I would learn later from my studies that all he would have needed to do was let go of the deep magic and it would have broken free. It would have been painful, but not lethal. So desperate was he for power that he was willing to die rather than let go of the most powerful of all magic.
Chapter 36
Fernus did not resurrect. Upon dying a second time, he lost so much of his essence that returning wouldn’t be worth the effort. His natural life would end well before he was able to regain the power he had once wielded. This left his immense library in my possession and, with it, the information I needed to learn about deep magic. That said, if knowledge was the only thing necessary to control such a deadly power, then Fernus would still be alive.
I began to absorb the information provided by Fernus’ collection. Ideas and thoughts came flashing to me, filling my mind with all there was to know about deep magic in terms of practice. It was a deadly and dangerous art, but the most common belief about how the ancient wizards controlled such a raw source of power was through force of will. Only the strongest of minds with the greatest of wills were able to handle such magic.
The act of containing deep magic within one’s body would give one immense power, allowing them to amplify any of their spells. What I learned was that the method of creating and wielding spells with deep magic was the exact same process as how modern mages made arcane spells. The only true difference was in the power level. Arcane magic, using the power from the surrounding world, was a ghost, a faint whisper of what deep magic could achieve.
This revelation was good news for me, for I had a great deal of spells at my disposal. With the deep magic to fuel them, they would become stronger, deadlier and more efficient. My mind darted past the threat in front of me, to the idea of the coming Invasion. I could use such power to fight them off. But I would need to survive this fight first and I couldn’t afford any distractions.
I wished that I had more time to prepare, to practice. But as I continued to study, I became dimly aware of something watching my thoughts. It was, of course, the Dungeon Below, spying on me.
“You will not kill me,” the Dungeon growled. I could sense that the earth beneath me was beginning to twist and thrash as its many limbs were moving upwards through the dirt. “But I will kill you.”
The shield under my body began to sustain serious damage, but not from the normal slam attack of the Dungeon Below. No, this was from a barrage of magical energies, a spell of sorts, that was not only breaking my shield but also draining it of its magic.
“Is this how you wish it to be?” I asked as I began to curl my tendrils towards the deep magic supply. I was focused, intent upon defending the goblins who lived within me.
There was a snickering from the creature, echoing in my head. “I wished it to be much, much easier. But you were too strong. Now? I don’t think you will survive.” And with that, I felt the shield around me shatter, causing the gem within the goblin village to shatter as well.
Four long tendrils made of stone and clay came carving upwards to the soft underbelly of the village. It was now or never. I had to protect my people. And so, I pulled as much deep magic into my body as I could, staying focused throughout the experience.
The pain was excruciating, but I held on to the magic. It could not kill me faster than the Dungeon Below could, this much I knew. Holding onto such power gave me a greater sense of awareness of the magic within the air. I could see auras now, effortlessly—the traces of magical power that flowed from both the sky, the land and from mortal beings. Almost at once, I realized that these auras were not simply visual depictions of magic. They were, in fact, the building blocks of Yehan.
With deep magic, I had the power to move these blocks around as I chose, rearranging the rules of reality and creating spells on the fly. All I needed was to focus on the burning magic within my body and tell it what to do. It would obey me.
I concentrated, doing my best to shut out the agony in order to cast my first deep magic spell. The ground that Dungeon Below was tunneling through was soft and weak, easy to carve through. But what if it were harder than diamond and hot as magma? Such a manipulation was easy to achieve, all I had to do was envision the transformation and release the proper amount of deep magic, just as if I were casting a regular spell.
The earth transformed in an instant, twisting and warping to become my new vision. This experience was more akin to daydreaming than the hard discipline of casting arcane spells. The tendrils were caught up in the new dirt as it hardened around them, entombing them in burning hot earth. The ground itself shook as the Dungeon Below let out a shriek from pain.
I lost focus for just a moment, in awe of what I had accomplished, and paid a steep price for that error. The magic attempted to push its way out of my trunk, cracking it open in the back, but I was able to concentrate and slow down its release. Still, some of the magic was able to escape from my body and took flight in the air, moving far away from me, dispersing into the oxygen itself.
“I do not understand,” the Dungeon whispered to me as I regained my focus and forced the hole in my body to close. “You hold the power that is my blood?”
“Yes,” I replied, preparing another spell. “For I knew that this day would come and I had to be ready to defend myself.”
I could sense fear from the creature through our mind-link, but the fear wasn’t nearly as strong as its all-encompassing rage.
“There will be no peace this time,” it shouted as it began to cast another spell. “No attempts to parley, no plotting in darkness. I will end this today. I will end this now!”
I focused my energies, getting ready to counter, when I realized that it was about to throw a spell that was familiar to me. It was a replication of Fernus’ Dungeon Breaker. Somehow the creature must have been able to pull the knowledge of the spell from my mind, or worse, it might have just created an improvised version. Without the control and discipline that it took to unleash this spell, the Dungeon could simply destroy just about everything on the nearby surface—the forest included.
