Vegenrage: The Magic User (22 page)

Limsil and Rollbolis start hitting the humanors with lightning bolts that kill the humanors instantly, and the humanors focus their attack on them, killing them with their sword, but the two elven magic users have killed four of the humanors, and their swords disintegrate. King Trialani and Arglon are standing in front of the throne chair higher up, then the remaining humanor fighters, which are halted by Cloakenstrike, move back behind Bastrenboar, who has been standing behind Cloakenstrike. Cloakenstrike has adorned himself with his Necklace of Intensity, his Cloak of Reflection, and his Helmet of Missile Deflection, and the Staff of Flame Engulf is hanging at his side.

“Who are you? You must be the mysterious human who has somehow stolen the elven wisdom. You must be the one who holds the fate of elven magic. You must be responsible for the existence of the race of humanors.”

Cloakenstrike is not here to talk and, with a quick, well-rehearsed movement, draws points and shoots his Staff of Flame Engulf at Arglon. The golf-ball-sized projectile heads right for Arglon, about to hit him right in the chest, when Trialani reaches out his right hand and catches the fireball and throws it right back at Cloakenstrike. This magic was cast by Cloakenstrike, so he better avoid this, or it will consume him in flame. He quickly drops to his stomach, and the fireball just misses Bastrenboar to his right but catches the humanor next to him, incinerating him.

Arglon starts to chant a magical spell, holding his hands cupped under his chin. Cloakenstrike orders the remaining humanors to attack as elves flood in from the throne room entrance. Bastrenboar helps Cloakenstrike up, and Cloakenstrike tells Bastrenboar to concentrate on the elven warriors entering the throne room. Cloakenstrike uses his magic to slam the large throne room doors shut, preventing overwhelming numbers of elves entering. The humanor and Bastrenboar are battling the fifteen elven warriors who have made it in the throne room, and Bastrenboar realizes the value of his leather armor as he blocks all sword strikes to his head with his Lavumptom Drawer.

An elf makes a jab with his sword, striking Bastrenboar just below his heart, and the armor stops the sword cold. He sees how the elf reacts, like he has just punched a block of metal, and quickly comes down with his sword, slicing the elf from shoulder through the midsection of his body. The sword fuses the wound, and the elf falls in two pieces to the ground, slowly dying. The elves are swift and agile, making deadly strikes on the humanors, but their armor is protecting them well, giving them longer duration in the battle.

The Lavumptom swords are so deadly that the elven armor is of little protection against these weapons, and the humanors are killing them swiftly. The elves manage to kill three more of the humanors through repetitive strikes, and the three humanors swords disintegrate. Bastrenboar is simply mowing the elves down while they combat with his fighters or head-on. The elves have no defense against his power and weapon.

Trialani walks toward Cloakenstrike, followed by Arglon. “You are most impressive, magic man. You have entered my kingdom dimensionally. You have led an army of half-breed scoundrels into my land, and for what purpose? Is it to kill me and obtain this?” He holds out the Snow Gold Trinket from his chest, which hangs from a white gold chain. “You must be aware of the magical power it holds. You must be the human who now holds the Octagemerwell. Is total power your goal? So much power so fast would surely destroy one even as great as yourself.”

Being that Cloakenstrike knows the Ugorian language, he knows Arglon cast a shield of magical reflection on the only two surviving elves in the room. Bastrenboar and the two surviving humanors quickly move behind Cloakenstrike as they have no defense against the magic of Arglon. The two humanors have sustained serious wounds from the battle with the elven guard, and Trialani and Arglon watch as the wounds heal and they regain their strength.

“You have very powerful magic. The least you can do is tell me who you are.” Trialani speaks in a very calm, condescending voice to Cloakenstrike, and he has right from the start with Cloakenstrike. Cloakenstrike remains quiet, thinking and realizing he is in a tough situation.

“You see, magic man, I too wanted power—total power. One does not become the ruler of Ugoria through bloodlines. They become ruler through power. And once power is achieved well, where do you go from there? Once your desire has been obtained, what is left? Does the power consume the one that has obtained it, or does the one use that power to further a path in life? You see, I have been there, and I have obtained great power and saw what the power was doing to me. I was at a crossroads in my life and made a decision to grow and help the elven race of Ugoria. I used my power rationally, not usurping all the power and trying to control it all myself. I spread the power out, looking to those around me for guidance and using the knowledge of those that I thought inferior, and I learned over time that there is wisdom in all knowledge and all thought processes. So you are here for the Snow Gold Trinket and its power, so here, I give it freely to you, and I am curious to see if you can do better than I have.” Trialani removes the trinket chain and all from his neck and throws it to the floor in front of Cloakenstrike.

