Magic the Gathering: Bloodlines (Artifacts Cycle Book 4) by Loren L. Coleman

Author:Loren L. Coleman [Coleman, Loren L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Published: 2009-09-30T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Fire rained down in a burning cascade, washing over Urza’s

arm and scorching the golden finish on his staff as the

planeswalker failed to move in time. A flaming, gelatinous

substance which stuck even to his form of energy seared into

him at a dozen places now. Each wound drew off that much more

of his strength, leaving him more vulnerable to the negator’s

next attack. Urza’s options were rapidly decreasing in direct

proportion with the waning power left at his command.

The planeswalker had come back to Efuan Pincar to see

after the bloodlines in this small nation. He hoped to mix the

best results from here into a weak Femeref line, rejuvenating

it. Though marriage and preconception treatment of the parents

with the Eugenics Matrix was preferred, the ‘walker was

prepared for more drastic methods as necessary. With a few

genetic samples from the local subjects, he could cut in

appropriate traits and qualities-postconception. As a rule, he

tried to avoid such procedures, but with the strange loss of

the bloodlines in Femeref, Urza lost one of his best. The

people simply vanished, by all accounts just over ten years

ago, and only a few insane tales of a night of storms were

left to offer any explanation. This was a matter of needs

versus means. Dominaria’s safety required it.

Urza still couldn’t be sure what had drawn him back to his old home in Efuan Pincar-the remote cottage he once shared

with Xantcha now falling into ruin. In this place the two of

them worked on ways to defeat Phyrexian incursions into

Dominaria and later, with the help of a local boy Ratepe, had

finally won the battle against Gix. Nostalgia? Not likely.

Maybe he came to remember Xantcha whom he’d traveled with for

so long. She would’ve understood the necessity of the

bloodlines, he felt certain. The Phyrexian couldn’t have

simply been waiting for him. Either this location was checked

often, and Urza had simply chosen the wrong time, or the

negators were getting better at tracking him without giving

away their own presence. The planeswalker preferred to believe

the former, so he did.

Now the cabin burned, having caught a spray from the

negator’s fire-throwing weapon. Small trees sprouting up in

the clearing were also afire. A sooty smoke trailed the area,

the gritty clouds having trouble escaping into the sky and

beginning to wear on Urza’s visibility. The large creature-construct appeared to have little trouble tracking the

planeswalker. A long arm snaked past a blazing pine tree, the

crackling flames of little bother to it, swiping at Urza’s

side and scoring bloody furrows from ribs to hip. Such an

attack would rarely have shown blood, the manifestation of

energy bleeding away from Urza’s consciousness, but on top of

the burning wounds the ‘walker was simply unable to regenerate the illusion after clawing.

A large dark shape loomed through a hazy black cloud,

standing twice as tall as Urza. Its incredibly bloated body

expanded and contracted with an over-exaggerated breathing

motion. One arm nearly dragging the ground ended with razored

claws. The other looked stunted, but in actuality it had been

replaced by a type of slender cannon that spewed the dangerous

substance. Urza swept back, avoiding a new stream of fiery gel

and focusing mana into a lightning strike.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.