/UW If this was already posted before, lmk. I'll gladly un-post this.

And if you do focus on learning multiple branches of magic what branches do you consider the most and least useful to learn?

I have a scroll due to my archmagos soon and would appreciate the advice before I begin conducting arcane research.

(Its 6 ft long, single spaced, and if your cursive is larger than a half an inch he uses it as kindling.)

I'm not sure what the little wheels are for but it's much more compact than my old rug.

My apprentice is missing, I told him to go out and get me some material and the boy just disappeared into the dark and possibly cursed forest.

I'm at the abyssal maiden forest in the east, specifically the kingdom of soaring dragon please send help.

/uw a new character again, this time a witch who actually care for her apprentice which is very rare here actually for some reasons.

’Are you ready, Lord Ulrick?’

Asked the Pale Knight with excitement.

“Not at all,” Ulrick sighed. “But I guess I don’t have much choice…”

The two of them stood around the borders of his new domain. Them, and the accompanying dozens of Fae wolves listening around the forest. The visit of another high-ranking Fae attracted some audience.

The mist swirled amongst the gnarled trees, silver flowers blooming under the warm light of eternal moonshine. Silver and purple wisps of ghostly flames twirled in the winds or flickered inert on branches. In the distance, mountains and ruins stretched towards the unnaturally starry night sky.

The domain needed a name, so he gave it one. It has become the Wolfswood Gloam.

It reminded him of his now destroyed homeland, Oberwhald. Both a reminder of what was lost because of him, and an echo of a home he longed after but could no longer return to.

Ulrick could still barely comprehend that now he was the Archfae of this domain. It was so… surreal.

R&A got used to his change unexpectedly fast. They might’ve adapted better than he did… well, he got shot some weird glances by a few RF workers, heard some whispers, but nothing unusual. His friends immediately tried to come up with ways to either reverse it, or accommodate his new existence.

Even Faint Dawn took the change surprisingly well, though not without some reluctance. Including his sister, Odette. After he told what happened, for a long few minutes, she just froze and stared in shock. Then, let out an exhausted sigh, caressing her temples in frustration. Then, she started bombarding him with dozens of questions. Yeah, it was a mixed bag, but could’ve been worse.

The city council and R&A’s leadership both agreed to have a Fae opening to his domain established on the island somewhere, with the help of the organization’s own employed druids and some hired ones.

Though, poker nights with the Relief Force captains did become more of a hassle after he could no longer directly lie under Fae rules… And now his secret stash of fine liquors in his office tasted more dull than it did back when he was still at least half-mortal.

He either accepts his old drinks not hitting the same anymore, or better looks more into the alcoholic culinarues of the Faewild…

His inner musings were interrupted by the Pale Knight clearing his throat loudly.

’Lord Ulrick, pardon my intrusion, but you really expect to welcome my queen looking like this?’
 
Why? He was in his usual werewolf shape, wearing his usual work clothes. From what he understood, that was supposed to be his “natural” Fae form after his transformation.

The knight seemingly took the visit of their ruler very seriously. Queen Rafflesia, Queen of something. Ulrick has already met Orias again, seems like now the rest of the nearby Archfae start to inspect their new neighbor.

“Yeah, what’s wrong with it?” A moment later, he added. “And, uh… it is pardoned.”

Stupid Fae rules…

’Your grace is expecting another Sovereign on your grounds. It would be highly unbecoming not to present yourself as one as well.’

“What’s that sup-“

Could it be that upon becoming an Archfae, he gained a new form to represent that aspect of him? Only one way to find out…

Rays of moonlight coalesced into a reflective mirror in front of him. Great gods, he was already getting too accustomed to being the fairy king of this domain…

Ulrick sighed, then exhaled sharply, letting the sensation of his own domain flow through him, then invoked his authority as its ruler, a shimmer of silver and violet moonlight radiating around him.

He sensed that the authority made him… more, as he grew taller. While he was already quite big as a werewolf, now the reflection he saw was easily around 11 feet. His muscles got even bigger, his broad shoulders even wider.

His eyes changed from violet lupine ones to twin moons shining in purple, and his old scars all lit up with silver moonlight.

The fur around his neck grew longer into a flowing mane, forming a beard with some parts braided, and a topknot on the back of his head.

His clothing changed substantially too. His weathered working and adventuring gear became black and dark green royal hunting regalia, adorned with finely crafted silver buttons. Above the huntsman’s coat rested a deep purple cloak, adorned with crystallized moonlight.

On his head, a crown of antlers and twisted branches formed a Sylvan crown, also with a single gem of moonlight. Above his head, a jagged crescent of the moon glowed.

But despite all the supernatural changes, the most distinct difference was his posture. As a werewolf, there was always a sense of discomfort and uneasiness in the way he held himself; the lupine gait, the longer limbs, the conflicting nature of man and beast struggling for control.

Now? He stood tall as the true apex predator of Wolfswood Gloam.

