Urban Fantasy

Rogue Wizard – The Fire of Fury – Part 7 – Painful Revelations

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Frigg and Freya’s Day

Rogue Wizard’s Journal January 14th, 2019 (cont.)

I found my clothes on a table just outside the room and a couple of towels.  I was still a little wet from whatever process they had washed me off with, so I dried off. and then started getting dressed. It was then that I felt eyes watching me.  The Lioness of course and two other individuals – Lunette and Raven.

“Now all you ladies have me at a disadvantage.  You have now all seen me in the buff, but other than Lunette in middle school, I have not seen any of you in your natural state. Any takers?  No?  Well, excuse me.”

The three of them seemed a little self-conscious, so they looked away as best they could but I continued to catch glances.  I smiled.  Underwear, t-shirt with workout saying, socks, jeans, hiking boots, necklace with Valknut symbol, wedding band, sweatshirt hoodie with local university on front.

“Mr. Raby, do you use enchantments at all?”

“No, not yet anyway.  Never had he need, always focused my studies on how magic in and of itself could help me.  Enchantments are nice to have but they can be taken from you, if you lose what is enchanted.”

“You could do an enchanted tattoo”, Raven suggested.

“Yes, I could.  Combination of alchemy and enchantment and attached to my skin.  Might be worth considering.  Speaking of alchemy, nice bit of work there Lunette with the lipstick.”

Lunette looked down at her feet.

“Can I ask if the alchemy works on everyone, or it was just targeted to me?”

“Targeted. made the formula from a lock of you hair I took back in middle school.  I was surprised the formula hadn’t gone inert, but it was still active.”

“Shit knocked me out fast, figured it was targeted.  That long ago?  What was the occasion?”

“That day when we were freshmen in High School. When you grabbed my arm when I was being a bitch to you.  You basically told me to back down and I was pissed about it.  Wanted a weapon to target you.”

I nodded. I remember that day.  I said something to the effect that I was like crack cocaine to her, so she was vulnerable to me and needed to knock off the snotty bitch thing. Enough reminiscing, need information.

“Well, ladies what happened to the Red Tree Grove? Best theories please.”

Lunette spoke first.

“She must have decided to leave and give up immortality. Only thing that fits.  She didn’t pick a replacement, so her power simply diffused. The protective power was gone about ten years ago, so I went inside. The tree was still alive but barely.  Those three scars you helped heal.  Someone had opened them up again. Given that she was the only one living there at the time, she might have done it herself.”

“Well fuck.  Yeah, trying to break her addiction completely.  No tree, no drug. Where do you think she went?”

This time the Lioness spoke.

“We don’t think she kept her physical form.  We think she went completely spirit form.  It would allow her to possess any female she wanted, and keep a long life possible for her.  She could move from female to female and occupy them. Use them as hosts to live for a long time. Then move on.  Only problem is that every time she would switch she would lose a part of herself.”

“Any leads on that?”

“One, you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, the woman you had an affair with? She might have been one of them.  Highly likely.”

This stunned me for a minute, then.  Of course it would explain how could she have connected with me so well and so quickly and how I also had changed in my thoughts about her.  I mean up until February she was just another woman in the congregation, then that all changed.

“How much control would she have had? Over her host I mean?”

Raven spoke this time.

“Only when it was truly needed, she would be too weak otherwise.  Indirect influence most likely. The woman had her own choices, but perhaps there was a nudge from Elpis.”

I cringed at the name.

“Oh, sorry.”

“No, it’s OK. I have been running from this too long. I suppose it was inevitable that both Elpis and Miss Salty would be mentioned. Time to quite avoiding and face what they were to me.  Both loves of mine and lost.”

“I guess I would fall in that category too.”, Lunette injected. Sad tone in her voice too.

“Yes, you would and my wife now that she has been killed by the Council. I don’t have any loves that are not lost in some way now. I’m alone.”

Those last two words hung there for a minute.  Like a diagnoses of cancer said aloud. Lunette seemed a little pained by it.

Raven spoke first, “You might find love again.”

“Right now, I don’t want it.  It hurts too much; too risky.  Need to mourn my wife for a bit yet.  Promised myself, if she died I would mourn her for at least six months. It’s only been a couple. I honored our Christian vows when we got back together, would have continued if she had lived. I don’t really have that view anymore so my next love, if there is one, would have different rules.”

I turned to face all of them.

“OK, the only thing left for me is family. They will be in danger as long as I am alive.  What’s the plan?  What do you want me to do?”

Writer’s Notes: 

I know, I broke my initial rule about mentioning Elpis and Miss Salty. But it is time I faced down my real life actions and dealt with the emotions of this whole thing. 

For a long time when it comes to fiction I have been struggling to find some inspiration and I think it is because I have been avoiding this issue of late.  I need a new motivation, a new muse to write for. Instead I have been dealing with The Grey that results from emotional constipation. I think laying things out there ends the bullshit at least and now things can get flowing again.  Like an enema for my emotions. Gross but accurate.  

I write fiction from emotion.  It is definitely a more heart then through the mind thing.  Non-fiction is the other way around, so it is easier.  This last week has been me struggling to get past this and I think I have some relief at this point.  Still some things to work out, but I feel for the first time I can write at least a little more freely when it comes to fiction.  Hopefully I am right.  If I am, you all should be seeing more fiction from me very soon. 

Practically for this series, it eliminates the past almost completely for my alter ego. His decision to fake his death would mean; at least for a time, he would be walking alone and too busy for a relationship.  Not saying there won’t be something in the future, but for now love is going to be kept at arm’s length.

In real life, my wife (alive and well) and I have made a strong commitment to make our relationship work.  There are some more obstacles because of my change of faith and my attitude about a lot of things in general has changed as well, but we work on them.  It has been hard at times, but for he most part we are a loving couple again. 

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

Rogue Wizard – The Fire of Fury – Part 6 – Pixie Trouble (2)

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Thor’s Day

Rogue Wizard’s Journal January 14th, 2019 (cont.)

As I regained consciousness, I cursed myself for once again falling to the power of a cute face. How often does this have to happen before you realize that some women are fucking with you?  Sorry, that is a rhetorical question. Probably as long as men follow the wrong head’s advice.  I quickly put this aside and tried to remember the last moments before consciousness left me and realized that my wards had not gone off.  No magic was used by Lunette. So that left alchemy.  Shit.  No way to detect that. Lips coated with a alchemical knock out drug.  Bitch.  Something else to guard against.

I quickly switched to assessing my current problem of where I was and what state I was in. My eyes fluttered open but they didn’t help much.  Dark room with no light.  I was naked as I could feel no clothing on my body and chained (I could feel the metal shackles) with my hands over my head. My feet barely touched the floor but I was supporting my own weight.. My arms were definitely aching as well as my feet because of this. I was wet indicating someone had hosed me down or washed me. I was also gagged with one of the those ball gags that you see in BDSM.  Shit, was this to be my final fate as some sex toy for a member of the House of Venus? Worse ways to go, to be honest.

Under normal circumstances with your average mage, all this prevents spell casting and enhancement by worn objects. They removed my clothes, even my underwear in the fear it might be enchanted to augment or give me certain powers. They washed me down to get rid of any alchemical substances I might be wearing.  The gagged me to prevent verbal spell triggers and immobilized me for the same reason with gestures.  Pretty good way to make a spell caster ineffective.

