The Lord of Ragnarok

The Lord of Ragnarok

Chapter 3: Putting on the Ritz

Twilight’s POV

Lord Mannulus had given me a gift I never believed I would ever truly experience. I felt so light, as if my entire countenance was lifted as if I had stepped into paradise itself. In truth, I felt as if I had just that. There was a pleasant ache resting between my thighs, and I understood all it stood for. I was no longer physically innocent, but there was something more. I touched the gold band with a single purple sapphire on the top of it. The sapphire was in a six pointed star shape, and I realized that runes around it matched those burned into Lord Mannulus’ skin.

As I touched it I felt Lord Mannulus, not as he was last night, buried inside of me, causing me to squirm with delight, but instead as if he were standing beside me. I could almost sense what he could if I focused. I closed my eyes, and for a moment I could see the auras of Lala and Myra. Both seemed to be standing together, discussing something, and I realized that I was actually seeing through Lord Mannulus’ gem eye. I smiled but a touch brought me out of what I was seeing. There before me was Rainbow. On her hand was a similar ring, but the sapphire on it was the same light blue as she was.

“You sore?” she asked.

I nodded, “A little, but then that’s to be expected,” I replied.

She grinned, “It is,” she looked past me, almost at the wall, “This is going to take some getting used to. I mean, I guess I’m fine with sharing Lord Mannulus, but at the same time I feel like I should have him to myself.”

She leaned against the wall, her light armor changed to a body suit. I took notice that it accented her wings, almost as if just looking at it would will her to fly at great speeds. The golden lightening bolt across her chest seemed to sell it more than anything.

“I understand, but it would seem that having us a herd is something Lord Mannulus is fine with. Besides, we could perhaps each bear an heir for him.”

She shivered as she stood there, “I suppose, and I wouldn’t be against it. But at the same time I’m not sure how good I would be as a mother.”

“Rainbow, Twilight, Solar, Report to the Throne room, now.”

I looked at Rainbow, and like myself she heard it. The message was directly from Lord Mannulus. The fact that he was ordering us to the throne room instead of asking meant something was happening that displeased him. Rainbow touched me and a moment later we appeared in the throne room. She held her muzzle as she swallowed back the need to be sick. She would never admit it, but teleportation was one of the few things that disoriented her enough to cause nausea. I saw Solar Flare appear as well, but she had the foresight to dress in armor as she appeared.

“My lord?” she asked.

He stood before us, his great power surging, and I could feel that he was indeed upset, no, there was a word my creator had used once, Pissed. That was what my beloved Lord Mannulus was. He was pissed beyond compare.

“The fools that attacked Oppidum village have dared to disrespect me, to disrespect the Temple of Celestia!”

Solar growled and I felt myself becoming angry, “Where are they? Give the word and I will not only end their pitiful existence, but I will personally raze their homes to the ground.”

He raised his hand, “Lala and Myra reported that they were heading in the direction of Oppidum Village itself. The village is under my protection!”

He seemed to calm after a moment, “I am going there, to deal with this. I would rather not have the village attacked again so soon, and I wanted the three of you to be prepared should you be needed.”

I shook my head, “My love, Lord Mannulus, I will not stand by and allow you to leave unattended. We are your floor guardians, your guards, and we will not allow anyone the chance to even attempt to harm you.”

Lord Mannulus’ POV

I took a moment of contemplation, then drawing upon my cult classic movie knowledge base, I said, “Together, then.”

This garnered smiles from my three brides. I knew that Twilight, Rainbow, and Solar were all capable warriors and mages in their own right, so their presence on the battlefield would be less hindrance than other forms of support I could conjure up. With that thought taking residence in my mind, I opened the portal I first used to travel to Oppidum the first time, this time large enough for all four of us to slip through easily. Upon drawing open the portal this time, I saw the encroaching raiders.

This time, they had brought a force of marauders and knights and a curious creature who looked human but breathed fire. They had somehow managed to emerge on the outskirts of the village. Thankfully, they hadn’t started the slaughter. Yet. Another thing that I noted was the royal blue banner with the sigil of a Gregorian crucifix in white. If this was the battle standard of the Sanctum Theocracy, then it would be easy enough to pick out their forces from range. The reason for their persistent attacks remained a mystery, but I would delve into that when time permitted.

Stepping through the portal, my brides beside and behind me, I felt the now familiar burn of the bodily runes, then met the expected sunshine that lit the exit of the portal. The soldiers of Sanctum Theocracy stopped their march upon sight of me and my retinue, their cavalry corps halting in a braying mass. Soon, a man in bright, mirror finished armor, wearing a tabard bearing the same colors and sigil as the standards I had seen. The plume of his helm was gold in color, possibly the shorn mane of a lion or a roan horse.

