Vegenrage: The Magic User (38 page)

“So we meet again, Logantrance. This time I think we will put you and your magic on ice.” Gairdennow spits a golden bubble at Logantrance, and it encapsulates him, rising into the air.

Logantrance seems to be in water, moving slowly and unable to talk, but he can breathe.

“Good job, Gairdennow. We are one step closer to our goal of ridding Fargloin of all the magic users. The Mystical Erkens have been destroyed. With the dwarves hiding in Symbollia and the Dagi on their way here, the Dagi Bluffs will be easy pickings. And for this one here, his home, the Richterblen Realm, has been destroyed. And most important, the home of the Vlianth, Vollenbeln, has been destroyed. We have the humanoid races on the run. All we need now is to destroy the Vlianth and gain the Sapphirewell, the Octagemerwell, and Vergraughtu and the Maglical System will be ours once again. We will keep this one alive in case we need him to draw in the Vlianth. As you said, Gairdennow, we will keep him on ice.” Dribrillianth casts a spell in the dragon tongue, and Logantrance is frozen still, but he is very much alive. “Gairdennow, take this one to Blethstole. I will await your return and keep the elves in the Great Erken honest, thinking they have me at bay. Tell Blethstole the Sapphirewell is on its way here along with Vlianth.”

“I will be back soon. I want to be here when we kill Vlianth and put an end to the Hornspire prophecy once and for all.” Gairdennow takes flight with Logantrance in tow.

CHAPTER 29
The Coming of Vlianth

Gairdennow flies high in the sky. He has a magical rope attached to each tusk coming out the sides of his mouth. The ropes go over his shoulder and are attached to the bubble containing Logantrance. He flies through a Dimension Door and appears approaching Mirrimya Mountain. There are dragons of all colors perched on the mountain around the entrance to Blethstole’s lair. Gairdennow pays them no attention, but the dragons all know he has Logantrance. Gairdennow flies right for the entrance and enters. Blethstole is on his bed of gold and notices the gold dragon bringing a valuable treasure that he has been waiting for.

“Gairdennow, you have him, the magic user Logantrance, the one who set this all in motion. Good, good, bring him to me.”

Gairdennow floats down to the base of Blethstole’s bed. He bows his head, and the bubble floats up to Blethstole.

Blethstole looks at Logantrance, who is frozen solid in a magical freeze. “Ah, yes, the wise old human magic user Logantrance. This is a great treasure indeed—a treasure to be collected.” Blethstole floats the bubble to a carved-out section in his lair that has been waiting for this bubble. It fits perfectly, and Logantrance is frozen in time in the wall of Blethstole’s lair.

“When do we see the book?”

“Why do you want to see the book, Gairdennow? It is safe, out of the reach of all, right where it should be. The less that know its contents, the better. I know where it is, and until the time comes to abolish the prophecy, it will remain safe and out of the reach of prying eyes.”

“We all want to see the book. You have done something never done before. You have brought together all the dragons to one place, and this is not normal. The natural instinct of our kind has been held at bay by the knowledge that we would all see
The Wattsverocy: The Coming of Vlianth
. We have all heard of the legend of Hornspire and how he foretold the future, how he told the coming of Vlianth would bring the end to the dragons, but none of us have seen this book outside of you. It is time to share your knowledge or our natural instinct will take over, and if our brethren don’t tear each other up, they will head off to resume their lives alone. You have brought us all here, now join us. Give us the reason to unite against the races of man and show us the proof. Show us the book.”

“You want proof, I will give you the proof.” Blethstole is getting visibly angry, and he flaps his wings hard, sending gold and treasure flying around his lair.

Gairdennow is suddenly alerted to the fact that he may have to defend himself, which is a natural instinct of all male dragons when this close to one another. “Come with me, Gairdennow, I will give you and all the others the proof you seek.” Blethstole leaves his lair followed by Gairdennow. Blethstole lands on a high perch overlooking his mountain and, with a great roar, summons all the dragons to his presence.

This is a fantastic scene never seen before. Dragons of all colors and all shades of all colors take to the wing and are circling around Mirrimya Mountain. The most incredible gathering of the most incredible species ever evolved for the first time all in one place. There are male, female, young, and old. This is for the most part a gathering of all the dragons of the Maglical System, minus a very few of them. There is no one to witness this most spectacular, visually stunning scene. Dragons are magnificent, coming in all colors with fantastic shapes, grace, and beauty. It is amazing how this one species has so many variations in their bodies. They have awesome wings that fit their bodies differently. They have tusks and horns different to each dragon and growing from different places on their bodies. They have scales in different sizes and shapes covering their bodies. Some have fins, and some have weapons attached to their tails. They are powerful, strong, and magical.

