Commissioned by Spiral.
A Kind of Magic
Interlude - Robin
While this was hardly the first time the Boy Wonder had been sent off somewhere by his mentor to do some surveillance work, he'd never had to use a magic portal to reach the target of his observations before now. It had been an interesting experience.
Not that he minded travelling that way since he was used to the Boom Tubes and didn't mind spending time with the portal's creator. Zatanna Zatara was new to the team and in some respects a replacement magic-user for the group.
As to why he and Zatanna Zatara, the newest member of The Team, had been sent here along with a more experienced member of The Team, it was something that did make Robin a little uncomfortable.
He didn't like the idea of spying on a former teammate even if James and he had never been close. But like a good soldier, he would follow orders, and he would complete the mission.
At least it was just surveillance work. Batman wanted to confirm the information brought to the League from a few different sources and it wasn't odd for the Dark Knight to want a full picture of what was going on before he acted.
However, in this case, Robin wasn't sure his mentor should do anything other than make plans to act should James prove to somehow be abusing his new position.
It wasn't as if the League was going to act to take down tyrants back on Earth and so far there was no evidence that the new king of this realm was harming his people.
An invasion of this realm wouldn't be possible without the right support, so it was more likely that Batman just wanted enough information to form plans that could be enacted should the situation ever warrant it.
If this was just about making plans then it made sense that Batman had only sent him and Zatanna. Wally West, aka Kid Flash, was not the most subtle of people and might have done something to force The Team into a conflict with the locals.
Kadlur couldn't come here to spy on this city-state as Atlantis had a non-aggression treaty with them and Megan had become less and less interested in their work ever since Connor left.
So it was just Robin and Zatanna moving from rooftop to rooftop trying to gather as much information as they could about this strange realm as the day became night.
Once they got past the fact that the city was inhabited by different races, they saw that the people here were living rather normal lives, and no one seemed to be up to anything worrying.
The people here had jobs and children, they shopped at the local market, and so on. If not for the lack of technology and the different races living together this place wasn't that different from a city on Earth.
Robin figured that it was much cleaner and safer than any medieval city his world had ever known, and that was a good thing in his view. Heck, he'd been to many places on Earth with a much lower standard of living than what the people here enjoyed.
Since they were both human and the city had many human citizens, it had been easy for them to put on disguises and move around. The city was huge and had a large population so it was easy to blend in with the crowds.
Once on the street, they'd visited a few places of business and even paid for things using local coins that Batman had somehow acquired. There were general stores and blacksmiths, as well as quite a few places to eat out, nothing worth reporting about.
Zatanna had been very interested in a store that sold magical items very openly. In his world magic was not a secret, it was just that most people seemed to be happier if those who practised magic didn't go around advertising its existence.
Here magic was just a part of life and would help to explain the high standard of living the people here enjoyed. They must have found ways to use magic to make themselves more comfortable.
Robin had for a short amount of time, wondered if his partner for this mission would try to enlist in the local magic school, and go undercover for a while, to find out more about how magic was used here.
This would be a problem for him as he had no way home on his own, but she was able to resist dragging him along to check out the university, although she had looked tempted.
As evening fell upon the city Robin and Zatanna continued their surveillance. They perched atop a particularly tall building, blending into the shadows cast by the setting sun.
The city below bustled with life, the sounds of laughter and conversation drifting up to where they hid. His keen ears picked up a few words, and nothing he heard alarmed him.
Everyone in this city seemed happy enough, and there was little in the way of poverty, if Robin's old teammate was up to no good then it didn't seem to be doing any harm to the citizens he now ruled.
"I can't help but feel a bit uneasy about all this," Robin admitted quietly, his eyes scanning the streets below "I feel a bit bad about sneaking around like this. I should just go and talk to him".
Zatanna glanced at him, her expression sympathetic.
"I understand, Robin" she said "But sometimes we have to do things we're not entirely comfortable with for the greater good".
A sad fact of life was that heroes had to do things they weren't comfortable with to prevent harm to others. This didn't always mean endangering themselves to protect people, sometimes it meant asking the hard questions or invading people's privacy.
"I just hope Batman knows what he's doing" Robin muttered.
This mission had the potential to become a diplomatic incident that could cause problems between the League and this realm if they were caught.
"Batman knows what he's doing," Zatanna reassured him, though there was a hint of uncertainty in her voice "You must know that by now".
If only it were that simple.
"He makes mistakes" Robin stated.
As they watched the city, their attention was driven towards the docks, a rather odd feature for this city to have since there were no other settlements in this realm for them to trade with.
The two young heroes leapt from the rooftop until they found what it was that had drawn their attention. The ships in port were being loaded with supplies and troops, a lot of them.
"Is that an invasion force?" wondered Zatanna.
It sure looked like the troops were going off to war.
"Who could they be invading?" Robin asked, "They don't have enough men or advanced enough weapons to threaten anywhere on Earth".
Still, this was rather worrying, so the Boy Wonder took some pictures with one of his spy devices.
As the night wore on, the activity at the docks intensified. More ships arrived, their holds soon filling with soldiers and weapons. It was clear that this was not a simple military exercise but a preparation for war.
"I wonder if they are going to one of the other planes" mused Zatanna.
The Boy Wonder recalled her mentioning that many magical realms were part of the universe but couldn't be flown off to in a spaceship, you had to know the magical ways to reach them.
"Batman and the League need to know about this" stated Robin "If there's fighting going on between these realms then it might spill over onto our world".
If nothing else it would be wise to remain on guard, and while they would have liked to have stayed to find out more, they weren't supposed to be staying here for long. It was best to leave now before they risked discovery.
"Agreed. We need to report this immediately" the mage said.
The two young heroes moved off out of the city. It would take them some time to reach a spot from where they could open a portal without being detected and get back to their world.
A Kind of Magic.
Part 46.
Wilderness. Pholubalm.
Why possessing the Tri-Force of Courage allowed me to take on the form of a wolf I didn't know as my knowledge of Zelda lore was rather weak despite how much of my younger life I'd spent playing video games.
Yet I was grateful for this power despite not having used it before now as it had allowed me to track Zatanna and Robin as they left my realm. As a human, I was sure I'd have been detected.
While Roblin's ability to use stealth far outstripped my own, he was primarily a city boy, and most importantly he'd not left Zatanna's side so that limited his means of avoiding detection.
Add to that I'd been tracking their scent through the forest and following their tracks, instead of sounds or sights, so I hadn't needed to see or hear them to follow the duo.
Of course, I'd know about their entry into my realm as soon as they arrived as they hadn't been as subtle as they should have been. The Mystic Masters kept an eye on inter-dimensional travel and the League's spies had been noticed right away since they didn't use the Pathways.
I'd been aware for some time that it might be possible for individuals and small groups to enter my realm at the fringes despite the phoenix fire which protected us from outside threats as no defence was perfect.
This was why I had wanted the forts around the city to be fully manned, and I figured that it would be wise to meet with the Mystic Masters soon to see if anything could be done to further bolster our mystical defences.
While remaining in the form of a wolf I watched as two members of The Team left my realm and given that one-half of that spy duo was Robin I didn't need to guess who they would be reporting to.
It was the most simple of deduction to conclude that it was Batman who had sent them here, as it was natural for the Dark Knight of Gotham to want to gather information on potential threats.
