hey friends!
I hope some of you will actually read this, its not too long. I wrote this for my Creative Writing class but its going to continue, i started this back in teh old role play days...but anyways, here it is (15 pages double spaced in Word)
Chronicles of Ultimus
Prologue of Infinity
“This is the new world, nay, the new universe. Where the old gods failed, we will begin anew, and succeed. Our universe will be everlasting.”
“Yes, I believe it can be done, yet how will we choose its rulers? Its gods?”
“We will populate it with gods of our choosing. Let us begin. We will begin building this multiverse.
* * *
And so begins this long journey. The great Powers began their work, weaving life and matter with the twine of primordial forces unknown even to the gods. The multiverse was formed. The Great Space was opened as dust was poured in to from great planets, stars, and solar systems. Burning rivers of flame eddied here and there as the tornadoes of gravity drew them in to form stars. Dust and ice and other matter spun itself into planets. This was the beginning of the new universe; it went on for a time undeterminable by mortals, or immortals.
At the end of this period, the Great Powers formed the entities known as gods and sent them forth to shape the new, chaotic universe.
Our story begins on a planet, here to be named, Terra. This was a planet of green fields and wide oceans. The first 3 gods to come here were Bahamut, Tiamat, and Septimus. They were soon followed by their master, Lord Io. The Creatures were theirs to create, as were this world’s people. These people they named, Dragons.
1
And So It Begins
The cavern was empty and completely quiet, quite an amazing feat for 5 huge dragons. The dragons crowded around an egg in the center of this round cavern, the only sounds emanated from it. A large female Gold Dragon wraps herself around the egg as the first few cracks began to appear. And suddenly, it broke apart, releasing the new hatchling, Ultimus Terra Maximus. The small hatchling was a dull yellow color, but the light gleamed off the red streaks going down his sides and up his wings. His blinking eyes gazed around taking in the new sites around him; the huge dragons loomed over him, grinning with their toothy maws.
“Congratulations Shyildran, he hath been born and strong as any hatchling could be. You should be proud!”
Ultimus looked up at the voice and finds that it belonged to a silver dragon, around 96 feet long, with a large forty-three foot long tail wrapped around its legs.
“Have my thanks good Dartanel, you have helped me greatly. Now…,” She bent down and picked Ultimus up, out of his shell pieces and set him in her palm. He extended his nose and sniffed hesitantly, then leapt onto her neck in a tight embrace.
Dartanel looked up, “hmm, he seems to know who is mother is doesn’t he? Well, I think he shall be a quick learner. He’ll pick up speech before the week is out, then we shall begin his lessons.”
Shyildran looked up, concerned, “You think we should start so soon? He was just hatched.”
Dartanel looked with a face of mirth, “If he is anything like his mother, he’ll be ready to start in less than 3 days, and he’ll be moving on to more advanced teachings before a ten-day.”
“Oh Dartanel, you know flattery only goes so far” She laughed quietly and took Ultimus, setting him on the ground near a large pile of bedding.
“I’ll take you to our cave once you pick up the rudiments of flying my dear. Just get used to your limbs, you’re new to the world. Once you are ready, climb that face of stone, and leap. When you are accomplished, you will be able to get to the other side of the cavern, if you have trouble; the bed pile is here to catch your fall.”
Ultimus looked up and around at the large cavern, his mind raced with possibilities, even this soon out of his egg. His mother had whispered the rudiments of flying to him while he was still growing inside his egg. The small gold slowly crept over to the stone wall on his newly used limbs. Wobbling much at first, he eventually got to the wall and placed his claws on the rock face. As if he’d been doing it for years, his claws sought out the nooks and crannies of the rock and he began climbing. Step after step he got to the top. He looked out over the cavern, looking at it in all its huge splendor, before walking to the edge. He slowly flexed his wings, stretching the muscles that have never been used before. He looked at his situation with grave interest before leaping out over the 200 foot drop. His initial run carried him many feet before he began to descend, very rapidly. Ultimus’s mind raced as he tried to remember what to do, he stretched his wings out full and twitched them until suddenly the undercurrent of air lifted up, and up he went. Ultimus slowly glided across the cavern and landed, rather unceremoniously, on the floor of the second pier.
“Very good show master Ultimus, you shall be a grand flier indeed once you get some proper lessons.” Dartanel looked up and then back to Shyildran’s surprised face. “Well, I shall be leaving, I trust you will have a nice trip over the city, be careful not to let him take in the sights too much, he may forget about the gliding part,” he chuckles.
“Don’t worry, I shall watch over him, he is my son you know. Farewell dear friend.”
Dartanel turned around and walked to the opening of the cavern and leapt off, and then made an impressive dive and then returned, flying off towards the city Proper.