Blethstole stands atop his perch, the dominant dragon, but this can change at any time. For right now he has done what no other dragon has ever done: he has gathered all the dragons in one place at the same time, and for the first time ever, all dragons are listening as one.

“It is time for you all to see firsthand the proof you seek. The proof you need that has brought you here. It has come to my attention that you cannot stay calm, you need proof of the coming of Vlianth. Well, I have the proof you seek, and it is not a book that will prove this to you. It is Vlianth himself. You are dragons, the strongest magical beings ever evolved, and surely one man, one woman, and thirty-five dwarves are no match for one dragon, let alone all of you. I warn you. I have faced Vlianth face-to-face, and he is a dangerous adversary. He is cunning, he is smart, he is truly a powerful magical being. The proof you seek right now heads for the Ruin of Altrar. He and his party will be there in seven days. If you cannot contain yourselves, then learn firsthand of the danger I have warned you of. If you think you can be the one to kill Vlianth, then go see if you can. I warn you. Vlianth, the woman, and the dwarves can kill dragons. If you feel I am not worthy of your trust, of your loyalty to me and your brethren, then go see if you can stop the coming of Vlianth.”

With no rebuttal, with no more words, the dragons, all of them, take to the wing and head off through Dimension Doors. Blethstole looks around, humbled that not a single dragon has stayed to show allegiance to him; not one has taken his warning seriously. Blethstole heads back to his lair. He sends flames from his mouth, lighting multiple torches around his lair, giving off light. He walks up to the bubble containing Logantrance and looks at him frozen in it. He looks at Logantrance for a good long while grumbling. He walks to the top of his bed of gold and chants a spell. A few minutes later, the wall starts to shake, and dirt and rock start to fall from a point in the wall, and a Salcendreepe comes forth to Blethstole’s call.

“Casson, you saw this man?” He motions to Logantrance.

“Yes, Blethstole, this is the man that was with the dwarves. They triggered the cage that was where the Mystical Erkens used to be. Lyleede, Adronpee, and myself entered as commanded by the dragons. Lyleede ordered me to get Dribrillianth and Gairdennow, and when I returned, the two dwarves were dead, the dragons already gone, and Lyleede and Adronpee dead as well.”

“I guess that makes you in charge now. I have something for you.” Blethstole chants a spell and breathes a fluorescent blue light from his mouth onto Casson. “The dragons have all gone to Fargloin to the Ruin of Altrar to kill Vlianth. There are many dwarves with him and a female. I want you to take ten Salcendreepes and give Vlianth and his party a little distraction from underneath when the dragons attack. Surely you would not mind the sweet meat of dwarve and human. I have given you the dimensional location and the time to arrive under the Ruin of Altrar. Go now and feed.”

“Yes, Blethstole.” Casson vanishes into the earth wall.

Blethstole looks to Logantrance again. “Yes, old friend, the time of your blessing is coming.”

Glimtron is leading the way as the party makes their way along the Smildren Sea. They have traveled a week now, and the party has become close, all excited for the adventure they are on and worried about the danger they will surely face. Glimtron halts the party, and they all gaze upon the Ruin of Altrar. This happens every time anyone passes this way. It is almost instinctive from the last high hills off the Smildren Sea as Altrar comes into sight. The houses and buildings are in ruin but still stand. They are about a mile and a half from Altrar and the once-thriving city built by man that was built on the side of a great hill.

The Altrar human race was well-known and traded with the elves and dwarves. Altrar had a very able fighting class with fantastic magic users. In the last Dragon Feast, the dragons targeted Altrar heavily and vigilantly held fast until all Altrarians were eaten. It is said that some Altrarians survived the onslaught and still live on Fargloin, but that is myth and legend. It has been over a millennium, and there have been very little signs of any human life at all on Fargloin. There are humans that live on this planet, but by far, the elves and dwarves are now the dominant species along with the dragons that are making a comeback. Vegenrage rides up to Glimtron.

“What is it, Glimtron?”

“Every time I ride past this place, it gives me an eerie feeling. I never get used to the sight of this place.” The hill has grown and the structures built by man are being slowly overrun by trees and vegetation. The entire hill, which is almost a mountain, has at one time been built on. In its day, Altrar must have been a very beautiful place. Now the buildings are falling apart, and the forest is moving in.

“Well, what do you think, Glimtron? Should we camp here tonight, or should we move past and camp at a later place?”

“No, this is a good place to camp tonight. We will reach the Long Forest by nightfall tomorrow.”

