ULTRAMagic (Before) Prelude - Chapter 3
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“Ooh, what a fascinating little… entity,” Barry said as he tried to observe Blood-Wraith, causing the boy to walk away from him as he tried to follow him in circles.
A surge of electricity zapped away from Barry’s right arm and dusted himself off. It was a strange demon, a devil to be precise, who had futuristic, silver skin, spots of glowing, aqua green energy, and wild hair that was tamed and matched his skin. He was not amused with his partner’s antics and sighed. “Barry, don’t freak the boy out…”
“I won’t, Vapor 6, I won’t…”
Scotty put his hand on Barry’s shoulder and stopped him as Blood-Wraith hid behind Zara. “Barry, you’ll have time to ask him questions back at the guild.
“Which will have to wait, given that we have an Audoan Knight to pursue,” The Highway Knight commented as his engines idled, the smell of exhaust wafting in the air. “Was there a reason Damien attacked you two, or did you just so happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?”
“I think the wrong place at the wrong time is a matter of perspective,” Zara cheekily remarked, earning a mildly incredulous look from Vapor 6. “Either way I’m glad we made it out of that safe and sound… NOW if I had my way as The Executioner of Old!” she began to elaborate, catching Blood-Wraith’s curiosity.
“But you’re not The Executioner of Old anymore, are you?” The Highway Knight pointed out with a witty smile hidden under his helm.
Zara groaned and stomped her foot. “Hey, I’m his reincarnation and no one is going to stop me from punishing the irreverent!”
“Don’t get on her bad side, Blood,” Barry said to Blood-Wraith as he patted her shoulder. “The Epoch was a crazy time with her around…” Zara pulled herself away from his grip.
“Should… should we still be out here with that scary man running around?” Blood-Wraith nervously asked.
This caught The Highway Knight’s attention as he stepped over. “What did you say his name was again?”
“Blood-Wraith,” Scotty answered. “Quite the odd name for a chap, but I’ve certainly heard worse and stranger.”
That name sounded incredibly familiar to the knight and immediately chilled his blood by just a little bit. He approached Blood-Wraith, his engines still humming and causing him to step back. After studying the strange boy for a moment, the knight realized why he seemed so familiar. “Scotty, get this boy back to the guild right now.”
Scotty was a little surprised by the knight’s directness, as he was well known for his dry wit amongst his guild mates. “Well of course, Highway Knight, we were already doing that until Damien showed up…”
“No, I mean it; get him back to the guild right now. He’s more important than either of you realize… especially in regards to Leif’s plans.”
With a subtle nod and a snap of his fingers that caused electricity to arc around his legs, Scotty picked up Blood-Wraith and held him firmly. “Right, on it. See you back at the guild, Zara. Don’t take too long out here…”
She realized what he was about to do, and it annoyed her to no end… “Wait, Scotty!” but it was too late, as Scotty had taken off like a roadrunner in a marathon, going faster than most humans ever could and leaving a trail of sparks in his wake. “I HATE IT WHEN HE DOES THAT!”
“Better get going, Zara, given that you're his bodyguard,” The Highway Knight chided with a chuckle.
“Zip it, Knight!” Zara said as she thrust her finger before his visor. She then got out one of her swords, twirled it around in a rhythmic motion, and then took off as fast as she could, with her trail being blazing, red fire.
“So, I guess we’re going to keep pursuing Damien then?” Barry wondered as he hummed with a curious-sounding arc of electricity.
“Well we can’t just let him keep running around freely now, can we?” Vapor 6 pointed out. “Also, Knight, is that boy really that important?”
He nodded as his armor shifted a gear, starting to rev up so they could get moving. “Indeed, as that boy will not only turn the tide of battle against The Eternal Order, but will also help free my other half from his imprisonment…”
“Other half?” Barry tried to recall.
“Van Hautum, Barry,” Vapor 6 said with a nudge.
