Vegenrage: The Magic User (26 page)

“So how did the people in the Maglical System learn to use magic?”

“In the very beginning, there were those that meditated most of their life and realized they could make magic, and they used words to symbolize the magical projection, known as spells. They could teach these words to ones of the right mind-set or, as they called it, a magical order. People began to learn how to heal with magic and cast offensive and defensive magic, and there were those more gifted than others, and they began to create and craft magic using their imagination.”

“I have seen a lot of magic users while under the spell of Alisluxkana, but they all had to speak words to make magic. Even Alisluxkana had to speak in order for magic to happen. How come you don’t have to speak to make magic?”

“I’m not sure about that, but maybe there is something special about me.” He smiles, looking at Farrah. “I think we all hope there is something special about us, something unique.”

“Maybe you dreamed about magic all the time and being able to create magic without speaking, and now you can.”

“Well, whatever it is, I am here and you are here. I have no concept of time and feel like I am in a dream right now.”

“I feel like for the first time I am not in a dream, and there is no one I would rather be with than with you.”

He smiles and closes his eyes. Farrah watches Vegenrage fall to sleep then maneuvers to the most comfortable position she can be in close to him and falls asleep.

CHAPTER 20
Kronton Resets

Looking at Kronton from space, it looks like it is fading in and out, like the planet is trying to pull away from itself. An image of itself pulls to the left, and then the planet pulls the image back. Then an image of itself pulls to the right, and the planet pulls it back. This is going on to all directions of the planet. Wherlerria is resetting itself back to its original planet, Kronton. On the planet, no one can see or feel this; however, there are very strong users of magic on Strabalster, Fargloin, and Kronton that know something is odd about the magical force of the Maglical System. The magical force resetting Kronton is usurping all the magic of the Maglical System, and users of magic throughout these planets notice they are weakened magically, and many have no magical ability at all. There are those who felt this before and find it very confusing, not knowing the source of what is happening.

Cloakenstrike sits up, looking around the cave. He looks at his hands, saying, “I have felt this before.” He stands up ready to heat the surrounding rock to give warmth as the cold has come back freezing the cave while they slept. He points his hands, chanting the words to create fire, and nothing happens.

Bastrenboar wakes. “What is it, Cloakenstrike?”

“Something is happening magically. I have no magic, and I have experienced this once before. Wake the others.”

Bastrenboar wakes Rothglon and Fraborn. “Is it something Shenlylith has done to you?”

“No! Actually she may have been more severely affected by this anomaly than I have been. I remember this feeling, this loss of magic. It happened once before. It took a little while, but I regained all my magic. Be ready, humanors. We must act fast to take advantage of this situation.”

The four are shivering even in their fur clothing as the cold has crept back in and froze the cave. The wind is blowing through the openings to the cave since Cloakenstrike’s barriers have gone with all his magic.

“Damn. It’s cold in here,” says Fraborn, shivering as they all are.

“We must be ready. If Shenlylith has lost her magic as I have, maybe I can teleport us out of here. Her magic is much stronger than mine but more widely concentrated. Maybe it will take her longer to regain her magic that encompasses this entire mountain range than it will take me to be able to get us out of here. Bastrenboar, try your magic and see if you have any.”

Bastrenboar tries to create flame giving warmth to them and is able to produce a little flame, heating the rocks in front of them. Being that Bastrenboar is very large and powerful in physical strength, this gives him strength that he can use in the form of magic. Plus he has the strength of Fraborn and Rothglon added to his, making him that much more able.

“Excellent. Let’s all sit.” They sit in a circle. “Bastrenboar, I am going to help you. I need for you to cast a Barrier of Magic Deflection around us.”

“No problem.”

Cloakenstrike holds his hands and concentrates while Bastrenboar chants the words.

“Creesor Dibondom Eefinical Reconballyeem Charbluse Contaglier.” This works with the help of Cloakenstrike, and a magical barrier dome has been erected around them.

“Good. We must work fast.” Cloakenstrike reaches into his Bag of Holding and pulls out the Oriapow Genie Book, and it erects, releasing Oriapow to Cloakenstrike’s commands. “Oriapow, do you know what is happening magically?”

“Sorry, I do not know what is happening.”

“I have lost the use of my magic. Do you know if this has happened to Shenlylith as well?”

“Yes, it has happened to all.”

“I need you to teleport us out of this prison.”

