Delver Magic: Book 06 - Pure Choice

by Jeff Inlo

  "Used? I am doing this because I desire to do so. Why are you?"

  "I wish I knew. Like I said, I think this is rather pointless."

  "Yet, you stepped forward anyway," Scheff remarked.

  "Because I think I'm supposed to, not because I want to. Big difference."

  "Then it is you who is being used."

  "Maybe, but we've all got our orders."

  "Then that is the difference between you and me. I no longer take orders." Scheff glanced quickly toward Birk Grund and Shantree Wispon. "Not from a captain of the elf guard, and not from a camp elder."

  "What about that guy behind you? Aren't you here because he called you?"

  "He offered me an opportunity, an opportunity to do what I wish to do... to test my abilities. And it is time I do just that. Prepare yourself."

  Scheff brought his hands together. A dark purple ring formed around his wrists. Pointing his arms to the gray skies, he willed the energy up over Jure. The dark violet circle took a position high over the elder wizard's head. It swirled about as it flashed several bolts of lightning at its target.

  Jure moved with equal speed. A circle of white magic formed around his body and remained there as it absorbed each fiery flash of violet mayhem. The power of each impact jolted the wizard, but when the purple ring finally dissolved, Jure was still standing.

  "You're strong," Jure remarked, "I'll give you that, but I think your bolts would have been even stronger if you mixed in a little yellow or orange magic."

  "You are mistaken."

  "I don't think so."

  "Then cast the same at me, and let us see."

  "I don't want to hurt you. I think you're just being misguided."

  "Then prove me wrong!" demanded the elf.

  Jure shrugged but decided to do exactly that. He cast a ring of power of his own that combined purple, orange and yellow magic. He placed it over the elf and willed it to strike.

  The elf reacted by casting a small violet cloud over his head to absorb the energy, but when the bolts of lightning hit the cloud, flames burned through the folds and surges of light erased the purples shadows. The sheer force staggered the elf. Scheff managed to remain on his feet, but the power of Jure's magic shattered his confidence.

  In near panic, the elf looked toward Ansas, but the sorcerer provided no encouragement.

  "And like that you're going to give up?" Ansas asked with obvious disgust. "One spell and you crumble. I was obviously wrong about you."

  Scheff steadied himself. He said nothing to the sorcerer, made no request for assistance. Instead, he returned his attention to Jure.

  "I was not prepared."

  "Son, that wasn't even my best shot."

  "And you have not received mine."

  Scheff placed the full force of the storm into one compact spell. High winds, driving rain, flashes of lightning, and crashes of thunder fell upon Jure in one massive wave. The fury was as magnificent as it was devastating.

  Jure had just enough time to cast a shield spell composed of every color. The magical field surrounded him completely, and though it buckled and wavered at the intense assault, it held. Still, the elder wizard had to catch his breath as the storm finally dissolved.

  "You see," Scheff declared to Jure, as he also gave a quick glance to Ansas, "I am far more now that I am pure. I have shed my weaknesses."

  "I never said you weren't powerful," Jure conceded. "I said you were misguided. I still think so."

  "Misguided? Misguided?! No! If anything, I finally see the truth. My spells are far more powerful than they have ever been before. I have proved that already."

  "Prove? What did you prove? More importantly, who did you prove it to? Me? Yourself? Or the sorcerer over there?"

  "I do not have to prove myself to anyone. I only seek to challenge myself."

  "Now your starting to sound like the sorcerer. That's what he's all about. I know. I've dealt with him before. He thinks he's the only thing that matters. He disregards everything else. Is that what you want? Is that how you want to think?"

  "What I want is to progress! I want to advance to a state of being beyond your limited aspirations. I will become the very power of the pure storm. I will be the wind, rain, and lightning combined into absolute perfection."