“Abomination!” The leader shouted, “I am Paladin Knight of the Sanctum Theocracy, Captain Leonid! You are hereby ordered to take the knee and accept your holy sanctioned execution as punishment for protecting the heathen masses of yonder village. If you do not submit now, we will make your deaths- exceedingly painful.”

“That is funny,” I retorted, “I was going to tell you the same thing. Now you this: the village of Oppidum is under the protection of the Celestial Temple and I, as chief guardian and guild master of the Celestial Temple, will not suffer any being that threatens that village. But please, if you think you are strong enough, dare make the approach. My guardians and I could use the light work out.”

Anger seemed to stretch out over his face as he faced me. He raised a single sword.

“Very well then! We will hold no quarter, and you, abominations shall be destroyed and forgotten long before…”

He never finished what he was going to say. His entire body engulfed in flame, and Solar Flare stepped forward. Her countenance was that of a predator hunting prey.

“Solar, it is rude to disrupt someone when they are monologuing. Perhaps next time allow them to make a complete ass of themselves, and then destroy them,” Twilight groaned.

“Oh, please, dearest Twilight,” Solar beamed, “this is not a Saturday morning cartoon.”

I glanced at her, “In this instance Twilight is correct. I would have preferred to have listened while he dug himself deeper only to be reduced to ash afterwards. Still, we shall allow the next to do so.”

Those under his command acted as I believed they would without their obvious leader there. The attack was instant, and I watched as dozens of lower tier mages died from their own spells. I looked toward those smart enough to not attack me directly. Instead one seemed to cast magic on the ground under me. It was a bold move, and I felt the earth quake. Perhaps if his abilities had been more powerful he would have stood a chance. I held the staff my friends and I had worked so hard to create, and I focused on the Earth Magic. Using it I stopped the ground from quaking, and then I focused on the caster that had used the spell. The ground under her became like a bog, and she began to sink. Those that rushed toward her were pulled down as well. I looked back at the others who now rushed forward in combat. Arrows from longbows shot out, and each only managed to break against an invisible barrier around the three of us. I could see Rainbow looking ready, and Twilight’s horn glowed. Solar looked ready to lose herself in the blood lust.

“My loves, have fun, any who wish to flee, wound them, but allow them to run. We want the word of what happens to those that dare attack what I claim as mine to spread far and wide.”

With that I watched as Solar screamed in delight and took to the sky.

Solar Flare’s P.O.V.

Fire is perfect. It cleans everything. It removes stains of every kind, and nothing is left except for ashes. Oh the times I had destroyed hundreds of soldiers, adventures, and would be heroes for so much as looking at the temple. I do recall one Paladin rushing into the temple, his sword drawn, and his party screaming for him to wait. I remember his running straight into my domain with his pathetic war cry, and then I remember reducing him to ash.

Seriously, what kind of war cry is Leeroy Jenkins? It would appear that many of these soldiers are cut from the same cloth. But most seem to burn nicely, well, except for those that breathe fire. I land near the six of them, seeing their now melted armor sliding off of their scaled skin. A small smile crossed my lips. Hatuibwaris, six of them, and that meant their dragon heritage was all that was keeping them from erupting into flame. One of them shot a small shot of blue flame at me, and I let it dance across my skin. It didn’t hurt, but instead it almost felt pleasant. I would have bathed more in their fire but I watched as the one that attempted to burn me turned inside out from exploding.

I glanced at Twilight and saw her using the magic at her command. Rainbow seemed to be content with fighting them hand to hand, and I looked at the last. I prepared to strike, but I saw Lord Mannulus rush forward. He held up his hand, and I stopped. He cast a single spell on the Hatuibwari and it fell forward, unable to move.

“I believe I would like to take this one with us, and see if he is indeed like the Hatuibwari in Ragnarok. If so, he may be of some use,” Lord Mannulus said.

“Of course my lord,” I replied.

Lord Mannulus P.O.V.

The actions of the army that attacked us was something that happened in Ragnarok. Normally when more common guilds would attack those of us choosing to be Demi human or Undead they would send a smaller force out, to test the waters, and then they would send a standard force. The armies would normally be composed of low level NPCs that could be bought for standard warfare. The remainder would be some of the lower level guild members who would be tested to see if they would be worth keeping. The Temple of Celestia had long since stood against these attacks. Even in the last few months there were a few remaining traditional guilds that would attempt to attack the temple just to see if they could finally crack through its defenses. None of them ever got close enough to be a true problem. The traps my friends and I had set up normally took care of invading forces.

