Vegenrage: The Magic User

By Robert Spina

Get ready to be swept off your feet and taken away. Just image you go to your job like you do everyday and on your lunch break a demanding presence that only you can see offers to take you away to another world so you can fight the forces of evil. Would you go? Would you take on the challenge of learning magic and wielding it's power? Join Vegenrage as he accepts the challenge and is taken away to find that not only is he going to learn magic but he is one of it's most powerful beings. The magic is a part of him and he is quickly in need of it. See the visually stunning worlds of the Maglical System as Vegenrage travels them using all the imagination he can to stay one step ahead of those waiting to steal the secrets he himself is unaware of. Vegenrage brings a touch of brutality a glimpse of gore and a hint of the creepy as he battles through the adventure he has been thrown into. The magical monsters, demons and down right bad people that want to steal his life force will test his every wit. See how the worlds of the Maglical System have evolved and the species of man, dwarve, elf, and others fight for the survival of their race as do the dragons, demons and unbelievably lethal monsters. The adventure of Vegenrage's life has begun and the range of creatures he must face is beyond measure. So many races so many in seek of power and Vegenrage gets caught up in all the drama using fantastic magic and guided by his friends and instincts he too seeks the mystery of the Maglical System. See how the most beautiful woman in the Maglical System is drawn to Vegenrage and how they tackle the prophecy that is about to unfold. This is stunning action and adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat and the ending will leave you speechless. Get to know all the races of the Maglical System and get ready as the phenomenon Vegenrage begins.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503535657

Robert Spina

au doesnt want to put ATA on the book

Book preview

Copyright © 2015 by Robert Spina.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2015900850

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-5035-3563-3

                Softcover         978-1-5035-3564-0

                eBook              978-1-5035-3565-7

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 01/15/2015

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Contents

Chapter 1    Robert Meets Logantrance

Chapter 2    Bastrenboar

Chapter 3    The Bottle

Chapter 4    Wherlerria

Chapter 5    Xanorax

Chapter 6    Robert Becomes Vegenrage

Chapter 7    Vegenrage Faces Blethstole

Chapter 8    Cloakenstrike, Erkensharie, And The Treestriders

Chapter 9    The Fate Of Elven Magic

Chapter 10    The Search For Alluradaloni

Chapter 11    Cloakenstrike Holds The Octagemerwell

Chapter 12    Alluradaloni’s Curse

Chapter 13    Glaborster Dwarves To The Rescue

Chapter 14    Alluradaloni Becomes Farrah

Chapter 15    Lushantor, Rowgen, And Gripzon Charge Ugoria

Chapter 16    Ugoria Proves Formidable

Chapter 17    Behaggen Enlightens

Chapter 18    Shenlylith’s Prison

Chapter 19    Wherlerria And Magic Revealed

Chapter 20    Kronton Resets

Chapter 21    Ugoria Strikes Back

Chapter 22    Gwithen Awakens

Chapter 23    The Fight For Gwithen

Chapter 24    The Dragon Feast Has Begun

Chapter 25    More Than A Feast For The Dragons

Chapter 26    The Glaborian Disaster

Chapter 27    Farrah, Vergraughtu, And Parnapp

Chapter 28    The Dwarves Go To Erkensharie

Chapter 29    The Coming Of Vlianth

Chapter 30    Vegenrage’s Destiny

Glossary

CHAPTER 1

Robert Meets Logantrance

Robert gets up at 5:00 a.m. to get ready for work. He takes a shower, brushes his teeth, combs his hair, and puts on his gray button-up shirt jeans and then his steel-toe boots. He heads out to his two-door Chevy Beretta, starts it up, and is off on a forty-five-minute drive to his first store. He sips the cup of coffee he prepared on the way to work and finishes it as he gets to his first store. He walks in the Big M store, saying hi to all the familiar people, and heads to the back of the store. Once in the back of the store, he starts the backbreaking work of moving skids of soda pop around, rotating the stock in front out to the service area of the store. He arranges the shelves, filling the soda product on the shelves, which takes an hour. Then at the back, he rotates the new stock that came in this morning to the back and the older stock to the front. He spends two hours in this store then heads off to another bigger grocery store to do the same.

