EPISODE 19 - The Mage house part 1 of 2

Writer: Lars Laustsen - Co-Writer: Lady_Luci_Reads

My jaw drops as the room comes into view. And, though I find myself speechless, Trolling’s echoing laughter fills the space.

“How is it so big and beautiful… it seemed so small from outside…” Unlike myself, the Wolfman seems capable of voicing his wonder as his eyes too roam the castle-like hall. “It’s like a throne room…”

“You know what to do, be careful and don’t touch anything.” I ask my two Wolves, trying to bring my mind to the task at hand. I watch as they enter further into the room, shifting my line of vision across the walls. Hundreds, if not thousands, of books line the walls, towering over overgrown shrubbery and a beautifully colourful array of flora. And, far across the room I lay my eyes on a huge throne built central and tall. It strikes me as odd, a hole in the backrest of the throne leaving space to sit with something upon your back. Choosing to inspect something in my more immediate vicinity, I move closer to one of four gigantic statues that line the room.

The first one I move to depicts a female Catmen, a small tree resting in her right paw. I brush my paw across a plaque at its base, revealing shiny letters. ‘The first Catmen and the Magic Tree.’ So this is the first… a Catfemale. I wonder what she was using the Magic Tree for.

I turn, walking over to the next statue, listening to my footsteps echo about the room as I do so and noticing the gentle tapping of the Wolves’ claws. I look up at the carving, a male Ligormen. As I move my gaze across it, I take note of spider’s webs weaving delicately between the petals of carefully carved flowers at the Ligormen’s feet. ‘The first Ligormen to control the Earth’s Magic.’ Do Ligormen have Green Magic too? Taking a moment longer to observe the statue, I let myself wander to the next.

Another male. A Tigormen, holding a rock in his palm. If it’s to follow the trend then… ‘The first Tigormen to collect the Lava-Stones.’ As expected, so the next one must also be a first? As I walk over to it, I keep my eyes on the floor, thoughts spinning through my head. Lava-Stones? I know so little about this world… perhaps a trip to the land of Ligor and Tigor is in order, so that I might learn their history? Or I could ask their Princess? I take a deep breath, feeling my gait slow as I concentrate. Soon, my seeking finds the Tigor Princess and I reach out to her, communicating silently within myself. “Princess, do you know anything of the first Tigormen?”

I can feel her shock as she hears my question, it running through my Sorceress Feeling. “You’re speaking to me? None of the other High Princesses have spoken to the Princesses of Tigormen… I don’t know anything, our history books often went missing.”

“Thank you, I shall have to try and find out myself.”

“Wait! Where is the Dragon?”

“It has flown up to the Wing Wolves’ mountain.”

“Thank you, my High Princess, we are on our way to Yarn in search of someone who has hopefully survived.”

“Yes, no problem, thank you for your help.” I am in front of the final statue now, and despite my attempts to cut off the connection, the Tigor Princess seems to continue. Now, she seems to speak to someone I cannot sense. Curious, I wait a moment to see if this person has any answers. “Do you know anything of the first Ligormen?”

“I’m pleased that you’ve joined me, my High Princess. We do have some books on the subject, so I shall enjoy learning about it for you. I have a Necromancer by my side here, she wishes for us to send her to Swing, the Monkeymen’s town. I’m not sure what we should do?”

“She is a friend of the world, she fights the Shadow-Crawlers. I trust her.” I pull myself away from the conversation, hoping that my answer is the right one. Back to reality, I find that the others have come to join me at the final statue. “Hey, sisters, do you know about all of this?”

For a moment, none of them answered. “No, My Princess. But… listen to this… ‘The Head of the Wing Wolves controls all the magic: White, Red and Black. His name is Thunder.’” As they speak, I look up at the statue, a huge winged Wolfmen… that seems to oddly resemble…

“Hey, Wolf, is that… you?” I look over to him, searching his expression. His face is red, as if he is embarrassed.

