ImmovableMage
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125 Never Trust a Prophet
🕑 Added 2023-02-25 01:00:01 +0000 UTC– Era of the Wastes, Cycle 217, Season of the Rising Sun, Day 36 –
Late in the night, Terry was sitting on a transfixed tertium slab high up in the sky. He wore a grim but calm expression and let his eyes wander over the mesmerizing image of the cold starlight playing with the elusive fog.
Terry had attempted to sneak by the wyvern more than a dozen times by now. Each attempt had ended in a miserable failure, with Terry licking his wounds and making notes on what had gone wrong.
You know exactly what is wrong. Why don’t you admit it?
Terry looked down at the ground covered in darkness far below where he was sitting. “Because one step too far and there is no going back. Not after that thing tries to pursue me.”
Are you scared?
“Yes,” replied Terry calmly.
And?
“Heh,” exclaimed Terry with amusement. He thought about his role models. The Veilbinder stepping into a separated plane with an ancient immortal and a rampant blood dragon. The Divine Hammer stepping in front of an entire army. His accepted parents stepping up to help people evacuate while facing unknown terrors from the Wastes. “I don’t know.”
Your stock of food is running low.
“I’m well aware,” replied Terry.
Terry had learned from his dungeon experience, and he had prepared a lot of food when they had set out for Tiv. However, no matter how much food one prepared, eventually it would all be eaten. Terry involuntarily wondered if the situation somehow adjusted to his food supply or if it was more that his actions changed according to his diminished food supply. Perhaps sometimes only desperate actions allowed him to move forward?
Are you going to eat the stuff from the lizans next? Do you really trust them? They’re so weird. Especially those aside from Blue. Blue seems alright.
“Does he?” asked Terry. “Or is it just the fact that he’s the only one to whom I can talk to around here?”
Better company than the Alricks, in my opinion.
“Maybe,” muttered Terry pensively. “But at least the Alricks were decidedly upfront with their intentions.”
Their intentions being that they wanted to gobble up your brain?
“Isn’t it weird how unshaken Blue’s faith in me is?” asked Terry.
You mean, despite you continuing to be a disappointment? Does their blind trust in you make you feel uncomfortable?
“That too,” muttered Terry. “It’s just so weird…”
What did you expect from looneys? If they made sense to you, you might be one step short of becoming one yourself, right? Come to think of it, you’ve been talking to yourself more again lately.
“...” Terry quietly took in the nightly sight all around him. He inhaled deeply and leaned back on the tertium slab. He looked up at the stars in the sky. Terry thought back to the nights in Syn City when he had been stargazing with Devon. “Could be worse…”
At least there is no ancient deathcult torturing me every second with resistance training.
“Don’t jinx it,” grumbled Terry.
Then again, that wouldn’t be too different from what I'm doing with the fog, would it?
Terry glowered in response to his intrusive thoughts. He took another deep breath. “Only one more thing to try.”
Still afraid?
“Wastes, yes,” replied Terry nervously.
The worst thing that can happen is you die.
“Heh.” Terry smiled faintly. He thought of the time they had opened the door to the Guardian management hall in the Libra City outpost, the moment he had spotted Sigille’s corpse.
I wonder if she ever hesitated to step up?
Involuntarily, the figure of a short dwarven girl with an offended gasp on her face sprang up in Terry’s mind. He had to chuckle at the image of his Senior Sister Thena.
“No, of course the Divine Hammer didn’t hesitate,” said Terry. He wore a contemplative expression and then he sat up on the tertium slab. “But Aunt Sigille wasn’t always the Divine Hammer, was she?” Terry sighed. “I should have talked to her more about her past.”
Terry's thoughts went to his accepted father and Bjorln's resolve in attempting to save Isille.
“Better to die trying than to starve in looney company after giving up,” muttered Terry with a slight nod of his head. “Better to try while I’m still well fed.” He clenched his fists. “I should rest now.” He took a deep breath. “Tomorrow will be a long day.” He collected the mana containers he had filled during his recuperation and packed up.
***
“Our fates lie with you, Terry.” Blue spoke with full conviction.
Don’t say it. Terry’s eye twitched involuntarily.
“Your success is guaranteed.” Blue clasped his hands in front of him.
Damn it. Terry cursed inwardly.
Shortly after, Terry could feel the magic of the lizans wrapping around him. “Thanks,” muttered Terry. He walked forward while taking deep, measured breaths. He recalled a quote from the Path of a Mage: ‘If you let go of your fear of death, what else is there to fear? Go for it.’ Terry had to snicker when he remembered the quote originated from a vampire.
