by D. Levesque
She had told me stories of those who went wild and about trying to return them from being trapped inside their own bodies, with the animal inside them taking over. It had sent shivers down my back. I can’t imagine being trapped like that. She said that it doesn’t happen as much today, but over a hundred years ago, at least on Earth, it happened a lot. Most of the time, they had to kill the Were because otherwise, they would even kill humans, which would cause them to hunt Werefolk down.
After a good hour run of running, I am on top of the mountain, which is small compared to some I have climbed before. But the view is magnificent. The air is crisp and clear, not a cloud in the sky. I can see for miles and miles. Looking towards where I think the camp is, I see wisps of smoke from most likely Miguel’s wood stove. Laying down, I can see that the forest is quiet. Almost like it knows I am here. Which would be odd, as I am pretty quiet in my wolf form. I ran all out, but I could barely hear my own steps.
Laying down, I put my head on my paws and close my eyes, enjoying the sun hitting my fur. I am sure a nap would be all right, as I have been training so hard for the last three weeks, and being able to do this is a Godsend. Slowly the forest returns to normal. With my eyes closed, I can hear the birds start to sing again and even hear the odd squirrel or chipmunk chirp. The sound is soothing. I can feel myself nodding off.
Slowly, I wake up, but I can tell I am not on top of the mountain anymore. Looking around, I can see the ruins I had seen before when the thug was about to shoot me. Walking forward, I stop and see I am still in my wolf form. The last time I was here, I was in my human form. Shrugging my shoulders, which by the way in wolf form, feels wrong, I head towards the ruins. Unlike before, the gigantic wolf that is there isn’t in shadow this time.
“Mahna, mi medo,” it says. “Welcome, my son. Or I should say again.”
“Hello again?” I ask it worriedly. “Am I about to be shot again, and this is just the moment before, and I need to move fast again?”
The Wolf laughs at my words. “No, you are safe on your mountain. I just wanted to talk to you. I can see what you will attempt in the next couple of days. I wanted to warn you of it,” he says.
“Before we continue, can I ask who you are? What is your name?” I ask the enormous silver wolf.
“Ah, I have had many names. Though you humans were not around when I was alive in this form. But you can call me, Tatus, if you require a name,” he says.
“So Tatus, what exactly are you? And where am I? And what do you mean when you were alive?” I ask question after question.
Again, Tatus laughs. “Ah, youth. No patience, I see. Let’s start with who I am. I am what you all have been calling the progenitors. But, if you wish a name that your language can understand, we were called the Elveesian. We are the ones who created many of the Races around. As for alive, we transcended as a Race ourselves, so I am mostly an energy form, which is why I am able to visit you this way.”
What the fuck! They are the ones who created all the races, just as everyone figured. And they transcended? As in, to energy? A ton of the science fiction books I read talked about that. Even how a certain number or percentage of a race needs to agree to rise up will transcend.
“So, you aren’t here, but in my dreams?” I ask Tatus.
“Not so much a dream, but a different plane of existence. Your dreams are still your own,” Tatus says.
“So, do you all look like wolves?” I ask him, looking at his large shape.
“Ah, no, this is the shape I loved using when I was alive, and so I chose to use it. Does it scare you?” he asks me curiously.
“Oh! No, of course not. Though to be honest, when I first met you and didn’t know about Werewolves, you kind of did,” I say with a chuckle, remembering that event where I thought I was going to die, again.
“We as a Race created so many other Races that our original form was lost. We are shapeshifters, which is why you, as a Were, have that ability. Some of our children, we gifted it to them, only in so much as they could only shift into one. You, though, are very much like us, which is why I have taken an interest. You are an anomaly. Though, thanks to your mother and Emilia, I now understand how you came to be. Although I had wished it had not happened, I cannot undo it.”
“What do you mean? That I have some of your blood in me because of what they found in that capsule?”
“That is correct. When we transcended, we took everything that was us, with us. Though, how that capsule was lost is unknown to us. But that is the past. This is the present. So we must deal with the now. I wanted to warn you that if you still want to bring out what you all call this Incubus, you will change the fates of all the Races,” Tatus tells me solemnly.
“What do you mean?” I ask, now nervous. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea.
“By bringing this Incubus out, you will, in effect, become an Elveesian. Though, I wish you would keep quiet about us. I wish we had, as a Race, faded from all memories, but it seems we have lingered on even as a myth, even after millions of years,” he says, sadly.
“Millions!” I blurt out in shock.
“Of course,” he says with a laugh. “We left your plane well over 5 million years ago. We created most of the Races that are in existence, as we found we were alone.”
“Then what about this Void my mother keeps talking about? Was that something that you also created?” I ask him, annoyed that they would create something like that.
“No!” he shouts, and the immense power behind that word causes me to fall on my side and show my belly to him in supplication. Oh shit. Now I am going to die, I think to myself, scared like I have never been before.
Chapter Seventeen
As suddenly as it came, the pressure is gone. “Did you say the Void?” Tatus says angrily.