Joke’s on them. Being a hedge wizard, I don’t have the problems associated with normal magical training. The normal process is so conditioned that things are standardized.  I never had any of that, so I learned things that probably other wizards have conditioned out of them. Like the need for words or gestures to focus magic.  No doubt I use them because it is easier to do things with them.  Much harder without them to be sure, but I learned long ago that, they are not really needed.  It just takes a lot more mental focus.

What to do though?. It was a difficult question as I had no information about who Lunette was doing this for or if it was something she was doing herself.  The chains though indicated she was probably on a contract.  Her last words of ‘this is for your own good.’ kind of pissed me off but also alarmed me as things had been for an unknown time out of my hands.  I dislike it when people think they know better than you what is best for you.  Shit most people can’t run themselves and then they think they can run your life?  Fuck them and fuck that.

I was in the dark figuratively and literally and I needed information and answers and it came to me that the best way to handle it was to act like I was still out and see if anyone showed up. It was a nice plan but apparently I was being monitored because the lights came on nearly blinding me and a voice spoke. Feminine but commanding.

“Awake at last I see.”

I was gagged, so conversation was out.

“Mr. Raby, I want you to know it has been very difficult to arrange this meeting between us.  Very expensive.  I would like to have  conversation with you but I need some sort of assurance you won’t level my place to the ground.  You can see my point can’t you?”

I nodded and smiled behind the gag. Damn Skippy, lady if my hands were free a lot of fires would be burning right now.  Not that I couldn’t with a little meditation start some right now. Best keep that little fact to myself until the opportune time.

“Good.  I will remove your gag if you promise me to hear me out.”

I nodded slowly and deliberately keeping my eyes shut to avoid them being blinded.

“Very well. Let’s see if you can be trusted.”

I few seconds later I heard a door open and managed a peek from under my eyelids. the door was actually behind me so I couldn’t see who came in.  The room itself was painted a dull grey and was untrimmed.   The floor was grey as well – concrete. I heard footsteps directly behind me and then they circled to my left an then a woman appeared in front of me.

She was probably a lot older than she looked.  You could tell by the eyes that were grey pools that had that ‘I have seen some shit’ look to them.She wore the emblem of House Venus on her red robes which, while flowing did little to hide her plunging cleavage or her midriff down to her navel. Curvy, sensual and her face was that cute heart shaped thing.  Red lips and perfect makeup.  Her hair was black as night and in a wavy manner flowed over her shoulders like a black waterfall.  She smiled and it was disarming. I had no idea what magic she specialized in so my mental exercise defenses were up.

“Here, let me remove that.”

She removed the ball gag. I flexed my mouth a bit to remove the stiffness.

“You know I have used these many times, but never experienced the ‘pleasure’ of one in my own mouth”

“Maybe we can hook up later and I will let you try it out.  You can bring that one.”

She laughed.  Is it possible to have feminine commanding laugh?  After hearing her – yes.

“Lunette said you were a sarcastic smart ass.”

“Better than being a dumb ass.”

She smiled again.

“Mr. Raby, as much as I appreciate the banter, I have a proposal to run by you and it is in your best interests to accept. Trust me on this. This is truly for your own good.”

“You know, I would really like to determine that for myself. But if it will get me down from here and my clothes returned that would be great.”

She looked down my body.

“Clothes? For a middle aged man I would say you are doing well. You are not shy are you?”

“No, part time nudist actually, It’s just you House of Venus types tend to look at men like they are a side of beef with a flesh dildo attached.  Makes me self-conscious”

She laughed again.  Despite the circumstances I liked it.

“Mr Raby, you do understand our house.  But where our my manners.  Lioness Harper.  Janice Harper.”

So, the Lioness of House Venus herself.  Oh, Lunette what have you dragged me into now?

“Well, I thought House Venus had a price on my head along with all the other houses.  This is an awkward moment for you.  I mean how the fuck do you expect to keep me a secret and alive in a House that has every reason to want me dead?”

“Because, we no longer desire you dead.  Rather, we wish to offer you a job.”

“Well, this is a hell of a interview. Don’t you have a bounty on the head of Lunette too, and aren’t you and the pixie world at war?  Fuck lady, what are you up to?”

“Trying to end the war and reestablish peace.  Mostly, I think this whole affair is stupid. I should probably tell you that the whole of the events that have befallen you this last few months since your wife’s death, were orchestrated in part by me.”

“Orchestrated?”

“Yes, the attack on you the restaurant. Raven’s little chat with you. The accident that caused the rerouting of the cars past the church.  I knew that those ghosts would resonate with you.  Lunette’s involvement.”

“Well, the church thing helped. The rest of it seems like throwing curves at me. Both politically and the ones attached to the female of the species. It definitely worked.  Here I am, now what?”

“I would like you to join the Revolution. I would like you to participate in faking your own death and joining this fight against the tyranny of the Council.  Once they are defeated, you could return to your family.  But to protect them they need to think you are dead.”

“That would be causing them a lot of grief and sorrow.”

“Yes, but the stakes are high and on your own you know that you will not last the year. The council fears you and they will eventually push to have you killed. If they at least think you are dead for a bit, you can start anew and on the down low.  You could fight with surprise and on your own terms again. Ed, you need friends and I need you to fight the Council.  I believe you are the one that can ultimately defeat them.  You are the one to tip the scales.”

“Seems like the fairy world could do that better than me. I mean you wizard types have always feared them and this war could do that job for you.”

“Except for one thing.  The fairy world is losing.  They are losing because their is imbalance.  The Red Tree Grove is gone.  Because of this, they are weaker than the mages this time have he upper hand in power.”

“Gone…but…how?”

“The dryad that was connected to the tree is gone. Over the last twenty years, it has faded, dying and just last year the power that was sustaining it finally collapsed completely.  The tree is gone and the grove.  That’s why we need mages to turn to revolutionaries. That’s why we need you.  Otherwise the council will enslave or destroy all other magical creatures.”

I stood dumbfounded for a minute. Fuck, she was right.  The Council would either destroy all magical beings that could destroyed or enslave them.  Pixies for instance would be pleasure slaves to feed the magical power of the mages. Dammit.  No choice.

“OK, I’m in.”

“Really, Lunette said you could be persuaded, but I had my doubts.  OK.  Let me get the key to your chains….”

Her voice trailed off at that point, because I cast a spell – no words, no gestures and the manacles sprang open to my knock spell. Lioness Harper looked dumbfounded as I rubbed my wrist a second.  Then I turned on my shield with my left hand and my flame in my right.

“Let’s be clear Lioness Harper.  If you ever chain, cage or otherwise imprison me again, I will be very pissed off.  You don’t want to see me pissed off.”

She nodded.

“Now, where are my clothes?”

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

The Rabyd Skald – The Grey and The Wayfarer – Part 9 – Avoiding vs. Facing (Plus Some Writing Notes)

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Wooden’s (Odin) Day

I haven’t given a family warning for a while, but the rest of this post probably has one.  I am simply going to be very real for a bit with my feeling about what was going on last year and how it affects me now. If you want to know simply what my writing plans are then you can scroll down to that and start reading there. I will give it a headline.