  Jure couldn't bring himself to dislike the elf, not completely. The elder wizard didn't like Scheff's tone or the selfishness in the elf's ambitions, but that was youthful pride speaking. He had no idea how old the elf was, but immaturity could be cured. Despite the arrogance of his words, Scheff revealed a desire to grow and that desire might eventually lead to greater wisdom. The elder wizard couldn't fault the elf for that.

  Scheff, however, was looking in the wrong direction, accepting guidance that was potentially harmful. The elf bought into Ansas' belief that everything came from within and the ridiculous notion that purity led to absolute power. Scheff was considering his abilities not as a gift but as a demonstration of pure individual development, and the elf clearly viewed the magic as nothing more than an inconsequential tool to manipulate.

  Jure felt such a self-serving view would ultimately limit the elf. Scheff was blinding himself to influences that were far more important than the magic itself. Disregarding such concepts as sacrifice would lead to an empty journey.

  Comparing Scheff's abilities to his own, Jure believed his own growth was based on a dedication to both discipline and faith. Even when he practiced his spells in the desert, he left room for guidance... not just direction from some experienced magic caster or advice from a well-meaning wizard, but a desire to follow the path placed before him. Even at that moment, he was willing to accept a higher calling as opposed to simply forging a direction based on his own desires.

  Wondering if he might see a way to reach Scheff, the elder wizard tried to establish what he believed was a fallacy in the elf's logic.

  "If you're trying to be the full storm, then you have to include the hues of water and light. You might want to think about that when considering this concept of pure magic. The storm isn't just dark clouds and wind. You said it yourself. It's rain and lightning as well."

  "You are twisting my words."

  "No, I'm just repeating them."

  "You think your storm spells would be more powerful than mine?" Scheff asked, but then answered the question himself. "That is what you are implying and that is why this challenge is necessary."

  "Maybe it is," Jure conceded. "Maybe you'll learn something more important than you think."

  "I will learn how to defeat you."

  "Actually, maybe you'll learn there's more to life than your own narrow point of view. And by the way, I'm still standing here."

  It was a defiant declaration, a near taunt that enraged the elf.

  "Old fool! You brought this on yourself!"

  Scheff cast another storm spell, but this one dwarfed the first. It was meant to do more than simply defeat the elder wizard; it was cast with the pure intention to annihilate him.

  Thrown into the air by the elf, a purple ring of power compacted itself into a flat disk no larger than the size of a small dinner plate. It hovered high above Jure's head, spinning at incomprehensible speeds. It pulsated with both fury and intensity, a dark purple shadow throbbing with a massive potential to unleash absolute devastation. Despite its meager size, it cast a great darkness over the entire plateau.

  Realizing the elf unleashed all of his energy into one compact spell, Jure doubted he could survive the onslaught. If he tried to absorb all of the power, the force of the individual elements would crush him or the overwhelming energy would tear through him. He didn't believe he was strong enough to block every lightning bolt as well as the deluge of rain and blasts of wind, but in an instant of comprehension, he knew he didn't have to.

  Jure cast several spells at once. He used a wind shield to deflect the gale burst that would rip him apart and a water bridge to divert the surge of water that was meant to drown him. He cast a land spell
that brought the ground up around him to draw away the lightning, and a light spell that speared through the darkness. In every spell he cast, he focused on redirecting the energy rather than attempting to meet it head-on. He would not try to overpower Scheff's fury, but simply repel it into the lifeless rock around him.

  The barren ground of the dark realm would serve as the receptacle for nearly all of Scheff's magical onslaught. Since the existence was—as Enin explained—a physical representation of the darkest corners of imagination, it could easily absorb Scheff's ferocious outburst of anger. Jure didn't have to match Scheff's power, he simply had to avoid it and use the advantages of his surroundings.

  By the time Scheff realized what was happening, it was too late. He had committed himself to the one spell, believing there was no way the elder wizard could survive. He could not retract the casting or immediately reabsorb the energy that was flowing out of his core. Just as when he cast the cyclone against the half-demon's flaming twister in the desert, he had lost control of his spell.