“It is time for us to go home Ultimus, you shall see where your family lives.” They both walked to the opening, and Shyildran leaps off, flying elegantly. Ultimus took a running start and felt the wind pump beneath his wings and he glided forth. They flew over the huge city of dragons, set in a low area completely surrounded by large cliffs. Waterfalls burst over the sides of the cliffs feeding the huge lake that the city floats on. Ultimus gazed around in awe and wonder, this being his first site of his new world. Suddenly though he realized that he is no longer gliding.
“ULTIMUS! GLIDE MY FOOL SON!” Shyildran screamed as she made a dive to retrieve him. “VOLITARÉ!” and at the yell of that world, wind flew from her fingers and wrapped around Ultimus and he suddenly began falling no faster than a feather.
“You should be more careful next time my son.” She scooped him in her hand and began flying to their lair.
2
Septimus Dæmon Maximus
The cavern loomed ahead of them, its huge entrance a gaping hole in the side of the cliff. Shyildran landed gracefully with a final wing flutter on the side and walked in, setting Ultimus down in the process. “Now don’t go falling out of the lair now, we’ve got to teach you how to fly first, and how to keep flying when your mind wanders,” she chuckled.
“SHYILDRAN! Are you home my dear?” a large deep voice bellowed from within the cavern.
“Yes Septimus, I return, with our son. I trust you want to see him?”
“Of course I do Shyildran, he one day must become as great a warrior as his father. Bring him here!”
Shyildran and Ultimus walked slowly into the back, though Ultimus with much more apprehension. As they entered the bed chambers Ultimus looked up and up till he reaches the end of the large red tower of a dragon, Septimus. His father was huge, reaching up much farther than Shyildran, nearly 300 feet long from tip to tail. Septimus had large bony spines reaching the length of his spine, and blade like wings jutting from his sides. He looked every bit like a red dragon should, and looked as if he knew how to use all his tools as well.
“So this is my son, I see he got most of your gold coloring, pity, but no matter. Color doesn’t matter for power, as far as Reds and Golds are concerned anyway. Lets test how much you can take!” Septimus breathes in deep and begins to exhale…
“Tacitus lux, defendere a magicae artes!” the words flowed from Shyildran’s mouth and her outstretched hands began to exude a white light and a sphere of light encased Ultimus just as the fiery breath overtook him, deflecting it in all directions.
“He was just hatched you fool! How dare you breath fire at our newly born son, are you mad?
“Ha ha ha ha, he would’ve been fine dear Shyildran. I was just playing with him. You should lighten up a little!”
“Come Ultimus,” she took him by the claw, “We’re going somewhere a bit safer!”
“Be sure to bring him back when he’s ready for his lessons Shyildran!”
* * *
“That, Ultimus, was your father. If you want to be a good and successful dragon in your life you will heed nothing he says. For now we shall go to the college, we will be living there while you learn.”
The college shot up, a spire reaching for the sky. Dragons of all colors flew around it, though there were noticeably less chromatically colored ones. Near the top the spire twisted around till it reached above the clouds. Magic symbols glowed, suspended in the air, warning anyone against going above the clouds, and any dragon looking upon it from a distance found it to be a cloud of ever striking bolts of lightning. Many terraces and balconies stretched off the tower with various things, sports arenas, magic practicing fields, and other such things. On one such terrace, many different colored dragons stood, tossing huge fireballs through the air and strikes magical stone targets farther down the field. On another, dragons tossed a large stone sphere between each other, dodging and weaving in mid air. Shyildran and Ultimus glided slowly down in a landing descent. As they began to touch the ground a large silver dragon slowly approached, and Shyildran looked ahead.
“Greetings Headmaster, how are things in the college today?” The Headmaster looked up at the greetings, smiled a toothy grin and bowed his head.
“It is quite well Mistress Shyildran, and who is this handsome young dragonling you’ve brought me?”
“This is my newborn son, Ultimus.” Ultimus looked up at the large silver dragon, yet again almost falling over trying to reach the top of the long serpent.
“I’m sure he will be a fine student. We should get him started strait away. We shall begin tomorrow!”
So, Ultimus made his new home at the academy making new friends and learning magic and the ways of fight, not to mention lore and academic skills. As was predicted, he was an awesome student, but the fact that made his mother uneasy was the fact that he excelled greatly in combat and black magic. He was more accustomed to fling a fireball than flying almost. Now, as we re-enter the story, it is 50 years later…..
3
The Future Arch-Wizard
His eyes squinted in concentration. He put his hands in front of him and extended his claws so that the tips were touching with a crackle of red-hot energy. Sheets of red light began to rolls down his arms and a red ball of pulsing light began to form in the cage of his talons.
“ Ast kiranann kair soth-arn suh kali jalaran!!” and as he yells out those words the ball flashed a blinding bright and he threw it at the vortex in front of him. The ball moved very slowly for about 10 feet and then suddenly exploded in a rage of hellfire into a flying sphere of about 20 feet in diameter. The fireball engulfed the vortex and an explosion rocked the tower, the clouds over head suddenly dropped rain and fired lightning into the surrounding sky for a few moment until finally everything ceased and the vortex was obliterated.