Yet, I could see the threads of magic deep in the earth, moving towards the creature, collecting as it uttered the chants and phrases that were required to gather such power. They were like strings to me, tiny little strings that made up a spell. If I found the right string, I could simply stop the spell from happening altogether.
I focused and extended my energy downwards into the earth. This new awareness of all magic around me gave me a type of vision where I could perceive all of the Dungeon Below. The immense being’s limbs were all facing upwards, preparing to let loose the spell. The creature was channeling all of its magic into this one attempt, in the hopes of killing me off for good. But all this power would mean nothing if the spell was unstable enough to counter before it had even been cast.
And there it was, a tiny thread of magic, tightly wound around the ethereal ball of fire that I could see, despite the fact the spell hadn’t manifested yet. I stretched out and, using the deep magic as a catalyst, I pulled the thread loose. Yet, the energies that were fueling Fernus’ Dungeon Breaker were highly unstable; they would not disperse from being countered, they would simply release.
“What are you doing to me?” it growled as it lost control. I could see the bright, deep orange energy discharge, causing an immense explosion in the center of the dungeon, where it had been preparing the spell.
The godseal! Too late I realized that, by countering the spell this way, I was risking the seal that trapped Drinar within. My focus, lost again, allowed more deep magic to rip its way out of me, tearing holes in my branches as it poured out of my body. I was growing number to the pain, but if I had been a mortal being, this would have killed me for certain.
I shifted my consciousness down to the Dungeon to find that its walls and ceilings were still pretty much intact. It was shifting about, trying to repair itself with magic, but the misfire had dealt tremendous damage to the beast. It was an orga
nic creature, after all; pain would take a toll.
“You…are so much stronger than me,” it wheezed. “No matter how hard I try, no matter how much I consume, you always become greater.”
“And that will always be the case,” I replied.
I sensed a strange emotion from the creature, a sick feeling of glee as if it had somehow won. “Yet, you don’t wish to kill me,” it continued. “I sense it in your mind, still too weak to shield from my power. You are worried about what I guard.”
I said nothing back. I still needed to prepare the Drinarslayer Blade, to pierce the godseal and kill the Illuminated.
“I have long wondered what I was created to protect,” the Dungeon Below said. “An embedded tomb in my wall? And by instinct alone, I must move it. I must always move it away from others. I could not tell you why I had to do such a thing, just that it was an instinct. But I hear your thoughts now. I know you are afraid of it.”
“As you should be,” I replied. “For Drinar, who is within, has corrupted your mind. He seeks to break loose and bring destruction to this land.” I paused and had a realization. Perhaps I could strike a bargain with this creature. “If you will open your walls and reveal the tomb to me, I shall pierce it and set us both free. Without the corruption, I’m sure you will understand my actions. I’m sure we can find peace.”
“This being within…it will destroy you?” the Dungeon asked.
“It will destroy all of us,” I said.
“And that includes you,” it whispered. I felt that sick sense of glee grow stronger. “And that includes you.”
I felt the energies within the creature surge and the threads of magic all converge towards one central location: the tomb of Drinar. It was going to break the tomb open; it was going to shatter the godseal!
I tried to access the information within my mind about the Drinarslayer Blade, but the process of creating such a spell was difficult to discern—especially when I only had a few seconds to act. I called all of the deep magic within me to produce the blade, to stop this Illuminated from emerging and dooming us all.
I wasn’t fast enough. I had barely even begun to form the blade when I sensed the godseal crack open, the Dungeon—now self-aware enough to defy its instincts—condemning us all to destruction.
“I feel your fear!” it laughed as the seal began to break open, revealing a new presence, one that was composed entirely of deep magic. “And it shall obliterate you!”
“Why?” I asked. “Why destroy yourself along with me?”
“Because if I cannot have the morsels on the surface, then neither will you!” it shrieked as the entire earth began to shake. I was firmly rooted to the ground, but my branches were moving so hard that they were breaking off. Dozens of trees within the Feverwood started to fall over from the earthquake. Within me, I could watch the houses within the village topple, the shops fall to pieces and the great statue in the center break apart.
The earth split in half, creating an opening. I felt something forceful push my consciousness out of the dirt, away from the Dungeon Below. I could no longer see beneath the ground, but I could feel the immense presence from within.
Drinar was free and he would be coming after me as soon as he was able.
Chapter 37
I watched the split in the ground grow larger and larger with each passing moment. The deep magic within my body was violently trying to escape and I struggled to stay focused. I had failed in my task to slay the Illuminated before it had escaped. Now, I had only one other option and that was to fight it with the power I had assembled. My spells were many and great, but these creatures were feared by the gods, what chance did I have?
Finally, after a few minutes that seemed to last an eternity, I watched as the red-eyed horror emerged from the pit. Drinar was gigantic, nearly twenty feet tall, with thousands upon thousands of red irises, glancing in all directions. It wore a cloak of shadows that hid its feet, and the scythes upon its hands flexed out as if it were stretching.