“Oh right right right! I still find it odd that you split like that, Knight. Me and my younger brother didn’t do that when we left The Lost Era… he just ended up on some random Earth for some reason…”
The Highway Knight shook his head. “Pardon my tongue, but you were reckless, Lost Lightning God. The Black Pyramids are not something to be taken lightly…”
Barry exhaled and indicated with his thumb for Vapor 6 to remerge with him. “The past is ancient history, Knight, you know that…” Barry then took off in a surge of cyan lightning, with The Highway Knight following behind with the wheels built into his boots, his engines roaring as he chuckled to himself. They would follow the drops of rusted blood left behind by Damien from his magic, only to find that they would eventually lose his trail.
Zara came racing past the front gate and into the courtyard of the wooden and stone castle that was The Dark Divers Guild Hall. After taking a second to catch her breath and dispel the magic, she ran inside and hurried to the great hall. There was Scotty with Blood-Wraith on his lap, sitting at a gorgeous longtable, surrounded by several of their guild mates. “SCOTTY!” She exclaimed to get his attention as she walked over to the table.
Scotty winced for a second, realizing his second gaffe. “Hold on Zara, one second-And so The Onyx Maiden destroyed the entire blasted fortress with her cannons, setting The Audoan Empire back a great deal.”
“Wow, she sounds really great and powerful,” Blood-Wraith complimented.
“Mm-hmm, she’s one of the strongest known Unreal Gods from Universe-XT49,” a brown haired boy with red eyes in messy, black robes agreed.
“Scotty…” Zara said, tapping her foot impatiently.
“Indeed, Charles,” Scotty replied. “But let’s not forget Antonious and Lady Mildburg…”
“Scotty!”
He sighed, having gotten carried away with his storytelling. “Sorry, for taking off on you like that, Zara. It’s just that I get concerned when The Highway Knight gets all serious like that.”
A suit of black, demonic, yet futuristic-looking armor filled with blue fire nodded. “Indeed, as God only knows what is going on in his head. Oh, Zara, hello-you are looking lovely today…”
“Save it, Alexander,” she snapped. “Scotty, don’t run off like that-you make my job ten times harder. Remember what happened with Pasi Jokela?”
Scotty groaned. “I’d prefer not to bring that up…”
“Who’s Pasi?” Blood-Wraith asked.
“An Audoan Knight who caught Scotty off guard when he ran off one time…” Charles answered.
Alexander laughed. “Yup, it was back when Scotty first joined, and we had to go out and save his hide…”
“Alright, enough!” Scotty interrupted, causing everyone else to laugh.
“Well we all seem to be quite lively today,” the voice of an older, refined gentleman stated as he approached. There was a joviality in his words that indicated a man who took great pleasure in the mirth of his splendid company. His cream-colored hair was neat and tidy, his chartreuse eyes were gleeful in a modest way, and he wore the classical attire of a lord with heraldry and honors of a world that seemed incredibly familiar, yet distant to that of planet Earth. “My goodness, what do we have here?”
“Scotty and Zara found an ar’ton boy, Lord Sander,” Charles replied.
“Well we think he is an ar’ton,” Scotty clarified.
“My my my, what a curious case indeed…” Sander said as he got a look at Blood-Wraith.
“Who are you, sir?” Blood-Wraith asked with an endearing curiosity as he got down from Scotty’s lap.
“Why am I Lord Sander Filippus Kikkert, my boy. Magistrate of Fleckdirdir in the county of Zeck-Dandir. I served in his majesty’s royal forces and fought in the battle of porton-nahoy, further serving the crown for a spectacular tenure before wandering through a curious corridor that brought me here to this fine guild…” He had to stop as he could see that Blood-Wraith was incredibly confused and felt bad.
“I’m sorry, but what did you say?” Blood-Wraith asked, trying to put together everything he had heard.
There was a sympathetic laugh from a voice with a mechanical echo to it, and what stepped forward was a tall, robotic man who was made of black, fiber-like muscles covered in silver plates and lights that made him paradoxically look like a machine that had come from so far in the future that he had potentially looped around back to the past. “Lord Sander is supposedly from Universe-23 at the 4 quintelionth iteration, a vastly different version of Earth which is quite strange and a stand out amongst our research into Iteration Generation Loss.”