Once in the main grocery store, he heads to the back, where there are sixteen skids, all weighing at least two thousand pounds each, that he has to rotate by hand. He works on this for hours, stocking the shelves in the front of the store then heading to the back to rotate and organize the stock in the back of the store. He stands and stretches his back a lot as this is a backbreaking, physically demanding work. Hour after hour he bends over, picking up all the different-size bottles, cans, assorted packs, and assorted combinations of drinks; and there are lots of them. He moves the skids around with power hand jacks or manual hand jacks, whatever is available, saying hi to and chatting with the other vendors as he works. He works until about 11:30 a.m. then heads to the front of the store to get a ham-and-cheese sub for lunch.

He orders a ham-and-cheese sub with onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo like he always does and gets a small cup of soda to drink with it. He sits all alone in one of the booths off the side and eats his lunch. He looks around to see only one other person sitting at a table while all the other tables are empty. He watches as people walk around with their shopping carts and do their shopping. He finishes half of his sub, wishing he had a better, more exciting life instead of this backbreaking, very boring life, having to accept the pittance he is paid to break his back.

As he eats and watches all the people, he wonders if everyone else is just doing what they have to do just to survive financially as he does. He rubs his forehead, thinking, Oh I don’t want to go back there. Every day his back is sore from the constant bending over and picking up of loads of product as heavy as he can manage. His feet are always sore, and his mind is worn out thinking about and doing a job that he couldn’t care less about.

He just about finishes his sub, when a very odd man walks into the dining area. This man is a demanding presence standing over six feet tall. He has very long white hair and a white cape that is tied with a gold twine at his neck. His cape extends over his shoulders, down to his elbows, and bevels around to his back and down to the back of his knees. He is holding a magnificent golden staff that is etched with very neat markings from the bottom all the way to the top, which is a foot higher than this man’s head when resting on the ground. The staff has a beautiful round crest at the top, with a very large amber-colored jewel resting in the middle, shaped like a diamond that is large enough to be held by two hands.

The man walks up to the booth Robert is eating at and stands in front of him. He motions his left hand to the empty seat in front of Robert at the same booth. May I join you?

Robert, chewing his sub, looks at all the empty seats in the dining area, looks the man up, and swallows his food. Well, with all these empty seats in here, why don’t you sit right here? He motions to the seat in front of him. Robert sits upright and leans back, looking curiously at the odd-looking man.

The man looks at the relatively small seat compared to his stature and sighs, Ah! He holds up his left index finger. He then raises the staff up high enough so he can put the bottom of it in his left palm. Now he pushes down on the staff, and it seems to collapse as he pushes the staff all the way down until it is only about three inches in height.

Robert looks on with a smile. Very cool trick.

The man smiles and nods back. He takes the now-tiny staff and puts it in a small leather pouch that is tied around his waist with a golden rope. The pouch is no bigger than his left hand, and yet he puts his entire right hand in the pouch, moves it around a bit, and pulls his hand out without the staff, which is apparently now in the pouch.

Robert laughs with a smile. That’s really neat.

The man says Oh! raising the index finger of his right hand and then giving the gold twine at his neck a pull. The twine unties all by itself, and the man twirls the cape from left to right of his body, and it shrinks to about three or four inches in size. Just as he did with the staff, he puts it in the pouch at his waist. He is wearing a white silver shirt that looks like a very light chain mail. It extends down his arms, to his elbows, and down to his waist. The shirt looks very comfortable, tied to his waist by the thin gold rope holding the pouch. He has leather pants with soft-sole boots that rise up his calves. He sits down and cups his hands together on the table, looking at Robert.

Robert looks around the dining area and notices that no one is taking any interest in this man, nor is anyone even looking at him. Robert laughs. You know, when I was in junior high, my friends and I played Dungeons and Dragons, and that pouch at your waist, we used to call a Bag of Holding.

Indeed it is a Bag of Holding, Mr. Spina.

