Uruywo, Trials of a Dalnocian Mage

Ben Jamar Billups

Midyear of -382 (GI) Northern Corrupted Region of the Dalnocian Kingdom

The party had run for a few hours as the late morning sun was rising to noon with a few rays cutting through the forest canopy. As Uruywo followed the other Dalnocian Lion men further into the swamp, the air grew humid and heavy with insects. They sped through wafting stenches in the air that tortured his heightened sense of smell as they went through the area. The darker areas of the swamp started to lose the vibrant greens, reds, and browns of the season for more muted variations that slowly invaded. The latest spell storms sent prutosa yodramxalc through a large portion of the kingdom of Dalnok staining much of the land.
Uruywo looked past the group leader, Uluwa towards the deeper recesses of the swamp as he clenched a lion man’s fist. He was ready to learn, willing to face the threats of his trial. Each radiating wave buckling the three realities, every passing meant more demons, and that meant the kingdom needed more mages. The group did not stop until they reached the bottom of a hill surrounded by mud.
Uluwa, a hulking figure with a face hidden in his dark mane, turned to the boy, and pointed at the top of the hill.
“Go and change,” he commanded in a gruff disembodied voice.
The boy did as he was commanded and started up the gradual slope. Uruywo’s clothing grew loose, wearing a dark brown tunic with a neck trim patterned with red and green triangles. Around his waist, was a red sash tied into a knot at the front, and a simple pair of shorts. He was a thin child with dark brown skin in early adolescence with a large afro and four pieces knotted off as a sign of his training as a mage. Two paired off in the front beside his temples and at the rear by the top of his neck like suspended black clouds. Once he reached the top of the hill, the other Dalnocians stood guard as Uluwa trailed after and removed a red satchel from his shoulder.
“The time comes, child,” Uluwa said as his disembodied, deep voice changed to a slightly lighter one as he turned into a tall man with large shoulders and a wilder afro and goatee to replace his mane. “You’ll be in danger but, remember my lessons. You will thrive.”
The boy felt emboldened as he recalled the few wordless spells that he had practiced before his trial. Uruywo took up the satchel and saw a scroll sticking out, a brass tipped end with a red gem embedded at the top. His eyes widened as he took in a deep breath. He gripped it tightly as he swung it over his shoulder. Before he could pull the parchment free, he saw one of the guard’s ears flicker. The same lion man turned to them and with a similar deep voice proclaimed, “They are approaching. Only a handful.”
Uluwa then reached into a pouch on his hip and presented several strands of cowrie shells laced into bracelets and a necklace. Placing a bracelet on both of his wrists and ankles, and the necklace over his head, Uluwa then chanted, “Rujro Amovsxanco crefha, hod iomoved ioca ragtif irnom rajsuv hafgro rucsov irnom edreo nolsaf. (By Amovs power, a call to bind the beast and bring forth the man.)” Edria (magic) rang from his fingers as they touched the magic hidden within the shells. Immediately, each one he touched tightly presses into the skin as the ethereal strands travelled deeper into Uruywo’s person and wrapped around his beastial core. As rajsuv krisiet (beastial vessel), a second core was layered naturally over the first ethereal drum most creatures had. The boy grunted at the restraints as they sent a painful pinch throughout his body.
Uluwa half turned as he wore a stern glare and looked into the distance. This meant only one thing. Womteg. (Ghouls.) As the waves robbed the land of spirit from ongoing battles between the gods, everything from the trees to the plants, from animals to villages were stripped of their souls leaving all too slowly to decay. Uluwa then looked to the boy with an odd glare before shoving him down the opposite slope. With a yelp, he tumbled down the hill and into the mud.
Looking back up, he saw his teacher change back into his lion man form before leaping further from the hill onto the dryland several meters away.