I wouldn’t give you a nickel for how I felt this past weekend..  I knew memories of last year at this same time were going to be rough, but this is downright painful at times.  Like pins under your fingernails painful.  Then to protect myself from said pain, I go Grey. That feeling of nothing being preferable to the pain and sadness. I hate when people say – “Get over it” or “Move on”.  I think to myself when I hear this: “Yes, this is where I want to be.  To have a choice between sorrow and nothing,  Yeah, this is fun.”  People who say such things, don’t have a fucking clue, and they should probably just learn some shit about depression and then shut up and be thankful you don’t fight this particular battle.

I am conflicted at times as to what strategy to employ as far as dealing with memories. There are simply times; I note, there is no way not to be triggered. So avoiding the memory is not an option.  But then how to confront and face them then?  The real problem of course is not all my memories are bad ones.  There was some good things taking place through a certain relationship last year, it is just the relationship that was doing some of those good things was ‘toxic’ or ‘wrong’.  I don’t know how else to express it, but there were some good things happening for me but other people might say it wasn’t good how it was happening.

I wasn’t moping around in April of 2018, I was actually feeling quite confident and good.  My female friend at the time was helping me deal with things that were a bummer and I was loving her for it. She was keeping the Grey at bay for me or maybe my love for her was, I don’t know. I still miss that friendship, and it hurts that it is gone.  Probably always will.

Unfortunately, we both took things too far.  We let our friendship grow into something else. Something far more intimate emotionally than was probably safe for both of us.  But I think given the state of my marriage at the time; I probably didn’t care as much then as I would now.  Our counselor said my affair was actually pretty typical. Marriage sucked, you didn’t feel loved, you hurt.  Someone else expresses love for you in some way and you are drawn to them like a moth to flame. Nothing special, happens all the time.  Sounds common and base; something I dislike, but there it is.

This weekend was rough because I was; as I often do, sifting through my Facebook memories and there was her name.  Something I had tagged her in.  Fuck it but if it didn’t trigger an immediate emotional response.  A mix of sadness, loss, grief and who knows what else. It is the kind of emotions you get when something good has turned bad or died. The whole thing hurt again and I wanted to crawl up inside and die.  But I didn’t, I kept going. I have to.  It’s all I know. I turned on the Grey and went forward choosing to feel nothing and not all that. Weird thing this time I couldn’t keep it on all the time.  I kept alternating between nothing and sadness. It sucked. I actually cried once.

Despite this, I have concluded avoid things is not an option.  I will not do that.  Let Facebook and other memories come. I need to learn to deal with this.  Let it make me stronger. Let it make me handle The Grey better. I just know this is really the small shower before the storm that will be later this spring and then this summer. It is the warm up and if I can’t learn how to handle this now, the time between now and the end of August is going to seriously suck. Well, it’s going to suck regardless, but I need to learn how to face it so I keep going and that it sucks less.  That’s all for now.

Time to talk about writing.

Writing Notes:

I have a struggle with the non-Fiction book that I am trying to resolve.  Here is the thing, I could be one helluva critic of Religion in general and The Bible and Christianity in particular.  I could write books that would seriously challenge both and possibly make a shit ton of money doing it. It would make all the past learning and experiences as a minister not feel like such a waste of time, if I could use them to build a new future with writing books.  The flip side is I still have a lot of friends who are religious and Christians, including my wife. This would seriously put some shit out there between us.  At the same time I feel what they believe is a fraud and their lives would be better without it.  Shit.

My novel is a little easier. But at the same time genre is important. I have written every fiction genre at one time or another.  Even ones I didn’t really care for and by writing them I found out that I didn’t really care for them.  My best bet would probably be to create a fantasy setting and go with that.  The reason is you can do anything with that.  But my passion is modern fantasy.  What to choose?  I also should note I won’t be writing this novel for a children’s or young adult audience – definitely adult stuff.  So yep – adult situations, sex, and violence.

As far as the blog goes, I am going to try to get out two installments of Rogue Wizard.  One for Thursday and one for Friday.  It’s time for them.  The timeline shift is going to cause the character based on me to have a major life change so that nothing in his life will relate to what is going on in my real life. The purpose of this is to change the nature of the story into something that is pure fiction.  Or mostly pure as the kind of decisions my alter ego would make will still be based on what I would really do in that situation.

Walking The Grey,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

Rogue Wizard – The Fire of Fury – Part 4 – Ghost Church

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Tyr’s Day. 

Rogue Wizard’s Journal January 7th, 2019

After two days of waiting for Lunette to show up; but she remained a no show, I finally had one of those problems that required me to leave the house. I was running out of food. So, I threw my college hooded sweatshirt over my shoulders and after gathering my wallet and my keys headed out.  Winter had finally arrived with the snow and cold; so I braced against the wind as I walked along. It jumped into the Dodge Journey and took off toward the nearest town with a Wal-Mart.

Based on what I knew, this would mean crossing the battle lines into mage territory, but it was midday and so I wasn’t to worried that the forces of mages would attack me.  They don’t like that kind of attention.  Despite this, I kept myself alert. Of course the benefit of being a battle-mage is that you carry your weapons with you at all times. No concealed weapon permit required. I went to Wal-Mart, got my groceries and a few other items and after paying, loaded the Dodge up and headed home.

There was some sort of accident; probably due to the snow and ice, on my normal route home. So the authorities were routing people different ways.  I turned on a side street long before that and took a way that was a little more circuitous but would still get me home in short order.  It was one of those roads that thirty years ago had been busy but with the freeway since was pretty abandoned.  I was driving by an old abandoned church and a strange feeling struck me.

Remember that thing about magic being drawn to magic?  That is what was happening. I could sense it.  I stopped the car and backed up into the church’s small parking lot.  The sign read ‘Faith Church” but the message in the message board of the sign said –
‘Closed’.  The snow couldn’t disguise the fact that the yard had been overgrown with weeds. There were no other buildings close by and in fact trees kind of isolated this small church with it’s small steeple on a corner of the road.  It had been painted white, but it was slipping into gray. The front doors were chained.

As I looked at the chained doors, I was thinking about how remarkably similar this church was to my last one as far as design.  Tall steeple with a sanctuary over the basement.  The little white church of song and postcards. Mine had been much larger but just as old and made of Michigan white pine.  It required constant maintenance to just keep it looking good and standing.  Expensive maintenance that I had often wondered what good could have been done to help people with all that money. Didn’t matter anymore, but this whole concept of maintaining a building sure seems to be an excuse not to help people in retrospect.

I approached the doors and looked at the lock. I could feel something drawing me to the inside, but I with the chained door I was pretty much stuck looking through the windows.  They were stained glass, so there was no way to really see inside. Then the lock popped open.  I looked twice and double checked the lock but it had been opened. The chains fell open as I removed it, and I opened the right door.

Oddly enough the inside was in pretty good repair. The entry way had its coat rack and bulletin board on which remained a couple newspaper clippings. It was the obituaries first of the last pastor of the place.  The second of a nineteen year old girl.  Date of death for both was the same day.  Then memory bank in my head awakened and I remembered the story from ten years ago.