“No one has ever….EVER…destroyed one of my Magic Vortexes. Ultimus, you are a true magical prodigy…well...black magic anyway. We’d have more use for you if you’d put that brilliant mind to use in white magic!” the magic instructor stared at him for a moment and shook his head, walking off, “and with a Fireball too…”
Ultimus looked over with a large toothy grin, “Yes well, with my talent what can you do? Now imagine if I had used something larger…”
“Bigger? You know higher magic than the Fireball? Someone has let you get into some book you need not have been studying.”
“Oh, you worry too much Master Cer. I can handle it!”
“I do not care whether you can handle it or not, you are not to be using stronger spells than you have taken the necessary tests for. It is forbidden! And you shall call me Master Ceruleanesen Taerrina! Not ‘Cer’!”
“Sheesh Cer…lighten up a little, don’t have an orc…”
“I swear, you are a great student Ultimus, but you have the attitude of a pretentious young red!”
“Well…I am half of one…” Ultimus smirks.
“Don’t talk back! You little…little…ARG!” and with that the black magic teacher stormed out of the room, his tail swishing back and forth violently.
Ultimus laughed heartily, “Its always fun ruffling his scales.”
Ultimus began walking off the terrace and through the other students who, oddly enough, were still watching open-mouthed at the spot where the vortex was fifteen minutes ago.
“Come on guys, it wasn’t that big of a deal…” and he walked out and into the hallway.
“I guess the next class is white magic,” Ultimus’s scales paled visibly as he thought about it. “Oh Bahamut…this isn’t going to be pretty.” Ultimus continued walking.
Ultimus put his claw on the symbol to open the door and steped inside with all of the other students. The room opened into a huge cathedral like hall. Large holy symbol plates of several draconic gods and goddesses covered the walls and radiated magic power. Most of the students were Silvers and Golds but there were a mix of all different kinds. The white magic teacher was at the front of the hall next to a huge wheel, symbolizing Io, the Great Wheel, the Nine-Fold Dragon, the All-Father, and Lord of all Dragons. There were bodies lying in the work area of the hall; each of them was on a white magic symbol, which was shaped like a twelve-pointed star.
The white magic teacher walked to the open area and addressed the class, “Ok everyone, each of these bodies has been brought back to life, and they are in essence, flesh golems and are not truly alive. But the flesh is alive enough to be healed and these will be your practice dummies. Each of you will in some way harm your cadaver and then heal it. You’ve all had the training, now let’s see if you can put it to use.”
The young dragons in the room began performing their work, cutting their cadavers, and then using a healing spell to repair the damage. Ultimus though, was having trouble summoning up the necessary magic threads to perform the spell. His eyes squinted in concentration as the white lines of power began to slowly flow into the sphere of power in his claws. Then, as usual, black lines began to filter in with the white as hard as he tried to keep them gone. As if his world had suddenly been shattered, Ultimus hit the ground with a thump and looked up to see his teacher.
“Ultimus, if you can not begin to use white magic effectively without filtering negative energy in with it, you will not pass your marks. Negative energy has no use in this class room…”
This class always upset him, for reasons even unknown to him, Ultimus had trouble channeling positive energy. He always began filtering negative energy in with it, which would do nothing but raise a body as undead, which was severely forbidden. Ultimus began walking back to his quarters with his head dipped below his wings when there was a crash a burst of hot air. Screams and roars could suddenly be heard from outside the walls. Ultimus’s eyes widened and he broke into a gallop on all fours to reach a window. Upon reaching the window he look outside to see the carnage of several young dragons falling to magic being flung by a small, bipedal, reptilian creature.
“How did a lizardling get up here? And why are so many of my brothers and sisters having such a problem with him? Well…time to stop talking to myself…” And with that Ultimus leapt out the window and opened his golden wings wide, grinning as he flew. He began flying slowly, gaining visual information on the battlefield. Many dragons were flying around the winged lizardling. It looked very human like, how very rare humans are, except it was covered in scales and had a maw full of sharp teeth and a wicked intelligence in it eyes. Usually they aren’t a threat to dragons but the ones with wings tend to learn magic and get a big head. By this time many of the younger dragons were being rounded up by the teachers and ushered back into the school so no more of them would be hurt. Ultimus did flew past the lizardling and performed a wingover technique, changing his direction 180 degrees without losing speed and pulled up to hover about 20 feet from the lizardling.
“Hey lizardling, how dare you attack a dragon stronghold. Are you that eager to meet your weakling gods in the Hades below the surface?”