As I returned to my human form I wondered what Batman's next move would be. Given my realm's non-aggression pacts with Atlantis and the Amazons, as well as my plane's defences, an outright attack was highly unlikely, but there could be more spying efforts made in the future.
The Batman would want to know where my ships were going and I wondered if the League would interfere in the war taking place in the realm of Skartaris.
It would be like them to interfere in the conflict between Travis Morgan, aka Warlord and the Dark Lord Deimos. They would claim it to be a peacekeeping mission when it would be interference in matters that didn't concern them.
Even if they didn't interfere with the war, I should assume that the Dark Knight would keep sending spies to keep an eye on me so he could gather enough information to create plans to take me down. I wasn't offended by this as he had plans to take down all of his allies
It was the howling of real wolves that snapped me out of my trail of thought. This plane of existence had wildlife as well as people, and some of the local predators had caught the scent of an intruder. While I could stay to fight them, and flex my magical muscles, I decided to simply leave. They were only animals and did not deserve to be harmed for trying to defend their hunting grounds.
When I returned to my chambers I found Raven waiting for me in some sort of meditative posture.
"They've gone" I commented.
She didn't act as if this was news.
"I know," she said, "I have my ways of tracking people".
The demi-demon stood up before speaking again.
"So what are you going to do about this intrusion?" she asked.
I took a seat at a fancy table I often ate meals at and pondered that question.
"Zatanna and Roblin are little more than children carrying out orders. Robin and I were teammates and I don't want to harm him" I said to Raven "Ironically if they had just come to me I would have been happy to tell them whatever they wanted".
Struck by an amusing idea I got up and went over to one of the many bookshelves that lined the walls of my private chambers. Once I found the right text I opened up a small portal to the office of Bruce Wayne in Wayne Tower and dropped the book on his desk.
"What was that?" Raven asked.
I smiled before replying.
"A book that serves as a guide to the city, its attractions, shops, and districts," I told her "I dropped it off at Bruce Wayne's workplace so that Batman will know that I can also poke around in his city".
After pouring myself a drink I sat back down again. Drinking expensive wine out of silver goblets always put me in the mood to do some Game of Thrones-style plotting.
"It's their mentor, Batman, who concerns me. He's a tactician, always thinking several moves ahead. If he's sending his proteges into my realm, it means he's more than curious, he's wary of what I'm doing here" I said, repeating thoughts from earlier "I'm considering ignoring him for the most part as he only information gathering, but as a king, I can't let foreign agents enter my realm unchallenged".
Raven nodded, her expression unreadable as it often was.
"From what you've told me Batman is not someone to be underestimated," she remarked "And it won't be safe to simply ignore him".
The Justice League could sit in meetings and bicker all they liked they were bound by international agreements, but Batman wouldn't let such deals stop him, and the whole point of The Team I'd once been part of was to act without such restrictions.
"Exactly," I replied. "Which means we need to be proactive. I'll convene with the Mystic Masters to discuss fortifying our defences further. We can't afford any vulnerabilities, especially if Batman decides to escalate things".
Raven inclined her head in agreement.
"And what about his next move?" she wondered.
I'd also given that some thought. Raven would know this and she was giving me a chance to express my ideas to see how they sounded out loud.
"I anticipate more surveillance, this time looking for more details on our troops and weapons," I said thoughtfully. "Batman won't be satisfied with just one reconnaissance mission. We'll need to be vigilant and perhaps counter his efforts with some of our own. I have more than enough wealth to hire agents to keep track of Bruce Wayne in Gotham, I doubt they'd discover anything, but I need Batman to realise that he can't just spend people to my realm".
Raven nodded in understanding.
"Understood. I'll keep a close watch from my end as well" she promised "I'm getting good at scrying".
With a nod of thanks, I dismissed the young mage, and I remained sitting as if the weight of Batman's scrutiny was still heavy on my mind. This intrusion was just the beginning, and I needed to be prepared for whatever came next.
For now, I had my Grimiore to offer me a distraction, and I would attend to it before I went off for yet more meetings as well as overseeing the war preparations. Learning about ships of mine getting filled with troops and supplies would understandably worry anyone who found out about it, and the site alone had driven the spies to leave the city to report back.
I opened the grimoire to see what it had to say.
600cp
+200cp
800cp
Bank or Roll?
I wrote to Roll and I hoped I'd get something
expensive as I needed to spend some points.
-300cp
500cp
Sorceress/Sage - The Witcher
A practitioner of the magical arts. Their appearance and personality are up to you. Powerful in their own right, and knowledgeable about magic like few others. They can be your teacher, pupil or colleague.
This gave me a lot of options. By the sounds of things, I could create an original character rather than end up with a canon character. This could be for the best as the female mages in the series were not the most steadfast of people in my opinion.
Besides, there was always a chance I'd end up removing a character from their timeline at some important moment, and that could cause big problems for people in other worlds.
So I decided to create an OC. She would be an attractive female sage, an elven sorceress, still young by her people's standards, but with a great deal of magical knowledge with enough wisdom to act as a court mage and advisor.
Once I wrote down a few details the grimiore did the rest of the work for me. Again I gave the book five out of five stars for service.
Name: Elara Nyxshade
Race: Elf
Appearance: Elara has long, flowing silver hair that cascades down her back like a waterfall, often adorned with delicate elven braids and charms. Her eyes are a mesmerizing shade of deep emerald green, with an otherworldly glint that hints at her magical prowess. Elara possesses the ethereal beauty typical of her kind, with high cheekbones, a slender figure, and graceful movements that seem almost dance-like.
Attire: Elara's attire reflects her elven heritage and her role as a sorceress. She often wears flowing robes woven from the finest silks and enchanted fabrics, adorned with intricate patterns and symbols representing various schools of magic. She accessorizes with delicate jewellery crafted from rare gemstones imbued with magical properties, such as rings that enhance her spellcasting abilities and amulets that offer protection against dark forces.
Personality: Elara is wise beyond her years, possessing a calm and serene demeanour that belies her immense power. She is fiercely intelligent and deeply curious about the mysteries of magic and the world around her. Despite her formidable abilities, Elara is humble and compassionate, using her gifts to aid those in need and uphold justice and balance in the realm. She is a patient teacher and a loyal friend, always willing to offer guidance and support to those who seek her wisdom.
Background: Elara hails from a long line of esteemed elven sorcerers, with a lineage stretching back centuries. From a young age, she displayed an innate talent for magic, quickly mastering the arcane arts under the tutelage of her elders. As she grew older, Elara ventured beyond the borders of her homeland, travelling far and wide to study under the greatest mages and sages of the land. Along her journey, she honed her skills and expanded her knowledge, becoming one of the most powerful sorceresses of her time.
Role: Elara serves as a trusted advisor and court mage to the ruler of her new homeland, using her magical abilities to protect the realm from threats both mundane and supernatural. She is renowned for her keen insight and strategic prowess, often called upon to help navigate the complex political landscape of the court. Despite her duties, Elara remains ever vigilant, knowing that dark forces lurk in the shadows, waiting to strike at the heart of her people.
Relationships: Elara shares a deep bond with her fellow elves, particularly those who share her passion for magic and learning. She has a close relationship with her family and mentors, who continue to guide and support her on her journey. Elara also forms alliances with other practitioners of magic, regardless of race or creed, recognizing the importance of unity in the face of adversity.
That sounded good to me so approved of the OC and a moment later she appeared. She didn't seem at all unsettled by her sudden creation or at least relocation and she knelt before me.
