Wolves of the Tesseract Collection

by Christopher D Schmitz

  He smirked and spun like a child squeaking his shoes on the floor. “And imagine the mayhem when some little old librarian accidentally opens my cursed book fifty years from now! Woo-hoo!”

  Theera the Undying followed Percival Wainsmith out of the library. He did imagine it, and it did amuse him. Given his new, eternal nature, he anticipated he would still be around to see it.

  ***

  Zabe sprinted ahead as Wulftone rushed to keep step, but lagged by several paces given his limp. He skidded around a corner and pulled into the home stretch.

  Jenner poked his head out of the research pod as Wulftone drew closer at a jog. “What’s the hurry?” he called.

  “News from Respan!” Wulftone shouted as he passed, and then hollered over his shoulder, “Zabe thinks they found a way to restore his father, Zahaben.”

  Momentary fear flashed across the young man’s face and he darted back inside the pod.

  Wulftone burst through the door to find Zabe with Respan. Along with them stood the Veritas elders and Shjikara, they stood in a circle around the petrified form of Zahaben. “Weird,” he mumbled, glancing over his shoulder, “the kid sure has been reading a lot lately.”

  The high cleric peeled off a modified glove that hid the fact that his forearm and hand had metamorphed to living stone. Shjikara stared at Zahaben and then at Zabe. “I know how important of a man your father must’ve been to you,” he said. “I offer this as an early wedding present for the royal couple.”

  Shjikara’s fist glowed from the inside, streaking it with a ruddy light as if a fleshy hand tightly held a light in the dark. Mystic energy bled off whatever his arm had become and he touched it to Zahaben.

  The general’s skin cracked and peeled, flaking off like a crumbling eggshell. Zahaben sucked in a raspy breath and staggered until he found his balance.

  Zabe watched the transformation with bleary eyes. “F-father?”

  “Zabe? Son! You did it. I’m so proud of you.”

  Just as he stepped forward to embrace his son the doors kicked open. Jenner leapt through the air, howling with murderous rage and wielding his sword high. Zahaben turned his head only in time to watch with wide-eyes as the young corpsman slashed the blade down and through his face, nearly splitting him in twain.

  Soldiers and clerics stood in shock. Barely recoiling from the violence, the blood of the fallen general splattered all across the room and mottled the murderer’s face.

  Jenner towered over the mangled corpse of Zahaben, holding the murder weapon in his trembling hands. Zabe’s father, the hero of great renown, lay dead at Jenner’s feet, nearly cut into two even halves.

  Zabe looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. The sudden anarchy triggered a surge of endorphins. He shifted into his lycan form and brandished his razor claws. Zabe poised to strike and kill the boy at any moment, but shocked unbelief rooted his feet firm, momentarily staying the excecution.

  He could only stare and ask exasperatedly, “What… what have you done?”

  The End.

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  Glossary

  Abyssal Auraphage – a kind of monstrous, supernatural bloodhound from the Darque.

  The Architect King – the Creator God. He is currently in stone form, trapped within Basilisk’s stronghold at Limbus until some prophesied day.

  The Awakening – A ritual dedicated to calling Sh’logath into existence.

  The Black – common, lowest Caste of the species. Also called Blackborne.

  Chamber of Mysteries – an impenetrable vault where the arcane artifacts collected by the Royal Family are kept; also home to the Tesseract.

  Darquematter – lead-like metallic substance with magical properties originating from the Darque dimension.

  Desolation – a realm of the multiverse; formerly known as Edenya before the Syzygyc War ravaged the landscape.

  Dimensional Inversion Pendant – a mysterious artifact made from darquematter; it alters the link between a Prime and his or her variants.

  Dunnischkte - a religious ritual to gain a hybrid status between vyrm and human.

  Dunnischktet – someone who has completed the Dunnischkte; he or she gains nigh-immortality and the ability to shift between hybrid, vyrm, and human forms.

  Edenya – the name of the vyrm realm before it was called Desolation.

  Frostmancer – tarkhūn with special abilities including ice/cold control.

  Grimmorium Nitthogr – a journal kept by the fallen Veritas cleric Nitthogr; it is an arcane work that is the culmination of all the sorcery he learned in his earlier years before Sh’logath taught him even deeper and viler magics.

  Guardian Corps – royal guards tasked with protecting the royal line and also the chamber of mysteries; some corpsmen decide to join the Veritas, a secretive monastic order drawn from their numbers.

  Hierophanticus – a darquematter object imbued with arcane power to do a specific task.

  Heptobscurantum – human branch of the vyrm’s cult of Sh’logath.