The reptilian creature slowly turned, flapping his wings slowly to stare murder at the young gold dragon who towered just a few feet from him. “My name is Kirssalass and I am Serpensiss, you foul huge beast, call me lizardling once more and I will not bother killing you for you will suffer the rest of your years! Influere in Ignis!” The quick spell Kirssalass hissed out sent a stream of burning flames strait from his finger into Ultimus. Ultimus looked down with wide eyes at fire crawling across his chest plate and looked back up at Kirssalass slowly and then yawned.
“Is that the best you can do?” Ultimus opened his mouth as if he were going to speak but then like a lightning flash, he had gulped in a deep breath and with a roar belched forth a huge gout of flames at the lizardling.
With a panicked scream the lizardling yelled out, “Fides A incendium!” and a red translucent wall sprung up in front of him, absorbing the flames. Behind the wall he prepare another spell, moving his hands in erratic, orbiting motions around an iron rod that began to float in front of him, “Incursus Irasci Fulmen ex eo Deus!” As the flames from Ultimus’s fire breath began to subside, Kirssalass’s spell triggered and fire a huge, bright blue bolt of lightning from the floating rod, its shattered the fire shield like glass and pierced through to strike Ultimus. The blue spidery bolt struck Ultimus right where the flames did originally except this time he crumpled up like a balled up piece of paper, and without a sound began falling strait down.
“Fool dragonsss…can not defeat me. I will destroy this entire aerie!” the lizardling began his speech. Suddenly a golden artillery shell slammed into him from below and the lizardling went fluttering down before he caught himself in the air.
“You’re cheating, using a Stoneskin spell like that. Cogere Telum!” Ultimus acted as if he was about to throw a ball and a wispy white sphere appeared in his hand, as he made the motions of throwing 5 glowing missiles burst from his claw and flew unerringly towards Kirssalass, battering him like large stones. Kirssalass began chanting his lightning spell several time, seemingly to build a charge of glowing blue in the iron rod he held aloft between his claws. He began firing bolts of lightning at Ultimus as fast as he could say the command word.
Ultimus began flying like a mad-dragon, weaving in between the blue spider web that was fast crawling across the sky. A lift of his wings, catch an updraft, jump above a bolt. Fold the wings, dive below a bolt over head. Ultimus was becoming desperate; this lizardling was a more accomplished spell caster than he was. A sudden rage began to flow into his thoughts. The red lines on his scales seemed to bleed and get larger as the red color started to cover the gold on his scales. His spine ridges began to grow long and turn a deep purple color and soon he looked very much like his father, Septimus. No longer in control of his own thoughts Ultimus stopped his running. He spun around in the air and stared down at Kirssalass with blazing red eyes. The lizardling began fiercely flinging his lightning bolts at Ultimus but no one could tell if he actually felt the electrical bolts striking his body. Ultimus opened his jaws and lines of glowing white light began to gather between his jaws into a sphere of light that gave off a heat that could be felt a hundred feet away. Kirssalass stopped his assault and spun around to begin flying off.
The voice that leaves Ultimus’s jaws is deep, demonic, and not his own, “Divinus Sol, SUPER NOVA” And he breathed forward forcing the glowing sun-like sphere towards the lizardling at a speed so fast the eye could barely catch it and the resulting explosion sent Ultimus flying towards the ground far below being trailed by the black soot of what was left of Kirssalass.
* * *
The amethyst dragon’s claws hovered over Ultimus’s still body, washing it over with a white light. “He will be fine, but this is something that can not be ignored Shyildran. What we saw was enough to defeat the attacker, but there was nothing good about what Ultimus transformed into.”
Shyildran’s jaws drew tight.
“I know, his father’s influence is strong in him, we all know that. I don’t know what to do about it.”
Raymosium looked away from Ultimus, “We must bind away this power. I know it saved his life and those of some students today, but next time it might be one of us it attacks.”
Shyildran looked around the room at all those who had gathered for the ritual. Dartanel, Headmaster Wahrightiss, Ceruleanesen Taerrina the Black Magic instructor, and Raymosium Holesian, who was already here healing Ultimus, had all gathered here. They all circled around Ultimus.
“I wish we didn’t have to do this. But I suppose we must. I will begin, all of you follow,” and Shyildran began the ritual.
“Adligare ille Malus, Adligare ille Malus, Adligare ille Malus, Adligare ille Malus Intus Ultimus Terra Maximus…”
As they continued chanting, a sphere of light began to appear around Ultimus, multicolored and pulsing. It slowly shrank around his heart until only a glow was left and a flash of rainbow light signaled the spell’s end.
“It is done now,” Shyildran said in a depressed voice, “We will leave him for now. Hopefully his life wont change so much with a part of his soul locked away.”
Dartanel lumbered over to comfort her, “It will be alright, I doubt he will even notice. Let us all go home now.”
* * *
Ultimus woke up the next day seemingly unharmed in anyway. He remembered nothing of the incident except vague flashes of memory with a bright flash and falling. He continued through school making friends. But this story doesn’t jump ahead so quickly. He had many adventures even at this point in his life. Our next adventure finds our young dragonling with friends and new foes, but for this adventure, it is done.