Rising slowly from my crouching position, I get up on wobbly legs. Shit, maybe I won’t die today. “Yes, the Void. That is what my mother keeps talking about, and how they had banished it and are trying to destroy it again, or at least its essence that escaped. That is part of the reason I wanted to bring out this Incubus since we will need all the help I can get. Because of the way they talk about it, it sounds badass as fuck,” I tell him.
Tatus says nothing and just looks at me. I can feel the power behind his gaze. I almost want to crawl on my belly to him. What the fuck is going on? But then, just as quickly, the feeling fades, as he has turned away and is looking into space somewhere.
Sighing, he says, “We thought it gone. But it seems that it has come back.”
“What is the Void?” I ask him slowly.
“The Void is an experiment gone wrong. A Race we created, not long before we transcended, tried to become like us secretly. We added to what is our DNA, as you would call it, a genetic marker that would fail if transferred artificially. It created something even we, who thought ourselves the cleverest thing on this plane, did not expect. While we can subsist on life force, or blood, this thing lived on the soul, which is unique to us. After you die, your soul goes to another plane. It’s a lower plane, but I digress. Well, these creatures eat someone’s soul to grow stronger. We thought we had gotten them all, but it seems they were too good at keeping things hidden from us before we destroyed them,” Tatus says with a sigh.
“You mean you destroyed all the Voids?” I ask him, trying to understand.
“Them and the Race that created them. Or we thought we had gotten all the Voids, but it seems we have not,” he says sadly. “And now that leaves you with a dilemma.”
“Leaves me with a dilemma?” I ask him, baffled.
“What will you do now? I have no power on your plane anymore, as where we are now is not my plane either. This is the lowest plane I can come down to, but this is also the highest you can come, and only in your dreams. What will you do? Will you take up the mantle of being a newly reborn Elveesian? You will not have the same power as us, but you will be powerful enough in your own right,” he asks me pointedly. “And you will need al
l the help of those three girls of yours.”
Thinking it over, I am not sure what to make of all this. While the idea sounds amazing, how will it change me? As my mother fears, will I let this power get to me? Thinking about it, do I really have a choice?
“What about the first time they banished it? Can’t we do that again?” I ask him.
“Hmm, so the Races were able to banish it? Interesting. What did it take?” he asks me curiously.
“Oh shit, yeah. That might not work. If I remember correctly, it ended up costing the lives of over 2000 people, and that was just to cast the spell to seal it,” I say dejectedly.
“Yes, that would prove to be quite an endeavor to take on again. I cannot imagine the deaths that were involved before that, and those were soul deaths. I am sure that once it’s been released again, it would take a good rallying cry to fight it again with such numbers,” he says, but I can tell he is trying to lead me to take up the task that they never finished.
“What will happen to me if I do become, as you say, an Elveesian? How will it change me? Right now, I have a bunch of them learning to cast a spell that will create a circle of protection from me and a snaring spell to keep me in one spot. Will I become indestructible?” I ask.
“Oh no,” he says with a laugh, which is odd coming from a wolf. “You can die just as we could die before we transcended. But you will have strengths with you to survive. Even the essence of this thing is strong, and you will need it. But know this, transferring your blood to your mates, as your parent called them, will not grant them the ability to become an Elveesian. That is something only you will have since you were born with it inside you. But as for how it will change you, not much. You can still be taken down, if enough of the Races band together, if you abuse your power,” he says warningly.
“No pressure, right?” I say with a small laugh.
“Now, you should be getting back, but I think you will be wise in whatever choice you make. But Brandon?” he looks at me questioningly.
I look at him curiously. “Yes?”
“Make sure you make me proud that you’re an Elveesian now.”
And with that, he gives up a howl like last time, and everything around me changes. I open my eyes, and I am still on the mountain top. I can see that the sun has moved some from where it was when I fell asleep. I can’t tell how long I’ve been asleep, though. Getting up, I stretch my back legs. Shapeshifting, I also stretch in my human form. Almost like I was about to run a race. And honestly, I am scared shitless.
I am about to do something that will change me fundamentally. And if my mother or the girls even knew I was going to do this without their knowledge, they would kill me. Taking a deep breath, I look around at the scenery as this might be my last time looking at it through human eyes. Well, a human, Vampire, Elf, and Werewolf hybrid. Or not quite an Elveesian, yet. The next time I do open my eyes, if this works, I will be an Elveesian.
Sitting down in case what I do causes me to pass out, I want to have the least fall to the ground as possible. Getting slapped by the floor once hurt enough, I think to myself, rubbing the cheek that took the brunt of it. Closing my eyes, I reach inside me and look for the light. But this time, I reach deeper, not just the outside portion. I can feel something different inside this light that wasn’t there before. Where before I remember with my Werewolf transformation, there was darkness. This is more of a light that is pure. Compared to the outside light, this is cleaner, purer, and even more harmonious light that seems right. How did I miss this before? Was it not there until now?
I try to grab at it, but my hand, for lack of a better term, passes right through it. Shit, what the fuck? Making myself move around the light, I look at it closely, but it seems the same no matter what angle I try. And each time I try to grab it, I end up with nothing. Stepping back from it, I try to think it through. So, if I can’t touch it, how am I supposed to grab it, I think, perplexed. Wait, what if I am not meant to touch it? What if I am supposed to absorb it, like taking in the sun’s rays when you suntan? I open myself to it for what seems like ten minutes, but nothing happens.