Wow, you know my name. What is your name?

I am Logantrance.

It’s nice to meet you, Logantrance. That’s a pretty cool name. Did it come with your Bag of Holding? Robert says, laughing.

No, the Bag of Holding came long after the name. Actually, my name came to me in my first quest long ago, as will yours.

What do you mean? My name is Robert Charles Spina.

That is your earth name, but that is not the name you dream for yourself.

Robert takes one of the last bites of his sub, looking at the odd man, chuckling.

Mr. Spina.

Please call me Robert.

Robert, I am not here by chance. I have chosen you to be a magic user. Let me explain. I am Logantrance—illusionist, spell creator, spell crafter, master mage, time walker, and fighter of realm, dimension, and plane. The time has come for me to teach a new magic user, and I have waited hundreds of years for someone such as yourself to come along. There are very few of us magic users in all realms of time and space, and no one is born with the magic in them. Rather they live to capture the magic around them. You are one of these very few people.

What people? Whom are you talking about? How do you even know who I am?

All people dream, Robert, and in people’s dreams, they have a presence about themselves, and your presence is unmistakable. Your presence is very strong, very positive, and always good in nature. You have a supreme constitution and survive just fine on your own. This makes you my choice for learning the art of magic.

This conversation is very interesting, Logantrance, so I’ll share my dreams with you a little bit. I dream of using magic, but I also dream of fighting with swords and other weapons, kind of like a barbarian magic user. I dream of fantasy worlds with dragons, incredibly dangerous monsters, and beautiful women, but these are dreams unfortunately, nothing that is real.

Oh! But, Robert, it is real, and you are the man that will spend thousands of years learning the art of magic, training your body to use weapons, and seeking out danger. You are the man to rejoice in the solitude and lonely being alone, kept excited by the knowledge and wisdom of learning and mastering the art of magic. Very few people possess this unique trait, and fewer yet would use this ability for good.

Robert finishes his sub and smiles, sipping from his soda. Well, Logantrance, thank you for a most interesting conversation and the cool tricks, but I should be getting back to work now.

Robert, I am here to take you to your new home, your new work.

What are you talking about?

Let me show what I am talking about. Logantrance snaps his fingers, and Robert’s stomach falls out. He gasps, putting his hands to his sides, realizing that he and Logantrance are sitting on a cloud, looking down at earth.

Whoa! Robert trembles a little. You know, I am really afraid of heights, he says, looking at Logantrance.

No problem. Logantrance snaps his fingers, and the two are back in the dining area.

Well, I must say that’s pretty impressive, and I would leave all this in a heartbeat, Robert says, extending out his hands and arms, looking around. So how am I supposed to live and where? How am I going to get the bills paid?

Logantrance stands up. There are no bills to pay where you are going.

Where am I going?

You are going to a different realm of reality.

Robert stands up, laughing. All right, let’s go.

I don’t think I need to tell you this, but you realize there will be great danger to your life in this new reality.

Who cares? If you can get me out of this waste-of-my-time, waste-of-my-life job, I’m there.

Logantrance smiles and turns his back to Robert. He puts his index fingers together above his head and extends his hands outward then down to the floor, which makes a visible chalk line that Robert can see. Logantrance turns to Robert. Once you walk through this door, you will be at your new home.

Robert shrugs his shoulders with a grin on his face and walks through the Dimension Door and disappears. Logantrance smiles and walks through behind him.

Robert is now standing in a humungous round room. The ceiling is about ten feet high in the middle, sloping down to about eight feet high at the sides. There is a big round cement fireplace in the middle of the room, with a big fire burning. The room is about fifteen yards across, and the entire width of the room is shelved and completely full of books. There is one entrance that leads outside, and on the other side of the room is a sitting area with a golden table low to the ground, with pillows in front of it for sitting on.

Logantrance walks into view right next to Robert. He appears right out of nowhere.

Robert looks at him. This is very cool. Come on. This can’t be real. Is this real?

This is very real, Robert. This is your new home.

