The Rise of the Spell Caster

"DANIEL DAVIES!" roared a loud voice. "WE MEET AT LAST!"

Aurelia rolled her red eyes. "That's Aiden. He's trying to intimidate you."

An enormous phoenix, flames rolling off its gleaming red scales, rose high above them. The wingspan was at least two hundred feet wide. A large, forked tail whipped through the air, breaking the sound barrier with loud cracks. It turned its flaming draconic head toward Daniel and roared, fire belching.

If it wasn't for Bitty blowing him, Daniel might have peed himself.

Wait, why am I letting Bitty blow me?

Aurelia turned toward the phoenix. "Aiden Ryu! Stop that at once! Behave! Our beloved Daniel is meeting us for the first time, and this is how you act?"

From one blink to the next, the phoenix transformed into a tall, handsome man, wearing a similar gown as Aurelia. He looked exceptionally strong with rippling muscles and as he approached, Daniel saw he had the same eyes as Aurelia.

"Hiya, Daniel. Sorry, I couldn't resist. Heh."

His voice was as smooth as a fine liquor. It was low enough to vibrate your bones, and sultry enough to make a man develop a man-crush. Even Bitty stopped blowing Daniel for a moment to listen to it, before resuming.

"Um, hi," replied Daniel. "Pleasure to meet you, Aiden."

"Uh-huh. Sorry, one moment." Aiden turned his focus on Aurelia. "Can we move this along please, hon? This has been a blast. All this time together. Fornicating for years and years. Loved it. But baby, we got to get back to the groove, ya know? Distance makes the heart grow fonder, right?"

Aurelia reached up and tapped Aiden's cheek. At first Daniel thought the taps were light and friendly, but seeing Aiden's face warp with the impacts made him realise she had just slapped him really hard a bunch of times. Weirdly, it still looked loving.

"Yes, darling. I get it. And I agree. Time to put things right. Let Daniel cum first, okay? It won't take long."

They both turned to Daniel and waited, staring at him. Aiden worked his jaw back and forth. Daniel heard it crack.

"It's ah, it's ah... a little hard to do this with you watching..."

Aiden laughed. "A little hard? Correct. Want to see bigger and harder?" Aiden flexed his eyebrows and grinned with perfect white teeth.

Aurelia rolled her eyes. "It's hardly fair to compare dicks with a mortal, dear."

"Mortal? Daniel? Not anymore. Your little memory in him changed that."

Daniel's eyes went round just as Bitty pushed him over the edge and he came hard into her mouth. His eyes closed with the pleasure and when he opened them, he was standing on the grass with his ladies and The Circle.

Bitty made a noise and looked up triumphantly with her cheeks bulging.

"Daniel!" screeched his ladies and he was wrapped up in multiple arms.

"Daniel?" asked Amy. "Why are your pants down?"

Bitty tilted her head back to speak around her mouthful of cum. "I blew him in there, but I lost some inside the egg, wanna see?"

Jasmine grabbed Bitty's chin and sucked face with her. She broke off and swallowed. "Oh yeah, that's the good stuff!" She smacked her lips.

Bitty smacked her. "No stealing!"

Amber pulled Daniel away. Daniel let her but looked at Grace for a moment. Grace tilted her head at him, looking curious. Amber forced his head to look at her.

"What happened? You and Bitty just stood there like statues."

"Oh, I met the phoenixes. Aurelia and Aiden. So did Bitty. They're really nice. Well, she is."

Amber's eyes bulged at him. "And?"

"Right. Sorry. It was all just overwhelming. Um, the gnome wetwork..."

"Network," corrected Bitty.

"...network, it's like our bond. Bitty can connect us to it."

Grace joined Amber. Daniel stared at Grace as soon as she came into view. Grace looked from Daniel to Amber and then shook her head. "Daniel? Stop looking at me like that! What are you talking about?"

"We join the gnome..." he looked at Bitty.

"Network," she grumbled.

"Network."

Grace looked around at everyone. "How the fuck does any of that help with three armies, Maeve who will skin us alive, bring us back to life, and skin us again, and STOP THE FUCKING EGG FROM EXPLODING? Huh?"

Bitty raised her hand. Grace blew out air and tilted her head down to look at Bitty. "Just speak, Bitty."

"Once Daniel joins the gnome network, he will be able to reach out across the realm to everyone else. The humans anyway. Gnomes are everywhere. Our enslavement made that possible." Bitty's eyes went large. "Oh, wow."

Grace's eyes and mouth opened in surprise. "What?"

