Dalnocian Mage

Untitled Part 1

Dalnocian Mage

The party ran for a few hours as the late morning sun was rising to noon with a few rays cutting through the forest canopy. As Uruywo followed the other Dalnocian lion men further into the swamp, the air grew humid and heavy with insects. Speeding through wafting stenches in the air tortured his heightened sense of smell as they went through the area. The darker areas of the swamp started to lose the vibrant greens, reds, and browns of the season for more muted variations. The latest spell storms sent prutosa yodramxalc (spirit waves) through a large portion of the kingdom of Dalnok staining much of the land.

Uruywo looked past the group leader, Uluwa toward the deeper recesses of the swamp as he clenched a lion man's fist. He was ready to learn, willing to face the threats of his trial. Each radiating wave buckled the three realities, every passing meant more demons, and that meant the kingdom needed more mages. The group did not stop until they reached the bottom of a hill surrounded by mud.

Uluwa, a hulking figure with a face hidden in his dark mane, turned to the boy and pointed at the top of the hill.

"Go and change," he commanded in a gruff disembodied voice.

The boy did so as he started up the gradual slope. Uruywo's clothing grew loose, wearing a dark brown tunic with a neck trim patterned with red and green triangles. Around his waist was a red sash tied into a knot in the front, and a simple pair of shorts. He was a thin child with dark brown skin in early adolescence with a large afro and four pieces knotted off as a sign of his training as a mage, two paired in front beside his temples and at the rear by the top of his neck like suspended black clouds. Once he reached the top of the hill, the other Dalnocian's stood guard as Uluwa trailed after and removed a red satchel from his shoulder.

"The time comes, child," Uluwa said as his disembodied, deep voice changed to a slightly lighter one as he turned into a tall man with large shoulders and a wilder afro and goatee to replace his mane. "You'll be in danger but, remember my lessons. You will thrive."

The boy felt emboldened as he recalled the few wordless spells he practiced before his trial. Uruywo took up the satchel and saw a scroll sticking out, a brass-tipped end with a red gem embedded at the top. His eyes widened as he took in a deep breath. He gripped it tightly as he swung it over his shoulder.

Before he could pull the parchment free, he saw one of the guards' ears flickered. The same lion man turned to them and with a similar deep voice proclaimed, "They are approaching. Only a handful."

Uluwa then reached into a pouch on his hip and presented several strands of cowrie shells laced into bracelets and a necklace. Placing a bracelet on both of his wrists and ankles, and the necklace over his head, Uluwa then chanted, "Rujro Amovsxanco crefha, hod iomoved ioca ragtif irnom rajsuv hafgro rucsov irnom edreo nolsaf. (By Amovs power, a call to bind the beast and bring forth the man.)" Edria (magic) rang from his fingers as they touched the magic hidden within the shells. Immediately, each one he touched tightened pressing into the skin as the ethereal strands traveled deeper into URuywo's person and wrapped around his bestial core. As rajsuv krisiet (bestial vessel), a second core was layered naturally over the first ethereal drum most creatures had. The boy grunted at the restraints as they sent a painful pinch throughout his body.

Uluwa half turned as a stern glare into the distance was expressed on his face. This meant only one thing. Womteg. (Ghouls.) As the waves robbed the land of spirit from ongoing battles between the gods, everything from the trees to the plants, from animals to villages were stripped of their souls leaving all to slowly decay. Uluwa then looked at the boy with an odd glare before shoving him down the opposite slope. With a yelp, he tumbled down the hill and into the mud.