“We do not wish to fight. We came here in search of a shaman.” Dougal answered trying to avoid eye contact with the snake. The white reptile came closer revealing its fangs, ready to feast upon the black wolf.
“Why would a fiend search for a shaman? You belong in Necrovania.” Echoed the voice.
“This is only a curse. I am not truly a wolf. I came here with my partner Lola, the one you petrified.” The wolf said. “We did not know this was your territory? I ask that you release my partner from her curse and we will depart this area.”
“Ah. I see.” The voice echoed again. The white snake withdrew its fangs. It slithered over to Lola and with glowing yellow eyes he releases the curse. Lola gasps so deeply as if she had been drowning. She dropped to the grass breathing heavily. Dougal ran over to her. His forehead met hers. She raised her head up, smiled, coughed and hugged the wolf. “I could not breath” She said and coughed again. “I thought I was going to die.”
Dougal looked up at the snake and growled at it. “Get away from us unless you would like to bath in flames.”
“That is futile” echoed the voice again. From darkness behind an elm tree, the figure of a man appeared and paced towards Lola and Dougal. Lola raised her black rod and Dougal readied his blue flames, smoke leaving his maw and nostrils. As the figure of the man got closer, Lola realized who it was.
“Shastih” she said in surprise. She dare not approach him since the giant white snake coiled by the man in the dark.
“Hello there my dark princess. I have not seen you in a year.” Said Shastih. He was five inches shorter than Lola. His skin was brown. He had a bushy black beard and a nose like a parrot’s beak. He wore a turban on his head with a black pearl embedded on it. His garments were black with yellow spiky designs along the edges. The white snake wrapped its body around Shastih, its master.
“I apologize Lola for attacking you.” Said Shastih. “I sensed a fiendish mana near my territory but turned out to be your friend. My pet snake does not know you yet which is why it paralyzed you.”
“Shastih. You haven’t changed one bit. Except for your new ‘pet’.” Lola commented. “I have never seen a snake that size.”
“You will, if you spend enough time in the swamps.” Shastih added. “Please Agran, do not scare my friends again.” He said to his snake and the reptile slithered away into the woods with its long massive body. Lola then ran towards Shastih with open arms and jumped on him almost knocking him down.
“My dear Lola. Have you been controlling your powers?” He asked with his accent of the southern desert country.
“Yes sir. I have even been using my form. Everything is under control.” Lola answered. The light came back to her eyes and it put a smile on Dougal’s wolf face.
“And I see you have a new pet as well.” Shastih said.
“I am no pet.” Dougal answered with a growl.
“My apologies. I am not use to seeing talking animals.” Said the shaman politely.
“There is a first time for everything. I heard you are good with dark magic.” Dougal said and stood by Lola’s side.
“That is what I am known for.”
“Good. I hope you know how to break curses.”
Shastih faced Lola. He looked into her desperate eyes and he already knew the reason for her visit. He strokes his chin and ponders then looks up at the two full moons. “You want me to break your wolf’s curse so that he can return to his human form.”
“That is the Shastih I remember.” Lola said and hopped with excitement.
“It will be a challenge but what I want to know is how you acquired that book?” Shastih pointed at the shadow grimoire that lied on the floor. Lola quickly hefted it. It was heavy and bulky in her left arm. She trekked south to visit Shastih in these woods with book in her arms. She desperately hoped that the shaman would be able to read the ancient language of the dragons.
“You won’t believe what I went through to get my hands on this grimoire.” She said and sighs.
“I can only imagine. I will have you know that my master once held that book in his hands.” Shastih said and stared at the book in awe. He looked at the moon symbol on the cover of the book and grimace. “Lola I hope you know the risk you have taken by travelling around with that book. I have only looked into the book once but I remember my master in relieve after getting rid of it. Where did you find it?”
“We barged into the Alexandria castle in the capital city.” Dougal answered. “It was Lola’s bright idea to take the book by force.”
“Good dragon gods. You have become a criminal” Shastih said flabbergast. “You cannot expect me to help criminals. Lola I expected better of you.”