Bitty looked up at Amber. "Aurelia said to tell you to reverse the spell Gwydion used and apply it to the bond and network. With the egg, though."

Amber looked startled. "The Heart Freezing Spell? She said to..." Her eyes went unfocused.

Jasmine jumped up and down clapping. "It's ritual time!"

* * *

Daniel's circle of witches prepared the ground, with Glenda helping. In short order, a ritual circle was prepared and cleansed. The men, Jennifer, and Bitty stood back trying to figure out one, what the fuck was going on, and two, what they could do to help.

Daniel couldn't help but keep glancing over to where the armies were lined up for war. He also worried Maeve would find out they had taken back the egg. A simple sleight of hand had been her undoing, but if they couldn't break her hold on this world, they were all doomed.

Amber barked. "Amy! Careful! This has to be perfect! We've never attempted something this large before. Fuck! No one has ever done something this large before."

"True," added Glenda. "But I can't think of a circle more capable. You can all do this."

Jasmine tossed aside the now empty bag of salt she had used to form the ritual circle and stood up and stretched her back. "Spirit? Right?"

"Right," replied Amber. She had Daniel's spell book in her hand and was reading something.

"Ladies," started Daniel. "Can someone explain what we're doing?"

"I got this," replied Bitty.

Amber looked up at Bitty, shrugged and went back to reading. "Bitty probably knows more than us. Go ahead."

Bitty pulled Daniel down to sit on the grass and climbed into his lap and looked at him. "Remember what Gwydion tried on you in the hospital? She tried to steal the heart and bind you to her?"

Daniel nodded.

"Aurelia said to reverse that. Think about it."

Daniel did. "So, we give a heart and release a binding?"

Bitty nodded her head from side to side. "Yes and no. We provide a love ritual and bind the world to it. Maeve will be powerless. Her power lies in pulling people into her own warped reality. She can't do that to bound people. The gnomes were her worst threat. Our network made us immune. So, she cursed us. The main purpose of the curse wasn't to fuck up the network, it was so that we could never speak of it. The rest was pure fuckery on her part. The bitch.

"She also corrupted the witches, I believe. We are all so surprised when you formed a genuine, love-filled circle. I wonder if they were always meant to be that way, don't you? Imagine the world full of love and compassion. Even the fae were fucked up by her. War every hundred years under the bullshit of having to drive life and death. Its macabre."

"And by doing this ritual?"

"We save the world. But first you need to join the network."

"How do we do that?"

"I give you the password."

"What?"

"Just fucking with you. I let you in. As Emissary I have that power. It's like full on admin rights. I'm the root user. Someone way smarter than me determined if a gnome were going to break the curse, that gnome would get full access. Turns out that's me. I didn't know it until Aurelia said what she did. No wonder those Gnomology idiots kept hounding me and you. That stupid power-hungry Karen..."

"Bitty, that makes no sense."

Bitty kissed him gently. "I know. You ready?"

"Yes."

"This might hurt."

"What? Really?"

"No, stupid. But be ready for a lot of clamouring from all the gnomes. I'll shut them down, but it will take a moment. Until then, it's gonna be loud inside your head. Okay?"

Daniel nodded.

Bitty didn't do anything that Daniel could see or sense but suddenly his mind was filled with the presence of hundreds of gnomes. Their reaction was shock, then silence, and then everyone started speaking at once. Hundreds of gnomes' voices clamoured in his skull. Daniel clapped his hands to his head, but it did nothing. He cried out and then, just as quickly as it started, it stopped.

Daniel panted heavily. "Ugh..."

Bitty caressed his cheek. "There. They'll be quiet for a time. I've blocked them. When the ritual kicks in, use your bond to connect the world. Okay? I'll open it back up. I've warned all the gnomes what's about to happen."

Daniel nodded his head. "That hurt."

"Yeah, sorry."

"Little liar."

Bitty kissed him and he forgave her.

Amber stood up inside the ritual circle from where she had just placed the spirit bowl. "Ready, Daniel. We should start."

Daniel nodded and kissed Bitty. "Thank you, Bitty. Love you." He pulled her off his lap and stood up.

Amber looked at the others. "Jennifer, Brian. If Syn could help here just a little bit, that would be grand. Maeve is going to freak once this starts. We need the ritual protected. You too, Jason and Roger. Keep them away from us. Grace, do what you do best. I have no idea how long this will take."

They nodded and Daniel asked everyone to join him for a moment. Once they gathered, he looked them all in the eye. "Okay. Here we go. I hope this works. I love you all."