All I could sense was the endless amount of deep magic within the creature, giving it the power to annihilate anything that it chose. My consciousness pushed downward, to check what the fate of the Dungeon Below had been, but it was blocked off by the growing presence of deep magic.
Do not be concerned with my captor, Drinar said, speaking in the same manner that Muiroc had. I have consumed him both as repayment for his great cruelty against me, and as a means to having the strength to rise to the surface.
I did not know what to say. My mind darted back to the spell that Muiroc had given me. Perhaps I could still use it.
I sense that you are in great anguish and fear over me. I could feel Muiroc’s machinations from afar, moving to manipulate you, working to get you to kill me. I wish my godseal had been as weak as his, then perhaps I would have been able to soothe your fears. I mean no harm to this world.
This was a new development. Yet, I was too jaded from my experiences in the past to simply take his words at face value.
I shall simply enlighten all beings by joining them to me. What they may see as death is, in reality, a joining. A transformation. To become a part of me is to become endless, undying. Perfect. I wish they would understand what I am giving them, but such limited minds, they cannot fathom what they are to become.
This was what I had been expecting. Some kind of twisted mind spouting off terrifying ideals. “What if they do not wish to join with you? Would you force them to be consumed anyway?” I asked.
A child cannot make such decisions, can they? Just as the mortals force their young to consume that which is nutritious, so must I force them all to make this choice.
I readied my magic, knowing that Drinar would be coming after me next. I didn’t know if I had a chance in hell of winning this fight, but I would throw everything I had at him.
I sense your distress. You do not wish to be joined. Worry not, Great Tree, for you cannot be joined to me. You are a stranger to this land. Your essence cannot comingle with mine.
Drinar turned around and glanced at the world, looking up at the sky. It has been so long since I have seen the sun. Since I have felt the touch of air. How I long to draw them all into me, but doing so would kill the mortals before I can do my task. I must begin my great work. Farewell, Great Tree, perhaps we will be companions someday.
And with that, the Illuminated began to walk away from me, its focus entirely on the city of Oregmyer. I could sense that an alarm had been called by the people and many were fleeing, but the panic had led the guard to believe another revolt was happening. It was chaos in the streets and many of them would be devoured by this nightmare.
And how many more after this city? How many mortals would fall to this being? I had been spared, yes, and that meant I would be able to focus on preparing for the upcoming Invasion…but who would be left to protect?
“Drinar!” I shouted, using my real voice and allowing it to boom throughout the entire Feverwood area. “You have mistaken my name!”
This caused the entity to turn around and glance at me in mild amusement, its many eyes all trained on me at once, the jagged red maw turning upwards into a sick smile. Is that so?
“I am the World Tree! Guardian of Yehan, Imprisoner of gods and friend to all mortals who walk this land! If you mean to bring them great harm, then I shall destroy you.”
I understand now. You hold deep magic in your veins and an essence from another world, but you are still a lesser being, just like all the others, Drinar said. Very well. If you wish to hold me in contention, I shall crush you. Do try to focus your deep magic so that it does not harm the land when you are slain.
This may have been foolishness on my part, to challenge the creature so suddenly, but I could not simply stand by and watch Oregmyer be razed, nor could I allow the rest of the world to suffer at its hands. Was this a futile gesture? I did not know. I wish that I had the luxury of time, again, to prepare for such a fight. But wit
h Oregmyer so close, I had to act immediately.
I focused my energies and began to forge the spell that Muiroc had taught me. It was complicated, but the longer I held on to the deep magic, the more I was able to understand the process of crafting deep spells. I hoped that I would be able to do it faster than whatever Drinar was about to do.
However, Drinar did not advance towards me, nor did he attack. He merely stood and waited patiently. Take your time in crafting such a weapon. I shall not strike you until after you have cast your spell, it said.
“Toying with me?” I asked, still focusing on the creation of the spell, moving the energies to a central area, to forge an ethereal blade shaped with deep magic. “I shall not be dissuaded.”
I simply wish to see Muiroc’s handiwork, that is all. Your fate is a foregone conclusion. Even if you are able to do great harm with your spell, or even slay me, it shall not spare you.
I ignored the strange being’s taunting and continued to work on the spell. With each passing second, it was becoming increasingly easier to manipulate the energy. But I would need more of it if I were to win this fight. And so, I sent my roots to sip from even more jugs.
I tried to remain focused, but it was hard to stay on task with such a dreadful being standing before me. The very power it radiated was a disruption to the natural world around us; I could see the birds struggle as they flew through the air, now fighting against the pulses of deep magic that were emanating from Drinar. The trees in the forest were beginning to grow larger and more twisted, losing their green leaves. Their trunks became black as night and contorted in impossible ways.
As I prepared, I felt a message from Gannix come swiftly to my mind. “Great Tree, the gods have seen the terror that has arisen! A council has been formed and we shall decide on the best way to capture the Illuminated. Help will be here soon.”
Tree Guardian Page 20
