Writetober Day 15 (Legend)

Writetober Day 15

Legend

                “The corruption has grown quite rapidly.”  Welton examined Kyle’s ring.

The group sat in the enchanter’s home, Tom and Michelle still hadn’t stopped staring at the wonders around them.  From the outside, Welton’s homestead looked dilapidated and abandoned but within, was a marvelous estate full of curiosities and exotics from across the land.  Glass vials were filled with varying elixirs and potions of all colors, crystals levitated above engraved stones; there was a fountain that flowed upwards.  Tom and Michelle truly were lost among the sights, smells and sounds that were kept within the enchanter’s home.

“You say you never spoke to your grandfather or grandmother?”  Welton now held three glass lenses as he continued to inspect the ring.

“No, they passed before I was born.  The ring just-” Kyle was cut off.

“He was a great man, your grandfather, and your grandmother might have been one of the most brilliant minds I had the pleasure of interacting with.”  Welton set his lenses down.  “To my success…and failure, I became the man that I am because of him.  Nathaniel was a proper friend.”  Welton traced off and looked over at Michelle.  “Don’t touch that!”  He hobbled over to her.  “This is a carefully meshed Tranteen crystal suspended over a volatile pool of Drekks blood.”  Welton continued to grumble as he shooed Michelle away.

“I wish I could have met him, especially to learn more about this ring and this world.”  Kyle smiled at the thought of talking to his grandfather.

“Yes, well, no doubt you have questions.  Your mother was just a child when she wore the ring and entered this world.”  The old mage went to sit with nothing beneath him.  As his body reached the point of falling a chair flew out from a far corner and gently caught him.  His steady hands pulled out a carved wooden pipe and brought it to his lips.  Snapping his fingers, he produced a gentle flame that danced a top the material that filled the wooden bowl.  “In a sense, I could be to blame for what has happened to your family, and now you.”  He took a slow puff from the pipe and exhaled an aromatic sent that twirled around the room.  “I sought out Nathaniel when he was a young man, just as his relationship started with your grandmother.”

Kyle was so entranced in Welton’s words, he didn’t notice Michelle and Tom sit next to him.  The natural light that was somehow shining in the house slowly dimmed as Welton continued his tale.  The smoke that hung in the air began to move unnaturally, it took shape of a man and a woman, twirling and moving in front of the old enchanter.

“When I was a much younger student of the arts, I discovered that a thin veil covered our world.  After years of research and sacrifice, I discovered that beyond that veil, was your world.  Sadly, I was not the only one that discovered this.”

“Vordmir.”  The words left Michelle’s mouth.

“Correct.”  The smoke theater quickly turned dark as it formed into a man.  “He went by a different name then, one that I care not to speak.  At the time, my magic was superior to his and I made contact first.  We needed a champion, I chose your grandfather.”  The smoke formed to show a collection of deeds and challenges that Nathaniel overcame.  “Anyone who was decent in our world was either dead or crazy from Vordmir’s corruption; that is why I needed to look to your world.  Nathaniel didn’t ask questions, he simply did the right thing.”  The old man struggled to stand as he waved the spectacle of smoke away.  “I imbued the ring with the magic to travel between worlds…but it came at a price.”  Welton began to walk away.

“What price?”  Kyle stood to follow the old man.  His face mashed into an invisible wall that blocked Kyle from leaving the room.

“I was tricked, for the first and last time.”  Welton didn’t turn to face Kyle.  “I had found a blacksmith to forge the ring, but Vordmir had his corruption spread deeper than I thought.  The blacksmith forged the ring with tainted metal.  By the time Nathaniel or I noticed, it was too late to purge the corruption.”  The old mage turned, and for the first time, looked old.  “Your grandfather was a hero.  He was and still is a legend amongst the terrible villages that scatter across these lands.”  The air was thick.  “He died alone, consumed by the corruption that he strived to eradicate.  Vordmir won.”  The enchanter disappeared into another room.

“Kyle, that’s not true.  It doesn’t make sense.”  Michelle reached out to her husband.

“The old cook is wrong!”  Tom rallied behind Michelle.

Kyle wasn’t focused on the enchanter anymore, he stared at his ring.  “I think my grandpa is part of the ring.”