Evolution

“Praise the Elders, you have finally arrived.”

Chief Wizard Horticus was a mess, even more of a mess than when the duo had last seen him. His normally well-kept beard was untidy, his eyes were red with lack of sleep, and his wrinkles more prominent than ever.

“We have news, sire,” said the teenage wizard, Germicle, bowing down. “But I’m afraid it’s not very good.”

His partner, Seamus, an ex-mercenary/ leprechaun with gigantism, stood behind and watched silently. He had pledged his life to the wizard after he had reversed a witch’s curse that had turned him into stone. Germicle had only been a boy then, and this achievement had skyrocketed him to the top of the Order.

He had told Seamus many times that he did not owe him anything, but he chose to serve him nonetheless. They had been on plenty of adventures ever since, fighting and aiding all sorts of magical creatures in the land of Faeriefold.

But ever since the new monsters had arrived, the magical world was dying. Most of the creatures had practically gone into extinction. The Order had done their best to fight them, but to no avail.

Horticus sighed and sunk into his chair. “Have you at least discovered what they are?”

“Yes, sire. After much searching, we stumbled upon this most ghastly land known as ‘Earth.’ The whole land was littered with corpses, an aftermath of war, and the abominations that plague our land were there. Earth is their source, and the magic that emanates from them, ‘nuclear energy’ as it was called there, was responsible for their destruction.

“But how have these creatures come to our land? Was this nuclear magic so powerful that it created a rift?”

“It is powerful enough, yes,” said Germicle. “But it is chaotic magic. It needs a powerful wielder to harness it to be able to create the rift. And we found him…”

“What is the matter, child? Go on.”

Germicle took a deep breath. “I’m afraid you might not believe me. But we found Wizard Judicus there-”

“Judicus?!” The wizard’s eyes went wide. “What was my brother doing there?”

“That’s not all… we also saw him conspiring with someone,” Germicle swallowed. “He was with Queen Lament…”

Horticus stood up and dashed towards them, grabbing the boy by the cuff his robes. Seamus unsheathed his enormous sword and headed to his defense.

“Seamus, don’t!” shouted Germicle, keeping his eyes lowered under his master’s gaze. Seamus stopped but he did not lower his sword.

“How dare you say that name in such jest?!” roared the wizard. “Lament was banished into the void by my own hand, centuries ago.”

“Banished?” asked Germicle. “Sire, after the battle of Girdhorn, you told the order that you had slain her.”

The wizard did not say anything and Germicle realized that his master had not meant to let the secret slip. Horticus let go off the boy and slowly made his way back to his seat.

“So, the rumors were true, then,” asked Germicle. “You loved her.”

Horticus did not say anything as he slumped into his seat, dejected. His hands were shaking as he finally looked up at the boy.

“I couldn’t slay her. I had the chance, but I couldn’t. So, instead I sent her into the Void. I do not know how she managed to escape.” He shook his head.

A sudden burst of magic flared, so powerful that Germicle felt his ears pop. Horticus made his way to the large window of his chamber, and looked down to the main city gate. A large portal had appeared in front of it.

He felt her presence.

He sensed doom.  

***

Horticus groaned in pain as he reached for his staff but it was kicked away from him. He looked up at Judicus, who had a satisfied smirk on his face. All around them, war waged on.

“The great wizard Horticus,” he jeered. “Bested by his incompetent brother, who could have imagined?”

“Don’t…do this…” croaked Horticus. “This will be the death of creation…”

“Not the death, but an evolution. A superior race will take over, as it should. I will be the king and Lament my queen,” He grinned.

“She doesn’t love you-”

Judicus twirled around his staff, and uttered a spell as he smacked the rounded top into his brother’s face. A surge of magic emanated from it, and Horticus went limp.

Germicle and Seamus, covered in blood and cuts, were desperately fighting the mutated creatures nearby in the losing battle. The young wizard let out a cry of anguish when he felt his master’s life force leave his body. He began to cast his spells without conviction and Seamus began to hack through the monsters quickly to carve a way through to Judicus.  

A portal opened in front of Judicus and out stepped the Dread of Faeriefold herself, Queen Lament. She took a deep breath as she stepped through, licking her dark lips when she tasted the chaos.

She was home.

“My queen,” said Judicus approaching her and bowing down. “I have fulfilled my promise to you. Now your hand?”

“Ah yes, of course,” said Queen Lament rolling her eyes. She waved her hand towards him. The spell hit him in the face and his whole body went stiff like a corpse. He fell onto his dead brother.

“These brothers…” she shook her head. She turned towards the portal. “Come on, you freaks. What are you waiting for?”

Germicle and Seamus were getting nearer to the witch but there was a lull in the fight as they all turned to look at the behemoths that stepped out of the portal.

They were huge, giants compared to the monsters they were fighting. Their bodies were full of crawling corpses that had been conjoined into huge, grotesque bodies.

Germicle turned to face his partner. “Go on. Save yourself. This war is over.”

Seamus chopped down a creature who was making a lunge for Germicle. “Not a chance.”