The pastor and this young lady had been having an affair. His wife found out and threatened to tell the whole congregation if he didn’t end it.  He did end it, by committing suicide.  The girl was the one who discovered the body and she too killed herself.  Star-crossed lovers.  What a tragic and evil tale. All because of the judgmental nature of Christians, who righteousness is supposedly as filthy rags, but they had created an atmosphere of self-righteousness so strong, that the shame of what was happening was too great, so they ended their lives.

Of course my own failure at marriage fidelity flooded my memories at that moment.  The story was similar, but the end very different.  I guess the difference was I left my faith behind. The judgmental nature of supposed sinners who bask in the forgiveness of God when given to them; but then turn around and judge harshly other sinners is a hypocrisy I simply dismiss as no longer part of my life.  The anger of all that was welling inside me; however, and I could feel the fury building my magical rage.

With that thought a voice spoke behind me.

“Tragic isn’t it?”

I turned around expecting to see some caretaker, but instead I saw a ghost. A literal ghost. Well, two actually.   The first looked like a middle-aged gentleman in a suit and tie. He had glasses and in his free hand was a Bible.  His other hand held the hand of a young beautiful woman.  She was in a dress and had a flower in her hair.  Colors are difficult with ghosts, as they are usually white and various shades of grey.  The flower in her hair however was red and gold indicating it was something special to her.  She smiled at me.  Of course they were both partially transparent, as I could see coat rack behind them

Now I have met ghosts before. Most of them are pretty harmless; just souls with some unfinished business.  I of course had that first moment of queasy stomach knowing you talking to someone dead,  then I was OK.

“Actually, I was thinking about how my own story is pretty close to yours, only without the ending.”

“Yes, that ending could have been different.  What is commonly known is not even true. We were actually found naked in each others arms.  We had made love one last time before taking the pills. They left that out; changed the whole story actually. That and the fact were found up on the pulpit on a blanket on the floor.  One last ‘desecration’ they wanted to forget by not talking about it.  What you probably know is false.  That tends to be the way of things.”

I smirked as I recognized the sarcasm in his voice; so similar to my own.  He chuckled and as I looked at the girl, she looked down and had her cheeks been able to show color they might have shown a little blush.

“Don’t worry about it young lady.  You were in love and had nothing to be ashamed of in truth. I don’t get it though, what’s the unfinished business both of you could have?”

The girl spoke this time.  Her voice was a soft soprano, I could tell she must have sung in the choir.

“We are were not sure for a long time. My mother and his wife are still alive. Both of us had harsh last words with them, but it doesn’t explain it.  Although if it is the reason then when they die, we might fade but we no longer think so.  We felt you drive by and now know what it is.”

“Me.  I don’t recall meeting either of you in life.”

The man spoke this time.

“Basically Dickens and his ghost Marley in a Christmas Carol.  One last act of penance to someone who needs our message.  We know now that someone is you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, we know your story, it was heavy on your thoughts a few moment ago. That fury inside you is very powerful. It needs release or it will consume you, like our love consumed us. The fire it creates burns everything and if you don’t find a target outside yourself to direct it towards…. ”

The girls voice was hauntingly beautiful as she spoke.   I nodded at her words.

“My fury is directed at those who have lied about me and at the Council for killing my wife when we were just beginning to love each other deeply again.  In part, I suppose it is fueled by my loneliness and the thoughts of a few treacherous actions I want justice for.  Christianity’s ‘turn the other cheek’ seems very stupid when it comes to justice.”

The man spoke this time.

“Yes, it does cause people to be abused and shamed then justify those that do it to them. Understand we are not saying your fury is bad; just dangerous. Our message to you is a little more centered on letting go of the past, so you can focus that fire of your fury at a proper target now and not at yourself.”

I nodded.  I knew what he meant. My rage was mostly self-destructive right now.  It didn’t create any positive action.  The only positive effect is that it fueled my magic with tremendous power. But where to focus that power?

“You said you had a message for me, each of you.  What is it?”

“You first my dear,” the man said.

“I speak to you as a woman with a woman’s heart. This last year you have loved two women deeply.  One hurt you and the other forgave you.  I want to submit to you that the one that hurt you might have done you a tremendous favor.  You may very well have avoided a lot of rage directed at you and her because of her choice to leave you.  I don’t know her, but I know it crossed my mind more than once to leave; so we could live and maybe love again.  It might have been her motivation.  She may have been the smart one on the decision, because you couldn’t be. If there is a need for forgiveness that will help you and not upset your sense of justice; it is probably to forgive her.”

Tears poured down my cheeks.  The truth of what she said made it hurt again, but her words rang true, and I had made a commitment to the truth. As I  looked at the ghost girl I saw her start to fade.  She had been right.  Her unfinished business was her message to me.

The man looked at her.

“Go my dear, I will be along shortly.”

I watched as the girl completely disappeared.  Then he looked at me.  He looked like he was about to cry himself.

“My message is man to man. I have learned the folly of worrying too much about what people will think of me.  I paid for that with my foolish death. The only honor that matters is what you have for yourself. Remember that, when opinion is against you for doing the right thing or even for just following your heart.  Your honor is within you, it is not the product of whether other people respect you or not. Had I known that, the two of us might still be alive.”

I nodded again and then he too began to fade.

“Looks like we were right.”

“Thank you, both of you.”

He nodded and faded out of sight.  Now the church foyer had a truly empty feeling. Whatever spirit this little church had left and now passed on to the other side.  It was indeed abandoned now.  Kind of a metaphor for my faith in truth. I walked out,  padlocked the chains back in place, and then went home.

I don’t know what the future will hold, but I do know that the lessons those two ghosts taught me are going to be with me for a bit.

Author’s Note: You will notice that the dates for the journals are now slipping into the past.  This is by design as one of the magical forms my character uses is divination. The ability to see the future is part of that. From an authorship stand point that means using twenty- twenty hindsight instead.  There will be times where nothing is happening, and the time line used here can catch up, but I am going to keep it at leas a month into the past from now on to reflect the characters powers.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

 

Crossing Bifrost – Gods and Goddesses – The Norse Pantheon

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

 

Happy Saturn’s Day

The center piece of course of Norse mythology is the characters that play on its stage and that is the Gods and Goddesses of the pantheon.  The interesting thing about the gods and goddesses of Norse mythology is that they are very real.  Some critics of such pantheons say that these gods are all too human, but then again so is the jealous and vengeful god of the Bible. The point of such stories is not to be historically accurate or factual but to be morality plays that people think on.  Religion dwells in the realm of ethics and one has to wonder if the stories are the smart clergyman’s way of illustration of the values people are trying to pass on.

The Norse God’s family tree is complicated.  Like most myths the central characters are not the first generation.  Rather they are often the third and fourth generation.  There is also the complication of the fact that the Norse Pantheon also has two separate races of gods the Aesir and the Vanir.  Plus the Gods often mate with the giants producing offspring.  So most people can relate to such gods as the whole family question seems to be pretty relative. The whole Vanir /Aesir question seems to be the result at least as far as I understand it of two mythologies of different parts of the Scandinavian / Germanic world merging.  The result is a little confusion but it makes for an interesting story in and of itself when Freya, who is Vanir, is sent as an exchange to Asgard which is the home of the Aesir.

