. The villain still had his shield in hand, a sturdy enough hexagonal shield (despite the wear and tear), and blocked the attack. Scotty stumbled, but he recovered by slamming the shield with the sword over and over again. He could at least break the blade if he could not get rid of Damien. The banging of the weapons prompted Blood-Wraith to peek out from behind the rock, despite Zara's insistence against it. The clash he saw was beyond belief and he was utterly amazed at Scotty’s impromptu swordsmanship. Zara could see that Damien was starting to fight back with the shield and wanted to help, but Blood-Wraith needed protection and it was best that Damien did not learn that his apparent target was nearby.
“Damn it all!” Scotty grunted after being knocked back. Damien summoned a blade of rusted blood in his free hand, meaning they were not done yet. Scotty spat on the ground as he twirled the sword in his hand. “You blaggards just don’t know when to quit while you’re ahead, do you?” All he got was an ear grating growl that sounded like wind forced through a broken flute and shook his head. “Alright, the old fashioned way it is…”
Just as the two were about to clash once more, something broke the rhythm of the battle. The thundering noise of a vehicle engine with at least eight cylinders to it was fast approaching and the thing that sent Damien flying back with a burst of heated energy was a sight to behold. Another knight had joined the fight on Scotty’s side and was adorned in dark grey armor that looked like a futuristic interpretation of a medieval knight with the heraldry and aesthetic styling of a supercar. His face could not be seen, but the oversized jousting lance he carried was enough to make anyone avoid challenging him. This man was further joined by a brown-haired man who appeared in a flurry of electricity, dressed in a futuristic, black and silver bodysuit that glowed with cyan energy.
“Thanks for keeping Damien in one place for us, Scotty!” the brown-haired man said as he hummed with excited, arcing electricity.
“As wishful as that is, Barry, I don’t think that was what Scotty and Zara were up to,” the fellow knight pointed out, not amused by Barry’s naivete.
Scotty let out a relieved grunt and pointed the sword at Damien. “Highway Knight, Barry, thank God you showed up regardless. Get him out of here!”
The Highway Knight laughed, as if he was about to alleviate some pent up frustration. “Brace yourselves…” His armor rumbled and the exhaust pipes coming from his pauldrons shook violently as unseen engines roared as loud as they could, scaring Damien and his horse. They tore out of there as fast as they could, vanishing in a blazing cloud of black and orange smoke. “Miserable coward…”
“Well shoot, we almost had him that time…” Barry lamented. He then noticed Zara and someone else peeking out from behind a boulder. “Zara, hey! Who’s that behind the rock with you?”
Scotty stumbled over his words and followed after Barry. “Now hold up, Barry, easy does it now…” The Highway Knight laughed again, incredibly curious to know what the big deal was as he began to follow the two.
Next:
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Comments
Post a Comment