“Here goes something…” Terry muttered and noted the distance to the wyvern’s sensory reach.
Terry could feel the sun on his face. Today, there would be no hiding attempt. He checked the charge in his mana sublimator. Terry listened to his own heartbeat. He confirmed his stock of darkwater, acid, concentrated-alcohol, and mana cores. Terry exhaled slowly and moved his gaze to the white mountain in the distance…
Doesn’t seem like enough, does it?
Terry inhaled deeply. “It will have to do.” He stepped over the threshold and broke out in a run while maintaining his mana balance.
A pair of giant aquamarine eyes opened and fixated on Terry.
Terry did not slow down. He continued running while staring right back at the giant eyes.
A deep growl escaped the white wyvern’s jaws and the aquamarine eyes glowed with mana. A breath later, a wall of white vapor was moving rapidly towards Terry – the first of many.
Terry did not slow down. He reinforced the barrier on his helmet and gathered mana into a compressed vortex. Right when the fog was about to hit Terry, he channeled mana into his cloak and stepped into the shadows.
Terry hadn’t even blinked in the shadow plane before he was immediately transported back – because he had continued running. Back in the normal plane, Terry unleashed his spherical disruption pulse and charged further into the fog. Once again, he compressed mana for a spherical discharge, and simultaneously activated his cloak’s ability.
What followed was a dizzying sequence of shifts between planes – back and forth and then repeat – until the vapor was finally past Terry and he could freely dash forward in the normal plane. He mentally went over his available mana and retrieved a mana container to get back to a full mana pool.
Again and again, Terry faced the approaching waves of fog by making use of his spherical disruption pulses and his cloak’s shadow step ability. It was disorienting and nauseating, but Terry persevered.
I must not slow down!
Again and again, Terry charged into the deadly fog of frost. He did not allow himself to hesitate or waver in his determination to approach. He had to be fast or there might be creatures in the shadow realm taking note of him, which would only make his task more troublesome.
As if a giant wyvern was not troublesome enough already…
Even though Terry’s strategy allowed him to reduce the frosty vapor’s effects, he was still freezing after facing dozens of the attacking waves. He cycled mana in the pattern for his resistance training. On top, Terry added a burst and pressed more mana into his mana channels than he was used to. He wrestled down his fears and doubts and continued with hardened resolve.
Any outside observer would think Terry mad. Leaving aside the questionable decision to charge at a giant wyvern, it looked as if Terry was using a variant of the Flicker spell. An optical illusion, which was decidedly useless against area of effect attacks like the waves of white fog.
Terry stared at the wyvern’s body, that was growing larger and larger the closer he got. He had stopped questioning himself. Isille, Bjorln, Sigille, Matteo – all of them had drilled into Terry to never second-guess during a fight. Better to fully commit to a good or less-than-optimal move than to hesitate or half-ass the perfect move. Terry did not always succeed in applying that particular lesson, but he understood that this time, there was no turning back.
The earth quaked as the white wyvern raised its head. Evidently, Terry had successfully caught its full attention.
Terry pressed forward and continued running. To his surprise, there was no new wave of fog rushing towards him anymore. Terry held the gaze of the wyvern with narrowed eyes and never stopped running.
Terry could see the wyvern’s tail suddenly spin and uncoil. He could hear the air move violently as the horned tail was rushing towards him. Terry had to acknowledge the explosive speed. It was undeniably impressive, considering the wyvern’s gigantic proportions.
Terry stomped onto the ground and abruptly stopped his run. With bated breath, he waited until the last possible moment and then stepped into the shadow plane to evade the incoming attack. In the monochrome world of shadows, Terry spent a second focusing on his mana sense while confirming with his eyes on the window-like ground that the wyvern’s tail had passed his location. With that confirmed, Terry lifted his foot and once more dashed towards the white wyvern.
With another circular movement, the wyvern lashed out again with its horned tail.
For half a dozen times, the wyvern and Terry repeated their exchange, with Terry repeatedly dodging into the shadow plane at the last second. Terry would have rejoiced at the plan’s success if it wasn’t for the fog of frost that followed the movements of the wyvern’s tail and was much harder to avoid. Terry suppressed the shiver in his lungs and ignored the pain of his lips that had already split from the frost’s effects.
The white wyvern roared furiously and attacked another time with its horned tail aiming for Terry, who had to escape into the shadow realm again. On the other side of the shadows, Terry cursed when he sensed the flurry of moving mana signatures. He clenched his fists and forced down the desire to turn back and abandon his attempt.