"I am yours to command my king," she said.
Damn, the grimoire did good work.
"Welcome Elara Nyxshade," I said formally.
As she got up off the floor I spoke to her more casually.
"Before anything else, I'll have the servants prepare a room for you and a workspace if you need one," I said "I've got some meetings to get to, so we'll have to talk later".
I summoned the servants and sent Elara Nyxshade to settle in, to find her place within the White-Gold Tower. I would talk to her later and find out more about her. For now, I had a few other matters to handle.
A Kind of Magic (YJ Celestial Grimoire)
Part 47.
Shamballah. Skartaris.
Travelling the multiverse via The Pathways is at times a simple experience and at others, it can be a very dangerous one. There are no words in English that I know to describe how mages such as myself can move between realms other than to say it is magic.
What matters is that while moving between planes is difficult when teleporting from part of Earth to another, it can be done, and it is possible to take people with you when you travel so far.
Given the number of mages at my command, it was not too much work to move several sailing vessels between the planes, my spellcasters had even been able to modify the vessels so that they could fly.
If you can manage that feat then you should employ it because it looks cool. Nothing says you have magical power like sailing vessels in the sky.
Like most major settlements, Shamballah was near a source of water, in this case, a river, so the ships had somewhere to anchor. This would make unloading the ships much simpler.
The existence of the docks made it safe to assume that the river was used to move trade goods, and before long were unloading the ships. I'd made sure we were well-supplied for the coming war.
Men and supplies would quickly need to be moved off the ships in case the vessels were needed to go and fetch more supplies. More troops and supplies could be brought in quite easily via portal once I had sent for them, but it was possible to block portals.
I knew that food, weapons and armour would be required just as much as more men on the battlefield. I was no expert in warfare, but I'd seen enough documentaries and read enough on the subject to know that logistics are as important as tactics.
Since our entry into this realm hadn't been at all stealthy we were met at the docks by Jennifer Morgan and her father.
The warlord didn't look as old as he should given he had an adult daughter and that he'd been a pilot during the height of the Cold War. I put that down to the strange ways time can behave when you're living in a magical realm.
"Are these all men you brought?" asked Travers Morgan.
The man must have embraced the role of gruff barbarian warrior very well to have forgotten his manners. Lucky for him I was not one to be offended by the lack of social niceties..
There was a great deal of contrast between the two rulers here, the Warlord and myself, that were very noticeable.
He looked like he'd stepped out of Conan the Barbarian comic, I other the hand was mostly certainly a mage. I still wore my dragonhide coat, but I carried a staff and magical trinkets.
The differences could be seen in our soilders as well. The native warriors were a mix of men and women who could have come from different periods of human history.
Some reminded me of images of Bronze Age Celtic warriors I'd seen, others were more like Vikings in their style of dress, some could have been medieval knights, and I would have been surprised to find out that a few of the archers had fought alongside Robin Hood.
Again in contrast my troops were far more organised and uniform in appearance. I did not doubt that they were much better trained as well. The Warlord's warriors looked as if they'd all gained some practical experience rather recently.
"Father" Jennifer gently chided "Archon Gothic has agreed to aid us. I'm sure this is just a small showing of his support".
King Marcus Fenix, Archon Gothic, James the Sorcerer, I seemed to have picked up a lot of names and titles during my time in the DC multiverse.
"Since my advisors and I didn't have much information to go on we felt it wise to send supplies to aid your war and find out how much support we need to give" I said.
I got the sense that the Warlord had been under a lot of stress recently. It certainly would explain his attitude and lack of manners.
As for the lack of information, that was more my fault for not having started to set up my version of the Blades much sooner. I didn't have a proper intelligence service in my kingdom, and that needed to be sorted out soon. Having the right information was vital for any ruler.
"It would be best to show you and your advisers what we are up against," Jennifer said.
Since I wasn't the only mage who could open portals so soon Elara Nyxshade, Blackfire, Raven, the Warlord, his daughter and myself, were soon transported to the walls of the city.
I might have spent some time admiring the construction of this city, as it was far too advanced for a primitive people to have made, if not for the massive army that looked to be laying siege to the city.
"This explains your concern about the number of men I brought," I said "But I was under the impression that your armies were more evenly matched".
That I might have been lied to by Lady Jennifer Morgan didn't bother me much as that was a part of politics. No, what didn't bother me was that I might have bitten off more than I could chew.
"The Dark Lord's power has grown" this realm's Sorcerer Supreme told me "Someone is supplying him with powerful weapons and perhaps more. The only reason Deimos's army has not brought down the walls is that the lizardmen are having trouble using their weapons, but it is only a matter of time before they figure out what to do".
Regardless of any lies or changing circumstances, I did need to stop Deimos here so that he wouldn't turn his eyes onto my realm at a later date. Sure my plane had the phoenix fire to defend it, but any defence could be overcome.
"We'll need to deploy more of the Legion," I said to Raven.
The both of us used our Sling Rings to open up portals to where hundreds of men were waiting in their forts to move out. Not just humans, there were orcs, elves and more exotic kinds of people in the Legion.
Raven hadn't originally planned to come to this realm with us as she wanted to focus on her studies but in the end, her curiosity had won out, and I was glad she was here with me as she was very good with portals.
Blackfire had also tagged along because she wanted to see this other realm rather than stay behind and sort out the wedding. I didn't think it mattered if we fought this war first.
"Protect the walls," I ordered.
Even if we brought in troops from all of the other forts in my realm it wasn't going to be enough. So I spent a little time assessing the situation. I knew that I needed to determine any weaknesses of the enemy that could exploited, but I didn't know much about them.
Since her father wasn't very welcoming towards his guests, and I didn't blame him since he didn't know us and he was under a great deal of pressure, I knew it would be best to work closely with Lady Jennifer, the Sorcerer Supreme for this realm.
I would need to ensure clear communication between us so that we could coordinate our efforts. Only then would we have a chance.
Our combined army would need to focus on defending key positions, such as the city walls until we could come up with some way of counter-attacking.
"Any ideas on how we keep them from attacking?" I asked, "We need to buy time for all my troops to arrive".
Given their numbers letting them attack the walls was a bad idea. We would be overwhelmed.
"How about I fly over them and just blast them?" offered Blackfire "If I can get them to panic they'll scatter and need time to sort themselves out".
If they were just a horde of barbarian lizardmen then that plan could work.
"They have some energy weapons" I warned her "It would only take one lucky shot to bring you down".
Which was why I wasn't going to order my few flying ships into battle. I didn't want them getting blasted out of the sky, and anyone who crashed would be overwhelmed by the lizardmen in mere seconds.
"Archon, I've heard you are skilled with elemental magic" said Lady Jennifer "If combined our powers we could strike them with a great storm. They have no walls to keep them safe and if we make it colder the lizards will become sluggish".
An unexpected snowstorm would at least slow the enemy down and sap their morale. Giving me more time to deploy the Legion and develop a proper plan.
"I have a lot of raw power, but I've never done anything like that before" I admitted.
Lady Jennifer didn't seem concerned.
"I can cast such a spell if you and your apprentice can lend me your power," she said.
Elara Nyxshade was also a magic-user as I had designed her to be one, but if Jennifer didn't know that then perhaps it would be wise not to tell anyone. I couldn't be sure that the barbarians wouldn't turn on us, even if it was very unlikely, so having an ace up my sleeve would be a good idea.