Across the bond, Daniel felt his love returned. He felt hundreds of gnomes watching with something like awe.

Even miles away from where the armies gathered, they heard and felt Maeve's sudden anger.

"WHERE IS IT? WHERE IS THE EGG, YOU IDIOT?"

Daniel looked toward the scream. "Uh-oh. Time to start. Everyone, take your places."

Daniel and his witches shed their clothes and ran into the ritual circle. Daniel sat in front of the bowl and held the sides with his bare hands. Jasmine, Amy, and Amber took positions around him and started chanting the words to the ritual. Daniel reached across the witch bond and poured his power into it. A loud thrum sound exploded out from the ritual in a wave that could be felt for miles. At the same time, a bright shield erupted around the ritual circle and surrounded Daniel and his witches.

Grace unknowingly took a step backward and gawked at the sphere of power. She looked toward Glenda and saw the same look of awe and fear on her face.

Glenda looked at Grace. "This is why bound spell casters and witches are so feared. Their power is enormous."

Grace growled and looked toward where Maeve was. "We both know this is way beyond that. No time for gawking. Get ready. She'll be here in a moment."

As soon as she finished the words, Maeve appeared, her face twisted with rage and insanity. She raised both fists and slammed them into the ritual sphere. Lightning and streams of mana exploded out from the impact points, staining the retinas of anyone who watched with bright flares of light.

Jason was the first on Maeve, and he swung his sword at Maeve's back, grunting with the effort. Maeve twisted and the blade missed her by a hair's breadth. As she twisted, her arm shot out, her hand morphing into wicked claws which raked across Jason's chest. Blood flew and Jason was tossed backwards and landed heavily on the ground and lay dazed.

"One down!" shrieked Maeve with glee.

Brian moved in and swung his mace, praying aloud to Syn for help. At the same time, Jennifer closed from the other side and swung her sword at Maeve's neck, hoping to end the fight quickly.

In a blink, Maeve disappeared, and Jennifer and Brian staggered to halt their swings. Miles away horns and battle cries filled the air as the fae armies ran toward each other, answering the call they had answered every hundred years. Grace appeared next to Maeve, but again Maeve disappeared.

She re-appeared on the other side of the ritual and then spun and knocked aside the arrow launched by Roger. Maeve shot a glare at Glenda, who stood nearby, her eyes closed and concentrating. Maeve disappeared once again.

"Above, Roger!" called out Glenda.

Roger pivoted and fired above the ritual. Maeve appeared just before the arrow reached her and it pierced her right thigh. Her blood splattered on the ritual sphere and hissed and boiled away. Grace appeared near Maeve, but Maeve darted away.

"I'm going to kill every last one of you motherfuckers!" she wailed and then she grinned. "But fuck is this fun!"

"Bitty! Move!" cried out Glenda.

Bitty dove to the side, just as Maeve appeared where she had been standing. Maeve cursed and flipped backward just as Jennifer's sword swung through where Maeve had been.

"Roger!" screamed Glenda.

Roger spun, and stopped as Maeve appeared before him, grinning with a mouth full of pointed teeth. Her clawed hand, fingers extended, drove into his stomach, and he doubled over in agony.

"Two down!" chortled Maeve and danced away from Roger.

"Help him, Brian!" cried out Glenda, her eyes still closed, but with tears streaming down her face.

Grace stared at Roger in horror just as Maeve appeared behind her and punched Grace in the back of the head. The crack was loud, and Grace dropped to the ground in a heap.

Bitty looked inside the ritual sphere. Daniel placed the black and white phoenix egg into the spirit bowl and hunched over it. The witches stepped along the path of the ritual, chanting in harmony. Bitty could feel the power spike massively. She opened the network to Daniel once again and was surprised to find the gnomes silent and waiting.

Good, she thought, about time they fucking started listening to me, and ran over to help Brian with Roger, pulling one of her special flasks from her pocket.

Maeve screeched at the ritual. "That's my egg! Get it out of there! What are you doing?"

"Hurry, Brian!" pleaded Glenda and then she gurgled and looked down. Maeve's clawed right hand was sticking out of her, right above her belly button. Maeve pulled her arm out of her with a sickening wet sound, blood fountaining from the seer's body. Glenda's eyes rolled back in her head, and she collapsed.

"Three down! This is FUN!" laughed Maeve and danced toward Jason, just as he rose from the ground.

Jason looked down at his ruined chest armour and tore it away. He held his sword in his right hand and held out his left hand with his index and middle finger raised together, his two smallest fingers bent closed against his palm, and his thumb straight out to the side. He held the hand palm towards Maeve.