“Learn boy!” the man bellowed before the other two did the same and disappeared into the swamp. Uruywo tried to stand as he could feel the pressure on his core. The boy then looked to the forest as the sight of several pairs of eyes shone in the distance came into view followed by the growing moans and grunts. Instinct took hold for a moment as Uruywo attempted to transform only to feel pain radiate through his body as the core was forced to remain in place and his spirit returned to the center core. Wincing from the pain, Uruywo looked to the forest as his fingers trembled, and panic took over. He turned and ran, following the same path as the others.
He sprang through the swamp, and gritted his teeth as he reminded himself, “No! I am here to be a mage.” He stopped in place and wheeled around to face his first obstacle. With Uluwa’s lessons in mind, the boy struck the beast core once more releasing a thrum strong enough to call forth a transparent ethereal wall of blue light spanning at his torso. Just as he was ready, he heard the tired grunts of his pursuers falsely portray their true speed as the first ghoul, a bloated being resembling more of a large round stone with legs and arms, along with a few strands of hair remaining appeared. The only evidence of its previous humanity was a tattered bracelet on its wrist with a few broken laces dangling free where beads would have been.
Uruywo eyed his opponents. He counted six in total as he pushed his palm forward, whilst the wall responded to his will firing into the first ghoul and knocking it into two others. They tumbled to the floor as the remaining three advanced on him. Uruywo made a raking motion with his hand back toward his body. The ethereal wall flew back parallel to the ground and cleaved through a ghoul with a sagging belly at its hip before it collapsed to the mud. The remaining ghouls advanced on him making the boy step back. Uruywo gritted his teeth as he raised both hands and fired spell orbs at both ghouls. Hard thwacks resonated from the impacts as the ghouls reeled back from the blows.
Their bloated flesh jostled on impact as they collected themselves. Uruywo glared at them as he took another step back until he remembered more of his lessons. With the next thrum, javelins of edria (magic) fired from the palms of his hands. The bolts seared through their heads as their unnaturally yawning jaws revealed black gums and decaying teeth. The other three were almost upon him as another ghoul swiped at him and the monsters. Another swipe, then it made contact with the defense as the fingers trailed down the surface sending shadowed ripples through the surface as if it were water.
The boy backed away further trying to keep some space between him as they stumbled over one another. Opening his arms wider, the barrier then swelled at the center and fired forth, skewering through all three ghouls. Their bodies collapsed to the mud. Uruywo looked at them in disgust and covered his mouth.
“Not alive…Not alive,” he reminded himself fighting the urge to spew. He glanced several times at the dead, yellow eyes as they faded. The smell of rot did little to help. The sound of squelching mud caught his attention as he looked at the remaining ghoul that was halved at the waste. He watched the creature release tired moans as it neared the boy. Uruywo stood straight and took a deep breath. Leering at the ghoul, he repeated, “Not alive.” Another bolt left his hand and struck the creature through its head. The boy nearly threw up as he watched it melt into the swamp. He rubbed at his hands, feeling the strain from using edria too much. Redness stained his palms and his thumbs and fingers throbbed.
Several hours passed as the sun started to sink and he had hidden away in a cluster of bushes, The boy kept his senses sharp for any ghouls or animals nearby. Realizing after a short time that he was alone for the moment, Uruywo reached into his mud caked satchel and pulled the scroll free. To his surprise, it was dry and free of any dirt unlike some of his hair. He reached to the back and pulled some of the strands free. Opening the parchment, Uruywo saw that the scroll contained thick charcoal marks that blackened the page aside from the front where waving marks were illustrated around a human silhouette and at the center.
‘The core?’ the boy wondered as he studied it.
A soft thrum could be felt against his core, emitted by the red gem. Before the boy looked away, more of the charcoaled marking faded as another silhouette with an outstretched hand to the side and both filled circles and sharply drawn lines were left on the page. The boy’s eyes widened as he realized that the scroll recorded his lessons on magic.
A smile came over him as he fantasized over his success and his journey down the path of becoming a mage. His zeal softened as he thought back to unflomxalc (demons) coming into the city and so few mages that were not strong enough, or available to repel the creatures.
