hugely, and they would never willingly be exposed to it by their own free will, always returning to the depths of the earth until nightfall. If it had been dark he could easily have summoned one of the creatures already in this world and bound it to his will. But not knowing the exact location, or the type of creatures that were already nearby made that much more difficult during daylight hours, when they hid so deep within the earth.
“We need a way to slow him down, or we'll never catch him before he makes it through this forest. We're not gaining on him, and it's too dangerous to travel by night in this forest, even for us,” Zedd said to the other man. “What did you have in mind?” he asked nervously.
“I plan to summon a creature from the Netherworld to assist us. I'm just not sure which one would suit our needs best. We don't want anything that would consume his body, or we would have no proof of our success,” Zedd said thoughtfully. His fellow agent looked decidedly pale at the thought of summoning anything from the Netherworld. It made Zedd dislike him even more. Suddenly it came to him, the perfect creature to summon. One that would be certain to either kill him, but not consume him. Or if he was as powerful as the Empire obviously suspected, and he managed to survive the attack, he would be so weakened by the creature they were bound to catch him.
“I will summon a Vesdari ,” Zedd replied confidently.
“WHAT! Are you crazy! Nobody has ever controlled a Vesdari before,” the agent said looking completely shocked by Zedd's suggestion, and half scared to death at the prospect that he might actually go through with his plan.
Zedd's head snapped in the direction of his colleague. How dare he question his authority, or his ability. This coward of a man standing before him did not deserve the robes he wore, or even to serve the Empire as far as Zedd was concerned. The man visibly shrank under the glare of Zedd's intense looks of contempt.
“I'm sorry for my outburst sire. I only meant...”
“SILENCE!” Zedd spat at him with such venom the man flinched and stepped away from him slightly. “What is your name?”
“Cole, sire,” he replied nervously.
“Well Cole, I didn't ask your opinion, nor do I want it. You will assist me in summoning a Vesdari whether you like it or not. Is that understood?” Zedd asked, almost daring him to reply negatively.
Cole nodded and replied, “Yes sire, of course. I meant no disrespect.”
“You are correct that no one has ever controlled a Vesdari before, but for several very good reasons. The creatures of old in the histories you have obviously read about were tied directly to the power of the Netherworld via the open rift. When that rift closed the creatures continued to feast on the magic of this world, and because the link no longer existed for them to channel all that magic into, they simply ate themselves to death.
“The Vesdari I intend to summon will not be anywhere near as deadly as the ones written about in the history books, because it will have no tie to its own realm, also it is daylight, which as you know vastly weakens all creatures from the Netherworld. It's the perfect choice, either it kills the boy, or it weakens him to such a point he can not maintain his pace, and we catch him easily. The Vesdari after killing him would search out any and all magic it could, and ultimately kill itself in the process,” Zedd said searching Cole's face for any signs of defiance or doubt, but found none. At least he was smart enough to keep his emotions and opinions in check for now, he thought to himself.
“We will need to find the weakest point between our two realms to even have a chance of summoning such a powerful creature from the Netherworld. That point should be the location where the rift formed originally. I have been aware of its presence since we entered this forest, and I believe we are getting very close to its location. I doubt we will
“We need a way to slow him down, or we'll never catch him before he makes it through this forest. We're not gaining on him, and it's too dangerous to travel by night in this forest, even for us,” Zedd said to the other man. “What did you have in mind?” he asked nervously.
“I plan to summon a creature from the Netherworld to assist us. I'm just not sure which one would suit our needs best. We don't want anything that would consume his body, or we would have no proof of our success,” Zedd said thoughtfully. His fellow agent looked decidedly pale at the thought of summoning anything from the Netherworld. It made Zedd dislike him even more. Suddenly it came to him, the perfect creature to summon. One that would be certain to either kill him, but not consume him. Or if he was as powerful as the Empire obviously suspected, and he managed to survive the attack, he would be so weakened by the creature they were bound to catch him.
“I will summon a Vesdari ,” Zedd replied confidently.
“WHAT! Are you crazy! Nobody has ever controlled a Vesdari before,” the agent said looking completely shocked by Zedd's suggestion, and half scared to death at the prospect that he might actually go through with his plan.
Zedd's head snapped in the direction of his colleague. How dare he question his authority, or his ability. This coward of a man standing before him did not deserve the robes he wore, or even to serve the Empire as far as Zedd was concerned. The man visibly shrank under the glare of Zedd's intense looks of contempt.
“I'm sorry for my outburst sire. I only meant...”
“SILENCE!” Zedd spat at him with such venom the man flinched and stepped away from him slightly. “What is your name?”
“Cole, sire,” he replied nervously.
“Well Cole, I didn't ask your opinion, nor do I want it. You will assist me in summoning a Vesdari whether you like it or not. Is that understood?” Zedd asked, almost daring him to reply negatively.
Cole nodded and replied, “Yes sire, of course. I meant no disrespect.”
“You are correct that no one has ever controlled a Vesdari before, but for several very good reasons. The creatures of old in the histories you have obviously read about were tied directly to the power of the Netherworld via the open rift. When that rift closed the creatures continued to feast on the magic of this world, and because the link no longer existed for them to channel all that magic into, they simply ate themselves to death.
“The Vesdari I intend to summon will not be anywhere near as deadly as the ones written about in the history books, because it will have no tie to its own realm, also it is daylight, which as you know vastly weakens all creatures from the Netherworld. It's the perfect choice, either it kills the boy, or it weakens him to such a point he can not maintain his pace, and we catch him easily. The Vesdari after killing him would search out any and all magic it could, and ultimately kill itself in the process,” Zedd said searching Cole's face for any signs of defiance or doubt, but found none. At least he was smart enough to keep his emotions and opinions in check for now, he thought to himself.
“We will need to find the weakest point between our two realms to even have a chance of summoning such a powerful creature from the Netherworld. That point should be the location where the rift formed originally. I have been aware of its presence since we entered this forest, and I believe we are getting very close to its location. I doubt we will
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