"It's not about being the best," replied Jason. "It's about being better than you were yesterday," exclaimed Jason.

Maeve stopped in her tracks. "What?"

"The essence of fighting is the art of moving at the right time," replied Jason.

Maeve shook her head. "What complete nonsense."

Then Jason moved. His was not the moves of a fighter. They were the moves of a fighter and a lover. It was hypnotic and captivating. Maeve found herself mesmerised by the display and then suddenly Jason was in front of her, and his sword moved of its own violation. Maeve parried with her clawed hands only for them to be met by the two fingers of his left hand, stopping her cold. The sword whistled, struck her left knee, and sheared straight through.

Maeve howled in agony. She had never been struck before. She disappeared and reappeared hovering above the ritual. "This has stopped being fun. You will all DIE!"

She raised her hands above her head and mana gathered.

Below her the ritual pulsed with a heartbeat. It was felt more than heard. With each beat it reached further and further and grew in intensity exponentially. Daniel was standing now with his head thrown back and his arms held out wide. His feet left the ground, and he floated over the spirit bowl. Amy, Jasmine, and Amber chanted louder and louder until their voices tore with the effort.

Brian started working on Roger when Bitty pushed him away and pointed to Glenda. Brian gasped and scrambled over to her and reached her just as Jennifer did. Jason ran over to Glenda to help.

Bitty poured the contents of the vial in her hand into Roger's mouth and when she saw his wound closing, turned to watch the ritual. She had a sense it was about to complete itself and she wasn't sure who would win, Maeve, or Daniel and his witches.

Please Syn, help us! she prayed for the first time in her life.

When nothing happened, she cursed and started pulling out vials of Daniel's mana she had been storing. She pulled off stoppers, flung the contents at the sphere, and watched as each dose was absorbed. She didn't know if it would help, but she was at least doing something.

The heavy bass of the ritual was throbbing faster and faster now. Daniel was crying out and looking straight up at Maeve. She leered down at him, blood flowing freely from the stump of her leg, and condensed her mana into a ball too bright to look at.

She held the crackling ball of pure mana above her head and grinned. "Too late!" she cackled and went to throw the ball into the ritual.

Daniel orgasmed. He pushed all his sexual power, and that of his witches into the ritual. The sphere exploded outward and swept across the Realm in an instant, seeking out the chain they had built with the gnome network. From there, guided by the gnomes it touched, it branched to all the inhabitants of the Realm. The majority of the humans in the Realm stood no more than five miles from a gnome. Instantly they were all connected and felt the surge of sexuality and love that suddenly erupted inside them.

Bitty could see her connection connect Glenda and Roger and then the others in the Circle except for Grace. Then it connected to the soldiers of Arbuckle's army. They all fell to the ground in the throes of the best orgasm they had ever felt. With the magic came a bond. A bond made of life, love, and fertility. All across the Realm everyone felt it. A bond that protected rather than destroyed. The two fae armies stopped and turned toward the ritual, their war momentarily forgotten.

Grace moaned and sat up and looked around in confusion.

The shield around the ritual snapped back in place and suddenly and unexpectedly, the egg in the spirit bowl cracked. It sounded like a mountain had sheared itself in two. From the egg burst Aurelia, in her phoenix form. She shot past Daniel and Maeve and flew high into the sky like a flaming meteor, screeching in triumph. Maeve threw her ball of mana at the phoenix, which turned and swallowed it like a treat.

The phoenix Aurelia screeched; her voice heard across the Realm. She sounded like triumph and absolution. And freedom. She swooped toward the ritual and then threw her head back and exploded with sexual energy. The energy turned toward the ritual sphere and was absorbed.

Inside the ritual, Daniel looked directly at Grace. Their eyes met, and he smiled. He looked sad and happy at the same time. Grace's heart lurched and her memory of her vision returned to her. She had seen this before. The moment before Daniel burned the world.

Glenda pushed herself up on her side and reached toward the sphere. "No! Please!" she screamed in frustration.

Bitty screamed in horror when the inside of the ritual sphere exploded with fire. The party members of The Circle fell back in shock expecting the blast to envelop them, but nothing escaped the ritual. The sphere burned like the sun, and they had to look away. Grace fell to her knees sobbing.

"What have you done!" screeched Maeve. She looked to be in a bad way. Her face and arms were badly burnt by the passing of the phoenix near her. The anger and insanity in her eyes had no equal.