Delver Magic I: Sanctum's Breach, Jeff Inlo [buy e reader .txt] 📗

In the dark of night, during the peace of rest in high branches of an elderly oak, the delver had much to consider. A full day, a day of revelations was laid to rest before him. Encounters a delver might wish for in a lifetime were his in but one passing of the sun overhead.

Each moment of discovery printed itself indelibly upon his mind. There would be no forgetting. In his last days upon the land, he would recall this chain of events which ushered in a greater knowledge. His world had changed so drastically. Everything he knew, or thought he knew, was challenged. Everything he believed he understood was now confused. The land of Uton was forever changed, and him with it.

With so much passing through his mind, Ryson turned to the elf. He sought insight on what might be the mitigating force behind all that was happening.

“Tell me what you know about the sphere,” Ryson asked.

“What is it you wish to know exactly?” Lief replied complacently.

Ryson answered with all honesty. “I want to know everything.”

“That would take all the night and most of the next day,” Lief countered. “Besides, it seems you know of it already. It is clear to me that you have an understanding of the legends. Is there something in particular that confuses you?”

“Right now everything confuses me. You seem to believe that the sphere is at the heart of whatever is going on. I can’t argue that point, and I don’t wish to, but if the sphere is the reason behind this, I’d like to know more about it. I’d also like to know why you talk about it with such distress.”

“It is very dangerous,” the elf stated simply. “That is why it was encased so long ago.”

“I realize that, but we’ve already run into things I have to consider more dangerous than anything else I’ve ever faced in my life. You keep worrying about the sphere. I’ve heard the legends, but I’ve never heard of elflore until you mentioned it. Maybe your story is different than mine.”

Lief hesitated before speaking. He folded his hands across his chest, but did not make an immediate reply.

“You don’t want to tell me?” Ryson asked curiously but without sounding offended.

“No, that is not what concerns me,” Lief replied. “It is just that it is difficult to imagine how fast things have happened. The tremor, the magic. Now I sit in a tree with a delver who wishes to know about elflore and what we might face. I will not deny you that knowledge. Based on what you have already done, it is your right to know. If I’m to ask you to continue our journey, it is my obligation to tell you. It is just that less than a season ago, I would have considered such a thing as impossible.”

“You don’t have to tell me that,” Ryson responded with a knowing glance. “Think how I feel. At least you knew that humans and delvers existed. I couldn’t have guessed that any of the legends were actually true.”

“Now you know differently,” the elf said sternly.

Ryson eyed the elf and spoke with a careful tone. “Can I ask you a question before you tell me about the sphere?”

“You may.”

Ryson tried not to hesitate, but he also wished to choose his words carefully. “Are all elves like you? I mean, in the short time I’ve known you, you’ve shown an interesting range of emotions. I don’t mean any offense by this. Maybe I shouldn’t even ask at all, but I’ve noticed how you react to certain things. I’ve seen you laugh and smile a few times, but you’re a rather grim individual. I don’t want to say you’re impatient, because that’s not true, but you seem to get annoyed easily. You really got angry when we were dealing with the goblins. Even when you and I talk, sometimes you sound as if you’re annoyed with me.”

“So you think I am perhaps too quick to anger?”

Ryson shook his head. “No, I wouldn’t say that. It’s just that you seem to have a low tolerance for some things. I don’t think that saying you’re angry would explain it. It’s more like I said before. You get annoyed.”

“Don’t concern yourself with insulting me,” Lief replied simply. “What you tell me now I have heard before.”

“Really?”

“Of course. My own kind have pointed it out to me. They say I am quite opinionated and that I become quickly upset. They also say my outlook is much too grim. They say I will always find that which is bleak, even in the best of times. I guess that is why no one wished to believe me when I first spoke of the sphere.”

“The other elves say this? Does that mean you’re different from the others?”

Lief raised an eyebrow. “Does that surprise you?”

“I don’t know,” Ryson admitted. “I’m just curious as to what elves are like.”

“Let me answer your question by asking you a similar one. What are delvers like? Are they all like you?”

“No, I couldn’t say that. We’re all different.”

“The same applies to the elves. We all have our different personalities. While there are some things you can perceive about elves through contact with just one, it is not correct to make sweeping assumptions. While I might get easily annoyed, there is certainly another elf that would hardly ever show such dissatisfaction. Some elves may believe I am a very poor representative.”

Ryson thought quietly before responding. “Poor representative or not, you’re my first elven contact. I won’t ever forget you.”