“Oh yeah, Scotty was mentioning that on the way here,” Blood-Wraith recalled. He then went to shake hands with Sander, followed by the robot. “Hello, um…”
“I have no name, for many simply refer to me as ‘The Automaton of Old.’ I am the leader of the Dark Divers Guild and Lord Sander here is my second in command,” the robot replied as he shook Blood-Wraith’s hand. “And who might you be, young man? I must say it is very odd to see an ar’ton of all entities in Fartherlans like this…”
“Blood-Wraith, auto…auto…Automaton.”
And it was right then and there The Automaton froze in panic, for he had to do a double take. “Blood-Wraith? You said your name was Blood-Wraith?” The boy nodded, and the worry on the other Dark Divers’ faces stemming from The Automaton’s subtle distress was as plain as day. “Ti-Tiberius, can you help me with something?” he called out as he turned around.
“Well, I’m quite busy at the moment, Automaton,” an older man in black and gold robes with red eyes, white hair, and strong jawline said as he walked over. He looked like a mage of distinction and prestige, which could be sensed by merely standing in his presence. “Cynfelyn is having another panic attack over his room, stating there is something wrong with it, and I was just about to bring him his usual therapeutic incense and…” he quickly realized the elephant in the room.
“Tiberius, what was the name of the mage Mr. EP said was going to help Leif?” The Automaton asked with a nervous chuckle.
“Blood-Wraith…”
“Tiberius, this ar’ton is claiming that he’s Blood-Wraith…”
Tiberius felt the life sink to his feet as he began to feel the gravity of the situation. “Autmomaton, where’s Leif at the moment?”
“Follow me,” he said as the two hurried out of the great hall.
Everyone was quiet for a second, which was broken by Blood-Wraith. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No, at least I don’t think you did…” Scotty answered, trying to reassure him as he patted him on the shoulder.
Zara gave an exasperated sigh. “There’s a lot going on at the moment that we’re not fully privy to, Blood-Wraith. Honestly it annoys the utter living shi…crap out of me.” Scotty gave her a fist bump for catching that profanity.
A hearty laugh that had pity in it caught everyone off guard. The man who walked up to the group was a modestly handsome man with silver hair, dazzling blue eyes, sideburns, and wore formal attire. “If only you guys knew what I know, HA! Welcome to the guild, kid,” the man said as he held out his hand to Blood-Wraith. “The name’s Erikson.”
Blood-Wraith was a little hesitant at first, as Erikson had a strange aura to him that indicated someone who had a vast story to tell, but preferred to keep it under wraps for the time being. “Um, hi, Erikson…”
“Careful with him, Blood, he’s a troublemaker…” Zara cautioned, causing the others to chuckle. They stopped when she glared at them, as she knew it was actually directed at her.
Erikson laughed, while also feigning being hurt by her words. “Zara, my dear Executioner of Old, you hurt me. You know my honor is the best of the best…”
“Uh-huh, despite all of the secrets you keep…”
Erikson threw his hands up with a smile before taking a seat at the opposite table to Scotty. “Touché. So, Blood, seen anything weird yet?”
He was a little unsure how to answer that, but Scotty gave him an encouraging nod. “Oh, well, I’ve seen a lot of weird things so far, Mr. Erikson.”
“Haha, that’s the name of the game here, kiddo. You get to see under the hood of the Cosmos, the stuff they don’t want you seeing.” Erikson had an infectious charm to his words and how he presented himself, causing the others to gather around with reluctant smiles on their faces. “Here’s another one for you: Would you believe me if I said I was actually a dragon?”
Blood-Wraith seemed to be amazed by that claim. “Whoa… what’s that?”
Erikson chuckled to himself, as he knew the boy would be a bit green after being plucked from the void. “Well stick around and I’ll show you. And you’ll also get to meet the other Dragon, Leif.”
“Two dragons?” Blood-Wraith asked, his amazement mounting despite his lack of knowledge.
Scotty chuckled and ruffled his non-existent hair. “Leif’s quite the fellow, with a storied history that goes all the way back to the Epoch. He’s a good man with a strong heart and bravery to last a lifetime…”
“And he’ll no doubt be here any minute…” Erikson said with another chuckle, but this felt like he had a chain to yank…
Next:
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Master Post - Patreon
“Ooh, what a fascinating little… entity,” Barry said as he tried to observe Blood-Wraith, causing the boy to walk away from him as he tried to follow him in circles.