While Oriapow was in the Bag of Holding, his magic was unaffected, but now out in the open, his magic is limited even though he is in the barrier just created.

“I have the magical strength to get you to the final mountain. From there you will have to walk off by foot.”

“Can you get us near the bottom of the mountain?”

“I will try, but Shenlylith’s magic, though weakened, is very powerful.”

“Do the best you can, Oriapow.”

He starts to chant in the ancient Erkensharie language. “Lie-bow-Ancarpillith-Antonbowbillith-Krammgillian-Achwarwillith-Streemsorlin-vaastbreek Le Clims De Bor!”

The four are transported to the final mountain in the Krasbeil Mountain Range, and they can see the bottom leading into the northernmost part of Hunoria. Oriapow has returned to his home and is back in the Bag of Holding, and they have been put in a very unfortunate spot on the mountain face. They are on a ledge just big enough to support the four of them with the only way off being straight down. A fall would surely kill any who falls off.

“Oh great, now what are we supposed to do?” sighs Fraborn. It is still very cold, and the bitter wind is whipping them head-on, and it is a long way to the bottom. It is very loud, and they have to shout to communicate.

“Cloakenstrike, can you use Oriapow again to help us?”

“No! I am not going to chance bringing out the Genie Book in this wind.”

“What are we going to do?”

Cloakenstrike chants some magic, realizing he still is unable to use any. “Bastrenboar, can you use any magic?”

“I will try.” Bastrenboar chants and is able to create a magical rope that they can use. “I can make a rope. We just need to find a place to secure it below us so we can slide down to another resting place and so on.”

“Good, there is a place.”

“Where?”

“There.” Cloakenstrike points to a ledge some fifty yards below them.

“Wow! That is a long way away.”

“Can you reach it with your rope?”

“I will try, move behind me.”

Bastrenboar points his hand and chants a spell and is able to secure a magical rope to the ledge below. He can magically secure each of them to the rope, and he sends them sliding down the rope to the ledge below them. He follows last. They continue this process, but it is a long way down, and before they reach the bottom, they are spotted by Charumpaboons. They are the first and last line of defense for Shenlylith’s prison. They are actually known to the humanors and have been killed by the humanors and are considered a delicacy. The Charumpaboons have dens and caves throughout the mountain face, and this is where they live. There is no food here, and they have to travel to the lower lands to forage for food. They are mostly vegetarian but will not turn away meat and will kill anything they can catch. They look like five-foot chimpanzees but have a snout on their face like that of baboons. They have very muscular chests, arms, and legs from all the climbing and jumping they do on the cliff. Their fingers and toes end in sharp talons, enabling them to climb the rocky mountain like squirrels on a tree. Their fur coat is gray in color, making them hard to see on the cliff face but not so undetectable on the ground where they fall prey to the humanors.

They descend on the four far more maneuverable and on their home turf, making the four of them easy targets. Unaware of the approaching danger, Rothglon is knocked off the ledge he is standing on by a Charumpaboon and falls half a mile to his death. The Charumpaboons descend quickly to feast on the remains.

“Charumpaboons!” yells Bastrenboar as he and Fraborn draw their swords. “Quickly! We must move down quickly. We are sitting ducks here on the cliff.” He casts another rope, and they begin another descent.

A view of the mountain shows the three sliding down the rope, and you can see the Charumpaboons moving very fast toward them. One catches up to Fraborn and grabs him by his right leg, sinking its claws deep into his calf and shin. Fraborn yells, swinging his sword and releasing the Charumpaboon from its hand. The Charumpaboon does not fall off the cliff and painfully retreats to a place where it can mend its severed arm, though this probably will kill the Charumpaboon, making travel up and down the mountain not impossible but very difficult for it. They reach the next lower ledge, and Fraborn has to pull the hand off his leg, which is dug in by the claws.

“Fraborn, are you all right?”

“I will be fine, let’s get off this mountain.”

Bastrenboar looks up to see many more Charumpaboons descending toward them. “Cloakenstrike, hold my hand. I am going to try and create a magical force knocking them off and away from us.” Bastrenboar chants a magical force spell, and Cloakenstrike concentrates, giving him all the magical energy he can, and Bastrenboar is able to cast a Wall of Force rising up from them in the shape of a pyramid. It knocks many of the Charumpaboons off the cliff, falling to the side of the ledge they are standing on.