“Please sir Shastih.” Said Lola. “Do you really think that the Alexanders are any better than we are? How do you think they got their dirty hands on the grimoire? Not only are they thieves themselves but they are also liars. I stole from thieves. Also, what were the Alexanders doing with the grimoire of shadows? I thought they were supposed to be pure and full of light. Legend says they came from the heavens. The realm of light. Why would they have any interest in the grimoire of shadows? They are not who you think they are sir Shastih. I hope my deeds have not changed your mind.”
For a moment there was silence. Shastih had a solemn look on his face. He looked up at the two moons again and sighed. He rubbed his beard uncomfortably and eyeballs the area as if someone was watching. “Well…say something.” Lola urged impatiently. She regretted telling Shastih how she acquired the grimoire. She was once his student for a short period of time, two years ago. Shastih had helped Lola control her dark magic. He had taught her many things but Shastih did not usually take students of the dark arts. Lola understood that very few souls studied the arts of darkness and many of those did not turn out to be very humble as Shastih taught them.
“Now you understand why I don’t like to train students in the dark arts.” Shastih said arms cross and grimacing.
“I am sorry sir. There are many things I am not proud of.” Lola said and frowned. Her heart fell heavy. There were many things she has done that she had to live with. She had endured much trauma and tragedies growing up. Lola tried to be strong and remain upbeat and optimistic. It was very difficult for her and although she loves the freedom she had, it came with a price. She was a drifter, a loner, a gypsy. She did not have much guidance or positive figures. Most of the things she learned was on her own. “Please don’t let this change your mind Shastih. Please help my friend. You are the only hope I have. I don’t know what else to do.” A tear left her eye and she quickly wiped it. She did not want to seem weak before Shastih.
“Do not worry. I will find a way to help your friend, Lola. My hut is nearby.” Shastih responded. “All I ask of dark magus like yourself is to have integrity behind your actions. Not many people trust dark mages. It is important that you use your powers for good.”
“We are very grateful sir Shasta.” Dougal said.
“My name is Shastih. Please do pronounce it correctly.”
They follow the shaman through the woods. Animals jumped from bush to bush and tree to tree startling Lola. After a few minutes of trudging through the woods they arrived to a glade. It was spacious and in the center a wooden hut resided between three trees. A pair of stairs coiled up to a tree house above. Moss and flowers decorated the hut. A black oval stone sat upon a pedestal just before the hut. “What is that stone doing there?” Lola asked gazing at the stone.
“It is hematite. It protects the hut from fiends.” Shastih answered.
They entered his hut. The door was light and so easily pulled off that Lola thought she broke it. Everything inside was neatly arranged but old and dusty. The hut had cabinets and a stove with charred firewood. There was a bed to the right by a window. Shastih lit up a candle on a center table. “Come. Take a seat.” He invited. Dougal sat in a corner by a window. His legs still ached. Lola slammed the grimoire on the table, yawns and stretched her arms. “What a
relive.” She said.
Shastih set a tea pot on the stove then joined Lola by the table. He pulled the grimoire towards himself. Lola pushed her chair closer to him. Shastih opened the grimoire and with the candle illuminating the pages he skimmed through the grimoire.
“Shastih I know you can read the language of the dragons.” Lola said.
“You mean the language of the elves.” Shastih corrected.
“I thought elves had their own alphabet. What do those pointy ear tree huggers have to do with the dragons?” Lola said with a cocky tone.
“Before the Alexanders conquered the land one thousand years ago. There was no such thing as Omegus. The people praised the dragons.” Shastih said as he continued to skim through the tome.
“Where are you reading that?” Lola asked.
“I am not reading it, I am telling you.” Shastih answered. “Omegus and the idea of the triforce did not exist. Back then it was not called the triforce. People simply named the realms Necrovania, the Limbo and the realm of light. The Alexanders just taught the people their own creed and used it to rule the country. They think themselves so high and mighty that they dare tell people ‘we came from the realm of light’ just because they summoned the sword of Alexandrack and plunged it into the castle.” Shastih gazed at the pages of the grimoire.
“How do you know all this?” Lola asked lowly and intrigued.