Chronicles of Ultimus
Prologue of Infinity
“This is the new world, nay, the new universe. Where the old gods failed, we will begin anew, and succeed. Our universe will be everlasting.”
“Yes, I believe it can be done, yet how will we choose its rulers? Its gods?”
“We will populate it with gods of our choosing. Let us begin. We will begin building this multiverse.
* * *
And so begins this long journey. The great Powers began their work, weaving life and matter with the twine of primordial forces unknown even to the gods. The multiverse was formed. The Great Space was opened as dust was poured in to from great planets, stars, and solar systems. Burning rivers of flame eddied here and there as the tornadoes of gravity drew them in to form stars. Dust and ice and other matter spun itself into planets. This was the beginning of the new universe; it went on for a time undeterminable by mortals, or immortals.
At the end of this period, the Great Powers formed the entities known as gods and sent them forth to shape the new, chaotic universe.
Our story begins on a planet, here to be named, Terra. This was a planet of green fields and wide oceans. The first 3 gods to come here were Bahamut, Tiamat, and Septimus. They were soon followed by their master, Lord Io. The Creatures were theirs to create, as were this world’s people. These people they named, Dragons.
1
And So It Begins
The cavern was empty and completely quiet, quite an amazing feat for 5 huge dragons. The dragons crowded around an egg in the center of this round cavern, the only sounds emanated from it. A large female Gold Dragon wraps herself around the egg as the first few cracks began to appear. And suddenly, it broke apart, releasing the new hatchling, Ultimus Terra Maximus. The small hatchling was a dull yellow color, but the light gleamed off the red streaks going down his sides and up his wings. His blinking eyes gazed around taking in the new sites around him; the huge dragons loomed over him, grinning with their toothy maws.
“Congratulations Shyildran, he hath been born and strong as any hatchling could be. You should be proud!”
Ultimus looked up at the voice and finds that it belonged to a silver dragon, around 96 feet long, with a large forty-three foot long tail wrapped around its legs.
“Have my thanks good Dartanel, you have helped me greatly. Now…,” She bent down and picked Ultimus up, out of his shell pieces and set him in her palm. He extended his nose and sniffed hesitantly, then leapt onto her neck in a tight embrace.
Dartanel looked up, “hmm, he seems to know who is mother is doesn’t he? Well, I think he shall be a quick learner. He’ll pick up speech before the week is out, then we shall begin his lessons.”
Shyildran looked up, concerned, “You think we should start so soon? He was just hatched.”
Dartanel looked with a face of mirth, “If he is anything like his mother, he’ll be ready to start in less than 3 days, and he’ll be moving on to more advanced teachings before a ten-day.”
“Oh Dartanel, you know flattery only goes so far” She laughed quietly and took Ultimus, setting him on the ground near a large pile of bedding.
“I’ll take you to our cave once you pick up the rudiments of flying my dear. Just get used to your limbs, you’re new to the world. Once you are ready, climb that face of stone, and leap. When you are accomplished, you will be able to get to the other side of the cavern, if you have trouble; the bed pile is here to catch your fall.”
Ultimus looked up and around at the large cavern, his mind raced with possibilities, even this soon out of his egg. His mother had whispered the rudiments of flying to him while he was still growing inside his egg. The small gold slowly crept over to the stone wall on his newly used limbs. Wobbling much at first, he eventually got to the wall and placed his claws on the rock face. As if he’d been doing it for years, his claws sought out the nooks and crannies of the rock and he began climbing. Step after step he got to the top. He looked out over the cavern, looking at it in all its huge splendor, before walking to the edge. He slowly flexed his wings, stretching the muscles that have never been used before. He looked at his situation with grave interest before leaping out over the 200 foot drop. His initial run carried him many feet before he began to descend, very rapidly. Ultimus’s mind raced as he tried to remember what to do, he stretched his wings out full and twitched them until suddenly the undercurrent of air lifted up, and up he went. Ultimus slowly glided across the cavern and landed, rather unceremoniously, on the floor of the second pier.
“Very good show master Ultimus, you shall be a grand flier indeed once you get some proper lessons.” Dartanel looked up and then back to Shyildran’s surprised face. “Well, I shall be leaving, I trust you will have a nice trip over the city, be careful not to let him take in the sights too much, he may forget about the gliding part,” he chuckles.
“Don’t worry, I shall watch over him, he is my son you know. Farewell dear friend.”
Dartanel turned around and walked to the opening of the cavern and leapt off, and then made an impressive dive and then returned, flying off towards the city Proper.
“It is time for us to go home Ultimus, you shall see where your family lives.” They both walked to the opening, and Shyildran leaps off, flying elegantly. Ultimus took a running start and felt the wind pump beneath his wings and he glided forth. They flew over the huge city of dragons, set in a low area completely surrounded by large cliffs. Waterfalls burst over the sides of the cliffs feeding the huge lake that the city floats on. Ultimus gazed around in awe and wonder, this being his first site of his new world. Suddenly though he realized that he is no longer gliding.