“Good job, Bastrenboar. Now let’s get off this forsaken mountain.”

They continue down the mountain, sliding on the magical ropes that Bastrenboar is able to create, and they reach the base of the mountain. They are still a mile from the Hunorian northland, but from here they can walk. The Charumpaboons have left them alone but have taken the life of Rothglon. The only three to ever escape Shenlylith’s prison start the arduous trek down the mountain to the highlands of Hunoria, and at least, it is all downhill. They do have to be careful not to fall, because it is still very steep and full of loose dirt and rocks.

Bastrenboar looks to Fraborn’s leg, realizing he forgot about the wounds to his leg. “Here, Fraborn, let me help you with that leg.” He heals it magically.

It takes them over an hour to reach the bottom, and Cloakenstrike feels sensations throughout his body, and he knows his magic is returning. It has been hours, and Kronton has reset itself. All the magical strain on the Maglical System has been relieved, and all is back to normal again.

“Bastrenboar, do you feel that?”

“Yes, my magic has returned to its full strength. Do you know why we lost it?”

“I don’t know, but that’s something I will know. We must get back to the Hunoria homeland quickly. We may have been in those mountains for days. There is no way to know how long we were there until we get back to Hunoria. The elves may have taken revenge on the humanors. We must get there fast.” Cloakenstrike draws a Dimension Door with his fingers, and they walk through.

CHAPTER 21
Ugoria Strikes Back

Trialani and Arglon are back in the throne room, and servants are taking away the dead. Trialani looks very upset and is deeply troubled by the useless loss of life. “Arglon, we are going to put an end to this. That leader Bastrenboar not only survived being turned into a pig but he has obviously been able somehow to gain skills in magic. That is the only way he could still be alive. He has made it clear by this attack on Ugoria that he will not forget the past. You saw the way he charged the Snow Gold Trinket. He has been imbued by your magic, and he knows he can harness the power of the trinket. That is what he is after, and if that magic user with him is the one who stole the Octagemerwell—and it makes sense, he is—then they would be a threatening power to all. We will not sit by and wait to be attacked again. Even if they are powerful enough to escape Shenlylith’s prison, it will be many days before they get back, and by then, the humanors will have been erased.”

“What are you saying, Trialani?”

“We will attack the humanors and wipe them out completely. Never again in my lifetime will the humanors attack us and kill over half of my guard on one morning. This was too well planned out too well executed, and its design was to destroy us completely. I believe they used all they had in an attempt to destroy us, and it failed. We must strike back and wipe them out. Prepare your magical order. They are going to war against the humanors.”

“Yes, Trialani.” Shandorn leaves the room.

Trialani calls to one of his servants, “Bengwile.”

“Yes, my king,” he says, approaching and kneeling to one knee.

“Bengwile, have the palace distress trumpets sound. I want all the guard and bowelves to return at once. We have an attack to prepare.”

“Yes, my king.” Bengwile leaves to call back all the elven fighters.

As the day went by and Trialani learned of the almost two hundred elven families that have been slaughtered, his thoughts on this matter grew stronger and stronger: complete annihilation of the humanors. Trialani has gathered all his top-ranking warriors, and they include horse riders, bowelves, and fighters. All the humanor remains of this day have been burned to ash, and all able fighting elves have been called to arms. Trialani is going to use all the force of his kingdom in an attempt to wipe out the humanors completely. His leading warriors have warned him about leaving the kingdom unprotected, but Trialani was insistent, and all able to fight have been sent to wipe out the humanors.

The horse riders, bowelves, and warriors have left on the eve of this terrible day. They are to travel all night and rest when they reach the Gwipps River. Arglon will lead fifteen elven magic users and meet them at the Gwipps in the morning. They will rest there until midday and then move on to Hunoria. The horse riders will split into two divisions: one will ride up and descend from the north and one will ride down and ascend from the south. The warriors will march straight to Hunoria. Arglon and his magical unit will travel through time and space behind the elven armies and, when in range, give offensive, defensive, and healing support to the armies.

The elven way is not to eradicate populations, but as they buried the innocent families this day and hate was strong in their minds, there was little argument to Trialani’s powerful speech about wiping out the humanors. All the able elves took up arms and marched before sunset. It is now mid evening, and Trialani walks around his empty kingdom, with Arglon saying, “This will be the end of one of us. Ugorian elves or humanor will be gone soon.” Trialani does not say a word and paces in deep thought.