As for the snowstorm, I felt sure that Doctor Fate could have done that on his own, but he was a Lord of Order, whereas Jennifer Morgan was a mortal sorceress, comparing them wasn't at all fair.
"If you need power I can help with that," I offered.
One of my more recently obtained talents was the ability to soul-bind an object to a person so that it became a part of them.
I'd done this to myself and the Staff of Magnus, as it was far too powerful to ever be allowed to fall into the hands of another, I brought forth the staff and planted it in the ground.
"The staff holds a great deal of power" I mentioned.
I should know I was the one who had filled it before coming here. There would be more than enough power to change the weather within the staff.
"Stand back" intrusted Lady Jennifer.
She began to chant some strange words as she drew on the power within the staff, words that I missed the meaning of because almost at once the wind picked up.
Within moments clouds covered the sky as most of the sunlight was blocked, and it got cold very quickly. The drop in temperature made me very glad that I was wearing my coat.
The centre of the snowstorm that Lady Jennifer was creating could be found outside of the walls of the city. As planned the walls were protecting us from the worst of the weather.
While the lizardmen were too far away to see them as anything more than a massive crowd they should be more affected by the change in the weather than the mammals keeping watch from the barricades.
It was an impressive bit of magic, and by the time the local Socerer Surpeme was done, you'd think it was the middle of winter here, and we humans thought it cold I could only imagine that the cold-blooded reptile people found it much worse.
"Well done, Jennifer. This will buy us some time" stated the Warlord "The lizards will never attack while it is this cold".
The leaders of the two armies moved inside the city and we visitors were led into a large chamber which contained little. Most of its space was empty aside from what was taken up by a big table and some chairs. Along the walls, there were many torches to provide light.
"In better times we would feast to welcome such honoured visitors to our city" mentioned Jennifer.
"These are no better times" stated the Warlord.
Now that I was closer to the table I could see that it wasn't bare instead it was partly covered by some crude maps.
"We need to plan a counter-offensive" Morgan insisted "Some way to break the siege".
Since we didn't have the forces to meet the enemy on the battlefield we'd have to do something sneaky like finding the dark lord and killing him. If he was the only thing keeping this massive army together then he had to be dealt with.
But before I could suggest that I saw that grimoire had appeared and again now paid it any attention leaving me free to have a look.
500cp
+200cp
700cp
Bank or Roll?
I wrote to roll using a pen I had on my person.
-600cp
100cp
Power Absorption - Doctor Strange
There are a wide variety of powers that are possessed by a multitude of individuals in
this world. So many of their users waste their potential, however. So why don't you take their powers and show them what they could have been? This perk grants you the ability to absorb the powers others possess by draining them. The main limit is that it takes a certain amount of time depending on the strength of the power. This also must remain uninterrupted to be successful. This means that you must subdue your target and isolate them during the process so that you are not interrupted.
Now that was an ability I could make good use of later, but for now, there was a war to win. Deimos wasn't a real wizard so he had no power to drain. As such I would have to find another way of making sure he'd never again be a problem.
A Kind of Magic (YJ Celestial Grimoire)
Interlude - The Batman Again.
Once more the Dark Knight of Gotham found himself sitting at his computer thinking a great deal about Gothic the sorcerer. This wasn't the first time he'd sat here in the dark doing this, and he doubted it would be the last as the magician was not someone Batman had an easy time understanding.
During his time as Gotham's, and sometimes the world's, protector, he had encountered many kinds of people, and most of them fell into categories that made them somewhat easy to understand. They were either heroes, villains or civilians.
Of course, not everyone fits into these neat divisions. Selina Kyle AKA Catwoman could be a hero or a villain depending on the situation, and mostly she fits in somewhere between the two.
Gothic turned out to be even more complex of a person than Selina, who often just wanted to steal something cat-themed, and she could mostly be relied upon to do the right thing.
Batman was not just working with his thoughts this time he had evidence that he should be concerned about the spellcaster in the form of a rather simple book.
The object itself was harmless, the Dark Knight had examined it in every way he knew and it was just a book, rather it was how Batman had found the book which concerned him.
He'd discovered the book sitting on his desk in his office at Wayne Tower. It was harmless itself it was just that finding the book there meant that Gothic knew Batman's civilian identity.
This wasn't as alarming as it might seem at first as Batman had told a few people of the name he'd been born with and no doubt more than one person in the League or The Team had figured it out.
No, what bothered Batman was that Gothic could have just as easily sent a bomb to his office or attacked him in some magical way. Yet he'd sent a harmless book.
When he'd started examining the book, which had been produced by a rather simple printing press, he'd tested it and found it to be harmless before reading it and realising that the book had been sent as a joke or perhaps a warning of some sort.
Had it come from someone else the Dark Knight would be more worried, but he didn't think the magician would do anything drastic, and he'd wanted to harm Robin or Zantana he'd have done so by now.
It was a book about the city that Gothic now ruled. The same city that Batman had sent Robin and Zatanna to learn about. So not only did Gothic know that the two young heroes had been there he'd known why as well.
As for the contents of the book they were of limited help as the text had been written to inform tourists of what the city had to offer. Batman needed more detailed information.
He'd come to realise that the spellcaster was letting Batman know that he could also do the same to the Dark Knight. Gothic was able to spy on him and perhaps interfere with Gotham.
Unlike Wayne Manor and the Batcave under it, Wayne Tower did not have mystical protections, it had never needed them and installing them would have drawn attention to the building.
That would have to change even if it risked drawing unwanted attention to Wayne Tower and there were several mages whom Batman could upon for a favour. Ironically Gothic had once been one of them.
Since the magician was sending books rather than bombs, the Dark Knight did not consider him to be a villain, but he was no hero, and his actions were a concern.
At least the city Gothic ruled over in another plane seemed pleasant enough according to the reports he'd gotten from Robin and Zantanna. Other than the loading of troops and supplies onto ships there didn't seem to be anything to be concerned about.
Yet the Batman was concerned. Where had those troops gone? Why was Gothic sending soilders away from his realm? Did he have some enemy? Did the magician have plans to interfere with a nation here on Earth?
That seemed unlikely given the level of technology displayed by Gothic's troops, and while appearances could be deceiving, the mage didn't have the numbers to interfere with a conflict on Earth or to invade any nation.
Batman wondered if the mage might be sending troops and supplies to one of the other planes. If so then he wasn't going to have much luck finding out. It would be better to get one of the League's more mystical members to gather some information for him.
This lack of information made it hard to come up with plans to neutralise Gothic should he become a threat and Batman didn't know how Robin had been detected during his mission so sending more of The Team to that realm seemed foolish.
He would have to entrust someone experienced with magical matters to find out more about what Gothic was up to in case the League ever needed to interfere.
John Constantine wouldn't be of help as he was fond of the man some now called Marcus Fenix, but the Dark Knight had other allies he could call upon. Jason Blood for example.
Gothic had come up a few times in meetings of the League as Batman wasn't the only one to find the magic's actions to be perplexing or concerning. But nothing had ever been decided upon.
It would be easier if the mage would act the role of hero or villain as then he'd be much easier to predict and counter.
After deciding that he would outsource the information gathering to someone more experienced with mystical matters the Dark Knight focused his attention on other matters.
There was always more data to go over and plans to make. He would not allow himself to rest for many hours to come despite anything Alfred had to say on the matter.
A Kind of Magic (YJ Celestial Grimoire)
Part 48.
Shamballah. Skartaris.
