30 – A New Urk

“I don’t know how to explain it,” I said. “It just happened. Part of me is afraid that I’m creating a rift inside my orb, like a monster or something. But it hasn’t had any adverse effects so far. Just positive ones.”

“Well, if what you’re saying is true, lad,” Linli said, “then that gives you a leg up on just about every wizard in the world.”

“So none of you have heard of this before?” I asked, looking around the circle.

“No, young wizard,” Erl said. “It’s nigh unheard of.”

Senior Archmage Alynur cleared his throat. “That’s not entirely true.”

Now the attention of the group turned toward the elderly wizard who sat quietly on the edge of the circle, smoking his pipe.

“As you know, I’ve been reading the Book of Urk. Many say he went mad in the end and that the ramblings of his late life are not to be trusted. But in it, he describes not only his journey to our world, but the process of forming his orb. Now, you must remember, this book is written in a very old language, and most scholars dismiss the contents as poetic devices. But in the book, Urk describes something very similar to what Mark has just told us.”

We all just sat around listening. None of us dared to interrupt.

“When you first brought Mark back to the tower and told me he was a dimensional traveler, I had a suspicion he might awaken a void affinity, just like Urk. My assumption is that it has something to do with the space that connects dimensions. Having contact with it must give the soul some penchant for void magic.”

Senior Archmage Alynur took a long pull on his pipe, looking at each of us individually, then continued.

“The other part. The part about having spell creatures in a rift-like orb, even I was tempted to dismiss that as the poetic ramblings of a very old wizard. But still, I was curious. Much to my surprise, it seems that Mark here has created an orb just like the Great Urk himself, and I suspect it has something to do with his experience traveling between worlds. After all, going from one world to another must produce some kind of psychic tension that then imprints on the orb. When someone is ripped from their home, and it is revealed to them that other worlds are possible, it should be no surprise when they form their orbs a few days later, a new world is created inside of them.”

We all stared. It was the most I’d heard the Senior Archmage say since I arrived.

“In short, gentleman. We have a new Urk in our midst.”

“It can’t be…” Bagavash whispered, turning to me like I was some newfound messiah.

“No wait, guys…” I protested. “I’m no hero. I’m just a regular guy who likes peace and quiet like you.”

“Yeah, but if what the Senior Archmage is saying is true,” Myrl said. “You’ll have the power to ascend. To reach the Heavenly Realm, if such a place even exists.”

“Guys, really, it’s no big deal,” I said, putting my hands up defensively. “Let’s just remember I’m still at level 10, alright? Even with my spell creatures helping me cultivate, it will still be years before I’m anywhere close to you in levels.”

“The young wizard is right,” Erl said. “We should not treat him any differently. He is one of us.”

Linli looked up. “Aye. One day, Mark may have the power to surpass us all if he wanted. Every wizard in the world, likely. But that day isn’t today. For now, he’s one of us. A Blue Wizard to the end.”

“He’s a Blue Wizard,” Myrl agreed. “And let’s thank Urk for that. Who knows what Siulius would have shaped him into if he had found Mark first?”

“He’s a Blue Wizard,” Bagavash said, raising his mug.

“Aye,” Erl said. And then they all raised their mugs.

“I… I don’t know what to say, guys.” Tears were beginning to well up in my eyes.

“Say you’re one of us,” Linli said.

I wiped away a tear and clinked mugs with them. “I’m a Blue Wizard.”

“That’s a lad!” Bagavash said. “We’ll train you up proper. Greatest void wizard the realm’s ever seen. Even greater than Urk. Just you wait.”

“I don’t even want all that,” I said, settling back onto my log. “Honestly, I just want to smoke my pipe and ponder with you guys.”

“Well said, lad,” Bagavash replied. “Then that’s exactly what you’ll do.”

“Speaking of smoking pipes,” Linli said, “the sun’s up, and Hillsborough is waiting for us. Let’s show our new prodigy here what some of the finest leaf in the realm tastes like.”

After we packed up camp and set out on the road, the wizards grew curious about my spell creatures. I described each of them in detail, with Blade quickly becoming a favorite. But after I described [Void Thread]’s evolution into [Void Shot], everyone wanted to see the spell in action. Before long, we found a suitable boulder to test the spell’s new form.

Stolen novel; please report.

I gripped my Black Waxwood staff, stained with netherroot and the very tobacco that brought me to this world. I could almost feel the void magic coursing through it. It was still missing a crystal at the tip, but there would be time to fix that later.

I closed my eyes and searched for the new spell circle. [Void Shot] looked nothing like the spell circle for [Void Thread]. It was composed of one outer circle with spiraling lines connecting it to a smaller circle in the center. I committed the shape to memory, then opened my eyes and traced it into the air with my staff.

When the glowing sigil was complete, I uttered the words “[Void Shot],” and the spell circle flared to life. It seemed to be siphoning off mana from the surrounding air as a dense knot of void energy formed in the center, swelling for a brief moment before firing off.

The recoil hit me immediately. Unlike [Void Thread], which had felt almost intangible, this spell kicked hard, nearly knocking the staff from my grip.