“ULTIMUS! GLIDE MY FOOL SON!” Shyildran screamed as she made a dive to retrieve him. “VOLITARÉ!” and at the yell of that world, wind flew from her fingers and wrapped around Ultimus and he suddenly began falling no faster than a feather.
“You should be more careful next time my son.” She scooped him in her hand and began flying to their lair.
2
Septimus Dæmon Maximus
The cavern loomed ahead of them, its huge entrance a gaping hole in the side of the cliff. Shyildran landed gracefully with a final wing flutter on the side and walked in, setting Ultimus down in the process. “Now don’t go falling out of the lair now, we’ve got to teach you how to fly first, and how to keep flying when your mind wanders,” she chuckled.
“SHYILDRAN! Are you home my dear?” a large deep voice bellowed from within the cavern.
“Yes Septimus, I return, with our son. I trust you want to see him?”
“Of course I do Shyildran, he one day must become as great a warrior as his father. Bring him here!”
Shyildran and Ultimus walked slowly into the back, though Ultimus with much more apprehension. As they entered the bed chambers Ultimus looked up and up till he reaches the end of the large red tower of a dragon, Septimus. His father was huge, reaching up much farther than Shyildran, nearly 300 feet long from tip to tail. Septimus had large bony spines reaching the length of his spine, and blade like wings jutting from his sides. He looked every bit like a red dragon should, and looked as if he knew how to use all his tools as well.
“So this is my son, I see he got most of your gold coloring, pity, but no matter. Color doesn’t matter for power, as far as Reds and Golds are concerned anyway. Lets test how much you can take!” Septimus breathes in deep and begins to exhale…
“Tacitus lux, defendere a magicae artes!” the words flowed from Shyildran’s mouth and her outstretched hands began to exude a white light and a sphere of light encased Ultimus just as the fiery breath overtook him, deflecting it in all directions.
“He was just hatched you fool! How dare you breath fire at our newly born son, are you mad?
“Ha ha ha ha, he would’ve been fine dear Shyildran. I was just playing with him. You should lighten up a little!”
“Come Ultimus,” she took him by the claw, “We’re going somewhere a bit safer!”
“Be sure to bring him back when he’s ready for his lessons Shyildran!”
* * *
“That, Ultimus, was your father. If you want to be a good and successful dragon in your life you will heed nothing he says. For now we shall go to the college, we will be living there while you learn.”
The college shot up, a spire reaching for the sky. Dragons of all colors flew around it, though there were noticeably less chromatically colored ones. Near the top the spire twisted around till it reached above the clouds. Magic symbols glowed, suspended in the air, warning anyone against going above the clouds, and any dragon looking upon it from a distance found it to be a cloud of ever striking bolts of lightning. Many terraces and balconies stretched off the tower with various things, sports arenas, magic practicing fields, and other such things. On one such terrace, many different colored dragons stood, tossing huge fireballs through the air and strikes magical stone targets farther down the field. On another, dragons tossed a large stone sphere between each other, dodging and weaving in mid air. Shyildran and Ultimus glided slowly down in a landing descent. As they began to touch the ground a large silver dragon slowly approached, and Shyildran looked ahead.
“Greetings Headmaster, how are things in the college today?” The Headmaster looked up at the greetings, smiled a toothy grin and bowed his head.
“It is quite well Mistress Shyildran, and who is this handsome young dragonling you’ve brought me?”
“This is my newborn son, Ultimus.” Ultimus looked up at the large silver dragon, yet again almost falling over trying to reach the top of the long serpent.
“I’m sure he will be a fine student. We should get him started strait away. We shall begin tomorrow!”
So, Ultimus made his new home at the academy making new friends and learning magic and the ways of fight, not to mention lore and academic skills. As was predicted, he was an awesome student, but the fact that made his mother uneasy was the fact that he excelled greatly in combat and black magic. He was more accustomed to fling a fireball than flying almost. Now, as we re-enter the story, it is 50 years later…..
3
The Future Arch-Wizard
His eyes squinted in concentration. He put his hands in front of him and extended his claws so that the tips were touching with a crackle of red-hot energy. Sheets of red light began to rolls down his arms and a red ball of pulsing light began to form in the cage of his talons.
“ Ast kiranann kair soth-arn suh kali jalaran!!” and as he yells out those words the ball flashed a blinding bright and he threw it at the vortex in front of him. The ball moved very slowly for about 10 feet and then suddenly exploded in a rage of hellfire into a flying sphere of about 20 feet in diameter. The fireball engulfed the vortex and an explosion rocked the tower, the clouds over head suddenly dropped rain and fired lightning into the surrounding sky for a few moment until finally everything ceased and the vortex was obliterated.