  Homo diurnus – android species created by the Technite people; Tay-lore is their last remaining, known member.

  Lich – tarkhūn with psychic abilities; they are always identified at a young age and pressed into service of the Sh’logath cult.

  Limbus – the home to Basilisk, the recognized leader of the Tarkhūn, and the capital of Desolation.

  Lycan – a werewolf hybrid form which can be assumed by certain members of Zabe’s lineage.

  Mae’le-ggath – the original form of dualistic religion practiced by the vyrm in which Sh’logath was one of two philosophical forces.

  Maetha – a kind of vyrm savior of prophecy that predates Mae’le-ggath.

  Multiverse – thirty-three connected dimensions of the Tesseract which can be traveled via pathways that open up based on the astral alignment/calendar.

  Plains of Neggath - region in Desolation where the Sh’logath cult birthed the great Agod; the area is a veritable wasteland and often the home of Rovers.

  Planeswalk – traveling to different dimensions of the multiverse via the power of the Tesseract.

  The Prime – the main realm of the multiverse: the ultimate reality. It also refers to a person who lives within this realm; each Prime has dimensional copies living on the different realms of the multiverse.

  Pyromancer – tarkhūn with special abilities including fire generation and manipulation.

  Rovers – unaligned vyrm tribes. They are typically either Seekers of Maetha or Followers of Krakkath, two different theologies that some vyrm adhere to.

  The Seven – Illuminati-like ruling council of the Heptobscurantum.

  Shade – tarkhūn with extreme camouflaging ability; some have even gained the ability to completely shapeshift their forms.

  Sh’logath – the Devourer, Nega-God, Agod of Destruction, the Reality Eater… all are names to describe the terror that lurks on the verge of reality.

  Straruck – the Holy city in the Neggath region; it has holy significance to the vyrm (their religion’s kind of Mecca).

  The Syzygyc War – the war that waged many years between the Prime and Desolation as they sought to awaken Sh’logath; it was prevented by the Architect King.

  Tarkhūn – high caste of vyrm that once ruled their race before a schism led by Nitthogr long ago. They are a rarer, but stronger breed. Some, who resemble members of The Black, have developed additional powers.

  Tesseract – a gem created by the Architect King; it is the
key to all power in reality and the embodiment of the multiverse.

  Thousand Elder’s Sacrifice – the sacrificial torpor they entered into in order to make Sh’logath real in a ceremony they called the Birthing.

  TRX718 – a high powered blaster pistol Zabe is fond of.

  Veritas – the religious order that seamlessly integrates into the Prime culture and is dedicated to the Architect King.

  Voice of the Thousand Elders – the chief Cleric of the Vyrm’s Thousand Elders. He stayed alive and died of old age, although his spirit remains disembodied and tied to the Thousand Elders will.

  Vyrm – reptilian humanoid race whose home realm is known as the Desolation.

  Dramatis Personae

  Akko Soggathoth – An ancient and mischievous demigod released from his prison within the Darque by the Texas Black Goat Cult.

  Basilisk – The leader of the tarkhūn. He is the brother of Nitthogr who died at the Nebraska Worldgate incident. He is a Dunnischktet.

  Bithia – The Prime version of Claire Jones.

  Caivev – A traitor to the Prime who was seduced by Nitthogr. She was once a skilled intelligence officer under Zahaben.

  Cerci Heiderscheidt – Walther’s head assistant, she is a scientist in her own right and commands three assistants underneath her.

  Charobv – One of Caivev’s generals. He is a skilled sniper and has a warrior son named Chartarra.

  Charsk – The vyrm high priest of the Sh’logath cult.

  Chira – One of Zabe’s Corpsmen; he took over the Royal Army after Harken.

  Claire Jones – Just a simple girl from Earth who wound up with the mind and soul of the Prime’s ruler, the daughter of the Architect King, fused to her.

  Druen – Leader of the Merciful Hammer in the Veritas and Shandra’s immediate superior.

  Gita – A young recruit for the Guardian Corps and friend of Jackie.

  Harken – A local hero who arose during the Black’s occupation; post-Nebraska he rose to lead the Prime’s Royal Army.

  Idrakka – A tarkhūn frostmancer secretly sent to infiltrate Caivev's team over a period of years. Secretly he is the brother of the shade, Jarkara.

  Jackie – Claire’s best friend who followed her to the Prime. The two are as close as sisters.

  Jacob Sisyphus – A former pro wrestler and magic wielder of Earth. He is a member of the Heptobscurantum.

  Jarfig – Prime version of Jacob Sisyphus. Captured years ago he is used as a blood bank to boost Sisyphus’s magic abilities.