There is a golden hue to the room, giving it a very warm, wealthy, comforting allure that Robert is very attracted to. He walks around the fireplace, looking at all the books. The books are all very neatly stacked on the shelves, with gold, black, yellow, red, orange, and green bindings. Some bindings are solid in color, and some are multicolored.

These books are very beautiful, and are they the books that will teach me magic?

They are, and I have designed this room specifically for you, with all the schools of magic for you to learn from. Over here, we have healing magic. Over here, offensive spells, and here, defensive spells. Logantrance walks to and points out areas of books as he talks. Here we have illusion, and over here, the use of language. All languages are used in the art of spell casting. Once you have mastered these books, then here we have the learning of spell creation. These spells do not come cheap by way of time, Robert. You will spend many centuries learning all the schools of magic in order to master them all. Of course, the more you learn, the quicker later magic will come, but it will still be way over a thousand years before you are even ready to attempt real magic in the outer realms.

A thousand years! What are you talking about? People don’t live that long.

Magic users do. They easily live for ten thousand years.

You know, this is crazy. It can’t be real, but I so would love to believe that I can use magic. I mean, to be able to shoot magic missiles out of my fingers or throw fireballs and lightning strikes—these thoughts are so alluring. To be able to have the power of telekinesis or put someone to sleep with the wave of my hand would be so attractive to anyone, not just me. How can this be real? Come on. This is all one big illusion, just like you making me think I was sitting on a cloud a little while ago. I bet, if I walk out that door, I’ll be right back in my store and have to go stock shelves.

Go ahead. You have to see it sometime.

Robert walks out the door and sees a beautiful blue sky with fluffy clouds. The ground is carpeted with a beautiful, plush green grass, and he turns to see the entrance to his new home enters into a mound of earth that rises up over the entrance. He jogs up the side, which slopes gently to the top of the entrance, to see nothing but sky and a flat, plush green grass with the exception of the mound entering his secluded home. One odd thing is that the grassland extends about one mile then just ends. He jogs to the end and looks off this plateau to see it fall off to empty space. Rubbing his forehead with a curious look, he walks back into his new home to see Logantrance waiting there, sitting up on a chair near what is to be his study area. The chair previously was not there, and now Logantrance sits there, smoking a long pipe.

Robert, come sit. I need to explain some things for you.

Robert walks toward Logantrance, who waves his left hand, and a chair appears in front of him. He sits, and the two men face each other.

You are not in the earth realm anymore. You are now in a mystical, magical place that only you and I know about, and only I know how to enter and leave. Just by breathing the air here, you gain magic power that will strengthen and grow in you. I had a strong sense that you would not hesitate to accept this challenge. I must tell you this is a dangerous undertaking on your part. Becoming a magic user makes you a valuable prize throughout the realms. Magic users are the most sought out individuals in all the realms for their magical abilities and their knowledge. There is good and evil all around, and evil will seek you out at all cost. As you learn and your magic grows, so will your presence. I can protect you as long as you do not leave this plane. Once you leave and use magic, your presence will become known. How powerful you will become is yet to be seen, but you have the potential to become a great and powerful magic user. I see this in you and know greatness is in store for you.

OK, so I sit here for a thousand-plus years all alone and learn magic, then what?

Then when you have mastered your magic, you set out to help those that need help. You protect those that need protection. You quest for powerful artifacts, talismans, jewels, and books that in the wrong hands would be used for chaos and destruction. As evil gets stronger and fiercer, you will fight against it with the forces of good.

So while I am doing all this, what of my home on earth? What of my family and friends?

This is the price you pay. You have stepped out of that realm. You are just gone, and it must be this way. There can be no link, no bond to you and your former life. As time goes by, you will be missed and then forgotten, and this is necessary so it can’t be used against you.

So you went through this process as well? I can’t imagine what people were like ten thousand years ago.

Well, it was a little different for me, but that’s a discussion for a different time. Right now is time for you to start your learning. I have all the books in order. Start here with the healing. Start top to bottom and work your way around the room. Work your way from the left side of the entrance here. Logantrance walks to the entrance and points out the books as he talks. Work your way all the way around the room until you finish them all, and I will see you in about ten centuries, he says, laughing.