Despite what you see in the movies, sieges are drawn-out affairs involving one side trying to force a surrender out of the other, because if they can't get a surrender they will have to try to overcome any fortifications in their way and that will be a bloody affair which will cost many lives for both sides.
Also if you destroy the walls of a castle or walled city then you will have a much harder time defending the place when someone tries to take it from you and repairing the damage would be costly. As such it was best to try to starve your enemy into submission.
Any decently run castle or walled city will have plenty of supplies tucked away in case of siege, and I was having more brought in via portals so no one here would be starving.
My city-state couldn't sustain this one, not for long, but our support did remove some of the strain and I'd been able to bring many more warriors to this city-state via the portals so the local defenders were not lacking in support.
If everyone within my realm wasn't so loyal to me, I was sure that by now I'd be hearing many complaints about the expenses from my advisors. Yet, the councillors remained supportive of my efforts to aid Shamballah against Lord Deimos, and the Legion was willing to keep fighting.
Still, what was happening here was not sustainable for either side, as the Dark Lord had a large army, one that must be consuming a significant amount of food even with the defenders of Shamballah killing a great deal of them. The lizard men were meat eaters and by now they must have hunted down or scared off every animal for many miles.
Sure they could bring in supplies from Thea, the city-state ruled by Deimos, but they would have a limited amount of supplies to call upon and that might explain why the lizards were trying so hard to break the defences of this city.
Deimos had to win this war soon, otherwise, he would lose any hold he had over his army and his attempt to conquer Shamballah would fail, and a failed warlord would not remain in charge for long.
That was why the lizard people's army kept attacking. They needed to wear down the defences as quickly as possible, and they might have done so already if I hadn't come to the aid of the Warlord.
So they kept attacking despite their many losses and despite the best efforts of the mages to shield the city with our magic or to affect the weather to subject the cold-blooded enemy to winter temperatures.
The enemy had a few advanced weapons and so they were able to make holes in the walls. I'd imagined that by now we'd have taken out all of their advanced weapons, so they must have kept a few hidden away.
There were so many tents out there it was impossible to know what kind of weapons and supplies they had hidden away. If we had known then we would have destroyed the stockpile.
"Gothic, we have a breach in the south wall" reported Blackfire telepathically.
My ability to create a magical chat network was proving to be something very valuable during the siege as while there was a chance some enemy could tap into the network, it was worth the risk as it was extremely useful for the commanders to be able to exchange information like this.
I teleported to where Blackfire was fighting, already knowing where she would be, and I saw the gap in the wall that was allowing lizard men into the city or at least the outer parts of it.
They were pouring in even as arrows and rocks rained down on them, forcing them to trample each other as they tried to get at us.
Their efforts were for nought as I created a magical barrier to take the place of the opening in the wall. Blackfire then blasted the few lizard men who had made it through the gap in the defences.
Soon I could feel the pressure of outside magic and physical force as the enemy tried to break down the protective barrier. The lizardmen did have some magic users of their own, rather primitive shamans with little power, who would normally be no match for me, but the lizards were attacking the barrier physically as well.
I could also tell that the enemy was also trying to climb over the wall they'd been attempting to break down, but that wasn't much of a concern as we had plenty of troops manning the wall.
Even with my focus on the barrier, I could hear them fighting, the raised voices, the clang of metal and metal, and the screams of those who had been wounded or killed.
"The barrier is one way so you can fire through it" I verbally told Blackfire.
She also looked tired, yet she gave it her best, blasting as many lizards as she could before they pulled back. The enemy could be reckless but they weren't completely insane and would fall back if they took enough losses.
When they did flee, I dropped the barrier and then I used my power over the element of Earth to restore the wall as best I could. However, since this wasn't the Minecraft world my efforts were more of a patch job than a proper repair.
"We can't keep going like this" stated the tired alien princess.
She was right. The lizard men just kept attacking and while they didn't seem to care much for their lives they were at least smart enough to keep probing for weakness and would pull back only if their losses became too high.
At least the lizards didn't attack at night. That was giving the warriors on the walls time to rest and to tend to their injuries.
"I know" I agreed "I need to go out there, find Deimos, and end him".
So far I'd not gone and done that because I'd been busy here defending the city as the rest of my team. Blackfire was flying around attacking what she could while my new elven sage had set up a field hospital with Raven assisting her.
"Just go and be quick about it," said my soon-to-be wife "This isn't a battle we can win".
That wasn't part of the plan. The Warlord wanted to hold the line until Deimos got desperate enough to launch an all-out attack. He'd battled the dark lord before so it had made sense to listen to Morgan.
Only Deimos wasn't attacking recklessly, he was driving the lizards hard, but he wasn't being too stupid with them, and he wasn't exposing himself to any risk by entering the battle.
"I'll go," I said.
The Warlord would be pissed if I took out his archenemy for him, however, his ego wasn't my concern and I would rather avoid having one final glorious struggle as that would cost me too many warriors.
More and more I got the impression that Morgan was playing out some sort of fantasy even if it was a deadly one.
Blackfire rushed over to me and kissed me before I took off. It was a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one, and we ended up having quite the snog before we were forced to go our separate ways.
I hadn't realised until now how much affection we'd started to develop for each other. Fighting in these battles had led to the start of a proper bond between us and I couldn't help wondering if it would one day lead to us loving each other.
"I'll be back" I promised.
With a little magic, I made myself invisible, having picked up that trick with Clever Craft, a perk from the Grimiore which gave me all the basic magic tricks from the Elder Scrolls world. Given my sheer power, it wasn't hard to keep an invisibility spell going even while taking to the sky.
Had I been visible the enemy would have fired arrows at me or used their advanced weapons. Since I wasn't I got to see the bigger picture. This made me realise how poor of a job Deimos was doing when it came to blocking this city.
Shamballah was not surrounded and while the only road to the city was blocked the lizardmen had not messed with the river so the city still had access to water.
This allowed my people to bring ships to the city as portals weren't great for moving large amounts of cargo. It was much better to have the Mystic Masters focus on moving people and medical supplies.
For some reason, the lizards hadn't thought to dam the river, to cut off the supply of water. Perhaps they hadn't thought the siege would last long enough for such an effort to matter.
The lizards did have some of their troops on the backs of flying creatures, acting as scouts, but so far they hadn't made use of them during the siege.
That could be due to their limited numbers or because the lizards were holding them back until they were sure it was time for an all-out assault. They didn't notice me and that was what mattered at this time.
I flew over the enemy camp and landed near the biggest tent, which was also the most well decorated and therefore had to be where Deimos was hanging out, the tent was guarded, but this wouldn't be an issue for long.
Working quickly, I summoned up a couple of Daedroth, the large dinosaur-like daedra and they began to attack anything that moved. Proving a great distraction for me.
Yet they wouldn't be enough so I dropped the special models on the ground and brought forth a squad of golems who would soon add to the mayhem going on around me.
Most of the enemy troops were far away so my forces would do a lot of damage to the camp before they could be stopped by the weight of sheer numbers.
With the guards moving out of the way I slipped inside the tent to find that Deimos was not alone. With him was another humanoid who I recognised as Abra Kadabra. Another fake who used advanced technology to mimic magic.
"Kill the intruder" ordered Deimos
Abra Kadabra never got the chance to try as before he could blast me I had the Staff of Magnus in my hand, I'd used the Oathkeeper perk to bind the staff to myself so that it could be summoned as needed. With it, I was able to easily shield myself from the blast sent at me by the fake wizard.
