The Accidental Archmage by Edmund Batara (read out loud books .TXT) 📕

rest of the knowledge I am

able to provide. You will also need to know what questions to ask. Your body also

requires sustenance and incomplete as I am, providing such sustenance is beyond me.

You will die here.”

“There’s no getting around you, isn’t there?”

Tyler asked for a few minutes to think things over. He can’t go back home. The finality

of the situation hit him. Hard. Deep inside, he still harbored a hope that a chance exists

of going back within a reasonable time frame. The choices for remaining on Adar, on

the other hand, are simple but severe in their implications. Go his merry way but run

the risks of the consequences of always being at a lower level than its inhabitants. The

pantheons won’t touch him for fear of kicking off another war. He was sure there would

some renegade supernatural deity around who would be mad enough to take him

under its wings but dealing with tentacled monstrosities or beings with skewed

moralities really didn’t meet his taste. Trying for the end zone touchdown offers great

rewards but with an onerous burden. It would be like playing against a full football

team all by his lonesome. With spectator participation. That would be fun. Shit.

Well, it is not as if I have something else to do or somewhere else to be, he thought.

Death may come whatever choice he makes. Better make it worth his while and try his

damned best to survive.

“All right Hal, made my choice. Do me a Gandalf.”

“Hal? Gandalf?”

“Modern pop culture references, Hal. It also means you can come with me. I rather

would have the key with me than look for another one,” said Tyler with a sigh. What he

wouldn’t do to have a decent conversation with somebody from his own time line.

“But I think I should name you Hal. You don’t mind, do you? It’s not as if you have a

name or something like that.”

“I don’t mind, Elder. We were only given numerical designations by our makers. Quite a

long number if I may say so.”

“Okay, Hal. What I meant was do with the guardian thing. It may be a bitch of a ride

but it seems to be the only worthwhile choice.”

“I am sure you made the right choice, Elder. We may now begin the process. Please

close your eyes.”

“Do I need to?”

“No, but it will make the process easier for you psychologically.”

Psychologically? Where did Mr. CPU get that? Oh, right. My mind. Freak me again. If I

made a mistake here, then I’ll be the first to be possessed by a computer chip named

Hal. That definitely would make a really bad movie sequel.

Suddenly, his mind was filled with images, concepts, and ideas. Many were

incomprehensible. His sense of wonderment started to be replaced by panic.

Don’t fight it, Hal’s voice spoke in his mind. Just let it in, comprehension and

understanding will follow in time.

Tyler calmed himself down and immediately diverted his mind into other thoughts,

trying to bypass the influx of knowledge. His thoughts went into the peacefulness that

the forest offered him when he woke up that morning. His memory flitting through

image after image of what he saw in the clearing. The soft grass, the fresh air, the

majestic trees, and the emerald eyes of a stunningly beautiful and innocent Eira.

Freak me thrice, he thought with a dawning realization, I think it’s not a school boy

crush.

CHAPTER NOTES:

End Zone Touchdown - A phrase used in American football. Referring to a score made by

carrying or passing the ball into a marked zone of the territory of the opposing side.

Hal - As referred to in the story, the murderous artificial intelligence in the 1968 epic science fiction film "2001: A Space Odyssey".

CHAPTER LORE:

Alfheimr - Old Norse. Meaning "light elves."

Landvaetter - Old Norse. Meaning "land spirits". Sometimes considered to be nature spirits with preference for unsettled or unpopulated land.

Laverna - Roman/Etruscan. An old Italian divinity. Goddess of thieves, cheats, and mischief.

Elder Ones – Fictional. For purposes of the story - refers to the deities of proto-human

civilizations existing before recorded history. May also refer to proto-human races.

CHAPTER IX

Magic!

Without any fanfare, Tyler suddenly found himself back in the same position as when he

disappeared. Kneeling and pointing at the tablet, now reduced to gray dust.

“TYLER!”

Turning his head to the sound of the exclamation, he saw Eira, seated on the floor, legs

splayed together to one side. She appeared to have been crying for some time. A lot.

She rushed to him, hugged him in a tight embrace and started another bout of crying.

“Tyler! I thought I lost you too!”

“Uuhhh, glad to see you too?” answered Tyler, still a little bit disoriented from his

abrupt return and greatly surprised by Eira's reaction.

He let her continue to embrace him. He was confused about her reaction but it felt

great. Her fragrance embraced his senses. Her body also felt good. Really good. After a

while, she finally calmed down and separated from him.

“I thought you also died. I’m sorry but I didn’t expect that to happen.”

Tyler looked at the beautiful face before him, with puffed eyes again. The streaks of her

tears marking the flawless skin of her cheeks.

“Me also. But I least I’m……”

Suddenly, Tyler noticed the faintly luminous spark at his feet. He was a bit curious about it for a few seconds. Then the realization struck him like a thunderbolt out of the

blue. EIRA’S BROTHER! Oh my God, I am stepping on the ethereal remains of her

brother!

He jumped to the side like an electrified cat.

“Ahhhh, I’m really, really sorry about that. Stepping on your brother, I mean.”

He looked at Eira who again got a handkerchief out of nowhere and had finished

dabbing her face. It was clear she had regained some degree of self-control.

“You can see him?”

“Yes, but I’m sorry about stepping on him. I didn’t see that spark before. I didn’t know

that was where he was when he…. when he passed away.”

Probably got zapped with this world’s version of the biggest and baddest electrified

giant fly swatter, Tyler thought. Considering the power which reduced the tablets of

incredibly dense and magical material to dust in an instant, Eira’s brother doubtlessly

didn’t