You have got to be kidding me. What do I eat? Where do I shower?

Where do you want to bathe? Where and what do you want to eat?

Please don’t start talking riddles to me.

Come, Robert, show me.

Show you what?

Come stand by the fireplace with me.

He walks to Logantrance, and they stand by the fireplace.

Now think of this fireplace as your shower.

Robert looks at the fireplace, and it turns into a four-walled non-see-through shower. Robert opens the door and turns on the water. A shower head, which hangs straight down from the ceiling, runs water, and he runs his hand through it. He turns to Logantrance. It’s the perfect temperature. He turns the water off.

Now, Robert, think of the shower as the food you would like to prepare.

The shower turns into a beautiful kitchen island with a stove and a refrigerator completely stocked with food. He looks in the refrigerator. "Oh my god. This is already better than home." He turns on the stove, and sure enough it works. He looks at the kitchen, and it turns back into the fireplace.

You see, Robert, magic has always been a part of you. You just need to train and harness the magic within you.

You know, Logantrance, doing is training and using is learning. I gotta try something. Robert points his fingers out the front door. He pulls his hands back to his shoulders and thrusts them forward. Two magnificent lightning bolts shoot out the door, one from each hand. The bolts come from each finger and thumb, connecting to one larger bolt about a foot from each hand, and about six feet from him, they connect to a larger bolt shooting out the front door. They are a brilliant blue, white, and silver in color and an amazing spell that greatly surprises Logantrance.

No! Robert, don’t do that.

Robert holds his arms out in front of him parallel with the ground and his hands up, which burst into magnificent red, orange, and blue flames. You’re not kidding, Logantrance, the magic is a part of me. Robert winds up like a baseball pitcher and throws a superheated fireball out the front door.

No! Robert, stop! You don’t understand!

Robert’s hands go out, and he shrugs his shoulders. What! What’s the matter, Logantrance? You said the magic is a part of me, and it is. Watch this. Robert points his right hand at the first book on top of the left side of the entrance, and the book comes to his hand.

Robert, stop and follow me.

He sends the book back, and it fits perfectly in place. He follows Logantrance out the entrance and up the mound. He stands by Logantrance as he reaches into his Bag of Holding and pulls out two staffs just like the one Robert first saw him with.

Logantrance holds the staffs high in the air, forming an x in front of him, saying, Proillu Seeot Tehsion Ichnn Inyie Viyoease! The staffs emanate white lightning shooting out the top of each in three magnificent bolts, outlining a pyramid from each staff to a circular wall that encircles the plane they are on. The circle around the plane crackles and sparks a dancing array of lightning bolts circling at incredible speed for about thirty seconds and then vanishes. Logantrance stakes one staff in the ground then the other about five feet from the first one. Robert, sit down with me.

He sits Indian style on the ground, and Robert sits face-to-face with him. Logantrance puts his hands on Robert’s shoulders and concentrates with his eyes shut. The colors of sapphire, emerald, and diamond sparkle along the outline of both men and stretch to the staffs and then reach to the shell circling the plane. Logantrance removes his hands from Robert’s shoulders, and the colors stop ending from the men to the staffs to the shell of the plane they are on.

You got me, Logantrance. I have no idea what kind of magic all these lights are all about.

This is the magic of deception. I am trying to conceal your presence. However, I think it’s too late for that. We will know soon enough. The thought that you would be able to cast offensive spells never occurred to me. I mean, you have no training, no knowledge, and you didn’t say a word. This is quite astonishing. Certainly your lightning bolt and fireball passed beyond my Retention Barrier. This is very bad because there are evil forces that will detect you and try to sway you to their beliefs.

I can tell you this: nobody sways my beliefs. I believe what I believe, and that’s that.

If they can’t sway you, if they can’t use your power to reach their goals, then they will try to destroy you.

Who are they? Let them try to destroy me. I am Vegenrage, master magic user, Robert says with a big smile.