"A shame you never came to me, I could have given you access to the magic you desire," I told Abra Kadabra.
As the Socerer Surpeme that was well within my abilities and I could see the conflict in the eyes of the dark-haired man.
"Don't listen to him you fool!" yelled Deimos, who had to increase the volume of his voice to be heard over the ruckus going on outside "You serve me".
Abra Kadabra did not like hearing that.
"We're supposed to be partners, Deimos" the fake magician yelled.
What was the dynamic between these two?
"Hold on, are you two together?" I asked.
Rather than answer my question the dark lord took out a revolver from within his robes and pointed it at me.
"You will feel the power of my magic wand" he promised.
I wasn't impressed by what I saw.
"That's just a gun," I said, " A rather needlessly big one. Is it some kind of penis metaphor for you?".
Deimos fired and my barrier easily stopped the bullet much to his surprise. I would guess that the pistol, which would be unfamiliar to many in this realm, had taken most foes by surprise.
"Yeah, I'm the real deal," I told him "You two don't even have enough magic between you for a children's birthday party".
I took my chance and blasted Deimos with the Staff of Magnus, since he had no magic to drain, I took his life force to fuel the staff and he died within seconds. Leaving nothing more than a corpse on the ground.
Abra Kadabra wisely took his chance to flee, using his tech to teleport away. Whatever he had been doing here he hadn't considered it worth dying for. Smart of him and since he had no real power it was pointless trying to capture him.
As for Deimos, I found it hard to believe that so many of those lizard men had been fooled into thinking this man was a wizard just because he had a pistol. He must have had some other tricks up his sleeves.
Maybe the amulet he wore was some sort of personal shield generator if so it hadn't helped him against me or it had not been active when I'd attacked. Maybe I'd surprised the dark lord with my use of lethal force. It wasn't something heroic types were known for doing.
Deimos also carried a sword that looked to be of high quality, but it was just a sword, I doubted he'd ever used it much. After taking it I decided that I would present it to the Walord so he could put it on display somewhere. It might help to soothe his damaged ego when he found out that I'd killed his nemesis and done so rather easily.
"How disappointing" I muttered.
I looked around the tent to see some crates and they had the Lexcorp logo on them. I would claim them as the spoils of war. I could only assume that he hadn't given them out to his followers because he was worried about them being used against him.
This room also contained maps, lesser weapons, suits of armour, and even some treasure, the kind of things you'd expect to find in a fantasy warlord's possession. I would try to claim some of it later. For now, I had more important things to be doing.
"Deimos is dead" I sent over the telepathic link "Now we just need to hold on until the lizards find that out their boss is dead and they have no leader".
I hoped that this lead to the enemy scattering without a single leader to unite them because they still had the numbers to take the city-state.
Outside the tent, chaos reigned as my summoned creatures wreaked havoc among the enemy ranks. The distraction provided me with the opportunity to slip away unnoticed once I'd recovered the golems.
Returning to the city, I found the defenders still holding their ground, though weariness had begun to take its toll upon both the Legion and the native warriors. So I verbally relayed the news of Deimos' demise to them all, hoping it would bolster their spirits and give them renewed strength to continue the fight.
We now just had told hold until nightfall came as I had a feeling that by morning the enemy would begin to disband. We wouldn't be in any state to go after them so they would be free to leave.
I got the urge to go and check the grimoire, but it could wait as it would be best to build up some points and there was plenty for me to do here.
A Kind of Magic (YJ Celestial Grimoire)
Part 49.
Shamballah. Skartaris.
In my view, clearing up after a siege is just as unpleasant as the siege itself, and it was just as tiring because the situation couldn't be left alone. It had to be handled now.
The fighting hadn't just ended, there were still bands of lizardmen out there even if most of the enemy had broken up into many small groups before vacating the area. Some had fled very quickly while others had packed up before leaving.
Once the lizardmen had made the last of their attempts to breach the walls, it became time to collect the dead of both sides as the enemy had made little or no effort to do so.
For me, burying dead enemies wasn't much work I used magic to move some dirt and then I put the corpse in the hole before covering it up. Despite becoming familiar with the task I tried not to dwell much on what I was doing.
I knew enough about diseases to know that we didn't want a bunch of dead bodies around, and the warlord knew this as well, yet despite the urgency, he had the remains of his people collected for bonfires to burn the bodies rather than simply burying them in the ground.
Knowing better than to interfere with funeral rites, I got on with the grizzly work before moving into the enemy camp that my summoned creatures had made quite the mess of mere hours ago.
The lizardmen simply hadn't been prepared to deal with the sudden appearance of two massive daedra and a squad of golems. My minions had trashed the camp before the enemy had taken them down.
"Spread out and take what you want" I ordered the Legion troops with me "You've earned the spoils. We'll bury the dead afterwards".
No amount of loot would make up for those lost during the siege, but I had been promised spoils for our part in this war, and I intended to make sure that the warriors under my command were rewarded for their efforts.
This might make us seem like vultures, and to modern people, from the more civilised nations of Earth this act would seem distasteful, but it was a tradition and the warriors of the Legion had fought hard, they deserved what compensation they could obtain from the enemy.
The weapons and armour worn by the lizard men were crude when compared to what the Legion possessed but my city had a million citizens, many of whom had more money than they needed and they might be interested in buying something from another realm simply as a curiosity.
I imagined that many members of the Legion would want to put up a sword or a spear on their mantles as a reminder of the war they thought in or perhaps to have some piece of armour or native jewellery to put on display.
Those who lived through the siege would have stories to bore their grandchildren with, not the details of the battles would be suitable for children to hear about.
While I moved over to Deimos's big fancy tent I wondered why I hadn't just dropped a fireball on it from above after confirming the big bad was in there. That would have been the smarter thing to do even if it didn't leave me with any spoils of my own to claim.
As I approached Deimos's tent, I smelt the air which stank of smoke in the aftermath of the battle, along with the stench of death and the lingering aura of magic.
The traces left by magic was something I was learning to detect and I didn't think what I was picking up this time was the result of my spellwork. There must be something magical around here.
Despite the victory, a sense of unease lingered within me. I pushed aside the flap of the tent, the heavy fabric rustling as I entered. The last time I'd been here the camp had been no nosy and my focus had been fixed on Deimos so I failed to notice a few details such as the thick carpet I was now standing upon.
I moved around cautiously, as I was wary of any traps the dark lord might have set up to protect his possessions, and there was always the chance of there being a concealed enemy around even if the rest of the lizardmen seemed to have all fled by now.
But there were none. The tent was eerily empty, devoid of any immediate threats. Yet, the sense of foreboding persisted, as if unseen eyes were watching my every move, which should not be possible thanks to my Enochian Protection Runes as they kept me hidden from any sort of remote detection.
My gaze swept across the space, as I began to search for any clues that might reveal Deimos's plans or motivations. During the retreat, the tent had been left alone for the most part, but at least a few people had been through here, and they knocked things over and made a mess.
I did find some maps that looked rather crude when compared to what I was used to, but I took them anyway in case I ever needed such information.
Among the debris, a glint of light caught my eye, and I found a small, intricately carved box tucked beneath a pile of tasteless robes. Since my curiosity was piqued, I approached and cautiously lifted the box.
