Dark mists swirled across the shadowy hillside, riding the wild night’s chaotic winds. It was that exact detail which annoyed the hooded man, as those mists slammed repeatedly against his old, cracked skin. It wasn’t so bad when the man was turned away from the winds. His cloak offered decent protection against the elements. However, the wind kept changing directions, and every couple of minutes it would blow straight into the hood and down around his unprotected body. Once the stiff breeze started blowing through the open areas of the cloak, all comfort was lost. As a younger man, he would have been indifferent to such pettiness, but now, in his golden years, little things truly angered him.

You’d think the man a fool for living there on Lake Lacunid for all those years if it bothered him that much, but such is the way of wizards. They find wild places, away from the city, and far enough away from travelers, in order to work their arts in relative peace. Nelak was just such a wizard. Living his life in the shadows of some of the greatest wizards and wizardry in Sphaera, he had sought a quiet retreat to make a final attempt at greatness. It had eluded him all these years and that fact made his blood boil.

Nelak was known as an average, and relatively reliable wizard, but not much more, and in that dark tower which sat upon the windy shores of Lake Lacunid, Nelak was about to attempt something that had never been done before.  He had always been a very capable teleporter, and a great remote viewer, using his trusted crystal ball that had been handed down to him by his mother so many years ago. It’s as they say, make a career out of doing the things you are best at, and that which you most enjoy.

On one very lonely evening, Nelak had been browsing the far corners of Sphaera, bored out of his mind and in a fairly depressed state. While searching far and wide across the treacherous Epiki Sea Nelak had stumbled across an island the likes of which he had never seen before. It was an island surrounded by deadly rock whose faces were constantly being battered by the chaotic waves that bashed into them. Adjusting his viewpoint within the crystal ball, Nelak searched the interior of that island for any signs of life, and, what he found surprised him.

Suddenly, within his field of view, a great reptile appeared. It looked like a dragon, but without the scales or sharp teeth. The beast was massive and towered above the trees. Around its feet, other, much smaller reptiles foraged about, but strangely enough, those smaller creature did not seem to fear the larger beast. As a matter of fact, the larger reptile seemed to be content eating leaves off the tops of the trees. It was not a meat eater.

After looking for quite some time, Nelak realized that this entire island was filled with animals that had never been seen or recorded in Sphaeran history books. There were a host of unknown reptiles and mammals of all different sizes and shapes. There was no leader among them, and to be honest, it did not seem like they were very intelligent.

To make a longer story short, Nelak began to realize that this could be his legacy. He would be known as the wizard who found this ancient island and all the beasts upon it. He would lead a quest to visit this place and catalogue all these unknown creatures. More than that, he would develop a resort on this island and teleport people here who wished to get away from it all. Ships could not safely sail here, and, so, he would teleport them through a secure portal that only he would be licensed to provide.

Finally, Nelak had found his contribution to society. Deep in his thoughts, he finally felt that he would be welcomed on Altus, the high kingdom ruled over by King Asir. He would be welcome and even the mighty Novus would say “hello” to him.

That was what this particular night was about. On this night, he would show the island to his one true friend, Duorum Aldruil, prince of Onix, kingdom of the dark elves. Duorum was a rogue prince, and still is, though his father loves him dearly. At five hundred and fifty five years of age, Duorum’s father is a young king and it will be a long, long time before Duorum will be expected to take the royal throne. As a result of that fact, Duorum loves to leave the confines of the dark kingdom, and, instead, parties like a wild man with a small trusted group of fools that no one knows or would ever believe. Nelak is one of those people. They had met in the streets of Opia by pure chance and Duorum quickly realized that Nelak was a wizard that could be taken advantage of.

Nelak, believing that Duorum was a true friend, waited outside for him to arrive that night. He knew Duorum would be excited by the mysterious island and Nelak was anxious to show it to him. Already two hours late, there was no telling if Duorum would show at all. As Nelak scanned the edge of the land fearing that his friend had forgotten him, he turned in terror as the tip of a sword was jabbed into his ribcage.

“You’re dead wizard. Give me all your valuables and I’ll make it quick!”

As Nelak nearly peed on his cloak, the man with the sword began to laugh behind him, easing the point of the blade away from his vitals. It was Duorum. He had finally made it.

“You are lucky my friend,” Nelak said. “I almost considered hitting you with a lightning bolt.”

“You know you’re the slowest spellcaster on Sphaera, Nelak. You couldn’t hit a dead dragon with a magic missile.”

That was Duorum. Always picking on poor Nelak.

After a bit of small talk, the elf and the wizard walked into Nelak’s tower and stopped once they had reached the comfort of the inner sanctum. It was a modest place with a musty smell, and not many valuables inside. Nelak was a poor man’s wizard with not much luck, and his less than mighty wizard’s tower reflected that lack of success. The one thing of value, Nelak’s crystal ball, sat proudly on a table in the center of the room.