The one thing that I could be certain of now was this Sanctus Theocracy would most likely change their tactics. The next time they attempted to attack it would be more silent, and they would no longer send needless forces. If their actions were similar to that of any of the guilds back in Ragnarok they would send some of the strongest, in the cover of night, and with the commands to silently take out the most powerful being that stands in their way.

Undoubtedly I would need to raise the level of security at the temple. Myra would be the best choice to guard the entrances most likely to be used by would be assassins. Since she could easily disappear into the very cracks of the wall, or even take the shape of some of the statues lining the walls. Plus, I’m certain she would leave no trace of them once she was finished. Then again, I may want to question them. Perhaps using the soul splitting spell would be worth attempting.

I watched as Solar Flare lifted the final hatuibwari onto her shoulder. A portal opened for her, and I watched as she carried it through. I prepared to leave when I noticed the sight of a dozen or so hobgoblins. If not for the jeweled eye I had I would have never seen them. They were from Ragnarok, that much I was certain, and each had weapons drawn. I understood what had happened. The girl I had saved when I first visited Oppidum Village must have used one of the bells I had given her. Of course it allowed her to conjure these hobgoblins to assist the village.

They must have witnessed the opposing army, and they were attempting to lie in wait for them. A sneak attack, one that might have taken several of the foot soldiers, and perhaps a mage or two, but nowhere near enough to stop the army itself. Instead they were left wittinessing what we had done to the army itself. That would be good. Word of our deeds would reach the village. Doing such would only strengthen the ties we had created with the village itself.

I watched as their auras began to drift off, and once they were gone I noticed one last aura. It was a magic caster, a human sorcerer most likely. His level was certainly higher than some of the casters I had seen, but he hadn’t cast any magic toward. Instead I noticed a mist, which had remained around the village, completely disappeared. It was somewhat showy, a little hamfisted, and certainly fifth tier magic. For it to be that level the sorcerer would need to be at least a level forty or higher.

“If you are not here to attack, then I have no reason to cause you any harm. Step out to be seen. If you refuse then I will take that refusal to be an act of aggression.”

With those words said the lone figure stood. He was indeed human, his red hair and beard were both coppery red. His skin wasn’t pale, but instead he had a light tan. He easily stood over six feet, and if I was to guess he most likely weighed in the neighborhood of two hundred pounds. He stayed where he was, his eyes, which were mismatched, never left me. I took notice of how his eyes had one that was red and the other green. One red eye was a tell tale sign of a class of wizards in Ragnarok.

They were often called Hedge wizards, often focusing their magic on communicating with nature, being able to control storms, focus on earth magic, and rarely ever on killing magic. They were typically used as healers and scribes by most guilds. If he had been with those that attacked then he had a head for survival. Of course if he was with the Sanctus Theocracy then it meant that he had either betrayed them, or he was looking for a way to attack. I doubted it was the second.

“Come here, let us converse.”

His answer was to turn and follow the hobgoblins as quickly as he could. Unfortunately for him his attempt was far slower than Rainbow. I watched as my winged bride flew toward him and caught him in her arms. I felt pride briming inside of me at how she latched onto him. She pinned his arms so that he had no way of focusing a spell. Doing so would ensure that he couldn’t blind her.

She brought him before me, and I watched as he fell to his knees. He looked at the ground, unwilling to look at me. I could see him struggling with what to say, do, or act. Finally he looked up at me. His eyes pleading, and I watched as the first stream of tears ran down his face. He was terrified, and he had every reason to be. Finally he opened his mouth. I expected to hear pleading for his life, sniveling and crying, but there was nothing for several seconds.

“If you’re going to kill me, please make it quick. I’m so tired. I haven’t slept in days, I’ve barely ate, and… I just want to go home! I wanted to log in and get my character information out before the damned servers shut down!” he cried, “I just wanted to transfer my files and magical items!”

I looked at him, another player, and obviously someone that either joined earlier, or had left for some time.

“Tell me, hedge wizard, where did you come from?”

He looked at me, surprised, “Ragnarok. It was the last thing I was in before I was here.”

I nodded, I could see Rainbow eyeing him, “Rainbow, stand down. He’s a Hedge Wizard. He could cast holy healing upon me and it would cause me pain, but it would do little to actually hurt me,” I studied him, “You will find no way of logging out. Because, from what I can tell, this is real now.”

He looked crestfallen, “I know. They captured me and forced me to join them. They’re fanatics, dedicated to exterminating all Demihumans. I didn’t want to be part of it, but I couldn’t get away,” he said as he looked toward Twilight and Rainbow, “They killed Miia. She was my creation, a Lamina I created early in the game, and they killed her before they captured me.”

I nodded, “You weren’t a high level, were you?”

He looked down at the ground again, “No, I’m a level forty-one Hedge Wizard. I can pull maybe three fifth tier spells a day, and one sixth tier if I’m willing to use all of my MP.”