The elf simply nodded and turned his focus upon the true subject of his own concerns. “Then let us go back to your first question. Let me tell you about what I know of the sphere.”

The darkness continued to thicken as Lief began his tale. The air grew cool as the crickets began to chirp from the ground below. Occasionally, the hoot of an owl would cut through the insect’s music, carried aloft by the night breeze. The sounds of the darkness seemed to flow with the words of the elf, giving emphasis to the story.

“Since you tell me you know much of the legends, I will not preface the story with any lengthy explanations,” the elf noted quickly. “A small introduction, however, is necessary. The Sphere of Ingar was created by the Sorcerer Ingar in a final attempt to win ultimate control of all magic. The sphere was actually constructed from the hides of inhabitants from the land. Ingar sent out minions to capture elves, dwarves, humans, algors, and delvers. Lore has it that he skinned them alive, and with powerful magic, altered the hides to become portions of the sphere. With the casting of a forceful spell, the sphere became a receptacle for power. Because each race has its own ability to harness, control or resist the magic, the sphere became a magnet, as well as a vessel for containing all magical energy.

“Ingar brought the sphere to all the different corners of Uton. He carried it with him at all times but never revealed its existence or its purpose. Day after day passed and the sphere captured more and more energy. The power became immeasurable. If Ingar had used it at that time, he probably could have conquered the world without challenge. But Ingar became enthralled with the very power of the sphere. He wished to capture all of the energy in the land before he would drink of it himself.

“As the talisman soaked in the energy, the other magic casters began to notice their powers dwindling. Each time they cast a spell, they found they could not replenish their magical energies. Some became completely powerless as they foolishly wasted all the energy stored within their own bodies, and even that stored in their enchanted items.

“With the realization that the magic in the world was fading, the great wizards, both good and evil, conferred together to solve the mystery. Since they all were subject to losing their powers, they agreed to work together. Ingar, however, was noticeably missing from the conference. Becoming suspicious, the wizards and sorcerers believed Ingar might be responsible. Spies were sent which never returned.

“The sorcerers considered casting spells which would reveal Ingar’s actions, but most resisted. The casting of any spell meant losing power, power which could not be replaced. The magic casters wished to hold on to their stored energy for as long as possible.

“Finally, Waelin, the oldest of the wizards, confronted Ingar directly. The sphere was finally revealed. Waelin attempted to destroy it with magic, but he failed. The sphere easily absorbed all of Waelin’s power. The ancient wizard was never seen again.

“Unfortunately, during the struggle between Waelin and Ingar, a great cataclysm occurred. The power of the sphere was altered slightly. It continued to absorb magical energies, but it also started to discharge tainted magic. Some say it was a reaction to one of Waelin’s spell. They believe that the wizard tried to force the magic from the sphere, but the results were disastrous. Others believe the sphere finally reached its limit and had to release power. Whichever the case, the end result led first to the storm of Ingar’s stronghold and second to the great war with the magic casters.”

“Most of this agrees with the legends I have been told,” Ryson interrupted the elf. “except the part of the sphere releasing magic. I’ve never heard of that before.”

“It does not surprise me,” Lief stated. “It was the elves which were affected first. The energy which was emitted, although tainted by evil within the sphere, could still be used by sorcerers and wizards. They soon began to re-energize with the magic which now flowed freely from the sphere. The energy, however, was not clean. It was contaminated by the sphere. The elves became keenly aware of this for we were the ones that began to die. The magic contained a poison, and for some reason, the magical emissions targeted the elf race first. That is why it is part of elflore.”

In this, Ryson found an answer to a previous musing. “So that’s why the elves are in danger now. There’s poison in the magic.”

Lief nodded. “Just as it was back then.

“So what was it like? How did the elves react?” Ryson asked with greater interest.

“There was little that could be done,” Lief replied sadly. “There was no way to hide or to avoid the energy. It sought out every elf in the land. It did not kill immediately. The very old and very young died first. The rest, though, could sense the poison eating at them as well. And it was the sphere. There was no doubt. The energies it released were not pure magic. It was magic with a purpose, magic tainted with harsh direction. Even as magic casters of other races began casting spells anew, elves which grasped the magic faced death. Even elves which tried to reject the magic could not save themselves. The energy embraced them all.

“This is part of elflore because of the actions of a single elf. It is written that the most sensitive magic user of the elf race, a great sorceress named Shayed, probed the emissions. She sensed the plague within the magic. She knew at once that unless these emissions ceased, all the elves would die.