A captain that Uruywo’s father had worked under wielded the magic nimcha to combat the creatures with ease. It was merely a prize for combat. Others faired in combat against the umflomxalc, but with some difficulty.
The boy heard the moans and footsteps of several womteg. Shrinking further into the brush, he barely evaded a decrepit foot from stepping on his hand as they passed by and started to burrow with unnatural speed. The dirt was not parted but seemed to open to their forms as they sank into the earth.
Uruywo kept quiet as the last of them submerged with murky water rising at the top. Uruywo slithered out of the bushes and climbed a nearby girirega tree with its thick branches supporting him. To his luck, the decision to move saved his life once more as the sun went down and the moons of Buello and Gemori rose half full. Their light revealed dozens of shadowed figures with yellow glowing eyes rising from the earth that started their march about the area trouncing the brush where he hid. A larger version of the womtegs then rose and started passing the tree where he hid. Sharp pains crackled in the boy’s head as the concentrated smell of rot assaulted his nose and he fought the urge to vomit. The brood mother of the lot slowly passed by torturously slow. Uruywo stayed in the tree waiting for the marching dead to leave.
‘By Dalnociu’s mane, may they never find me,’ the boy prayed to the lion hunting god of Aczuriv and Holmaig.
After the night had ended, the boy awoke and found himself balanced on the branch whilst his body ached all over from his strange bed. He looked down at the area seeing countless tracks in the mud and trampled brush.
“What were they after?” the boy wondered as he started to climb down.

With the morning haze fading during his descent, he then remembered there were other villages nearby. The womteg had many choices in attacking as the lands scarred by the prulau plicuamxalc (spell storms) and prutosa waves grew more common. The boy looked toward the sky and noticed some sections of the blue ceiling shimmering like the watery surface of a shallow riverbank. The boundaries of the three realms were in turbulence as the gods battled.
He continued east and started to find the trees missing their muted tints and the water growing clearer despite the insects remaining just as thick. Slapping his elbow, the boy looked toward the water noticing the small tadpoles and fish just below the surface. Hunger called as his empty stomach croaked. The boy moved slowly trying not to disturb the small schools of fish as he looked to a nearby girirega tree. Fishing came to mind to satisfy his hunger.
Sitting on the roots, Uruywo placed a hand on the trunk and then pinched at the bark. He stopped however when sharp stings numbed his palm. The boy groaned as the pain felt as if he were being bitten. He tried to pull back but, the bark bulged forth by a few inches keeping contact before forcing itself back in place with him.
“Huh?” He looked at it only to see small, jagged seams contrasting with the striated lines in the bark. They glowed with a blue sap. The tree itself had become undead and his hand started to sink in. Shaking desperately, he tried to pry himself from the tree. He was engulfed up to half of his forearms before he could feel the thrum of the scroll strike his core. Spurred by the sudden reminder, he released a thrum from his body and created barriers around his limbs. The bark parted breaking the contact and he was released from the tree. He fell backwards into the water with a loud splash only to see the entire tree twist and shake. He tried to gather himself as the branches reached out, their leaves all gone.
Uruywo channeled another thrum and erected a shield between him and the tree as it reached out. He froze in place and looked at the vegetation as it brightened and displayed its blight to the world. When the twigs and sticks were only a few feet away, the tree stopped as the sound of the splashing resonated from all around. Angry moans and grunts rose before ghouls started to appear. The creatures ran past the boy heading for the lively tree. The womtegs then launched at the tree only to find themselves fastened in place before the bark engulfed them. Each monster disappeared into the malleable surface only for their dark forms to contrast in the glowing sack before dispersing as well. The boy kept his shield up as he treaded through the water.

A few moments later, he calmed his nerves and released his thrum more often to see which trees were still living or now dead. To his discomfort, many littered the brighter section of the swamp. A twitch of pain in his stomach and the boy growled remembering he lost his chance for a fish.