“Yes, it is- was- me.”

“Do you have all the magic? Or the Wing Wolves?”

“All magic has been given to the inhabitants of Obbisia. The Wolves only control the weather and the souls now.”

“The weather?” Digna asks, turning away from the towering statue.

“Haven’t you noticed how it hasn’t rained heavily and there haven’t been any thunderstorms in some stars now?”

“Uh, yes, you’re Thunder, I get it.”

I shift my eyes to the throne. These statues are about the beginning of this world… but who would’ve sat upon that huge seat? What creatures would’ve fit into it? As I watch Trolling fly across the room, I notice a glimmer of light on the table he’s aiming for. What is that?

“I have found something!” Trolling shouts proudly, but before I can go over and look for myself, the two Wolves return. They seem to be struggling with something at first, and as they come closer I can see the books in their jaws which appear to be shifting and moving. I summon my White Scroll and quickly help.

“Catch!” The books are surrounded in a white bubble, leaving them unable move like the Bluebird had been.

“The books are attacking us!” One of the Wolves shouts as more books fly behind them. I catch as many books as I can with my magic, white shooting out all around us. We are quickly pushed into the middle of the room as the books fly out from every shelf.

“Trolling! Take the scroll!” The way that light shone, taking the light from around it, it must be the fake Black Scroll. I watch out of the corner of my eye as he carries the scroll over to us.

“My Princess, your symbol was on the table!”

“My Blue lightning symbol?”

“Yes!”

I grab the scroll, carefully placing it into an inner pocket - I cannot hide it with magic like the others. The Green Sisters are using their Wind Magic to throw the books away from us, my two Wolves snatching books out of the air before they can hit me. Thunder, unlike the rest of us, is not helping much. My eyes widen as I realise that the first of the books to be caught in a bubble of magic has found its way out. Digna glances at me, having also noticed this, and asks the question we all have on our minds. “What do we do?”

“Run?” Dillian tries. All hope seems lost, and if we run then will we be able to enter again?

“I am a good helper!”

“Trolling! Do you know something?”

“Yes, my Princess, I was told they would come when the books attacked.”

… Who? And how does Trolling always know? “Keep fighting.”

“I’ll help too.” Thunder says, raising a stick up from the ground to bat them away.

“Sisters, try to take down some of the shelters.” One sister takes action immediately, with little effect. They each turn to one another.

“Together sisters.” Diva commands. Together, they spin a more powerful spell, which takes out a shelter the books are flying out from, preventing any more from exiting.

“Good work.” Soon I begin to feel a tingle in my Sorceress Feeling… my Staff is almost powerless.

“Trolling! Who will come?”

“Me.” I suck in a breath as the voice echoes in the room, watching as white smoke billows out in the middle of our circle and a female figure moves in its centre. The White Necromancer, new cape and long hood… her identity hidden.

“You! Why’re you here?” I ask in shock, my two Wolves already digging their fangs into her Staff.

“To help.” She looks down at the Wolves, face shaded by her pristine white hood.

“Sorry my Princess.” The Wolves back away and continue fighting against the books.

“Are you a Princess?”

“I am.” She throws her staff out in front of her, “bones, to be!” My eyes widen as I watch bones form out of her staff, gathering together into White Skeletons gripping swords. Each time their blades hit a book, it drops motionless to the floor.

“You cannot be here! I just spoke to the Ligor Princess, you’re supposed to be setting sail to Swing!”

“And you believe you’re in Scratch. Let’s move to the entrance together, everyone!” I nod to her and, as a group, we begin to shuffle towards the exit. As we come to the door, I look over to her. Her cape… is that the same symbol holder her cape up as… mine?

“That symbol. Trolling says he saw it on the table.” I can just about see her smiling where the shadow of her hood ends.