A surge of electricity zapped away from Barry’s right arm and dusted himself off. It was a strange demon, a devil to be precise, who had futuristic, silver skin, spots of glowing, aqua green energy, and wild hair that was tamed and matched his skin. He was not amused with his partner’s antics and sighed. “Barry, don’t freak the boy out…”
“I won’t, Vapor 6, I won’t…”
Scotty put his hand on Barry’s shoulder and stopped him as Blood-Wraith hid behind Zara. “Barry, you’ll have time to ask him questions back at the guild.
“Which will have to wait, given that we have an Audoan Knight to pursue,” The Highway Knight commented as his engines idled, the smell of exhaust wafting in the air. “Was there a reason Damien attacked you two, or did you just so happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?”
“I think the wrong place at the wrong time is a matter of perspective,” Zara cheekily remarked, earning a mildly incredulous look from Vapor 6. “Either way I’m glad we made it out of that safe and sound… NOW if I had my way as The Executioner of Old!” she began to elaborate, catching Blood-Wraith’s curiosity.
“But you’re not The Executioner of Old anymore, are you?” The Highway Knight pointed out with a witty smile hidden under his helm.
Zara groaned and stomped her foot. “Hey, I’m his reincarnation and no one is going to stop me from punishing the irreverent!”
“Don’t get on her bad side, Blood,” Barry said to Blood-Wraith as he patted her shoulder. “The Epoch was a crazy time with her around…” Zara pulled herself away from his grip.
“Should… should we still be out here with that scary man running around?” Blood-Wraith nervously asked.
This caught The Highway Knight’s attention as he stepped over. “What did you say his name was again?”
“Blood-Wraith,” Scotty answered. “Quite the odd name for a chap, but I’ve certainly heard worse and stranger.”
That name sounded incredibly familiar to the knight and immediately chilled his blood by just a little bit. He approached Blood-Wraith, his engines still humming and causing him to step back. After studying the strange boy for a moment, the knight realized why he seemed so familiar. “Scotty, get this boy back to the guild right now.”
Scotty was a little surprised by the knight’s directness, as he was well known for his dry wit amongst his guild mates. “Well of course, Highway Knight, we were already doing that until Damien showed up…”
“No, I mean it; get him back to the guild right now. He’s more important than either of you realize… especially in regards to Leif’s plans.”
With a subtle nod and a snap of his fingers that caused electricity to arc around his legs, Scotty picked up Blood-Wraith and held him firmly. “Right, on it. See you back at the guild, Zara. Don’t take too long out here…”
She realized what he was about to do, and it annoyed her to no end… “Wait, Scotty!” but it was too late, as Scotty had taken off like a roadrunner in a marathon, going faster than most humans ever could and leaving a trail of sparks in his wake. “I HATE IT WHEN HE DOES THAT!”
“Better get going, Zara, given that you're his bodyguard,” The Highway Knight chided with a chuckle.
“Zip it, Knight!” Zara said as she thrust her finger before his visor. She then got out one of her swords, twirled it around in a rhythmic motion, and then took off as fast as she could, with her trail being blazing, red fire.
“So, I guess we’re going to keep pursuing Damien then?” Barry wondered as he hummed with a curious-sounding arc of electricity.
“Well we can’t just let him keep running around freely now, can we?” Vapor 6 pointed out. “Also, Knight, is that boy really that important?”
He nodded as his armor shifted a gear, starting to rev up so they could get moving. “Indeed, as that boy will not only turn the tide of battle against The Eternal Order, but will also help free my other half from his imprisonment…”
“Other half?” Barry tried to recall.
“Van Hautum, Barry,” Vapor 6 said with a nudge.
