Tough job being a wizard. The only one, at least in this area, of Teraphobia. I have to teach myself how to control the power and manage the overwhelming thoughts of inadequacies. You are “Oh so powerful” but then again have no clue how to control it. Left to your own to set up the rules.
I got married, still amazing, that happened. Children have grown up safe so far. I’ve been able to insulate my family mostly. My wife, Sherrie, works with me as a Monsterhunter. My daughters, youngest is six, are all powerful, but not with magic. I wasn’t born with this, so it didn’t transfer, and that’s good for my girls.
When you become a magic wielder, the world expects the world from you, but the reality is the biggest disappointment festers inside you.
Especially when it just erupts from you uncontrolled. For me, monsters are drawn from the Aether and placed in my world without a word of instruction.
It’s hard not to conclude the Omnipresent No’doer is doing me any a favor when I have to battle a sheet ghost, a giant sunflower, and an octopus monster but the No’doer does not help when he doesn’t materialize the monsters when I would expect him too.
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I had searched for a way to control my magic since I gained the power during the Resurrection. I received word that a jewler off the coast of Gorgeous Lake had a ring that could ward off the magic.
I requested traveling papers from the local consul. Hopped in the family’s van and headed east. I passed below the Great Lake through the Northeast territory and stopped at the Eastern edge of Teraphobia.
At the edge of Teraphobia, Gorgeous Lake stretched from North to South. The beach towns littered with the remains of posh and money. Large houses, docks, and roads sat in disrepair. The jeweler lived within a walled city named Rhaine.
I entered the South gate up Main Street and then left. There were a few curious neighbors. Many were polite enough to help me out when I asked for the location of the jeweler named Mary Ellen, except all of them called her the Witch on Broadway.
The witch lived in a home near the beach… stood out from the skeletal remains of the other structures. The witch lived in a 3-story mansion… 8400 square feet… meticulously maintained… which made it stick out from the entire enclosed suburbs.
I approached the home in my van. A woman, clad in a flower sundress, met me in the center of the road
“Stop! Please stop, right here,” she screamed while waving her hands.
I slowed to a stop. Rolled my window down. The woman approached, sand stuck in patches on her dress.
“Redd Church,” she began leaning on my window.
“I hate to be like this, but this is as close as you will get to my house… if I want to keep it standing.”
“What does that mean?”
“I am not prepared for the kind of destruction you and your friends may cause. I want to make this short, and then you leave.”
“That’s insulting,” I said. “To assume the creatures are my friends and to assume I have some measure of control over what they do. You could be less rude, I’ve driven several hundred miles, and I’m giving you thousands for this anti-magic bracelet. I’m happy to do the deal and go. Where’s the bracelet?”
I knew the look as soon as it appeared. The color drained from her face as she searched the pockets of her flowery dress.
“Should have known you didn’t have it when you wore that dress. Dresses don’t have pockets.”
“Do not go anywhere. Stay right here!” She shouted.
The woman turned and ran through the tall grass, a multitude of trees and weeds til she disappeared into a small door in the garage.
I waited 15-20 minutes until I noticed movement outside. A figure appeared on the beach, walking toward the home.
I cursed, knowing the witch was probably right. I bring chaos, and this was an example of it
“This was her fault,” I thought. “For being rude and not ready with the anti-magic bracelet. It was my responsibility now to bring this monster down.
I was prepared. Tools in the back. A sand-covered monster that shouldn’t be too hard, right? I thought.
I grabbed a long sword. Found the chest with the nets. Opened the box. Found Sherrie had packed the nets perfectly, which made me miss her more. Dragged one of the nets out of the van and approached the beach. The creature has grown to its full size, several inches taller than me, and 2x stronger by the look of him.
My initial plan was to chop off his arms and throw the net over him.
“Simple stuff, right? Of course not.”
I drop the net. Swing the sword and strike the monster just above the elbow. The sword bit into the sandy flesh. It went no further. This was not going to be some simple slice and dice.
I had used the sword just last week to bleed out a vampire. (They only have a few liters of blood that they store within their host body)… it was sharp.
The creature looked down at its arm and growled. Stared ahead. Shook its arm and continued forward.
I thrust the sword into the monster’s back. Pulled the sword from the wound and watched as sand filled the hole as quickly as I had made it.
The monster turned and swung its long right arm. Struck me in the side of the head. I tumbled down the beach. Lie, face up, in the wet sand, licked by the waters of Gorgeous Lake.
I shook off the shock and sat. The entire side of my face felt like it had been scratched off. Blood began to fall from small abrasions scattered through my skin.
The monster turned and continued walking away from me. I began to sit up. The creature must have felt me move. He raised its arms. Hands erupted from the sand. One hand on my left, the other my right. Underneath me, I felt the ground move, then rise. I jolted to the side, and my sword slipped into the lapping waters. One of the hands grabbed and held me as the new sand creature began to rise.
“If only I had a useful defensive power like creating sand creatures,” I griped and struggled to free my wrist.
“Honesty, you could have given me something different,” I growled at the gods.
The humanoid sand creature sat up. I noticed that its head was deformed. It appeared as a tower of sand on the center-left of his wide shoulders. The tower was only a few inches wide, and then the head was gone. Replaced by wet sand. I then noticed part of his right shoulder was wet and deformed.
The creature held my wrist. Its grip tightened. My fingers began to tingle. I reached under my left arm for my sword. Pulled it from the water. I sliced through the creature’s arm with my wet sword. Within seconds, I thrust the sword into its sandy chest, and it fell back to the ground and melted away.
I sat and steamed as the original sand creature walked closer to the home. I eyeballed the net and decided.