It was surprisingly light, crafted from some wood and I could read the runes on the side. Oddly they were gibberish and I soon realized that they were probably put there to make the whole thing look more mystical than it was. Deimos hadn't been a real mage, just a pretender.
Carefully I opened the lid, revealing a collection of talismans, rings, and other small objects that a magician might keep around because they made him seem as if had some connection to magic.
Such a pity that Deimos was such a bad guy had we met under better circumstances I could have connected to him other other dimensions and sent him to Mystic Masters for training.
Although if he had been evil to his core that act would have come around to bite me in the arse so it might be better than the wannabe wizard was dead. Having magical power might have made the man even more power-hungry rather than having brought him any sort of satisfaction.
His body was gone, but for all I knew the lizard people had eaten him or they had taken his remains back to the city-state of Thea for some sort of fancy burial. I wondered if he might have cheated death somehow, this was a DC universe after all, but if he had I didn't have any clue where he could be.
I located the weapons that came from Lex Corp and must have been brought here by Abra Kadabra. I wondered if he'd stolen them or if Lex Luthor was using them as part of some scheme. If was the latter I should inform the Justice League, as Luthor was their issue.
With the use of portals, I sent the fancy box to the Mystic Master to be looked over in case any of the trinkets inside had real power, as I was sensing something magical here, and I used another portal to move the weapons to my realm.
Once I returned home I would need to talk to the High Chancellor about setting up a third school within my realm as education within my kingdom was lacking.
Kamar-Taj and the Arcane University were great centres of learning, but they were focused on magic, my realm needed a school for the sciences as well made up of people who could study advanced technology and find ways for my realm to use it.
"Archon!" a voice called out.
I left the tent to find a messenger, one of the locals, who had something important to tell me.
"The Warlord wishes to meet with you in the war room" I was told.
Leaving the Legion to get on with things, I teleported myself to the war room to find an unhappy-looking Travers Morgan. He wasn't alone, his daughter was here and was his wife Tara Morgan, who was the civilian leader of Shamballah.
Until now the non-fighters had been staying out of the way and her majesty had been letting his husband run things, but with the war coming to an end it made sense for the queen to start managing the kingdom again as it began to rebuild.
"Why did you go against the plan?" he demanded to know.
While the Warlord had an impressive physical presence I did not let him intimidate me. He was nothing more than a barbarian warrior who led an army which had been on its last legs before I arrived.
"Because your plan wasn't working," I said "It became clear to me early on that Deimos needed to be taken out to end the siege, so I took him out".
I could have gone sooner, but that would have been risky as more of Deimos's army would have been at the enemy camp.
"Why didn't you share your plans?" questioned Jennifer.
This was something I should have done.
"We've all become worn out because of the fighting" I stated "At the time dealing with Deimos myself seemed like the only course of action. Had I been thinking more clearly I'd have realised that it would have been much wiser to assemble a strike team to attack Deimos via a portal once I had located him".
The Warlord must not have expected me to admit that I had made a mistake as he didn't seem to know what to say next. No doubt he'd been thinking about berating me for going against the plan and putting us all in danger.
I had done that, but by openly admitting my fault I had taken the wind out of the man's sails and made myself look far less foolish. No one here could blame me for making a mistake while exhausted as I'd worn myself out by helping them.
"The city was saved" pointed out Queen Tara "For that we should be grateful".
Jennifer too voiced her agreement.
"We would have fallen if not for Archon Gothic" she stated.
I'd not been granted any sort of vision that showed me that, but I'd not needed one, the outcome had been clear.
"The enemy has stopped their attacks," remarked the warlord "But now we have hundreds of small warbands that will scatter all over Skartaris".
He was right to be concerned because Shamballah is a city-state. It would be dependent on farms, mines and quarries that would be found outside of the city. Deimos would have wanted them intact to help fuel further conquests. the scattering warbands wouldn't care.
"My realm can keep sending you supplies to help rebuild" I offered "But I'll be pulling out my troops soon".
The queen didn't like hearing that.
"Shamballah is not yet secure" she pointed out.
I understood her concern but it didn't change my position.
"Before I came here I was under the impression that we would be assaulting a city-state not defending one," I expressed "I was promised certain rewards for my aid, rewards that aren't accessible".
I'd fought anyway as Deimos could have been a threat to my realm one day despite its defences and having allies in other realms was important.
"We will need help reclaiming our lands," said the queen "Is there any way we can convince you to stay for a while longer".
There was one way.
"I was hoping to establish trade with your city-state and any of the other stable city-states" I mentioned "If the terms of a more permanent alliance between us were favourable enough it would be worthwhile having my Legion stay to ensure my ally is secure".
The queen would have advisors who could handle the details of such a bargain.
"Trade with a powerful ally would benefit my people," said Queen Tara "The weapons and armour used by your warriors are superior to ours. We would like to purchase the knowledge to make such things".
That could be done by having blacksmiths from my realm to teach those who worked in this world. In return, they could trade us knowledge of this realm.
My city should be the centre of trade for many realms and would be if I had anything to say about it.
"Such things can be arranged by our advisors" stated the warlord "This is the time to plan how we will reclaim our lands".
Yes, the war had to be finished first, then I could have the Elder Council handle the details for me while I moved on and did other things.
As the warlord began to make new plans I felt the urge to check my grimoire.
100cp
+300cp
400cp
Bank or Roll
I rolled to find that I failed and the points would be saved up so it was no big deal. I had plenty of magical items, perks and powers.
A Kind of Magic (YJ Celestial Grimoire)
Part 50
The White-Gold Tower. Pholubalm.
This amazing structure which served as the centre of government here in my realm as well as my home, was most noticeable for its incredible height as the tower looked as if it could pierce the very heavens.
Many of those who looked upon the building from a distance or walked its halls would imagine that the most interesting parts of the tower were towards the top.
To an extent they were correct, however, the tower wasn't lacking in basements with many rooms hidden deep underground, and this included space for performing certain kinds of magic.
They were very secure, not just mystically, but also physically secure to ensure that anything summoned had a very hard time getting out or would become trapped until the threat could be dealt with.
Beyond the wards, thick stone walls and solid doors were members of the Palace Guard. This made sense even if you didn't know about the dangerous magic that might be performed down here as in the lower levels the treasury was close by.
Managing the realm's finances wasn't my concern as long as the treasury didn't start to empty as handling matters such as those was what the Elder Council was for, and if needs be I knew how to get my hands on a lot of gold without too much trouble.
No, I was done here because I needed a space to perform certain magic within. It was not the sort of magic that I wanted people to know I could perform as it would make me seem like a threat.
An ability that I had recently been granted by the Celestial Grimiore, allowed me to take power from others to strip them of what made them special and render them impotent.
The main limit to this ability was that it takes a certain amount of time to use depending on the strength of the being that I am trying to rob of its powers.
Another was the attempt to take the power could not be interrupted if it was to be successful. This meant that I had to subdue my targets and isolate them during the process.
This was why I'd come down to one of the aforementioned secure rooms in the basement of the White-Gold Tower and it was also why I was setting up a mystical circle meant to contain magical creatures.
I didn't want some monster trying to take a bite out of me when I was attempting to drain its power. While I wasn't going to be summoning any dragons down there were plenty of monsters much smaller which could do great harm to my home.
Smartly, I did not intend to spend too much time taking power from other creatures as I saw how badly that ended for an alternate version of Doctor Strange in an MCU animated series.