  The wind swirled about the two spell casters in a deafening roar, interrupted by mind shattering cracks of thunder. The pouring rain rushed down over the plateau, but directed its sheer volume entirely on the elder wizard. Streaking bolts of lightning struck near Jure again and again.

  Each element had the strength to obliterate the wizard, but not the will to overcome Jure's manipulations. The magical shields redirected each strike and sent the wind, rain, and lightning into the very fabric of the dark existence. They stood at the very edge of that realm, at its connection to a surrounding void. The very nature of the connecting planes fully accepted—even desired—the conceit inherent in the dark violet storm. The selfish desires intertwined into the elements of Scheff's spell forged a path that would not touch the noble wizard.

  Scheff could feel the spell pulling the last remnants of magic from his core. He had exhausted his magical reservoir and it would take time to recharge. In that time, he would be vulnerable to the wizard who was using only a portion of his energy to survive the storm. The elf had made yet another mistake, but he still did not quite see the truth or uncover the error in his judgment.

  When the spell ceased, Scheff would not look to Ansas for assistance. He had been defeated and he had to accept his fate. He waited for Jure to cast the spell that would destroy him in bitter silence. The spell, however, never came.

  The elder wizard had no desire to end the elf's life. He believed Scheff had certainly been foolish, and though foolishness sometimes led to senseless deaths, it wasn't mandatory. If it was, Uton would have been a very empty place, and he himself would have died long ago.

  In some ways, he saw himself in the elf's desire to embrace the energy of the storm. When Jure was first able to cast magic, the overwhelming sense of power confused him, even frightened him. As he practiced and grew, he soon reveled in his newfound abilities. It would have been easy to let the idea of grandeur swallow him in unshackled pride. Fortunately for him, he looked for purpose, not glory. That was the key to both his survival and growth, and it would also serve him in his dealings with Scheff.

  Jure searched for the purpose of that moment. He remained uncertain as to what was happening on the plateau. He had defeated the elf, but nothing had really changed. Then again, maybe it had. He wondered if he could reach the elf.

  "You made a lot of mistakes there, son."

  "Spare me the lecture," Scheff finally responded.

  "I don't have one for you, just a question. Do you still believe in this nonsense of purity?"

  "I believe in the power of the storm, my storm."

  "If that's the case, then you have to admit it wasn't enough."

  "I admit to nothing. I simply have not had enough time to grow stronger. The purity in me is still new."

  "Sounds like an excuse to me, a bad one."

  "I only needed more time and I would have defeated you."

  "More time for what? That always seems to be the reason when things don't work out. You think you would have grown stronger? Maybe, but that's not why you lost. You lost because you looked only to yourself. You think it all revolves around what you can do. It doesn't. You want too believe that you're in complete control. You're not."

  "Control comes with experience. That is what I lack."

  "I don't care how much experience you have. You're going to have to realize that there are some things you just can't control. You think I'm here because I want to be? You think I controlled this? When are you going to give up this notion that everything revolves around you?"

  "I thought you were not going to lecture me," Scheff grumbled.

  "It's not a lecture. It's the answer to the question. Your belief in purity is nothing more than conceit. That's why it's nonsense and that's why you lost. All the time in the land wouldn't have changed that."

  With that said, Ansas became annoyed at the conversation and wanted it ended.

  "Just kill him and be done with it. It wasn't his purity that failed him. He failed himself."

  "I have no intention of killing him," Jure revealed. "I don't think he was being malicious, but I do think he was acting terribly stupid. He listened to the wrong voice in his head. Maybe he'll learn to listen to a different one and find a new lesson."

  "What lesson?" the sorcerer snarled with disgust. "That he is incompetent?"

  "You're amazing," Jure noted with contempt. "I beat you once, too, remember?"

  "And I was prepared to face the consequences. The elf is clearly incapable of rising above anything beyond an average spell caster. Do the land a favor and remove him from it."