‘What can I do now?’ he wondered until he remembered the javelins. The boy then looked toward a deeper section of the swamp teeming with fish. Aiming a finger at one nibbling at the floor, he released a thrum and fired a javelin. The bolt sailed toward the fish and struck true to the water but, the small prey merely twisted in the water paralyzed by the strike before righting itself and darting off like the others. ‘No,’ the boy wanted to whine before thinking back to the creatures. Their soulless husks only containing prutosa did nothing to protect them from edria. The living are different. ‘Make it stronger,’ the boy thought as he held out a hand and focused on the subtle hums of the next wave. The beats grew faster and stronger as he concentrated on the wave.
Looking once again to the fish, Uruywo released the thrum as a larger blue spear sailed toward a new target and pierced through a nicely sized fish, leaving a gaping hole in its side. Excitement filled within Uruywo as he smiled and shook both hands in a fist.
The boy made his way toward the fish as the water went from knee high to hip. Only a few paces away, he was eager only for the water before him to bulge and shift before the fish disappeared. When the water settled, Uruywo stepped back.
‘Lizards,’ he thought. ‘Poison.’
Sometime had past as Uruywo found himself traveling down a natural canal with a gentle stream and high walls. He did not know where he was going but, followed none the less.
‘Where am I?’ the boy wondered. Surprised at the different surrounding, Uruywo looked further ahead seeing only the darkness of the canal beneath the forest canopy. The small breaks through the forest ceiling revealed that Zaivonal mountain was in the other direction. That made him curious. ‘What fed the stream’. Before he could ponder for too long on the water’s source, he felt a sudden pressure rise on his core followed by hissing pants that echoed his way. Turning around, he saw another lizard approaching. It had the same hide of dark green and brown scales with a few spots of yellow and orange atop its back to match the few flowers that grew on the surface. Its brown and yellow eyes were trained on him.
As fast as he could, he dashed. His heart pounded as he tried to look for an escape, but the lizard was gaining despite its waddling run. His stomach gave him the continuous reminders that it was empty. Ignoring this, the boy focused on his core. He released several thrums through his body and focused on the reverberance to strengthen his muscles. His speed increased slightly but a subtle thrum revealed that this trick was not unknown to the lizard.
The root of a tree jutted out from the wall. The boy nearly tripped as evaded its breaching branched and tried to return to his former pace. The lizard then reached out to bite at his ankle. On a lucky guess, he created a barrier around his lower legs as the lizard bit down. The ethereal construct shattered, sending a cramping pain into his limbs as the magic recoiled to the core. The boy tumbled to the ground as his legs locked like stone. The lizard then leapt upon him as he turned over.
“Get away!” Uruywo lamented as his first core rang, creating a barrier between the two.
Uruywo did not know how to describe the sudden call of the inner core but either way he used it to his advantage as he kept the construct too wide for the animal’s jaw. With a push of his hands, the lizard fell onto its back a simple step away. The boy then formed a javelin from his construct and fired. The shallow thrum merely caused the projectile to deflect on the lizard’s body and strike the other wall where roots, vines and grass suddenly coiled and rose a foot into the air.
Seeing this Uruywo looked at the black tongued lizard as it flipped over ready to charge. He fired another thrum. This time it was at the ground beneath the lizard and only in a wave. The vegetation rose and ensnared the beast with ease as it hissed and grunted in retaliation. Uruywo did not hesitate as he moved toward the dirt wall with a coat of edria radiating from his hands and started to climb. The boy rolled over the edge as the lizard’s hiss grew louder. Catching a glance at the stream below, he saw that it was now free. It poked its head over the edge only for Uruywo to release a wall of magic at its head, sending it back down. He crawled further away only to see the lizard had given up the chase and climbed the opposite side. The boy breathed heavily as he felt the energy recoil and disrupt the flow of the inner core bringing the same muscle strain as he felt in his hands.