“Oh right right right! I still find it odd that you split like that, Knight. Me and my younger brother didn’t do that when we left The Lost Era… he just ended up on some random Earth for some reason…”
The Highway Knight shook his head. “Pardon my tongue, but you were reckless, Lost Lightning God. The Black Pyramids are not something to be taken lightly…”
Barry exhaled and indicated with his thumb for Vapor 6 to remerge with him. “The past is ancient history, Knight, you know that…” Barry then took off in a surge of cyan lightning, with The Highway Knight following behind with the wheels built into his boots, his engines roaring as he chuckled to himself. They would follow the drops of rusted blood left behind by Damien from his magic, only to find that they would eventually lose his trail.
Zara came racing past the front gate and into the courtyard of the wooden and stone castle that was The Dark Divers Guild Hall. After taking a second to catch her breath and dispel the magic, she ran inside and hurried to the great hall. There was Scotty with Blood-Wraith on his lap, sitting at a gorgeous longtable, surrounded by several of their guild mates. “SCOTTY!” She exclaimed to get his attention as she walked over to the table.
Scotty winced for a second, realizing his second gaffe. “Hold on Zara, one second-And so The Onyx Maiden destroyed the entire blasted fortress with her cannons, setting The Audoan Empire back a great deal.”
“Wow, she sounds really great and powerful,” Blood-Wraith complimented.
“Mm-hmm, she’s one of the strongest known Unreal Gods from Universe-XT49,” a brown haired boy with red eyes in messy, black robes agreed.
“Scotty…” Zara said, tapping her foot impatiently.
“Indeed, Charles,” Scotty replied. “But let’s not forget Antonious and Lady Mildburg…”
“Scotty!”
He sighed, having gotten carried away with his storytelling. “Sorry, for taking off on you like that, Zara. It’s just that I get concerned when The Highway Knight gets all serious like that.”
A suit of black, demonic, yet futuristic-looking armor filled with blue fire nodded. “Indeed, as God only knows what is going on in his head. Oh, Zara, hello-you are looking lovely today…”
“Save it, Alexander,” she snapped. “Scotty, don’t run off like that-you make my job ten times harder. Remember what happened with Pasi Jokela?”
Scotty groaned. “I’d prefer not to bring that up…”
“Who’s Pasi?” Blood-Wraith asked.
“An Audoan Knight who caught Scotty off guard when he ran off one time…” Charles answered.
Alexander laughed. “Yup, it was back when Scotty first joined, and we had to go out and save his hide…”
“Alright, enough!” Scotty interrupted, causing everyone else to laugh.
“Well we all seem to be quite lively today,” the voice of an older, refined gentleman stated as he approached. There was a joviality in his words that indicated a man who took great pleasure in the mirth of his splendid company. His cream-colored hair was neat and tidy, his chartreuse eyes were gleeful in a modest way, and he wore the classical attire of a lord with heraldry and honors of a world that seemed incredibly familiar, yet distant to that of planet Earth. “My goodness, what do we have here?”
“Scotty and Zara found an ar’ton boy, Lord Sander,” Charles replied.
“Well we think he is an ar’ton,” Scotty clarified.
“My my my, what a curious case indeed…” Sander said as he got a look at Blood-Wraith.
“Who are you, sir?” Blood-Wraith asked with an endearing curiosity as he got down from Scotty’s lap.
“Why am I Lord Sander Filippus Kikkert, my boy. Magistrate of Fleckdirdir in the county of Zeck-Dandir. I served in his majesty’s royal forces and fought in the battle of porton-nahoy, further serving the crown for a spectacular tenure before wandering through a curious corridor that brought me here to this fine guild…” He had to stop as he could see that Blood-Wraith was incredibly confused and felt bad.
“I’m sorry, but what did you say?” Blood-Wraith asked, trying to put together everything he had heard.
There was a sympathetic laugh from a voice with a mechanical echo to it, and what stepped forward was a tall, robotic man who was made of black, fiber-like muscles covered in silver plates and lights that made him paradoxically look like a machine that had come from so far in the future that he had potentially looped around back to the past. “Lord Sander is supposedly from Universe-23 at the 4 quintelionth iteration, a vastly different version of Earth which is quite strange and a stand out amongst our research into Iteration Generation Loss.”