The stories of the Norse Gods are quite extensive but they have a couple challenging issues. 1) The goddesses do play prominently very often and so their personalities as far as characters in the story or even a full idea of what their sphere and powers are is sometimes missing. 2) There are gaps in the stories like there are supposed to be more of them but they were not written down. My guess is that there are tons of stories that were told but only a few were preserved.

From my perspective as a writer this is a blessing in some ways because I can fill in the gaps when I use Norse mythology and no one can really bitch about it. I can for instance take what little is known about the goddess Hel for example and then fill in the gaps with my own imagination which is what I did in this post: The Grey Wayfarer (Fantasy Serial) – Chapter 5 – Evil Intent (Hel).  I can also do this with other blank spots in the story and characters.  So Norse mythology becomes a rich backdrop that my imagination as a writer can fill in the blank spots. It is primarily why The Grey Wayfarer will center on female goddesses because I can fill in the gaps and there are a lot of gaps.

In popular culture of course the Norse Pantheon is prevalent from the comics all the way to books and movies and has been so for a long time. The influences of this pantheon are seen in other characters indirectly as well.  JRR Tolkien’s Gandalf the Grey is certainly inspired in part by Odin.  There are simply tons of this kind of thing in fantasy literature and that is kind of my reason for delving into it.  To find my own inspiration for my own characters and writing.

There is also the fact that a religion built around a warrior culture is fascinating.  It is amazing to me how many of this pantheon are gods and goddesses of battle or war. I would say very few of them could not be invoked before a battle by a Viking, and that makes conflict a central aspect of the pantheon.  War and battle are common but also politics and diplomacy. Adventure in these stories is often high and powerful.

In the future the Gods and Goddess’ section of Crossing Bifrost will center on a singular god or goddess.  There basically will be dossier of them and then some thoughts about them from my perspective.  My goal is to draw inspiration with Crossing Bifrost and this section will be no different. I will probably start with Odin of course and then work radially out from him.  It seems if there is one thing that binds the whole thing together is the All-Father.

As always I claim no expertise here.  I am still learning and reading but I want to keep a record of my thoughts as I do.  The goal of Crossing Bifrost is to record my journey in understanding this rich mythology, not necessarily to educate.  If while I am doing that you are inspired and learn something then that is a bonus for me.

I hope you continue to enjoy this.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

Crossing Bifrost – Races and Creatures – Dökkálfar (Dark Elves)

/ Ed Raby Sr / 1 Comment

Happy Saturn’s Day

Dark elves in Norse mythology are the elves that live under the earth. The are called Dökkálfar in the Scandinavian tongue. They dwell in Svartalfheim which is realm just under Midgard.  It is one of those realms that is debatable as this is not one of the nine worlds in some people’s’ minds.  But it a realm that is perhaps part of another.

All elves are kind of demi-god in status and the Dark Elves are no different.  They have incredible powers and the dark elves had powers that as time went by became more malevolent in nature than benevolent like the light elves that dwell in the realm above Midgard. The dark elves are described initially as swarthy. But as time goes by you get the pale red-eyed version that is common today in most people’s minds.  They were also connected to the realm of Helheim and the dead.

These dark elves were often connected to wrong things happening.  From tangled hair to strokes, they were the cause of these things.  They had a dark and strange magic to them. As Christianity became more prevalent they became associated with the underworld.  Mostly this is what causes confusion about the dark elves. because they are not always seen as malevolent. but often are cast as the outcast role as well.  A cursed but powerful race is a common theme.

In modern times this plays out in probably the two best known examples of dark elves – The Drow in the Dungeons and Dragons universe which are malevolent worshipers of the Spider Queen and the Dunmer in the Elder Scrolls universe which are more of a changed and cursed race.  Outcasts and mistrusted though is a common theme for both because both races have some unique and at times troubled morality.

The inspiration for both these and other incarnations of the dark elves stretches back into Norse mythology with the Dökkálfar. When you read about Drizzt in Forgotten Realms or are playing your Dunmer character in Skyrim, you are part of a tradition of a race of beings that stretches back to the middle ages.

From a writing standpoint, I have used dark elves very infrequently. I hesitate because this race is often complex and more that the simple black and white most races have with morality.  Is there hatred of the surface dwellers justifiable?  Is the curse placed on them of being mistrusted justified?  It becomes a complex riddle when developing characters especially when you are trying to create a main protagonist that is a dark elf. I am looking to my first novel for publication and I am thinking of a dark elf character as the main protagonist.

Contrary wise, next to the Nords, my favorite Skyrim Race is the Dunmer. I play dark elf characters quite a bit.  Mostly because they can be very Chaotic and freedom loving and also remain completely flexible as far as goods and evil, so they can do good and evil quests with equal rational reasons for their character development.

I find them fascinating and as protagonists and antagonists the one thing you can say is they are formidable advisories. I don’t imagine that they will part from the realm of fiction anytime soon. For that I am very glad.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

The Rabyd Skald – Fiction Plans

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Tyr’s Day

In the last Rabyd Skald I mentioned my fiction writing plans were in the works and I want to follow-up on that by getting them a little formalized.  When people ask me why I write fiction, my response is pretty much that of all the writing I do, it is the most  therapeutic.  I have written fiction for release of anger, an expression of love, help in fighting depression and just about every other emotional release you can think of I have written fiction as a way to express it.

I also find fiction as a better way to teach concepts to people in the form of educational entertainment. Stories get into people’s heads faster than lectures. Professors are ignored at times but a story-teller they get attention even from the greatest skeptic and if you can slip in lesson that might contain wisdom people can use, so much the better.

As with all things on this blog, it tends to get done if I make a pattern or order to it and I am figuring my fiction writing is no exception.  Part of my daily blogging routine, really the last part of it, is to spend about a half hour writing fiction.  But what to write?  At the present time a short but incomplete list might be:

  1. The Grey Wayfarer Serial – based on Norse mythology.
  2. Rogue Wizard – another serial based on me as a main character but in an alternate timeline from my real life and where magic is very real.
  3. Skald Tales and Poems – This is going to be a type of post where I either write a short story or poem.  Mostly I want to challenge myself with these two things. I have hard time doing things that are short and concise and this should be a good exercise in doing just that,

There may be some other things that join this list but I want to make sure I will be consistent with them before I do add them.  Some ideas are for a science fiction series of some sort. I also want to toy with the idea o something similar to the Theology Pub from All Things Rabyd, but with my change in my belief system, it would be different in nature and probably different characters.  I am not sure of the setting either.  Maybe a mead hall or Inn of some sort with a Skald and a Bartender being the main characters.

As far as pages go for each of my fictional works they don’t tend to get organized by time so much as chapters (usually groups of twenty) for serials.  Skald Tales and Poems will probably be organized into Tales and Poems as two separate categories and then perhaps genre after there are greater numbers of both.  Time will tell on that one.

I want to thank those of you that come here regularly either on WordPress or Facebook.  You are great.  Maybe someday you can say you knew me when.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

The Rabyd Skald – The Grey and the Wayfarer (Part 4) – Resolution? (And a Few Notes About Writing Plans)

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Saturn’s Day.  It is Day 3 of Yuletide. This night is sacred to Mani the god of the moon who determines its course each night and determines its phases.  The Night is also sacred to the concept of darkness. This night honors the beginning of the return of the sun.  This is where the yule log tradition is; where hunters light one and jump its flames for luck in the coming year.  It is also a day to remember and honor the virtue of Courage. 