‘Why does this hurt so much?’ Uruywo thought for a moment.
He looked at his hands as they shook and tingled. “By Dalnociu’s mane. That doesn’t matter. This is a trial. Dalnok needs mages. I can survive this. I can help.” Wind whipped at his hair as he thought back to the other positions. He reminded himself that no matter what position he chose, all boys would take on this trial in one fashion or another, he just happened to choose the rarest. With that in mind, he stood up and made his way toward a nearby clearing as he released his thrum. The echoing waves kept him aware of all the dangers that lurked in this godforsaken area. Small birds and monkeys moved about the brush and reared clear of him. Their presence remaining soft on his core as he looked around cautiously. Uruywo then felt a stronger pulse.
He Looked to the left, and locked eyes on a wisp as the soft golden flame levitated only a few inches above the waist high grass. Uruywo moved closer toward it, careful in his steps as he become engrossed with the flame. He may have felt the thrum rise from the direction, but as he grew closer toward the small light his attention was drawn toward a single patch of dirt. Half buried in the dirt he could see a cylindrical item sticking out of the ground. The boy noticed the familiar looking bump at the top and moved to wipe the layer of dirt from the top of it. Uncovering another red gem trapped in brass, the boy then dropped to his knees and dug at the edges out of the dirt with his fingers in attempt to unearth the second scroll.
When he dug as much as he could, the boy wrenched the scroll free and fell back only to find he had disturbed a grave. A jawbone stuck out of the dirt and a sense of panic started to take over. Something could be nearby to do the same. As he looked around, he then noticed the wisp getting closer to him. The boy rose his arms defensively ready to swat the wisp away if needed. Before he released his thrum, his own scroll emitted a wave that managed to calm the boy’s nerves. He looked at the wisp and could barely feel the presence of a spirit lying in the golden fire. Seeing it was not a threat, he reached out and touched it. The prutosa of the ember flowed forth into his body and met with his spirit. Visions then filled the boy’s mind as he found himself looking over the tall grass toward the shadowed tree line.
A pair of hands then merged in front of him, far larger than his own. They glowed orange before releasing a flame. As a ball of flame burst forth, it parted into a ring of embers as a bright emerald eye broke through the spell in a blur and the world went black. A piercing sensation rose in the boy’s neck. Uruywo threw himself to the ground, attempting to retreat as the wisp emerged from his body and drifted back toward the mound.
He lost control of his breathing as the air rapidly repeated from his lungs. He flashed a gaze to the shimmering sky, and he wondered, ‘What was that?’ He had been told of many animals within the area but one with such large eyes was a mystery to him. As he lied low beneath the grassy surface, he recognized the trees as they had been in the vision. ‘Should I run for the forest?’ Uruywo considered as he looked around. The boy then placed the second scroll in his satchel.
Ever cautious, he tried to release a concentrated thrum that reached out toward the same spot. Sitting against his core, he could feel thin, narrow waves scattered through the area. Each one so small, slow, and soft in their hum that he could barely feel the ethereal strands. Uruywo then felt a plucking nip against his senses.
Reflexively, he called forth a barrier that guarded him on all sides in a dome. A hard thwack then hit the construct from his right. The boy was sent tumbling as he looked up. He saw a giant emerald eye dangling in the air. Bewilderment struck him as he saw it was a spider with a hardened shell on its abdomen and was nearly the size of his head. The boy glared at the drooling arachnid and fired a javelin. Only, the spider fired back into the tree line as quickly as he had attacked.
Mindful, Uruywo ignored his astonishment as he maintained his defense and composed himself. In doing so, he prevented his imminent death as a second attack from his left then struck the barrier and shattered the construct with ease. The boy grunted in pain as he fell to the floor with every muscle spasming for a moment. Uruywo looked at the second spider now just above his head as it dangled in place, trying to gather itself. Taking another chance to attack, the boy fired a spell javelin at the spider. The projectile glanced off its body before the spider flew to safety. Knocked off course, it struck the side of a tree only to jerk into another space before the tree line.