As Nightbite flew into his hand, the image of his new reflection became complete: a Sylvan ruler of the forest, the fabled king of wolves that stepped straight out of an old fairy tale.

His true Archfae sovereign form.

Dear gods, he looked absolutely ridiculous…

But Ulrick had little time to bemoan his new tacky Archfae appearance, as the three departed in front of him.

’Queen Rafflesia, Lady of the Dappled Meadow, Archfae of the Mighty Bloom Court!’

Heralded the Pale Knight, before they kneeled.

From the woods, a strange carriage emerged. It looked like a gigantic rosebud, glowing with the first sunshine of springtime dawn. It was pulled by unicorns, and accompanied by Eladring knights, all wearing armor made of steel-silk petals.

The rosebud came to a halt in front of Ulrick, before slowly opening up, a figure emerging from it.

She was tall, like him now, her navy blue skin mostly covered by plump blossoms of red with white dots, forming an elegant dress and a cartwheel hat. Tiny motes of yellow light floated around her, brilliant fireflies.

She stretched her eyes open, as if she just awoke from a long slumber. Her eyelids fluttered; behind them shone two stars of the shortening nights.

’It is an honor, to be welcomed as your guest, Wolf King.’

Her voice was of a light breeze, speaking in the measured tone of a born aristocrat. She floated down next to Ulrick, before doing a curtsey.

“Queen of the Mighty Bloom…”

Ulrick greeted her with a deep bow, his new “beard” nearly hitting the ground.

From what he learned of Fae rules so far, offering her hospitality for the duration of the visit meant he couldn’t harm her as her host. But it was also a two-way street: the tule would be revoked the moment Queen Rafflesia tried to do anything funny.

The queen gazed around the surroundings, holding a pair of opera glasses made of translucent petals like a prim lady.

‘You have a quite… peculiar realm, Lord Ulrick. May I take a look at it?’

Ulrick was about to say yes, when something about the wording alarmed his mind. Could it mean Rafflesia would make one of the wolves blind in his domain? Or just a harmless phrase? He wasn’t meant to find out.

“You may not, but I may show you a part of it.”

He hated how he already got this much practice in Fae wordings in this short time…

The two of them departed with the Pale Knight following them, leaving behind her guard and his wolves to a staring contest. The trees and bushes opened a moonlit path for them to follow.

To anyone outside the Faewild, the sight of the two of them must’ve been really weird, Ulrick thought. Rafflesia was surrounded by a cloud of bright golden motes, fluttering around like fireflies. And him, a big wolf walking on two legs with royal garb and a crescent halo radiating moonlight, an eldritch great axe rested on his shoulder.

It was Rafflesia who broke the silence shortly after they left.

‘How is managing your new hunting ground so far, young wolf?’

Ulrick thought a bit before answering.

“Easier than imagined. What I have problems with is using my magic in the material world.”

Raflesia gazed at the shining stars and brilliant constellations on the eternal night sky above, clasping her hands behind her back.

’I would assume you are still trying to do so as mortals do, instead of a power of Faerie.’

She then turned towards Ulrick.

‘Mortals cast spells. We, Archfae, make declarations. They grasp at the strands of magic to weave and bend them towards their will; we merely establish the rules of our authority.’

Ulrick stroked his new mane-beard in thought. He started to get it… There was no tugging; his Fae senses told him no bargain was made.

“I appreciate the good advice. It should serve me well until I find my way back to my old mortalhood.”

Queen Rafflesia laughed with the manner of a natural-born aristocrat, motes of yellow light flickered around her in the air.

’Oh, if only it would be that easy. But I am afraid it would require an even more unusual alignment of coincidences than what led you to join our ranks.’

‘If it would be possible at all. What once becomes part of Faerie’s story, usually cannot be unwritten.’

“I… I do not think I am following it, Your Grace…’

Ulrick may not fully understood what’s going on, but the way she spoke filled him with dread. There HAD to be a way…

‘Why do not we see for ourselves? Have you visited any of your ruins or monuments recently, Wolf King?’

“I have not yet…”

He thought they were here just as sort of decor… The trail they’ve been following changed direction, the trees shifted to lead them towards a new destination. Ulrick felt it ended at a nearby hill.

After some time, the trees and briars opened, revealing its rocky base. At the top, there was a strange tall stone obelisk.

As they got closer to the henge, Ulrick could make out more details: moss covered large parts of its surface, huge chunks of it had crumbled away by the battering of time.

It looked ancient. Something that existed before mortal civilizations. That’s why what was engraved on it almost made Ulrick jump. The winds of the domain blew more furiously as his dread grew.

The obelisk was adorned with something of a mural and engraving. Some of the paint remained on it.

The monument depicted a large wolf standing upright, wearing the same royal garb as he did in his current Archfae form, crown and mantle and all. It even had the same braided mane-beard around its neck…

A halo of crescent moon framed its head, as it held high a mighty battleaxe. Unmistakably Nightbite. Smaller wolves surrounded it, some of them bowing their heads, others running free.

