Umbre's Entry :)

[Umbreonage]

Flora and the Dark Wizard's Curse

Long ago, in the sprawling, mysterious forest, there lived a dark wizard. No one knew his name. No one dared ask. He was very old and kept to himself in a high, secluded tower, studying books of black magic and concocting evil spells. This wizard was incredibly powerful, but he had no compassion, no remorse, and no soul to guide the use of his power. It was whispered among the elves and humans also living in the forest that he had locked away his soul deep in the heart of the forest in order to gain unending power and knowledge.

One day, a young magi named Flora and her elven friend Ari were playing in the forest. They darted among the trees, playing tag. Suddenly, Flora tripped over an ancient tree root and landed spread-eagle on the pine needles littering the forest floor. She groaned in pain, and began to get up, when she noticed a small metal box concealed in a hollow beneath the tree whose root had tripped her. She knelt and retrieved the box. It was very cold, the box, as though it was sucking away her body heat. It was silver, and adorned with small rubies and bits of onyx. By this time, Ari had come over and was standing behind the magi. They looked at each other. They were both thinking the same thing. Was this the dark wizard's soul? The magi reached out to open the box, when the dark wizard appeared in a cloud of black smoke. He glared down at the Flora and Ari. Without a word, he grabbed the box and raised his arm. Clutched in his fist was a black, highly polished wooden wand, intricately decorated with snakes, ghosts, and monsters. In a hissing, unfamiliar language, he uttered a short incantation and disappeared. Where Ari had been now sat a young gryphon, and Flora felt her magic drain away. She was powerless now. She looked at her friend, a frightened gryphon hatchling now. The she looked up at the grey, swirling, clouded sky as a tear trickled down her cheek.

The effects of the wizard's curse spread through the forest like wildfire. Elves stopped in their tracks and dropped onto all fours before being transformed into fantastical beasts. Whatever mythic animal best matched their personality was what they were turned into. Unicorns, direwolves, gryphons, pegasi, kirin, hippogryphs, kitsunes, wyverns, and even some small forest dragons stumbled through the forest, confused, leaving destruction in their wake. Everywhere, humans, the magi, lost their powers and became defenseless against the transformed elves. Humans were trampled, elves injured themselves, trees fell. Chaos reigned. Then, Flora climbed atop the tallest rock. She watched the creatures rampage and the humans run in fear. And she called out, "STOP." Her voice resonated through the woods. And everyone stopped.
"I KNOW WHO HAS DONE THIS. THE DARK WIZARD HAS CURSED US ALL. THE ONLY WAY WE CAN SEEK REVENGE IS TO JOIN FORCES AND DESTROY HIS SOUL. IT IS LOCKED AWAY IN HIS TOWER. WHO WILL JOIN ME IN MY QUEST FOR VENGEANCE?"
All around, creatures roared and neighed and screamed. Human shouted their thirst for revenge. And so, each human found a mythical steed and they thundered off, a great mob of shimmering fur and glistening scales and billowing cloaks.

Up in his tower, the dark wizard scowled. How dare they even touch his soul box? He tucked it into a drawer for temporary safekeeping. All of a sudden, the floor beneath him began to shake. Slowly, gently at first, then harder until it was almost an earthquake. The wizard was annoyed, but didn't want to be in that tower during an earthquake. He slipped quietly down the spiral stairs and stepped onto the grass outside. Only then did he see; approaching his tower was a stampede. A dustcloud billowed behind the humans aboard their fantastical creatures. They yelled and brandished crude spears and swords. The wizard gritted his teeth and drew his wand. He fired his first spell. A ball of energy hurtled towards the mob.

At the front of the pack, the Flora and Ari the gryphon could clearly see the spell speeding towards them. They leaped out of the way just in time. Behind them, creatures and humans screamed and were thrown every which way. They sprinted on, past the wizard, up into his tower. The wizard turned to stop them, but was overcome by the mob. And so started the epic battle.

They flew up the stairs and into the wizard's room at the top. Ari stopped in the middle of the room, tawny sides heaving. The young magi slid off. Each began to tear apart the room in search of the box.

Down below, the battle raged. The wizard was backed against the wall. He shot spell after spell into the raging waves of people and creatures, but they just kept coming. Sometimes, one would get to him and get in a hit before he could send it flying, but he was fending them off pretty well. He was tiring though. He couldn't keep this up forever.

Flora ripped open a drawer and saw the box glitter inside. She pulled it out and set it on the floor. But try as they might, she and Ari could not open it. As Flora sat there, panting, an idea came to her. A desperate idea. But it just might work. She grabbed the box and ran down the stairs.

The wizard was fading fast. He used the wall for support now. His spells grew dimmer, weaker. Suddenly, the young magi burst from his tower, box clutched in her hands. The wizard saw this, and his eyes widened in horror. He shot a quick spell at her and then began to chase her.

Flora knew the spell was coming at her. Just as it was about to hit, she turned around and shielded herself with the box. The spell hit the box and shattered it. The soul escaped it's shattered prison and began to float gently upward. The wizard, in one last desperate attempt, tried to use a spell to recapture his soul. But his powers were shot. The spell vaporized the wisp of soul in a brilliant explosion. When the smoke cleared, every trace of the wizard was gone. The sun came out and shined down on the battered creatures and magi. They had not regained their powers. The elves were still beasts. But the dark wizard was gone, and would never terrorize them again.

To this day, magis and some of the species of mythical creatures descended from the transformed elves continue to join forces. In this time, they team up to learn, travel, and better themselves instead of battle however. One day, maybe they will learn to bring back the elves. But for now, magi and mythical creature must travel together in the quest for knowledge.



There you are, I hope you like it!

[Arimermaid]

Very discriptive and good! I will rate your story a four out of five cookies!