“Trialani, no!” yells Arglon.

Bastrenboar immediately moves to the trinket and scoops it up in his right hand, and it begins to move. Bastrenboar feels cold grow through his body as the ancient snow elf Shenlylith grows from his hand. She is snow-white with dots of black throughout her form. A freezing wind blows in a circle around the four intruders as Shenlylith grows from abdomen to the top of her head from Bastrenboar’s hand. She looks like snow in the form of a beautiful elf, with the only color in her being her mesmerizing blue eyes. Her snowy hair is blowing, and wings grow from her back, fluffy and snowy. Her wings grow wide and long, swinging in a circle around the four, and they vanish. The Snow Gold Trinket instantly regains its form, falling to the ground, and Trialani picks it up and puts it around his neck.

“Arglon, we must act fast. They will be back.”

“That was brilliant, Trialani.”

“We must oversee our kingdom and find out how many humanors have attacked.”

“Yes.” The two exit the large throne doors, noticing the lifelong friends who did not survive this encounter.

Trialani and Arglon are greeted by elves trying everything to gain entrance to the throne room and are glad to see the king and Arglon emerge unharmed.

“Arman, have we been attacked by more humanor armies?”

“Yes, King Trialani. One army approaches from the north and one from the south. They have slaughtered many innocent elves.”

“Are their numbers great enough to overtake our kingdom?”

“No. They have magical power giving them healing abilities that are remarkable, but if their heads are removed, they die for sure.”

The elves are moving at a brisk walk as they exit the Ugorian palace. They are greeted by Willithcar, one of King Trialani’s top generals. Willithcar kneels to one knee.

“Rise, Willithcar, what news of our attackers do you have?”

“An army of humanors have descended down from the north forest. They slaughtered sixty families and have slain nearly two hundred guards. We suffered catastrophic losses to our guard, nearly all of us have been wiped out, but as far as we can tell so far, the entire humanor army has been eliminated. Very light casualties have been felt by the bowelves. I have heard that an army ascends from the south as well, and I do not know the status of this.”

“Willithcar, how many guards have survived under your control?”

Willithcar looks sadly at Trialani. “Fourteen.”

Trialani looks down sadly and regains his composure.

“Willithcar, take your men, gather the humanor bodies and burn them. I want nothing left of them.”

“Yes, King Trialani.” Willithcar heads back to the north.

“Oh! Willithcar, have our bowelves scour the forest and make sure there is not another army hiding in wait.”

“Yes, King Trialani.”

Gandleleem has returned to update King Trialani, and the news is not so overwhelming. “King Trialani,” Gandleleem says as he bows on one knee. “The humanor army to the east has been eliminated, no survivors.”

“How many elves have we lost here? We have lost sixteen bowelves and nearly one hundred guards, but as far as we can tell, the invaders have been eliminated.”

“Gandleleem, go back, have the bowelves scour the forest and make sure there are no survivors and burn the humanor bodies. Make sure there are no secondary armies hiding anywhere, and search thoroughly.”

“Yes, King Trialani.”

“Gandleleem, send half the guards back here in case a surprise attack comes. I want some more protection for the palace.”

“Yes, King Trialani.”

As Gandleleem moves out of sight, Trialani stands with Arglon on the palace wall, overlooking the inner Ugorian forest, which is empty of elves. The walkways and sitting places for the elves are empty. What really strikes Trialani is the fact that there are no elves at all running around. There is no sense of fear or panic. In fact, there are no elves to be seen at all, and this concerns him greatly. He thinks to himself that there should be elven families running to the palace for shelter from the invading armies, and the worst of thoughts enter his mind that a lot of his race has been eliminated. Tornsclin is seen approaching the palace. He enters and approaches King Trialani, bowing on one knee.

“Tornsclin, what of the advancing humanor to the south?”

“They have been eliminated. They have strong magic allowing them to heal, but they were still eliminated.”

“Have we suffered great losses to our guard?”

“We lost nearly one hundred fifty but less than ten of our bowelves have fallen.”

Trialani rubs his face in anguish. “Tornsclin, return and have all the humanor bodies burned. Have our bowelves scour the forest to make sure there are no hiding humanor armies.”