Master magic user? You don’t have any idea yet the power you can possess. You have read not one book. You have not one quest under your belt, and already you name yourself. I admit I like your enthusiasm. I like your confidence. Now show me and prove to me that you deserve the name Vegenrage. Get to your studies and become Vegenrage the Magic User.

Robert takes a deep breath, gets up, and walks into his new home.

Logantrance stands up between his staffs. He looks up and begins to speak. Mooshion Neuane Tooave Seevil Eye! Logantrance slaps his hands together in front of his body, and the clouds circle the plane with increased speed. Interestingly, there is no sun in the sky; however, it is illuminated like there is one. A view of the plane from far out in the sky shows it is simply a flat piece of earth about one mile in diameter. The entire plane flips 180 degrees. Now the bottom of the plane is showing, and it is dark earth—no grass, just dirt. As the plane flips, the sky becomes night with bright, beautiful stars all about. The scene switches back to Logantrance on the grass-covered mound in the day-lit sky with fluffy clouds sitting in the sky. Logantrance looks around, saying, That should protect him for now.

CHAPTER 2

Bastrenboar

The woods are quiet with light mist seeping through the trees as the morning burns it away. The trees are tall and thick, growing straight up with no branches until very high up. The bark on the trees is thick and strong, brown in color, and etched with ridges that grow up the trees. The hills are gently rolling with the earth covered in soft pine needles fallen from the trees. The earth is thick with strong, beautiful tall trees with very little brush or vine growth along the carpet of pine needles. This is a very healthy forest, a very beautiful forest. The trees come to a clearing as the earth slopes down gently, exposing rich earth untarnished by grasses. The earth slopes down about twenty yards and starts to level as the forest resumes.

The stillness and quiet of the morning is broken as a figure steps out from behind a tree on top of the ridge and looks over the clearing. This is a strange figure with the hooves of a pig on a bipedal humanoid figure. The hooves are where the feet of a human should have been connected to the calf muscle then the knee and thigh. The hips, abdomen, chest, shoulders, arms, and hands are all humanoid, only very muscular along with the legs. The neck and head are human, although there is a pig nose that extends out above a human jaw and mouth, and the ridge of the snout slants gently back to the unmistakable eyes of a human. The ears on the side of the head grow straight up and out, not flapping but solid, able to turn forward and back, capturing sound from the front side or back. The skin is human, but the hair on this human creature is like that on the hide of a pig. The hair on its head forms a V starting between the eyes and growing up and over the head.

This is a very sturdy-looking creature, very muscular, and standing over six feet tall. It has a shield held to its left forearm by a strap at its wrist and a strap just below its elbow. The shield is an oval shape with straight edges at the top and sides. There are five pieces to the shield about the width of a two by six about four and a half feet tall in the middle, about three and a half feet high for the two pieces outside the middle and three feet high for the two outer pieces. The material of the shield is brown in color, and what it is is unknown. It looks kind of like the shell of an animal.

There is a very large broadsword connected to a belt around its waist on its left hip. There is a stretchy but durable brown cloth around its hips, waist, and thighs, held tight by its belt and the only clothing it wears.

It walks toward the downward-sloping earth, turning its head side to side, looking intently, sniffing the air. "Where are you, Ugorian? I smell you and your elusive kind."

Out of nowhere, an arrow strikes the humanor right through the heart—a thick, smooth light-brown arrow with heavy white feathers on the end spotted with red. The humanor grasps the arrow with its right hand and falls to its knees. The humanor breathes heavily as it feels its heart losing its life force being severed by the deadly broad head of the elvish arrow. Another arrow strikes the humanor to the right of the previous arrow, putting a hole in the humanor’s right lung, and it falls to its left side, dying. The humanor takes its last breath, and the forest maintains its silence.

A few minutes go by and a small five-foot figure moves through the trees very efficiently and so well camouflaged. It seems to disappear into the trees unless it is moving. A Ugorian elf jumps down from the trees and stands by the humanor corpse, retrieving its arrows. The elf taps the blade of its arrow, which is razor-sharp, against the tree, releasing the gravy-colored blood from the arrowhead, and repeats this with the other arrow, returning them to their quiver. What is a humanor doing in the eastern ridge of the Ugorian Highlands? the elf says, looking around.