Uruywo did not let it flee as he concentrated on his thrum and fired a second bolt. This time as it struck true, the javelin pierced the spider with ease before it fell to the earth. Prepared for another attack, the boy created a barrier at his side anticipating the spider’s ally. With a more concentrated section, the defense was stronger. The spider attempted a second strike only to bounce off. Uruywo sent the entire wall toward the spider knocking it into the air, before the construct dissipated a few paces skyward. The spider stopped and dangled for a few breaths before a black blur sailed through the air and snatched the large arachnid before disappearing into the trees. Uruywo righted himself and stepped back in the opposite direction. The pain within every inch of his body quickly fading. As a precaution, he created a barrier to cover his back as he ran for the forest heading west.
A few hours had passed and Uruywo wondered how far north he was as he ran for the vase of the mountain where fewer girirega trees lied and only a few springs and ponds were scattered about. The boy then descended a small hill comforted by the layers of moss and grass in the area insinuating that life was nourishing and plentiful in the area. Though that meant food, his stomach reminded him, it also meant more predators. Still not fully grown, he did not have access to his lion form.
‘I need fire,’ the boy said as he remembered the vision shared by the wisp. Before he could do anything, Uruywo searched some of the nearby ponds and found some containing frogs with gray and green swirls on their backs. Each at least the size of his fist. A few easy shots took down several grown frogs as they floated belly up. The boy then grabbed his kill and moved on. Not wanting to risk losing any of them, he moved further away from any bodies of water that he thought could contain something bigger. After gathering a bundle of twigs and finding a subtle little hole in the side of a bank beneath a tree, he started to make a fire pit. Using friction, one of the sticks lit up and he stuffed it inside the bundle. The fire rose quickly. Satisfied with the flame, he looked at the fire and wondered how it could be called upon. Dalnocians were mainly warriors, and their bodies did well against spells and plagues. Not even the language of magic was readily explored by the populace for any basic need.
Uruywo started to wonder if he were merely shown the basics for his growth or Uluwa’s limited knowledge. A smirk came over the boy’s face as he imagined his teacher replying, “Does it matter?”
Sticking the skewer into the soft dirt, the boy then pulled both scrolls free and opened them. The one he had acquired had many of the same markings as his, aside from the slight difference in them.
The charcoaled lines were a bit more jagged in the other scroll than the one he was given. He then unraveled more to show what his was missing. Two more silhouettes were revealed as the first showed a thrum within the figure and several marks on the page he could see but could not make out. Beside the figure was another ring of rippling lines surrounding by what looked to be flames from Uruywo’s understanding. His brow furrowed as he looked at it. Looking to the other figure, it then came clearer as he saw the same ring of waves at the center of the person with fire and lightning exiting the mouth and hands.
“Why lightning?” Uruywo questioned at first. He looked back at the scroll illustration and wondered what it was trying to convey. He tried to look further along the page only to find the scroll side blackened. Sitting back in the small hole as the fire danced before him, the boy contemplated the meanings of each word.
“You can cast spells and call them. Why can’t I make out the markings?” he mumbled as he looked back at the scroll seeing the shades of black remaining hazed. There were four marks. Placing the scrolls aside, Uruywo picked up a stick and placed it in the fire lighting the tip. He then looked at the small flame engulfing the top and burning its way down. Uruywo looked at the small flame wondering how to look at its secrets. ‘Everything that lives has spirit,’ he reminded himself even thinking back to when the womtegs had attacked him and even the tree’s aggression. ‘But all things have magic, even things that aren’t living,’ the boy thought.