“Experience and years of research my dear.” Shastih responded. He was forty years old. He was from a southern country called Arinos where most of the land is deserts. Lola respected Shastih but did not follow his creed.
“The grimoire is written in the language of the elves.” He continued on. “The pointy ear tree huggers don’t want us to learn their language. This grimoire was written by Demitra and Damien Danteh millenniums ago in the time of Prodigus Kollos. Every single spell written in this grimoire is their invention and discoveries.”
“Stop lecturing me old man. You are putting me to asleep.” Lola yawns. “Get to the point.”
“Oh yes. Sorry I can get carried away sometimes.” Shastih cleared his throat and fixes his turban. He started from the first page. He turned pages rapidly, his eyes switching left and right. As he turned the pages he read through the codex. They were blocky and swirling letters with illustrations of magic wands, staffs, rods and other magical tools to cast dark magic. “This chapter speaks of the basics of dark magic. We are looking for curse breakers.” Shastih said flipping the pages and stroking his bushy beard.
“The person who cursed Dougal said he used a gemstone from the underworld.” Lola informed. “Perhaps you need to find a chapter that talks about accessories.”
“Ah! Here it is.” Shastih pointed at the page. It was titled, Cursed Beasts. It had many illustrations of fanged beast. Furry, large and small. Hybrids of men, goats, deers, bats, cats, canines and other bizarre creatures that gave Lola shivers. There was a picture of a half man half bull chained to a monolith. Shastih turned the page. There it was. The curse of the black wolf, Galgoriff. Shastih read the codex.
Galgoriff, The curse of the black wolf.
This can be both a gift and a curse. A human who is transformed into this creature with the eye of glyph stone has the potential to be very powerful while in that form. Not only is their magic enhanced but also the deadly blue flames that this creature can spit from its maw can char anything in its path faster than regular flames. The blue flames are fast and deadly. This creature has a keen sense of Necrovania. If this transformation is use wisely, one can unlock its other transformation. The ram horns are merely for melee but there are other uses of it with the following transformations.
Below the paragraph of the black wolf there were illustrations of its transformation. The next transformation was a larger creature, not a wolf but it had the head of a dragon with six horns, all black fur and claws standing on four legs. Its final transformation stood on two legs. It was one foot taller than a regular man and it had four arms and horns that warped backwards. It had a small face and no nose. It was furry, muscular with claws and it had a scar on its chest in the shape of an arrow pointing down.
“Incredible” Lola whispered. “Perhaps Dougal’s transformation is not such a curse after all.”
“Don’t even think about it.” Dougal interrupted. He had been standing on a chair watching from a distance. “I don’t care how powerful this wolf form can make me. Nothing is better than being human.”
“Bless your words.” Shastih commented and continued reading.
If the person in this form does not return to his human form for too long then there is a possibility that Galgoriff will take over and the human’s soul will be send to Necrovania. The wolf is the physical form of the fiend called Galgoriff waiting to take over so that it can walk in the world of the living and feast upon humans. To break the curse one must use stones from Necrovania called eye of the moon. Only then will the human be forever free of the form. The wolf must swallow the stone.
“Swallow the stone.” Lola repeated. “Being in that wolf form is painful enough.”
“Since this body is a vessel of a fiend, is there a way to contain it?” Dougal asked.
“I was not done reading” Shastih said and turned the page.
The eye of the moon will absorb the spirit of the wolf. However the person who swallows the stone can get awfully sick if the stone remains in their stomach. The stone must then be vomited if the person is to fully survive after returning to their human form. Eye of the glyph stones and the eye of the moon stones can only be found in Necrovania. If you plan on entering the realm make sure to equip yourself with plenty hematite stones or black onyx.
“So to get this eye of the moon stone we need to enter Necrovania.” Lola remarked. “By the triforce. Here I thought all we had to do was sacrifice a goat or something of that nature. We fight enough fiends on the road already. These damn things keep chasing me around and now I have to go and face them in their territory. Such a drag.”
“What are you complaining about?” Dougal snarled. “I am the one who has to swallow these stone.”