The party dismounts and sets up camp for the night. Before long, all the horses are settled, and a fire is cooking a boiling stew. They all gather around the fire, and the dwarves begin telling stories as they have done for the past six nights. Farrah and Vegenrage always ask the dwarves about old tales and stories about the mountain, and the dwarves go on and on, and it always ends in a round of laughter as the dwarves make fun of each other. A story has just ended, and a long round of laughter ends in a long silence when Silgeqwee breaks the silence.

“Ms. Farrah, how did you come to be with Vegenrage?”

“I was under the spell of a terrible witch, and Vegenrage came to my rescue. He slew the witch, and I have been with him ever since.”

Fimble jumps in. “Witch slayer and soon to be dragon slayer,” he says with laughter.

“Oh, Vegenrage is already a slayer of dragons. He has faced Blethstole and Swomairen and thwarted their attack. He did not kill them, but he did kill Emzwer, one of the Mountain Creek Dragons.” A hush takes over the party. The silence is followed by the sound of large footsteps approaching. The party looks to the sound of the approaching footsteps, hoping they are from the giants, and they are. It is Osworns, and he advised that they get some sleep early.

“The forest does not feel right. There is fear in the air. All the animals have taken to hiding, and this is very unusual. Even the predators of the night are nowhere to be seen. We will watch tonight in case something happens, but we should get an early start in the morning.”

“Yes, Osworns, that sounds good. Get some sleep, everyone, we leave at first light.”

Everyone heads for their sleeping bags, but the curiosity gets the best of some of the dwarves.

“Vegenrage, is it true you faced dragons and killed some?”

“Yes, Dormins, it is true.”

“Dormins, leave him be. Get some sleep. We rise early. That goes for all us. We pass Altrar in the morning, and hopefully we will hear from the elves soon.”

Vegenrage has known for days now that something is not right. When Logantrance was frozen in the bubble, he had a sense a feeling that he has been trying to understand. He has tried to communicate with Logantrance telepathically with no response, and by now he knows something bad has happened to Logantrance. He has kept this to himself because there is no good in alarming the others, and he does not want to abandon the party because his gut has been telling him that as soon as he leaves, if he were to leave, then of course bad things would happen.

Farrah has been getting a lot of attention from the dwarves all week. They smile and flirt and ask her all kinds of questions, but she deflects it all back to the dwarves, and they gladly pass the time telling stories that Farrah finds very amusing. She has been thinking a lot about the book she absorbed teaching about Vergraughtu. The amazing thing about the absorption magic that Vegenrage taught her is that when she absorbs a book, she may not know all the knowledge right there and then, but the information is there, and she can retrieve it at any time. She spent her free time remembering and thinking about the book she absorbed on Vergraughtu, and she can’t believe what a powerful magical item this is.

It is actually one of the most valuable and powerful magical items around, and many would kill for it. There is much more to Vergraughtu than just the magical item and its power, and she has many questions for Vegenrage. The book kind of leaves her hanging, like Vergraughtu was meant to be transformed from a dragon into the Staff of Barrier Breath and then again back into a dragon but a different kind of dragon, and this is what she really questions. All the powers she can learn from Vergraughtu, like all the breath attacks of dragons and physical immunity to dragons and their magic. This is so powerful that it’s unimaginable. Not only that, but the book on Vergraughtu speaks as though the staff was meant to be held by someone, someone that has a part to play in the lives of dragons.

Farrah sits up as something really strikes her, something that she is just now discovering. Logantrance had given Farrah some books to absorb while Vegenrage was asleep, and one taught her the dragons’ tongue or how to understand the language of dragons. She has been thinking about and learning this language also this past week, and something just comes to her attention. The book on Vergraughtu, which by the way is in Parnapp, ends by saying that Vergraughtu will be awakened by the one that sets the final Dragon Feast into motion.

Vergraughtu was the dominant dragon two and a half millenniums ago. He was the Violet Violator, a spectacular dragon with frills all around his head. He was the only dragon who had wings attached to front legs and he had front legs also. He could tuck his legs into his body like no other dragon, making him the flier of worlds. He terrorized all three worlds, feeding and mating at will, because he was so dominant and so much larger than all the other dragons. It was like evolution took a millennium jump with him. He had no horns or tusks on his body, and rivals thought he would be easily defeated when competing for a mate, but Vergraughtu had such a size advantage on other dragons that he could withstand the best attacks, and a lot of times, he let dragons impale him on purpose just because he could. He was unbelievably fast and used his quickness and added limbs to grapple with dragons, and none could defend this kind of attack. He would wrap around them, breaking their limbs and snapping their wings and breaking their necks with his forearms and hands on his wings. His jaw was long and narrow with not the most powerful bite but easily strong enough for him to shear through the necks of his rivals with his long and sharp teeth. Vergraughtu was a one of a kind dragon, and there is none like him since he was transformed into the Staff of Barrier Breath.