Back in the normal plane, Terry accelerated madly to get away from his previous location that was being targeted in the shadow plane. He could already see the giant tail lunging out for another attack. To make it worse, Terry could sense mana gathering in the wyvern’s jaws.
When Terry escaped into the shadow plane, he was confronted with the reality of creatures that could observe you from their plane without you being able to notice and he was immediately besieged on all sides by a swarm of black dracos. Terry stopped himself from using his emergency option and instead fought ferociously with two barrier spears in hand.
A draco snuck up to Terry’s leg and was about to bite into his ankle when Terry disappeared into the normal plane and bolted away at high speed. Terry rapidly exchanged a spear with a mana container and absorbed mana as quickly as his mana control allowed.
Terry had to dodge another swing of the wyvern’s tail and fight for his survival in the shadow plane. When Terry returned to the normal plane, he saw what he had been dreading and the elemental breath was forcing him back into the shadow plane.
More and more shadow creatures were gathering and attacking Terry. All the creatures were reptiles in appearance, but their sizes varied wildly. Unfortunately for Terry, he did not have the time to appreciate the nuances in his enemies while they were trying to rip him apart.
Terry bemoaned the wyvern’s impressive lung volume and decided to bring out one of his trump cards. He retrieved a barrel of concentrated alcohol and transfixed it in the air. When the elemental breath stopped on the other side, Terry let a fire-aspected arrow drop into the barrel and lifted his foot. Leaving a fire blast behind as a present to the shadow creatures, Terry returned to the normal plane and rushed forward once more.
Before Terry could run very far, he realized that the elemental breath had hidden another swing of the horned tail that was already approaching and too close for comfort. Terry hurriedly stepped back into the shadow plane, unaware of what was waiting for him.
Terry had resolved himself to face the lingering heat of his own farewell present, but he was not prepared for what was truly waiting for him. The moment Terry arrived in the shadow plane, the furious eyes of a giant black komodo reptile were already fixed on him and enormous jaws were snapping at Terry. Reflexively, Terry lifted his foot…
…and was faced with the spiked wyvern tail rushing towards him with no reasonable option to dodge. Terry fumbled when retrieving a septimum shield from his storage bracelet. He was a beat too late…
Completely by instinct, Terry subconsciously cast hands-free. His battle instinct treated the incoming wyvern limb like it would a giant rock projectile. Without realizing it, Terry was doing something he had never even considered before: He cast the Immovable Object spell on body parts – the horns on the wyvern’s tail.
The Immovable Object spell activated and the wyvern’s tail came to a violent halt with its momentum threatening to rip out its own horns. A roar filled with pain and fury reverberated in the air and the wyvern beat its wings. For the first time, the wyvern attempted to fly. Terry had succeeded in inciting its wrath.
Terry was still dazed from what had just happened. He had never considered using his spell on body parts because it only worked on non-living objects. His mind raced from the implications that non-living objects could be embedded in living beings. These horns were dead matter, just like any ordinary rock.
True, they were charged with mana, but Terry could already overpower low-density mana thanks to practicing his mana compression. He had cast the spells on ice spikes and even on simple magic items before. Even though the total amount of mana in the horns was considerable, the giant size still meant that the concentration was low – low enough for Terry to stabilize his own Immovable Object spell structure.
Terry inhaled sharply and looked at the giant wyvern in a new light. The creature’s gigantic proportions were suddenly not so daunting anymore. On the contrary, all these gigantic, thick scales represented reassuring spell targets.
A fierce glint entered Terry’s eyes and, for the first time in this fight, he jumped up on layers of divine mana and ran through the sky above the wyvern’s transfixed tail. Every few steps, Terry unleashed his ranged Immovable Object spell onto scales and horns in his path.
The white wyvern noticed its predicament when it failed to soar into the sky. It refused to accept the situation and struggled violently against its restrained tail – to no avail.
Terry rushed up the wyvern’s tail. The wind was brushing against his face. The feeling of paving his own road along the giant beast was exhilarating and he could not help but grin while running towards the passage that would bring him closer to Arcana.
While the wyvern refused to cease its violent struggle against the Immovable Object spell, Terry dashed all the way towards the gap that would allow him to escape the Elusive Fog of Frost. As soon as Terry appeared close in the wyvern’s sights, however, the white giant halted its thrashing and gathered mana in its jaws.
Terry somersaulted in the air and temporarily transfixed his boots to get a secure foothold. He burst his mana and his leg muscles strained with the force of stopping his full charge against the immovable layer in his boots. After taking out most of the force, Terry switched from his boot mechanism to his divine hammer inscription and darted around the wyvern’s jaws to evade the incoming elemental breath.