There was no need to when I already possessed vast magical power and other ways to grow stronger. So I would start slow and pace myself. I wanted to remain human and keep my mental health stable.
Aside from that I also had other responsibilities. I had left dealing with the scattering horde that had served the Dark Lord Deimos to the Warlord and officers of my Legion so that I could focus on these other matters.
While it had been tempting to stay behind and take up Jennifer Morgan on her offer to sire her offspring right away, I felt it best to marry Princess Blackfire first as my advisors were urging me to marry and to start producing heirs.
Again the arrangements for this were best for others, although I would be expected to attend some celebratory events and these would make good breaks from my work down here in the basement.
During my breaks I wouldn't just be dealing with any political matters that popped up or getting married I'd need to carry on with my training and my studying to make use of all these new powers.
Having the powers of many supernatural creatures wouldn't help me if I didn't figure out how to use them. They could be dangerous to myself and others so it was best to be careful.
For a time, I'd considered trying to drain Supergirl, who I still had trapped in her pod not too far from here, in an attempt to obtain her alien powers and take them for myself.
Combined with my own they'd make one of the most formidable beings in the universe. However, I didn't know if I would acquire her weaknesses too. If I did then it would be very bad as one of those weaknesses is magic, sort of, and I deal with magical stuff all the time.
Aside from that, the attractive cousin of Superman was a valuable bargaining chip that I could make use of should I ever run afoul of the Justice League or want something from them. Best to keep her as intact as possible.
It was best to start small so I summoned up a Scamp, the weakest form of Daedra and while the small critter tried to attack me it was well contained within the mystic circle. Meaning that it was unable to harm me despite its hostility.
The runes that made up the protective circle glowed as a barrier that had until now been invisible took the attack for me. For a moment it glowed and showed the barren room I was currently working within.
"Yeah, that's not going to work," I told the Scamp.
With my new ability, I reached out and pulled out the creature's power, with the intent of adding it to my own and the supernatural creature made a noise of distress as I did my thing.
The beast's magic was added to mine, but with little effect given how minor its power was compared to mine. What I was interested in was the innate magical abilities of this species.
Scamps had two minor tricks, one of which involved throwing fireballs around, and since I could do that and much more with magical fire I gained nothing meaningful there.
It was the monster's skill of being able to reflect some of the damage back to its source that interested me. The ability to reflect damage to its source is indeed a useful addition, offering me an extra layer of defence against potential threats.
"Let's try something a little higher up the foot chain," I said to myself
Before long I summoned a Clannfear, ferocious reptilian Daedra that resembles a lizard with a large, bony crest on their head, as well as a sharp beak and talons. They have tough scales on their body, and their mouths are lined with razor-sharp teeth for tearing flesh. I would not like one of those things to ever get too close to me.
This monster was even more reckless than the Scamp and ended up ramming the barrier a few times before it was shocked with a bit of lightning I sent at it. Just enough to stun it. I recalled that Clannfear were vulnerable to magical attacks of that kind and I might obtain that weakness by taking the Daedra's power. This was something that worried me.
However, I should be able to balance that out by taking the power of a mystical being with a resistance to such elemental attacks. I had a great variety of monsters to choose from.
Assuming I could obtain any weakness at all this way as so far nothing from the Grimoire had made me more vulnerable than before in any way. But no sense in taking risks when they could be so easily avoided.
I took in the Clannfear's power and dismissed the now useless Daedra back to its realm. No doubt in its weakened state it would be easy prey for some predator its that other dimension.
Then I spent some time trying to get a sense of myself to discover if I felt any different with all that new power inside of me. So far I didn't feel any different, or even more powerful so I decided to keep going.
The next beast I summoned was an Imp. Which were small, winged humanoids, that according to my research were somewhat intelligent and could cast a variety of low-level spells.
They are known to be aggressive and mischievous creatures as this one proved when it tried to zap me with a shock spell. It enjoyed no more success than the Scamp or Clannfear.
While the origins of the imp are not clearly understood; some sources suggest they may be Daedric beings, and I could summon them like one so I figured that this creature was a Daedra.
What mattered most of all was that they too could reflect damage and this was a power I could take for myself and add to what I had already obtained from the other monsters.
Once that was done I decided that three was a good number for today. I wanted to spend some time finding out if absorbing the supernatural energies of Daedra changed me in any way beyond making me more powerful.
Taking power like this might change how my magic works or alter my behaviour. I figured that Raven would help detect if anything was wrong with me. She was more sensitive to such things than myself.
To keep this room secure I didn't even unlock the door I simply opened a portal directly to my private quarters that would be a pain to get to on foot given the amount of stairs I'd have to climb.
I checked the time and realised that I needed to change as there was a social event I was required to attend taking place this afternoon. As the king I could just not go, but my position came with a few responsibilities.
I quickly began to change, taking off my simple robes so I could exchange them for a more fancy outfit that was mostly black with a gold trim. Before I could fully change I felt the Celestial Grimoire as it desired my attention. I quickly found the book and opened it.
Obtaining the perk of Power Absorption had been costly, yet well worth it, and it hadn't taken me long to start earning points again.
400cp
+100cp
500cp
Bank or Roll?
I wrote to roll
Failed
I blinked in surprise. I'd never failed two rolls in a row. Although I had enjoyed a lot of luck with the rolls until now, no one's good fortune lasted forever, and it seemed mine had run out.
While I wasn't bothered by not obtaining any new powers or useful objects due to how powerful I'd become, I couldn't help wondering what expensive perk I'd missed out on.
I didn't dwell on such thoughts for long as I changed into my formal attire, the thoughts that did whirl through my mind were instead about the responsibilities that come with my position.
Attending social events may seem trivial compared to my arcane pursuits, but maintaining appearances was important for a king.
While my realm mostly ran itself I'd expanded its influence beyond this plane of existence and this made governing the realm more complex than it had been in the past.
Even if I could delegate most of the work I still had to make some important choices that could affect people in different dimensions. It was both a testament to my growing power and a heavy responsibility.
Once properly dressed in my regal attire, I made my way to the event, or rather the warm-up for the main event, this was something akin to an American tailgate party.
There would be a great deal of food and drink consumed before the VIPs of the realm headed over to the arena for the main event. Which was something I had mixed feelings about.
As I grabbed a drink from a server, I remained mindful of the balance that must strike between my ambitions and my obligations as ruler of this realm. So I would just have to smile and bear what was to come.
I did my best not to allow those thoughts to interfere with my enjoyment of the event. It helped that the nobles kept the bowing to a minimum and just got on with things.
Unlike other kings, I was unlikely to ever be murdered by unhappy nobles or to face a rebellion, so I didn't need to worry too much about annoying those who kept me in power.
I found myself pleasantly distracted by Blackfire who looked the part of a future queen. My divination efforts to find a suitable queen had been time well spent.
"You seem at home here," I remarked when she came over to me.
Blackfire took my arm as we moved over to a fountain that had been set up in the centre of the large room.
"I was born for this" she reminded me "And fighting with the Legion has made me popular with many of the people here".
Having a royal family who were willing to fight for the realm was much cooler than having someone in charge because they happened to be descended from a past king or queen.
Us having fantastic powers no doubt helped with that and I made a mental note to give my children chances to prove themselves before I handed over the keys to the kingdom. Which I assumed I would do one day if I ever got bored of rulership.
"I'm glad to hear it," I said "How is the wedding
planning going?".
We had a little time for small talk before we would need to divert our attention to the next part of our day.