Vegenrage: The Magic User

by Robert Spina

  Logantrance was summoned to the planet Kronton by his master, Swallgrace, and there they faced and prevented Cloakenstrike from obtaining a very powerful spell book written by Ledgehorn, one of the most successful and talented magic users in the Krinston Realm. Ledgehorn had spent two millenniums writing his book on the beings of the Krinston Realm and the world of Kronton and included his special brand of spell crafting in it as well. Cloakenstrike sought the book to further his magical ambition.

  There was a great magical duel between Cloakenstrike and Ledgehorn, and Cloakenstrike was victorious in slaying Ledgehorn. He did not possess the ability to steal life force at this point and was seeking the book to help him in this quest, but before he acquired the book, Swallgrace intervened and faced Cloakenstrike in magical battle. This was over a millennium ago, and at that time, this was the greatest magical battle ever seen.

  Logantrance appeared to see the two magic users flinging each other around with their Staffs of Throwing. Each man was bloodied and bruised. Logantrance hit Cloakenstrike with a lightning bolt and nearly killed him, but Cloakenstrike was very powerful even then and somehow escaped with his life. Before Cloakenstrike fled, he threw a Dagger of Speed, striking Ledgehorn in the heart, killing him. Swallgrace was able to magically bring Ledgehorn back to life, and the three became fast friends. When Logantrance and Swallgrace realized the destruction done by this one individual, they knew they had a lifelong enemy, and the devastated people around that had survived the fireballs and lightning strikes begged the two magic users to protect them. At first they helped the people of Breezzele bring their life to a little bit of calm, because Cloakenstrike used their destruction as a diversion in order to draw out Ledgehorn so he could in turn steal the book The Magic of Krinston. This was Ledgehorn’s book on magic and very, very powerful at that time. The book was not stolen. Ledgehorn did not die, and the three magic users talked and planned for future attacks from Cloakenstrike. The alliance between Ledgehorn, Swallgrace, and Logantrance held true, and Cloakenstrike was never heard from in Krinston again.

  Ledgehorn was already a very old magic user in the twilight of his life, and within a millennium, he had passed, passing The Magic of Krinston to Swallgrace. After Swallgrace had lost his life to Alluradaloni, the Magic of Krinston was passed to Logantrance and just recently passed to Vegenrage. Logantrance can’t help but think that somehow someway Cloakenstrike had something to do with the way Alluradaloni had taken Swallgrace’s life but has never found a shred of proof that Cloakenstrike had anything to do with it.

  Logantrance shifts his thoughts to Vegenrage, and the astonishing leap magic has taken with him. Cloakenstrike, as powerful as he is, still must chant the spell of powerful magic for it to happen. Oh, he can just think about well-used magic or less-powerful spells, and they will happen without him speaking it. He can meditate long, long periods of time to just think the existence of some powerful magic, but he is mostly limited to having to chant the words for powerful magic to happen. Vegenrage on the other hand just made it happen right from the get-go like; it was meant to be. Logantrance worries that if Vegenrage were to go rogue in pursuit for personal power, what a devastating, threatening power he would be. Is this how Cloakenstrike started out? Logantrance looks up like he is awake now. What is done is done, no time to waste. He gears up with his Bag of Holding, his staff, and some other effects and walks into the air, vanishing.

  Vegenrage is sitting on a large rock formation overlooking the end of Pinegrow Forest, which he has flown over, to his back and the Crisdor Sea in front of him. Vegenrage is completely unaware of the magical tremors rippling through the realms because he is in the bottle on the world of Wherlerria, and nothing penetrates in or out. Vegenrage is watching the sun come up over the Crisdor Sea and wonders how Logantrance ever conceived this world in a bottle, complete with gravity and a sun and a moon—truly breathtaking and amazing.

  Well, enough of that, he thinks, and he admires the Staff of Barrier Breath and puts it in its scabbard as he does with the Staff of Power. He looks at the scale he ripped from Blethstole as the warm, salty air blows his hair behind him and ponders how to adorn himself with the scale. He puts it to his chest, his arm, and his leg. “Hmm, where am I going to put this?” The scale is large enough to cover either his right breast or his left breast, and finally he magically secures it to his shirt, covering his left breast, thinking it should cover his heart. He magically alters his shirt to conceal the scale, and remarkably, his shirt looks like just a well-fitting black shirt with two protective breast plates covering his pecs.