The humanor lying on the ground opens its eyes, which are solid black except for a white ring that circles its pupil. The humanor reaches over and grabs the elf by its left ankle while chanting strange words. The elf looks down to see its leg turning to stone, his flesh hardening and turning to stone up his leg to his hips, down his other leg, and up his abdomen to his neck and down his arms. His head remains flesh and bone from his neck up. The elf’s light-brown moccasins and loose-fitting leather pants, along with its loose-fitting hooded shirt, which buttons down the front, remain unchanged. The elf’s clothing is all the same light-brown color with unique stitching throughout. The quiver tethered to his back, along with his arrows, bow, and accessories, all remain unchanged.

The humanor stands up with the holes in its chest healing before the elf’s eyes. The elf cannot speak and will die in a few minutes. The elf’s head is intact, but with the rest of its body stone, he cannot breathe or talk, and his brain will suffocate shortly.

The humanor looks at the elf. Do you know who I am, elf? I am Bastrenboar. You have heard of me, haven’t you, elf? You are the first to feel my wrath, and all the rest of your kind shall feel it soon, right down to the elven mage Arglon, who made me this. I leave you here as you are, so take in the last sights you will ever see, elf. Bastrenboar walks off and disappears into the forest.

The elf looks around, able to swivel his head left and right, with his short brown hair and his unmistakable pointed elvish ears, and look over the ridge with his beautiful golden eyes until his head slants forward and his eyes close.

Bastrenboar is walking down a corridor lined with cement brick and illuminated by torchlight every fifteen feet. He walks many yards until the corridor leads to a huge circular room. There is a fire pit with a gently blazing fire in the middle of the room. The walls are lined with hundreds of books with eight podiums around the room. The floor slopes slightly downward from the bookshelves around the room to the fire pit five yards to the center of the room.

Bastrenboar walks down around the fire pit and up the opposite side of the room to a very large chair made of solid black coral. It looks like black glass and you would think it is very uncomfortable, but there are large cushions at the seat and back, making it very comfortable to sit on. He sits down and reaches his right hand toward a book on the right wall, which floats to his hand. He opens it and begins to read. A huge flame bursts up from the fire pit. Bastrenboar looks up and sends the book in his hand back to its rightful place. Come in.

A man walks in right out of the air about five feet in front of Bastrenboar to his left.

I trust your visit in Ugoria went well.

I left the elves something to think about. I returned sooner than I expected because I felt something. A very powerful sensation swept through me, clouding my mind and chilling my bones. I was just studying this when you showed up.

Yes, a newbie has arrived, a pure magic user, and he is well protected. My search for him was blocked, and he is traveling through dimensions. He is by far the most powerful presence I have ever felt unmistakable in the art of magic. This innocence and purity of magic was felt by all who use magic in all the realms. Even you felt it, and you know why your bones chilled?

Why, Cloakenstrike, why did my skin tremble and my spine cringe?

Because this magic is pure and newborn, completely free of evil thought, making it your enemy.

Then we will destroy it.

Yes, we will, Bastrenboar, or it will destroy us.

Destroy you? Cloakenstrike, you are the master of stealth, the bringer of death. Nothing can destroy you.

Don’t be misguided, Bastrenboar. We all die. This presence came to us and chilled our spines as a warning to beware of this force and give it the respect it deserves because it is smart, it is strong, and it is not us. Don’t forget, you and your two thousand men were turned to pigs by the elven mage Arglon for raping Somgla, the elven princess of Ugoria. You and your men ravaged her to death, and before you all had transformed to the pigs that you are, I thwarted this magic before its completion, creating the race of humanors. Now you and your race seek to destroy all Ugorian elves and murder anything in your way. This is the doing of evil, and I am your teacher. This new magic will seek us out and confront us. That is what we felt, and we must prepare and be ready for it. I know you want to take the elves on your own. You and your men have plotted for seven hundred years now, and I commend your study of magic and commitment to your goal, but it’s time to speed up the process. You must possess the Snow Gold Trinket of Ugoria. Its magical essence will increase your magical strength tenfold, and you need it now. Time is no longer on our side. Come stand by the fire with me.