“No one has ever….EVER…destroyed one of my Magic Vortexes. Ultimus, you are a true magical prodigy…well...black magic anyway. We’d have more use for you if you’d put that brilliant mind to use in white magic!” the magic instructor stared at him for a moment and shook his head, walking off, “and with a Fireball too…”
Ultimus looked over with a large toothy grin, “Yes well, with my talent what can you do? Now imagine if I had used something larger…”
“Bigger? You know higher magic than the Fireball? Someone has let you get into some book you need not have been studying.”
“Oh, you worry too much Master Cer. I can handle it!”
“I do not care whether you can handle it or not, you are not to be using stronger spells than you have taken the necessary tests for. It is forbidden! And you shall call me Master Ceruleanesen Taerrina! Not ‘Cer’!”
“Sheesh Cer…lighten up a little, don’t have an orc…”
“I swear, you are a great student Ultimus, but you have the attitude of a pretentious young red!”
“Well…I am half of one…” Ultimus smirks.
“Don’t talk back! You little…little…ARG!” and with that the black magic teacher stormed out of the room, his tail swishing back and forth violently.
Ultimus laughed heartily, “Its always fun ruffling his scales.”
Ultimus began walking off the terrace and through the other students who, oddly enough, were still watching open-mouthed at the spot where the vortex was fifteen minutes ago.
“Come on guys, it wasn’t that big of a deal…” and he walked out and into the hallway.
“I guess the next class is white magic,” Ultimus’s scales paled visibly as he thought about it. “Oh Bahamut…this isn’t going to be pretty.” Ultimus continued walking.
Ultimus put his claw on the symbol to open the door and steped inside with all of the other students. The room opened into a huge cathedral like hall. Large holy symbol plates of several draconic gods and goddesses covered the walls and radiated magic power. Most of the students were Silvers and Golds but there were a mix of all different kinds. The white magic teacher was at the front of the hall next to a huge wheel, symbolizing Io, the Great Wheel, the Nine-Fold Dragon, the All-Father, and Lord of all Dragons. There were bodies lying in the work area of the hall; each of them was on a white magic symbol, which was shaped like a twelve-pointed star.
The white magic teacher walked to the open area and addressed the class, “Ok everyone, each of these bodies has been brought back to life, and they are in essence, flesh golems and are not truly alive. But the flesh is alive enough to be healed and these will be your practice dummies. Each of you will in some way harm your cadaver and then heal it. You’ve all had the training, now let’s see if you can put it to use.”
The young dragons in the room began performing their work, cutting their cadavers, and then using a healing spell to repair the damage. Ultimus though, was having trouble summoning up the necessary magic threads to perform the spell. His eyes squinted in concentration as the white lines of power began to slowly flow into the sphere of power in his claws. Then, as usual, black lines began to filter in with the white as hard as he tried to keep them gone. As if his world had suddenly been shattered, Ultimus hit the ground with a thump and looked up to see his teacher.
“Ultimus, if you can not begin to use white magic effectively without filtering negative energy in with it, you will not pass your marks. Negative energy has no use in this class room…”
This class always upset him, for reasons even unknown to him, Ultimus had trouble channeling positive energy. He always began filtering negative energy in with it, which would do nothing but raise a body as undead, which was severely forbidden. Ultimus began walking back to his quarters with his head dipped below his wings when there was a crash a burst of hot air. Screams and roars could suddenly be heard from outside the walls. Ultimus’s eyes widened and he broke into a gallop on all fours to reach a window. Upon reaching the window he look outside to see the carnage of several young dragons falling to magic being flung by a small, bipedal, reptilian creature.
“How did a lizardling get up here? And why are so many of my brothers and sisters having such a problem with him? Well…time to stop talking to myself…” And with that Ultimus leapt out the window and opened his golden wings wide, grinning as he flew. He began flying slowly, gaining visual information on the battlefield. Many dragons were flying around the winged lizardling. It looked very human like, how very rare humans are, except it was covered in scales and had a maw full of sharp teeth and a wicked intelligence in it eyes. Usually they aren’t a threat to dragons but the ones with wings tend to learn magic and get a big head. By this time many of the younger dragons were being rounded up by the teachers and ushered back into the school so no more of them would be hurt. Ultimus did flew past the lizardling and performed a wingover technique, changing his direction 180 degrees without losing speed and pulled up to hover about 20 feet from the lizardling.
“Hey lizardling, how dare you attack a dragon stronghold. Are you that eager to meet your weakling gods in the Hades below the surface?”
The reptilian creature slowly turned, flapping his wings slowly to stare murder at the young gold dragon who towered just a few feet from him. “My name is Kirssalass and I am Serpensiss, you foul huge beast, call me lizardling once more and I will not bother killing you for you will suffer the rest of your years! Influere in Ignis!” The quick spell Kirssalass hissed out sent a stream of burning flames strait from his finger into Ultimus. Ultimus looked down with wide eyes at fire crawling across his chest plate and looked back up at Kirssalass slowly and then yawned.