  Vegenrage sits on the rock just watching the sun rise, thinking this is great, and enjoys the peaceful morning all by himself. He sits there for quite a while, in no hurry, just wondering what he should do next. Two phases of his quest behind him, and all he has now is to face Alluradaloni and get the Rose Unbar Key along with other magical items. But where is she, and how is he going to find her? He decides to go back to Mourbarria and start there. Vegenrage can use his Dimension Door spell to travel anywhere he has been. He was able to travel to Shaspar because, by seeing into the mind of Mournbow, he gained knowledge of the landscape.

  Vegenrage uses his Dimension Door and vanishes into the air. Vegenrage appears on the great wall surrounding Mourbarria Castle. He walks right into yet another early morning since the sun has just risen here. All is quiet, and Vegenrage floats down to the castle entrance. He walks up the steps to be greeted by the two guards pointing their spears at him. He motions his right hand before them. “Let Mournbow know he has company.”

  The guard to his right pulls a thick rope, which rings a bell, and the guards open the doors to the castle.

  Vegenrage enters, and the doors close behind him. He enters the large hall, and Inglelapse comes hurriedly down the stairs from his chambers.

  “Vegenrage, you are back.”

  “Inglelapse, I need to talk with Mournbow and why not you too.”

  “Wait here. I will get him for you. Oh, Vegenrage, before you leave, I have something I think you will find very interesting. Don’t let me forget to tell you about it before you go, OK?” Inglelapse goes up the large stairwell to Mournbow’s room and knocks. “Mournbow, Vegenrage is back.”

  “Vegenrage is back?” Mournbow opens the door. “Vegenrage is back?”

  The two come down the stairs to greet him. Mournbow extends his hand to Vegenrage, and they shake. “Vegenrage, did you clash with Xanorax and Blethstole?”

  “Yes, I did, and it was eventful.”

  “We have not heard from Xanorax, and I expected some sort of retaliation from him by now concerning the death of Belron. Did you defeat and kill Xanorax? What of Blethstole?”

  “I have met both, and both still live. I have come to ask something else of you. I need to know of the witch Alluradaloni.”

  “Alluradaloni, the seductress of men.” Mournbow looks at Inglelapse.

  Inglelapse looks at Vegenrage with a wide mouth. “Alluradaloni has the power to steal the life of any and all men. Ah, yes, a scale from Blethstole can give immunity to her charms. This is why you sought out Blethstole, but why Xanorax?”

  “I need to know where I can find Alluradaloni.”

  “Come, follow me.” Inglelapse leads Mournbow and Vegenrage into the room with the large map of Kronton on the wall. “Alluradaloni controls the Wickenfall Forest, which surrounds the Mindsunk Bog.” Inglelapse points this region out on the map for Vegenrage to see. Inglelapse turns to Vegenrage. “This place is the most evil of evil. Very few have ever returned from the Wickenfall Forest, and no one has ever ventured into the Mindsunk Bog and come back from there. The entire Wickenfall Forest sits on a crater, a fifty-mile-wide crater. The whole forest is on a hill just steep enough to support the forest, and at the bottom of the crater is the Mindsunk Bog. It is said that all life entering the forest is drawn or pulled to the bog, and there life ends. The forest and the bog are all controlled by Alluradaloni. No man has ever resisted her seduction
and no creature or beast has declined her rule.”

  “Well, she is about to be resisted and tamed.”

  “Vegenrage, the beasts there are cruel and merciless, if you survive them. Alluradaloni is the most formidable witch ever known. No man—I mean, no man—has ever looked at her and survived to tell about it.”

  “Well, it looks like this Wickenfall Forest is on the other side of the world where I just came from. Shouldn’t be too far from Pinegrow Forest and the Crisdor Sea, at least not too far to fly fairly quickly.”

  “Are you really going to see the witch? Can I have my Staff of Power back?”

  Mournbow jumps in, “Vegenrage, please have some breakfast with us and talk some more before you go.”

  Vegenrage agrees, and the three head to a table to have some breakfast, but before Vegenrage sits down, he pulls the Staff of Power from its scabbard and places it on the floor beside the table. “Here you go, Inglelapse, if you can remove the staff before I go, it is yours again.”