The Grey and the Wayfarer:

It’s been a while since I have written about my depression battle and perhaps it is because this seems to be such a normal thing to me right now and in fact The Grey has been strong, but I have kept walking through it and made it to the other side. I won’t say my problem with depression is resolved as in ended so much as it has been easier to resolve to walk through it.

In large part I have had some struggle this semester in school because of it but I look back and realize that I walked through it and made it and in the process did some good work in school.  Some of it was crap because of the drain of energy The Grey can have at times; but other parts of it were good. I mean I did really well in my international business class and my economics class. I enjoyed both of them which was something that was good.

I have love-hate relationship with my depression.  I love the times where I am coming out of it and there is a burst of creativity and clarity I simply cannot explain.  It’s the fucking valleys that suck that you have to walk through to get to those moments.

Today is about writing as much as depression, as I use writing as a way to fight it.  I find that I can artificially pull myself out of depression by writing.  It’s kind of tool at times to force me to shift from the valley to the mountain. This blog has been an instrument of that several times since its creation.  Well, with time off from school and just having work to go to, I have been thinking about some changes to The Grey Wayfarer’s writing schedule.

Writing Notes: 

Most of the stuff that is scheduled will stay the same: Sun’s Day: The Pagan Pulpit, Moon’s Day: A Skald’s Life – Foundational Virtues, Tyr’s Day: Of Wolves and Ravens, Wooden’s Day: A Skald’s Life – Business Virtues, Thor’s Day: Odin’s Eye, Frigg and Freya’s Day: A Skald’s Life – Self Virtues.

The problem of course is Saturn’s Day which has been Rogue Wizard and The Grey Wayfarer sharing space.  Sometimes not doing either and doing one of these The Rabyd Skald posts in its place like today has happened too.  I have the additional problem of now that school is over of wanting to write more on the fiction side of the ball.  Not just for the blog either but on the side in that I would actually get my novel done by the end of June.

Now I have done more than just the fantasy type stuff of The Grey Wayfarer serial and the urban fantasy stuff of Rogue Wizard. I have done science fiction and I would like to even do some fiction of a more normal nature.  My mom is a fan of mysteries and thrillers are often enjoyable.  My thing for the blog might be simply Short Stories of various types. I reluctantly admit that doing a poem and commenting on it might be viable as well. My point I that I have a lot of ideas running in my head and I am thinking of how to create  platform to present them.

I just don’t know if my fiction should be confined to a single day anymore and Saturn’s Day should instead be another regular feature.  I want to give that some thought but right now I am leaning toward a weekly discussion of Norse Mythology.  The fiction however might one of those things where I write them in a pattern and when one is finished, it gets posted the as a second post for the day.  What I may simply do is set aside say an hour to a half hour where I just write the fictional stuff each day and when one gets finished to my satisfaction, I will post it.

For you the reader this could be difficult, I mean it means taking what you get and waiting for your favorite to come about which is why using an established order will be employed to make sure I don’t get stuck on one thing. I will tentatively guarantee two of these a week as well. At first I will just do the two fictional series I have been doing and I will announce when something is added.  Just know that there are some changes coming and hopefully they will be good ones.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

 

 

Rogue Wizard – The Fire of Fury – Part 3 – Temptation

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Saturn’s Day

Rogue Wizard’s Journal January 5th, 2019

So after last night’s encounter with Lunette and the three stooges, I went home and set up my wards.  Basically there are two types of wards I can do which, while not sophisticated, are effective.  First, there are my protective wards which basically can set magical using beings on fire. I set these up on all four walls of my apartment and in front of the door.  The other type I can do is detection wards which tell me a magical being is getting close to them.  I put this up on the outside of my apartment walls and a couple on the sidewalk leading up to my door.

My day today started at roughly two in the afternoon when one of my detection wards went off.  There is no klaxon or bell or anything like that, you just know something is coming close to them.  I reluctantly gave up the book I was reading in my lab and readied my shield spell in one hand and my fireball in the other. It might be Lunette as she promised or it could be someone else. There was a knock at the door.

I relaxed a little and put on my jeans as I was wandering my apartment in my  underwear, t-shirt and socks thing.  I went to the door.  No peep-hole to look through, so I readied my shield and opened the door.

Standing there was the goth elf chick from the night before.  Her features definitely had that angled elf thing going with a very slight but sensual build.  I noticed that her hair was dyed black, as I could see the roots which were golden.  Her eyes were green, which told me contacts or illusion, as most of the time elves have silver eyes or golden.  If she could do illusion, changing her eye and hair color would be child’s play, so I was guessing not an illusionist. She didn’t throw a fireball at me last night and she didn’t stop my lightning bolts with a shield, so probably not evocation or adjuration either.  That left necromancy, conjuration, transmutation, enchantment and divination.

Well the council snaps up every necromancer they find and necromancy is outlawed.  Note, like all governments, they still keep said power to themselves.  Bastards. Despite the goth look and the skull choker probably not necromancy. Not transmutation either.  Mages who can transmute things get rich or comfortable doing it.  Diviners who are any good don’t do a lot of field work even if they are freelance. While I do divination myself, I don’t use it often, even though I am good at it.  No, this elf woman was probably not a diviner.  That left two possibilities – conjuration or enchantment.   If she was a conjurer, she would have thrown something at me last night.  A poison cloud or a demon from hell – something.  Yeah, my best guess was she was an enchantress. Good thing I am hard to beguile thanks to long hours of meditation under Mrs. W’s teaching years ago.  She was an enchantress too, and taught me defenses against their charms.

The problem was magic aside, this girl had some charms of her own that had nothing to do with magic. She was cute despite, or maybe because of, the black hair, green eyes and black lipstick. She wore her black outfit which consisted of black knee length boots, black stocking which disappeared into her short black skirt. The skirt was short enough that if she bent even slightly over, I would be able to tell the color of her underwear assuming she was wearing any.  A black button up shirt which was unbuttoned about four buttons showing ample cleavage, which was demonstrating a strong C almost D cup.  Over her shoulders was a black jacket that covered her arms. Skull choker with matching skull earrings completed the ensemble.  She was sensual, cute and darkly sexy on top of being an elf. She was temptation with black boots.

“Well, I don’t see your two friends.  Is this a business or social call?”

“The file said you were a smart ass. Grumn is nursing some burns you gave him last night and Alex is probably brooding somewhere. I am Raven.”

“Suits you.  At least the file doesn’t say dumb ass.  You don’t strike me as Council stooges, so why the attack last night?”

“Pixie was the target. We are bounty hunters and she has a high price on her head – alive or dead.”

“Yeah, probably me too.”

“Yes, actually. But we don’t go after mages as a general rule. Pixies and monsters are our specialty.  Do you mind if I come in?  I promise I will be a good girl and not cast spells at you. I just want to talk.”

It was pretty cold out.  I was pretty confident in my abilities to handle her alone.  I mean she would be in my home giving me an advantage and I was pretty sure she was an enchantress.  I would be an embarrassment to Mrs. W’s memory, if I couldn’t handle her on a magical level.  It was the sensual, cute and darkly sexy part that was bothering me.  I am a man and my wife had been dead for a couple of months now.  There is an old saw about ‘there is really only one way to comfort a widow, you just have to remember the risks’.  I could probably testify that is probably true for widowers as well.