  Jarkara - A shade spy sent by Basilisk. He is one of the more talented shapeshifters and Vivian suspects he was sent as a mole to infiltrate her team. Brother to Idrakka.

  Jenner – Professor Jarfig’s son. He was fifteen when he lost his father and is possessed with the singular purpose: to find and rescue his father or punish those who took him.

  Kreephast – One of Caivev’s generals. He is a member of the Black, but his disguise skills rival those of a shade (he is also General Nyagittari). He is very religious and well versed in history.

  Minas – The leader of the Order of the Flame within the Veritas.

  Perribelle – Leads the Wax Order of the Veritas.

  Pollando – The mute leader of the Order of Mystics within the Veritas. He is a highly trained psychic.

  Respan – A scientist and R&D expert who works for the Guardian Corps.

  Percival Wainsmith – Independently wealthy man with many influences abroad; he has joined the Heptobscurantum’s Seven.

  Pietro Walther – A pseudoscience doctor who was originally recruited and equipped by Bruce Cannon.

  Sam Jones – Father of Claire Jones. Archaeologist. Widower. Occasional kidnapping victim.

  Shandra – A Cleric of Veritas and member of the Merciful Hammer. She is responsible for tracking down ancient artifacts with arcane power.

  Shjikara – High Cleric and leader of the Veritas.

  Skrom – Caivev’s behemoth tarkhūn general; he is perhaps even more devoted to her than Regorik was to Nitthogr.

  Tay-lore – A quirky android member of Guardian Corps and last member of the technological homo diurnus race. He is fully devoted to Claire/Bithia. He finds killing highly distasteful—but he would make any sacrifice at his queen’s request.

  Theera the Undying – An unkillable servant and personal henchman enthralled and empowered by Akko Soggathoth.

  Trenzlr – A Blackborne vyrm and Seeker of Maetha who fell through a portal and into the Prime.

  Vikrum Whiltshire – An occult detective from Earth, Tay-lore is often in contact and has hired him to digitize the arcane library found at the Texas Black Goat Cult.

  Wulftone – Cousin to Zabe and second in command of the Guardian Corps; he was raised in the same home as Zabe’s brother when his parents died.

  Zabe – The son of the great General Zahaben and protector of the Royal Family; he leads the Guardian Corps.

  Zurrah – Zabe’s brother who was captured and presumed dead at a young age.

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  Thank you for reading my book. If you enjoyed it, won’t you please take a moment to leave me a review at your favorite retailer (or on Amazon.com as a safe default) and share this title with your friends on social media? Discoverability is the lifeblood of success for authors and we can’t continue writing without your help! Internet pirates have literally made more money off of my stories than I have and I’d certainly love to make a career out of my passion!

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  Christopher D Schmitz

  About the author:

  Christopher D. Schmitz is the traditionally published and self-published author of both fiction and nonfiction. When he is not writing or working with teenagers he might be found at comic conventions as a panelist or guest. He has been featured on cable access television broadcasts, metro area podcasts, and runs a blog for indie authors.

  Always interested in stories, media such as comic books, movies, 80s cartoons, and books called to him at a young age—especially sci-fi and fantasy. He lives in rural Minnesota with his family where he drinks unsafe amounts of coffee. The caffeine shakes keeps the cold from killing them.

  Schmitz also holds a Master’s Degree in Religion and freelances for local newspapers. He is available for speaking engagements, interviews, etc. via the contact form and links on his website or via social media.

  Discover other titles by Christopher D Schmitz

  The Last Black Eye of Antigo Vale

  Burning the God of Thunder

  Piano of the Damned

  Shadows of a Superhero

  The TGSPGoSSP 2-Part Trilogy

  Grandma Ethel’s Doughnuts and Hollowpoints

  Bridge of Se7en

  Dekker’s Dozen: A Waxing Arbolean Moon

  Dekker’s Dozen: Weeds of Eden

  Dekker’s Dozen: Spawn of Ganymede

  Dekker’s Dozen: The Seed Child of Sippar Sulcus

  Dekker’s Dozen: The Last Watchmen

  Why Your Pastor Left

  John In the John

  Gospels In the John

  Wolf of the Tesseract

  Wolves of the Tesseract: Taking of the Prime

  Wolves of the Tesseract: Through the Darque Gates of Koth

  The Kakos Realm: Grinden Proselyte

  The
Kakos Realm: Rise of the Dragon Impervious

  The Kakos Realm: Death Upon the Fields of Splendor

  The Kakos Realm Collection Alpha

  Anthologies No.1

  Anthologies No.2

  The Indie Author’s Bible

  The Indie Author’s Bible: Workbook

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