Cloakenstrike and Bastrenboar walk to the fire and meditate. Cloakenstrike is a six-foot-tall man with long straight black hair. He has deep blue eyes and a strong, attractive appearance. He wears a golden brown cloth shirt like a T-shirt, but the front left of the shirt folds under the right side of the shirt, which wraps across his chest, and the shirt tucks into his thick blue metallic cloth pants, which fit him comfortably. He wears soft-soled boots that lace up from the feet halfway up his calves. The boots are black suede studded with sapphire, ruby, and emerald gems. He wears a Bag of Holding around his waist, which hangs to the right side of his groin.

Bastrenboar has studied magic under the teaching of Cloakenstrike for seven hundred years now and has become fairly fluent in the art of magic. The two-thousand-man army that Bastrenboar led has long since perished; however, they can reproduce, and the offspring are the humanor race. Bastrenboar has led his army many times, raiding villages and towns, stealing the women, and growing their race.

The humanors are now eight generations into their evolution and control the vast wood and grasslands for hundreds of miles outside of Bastrenboar’s home. This is known as the land of Hunoria. The humanors are now a viable, sustainable race, maintaining all human traits with the added pig traits, those being hoofed feet, pig ears, and a pig nose extending from the face. The humanors are very muscular, with great endurance and a formidable foe to any adversary. Their fighting technique is brute force like that of a barbarian using swords and shields, Bastrenboar being the only one of their kind with magical abilities. The humanors go about their lives, living for the most part peaceably; however, when Bastrenboar calls upon them, they fight for him without question. They fight fearlessly and to the death if need be.

Cloakenstrike and Bastrenboar are ruthless and evil in their methods, but they are not evil just to be evil. They are very smart and calculating. They are not impulsive, and they think plans through very intelligently. Bastrenboar has a heart pumping for revenge against all the Ugorian elves because of the creature Arglon has made him. Deep down, Bastrenboar knows all that has happened to him was of his own doing, but he pushes those thoughts aside and focuses on revenge against all elves. Cloakenstrike just wants power. He wants to lead armies and watch destruction. He wants to be the most powerful being, whatever he is. Both want power and dominance to be theirs, and they work surprisingly well with each other to advance their superiority.

Now standing at the fire pit, Bastrenboar looks to Cloakenstrike. The elves are very powerful. They are strong, agile, and wickedly deadly with their bows. I don’t have the ability to protect my army from their weapons. They will cut us down with ease. I can take out many of them with my magic, but my army would be destroyed long before I can gain entrance to the elven kingdom.

"We have to set traps and use illusion to distract them. We must distract the elves and force their fighters to all sides of the kingdom. By the time they realize they are killing illusions, we will have slipped into King Trialani’s lair and taken the Snow Gold Trinket of Ugoria. We have talked about this before. Outside of the elven mages, only you can harness the magical power of this trinket. When Arglon cast his magic upon you, your personal being was imbued with his magic, and with your study and knowledge of magic advanced as it is now, you can gain the magical strength of the Snow Gold Trinket. We must plan this theft well and strike with efficiency. You need three of your best generals to lead one hundred humanors each. We will cast powerful magic on them to protect them from elven arrows. We will send them to three outer points of the Ugorian Kingdom and have them attack while many other imaginary armies attack simultaneously. The illusions will appear to be killed as will your men; however, your men will not die, and when the elves investigate, your humanors will take them down, keeping the elves honest and focused on all outside armies. While this is going on, you and I will teleport to King Trialani’s lair, where the king, Arglon, and others will surely be contemplating what is happening. This will be no easy doing and the most dangerous fight we have encountered. There will be elven bowelves and the very powerful magic of Arglon. If we are not efficient, deadly accurate, and decisive, they will defeat us. This is the deadliest challenge you and I have faced, but the reward is worth it. Not