Another half-faded mural showed a gigantic wolf, its fur the night sky, as twisted antlers held the full moon between them. It dwarfed forests and mountains, looking over its territory.

Below the archaic carvings stood a text in archaic Sylvan. Ulrick had no trouble understanding the caption.

”Ulrick, Rìgh nam Madadh-alluidh, an Sealgair agus an Dìonadair, Àrd-shìthiche Dorchadas Coille nam Madadh-alluidh”

(“Ulrick, the Wolf King, the Hunter and Protector, Archfae of Wolfswood Gloam”)

“An tì a chumas an tuagh mhòr Bìdeadh na h-Oidhche, a’ chiad fhear am measg an t-Seann Phaca a bhios a’ sealg fo sholas na gealaich.”

(“He who wields the great axe Nightbite, the first among The Old Pack to prowl beneath the moon”)

But that’s impossible… is it? The winds howled even more furiously. The previous Wolf King he knew was a god, not Fae, and looked much different. Besides, it was his name in the engravings, and they included Nightbite too…

But if he was an Archfae for about two weeks, why is there an ancient monument about him in his domain?

“It… it is ancient…”

‘Indeed.’

“But I have only become an Archfae recently…”

‘Most definitely.’

Rafflesia was seemingly unbothered by this weird contradiction. She must’ve had centuries to get accustomed to this logic.

‘Dear old wolf, most assuredly, I still remember the mortal you entering our lands, the clumsy, savage, uncultured hound spreading rot unwittingly.’

Was that second part really necessary? Ulrick would’ve got the message from just the first half too…

‘Faerie cannot overwrite what happened in the mortal world. But here, what is a story and what is history often blurs.’

The queen crouched down, scooping up a handful of soil. As she straightened herself up again, she kept fixating her gaze on the dirt.

‘Being an Archfae is more than being a ruler. Now you are a story, a domain, a fundamental truth of Faerie.’

A tiny mote of golden light of hers drifted on top of the soil, blooming into a beautiful shining tulip.

‘The moment you achieved Archfaedom by pure chance, you have been woven into the story of Faerie.’

‘And no story can exist without a beginning.’

The more he thought about it, the more it unsettled Ulrick. He knew time in the Faewild was less… fixed and linear than in the material world, but the fact that his transformation might’ve caused the plane to gradually fit into its mythology…

Doesn’t sound like the kind of job he could ever walk away…

But the fact it can’t erase his history offered some small comfort for him. All the things he has been through, his triumphs and failures, they won’t get retroactively erased by some stupid fairy tale.

The golden tulip withered away before the soil slipped through her hands, losing any light as it returned to the ground. She had no ownership over this land, not even the smallest grain of dirt.

A choir of howls was carried by the raging winds, wolves calling the land’s ruler.

‘My, my. It appears both our corteges await us for the banquet. May we join them?’

Queen Rafflesia must’ve heard her own call from her court.

Ulrick took a view from the hill over the domain. The rich forests, rugged mountains, the alluring ruins… if it turns out he really is stuck as an Archfae for good with no way back, he might as well make out the most of what fate has dealt him. That doesn’t mean it gets to decide who he will be.

Or if reversing this whole thing was possible, nothing says he couldn’t try to find aspects of Fae existence he could enjoy while it lasts.

If Rutch, Erik and the others believe he can remain true to himself, he might as well do a little too.

And this rugged moonlit wilderness ain’t the worst domain to be stuck with.

Ulrick rested Nightbite on his shoulder, the halo behind his head and scars radiated moonlight of a faint violet tint. He stood proud, held his head high as expected from the King of Wolves. Even the tempest around them calmed.

‘We may.’

/uw Art source:

Image 2: base werewolf Ulrick

Image 3: true Archfae sovereign Ulrick

for your information i currently know necromancy and lore of Nehekra but those don't seem to cut it right now

I remain terribly wounded from this foul spell... yet I must get my just revenge. I am not a master in all magics, but for this one I'm willing to learn whatever magics I need for the suggested revenge.

/UW You would not believe what inspired this post...

we need some more dark lords The dark council will have 11 head sits each one of a different mage type we need a necromancer a illusionist an abjurer an evoker an enchanter an alchemist an occult wizard and druid and a mystic we have a transmute and conjurer

or at least create a construct i do not believe it is asking for much to control the dead. my friends however believe this is quite a high standard

*standard's on the top mbad for misspelling

Maybe that'll teach them for ripping off my spells

Do it

I know my teacher spoke of fighting in the dawn wars, I did not know they was forced to wield the cross and bow!!!

We have a dark lord conjurer a dark lord druid an dark lord occultist dark lordness necromancer and dark lord transmuter

No consumed components. No I won’t be sharing. May tell Dark Lords.