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Xenimus storyline
(I'm not much of a writer, but I'll do my best)
A dry lesson
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It was only the third day of the journey through the desert, yet it
seemed like forever. I looked at father. He was still walking as if it
was the first day, as if he was not tired at all. He was stronger than I
would ever be. My feet were dragging a bit and my legs felt as if they
would collapse at any time.
"Corsix, you look tired." Ratan said while handing his son the
flask of water.
Corsix took a short drink and handed back the flask.
"What does this journey have to do with my lessons in magic?"
"Being a master of magic will require that you know many things.
Any information you could imagine might some day help you cast your next
spell."
After a good nights sleep and a few more hours of walking they came to a
small town. For such a small town it seemed well traveled. The merchants
were doing very well. Even the farmer seemed to have no problem selling
all his goods. Father went and greeted the town guard and chatted for a
few moments.
"This is Aridus. I want you to remember this place." said
Ratan to his son.
Corsix stood for a moment taking in the feeling of where he was, the
smells in the air, the formation of the buildings, even how the ground
looked at the spot he was standing.
"I have it now."
"Good, now you see this shrine here. Long ago a very powerful
wizard created these four locations for quick transport to the cities he
needed supplies from. If the legends are true then he is also the wizard
who created the portal spell itself. A very wise old man. Its sad that
his spell for creating permanent transport locations died with
him."
"I see the uses for my remembering this spot. I'm just a few
symbols away from being able to read the scroll."
"That will come in time. We will stay in this town until you have
mastered your Mutatio Nimbus."
In Aridus they stayed for 9 more days until Corsix had fully mastered
the ability to change is form to a small clowd of gas.
So at the age of 11 Corsix is the youngest wizard in history to have
mastered this spell.
(c) 1986 - 2001 E. J. Thayer
Years of training
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The journey and my training went on for years. Each week there was a new
spell to learn and a new place to see. Some cities were rich and had
thriving businesses. Some were poor farming villages. The most
interesting places were the shrines. Each shrine seemed to have a
different purpose or magic associated with it. Even father didn't seem
to know what they all did.
Even after all this time I still had a long way to go. I had only
learned about half of the first book that my father carried with him.
There were two more after that.
Their next stop was a battle field where a great battle to end a war had
been fought. In the center of this field of grass and trees there was a
shrine. Crumbling away and overgrown with vines stood a large stone
eight pointed star.
"The true history of this shrine is unknown. Many fools have made
up stories, but none are true. Before your mother gave birth to you I
had a vision that you would discover the true meaning to this
place." said Ratan.
"Where should I begin looking?" asked Corsix.
"Do not look, I believe the answer will come to you in one form or
another."
"Is it safe to camp here?" asked Corsix. It was getting late
and I was sure father was thinking the same thing.
"It is perfectly safe here, Build a fire while I prepare some
food" Said Ratan.
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A long distance away in a dark stone cavern a witch added the final
ingredient to her cauldron. She stirred it slowly and uttered some
strange words. Then the green slime in the cauldron began to shimmer,
she withdrew her staff and watched. An image began to form, slowly but
surely there was a man and a boy eating near a fire beside an old
shrine. Her eyes lit up as she recognized where they were.
"Daemons! Come here!"
Several red creatures with large razor sharp claws, horns, hoofed feet,
and blood red eyes entered the room and bowed to her. One was slightly
larger and stronger looking than the others.
"Approach and see your prey"
The large one moved forward and looked into the cauldron. Growled with
anticipation while its eyes began to give off a slight glow.
"Make sure the wizard dies, and kill the boy as well!"
(c) 1986 - 2001 E. J. Thayer
Velanthra
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The night was a bit foggy and cool. The old shrine they slept next to
was in a low moist area. The fire was just a pile of shimmering coals.
Corsix was just about to fall asleep when suddenly his father shook him.
"We are being surrounded by something, take the books and change to
gas now." Ratan said quietly.
At the same instant Corsix changed himself to a clowd of gas his father
cast his most powerful armor spell. Corsix cursed himself for not
casting his night vision before changing to gas, He could not even see
his fathers enemies.
Several dark shapes lunged toward Ratan. With no time to cast an attack
spell Ratan transported about 20 feet away and began showering his
enemies with large balls of ice! Corsix could now see the creatures
because of the light given off from the spells his father was casting.
Corsix's heart sank as he realized he was seeing his first Daemon. He
never expected to ever see such creatures, yet now before him five of
them were attacking his father.
Two of the daemons were already destroyed when Corsix emerged from his
gas form and casted his best lightning bolt at the largest of the three
remaining. His efforts seemed to mean nothing to it as it continued to
move toward Ratan. Then several bright almost blinding lights fired from
his fathers hands destroying the two smaller daemons but only doing
slight harm to the largest one.
Pulling together all his remaining power Corsix fired his own Lunae
Lumen Nex at the last remaining creature. The daemon now turned toward
Corsix and lunged. Frozen by fear Corsix stood and did nothing. Time
seemed to stand nearly still has the razor sharp claws reached in his
direction. Just as the creature was about to swing its clawed hand that
would have easily killed Corsix its chest began to glow bright white and
explode.
Ratan ran to his son covered in daemon blood.
"That was a foolish act boy! I was in control of the
situation!"
"I'm sorry, you were in trouble, I....."
"This is not over! That was a Daemon Lord! Become gas again and
stay that way!"