I nodded, “Then I have a proposal for you. You can leave here, travel on your own, and be at the mercy of those that live in this world, or you can stay in this village. I have ties here, and I have staked my name on its protection. If you stay, you will help in defending it, and you will assist those in the village in need. Do this, and if the body of your Lamina still exists, I may resurect her.”

His eyes widened, “But how?”

Twilight laughed, “My Lord Mannulus is the most powerful Necromancer to ever exist! Life and death bend at his very will. If he says he can raise your pet snake then he will do so!”

I glanced at her, and she seemed proud. The only thing that I could guess that would have brought this out was the fact that we were bonded now. I held my hand, and she seemed to step back a bit. I studied him for a moment before I motioned toward a dead foot soldier. Solar Flare had gotten him with her first blast of fire, but it hadn’t reduced all of him to ash. I focused my magic on him, connecting with his body, reaching out and finding the soul that was still present. I pulled the soul back, and the soldier began to scream in pain.

“NOOOOO!!!! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP! IN THE NAME OF COELICOLA LET ME DIE!”

I walked toward him, his legs gone, his right half of his chest little more than a charred skeleton, and I pulled out a blank spellbook. There wasn’t much I really planned on getting from him, but whatever it was I believed this would be suitable. I pulled his soul from his body, and then I pushed it into the book. Like before the book began to write itself. The words were in blood, but unlike before the pages took a look of burned leather. I closed the book after a moment, and then I turned back toward him.

“If I wanted I could have healed him, made him whole, and perhaps even wiped his mind and made him a guard here. However, he blindly followed those in charge with the intent of slaying people because of what they are. He deserved no mercy, no peace, but I promise that I will heal your Lamina completely. It will be as if she never died.”

He looked at the ground, “You swear?”

Twilight began to say something, but again I held my hand. She quieted down all protests, and I looked at him.

“You have the word of Lord Mannulus. I shall ensure that your Lamina is healed, protected, and in no worse of wear than when you appeared here,” I said as I stuck out my hand, “Do we have a deal?”

He reached out to me, and took my hand. When he did a green glowing magic covered our hands, and I felt the binding magic happen. I was bound to my promise, as he was bound to his. I he broke his end the magic would reduce his MP and HP. If it was like in Ragnarok it would continue to do so until his character died. I could only assume that it would do the same here.

“They buried here out on the plain. About a mile outside of that forest that’s on the south end of the Village.”

I knew the forest he spoke of, and why wouldn’t I know it. It was the one that I had Applejack create to hide the Temple. Finding a single lamina wouldn’t be hard. I could open my senses to any fresh grave, and then it would be a matter of pulling her soul back to her body. Of course before we began I would need her body recovered. Restoring a body to life while they were buried wasn’t advisable. After all, it was likely she would open her mouth, swallow the recently disturbed earth, and sufficate to death.

I touched my head, “Lala, do you hear me?”

‘My lord, I hear you fine.’ she responded through the magical link I created.

“Good, I’m going to send you an image. It should be a fresh grave of a Lamina. Go and dig her up. Be sure to get every piece of her, and bring her to the village. Do hurry, use the portal if need be.”

‘Of course my Lord, it shall be done,’ she responded through the link.

“My servant will bring here. Once she has been brought outside of the village I will restore her. I will not do so in the village itself. I would rather not frighten the locals any more than needed. Once I have fulfilled my half I expect the same to be done on your end. Do not fail your end, unless of course you truly do want to court death.”

I saw him swallow, shake his head, and I gave a nod, “Very good.”

Within a few moments a portal opened, and through it stepped Solar Flare and she was followed by Lala. The viper woman looked upset, and I could understand why.

“My Lord, those that did this…” she said through clenched teeth.

I nodded, “They have paid with their lives.”

I felt the energy from the body. The soul was still connected, it hadn’t left, and I could only believe it did so because the Lamina had a very powerful bond with the hedge wizard. I let my necromantic magic cover her, engulfing her frame with black energy until it formed her together perfectly. As it was she would be a fantastic zombie if I stopped now, but I had given my word. I then took her soul, and through it I cast a resurrection spell. It was a lower tier, something that would require days of rest, but it should be more than enough to bring her back.

She began to breathe on her own, and I saw his eyes widen.

“She’s resurrected. Take her into the village, make a home for yourselves, and do not forget your end of the deal.”

He looked at me, “I promise I will keep my end, Lord Mannulus, I am Wainwright the Weary, and I pledge myself to your service, I humbly ask that you teach me so that I may better serve you.”

I studied him, “Very well, I will have one of my brides extend a welcome to both of you to the temple, another time. However, now I wish to return home.”