  Scheff finally turned to the sorcerer. He did so not with a request for assistance, but with a question of his own.

  "But you admitted you lost before and you said it was important to learn from defeat. Are you saying I cannot learn from what has happened here?"

  "I'm saying you're an embarrassment to me."

  "I lost, but as the wizard said, you lost to him the first time you met as well."

  "Entirely different matter. I was on my own."

  "And I was not?" the elf asked in pure amazement at the sorcerer's suggestion.

  "You had part of my magic inside of you to guide you."

  "And this is what you consider guidance?"

  "This is what I consider a wasted opportunity." Ansas redirected his attention back to the elder wizard. "I congratulate you again. I really didn't think you had it in you. Now, are you going to finish him off?"

  "No," Jure replied simply.

  "You would not eliminate a potential future threat?"

  "He's not a threat to me if he understands what's really going on here. Despite what you say, maybe he will learn from his mistakes... and maybe he'll start putting some trust into something larger than himself."

  Ansas grew quiet as he considered the elder wizard. His stare eventually turned to the elf.

  "No, I don't think so. He is a disappointment. That's all."

  With his verdict rendered, Ansas extended an open arm toward Scheff and forcibly removed his dark magic from the core of the elf. The sorcerer disregarded the elf's screams. He took it all back and left Scheff empty and disheartened.

  Chapter 29

  Scheff crumpled to the ground, but remained alive. Unconsciousness ended his pain and his screams. The dark magic Ansas instilled in him was gone, and the elf had emptied his own reserve of energy with his last spell against Jure. Vacant of all magic, he was no longer an integral part of the conflict. Ignored by Ansas, he became nothing more than a discarded piece of rubble, just another part of the dark realm's barren landscape.

  Jure knew Scheff was still alive, and saw no need to assist him further. The elder wizard had already accomplished much that would help the elf. With both of them surviving the ordeal, the outcome of the battle forced the sorcerer's hand. Ansas might have believed it was a great punishment to remove the dark magic from the elf, but Jure believed it was more of a blessing. If Scheff could learn
from his mistakes, then the elf had yet another opportunity to start fresh, and he might eventually understand that the sorcerer would have led him to ruin.

  Looking at his own part in the madness, Jure hoped that would be the case. It would reinforce his belief that there was a greater purpose to what was an otherwise meaningless conflict. He was happy to be alive, but he found no triumphant inner joy in defeating Scheff. As he stood at the middle of the plateau lifted high into the gray sky, he gave one last look at the fallen elf and considered everything around him.

  A nightmare.

  That was what the dark realm was... a bleak landscape covered by a gloomy sky and bereft of hope, but its very nature saved Jure, and perhaps it would save Scheff as well. Maybe the elf would regain consciousness as if waking from a nightmare and seek to find a better light of understanding.

  Whatever the ultimate outcome, Jure believed he had completed his task. If the old wizard had been brought to the dark realm to do some good, it had been done. No doubt there were still dangers lurking upon the high plain, but he didn't believe they were for him to face.

  Despite the presence of the arasaps and the other spell casters, Jure knew Ansas was the true threat to them all—on both sides of the plateau. Even so, he actually turned his back to the sorcerer as he returned to his friends. He did not seek congratulations from those that witnessed his victory, and his expression revealed he did not wish to hear them.

  It was Ryson who spoke out, but not to Jure. He had grown tired of the senseless exchanges, and he directed his rage toward the sorcerer across the plateau.

  "I want those arasaps out of my wife!"

  "You don't listen very well," Ansas responded. "A characteristic I find common... and annoying. I have no intention of removing the arasaps."

  Stepping in the path between Ryson and the sorcerer, Enin decided to make his own declaration.

  "Your intentions are irrelevant. Regardless of what happens here today, I will see that you remove them."

  "A rather bold determination. You would have to force me to do so, and I don't think you have it in you. Oh, I realize you are the formidable wizard with two circles and white magic, but I still think you are the personification of dilution."