His eyes narrowed on the small flame that had singed half on the stick. The boy then released a thrum and allowed his magic to channel into the fire and stick. Concentrating as hard as he could, he could feel some underlying pulse humming softly within the twig and the fire. The further he pressed, the clearer the pulse became. Its rhythm came clearer and clearer. Soon, Uruywo found himself copying the beat closely matching the hidden thrum. A strange vision came to his mind. The symbols and names of the element’s masters came forth. Sarcapno, Aczuriv, Burogi, and Elemus. The truths of fire came to mind as the symbols engrained into his memories. Fire can destroy and separate. Fire can be wielded and used to craft. Fire is light.

Before the small flame reached his hand, Uruywo’s palm glowed as he matched the hidden thrum. A flame then rose from the center and consumed the rest of the twig. His eyes lit up as its light radiated his face.
‘I created fire,’ the boy thought. ‘I did it.’

                                                                                    ***

   The next day came with surprise as he heard the familiar horrid groans and whines of womteg. He shot up and went into a crouch opening his hand in a clawing manner only for the binds to remind him that he was not to change. A looming figure, with a wide mouth and raking hands then approached. The smell of rot filled his nose. Uruywo’s eyes went wide as he engaged and grabbed the beasts wrists and kept it at length with a foot to its chest. The deformed beast snapped and wriggled about as he tried to push it back. Being significantly smaller he was forced into the small section until the back of his head reached the dirt. Trying to think, Uruywo attempted to call the flame and burn the creature. But it did not work. He instead channeled the magic further into his hands. He felt his arms strengthen and the creature’s wrists grow weak. His body was reinforced like it had been when he ran from the lizard. He eventually found the strength to kick the creature away, launching it back a few feet and crashing it to the floor.
Uruywo stunned himself as his strength portrayed itself before him. He had slowed it down for sure and wounded it, but it did little to curve its tenacity as it shifted its body awkwardly to stand and scramble after him. Uruywo ceased the chance and fired a spell javelin from his hand piercing the being from head to rear before it slumped to the dirt floor. He breathed deeply with a sigh of relief as he looked at his hand. Studying the thrum, it was not the flame. Fire did not come by as easily as the basic spells did. The rhythm was more complex.
‘I’ll try again,’ he told himself as he focused on his thrum.
The waves of the element sat in his mind, but it was still new, and not fully practiced. He raised his hand toward the dead womteg and released the thrum whilst a flame danced from the center of his palm. The corpse remained unsinged as the small fire merely rose unthreateningly.
“Not what I expected but, I have something,” Uruywo said as he ended the spell and the fire died out. The boy looked around curious as to whether any other ghouls would come to attack. Releasing a thrum and looking up, Uruywo was surprised to see that nothing else was around. After burying the fire pit and collecting the scrolls, Uruywo started to return east. It was time that he returned the scroll for the next mage.
After hours had passed, he returned to the clear area in the forest. Uruywo released several thrums as he tried to sense the spiders only to find most animals near the clearing that did not bother with him or were too small to be any real threat. As he moved on, he thought of the constant pain from his barriers breaking. Remembering that mages had staves, wands, or other trinkets to lessen the strain Uruywo wondered what would be best.
“There you are,” the boy said as he caught sight of the golden wisp.
Creating a barrier that surrounding his body, Uruywo crouched and walked toward the wisp. The boy reached the hole and sat down. He covered the hole then placed the scroll on top. Think of the next would-be mage, Uruywo then thought, ‘May Dalnociu’s honor guide you.’
The boy then started toward the west once more, still finding that part of the forest would be safer than the others. When he passed by a tree, he then gawked at the scenery as his foot submerged into ankle high water. Uruywo looked around finding he was back in the deeper swamps, not the clearing where he had placed the scroll.
“By his mane. How am I here?” The boy questioned as he did not recognize the area that he had found himself in.
For a second time, the scenery changed. Uruywo wondered if he had been displaced for some other primary purpose as he sent out a thrum to ensure he did not touch any trees with a strange or shallow thrum. Uruywo moved to a riverbank out of the water as he tried to look toward the canopy for sunlight.