  Like before, Inglelapse strains and struggles to remove the staff, which sits perfectly perpendicular on the floor. It’s funny to watch Inglelapse grin as he pushes and pulls and tries desperately to regain his staff, with no luck. The three have breakfast and talk about Vegenrage’s adventure with Xanorax and Blethstole. Mournbow and Inglelapse listen quietly, engrossed as Vegenrage tells the story of how he defeated the four demons. They eat their breakfast as Vegenrage goes on telling about Blethstole and his lair. Vegenrage is very conscious not to tell about the magical items he has acquired or the real quest that he is on. They finish breakfast, and Vegenrage readies himself to travel on to find Alluradaloni. Inglelapse goes to the staff and tries to pull it from the ground where it sits.

  “Inglelapse, do you know why you cannot regain the staff?”

  “Well, obviously not.”

  “Inglelapse, do you even know why magical items are magical items?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You see, all items, all inorganic items whether man-made or not, are just that—items. However, when magic is applied to an item and a name given to that item, the magical essence infuses the item, making it magical. The item now has a name and can perform a specific function. It does not think. It acts and reacts to the magic trying to acquire the item’s magical ability.” Vegenrage starts waving his hands slowly in circles with magical blue and white sparkles following the motion of his hands, and he grabs the chair at the end of the table with both hands. “You see, Inglelapse, I have just given this chair a name and imbued it with magical essence. Now it is a magical item. Mournbow, would you sit here please.”

  “It’s not going to hurt, is it?”

  “No.”

  Mournbow sits, and the chair’s arms wrap around him, securing him tightly so he cannot move.

  “See, this chair is now a Chair of Holding, and I have given it a name. In order to use the chair’s true ability to the fullest, you must know and call it by name, and it will respond to you. You don’t have to verbally say its name out loud. You can just think the name, and it will hear you, provided you have the magical ability to summon the magic of the item.” Vegenrage whispers into Inglelapse’s ear, “Now you know its name, and this is your own secret magical item, which no one knows about except us three. OK, release Mournbow and don’t speak out loud.”

  Inglelapse touches the chair with both hands and closes his eyes. The chair releases Mournbow and regains its normal shape.

  “Cool. So how did you know the name of my staff?”

  “Well, some magic is more advanced than other magic.” Vegenrage whispers in Inglelapse’s ear again, and Inglelapse walks up to the staff, grabs it, and it releases to his person. Inglelapse smiles.

  “Now you can use the true ability of the staff.”

  “Thank you, Vegenrage. I always knew there was so much more to this staff.”

  “Well, gentlemen, I must be going now.”

  “Vegenrage, please, if you survive this crazy endeavor you are on, please come back and see us.” Mournbow shakes his hand.

  “OK, Mournbow.”

  “Wait, Vegenrage, I have something to show you. Come, come with me.”

  Vegenrage follows Inglelapse up the stairs and into his room. Inglelapse rummages around in his room, humming and rubbing his forehead. “Where is it? I know it is here. Ah yes, I remember.” Inglelapse brushes all the junk off a chest, and he opens it. “Here, this is what I wanted to show you. There was a time when I was adventurous myself, and I came across this. I never knew what it was, but something told me it was very special. Maybe you can make better use of this than I was able to.” Inglelapse hands Vegenrage a small bag with a thin golden rope attached to it.

  Vegenrage accepts the bag from Inglelapse and immediately knows this is a Bag of Holding. “Inglelapse, where did you ever get this? You know what this is?” Vegenrage releases the bag, and it hovers, and the golden rope unties itself and wraps around Vegenrage’s waist and secures itself snugly.

  Inglelapse looks at Vegenrage with a smile, like a father watching his son put on a tie for the first time.

  “Inglelapse, this is a Bag of Holding. This is a very special magical item.”

  “I think it was meant to be with you. I am an old man who never mastered magic, but I had a good time trying. You take this with you, because otherwise, it will sit here in this chest. Now you have something to put that staff in?” Inglelapse proudly smiles, watching Vegenrage put the staff into the Bag of Holding.

  “Inglelapse, thank you very much.”

  “Now you go and don’t forget about us here.”

  Vegenrage walks into the air and vanishes.