“Yes, King Trialani.” Tornsclin heads back the way he came.

Again, Trialani looks around to see tranquility, like nothing is going on and the forest is as it is on any given day, minus the elves. The elven guard has suffered catastrophic losses; nearly four hundred have been lost, and this is 75 percent of his guard. His bowelves have sustained losses, but they maintain their strong numbers and can recover from this. But the loss his guard has suffered is going to take a long time to recover from. Trialani looks to Arglon. “We must prepare for the return of that magic user. He never did tell me his name, but he will be back. I can feel it.” The two head into the Ugorian palace.

CHAPTER 17
Behaggen Enlightens

Vegenrage is watching Farrah with a subtle smile on his face. She is wading through the treasure and, for the most part, happily playing with Parnapp, who is obviously flirting with her.

“So listen, Farrah, now that you are the most beautiful magic user in known existence, it’s time to break free. It’s time for you and me to adventure. With me on your hip, nothing can stop us. We can stop evil wherever it may be. We can turn ugly into beauty, you and me, sweetness. Now with all this treasure all around, let’s get you ready for the realms of great kingdoms. Let’s get you ready for the planets of the Maglical System.”

“What is the Maglical System, Parnapp?”

“What is the Maglical System, has no one ever taught you about the solar system in which you live and the unique three worlds that rotate symmetrically together around our sun, making our system one of the most highly advanced and unique in all the universe?”

“No, but I have a feeling you are going to teach me, aren’t you?”

“Oh, I am going to teach you all about it. If only I had arms and legs so you could teach me.”

“You stop that, Parnapp,” she says, laughing and swatting him.

Parnapp’s eyes move close together, and eyebrows form over his eyes with little dots swirling around, like he is dazed. It is so cute and funny.

“My heart already belongs to someone.” She looks at Vegenrage with a shy but inviting smile.

Vegenrage has been watching Farrah play with her new magical belonging, which was his briefly, and he is so caught up in just watching her that by the time he realizes she just made a heartfelt admission to him, she has begun looking through the treasure, smiling and flirting with Parnapp.

“Hey, deadbeat!”

Vegenrage slowly returns from his daydream and looks at Behaggen. “So you don’t have the suave move for the ladies. Hey, that’s OK. You can’t be great at everything, and you may be the greatest magic user. I know because I have been with the best of them, and you have something I have never felt before. You have purity of magic—your soul, your heart, and your mind pure. I have had to sit dormant for hundreds of years while great magic users spent all their time meditating to reach a pure state of mind, and none of them have the relaxed understanding of what and who they are, not like you do. The ability magic users extend comes from the confidence within each individual, and your confidence is free and strong in its purity, making you very visible, very free to extend whatever magical projection you want in an instant. This is magic, and you are its rule. I am proud to be by your side. I have something you have been looking for, so go ahead, reach in and take the Cloak of Concealment.”

Vegenrage reaches into Behaggen for the first time, and Behaggen bites his wrist softly then starts jumping up his arm, consuming it.

“What the hell? Are you serious? Are you really going to consume me?”

Farrah and Parnapp quickly turn to see what is going on.

“Yeah, Dad, eat him. Suck him up.”

Behaggen gets to Vegenrage’s bicep, and Vegenrage lifts his left hand, pointing his left index finger at his shoulder.

“No, no, I was just kidding,” Behaggen says as he lowers back down Vegenrage’s arm and falls back to his place on Vegenrage’s waist, leaving a most interesting-looking garment dangling in Vegenrage’s right hand. He lifts it up, looking at it. It looks like two wings made of shiny black feathers and is light as a feather.

“This looks very fragile, like it will fall apart.”

“Do not take for granted the most powerful Cloak of Concealment known. This will hide your magical essence from all as close as one foot from you. Go ahead, put it on.”

Vegenrage looks at it. “How?”

“Just swing it over your shoulders.”

He does, and it disappears. “I don’t feel a thing.”

“That is why this is the most powerful Cloak of Concealment there ever was.”

“What do you mean?”

“It is gone, it does not exist anymore. It has been absorbed by you and is a part of you now until you perish. Your magical essence is now forever undetectable. The cloak is a permanent shield made up of your essence.”

Vegenrage shrugs his shoulders with a profound look on his face. “OK. What about the Rose Unbar Key? Do you know where that is?”