The next day is almost gone, and the warriors are marching right for Hunoria. The horse riders have gone north and south, and Arglon and his magic users have split into three teams. Five follow each elven unit. The riders heading north are the first to come in contact with a band of humanors returning home through the grasslands with fresh meat taken from the Swapoon floodlands. The elves simply ride through them, leaving none alive.

The riders coming up from the south come across homes of the humanors and wipe them out. The warriors heading straight on reach the outlying homes and massacre all the humanors. As the night descends over the land, the elves easily run through the unaware humanors and by morning have decimated the entire population. The humanors had no chance at all and were wiped out, except those not at home, and that is not enough to maintain the population. The elves have run through Hunoria before the sun has risen and cleared the land of the humanors, leaving all trace of them burning in a cleansing fire.

Heading home, having accomplished their goal, the elves look not like a victorious army but like one that has actually lost. Their heads are low along with their spirits. There have been two great tragedies here: the loss of innocent life by the elves and by the humanors, all because of the malicious acts of a few individuals. The elves know that the humanors used almost 100 percent of their fighting force on the attack in Ugoria. The life they slaughtered in revenge was mostly innocent, and it takes a while to hit them but bothers them deeply—the visions of children crying in the mayhem that they struck down, the women only trying to protect what little they had struck down, and the adolescent very bravely trying to fight but with no experience and easily eliminated. It is a long, quiet walk back to Ugoria for the elves. Arglon and his magical unit have used Dimension Door magic to get back to the Ugorian Kingdom, and they are back by daybreak.

The previous night, after all the armies had gone and shortly after the magical unit had departed, Trialani heads to the highest point of his palace. There are two golden doors that meet, with door handles that extend out and form horizontal
S
s, and when Trialani touches the handle to the right, it glows and he pushes down on the handle, opening the door. He enters the room, and the door closes behind him.

This is an unused bedroom that was set up with all the belongings of Shenlylith. The first time Trialani had ever seen Shenlylith is when Bastrenboar grasped the Snow Gold Trinket and she appeared. He had been thinking about her appearance and went through old books refreshing his memory and remembering the stories of how Shenlylith got to be where she is. He found in an old text in the magicians’ library explaining how Shenlylith could be summoned. He also read through the story of how she was sentenced to eternal life within the Snow Gold Trinket, only able to take form in the furthest point from Ugoria, in the Krasbeil Mountains, unless protecting the king of Ugoria.

The story says that Shenlylith was absolutely beautiful in appearance and had the nicest, most beautiful personality to go with it. She was nice to all and worked as a palace servant. The king had a deep attraction to Shenlylith but did not pursue her in any kind of unprofessional way. He liked her very much and was happy to see her every day. The king confided in his wife of how attracted he and others were to Shenlylith, and his wife was very jealous. His wife in secret had the leading elven magicians at that time work day after day, night after night, on a magical spell that would use the life force of a beautiful elven female to give eternal power to a magical item and protect all kings of Ugoria. She was very good at disguising her motivations for having used Shenlylith to power the magical item with her life.

The magical item was created, and the queen of Ugoria was presented with the Snow Gold Trinket of Ugoria. All she had to do was have a beautiful virgin elven female hold the trinket and say the magical words, and the trinket would consume her life and be forever powered. The trinket was imbued with all the elven magic at the time, and whatever life force used to power the trinket would live forever, gaining all elven magic created. The catch is, she can only materialize in the Krasbeil Mountains or to protect the king from danger. If she appears to protect the king, she teleports the danger to the Krasbeil Mountains, which became known as Shenlylith’s prison. She always appears as a beautiful snowy elf, and this is how she became known as the snow elf.

Once the queen had the trinket, which is solid white gold and very beautiful, she presented it to Shenlylith. Shenlylith was overjoyed and accepted it happily, thanking the queen and admiring the beautiful trinket, which the queen put around her neck and clasped it in the back for her. The queen thanked Shenlylith for her valuable service to the palace and gave Shenlylith a parchment with the words to be spoken. Shenlylith had no knowledge of magic or its words and, with a big smile on her face, read the words. The Snow Gold Trinket worked its magic and consumed Shenlylith, imprisoning her for eternity. The queen then took the Snow Gold Trinket to her husband with the magical order that created it and presented it to her husband, explaining how this trinket would protect him and all future kings of Ugoria.