Not a second too late, because right after Terry’s abrupt change of direction, the wyvern’s elemental breath was covering the whole area up to the Fog of Frost.
Terry’s eyes showed resentment. You don’t want me to leave? Are you sure about that?! Fine, have it your way! I will get through regardless! You won’t stop me from getting back to my whaka!
Terry circulated his mana in a burst technique for speed and agility. He darted around the wyvern’s head while simultaneously transfixing some horns and scales on the creature’s upper head. When the creature could not dodge or close its eyelids, Terry emptied a whole barrel of acid into the wyvern’s eye.
“ROARRR!” The wyvern gathered mana in its throat and glared hatefully at Terry with its remaining good eye.
Terry almost emitted a low growl himself. His own hatred for the creature that had blocked his path for so long did in no way lose against the wyvern’s. He dashed underneath the wyvern’s jaw. He switched to his boot mechanism, cycled a burst technique for raw strength, and then Terry pushed against the wyvern’s lower jaw while its upper head was still transfixed.
Step by step, Terry forced the wyvern’s jaws closed. As soon as he had succeeded, Terry activated the Immovable Object spell on dead bone body parts from the wyvern’s lower jaw.
Once again, the wyvern failed to accept its restrained situation. It struggled, which caused it to be too late to stop its elemental breath attack in time. The blast of mana failed to escape through its jaws and was instead trapped inside its own body.
Terry pressed on and darted to the wyvern’s remaining eye while making sure to refresh his active spells along the wyvern’s head. Terry stared into the giant eye. “I just wanted to get through. Why couldn’t you just get out of the way?”
The only response Terry got was an attack with the horned tail that had become free once more after the Immovable Object spell had worn off.
“Bad move,” growled Terry. He casually stepped to the side and behind the wyvern’s head.
The wyvern still failed to fully grasp its situation and the attack that was meant for Terry impacted on its own head instead. The long and heavy horns bore into its skull, and a suppressed roar of pain escaped through its shut teeth.
Terry allowed the wyvern to swing its tail back and then emptied another barrel of acid into the remaining eye. Without stopping, Terry dashed along the wyvern’s restrained head and towards one of the deep wounds left behind by the wyvern’s horned tail. Terry retrieved a large container of darkwater, kneeled and transfixed the container so that it would pour into the wound, then immediately continued to one of the wyvern’s nostrils.
The horned tail arrived another time. Somehow, the wyvern still managed to aim for Terry despite its blinded eyes. Despite its sharp senses, the primordial creature remained trapped by its primal instincts and once again, it hurt nothing but itself.
The whole scenario repeated again and again. The white wyvern continued its violent thrashing while only hurting itself. Terry followed up by exploiting all open wounds to add debilitating darkwater, acid, or aspected discharges from his mana sublimator. No gap in the creature’s scales was left unused. The wounds became deeper and deeper, graver and graver.
Eventually, the wyvern stopped its struggle. In fact, it stopped moving altogether.
Terry did not trust the sudden change and only stopped his assault on the open wounds when he was convinced that he had reached – and significantly damaged – the wyvern’s brain.
Terry was breathing heavily, adrenaline still pumping through his veins. His eyes darted around the sky and down the wyvern’s body, hanging limply from its transfixed head. He hesitatingly stepped back.
Moments later, the gigantic white body fell from the sky – the last remaining scales still transfixed in the air because the connected skin could not sustain the whole weight of the giant body.
Rumble The earth quaked from the impact of the colossal wyvern.
Terry swallowed the saliva in his mouth and habitually searched the horizons for any incoming threats… Nothing.
Terry had won.
Half in a daze, Terry allowed himself to fall and slowed his descent with the help of his extension coil spring mechanism and the divine hammer inscription.
Back on the ground, Terry took in the sight of the gigantic corpse. He was not completely convinced that it was truly over, that he could finally move onwards to Arcana, to his whaka.
Terry was still catching his breath and trying to process what he had just accomplished, when he felt his body pulled up into a standing position by magic taking a hold of him – the magic of the lizans. Terry would have exclaimed in surprise if he had been able to move his mouth.
“Well done, Terry.” Blue was walking towards Terry.
How did he get so close so quickly? Terry had a bad feeling about this development. He had taken down a freaking wyvern. He should get some time to feel elated and instead…
“I have to say though.” Blue looked at Terry with cold eyes and sneered. “It took you long enough. I have to admit I doubted the words of the great ancestor at times.” Blue moved the beads in his chain through his fingers until they rested on one larger bead. Under his touch, the bead changed its appearance and now looked like a draconic eye.