  Vegenrage appears back on the rocks overlooking the Crisdor Sea, the Pinegrow Forest to his back and the Strait of Hercon to the north. He takes the form of a large gull able to fly great distances with ease. It is nighttime now with the sun having just set, and Vegenrage takes to the wing, heading over the Elbutan Forest and Highlands. He flies high and easily just soaring, barely flapping his wings at all. Everywhere he goes on this planet seems to be warm and very comfortable. He soars over the Elbutan Forest, heading right for the Wickenfall Forest.

  The Elbutan Forest is very thick with large trees and lots of foliage, so he really can’t see the ground except for small spots here and there, and where there are large ponds or small lakes, they have trees growing right to the edge of them. There are long valleys and high hills free of trees, and this is visually very beautiful with colors of green and brown and red, which he can make out in the moonlight.

  After nearly four hours of flight, he makes it to the Wickenfall Forest. It’s unmistakable, like a meteorite struck the landscape many thousands of years ago and left a remarkably large hole that has since been overrun by lush large trees. There is a gradual incline growing up from the center to the rim, which surrounds the entire bowl completely covered in tree growth. The bog in the center has tree growth as well, which mostly covers the flat center of the crater.

  Vegenrage figures, Why waste time with the Wickenfall Forest? And he heads right for the center of Mindsunk Bog. He soars right into the heart of the bog and finds a place where he can land on the ground. He soars down to the ground and transforms to his natural form about ten feet from the ground, ready to make a nice landing on his feet, but something happens. As he transforms to his human form, he is sucked or pulled very rapidly to the ground. This happens very unexpectedly, and Vegenrage makes a much harder landing than he planned for, knocking the wind out of him. He is not hurt too badly and regains his breath quickly.

  He stands up to notice the moonlight has vanished and the surroundings are pitch-black. He cannot see a thing; however, he can hear a lot. It is noticeably colder here, and the sound is like large dogs all around him, getting closer to him. He tingles with fear, and a very scary eeriness overcomes his senses. The sounds are getting closer to him, and they sound large and mean. Vegenrage wastes no time and casts an awesome incineration
spell. He is such a powerful magic user that all in the use of magic would say “wow” to such great power without him even speaking the spell. A wall of bright orange, blue, and yellow flame extends in a circle from him, over a thousand degrees hot, incinerating everything for twenty yards in a circle around him. The fire creates a great light illuminating the dark bog, but he cannot see beyond the flame to see what is approaching him.

  Before the incineration spell has finished its sweep, leveling all the trees and vegetation around him, he yells, “Staff of Light!” and swings his right arm to the ground like he is slamming a spear in the ground. A soft but bright blue light shoots from the ground in the shape of a staff and grows up fifty feet with a ball of white light sitting atop the Staff of Light. This light illuminates all the land around him to the tree line that is still intact, and he looks around with that very serious look that only he possesses when he is focused. There are sparkles of burning debris in the air, floating all around like those that fly above a raging bomb fire. The ground has been swept clean by the fire, leaving raw, singed dirt. There is the smell of burnt wood and flesh in the air, but he can see nothing of what was approaching him.

  The trees are burning where his spell finally stopped in a circle some twenty yards from where he stands by his Staff of Light, and this is very cool looking. The staff rises in the center of the burnt earth, with flames burning in a circle at the trees’ edge. Into the trees is darkness, and the sounds start to rise again. The burning trees are pushed over, falling toward Vegenrage but falling far short from him. He can see nothing but the falling trees on fire. Trees farther back in the darkness are ripped from their roots and thrown toward him, getting closer to him but still falling short. Pretty soon, there are logs covering the ground all around Vegenrage, and the snarls and howls grow louder and louder.

  Finally, Vegenrage gets a glimpse of what is making the noise, and it’s not good. These are eight–foot-tall Lycans, very muscular and strong, with very large heads, powerful biting jaws, and strong arms, legs, and claws to make them most formidable. They are deep black in color, blending in very well with the dark surroundings, making them very tough to see. They charge Vegenrage in huge numbers from all points around him. He has never had it in him to run from anything, and he uses his magic in an amazingly brutal and offensive way. He creates magical Blades of Sharpness that extend from his fingers. He can extend one magical blade at a time or up to eight at a time, and what powerful magic this is.