“Well, it’s here somewhere, and we have to find it to get back to Logantrance.”

“Then you know we are on Wherlerria in a bottle?”

“Of course I know. The bottle is basically a Bag of Holding. How do you think Logantrance ever gained the knowledge to create such a place? Before Swallgrace lost his battle with Alisluxkana, whom we all thought was Alluradaloni alone at the time, I knew the need to harness great evil and helped Logantrance and Swallgrace create Wherlerria and bottle it up much like a Bag of Holding does. Logantrance is a great magic user, and I knew he would find a suitable companion for me. I am not disappointed.

“Wherlerria is made up of realms, or a better term would be
the regions of Kronton
. The worlds Strabalster and Fargloin were in serious threat of being overrun by the evil from Kronton, so I helped Logantrance prevent travel from Kronton to these planets by placing the realms of Kronton, with all its inhabitants, on the world of Wherlerria in a bottle. Wherlerria is of course Kronton, and very few know they cannot travel to outside worlds.

“I have waited for someone with the magical strength to balance out the evil. And by coming to Wherlerria, facing Xanorax and Blethstole, and defeating Alisluxkana, you have restored that balance. Now you can return the realms of Wherlerria back to the planet outside the bottle. These three worlds all rotate around their sun at the perfect distance and have evolved great creatures, monsters, lands, and races. Kronton was becoming too powerful and all evil. We needed to add balance, and by concentrating all that evil power all together here on Wherlerria, that power can simulate without destroying all that is good, all that is innocent, on Strabalster and Fargloin. These three planets have evolved species to such high degrees of personal power that a single being can cause great destruction to so many.

“When I lost my companion Swallgrace, a huge imbalance shifted too much power to the side of wrongdoers, and by creating Wherlerria, my search for a new companion has brought not me to you but you to me. The fact is, when you find the Rose Unbar Key and release Wherlerria back to its original planetary realm, time will not have changed. Even though I have been here for centuries, time is relative, and when we are released from here, time will have passed as with a blink of an eye, and all three planets will resume like nothing ever happened. The very powerful will know and possibly know now that something is odd about Wherlerria, but life will resume and questions forgotten.

“The one real change is for me now—having a companion, the truest magic user I have ever been in the presence of. Watching how you handle the challenges you will face drives my existence. It motivates the curious magic in me that cannot die as long as there are those willing to dream. To watch, to ride along, to guide, to help and be amazed is my existence, and I am now your most valuable magical item. You give me the motivation to be free again and, oh yeah, deadbeat! My first advice is, don’t let Farrah slip away from you. You have the first pure intentions she has ever felt, and she knows it. Now let’s get to finding treasure, and there is a lot here for the both of you most certainly.” Behaggen’s eyes vanish, and his talking stops.

Vegenrage has been completely mesmerized by what Behaggen was saying and was oblivious to everything else. He looks up to see Farrah has rid herself of the leather clothing she had and now is wearing dark leather boots that rise halfway up her shins, with rubbery sneaker soles on them for running, walking, or whatever. They look very comfortable.

Farrah explains to him, “These were the boots of Varlana before she was murdered by Alisluxkana. They are magical, and their name is Agilaseed.” He looks at Farrah, interested, and she continues, “This is the protective garment worn by Casaundra, one of Altrar’s most distinguished female warriors. She too fell at the hands of Alisluxkana and her charm. This is her Cloth of Time Displacement. Its name is Cleapell.”

Cleapell is a soft black cloth—not wool, not cotton, not spandex or latex or rubber, but a magical blend of all, making a soft, beautifully fitting black two-piece ensemble. The shorts ride from midway up her thighs to just below her belly button, fitting perfectly, moving as she does. There is a belt built right into the top of her shorts and clasps at her front. The top piece goes from her belt line up her abdomen, over her chest and shoulders, leaving her arms bare. Cleapell fits her perfectly and is the right soft thickness to conceal her male-attracting points; however, the girth of her chest is inescapable.

“And now for the best part. This is Quadrapierce.” She has armbands around both her biceps and both her forearms. The armbands fit snugly and are black with stitched green inlay forming stems with red roses on them, and the stitch work is very beautiful. On the outside of her arms, one on each band is a dagger whose sheath is a part of the band. The hilts are gold with strong wound copper-colored wire, making them very comfortable to hold. “Watch this.” She draws the daggers from her biceps and holds them out facing up. They are very dangerous daggers, very sharp, and if used correctly, very deadly. She shakes her arms and hands, and the daggers turn into long swords, which is very impressive, and she shakes her arms and hands again and they shrink, and she replaces them back in their sheaths. Farrah holds her hands out to her sides, her elbows bent and her palms facing upward. She is smiling and showing off her figure and slightly turned to Vegenrage.