Corsix was barely able to change to gas again but did successfully.
Ratan turned and began openning a portal. Just as he did so several more
daemons, two daemon lords, and a witch approached.
"Go now! Stay in the fog!"
Not willing to disobey his father a second time Corsix stayed low to the
ground and moved as quickly as he could away. As he left he heard one
thing that would be burned in his memory forever, his father said in a
surprised voice said "Velanthra! You should be dead!".
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Back in the lair of the witch the daemons feasted upon the wizard they
had killed.
(5 more years pass)
Finding his purpose
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It was a hot day to be working with the forge. Jeloc and his father
worked side by side making horse shoes, saw blades, knives, hammers, and
even nails for the village. They made anything and everything that the
village needed because they were the only black smith in this small Dreg
farming village.
After dinner Jeloc continued his own project of making his own sword and
armor. The sword was complete and he was putting the final touches on
his plate armor. He was an outcast in this village being half human, and
fully intended to leave when his armor was complete. His father knew
about his plans and didn't approve, but knew there was no stopping him.
"You are nearly finished with that it looks like." said Arvor.
"Yes, I'm very close to finished with it." Replied Jeloc. He
was fully aware that his father had stepped into the doorway and was
watching him.
"So you will be leaving soon I take it?"
"Tomorrow" said jeloc.
Jeloc was suprised to hear the tone of his fathers voice. He was calm
with maybe even a hint of sadness when he spoke. He expected him to be
mad, and try to force him to stay longer.
"Tomorrow it is then." He paused for a moment. "Your
welcome to come back if you need to. Your becomming a much more skilled
smith than I ever was."
Jeloc didn't know what to say and just stood silent.
"Should I tell your mother, or would you like to?"
"I will tell her tomorrow just before I leave." Said Jeloc.
"Very well then. Good night son."
"Good night"
The next morning had a normal start. Mother cooked breakfast and they
sat around the table chatting a bit. Jeloc felt a bit sad knowing this
would be his last breakfast with his family for a while. His mother
sensed his mood.
"Whats wrong Jeloc?" said Dee.
His father looked up at his mother. Their eyes met, and she looked over
at him. "So you have finally decided to go."
"I must go, there is something more for me than life at this
village. Please understand. Maybe I will leave only to discover that my
place is here with you, then I will return. I will return anyway to see
you again soon. But I must do this."
His mother held back tears. "Be careful. The closer you get to the
cities the more dangerous it becomes."
"I have forged myelf some armor and a sword. They are my best work
and should protect me well."
"The boy is strong and smart" said Arvor. "He will be
just fine."
Before leaving he kissed his mother goodby. She did start crying then
and begged him to be careful once more. His father wished him well and
he was on his way headed northeast toward the city of Terthius.
Terthius
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Getting around the mountains was a bit of a problem. Jeloc followed the
road and met a few travelers here and there, but had to deal with some
imps.
"Can I have that?" an
imp said pointing to his sword.
"No, I need that" said
Jeloc
"What is in this bag? Can I
have this bag? Do you have silver in this bag?"
"No you cannot have my bag,
those are my cloths"
Jeloc heard some additional small
foot steps behind him and noticed three more imps were following close
behind. The one that was talking to him dropped back and talked to the
others. Jeloc kept a good pace up, he wasn't scared but didn't want to
deal with them either.
All of the sudden two of the imps
ran ahead turned and drew daggers. Jeloc stopped and looked behind him.
Now there was one more. three behind him and two in front.
"We will take what we want
now, give us your sword and the bag or we will kill you!" said one
of the imps.
"There are six of us and only
one of you, give us all your shiny things!" said another.
Jeloc wasted no more time, drew
his sword and ran directly at one of the imps. He swung his sword hard
and poorly hitting the imp in the side of the head with the flat of his
blade knocking it senseless. He ran into the forest just enough to
spread his enemies ranks a bit then turned and attacked the closest imp.
He killed it fairly easily and for a second almost felt bad for killing
something so small and stupid. What could he do? If they were going to
attack him he had to defend himself. The remaining three attacked but
they were no match at this point. Jeloc took a few scratches from their
daggers and killed two more. The last one ran scared into the forest and
Jeloc had no reason to follow it.
He continued on the trail and just
after the sun had gone down he came upon a old man with a cart full of
supplies who had already setup camp and had a fire going. They both
agreed it would be safer to camp out together. The next day they decided
to travel together to Terthius. The old man was a blacksmith named Gronk
who ran one of the shops in town.
"You seem like an honest
young man and I'm getting too old to make these trips to deliver
supplies. Would you be interested in taking a small shipment of supplies
north to Semel for me?"
"I may be interested in that
a bit later. I really want spend a few days in the city when we get
there."
"There's not much to see, but
if you change your mind come see me."
In the early afternoon they
arrived at Terthius. It was not the amazing city he had imagined. There
were many shops, houses, inns, and pubs. The streets had garbage in them
and the smell was terrible. The castle behind a large gate that was
guarded by some lazy looking guards. The castle was closed to the
public. Jeloc was quickly informed that no visitors were allowed to see
the King and there was no work available. Gronk's offer was the best he
had come across. He had a few silver pieces but that would not last
forever.
Other chapters to be filled in:
Back to work
A new friend
Making a delivery
Up for hire
Two left standing
The evil wizard
Behocks
Guards
News of the war
(will continue more
later)
Stories © 1986-2001 EJ Thayer.
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