“Is that the best you can do?” Ultimus opened his mouth as if he were going to speak but then like a lightning flash, he had gulped in a deep breath and with a roar belched forth a huge gout of flames at the lizardling.
With a panicked scream the lizardling yelled out, “Fides A incendium!” and a red translucent wall sprung up in front of him, absorbing the flames. Behind the wall he prepare another spell, moving his hands in erratic, orbiting motions around an iron rod that began to float in front of him, “Incursus Irasci Fulmen ex eo Deus!” As the flames from Ultimus’s fire breath began to subside, Kirssalass’s spell triggered and fire a huge, bright blue bolt of lightning from the floating rod, its shattered the fire shield like glass and pierced through to strike Ultimus. The blue spidery bolt struck Ultimus right where the flames did originally except this time he crumpled up like a balled up piece of paper, and without a sound began falling strait down.
“Fool dragonsss…can not defeat me. I will destroy this entire aerie!” the lizardling began his speech. Suddenly a golden artillery shell slammed into him from below and the lizardling went fluttering down before he caught himself in the air.
“You’re cheating, using a Stoneskin spell like that. Cogere Telum!” Ultimus acted as if he was about to throw a ball and a wispy white sphere appeared in his hand, as he made the motions of throwing 5 glowing missiles burst from his claw and flew unerringly towards Kirssalass, battering him like large stones. Kirssalass began chanting his lightning spell several time, seemingly to build a charge of glowing blue in the iron rod he held aloft between his claws. He began firing bolts of lightning at Ultimus as fast as he could say the command word.
Ultimus began flying like a mad-dragon, weaving in between the blue spider web that was fast crawling across the sky. A lift of his wings, catch an updraft, jump above a bolt. Fold the wings, dive below a bolt over head. Ultimus was becoming desperate; this lizardling was a more accomplished spell caster than he was. A sudden rage began to flow into his thoughts. The red lines on his scales seemed to bleed and get larger as the red color started to cover the gold on his scales. His spine ridges began to grow long and turn a deep purple color and soon he looked very much like his father, Septimus. No longer in control of his own thoughts Ultimus stopped his running. He spun around in the air and stared down at Kirssalass with blazing red eyes. The lizardling began fiercely flinging his lightning bolts at Ultimus but no one could tell if he actually felt the electrical bolts striking his body. Ultimus opened his jaws and lines of glowing white light began to gather between his jaws into a sphere of light that gave off a heat that could be felt a hundred feet away. Kirssalass stopped his assault and spun around to begin flying off.
The voice that leaves Ultimus’s jaws is deep, demonic, and not his own, “Divinus Sol, SUPER NOVA” And he breathed forward forcing the glowing sun-like sphere towards the lizardling at a speed so fast the eye could barely catch it and the resulting explosion sent Ultimus flying towards the ground far below being trailed by the black soot of what was left of Kirssalass.
* * *
The amethyst dragon’s claws hovered over Ultimus’s still body, washing it over with a white light. “He will be fine, but this is something that can not be ignored Shyildran. What we saw was enough to defeat the attacker, but there was nothing good about what Ultimus transformed into.”
Shyildran’s jaws drew tight.
“I know, his father’s influence is strong in him, we all know that. I don’t know what to do about it.”
Raymosium looked away from Ultimus, “We must bind away this power. I know it saved his life and those of some students today, but next time it might be one of us it attacks.”
Shyildran looked around the room at all those who had gathered for the ritual. Dartanel, Headmaster Wahrightiss, Ceruleanesen Taerrina the Black Magic instructor, and Raymosium Holesian, who was already here healing Ultimus, had all gathered here. They all circled around Ultimus.
“I wish we didn’t have to do this. But I suppose we must. I will begin, all of you follow,” and Shyildran began the ritual.
“Adligare ille Malus, Adligare ille Malus, Adligare ille Malus, Adligare ille Malus Intus Ultimus Terra Maximus…”
As they continued chanting, a sphere of light began to appear around Ultimus, multicolored and pulsing. It slowly shrank around his heart until only a glow was left and a flash of rainbow light signaled the spell’s end.
“It is done now,” Shyildran said in a depressed voice, “We will leave him for now. Hopefully his life wont change so much with a part of his soul locked away.”
Dartanel lumbered over to comfort her, “It will be alright, I doubt he will even notice. Let us all go home now.”
* * *
Ultimus woke up the next day seemingly unharmed in anyway. He remembered nothing of the incident except vague flashes of memory with a bright flash and falling. He continued through school making friends. But this story doesn’t jump ahead so quickly. He had many adventures even at this point in his life. Our next adventure finds our young dragonling with friends and new foes, but for this adventure, it is done.