The OP Lich is a Returnee, Book 11 Prologue (Patreon)

Prologue – Trade Chat

(Magical World Disharmony Server, General Chat)

UsualSuspect, manoutoftime, muon, MewTwo, Avariel, Chummer, Golddigger, CrazyCelt, Blaze, DoYouEvenLyft?, MarcoPolo, MightMakesRight, MacD, Inquisitor, OrangeQueen, Lizard, RedFox, SemiSolidSnake, BabyShark, Lichwatcher, Not_the_Face!, Scholar, Salty, Anonymous3, Anonymous4, Anonymous7, Anonymous9, TheLichQueen, WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot, DigDug, Backlog, DarkAvariel, Knocker, GrimDark, BloodForTheBloodGod, BackDat@55Up and DarkAngel are in the chat.

MarcoPolo: So, I managed to snag one of those testing kits Phantomline has sent out! Pretty pricey, since I wasn’t government, and didn’t have government connections, but I managed to get one!

Lizard: Oh? What’s in them? I’ve heard a bunch about them, but never actually seen one in person.

MarcoPolo: Well, the first part was this special paper. Kind of like litmus paper, like you’d use in a chemistry class to determine how acidic something was? Anyways, different things happen when you push magicules through it, without any kind of spell form in mind.

Backlog: Like what?

MarcoPolo: Depends on what ‘element’ you are. My piece of paper immediately crumpled into a ball, which apparently means I’m Earth element.

MacD: Hm. Considering your namesake, that’s fairly on the nose.

MarcoPolo: I… hadn’t thought of that. Weird. Maybe I picked the name because I had some subconscious idea? I’ve always liked traveling, and exploring.

TheLichQueen: A love for nature and hiking, especially, is typical of those with the Earth element, yes.

Inquisitor: Oh, LQ! Have you gone and unleashed another seal? What happened?

TheLichQueen: In a moment. Let Marco continue.

MarcoPolo: Sure. So, after the paper, there were two trays in the box, one with five items and one with three.

TheLichQueen: Ah, you got the Deluxe model, I see.

MacD: Deluxe model?

TheLichQueen: The standard model has the testing papers, and a single tray, which is all that is needed for those who have one of the eight typical elements. The Deluxe model has a second tray, for those who are adept at channeling divine energies.

Inquisitor: So, what, people who can actually call upon God’s will?

TheLichQueen: Well, a god’s power, at least. Holy is the energy of purification, while Unholy is the power of corruption. Both can spring from the same source. Warlocks, or Contractors if you prefer a more clinical name, are the halfway point between a typical Mage and a Channeler.

Inquisitor: Fascinating.

TheLichQueen: What item called to you, Marco?

MarcoPolo: The crystal. It supposedly means I am an ‘Earth Witch’?

TheLichQueen: Yes, though they are also called Shamans. Your power is that of the land itself, and you are the land’s power. Reach out with your magic, and feel your connection to the earth around you. Let it be a part of you, and you a part of it. The shaman is moldable as clay, yet hard as diamond. Their bones are the bones of the mountain, and their wrath mighty like a rockslide, capable of wiping everything away before them.

RedFox: That’s heavy, man.

MarcoPolo: Is that why I’ve been wanting to go to the mountains ever since I started following those online guides to unlocking mana?

TheLichQueen: Yes, most likely. If you were using the ones produced by Phantomline, at least. Your soul, for lack of a better term, knows its home, and wants to be closer to its element. However, once you get a bit of practice, you will find that Earth is everywhere, even in the cities. Sure, concrete and pavement may be more difficult for you to draw from and manipulate, but they are still products of the earth. So long as you keep your feet on the ground, you will find the power flowing through you.

Inquisitor: Again, this is fascinating, but what about the whole potential end of the world with the seals?

TheLichQueen: Oh, fine. Yes, I successfully released the Seal of Water, with the help of some volunteers. Thankfully, the guardian was dealt with in a satisfactory manner, so there isn’t a risk of sea monsters randomly destroying the shipping industry.