Although it was Nelak’s intention to show Duorum the island he had found, instead, Duorum convinced Nelak to drink a bottle of Lucidian wine. Soon after finishing their first glass, Duorum convinced Nelak to smoke a pipe full of zuil weed, a hallucinogenic plant found only in the dark caverns around Onix.

It is a dangerous drug that takes the smoker’s thoughts and memories and turns them into twisted, altered versions of themselves.  Dark elves’ minds are strong and not easily taken control of. That is why zuil doesn’t affect them with any degree of severity. Often times, a dark elf will smoke the weed, have the trip of a lifetime, and then wake up with nothing more than a bit of grogginess in the head. For other midling races, especially the race of men, zuil weed causes them to do crazy things while under the influence. Weaker men are especially vulnerable.

“So, Nelak, what did you want to show me?” Duorum was already formulating a strategy within his mind. A strategy that would cause Nelak to do something that Duorum wanted him to do. But, what?

“I found something,” Nelak slurred every single word that came from his mouth after that first inhalation of zuil. His thoughts were clouded as millions of colored points shot through his field of vision like star showers.

He was high. He was easily moldable, as well.

“Hey, have you ever seen the wondrous halls of Altus? Or are you not worthy of such a sight?” Duorum was meddling in the mental manipulation of the muddled mage.

Nelak’s thoughts were suddenly turned in a direction that he had fantasized about often. He had always dreamed of being worthy of not only visiting Altus, but also holding permanent residence there.

And that is how this twisted tale turned…

Before the wine was finished Duorum had convinced Nelak that he belonged in Altus immediately, and the only way to prove it to those that lived there was to teleport himself up into the Telus Chamber and demand his due.

As has been said throughout history, there are only two ways up into Altus, flying and teleporting. Altus sits close to twenty thousand feet up Mount Magna. How else would one get there? To fly, one needs a steed of the rarest quality. A beast trained to know exactly what path to take. To teleport, one must know how to cast a special kind of Teleport spell. It is a version of Teleport that is taught to only the most trusted of arch mages. Nelak had begged Novus, the mighty Vedikir mage, to teach the spell to him during a meeting of the area’s mages in Medis. She had not even replied. In fact, she turned the other way as if Nelak wasn’t even there. That moment forever left a mark on Nelak’s pride. One day, he swore, he would arrive in Altus, and people would welcome him. Novus would welcome him.

Duorum figured he’d finally push those buttons within Nelak and cause him to act.

By the time the bottle and pipe were both empty, Duorum had convinced Nelak that that night was the night to teleport into the Telus Chamber and say hello to the residents above. Nelak always believed himself to be an expert teleporter, and, in fact, he was. Nelak thought that he knew exactly what was needed to get the spell right. He had a painting of the Telus Chamber hanging on one of his dirty walls. He would meditate on that and use it to pinpoint his exact destination.

The painting was an accurate one. It was a copy of the original one drawn by Be’Uille the Beholder, one of the greatest artists in the kingdom. What Nelak’s mind was too tampered with to know was the fact that no one, no matter how great a spellcaster, can know how to teleport into the Telus Chamber unless taught how.

On that fateful night, Nelak was going to test that theory. Now, if Nelak had been sober, he’d have remembered the countless failed attempts he was already aware of. Prideful and stupid wizards that couldn’t resist the challenge. The shining kingdom of Altus had been a siren’s call to their doom. 

On the top floor of Nelak’s tower, he and Duorum paced back and forth. Duorum praised and pushed Nelak. Nelak prepared for his monumental success. He practiced the Teleport spell a hundred times in his mind, visualizing the flourish of his hands and the graceful movement of his body as the words flowed from his mouth. Nelak could see in his mind’s eye the flash of color and the momentary feeling of weightlessness that a Teleport spell causes. Finally, he envisioned the Telus Chamber, the royal teleport chamber that all magical beings entering Altus use. He pictured himself appearing in the chamber with a flash, surprising the guards and anyone else who might be there.

“Don’t worry, my friends,” he would say. “I am Nelak and I’m here to see the king.”

And with that, they would lower their arms, and, with a smile, they would bring him to King Asir, the great king who would then praise Nelak for his groundbreaking spell.

That is why doing drugs may not be the best facilitators of life’s dreams. Especially, while trying to impress the king of the greatest empire on Sphaera.

“Let’s go my friend. Greatness awaits the bold.” Duorum always had a way of presenting things to Nelak. A way that would influence Nelak in a negative manner without him even knowing.

“Greatness…” Nelak’s mind drifted back and forth from the dream world propagated by his drug induced state of mind, to the real world that he slowly caught glimpses of as the drugs wore off.

As a moment in time no longer than the fluttering of a hummingbird’s wings passed, Nelak suddenly doubted himself. Which reality was actually real he wondered?