“Oh yeah, Scotty was mentioning that on the way here,” Blood-Wraith recalled. He then went to shake hands with Sander, followed by the robot. “Hello, um…”
“I have no name, for many simply refer to me as ‘The Automaton of Old.’ I am the leader of the Dark Divers Guild and Lord Sander here is my second in command,” the robot replied as he shook Blood-Wraith’s hand. “And who might you be, young man? I must say it is very odd to see an ar’ton of all entities in Fartherlans like this…”
“Blood-Wraith, auto…auto…Automaton.”
And it was right then and there The Automaton froze in panic, for he had to do a double take. “Blood-Wraith? You said your name was Blood-Wraith?” The boy nodded, and the worry on the other Dark Divers’ faces stemming from The Automaton’s subtle distress was as plain as day. “Ti-Tiberius, can you help me with something?” he called out as he turned around.
“Well, I’m quite busy at the moment, Automaton,” an older man in black and gold robes with red eyes, white hair, and strong jawline said as he walked over. He looked like a mage of distinction and prestige, which could be sensed by merely standing in his presence. “Cynfelyn is having another panic attack over his room, stating there is something wrong with it, and I was just about to bring him his usual therapeutic incense and…” he quickly realized the elephant in the room.
“Tiberius, what was the name of the mage Mr. EP said was going to help Leif?” The Automaton asked with a nervous chuckle.
“Blood-Wraith…”
“Tiberius, this ar’ton is claiming that he’s Blood-Wraith…”
Tiberius felt the life sink to his feet as he began to feel the gravity of the situation. “Autmomaton, where’s Leif at the moment?”
“Follow me,” he said as the two hurried out of the great hall.
Everyone was quiet for a second, which was broken by Blood-Wraith. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No, at least I don’t think you did…” Scotty answered, trying to reassure him as he patted him on the shoulder.
Zara gave an exasperated sigh. “There’s a lot going on at the moment that we’re not fully privy to, Blood-Wraith. Honestly it annoys the utter living shi…crap out of me.” Scotty gave her a fist bump for catching that profanity.
A hearty laugh that had pity in it caught everyone off guard. The man who walked up to the group was a modestly handsome man with silver hair, dazzling blue eyes, sideburns, and wore formal attire. “If only you guys knew what I know, HA! Welcome to the guild, kid,” the man said as he held out his hand to Blood-Wraith. “The name’s Erikson.”
Blood-Wraith was a little hesitant at first, as Erikson had a strange aura to him that indicated someone who had a vast story to tell, but preferred to keep it under wraps for the time being. “Um, hi, Erikson…”
“Careful with him, Blood, he’s a troublemaker…” Zara cautioned, causing the others to chuckle. They stopped when she glared at them, as she knew it was actually directed at her.
Erikson laughed, while also feigning being hurt by her words. “Zara, my dear Executioner of Old, you hurt me. You know my honor is the best of the best…”
“Uh-huh, despite all of the secrets you keep…”
Erikson threw his hands up with a smile before taking a seat at the opposite table to Scotty. “Touché. So, Blood, seen anything weird yet?”
He was a little unsure how to answer that, but Scotty gave him an encouraging nod. “Oh, well, I’ve seen a lot of weird things so far, Mr. Erikson.”
“Haha, that’s the name of the game here, kiddo. You get to see under the hood of the Cosmos, the stuff they don’t want you seeing.” Erikson had an infectious charm to his words and how he presented himself, causing the others to gather around with reluctant smiles on their faces. “Here’s another one for you: Would you believe me if I said I was actually a dragon?”
Blood-Wraith seemed to be amazed by that claim. “Whoa… what’s that?”
Erikson chuckled to himself, as he knew the boy would be a bit green after being plucked from the void. “Well stick around and I’ll show you. And you’ll also get to meet the other Dragon, Leif.”
“Two dragons?” Blood-Wraith asked, his amazement mounting despite his lack of knowledge.
Scotty chuckled and ruffled his non-existent hair. “Leif’s quite the fellow, with a storied history that goes all the way back to the Epoch. He’s a good man with a strong heart and bravery to last a lifetime…”
“And he’ll no doubt be here any minute…” Erikson said with another chuckle, but this felt like he had a chain to yank…
Next:
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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