Salty: Thank goodness! I don’t know what I’d do if the ocean became too dangerous to swim in.

Scholar: So, what form did the new hero take?

TheLichQueen: Oh, I don’t think I’ll tell that part. It will be more fun to see if anyone can figure it out for themselves.

RedFox: Haha!

Scholar: Damnit!

TheLichQueen: At any rate, my next stop will be in the Azores. The Seal of Wind is there.

muon: I get it. You’re doing Wind next because creatures flying around, taking down passenger and cargo jets would be almost as bad as the shipping industry getting sunk, right?

TheLichQueen: Yes. Once Wind is handled, that will be half of the lesser seals done, and the main possible threats to global commerce with them.

Scholar: So, the plan is still to take down all the individual elemental seals, and then go for the main one?

TheLichQueen: Yes, and, if everything goes according to plan, there should be a minimum of cataclysmic explosions that reshape the map. Fortunately, so far, the governments I’ve worked with have been understanding and haven’t kicked up any kind of fuss.

LichWatcher: Well, leading with “Hey, this could cause a global magical ice age with monsters running around everywhere if you don’t let me try to fix this” tends to make people pause, and reconsider whether they actually want to interfere just to score political points.

GrimDark: Though, the fact that she could just walk in, rip the souls out of anyone who got in her way, and then work on the seal tends to keep people from protesting too loud. At least to her face. Even politicians need their souls, it seems.

Blaze: Even the ones who sold theirs to lobbyists.

Scholar: Say, what was the Water guardian?

TheLichQueen: A Primordial being, one which treads the edge of where reality and unreality meet. Looking upon Dagon, or creatures like him, brings madness, if you are not warded in some way.

Blaze: Wait. Dagon? As in, HP Lovecraft Dagon? That’s real?

TheLichQueen: Dagon is real. Lovecraft most likely never met him, or any other Primordial. But if one were to be sleeping, hibernating, then someone on the right psychic wavelength might have been able to hear whispers, and be affected by them.

Scholar: Would this Dagon’s whispers reach the northeastern US from inside the seal?

TheLichQueen: No.

Scholar: So, there might be another of these Primordials somewhere nearby, just… hibernating?

TheLichQueen: That is a likely scenario, yes. Oh, and before anyone gets any stupid ideas, I would advise against trying to wake it up, if there is a Primordial there. A true Primordial is a threat that requires a Hero to face them, preferably dozens of Heroes. And, even then, you’re going to be burying most of them, and consigning most of the rest to mental institutions for the rest of their lives.

Blaze: So, even you couldn’t beat one?

TheLichQueen: I don’t know. It would depend on their true strength, and how my element matches with their talents. I have some confidence that, with enough Heroes buying time, I could seal one, but even that would be, oh, one chance in three that I could pull it off?

Scholar: Oh my.

TheLichQueen: Suffice to say, Primordials are not to be trifled with.

Scholar: Why are they so difficult?

TheLichQueen: Humans are three-dimensional creatures who move linearly along time as a fourth dimension that grounds them, yes? A Primordial is at least a four-dimensional creature, perhaps more. The dimension that ‘grounds’ them is incomprehensible to a mortal mind. As such, they are all but impossible to kill by those limited to three dimensions.

GrimDark: Wait, you said that the guardian was dealt with.

TheLichQueen: I did.

GrimDark: But you didn’t seal it or kill it?

TheLichQueen: I did not. Fortunately, another path opened up, allowing a peaceful resolution.

GrimDark: What resolution?

TheLichQueen: A contract was made, a pact forged, a warlock empowered.

GrimDark: Oh shit. That doesn’t sound good.

TheLichQueen: Don’t worry about it, Grim. I’m taking the young warlock in hand, so that they can learn without being overwhelmed. But, so long as they live, then Dagon should be restrained in his movements and dealings.

GrimDark: That doesn’t make it any better!