Frowning now, I am wondering what the fuck is going on. Can’t touch it, can’t absorb it. Not like I can eat it. Wait, what if I need to be closer? But how close? Fuck it, I think. I move until I pass the first layer of light, and then I am in the middle. It’s so bright that I close my eyes. Fuck me. I think that actually hurts my metaphorical eyes. Once I think I am in the center of it, I stop moving. And then, just as if I am opening myself up to something, I do it. I am suddenly hit with so much pain, that it makes me cry out.
This pain is nothing like what I felt when I transformed into my Werewolf. That was an itch compared to this. And I can tell that the pain I am feeling isn’t just magical, but also physical, mental, and even emotional. And through all this, I am still screaming in my human form. I am sure that I have scared away all the animals within miles of where I am sitting down, though I can tell I’ve fallen over now. The screaming I am doing isn’t just in my human voice, but so much more.
After what seems like hours of screaming, I open my eyes. I can feel the ground under me, and it’s very hard and uncomfortable. The sun has moved, and it’s almost sundown. Shit, how long was I screaming and out for? Trying to get up, I end up falling back down. My arms have no strength in them. Yeah, I am just going to lie here. Fuck, that hurt. I hope it worked. But if it didn’t, I am at least still alive. Lying here, I stare at the sky.
Without warning, in front of me zips a, well for lack of a better descriptor, a silver-colored ball. Staring at it, I can’t figure out how it’s floating. Suddenly a harsh metallic voice booms from it, but all that comes out is a high-pitched burst of static, which causes me to cover my ears in pain.
“Ow! What the fuck?” I scream at it.
The ball backs up several feet, but then again, it sends sound at me, but this time it sounds like a bunch of beeps and clicks, which are just as painful to my ears, especially with how sensitive they have become.
“For fuck sakes, stop with the deafening noises!” I scream at it, hoping it will understand me somehow.
The ball then darts at me so fast that I don’t have time to react and hits me in the forehead, and the worst part was the electrical shock it gives me. Ow what the Jesus, fuck, I think, scrambling away from it.
“I don’t know what the fuck you are but stop fucking causing me pain,” I roar at it in frustration.
But then I get the shock of my life. “Stand zzz, waiting zzz, download zzz,” says the ball in a non-emotional voice.
“What?” I say, staring at it dumbly.
“One moment, processing knowlezzzz,” the ball says, its voice sounding more understandable. Suddenly, a beep comes from it three times, and the ball goes from silver to pure black.
“Hello, Master, I am truly sorry. It has been many millions of years since this unit has seen an Elveesian, so I had not known the Masters’ language had changed again. I was able to retrieve it by cranium transfer. How can I be of service?” it asks me, now in a rich, deep male baritone voice.
“What did you call me?” I say, making sure I heard this ball correctly.
“An Elveesian, Master?”
“It fucking worked!!!” I yell exuberantly.
The end of Book 1 of Silver Magi
About the Author
I am an older-than-dirt gamer. I started gaming with old school BBS' were a thing, playing Pit Fighter and Trade Wars. I remember buying my first PC when I was 14 years old; it was a RadioShack Tandy PC. Paid a ton for it.
When the internet became available, I was on the early (well, not THAT early) bandwagon.
My venture into online games started with Ultima Online. Then I got into the beta for Everquest. THAT was my addiction. I eventually convinced my partner, at the time, to try the game since it seemed to be "taking you away from me almost every evening". And that is how my now wife became a gamer girl. We raided for years, made some fantastic f
riends, who we still talk to on Facebook. Then came Everquest 2. Yet more addiction. I had tried WoW, many times. While the game was good, I just never got into it. Sorry WoW Players.
Since then, I have played so many games that have come out, from online games to stand-alone ones. I have so many titles on Steam that one would think I would not run out of stuff to play, right? Yeah... If you look at my most played games in Steam, it would have to be in order, Elder Scrolls Online (over 900 hours), Ark Survival Evolved (over 500 hours) and Everquest 2 on Steam. But that doesn't take into account before I had it on Steam, so add another 2000 hours to that!
My love and passion for reading started at a young age. The first book I read for the sheer pleasure of it as a child was Lord of the Rings at the age of 12. From then on, it was an expensive habit. I have been reading Science Fiction and Fantasy since then.
I am also a fan of Anime and Manga. Yeah, I know. How much more geek can I add to this? Oh, oh, you just wait. I was more into ichii and harem there. But also, more fantasy-based ones. I never did watch Yu-Gi-Oh or such. I did love comedy ones. Years ago, I remembered introducing my older kids to Ranma ½. Yeah, I wasn't a good dad.
About three years ago, I was introduced to LitRPG and GameLit, and well, HaremLit. And I have not gone back. I have bought and read so many books on Kindle. I won't mention the numbers. I had always wanted to write a book from a pretty young age, since I had lots of imagination and ideas. But I was always under the impression you needed a large publisher. I was wrong. Instead, I decided to put my thoughts to paper, as it were, and this started my new career as an author.