The magical order was so proud, and the king was so appreciative. Then with everyone happy, the queen told how the life force used to power the trinket was Shenlylith, and she did this of her own free will to protect the kings of Ugoria. As time went by, the truth came out about how the queen tricked Shenlylith into powering the trinket with her life, and there was no way to undo what had been done.

Trialani sees the bed Shenlylith slept in, along with her dresser and a pedestal in front of a large window allowing the bright moonlight to shine in on the dimly lit room. He removes the trinket from his neck, and on the pedestal is formed a resting plate made out of solid yellow gold that the trinket can be set in perfectly. When Shenlylith read the magical words and the trinket consumed her life, it took on the shape of Shenlylith on her knees with her head held back and her back arched forward with her arms and hands held straight down to her sides. Wings grew from her back, so if set down, the trinket sets on her knees with the bottom of her wings just touching the ground, and this is how it fits perfectly into the yellow gold: her knees fitting perfectly into slots along with the bottom of her wings into slots behind her knees.

When Trialani places the trinket into the gold base, she wakes, leans forward, and stands up, and her wings disappear. She takes her natural elven form of only four inches tall.

“King Trialani, you have summoned me.”

“Yes, I need your knowledge and guidance.”

“How may I help you?”

“I have sent the entire force of Ugoria to wipe out a race of beings that was created by us. This race was never supposed to be. I had believed that once this race started and was able to reproduce, they were not likely to survive, and I left them alone. They have survived and become a great threat and mounted an attack on Ugoria, leaving many dead. The leader of this race was the first created by myself and Arglon. He has attacked us with the intent to wipe out all the Ugorian elves. You appeared and saved me from this threat. I have since sent our entire force to erase this threat. Did I do the right thing?”

“There was a time long ago when elven magic was the most powerful magic. Time and evolution have created many different types of magic, and though elven magic is very strong, it is becoming intertwined with many other types of magic. The presence sent away from you to my prison has escaped. This is a human, and he holds the Octagemerwell, giving him full use of its power and all elven magic. Even control over the Snow Gold Trinket and me. He has the ability to combine elven and human magic, making him unstoppable at present. By eliminating the humanor race, you have taken away their ability to attack. You have taken away a race that was never supposed to be. The leader of this race still remains and is allied with the magic user that holds the Octagemerwell. This is a great threat to you, and I may not be strong enough to save you from them. Whether destroying the race of humanors is right or wrong is for you to contemplate in your own mind and figure out.”

“I will destroy this threat and bring peace back to our lands.”

“The real threat to you is the human magic user. The humanor is nothing without him. Destroy the magic user and you will have eliminated the threat.”

“Does this magic user get help from other great human magic users? Are there other threats ready to take his place or join in and help him? For example, the magic user Logantrance, does he help this magic user with Bastrenboar?”

“I do not know. I only know two humanors along with the magic user sent to my prison have escaped. There was a great disturbance in my magical strength, preventing me from blocking their escape, so it is possible they have outside help. I have felt this kind of disturbance blocking my magic before, but I know not what it is or was.”

“Do you have any guidance for me as to how I should proceed in eliminating this threat?”

“I do not, only that you must take great care in dealing with the magic user. He is very powerful and well disciplined.”

“Thank you, Shenlylith.”

Shenlylith shrinks back down to her trinket, and Trialani removes it from the golden base and places it back around his neck. He goes to his room and rests, waiting for the return of Arglon.

As the sun rises in Ugoria, Trialani is woken by Arglon and advised that the entire humanor race has been exterminated. They eat and walk around the mostly vacant kingdom that has not seen this kind of devastation under Trialani’s rule. It is eerily quiet, and they talk about how to eliminate the remaining threat, being Bastrenboar and the still mostly mysterious magic user.

Meanwhile, Bastrenboar and Cloakenstrike have walked through the Dimension Door and right into Hunoria, which has been cleansed of all the humanors. All the homes and large structures have been burned to the ground. Only smoldering remnants of what were the humanors are left.

“The elves have eliminated my whole race. I have lost my army and all my race. I have put too much faith in your magic, but it was my decision, and I gambled with the lives of all the humanors and lost.”

“We will fight to the last of us, Bastrenboar. We will teleport back to Trialani’s throne room and fight until we are gone.”