I let her in.

My apartment is affectionately known as “Bag End” or the “Hobbit Hole” by some of the family.  That is because you have to step down six steps to get to it once you are inside the door. Half the apartment is ground level and below, the other half ground level and above. I stepped aside in the door way and let her go ahead of me, telling her to turn to the right and the living room would be in front of her. As she walked down the steps I couldn’t help but watch her move and then, after shutting and locking the door, and then resetting my ward, I followed her to the living room.

The living room had been the most sparsely furnished room when we had moved in and only recently I had received a three-piece sectional from a friend and found a high-backed reading chair.  A couple of end tables made of crates and three lamps were the rest of it. I had purchased a television hung on one wall mostly for guests who visited me after my wife’s death and I had also bought an internet connection at that time.  The TV was mostly off now, as I hardly ever watched it.

Raven looked around the room which was clean and functional and she looked at the reading chair and the sectional but then smiled and took a seat, crossing her legs in one part of the sectional right across from the reading chair.  I smiled and sat down in the reading chair.  In the pale light, I can pull off the old wise wizard in his throne look when I sit in it.  In my black t-shirt, jeans and socks probably not so much. Raven spoke first.

“Spartan.”

“Yeah, I am a minimalist, so if I don’t use it or it doesn’t give me joy, I don’t usually keep it.”

“I see.  Edward…”

“OK.  Let’s get one thing clear.  There are only certain people who can call me Edward.”

“Oh, sorry. I am not trying to offend you.”

“I know but I want that established.  Only my grandmas, who are both dead, my mother and my former love interests can call me Edward. With my wife dead, that leaves three people – all women and you are not one of them.  Call me Ed.”

“Is one of them Lunette?”

“Yes.”

“Then the other would be..”

“Don’t say her name.”

“OK, like I said I am here to negotiate, not offend you.”

“Negotiate? If you are walking around and the Council is not after you, then you are connected to a House or a mystical being like a pixie or elf or other magical creature.  You’re an elf, your grey troll friend is well a troll and then Alex must be…”

“House Saturn.”

“Well Shit.  So why isn’t he coming after my ass?”

“Because we also represent a group of revolutionaries.”

“Revolutionaries?”

“Yes, we want to abolish the house system and the Council.  Free up the practice of magic to everyone who wants to do so.”

“Singing my song.  That said, let’s say I am a suspicious person and I don’t believe you for a second.  Because I am a suspicious person and I don’t believe you for a second.”

“That would be wise and you don’t have to yet, Ed.  We expect people to be skeptical.  Hopefully you will give us a chance to prove ourselves. The fact is once we recognized you, we realized you could make a powerful addition to our organization. Even Grumn saw the need to forgive you for the burns.  You’re very powerful, that’s why the Council fears you so much.”

What followed this was a ten minute conversation.  What I gleaned was that dissatisfaction with the Houses and the Council had been growing for a few decades. I of course am still skeptical of overthrow because I know they have survived for a couple of millennia.  I also gleaned that I was indeed behind the pixie lines which made me a little safer from the Council but not completely.  The Pixies were having trouble holding the line because the local grove was not supportive.  They might have to retreat.

“In any case Ed, the Council would think quite a bit before they came after you.  You scare the hell out of them. It’s bad enough you can do two schools of magic with expertise but throw in a third one at good level and they wet their pants.  Top it all off with the fact those first two are abjuration and evocation.  Shit, that makes you a Battle Mage.  There hasn’t been a genuine Battle Mage in any of the houses for well over two hundred years.  Add in Divination and they think you have eyes on the back of your head. In short, they don’t want to lose a bunch of mages to take you out. They know what you did to House Mars and House Venus and you did that as a teenager; so they bide their time and wait.”

“Well, fuck ’em. Listen, I get all that. Which is why me openly backing your revolution might be just the motivation to spend those mages’ lives to kill me.  The Death Angels failed and now my wards include protection against necromancy, so they are not going to be have an easy target.  If I join a group and give up my solitary introverted life, they might think it is time to take me out.”

“You have a point, but with the group you would have resources and allies. Something you don’t have right now.”

“I have Lunette.”

Raven sighed.

“Do you?  She is an outcast with the pixies and the mages don’t trust her either. Hell they want her dead. I have the wanted poster hanging on my board back at the office and it’s fairly clear the money is the same dead or alive. It’s also a lot of money. You might ask what she is up to and consider she might need you more than you need her.”

I frowned, but remained silent. She stood up and told me she had to get back to the office.  She wanted me to think about what she said.

“You know Raven, I want to violate a rule I have about asking women their weight and age but…”

“115 pounds and 54 years old. Elves live on average five times as long as humans.  I am half-elven so probably three times as long.  Physically I am roughly eighteen human years old.”

“Oh, well that explains it.  So it’s easier to pass yourself off as a teenager with the goth thing?”

“No, I just like black and being goth allows me to wear a lot of black.”

I laughed, she smiled at me and I showed her to the door. I locked it behind her.  She had been true to her word and not cast a spell.  Well except the one her hips made as she walked up the stairs anyway.  She had given me a lot to think about and a few questions to ask Lunette the next time I saw her.  Hopefully, I will see her soon. Definitely an interesting day.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

Rogue Wizard: The Fire of Fury – Part 2 – An Old ‘Friend’

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Saturn’s Day

Rogue Wizard’s Journal January 4th, 2019

Well…no sooner than to I talk about the law of magical attraction, as in magical attracts magical, and I find myself in its embrace.  Its cold, as an ice dragon’s breath, embrace.  I swear to the powers that be, if my luck ever turns good, it will probably be my last day on earth.  But perhaps I should start at the beginning.

I was feeling lonely and bored yesterday pacing around my apartment. I felt the sudden urge to just go get a value meal at the local hamburger pit and come back.  A risk given all my enemies, but at this point I was just ready to say ‘fuck it’ and move into battle mode.  I hopped into my black Dodge Journey and head down the road the few miles to said hamburger pit and walk in.  I get in line and order.  As I am waiting for my order to be fulfilled, I hear a soprano, sexy female voice behind me.

“Well, you look no worse for wear Edward, and your backside is still killer.  Broad shoulders too, I knew somehow you were an ugly duckling when we were in school.  You’re a sexy big man now.  The grey hair and goatee are definitely distinguished and attractive.  Gone is the skinny nerd boy.”

Yeah, my luck.  I knew the voice even though I hadn’t heard it in probably thirty years.  I turned around.

Lunette.  My pixie fellow classmate from 1987.  My teenage wet dream brought to life.  Lunette – girlfriend, lover and eventual pain in my ass.  She was older now and had lost that teenage prom queen look.  More curvy like her mother had been.  Sensual curves that made a man’s pulse race just looking at them.

“I work out. And you are just as lovely as you always were.  Definitely better.  No more innocent school girl look.  Just a plan sultry MILF. Assuming you have had children and are a mother.”