“Well, what do you think? I am badass.”

“You are badass.” Vegenrage says, putting his thumb to his cheek and his top two fingers over his lips, looking inquisitively at her. “Do you mind if I come closer?”

She smiles and says, “OK.”

He points his palms out from his body and moves his hands up and away from his hips, and all the magical items on the floor move slowly, softly, to the side, creating a walkway for him to approach her. He walks up to her and bends to his knees, putting his hands on her boots, closing his eyes and concentrating. She looks down with a smile. He stands up and puts his hands on her hips, concentrating with his eyes closed. She looks into his face, smiling. He opens his eyes, removing his hands, looking at her wonderful smile, and puts his hands on her ribs just below and outside her breasts. She breathes deeply, smiling, looking into his closed eyes. He opens his eyes and removes his hands, looking at her, and puts his hands around her forearms again, closing his eyes and concentrating. She smiles and leans her face close to his, showing her perfect teeth. He opens his eyes to see her so close to him, and he smiles with a laugh.

“You are so adorable, but I have to know.”

“What do you have to know?”

“Those boots you are wearing are indeed Agilaseed. The clothes you are wearing are in fact Casaundra’s Cloth of Time Displacement known as Cleapell, and the arm- and wristbands you are wearing are truly Quadrapierce. How did you know that?”

Farrah takes a step back, and her smile fades to disbelief. “Are you serious? I mean, really, are you serious? You had your hands on my legs, on my hips, on my ribs, on my arms, and you want to know how I know the names of the clothes I am wearing?”

“Well, yeah I do.”

She turns and swings her left arm away from her body, and all the magical items on the floor flush to the left, creating a clear walkway for her, and she starts to walk toward the dark passageway she had asked about earlier.

“Farrah! Hey, Farrah, don’t go down there.” He runs after her and steps in front of her “Farrah, don’t go down there.”

Farrah hugs Vegenrage, rubbing her head into his neck, and with her eyes closed, feels with her lips up his neck to his chin, and Vegenrage knows she wants love. He grabs her by the biceps and pushes her away.

“If I were to love you, it would not be in the lair of Alisluxkana.” He looks around. “You are moving very fast, and unfortunately, I am very slow in affairs of the heart and very bad at them. If you really want physical feelings with me, you will have them, but you have to be a little slower. And this is not the place or the time.”

She steps back, looking sadly at the ground, and quickly bounces back with a smile. “So you are not mad at me?”

“No, I am very curious in you right now. Very curious. I want to know how you correctly identified the magical items you are wearing, called their name, and now you possess their true power. You are badass, and I am curious to know how.”

“OK. You won’t be disappointed in me if I tell you how I know their names?”

Vegenrage shakes his head no.

“I didn’t know their names. Parnapp told me their names, and when I said them, they came alive. They became, I don’t know, like an extension of me.”

“Parnapp told you their names?” Vegenrage calls to Behaggen, “Behaggen, Behaggen.”

Behaggen does not answer.

“You’re mad at me?”

“I’m not mad at you. My head is just spinning because you are more than beautiful, and I am not used to someone as perfect as you being attracted to me, and we are still in a very dangerous situation. I have things here that I need to find, and I don’t want to get lost thinking about other things and, before I know it, forget about the goals I have already set for myself. Does this make any understandable sense to you?”

“I can help you find what you are looking for. What are we looking for?”

“Well, I don’t even know what it looks like. I guess it looks like a key.”

“OK. I will help you find it.”

Farrah starts to look through the treasure. They both start to look through the treasure, and before too long, she is taken by Vegenrage’s knowledge on all the treasure here. He holds up armor and weapons and jewels and so forth, explaining whom they belonged to and what their power is, and she has a very enlightening experience with him. She is so attracted to his knowledge. He has the ability to know magic, and she has just the very basic magic knowledge that Parnapp has imbued her with. When Vegenrage is not looking at her and he is searching, she watches him and internally she bonds strongly to him. She grows more and more physically attracted to him. She knows he would not take advantage of her like has happened in the past, but she wants him to.