“A Great Mage that can free our path forward and, at the same time, one of the biggest threats to our rule back home. Imagine my surprise when I saw you…” Blue’s eyes moved over Terry with contempt. “...in all your patheticness, soft skin and everything. What could you possibly have to do with our realm? I was beginning to question the prophecy of the spirits, but you’ve given me another surprise.”
Blue jeered at Terry. “I could have given you a peaceful death if you were just a useless false messiah, but now I can’t let you go that easily. Threat or useful tool? It all depends on how you are used.”
Blue clasped the draconic eye and cast another magic on top of his active one. Terry could feel the surrounding magic contract into a single point and then disperse.
“You see, the only problem we have with the Great Dark One is not your power, but the way you are going to use it.” Blue laughed with hissing noises escaping from his mouth. “So all that is really required is to take away your liberty to use your power at your own discretion.”
Terry blinked and, for a moment, he remained stunned. He forgot to move, and his mind warned him that this was probably a good thing.
“Now come, my little Great Mage.” Blue turned around and walked ahead. Before he had made a single step, he found his chest pierced by a spear and his head separated by the mana blade of an inscribed dagger.
“What the Wastes was that about?” Terry asked with a deeply furrowed brow. He was sure that there was some nefarious magic at work. He had felt the effect of losing control of his own body and then another magic was cast. This second magic had felt a lot more intense, but then it had stopped without showing any effect. Stopped for no apparent reason.
Terry swiveled his head in confusion. Spell failure? That seems way too easy of an explanation. Shouldn’t Blue have felt the backlash of a spell failure? Or is that part different with the magic of the lizans? Crap, I hate not knowing what is going on…
Terry’s eyes moved down to the blue-scaled corpse of the lizan leader. “Uhh… I should probably move.”
Even if I had a good excuse, I wouldn’t be able to explain it to the other lizans.
“Wait!” exclaimed Terry quietly. He kneeled down next to Blue and searched him for anything useful.
This makes you look like a bandit.
“I wouldn't be able to explain it to the other lizans anyway,” stressed Terry. “This way I may have a chance to negotiate if I can find anything they value.”
Or that very same thing is going to have them pursue you relentlessly.
Terry paused his rummaging. “Fair point.” He was feeling conflicted.
I’m pressed for time here. No time for hesitation.
Terry grabbed what he could find and moved the items to his dimensional storage. He picked up the beaded chain that Blue had clung to. It was obviously a magic item. With little thought, Terry moved some of his mana into it…
“Hisssss!” “Slisss!” “Roar!” “Hisss!” Terry’s mind was immediately assaulted by a barrage of strange noises and an intense feeling of being connected to something foreign.
Terry reflexively burst his mana, unleashed a spherical disruption discharge, and threw the chain to the ground with all his strength.
Coincidentally, the draconic eye impacted on a sharp stone and shattered violently. From the broken eye, Terry could sense a strange evaporation of mana.
“Uhh…” Terry cleared his throat.
Didn’t you ever learn to never put your mana into strange items you know nothing about?
Don’t put your mana in that!
Well, if that was important to the lizans, they probably won’t be happy.
“Right, I should go.” Terry gave one more look towards the giant corpse of the wyvern. He shook his head. “I doubt anyone will ever believe this.”
Perhaps it never happened and you’re just sitting in a dungeon while madly staring at the dungeon walls and cuddling with Alrick. Seems more likely, honestly.
“As if,” scoffed Terry. “The pain was freaking real.” He dashed into the passage through the Elusive Fog of Frost, leaving the lizan looneys behind. And my mind couldn’t come up with things this weird…
Further away, a group of lizans that had appeared paralyzed moments before suddenly began moving – groggily and sluggishly. They stared at each other, at their hands, at the surroundings. One of them hissed and then the entire group ran towards the location of Blue’s corpse.
The lizans paused when they spotted the separated head and body. A grey-scaled lizan stepped forward and snarled. She stomped down hard on the blue-scaled head and Blue’s face turned into a bloody paste. All around, the remaining lizans began hugging each other and exchanged soft hissing noises.
One of the lizans stepped away from the group and turned towards the safe passage with the dead wyvern. He went down on one knee and moved his fist in front of his heart. He lowered his head and whispered a respectful hiss. Others followed…
***
Comments
Sesharan
Woo, power upgrade achieved! Terry definitely earned that one.
Aurora1325
terry now can be more scary. he can pause peoples outer most layer of skin, hair and finger nails
Aurora1325
thanks for the chapter