Lunette laughed.  She tell had those sparkling purple eyes and that perfect face.  Her hair, whose natural color was pinkish purple, was to her shoulders and wavy with perfect styling  She had sported a D cup as a senior in high school.  I would say she had DD cups now the way her shirt was straining to keep them in place.  She was dressed, in the cold of January, with what had to be yoga pants, nice heeled boots that came just short of the knee.  A sporty winter jacket was open so I could see the white t-shirt under it.  No purse as was her style.  Just a hair bow, earrings and gloves.  Everything some sort of shade of either purple or pink.  Her black wings, butterfly like with pink trim, fluttered behind her.

Now, because she is for all practical purposes a master of illusion, what she looked like to others I could not guess.  She was however not using her illusion power with me to disguise herself.  I was seeing her as she was.

“We always could pull off that sexy banter flawlessly couldn’t we?”

“Yeah, the problem was never the sex or sexy parts, Lunette.  It was the relationship.”

We both laughed this time.

In my mind I began to go over the more interesting points of our relationship.  Let’s see, she and I had known each other since middle school.  We maintained a kind of romantic relationship off and on through middle school.  She was in a very real sense my first love. The problem of course with pixies is they have the sexual fidelity level of a goat.  To them sex is just something you do for enjoyment and boy do they enjoy it.  The other issue is a mage’s magical aura is like crack cocaine to a pixie.  As Lunette’s mother informed me once – it’s gives a girl pixie super orgasms to make love to a human mage.  Hell, even touching a mage and kissing him can be a thrill for a pixie.

On the flip side, the love-making process supercharges a mage’s power.  This came in handy the one time I was stabbed with a magically poisoned knife.  I could only use my own healing spells to fight it and they just were not strong enough.  Lunette volunteered to make love to me while I cast the healing spells on myself. She herself had lost her wings (they were ripped off leaving bloody gashes) because of breaching pixie honor codes and I think she was in some senses trying to redeem herself.  The result was I lost my virginity, had enough power to heal myself from the magical poison and Lunette’s wings grew back almost instantly. It was a moment etched in my brain like a branding iron on skin.

The guy behind the counter said my order number and I went over and got my food while keeping and eye on Lunette.

“Edward, can I sit with you and talk.  You are not stupid, so I am going to guess you have figured out I am not just here to swap stories and sexy banter.  You don’t mind if I just steal a few of your fries do you?  I am watching my figure.”

“You and every red-blooded male within eye shot.”

She laughed again. We sat down in a corner booth as far as we could get from the busy area of the burger pit.  I poured the fries out onto the tray and split some off pushing them toward Lunette.  I dumped salt on mine and got to work on my burger.

“So…you wanted to talk…talk.”, I said between mouthfuls.

Lunette took up a fry and ate it.  She then smiled.

“I guess I should catch up first.  I am no longer with the Grove.  El…I mean SHE kicked me out a little after she kicked you out.  Said something about not trusting me.”

“Wow, go figure.  Thanks for not mentioning her name.”

“Sarcasm noted. I read your file.”

“I have a file?”

“Well yes, we pixies may be a bunch of narcissistic, sex crazed layabouts but we do keep records of those in the magical world. Especially those with power.  Your’s says that certain people should not be mentioned by name to you.”

“Wow. And I know nothing about you since we parted. You don’t even come to class reunions.”

“I know you got married, were a pastor for twenty years.  Have three kids, four grand kids.  You had a recent affair with member of your congregation, although I could find no evidence it was physically sexual.  Sad that, the gossip would have been juicy.”

“I am sure the gossip is far more interesting than the reality.  It’s still juicy enough.”

“Yes, it is. I know that you have had a crisis of faith and are no longer a Christian. You graduated with a third degree pending finishing your internship. You and your wife reconciled right before the divorce hearing.  Then she was killed November 1st.  I can confirm for you it was a necromancer that did it. The spell went astray somehow, I wish I could say how, but necromancy isn’t my thing.  It might have been the Death Angels, but I couldn’t confirm that.”

“Well, you know enough about me.  I still don’t know shit about you since I last saw you.  Well, other than your curves have gotten even more dangerous.  What happened to you since we last were together? ”

Lunette seemed to ponder this for a moment. Struggling with what to reveal.

“Well, I….”

Lunette never got to go forward with her thought as a bright flash appeared outside the window we were sitting at.  I cast my shield around me and Lunette. Just in time too as a bolt of some sort of energy smashed through the window where we were and struck my shield pushing both of us out of our seats and sending us flying away from the blast.  The shield absorbed most of our fall.  I kept it up while standing to my feet.  I looked over at Lunette who seemed irritated more than anything.  Then she flashed a smile at me and shrank down to pixie size leaving her clothes in a pile on the floor. I saw her streak away like a bolt of light out the window.  I jumped through after her.  I kept my shield up and strengthened it by concentrating on it, keeping my left arm in a ‘L’, like I was holding an actual shield.

What I saw was Lunette doing her pin ball blast thing of one opponent to the next releasing powerful energy every time she hit one.  It’s like being gut punched with a small electrical shock attached.  I know; I had experienced it.   Her opponents were an odd assortment of three.  I could see a troll, a mage in black robes and another girl who seemed slight and pointy.  Oh, yeah probably an elf.  She was dressed in black too, but looked like a goth chick.

I didn’t waste time assessing the fashion sense of my opponents, as the black-robed one was pointing his arms at me.  A burst of flames came from them and was absorbed by my shield. Powerful, but not powerful enough to get through my stuff. I just extended my right arm and let loose with my magical lightning from my finger tips. It struck all three of them. and the two mages instantly fell backwards.  Magical lightning has the added effect of temporarily reducing the power of mages.  The troll on the other hand came right for me.  Fuck.

I did the only thing I could do at that point which was to shift to fire which instantly caused the Troll to scream and back away.

“Nasty fire. Grumn not like it.” It shrieked.

I didn’t care what Grumn liked.  I am 6′ 5″ in the summer and this grey-skinned troll had me by a foot. I wasn’t going to go fist fight with it.  Lunette was keeping the mages off-balance; so I dropped my shield and left fire loose with both hands.  The troll ran away burning and screaming.  The two mages, seeing the tables had been turned, took off after it.  I was going to pursue but thought the better of it.  They might have a fall back ambush point, friends or both. Lunette seemed to feel the same as she came streaking back toward me.

She hovered in front of my eyes.  Shit.  She wasn’t the prom queen girl anymore in every sense of the word.  A full-fledged woman now with all the naked sexy woman curves on display in front of me.  She smiled at me  knowing what I was looking at, but she quickly gave me instructions.

“Edward, you need to know one thing now and I will try to contract you later with the rest.  It isn’t safe here, you need to go home and get behind your wards.  I will contract you there later. The thing you need to know is the Mages and Pixies are at war.  Not a little local skirmish either, it’s a full-fledged, world-wide war. I have to go. See you later.”

With that she kissed the tip of my nose and turned and took off.  She shook her ass at me like she used to when we were in high school as she flew away. That pixie woman was going to be trouble in more ways than I wanted to think about at that moment.

The Pixies and the Mages are in a world war.  Well, shit.

That’s all for now.  I am certain Lunette will contact me soon.  As much as I don’t like it, I needed her right now. She truly the only magical ‘friend’ I have and the only source of information about what is going on in the world of magic as well. Shit.  This isn’t going to go well is it?

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!