“I know, that’s why I’m here. I believe it is the last of the Lava-Stones. Sisters? I need you to help me when the High Princess escapes with the three Wolves.” The door opens, the Necromancer’s Wind Magic pushing us to it. But, there is a portal there. Just before we are pushed through the portal, she turns to me and I can feel her eyes staring intensely. “Read the Scroll. Do not use it.” And we are through, the portal-door shut behind us. We are in front of the house again. Me, my two Wolves and the Wolfmale.

“Run to the Milk-swamp.” I command, preparing to make the dash. Suddenly, however, my Blue Ebony swoops down and lands in front of us. I look to them and nod, jumping up on the Ebony.

“We can meet you there, there’s no room for us, Princess.” My two Wolves day as Thunder climbs on behind me.

“Ebony, bring the two Wolves.” As we set off, the Wolves are held in its giant claws. I can see the house from above, shield back again.

“Do you think my ladies are trapped now?”

“I don’t know but I hope not. We must continue.” I pull the scroll from my inner pocket. “So, this is the fake scroll that got me killed in the first place.” Magic Scrolls open by themselves when the time is right, but this one is fake… I roll it out, the paper displaying itself easily under my paws. “Ebony? Please land over by that rooftop.” I point down to the city. Let’s see what’s in this scroll...

You, reading this, are now the chosen one.

“I am the chosen one to restore the Black Scroll... that’s why I was here when we believed this was the real one.”

...Let the past of our Catmen World be understood; the secrets of Obbisia…

“That is it, all my questions of this world...”

...But, sometimes, souls are lost in Obbisia, forgotten and left to lose themselves as Shadow-Crawlers...

“So the Shadow-Crawlers are lost souls…”

...Wing Wolves created a reef on the bottom of the Ocean, of lava, magical lava-stones laid into the sand there...

“That was the stone she spoke of, perhaps it’s the same stone the first Tigormen held?Yes, of course… they collect the stones in the sand of their land and Ocean!”

...At that time, three turtle’s souls wandered; touched the Lava-Stones and morphed into the first Turtlesmen...

“...Turtles? The chair! A Turtlemen could sit in the throne!” Trolling laughs at me so loudly and suddenly that I almost fall from my Ebony in shock. “Shush little Trollfairy!”

...Flying between worlds on Magic Birds...

“The Fairies have Blue Magic Birds… hey! Ebony, are you a Blue Magic Bird?” I ask and Ebony makes a noise not unlike a scream - I interpret it as a yes. “So… the Magic Tree gave the magic to the Turtlemen to project it, first from the Yellow Magic that tried to hit it; the reef. Then, it sent the Shadow-crawlers and they were given the Staff’s magic. Then... the Yellow magic came back again as a big Giant. They are made Catmen from the lava-stones and fought against the Yellow magic; now a water monster, then the old King dies.”

...The Black Staff was cast into the monster, agonisingly absorbing its magic and weakening the monster. The Fairies were able to cast the water beast into time and space, separating it from the Black Magic. Lost in another world, the Black Staff and it’s powerful magic fell into another world and disappeared in the form of the Black Scroll once more...

“So that means the real Black Scroll needs to be found in another world… but what if the other world is coming to us? The Furless! She has the Black Scroll… no… She is the Yellow magic monster! No… she? She fought against the Yellow Dragon, the Dragon is the monster… maybe?”

… No one knows what happened to the Turtlemen. Not dead, no, but stuck within a capsule of time magic and lost to the world. We believe this Scroll can lead the way to the Turtles and start an era of teamwork in which the monster and it’s unknown magic are finally purged from this world.

… I believe we would all want to live to witness this world fully at peace.

The Princess of the Fairies...

“And here I thought my quest just went to the Magic Tree and then I’d have saved the world! Nope, I am the one that shall protect the tree.”

(Dear readers if you want to read the whole scroll, please go back to the prologue)

Thanks to @Jensrichard77 for worldbuilding help. (Links to Luci, Azifri and Jens.R in the description)