“I expected some complicated solution.” Shastih says. “These are the words of Demitra and Damien Danteh. The first dark mages from the time Prodigus Kollos. Now we just need to find out how to enter Necrovania.” Shastih then began to flip through pages, looking for a chapter on Necrovania. Then Lola turned to Dougal.
“You never told me you could transform.” She argued.
“I would if I knew. Is not like this body is mine.” The wolf replied.
Shastih ignores Lola and Dougal while they bicker and continues to flip through the pages. He passed countless chapters about summoning dark entities, shape shifting and spirits. There was a whole chapter about the moon and a drawing of the legendary Prodigus Kollos. Shastih stared at the picture of the legendary magus in a daze. The father of all magus. Lola and Dougal still bicker behind him. Shastih had even forgotten about the tea pot on the stove. He wanted to rip the page of Prodigus’s drawing and keep them but he did not want to ruin the grimoire. He continued to flip through the pages until finally he saw the title, Necrovania.
“Lola here it is my dear.” Shastih alarmed her. Lola quickly ended her argument with Dougal. The wolf pushed a chair towards Shastih to look at the grimoire as well. They heard Shastih reading in the language of the elves and gazed at the illustrations. The illustration of Necrovania was very detailed. It showed a foggy area with spikes rising everywhere like skyscrapers, volcanoes, lava, and the sky was nothing but pure black haze with godly colossal claws reaching down at the wastelands. It showed giants walking the wastelands and areas frozen with corpses in them. Ghost and ghoulish creatures coiled limbless. It was nothing but darkness. Shastih turned the page and saw a fiend painted purple with horns warping backwards on the side of its head. “That is one of the guardians of Necrovania.” He said with his finger over the artwork. “Lola you must prepare yourself to fight. These fiends are powerful and i
t won’t be as easy to defeat them.”
“I am not afraid.” Lola stood up and pounded her chest. “I have come this far and I am not going to back down. The three of us can take on hundreds of fiends.”
“I am afraid that I won’t be joining you.” Shastih added.
“Why not?” Lola asked.
“Someone has to stay here and keep the portal to Necrovania open don’t you think. Otherwise you will be stuck there forever.” Shastih said and rubbed his chin. He stood up and walked towards the outside door. “Follow me above. I have something to show you.” He stepped outside. Lola and Dougal followed him. The three went up the stairs that coiled to the tree house above. The room was small, made for one person. In the center of the room there was an illustration of a circle with the symbol of Necrovania. On the illustration rested an oval mirror. Above the mirror a wooden crane had chains hanging from it.
“So why did you brought us up here?” Dougal asked stepping towards the mirror.
“I use this room to open a portal to Necrovania.” Shastih said as he paced around the small room of the tree house. There were no windows. It was a closed room. “As a dark magus, it is only natural that I am curious about the underworld. After years of study, travel and research, I have discovered a spell that can open a portal to Necrovania. I have journeyed in and out of Necrovania countless times but never went in too far.”
“I knew it!” Lola jumped. “I never doubted you Shastih. My teacher always finds a way.”
“Why thank Lola.” Shastih said and continued. “Usually I would use stones with dark mana but since you are here. You are going to help me open the portal. With your mana and my mana the portal will open much faster.”
“It is always a pleasure to assist you, Master Shastih.” Lola said with grace and a long smirk on her face. That smirk that Dougal likes to see.
Shastih guided Lola through the process. She was somewhat nervous since she would be entering the underworld without his help. Shastih gathered stones with dark mana around the magic circle. Shastih had inserted his own dark mana into hematite, bloodstones and black onyx. The stones steamed with dark mana like smoke. Shastih and Lola stood outside the circle facing each other. Their palms reached out over the circle and they chanted words from the shadow grimoire. Dougal watched as they filled the room with dark mana. Black steam began to rise from the stones. The circle illustration on the floor began to glow. Dougal then gazed at the mirror that was on the floor. Looking into it he did not see his reflection. He saw wastelands. It was like looking through a window. He could see fiends walking the through the wastelands. “Lola is working. I can see the realm.” He said with excitement yet frighten. As he stared into the window at the dark world, he felt a cold chill slithering around his body. Dougal was afraid. He knew there was no turning back now.
Tales Of Lola The Black Page 9