‘North,’ the boy thought. He sat down and continued his search. But he found nothing close, He paused for a moment and held out is hand. Calling fourth the fire that he watched as it danced on his palm. Retrieving his scroll, he reviewed the markings illustrating the flames secrets. New symbols sat on the parchment with names of their respected gods. An illustration of fire was also sat in the middle of its own section still surrounded by charcoaled marking obscuring the portion.
‘Why is there nothing else on the page?’ the boy wondered as he looked at the fire. ‘There’s something else,’ the boy thought. ‘A word. Spells have words too.’
Raising his hand, he summoned the flame and studied the thrum. The knowledge was hidden in the pattern and he could feel it as if the sensation were speaking to him. Sounds came to the boy’s mind the longer he held the thrum.
“To…Ta...Tag. Tos…” he started only to stop as a sharp sting rose in his shoulder.
Something wet landed on him and he turned to find a strange pink tendril on him. The pain grew as he started to feel a migraine. The boy leapt from the dirt and head further into the water as he grabbed the strange tendril and looked toward the top. Amongst the branches, he saw a strange creature of velvet black with a liquid-like body hanging from one of the branches. The pink tendril was one of several revealed in the wide opening of its center of several more in a mouth filled with teeth. The boy recognized the animal as a flying leech as he tried to wrench the tendril free before the others attached as well.
He tried to pull away as the link went taut and Uruywo found it far stronger than himself. His mind and vision became clouded as the venom coursed through him. More tendril descended onto him as he went limp. Each contained a fang in the middle of suctioned ends. Latching onto him, they pulled the boy upward. Surrounded by branches, the boy’s binds broke as his body reacted to the sudden attack that slowed his heart. His clothes went taught as he turned into his lion form. His larger size and weight caused him to become stuck in the branches. The flying leech released the barbs and dropped him.
Returning to consciousness, Uruywo found himself falling as he flailed outward reaching for the branches and changing back into a human as the binds returned. Grabbing onto a thin branch of the strange tree, the limb broke from his weight. The boy plummeted to the ground and slammed to the water below with a loud splash. His defenses on high, he struck his core strengthening his body and lessening the pain. As his head cleared, the boy tried to see where the leech would attack. The rise of his thrum was stronger than last as he felt the branch resonate with him.
Sending a javelin at the leech, it bounced off the creature as its tendrils shot down and reached the boy once more. ‘Magic doesn’t work,’ the boy thought as he felt the sting once more. The coursing venom’s effect was slowed as he felt his mind grow dull. His thoughts continued as he remembered his search for the hidden name of fire.
Readying a desperate bolt and concentration fleeting, the boy then called, “Tosgam. (Fire.)”
The radiating pulse of magic fired blindly striking the branch as a burst of flame reached the leech. The animal’s skin proved sensitive and flammable as it ignited causing the creature to spasm before releasing its meal and flailing about the air. Crashing further into the water once more, Uruywo caught a glimpse of the creature falling slowly to the earth as its body was consumed by fire. It reached the dirt still struggling and clasping desperately to life.
Uruywo pointed one end of the branch toward the leech. Glowing cracks of blue and collected at the end into a bright sphere.
“Tosgam. (Fire.)” the boy said as the thrum changed ever slightly into the rhythm of fire and sailed toward the creature. With flames engulfing the animal it stopped moving as it was consumed and finally killed.
The boy moved toward the bank a few paces away from the animal and took a deep breath waiting for the heaviness of the body to pass. The boy looked up wondering if another flying leech would take the opportunity. To his relief, he was alone. Focused on his thrum, he strengthened his body further and started to stand. He looked between the dead leech and the branch in his hand. Its natural curves started to straighten on their own as the collection of blue glow sap receded into the wood. The cracks remained as he fed some magic into the lumber.
‘A mage has a staff,’ the boy thought as he collected his scroll and traveled further into the swamp.

The End