“Do it!” Duorum demanded.

“Quoquam!”

Nelak uttered the word, and, with a flash of magical light tracing some ancient symbol in the air, Nelak was gone.

Duorum smiled as he sat next to the window overlooking the dark lake. It’s not that he wanted to kill his friend. It was quite the opposite. Duorum couldn’t wait to find out what would happen. Unfortunately, Duorum did not know that the majority of people that had tried this and failed, had become a permanent part of the mountain. Their dead flesh, that is. Most of the mages that had tried to teleport into Altus actually wound up teleporting into the rock, or teleporting into midair about ten thousand or so feet up the mountain and then falling to their death. One way or the other, the mountain claimed them.

There are two prevailing factors that come to play here. Mount Magna sits on top of the largest deposit of vorril in all of Sphaera, and, Altus has many powerful enchantments cast upon it. All of those spells cast by the most powerful archmages, and all of them augmented by the fact that vorril is such a powerful conductor of magic.

Nelak never stood a chance.

After saying the magical word of teleportation, Nelak disappeared. He saw the point of his departure going out of focus through the lens of a magical kaleidoscope with a pinpoint of reality on both sides. On one side was the point of his departure, and on the other, his arrival. The problem was, in the briefest of moments, Nelak could see that the arrival point was not like the picture in his study. Instead, he was being pulled toward a point in reality that looked like the side of the mountain.

In fact, that is exactly what it was. Nelak appeared twenty thousand feet above the ground at the fabled Sky Gate of Altus. It was more beautiful than he could ever have imagined. He made it!

There was a slight problem that rattled his mind back to the present, however. Nelak was a few hundred feet away from the sky gate. A few hundred feet off the mountain and in front of the sky gate, to be exact. Once the spell was finished, he began to fall, screaming like a child as he went.

An interesting point in the story must be told. The guards watching the Sky Gate of Altus that day reported seeing a man appear in midair. Some thought they had imagined it. Others, looking more closely, saw a man that looked like a mage suddenly appear in the sky and then fell down to what must have been a horrible death. Stranger still, after seeing him fall, he reappeared once again, and fell once more. There must have been quite a debate after hours at the pub that night.

Nelak, tried to think as quickly as possible as the air rushed past his face. He was about to die, and refusing that thought, he revolted against it. He had magical rings on all ten fingers. Six of them contained Teleport spells that could be actuated instantaneously. He used one. His mind raced and the only picture he could think of was the Sky Gate of Altus that he had just seen. As he engaged the spell, he was instantly transported back up to the sky gate. He was a little closer this time, but still, he missed solid ground. Once again he fell. This time Nelak made eye contact with one of the guards. He could see the quizzical look on the guards face, and he was certain the guard could see the panic in his eyes.

This time, as Nelak fell, he used his second ring and tried to visualize a different arrival point. He imagined his tower sitting mysteriously on the edge of Lake Lacunid, and that is exactly where he went. Suddenly the rush of air stopped and Nelak was on top of his tower. He was safe and no longer falling to his death. There was still one problem in arriving at the top of his tower. It was a decorative top with no stairs or access point back into the safety of the inside of the building. Nelak was holding on for dear life.

For a brief moment, Nelak contemplated yelling out to Duorum who must be fearfully wondering what happened to his missing friend. It would yield nothing, however. Duorum wouldn’t know how to get him off the top of the tower. Taking one last, deep breath, Nelak envisioned his cozy chair, gathering warmth from the crackling fire across the floor from it. It was the library, his one true place of comfort in all the world. That is where he would teleport next, and, after using the third magical ring, that is where he went.

Nelak teleported into his library, but not quite onto his chair. Duorum was sitting in that chair already, and as Teleport spells go, instead of two physical bodies merging with one another, instead, Nelak appeared slightly above him. As he fell onto Duorum’s lap, Duorum yelled out in surprise and quickly stood up, knocking both of them off the chair and onto the floor. Duorum could not believe his eyes.

“I’m back.” Nelak could think of nothing else to say. He was in a state of shock.

Duorum spoke instead.

“Well, how did it go?”

How did it go? Nelak asked himself that question.

“I missed a bit. And then I missed a bit again. It’s a miracle that I’m still alive.”

“Relax my friend. Have a smoke of this fresh pipe of zuil and tell me all about it.”

Duorum called him friend for the first time since they’d known each other…

…and that is the tale of Nelak. I have recounted it to you as he recounted it to me. After all, I am Master Sage of Altus. Of course I knew that he had attempted an unauthorized Teleport into the Telus Chamber. In all the years that Altus has stood here, it is the first time, as far as I know, that anyone has tried to make the teleport and survived. I have catalogued the attempt and its result within an entry of the proper book at the Adagnitian Repository. You can find it there…if you’re ever able to find your way into Altus, that is.

STW