Kanos’ body heaved. His movement seemed to breathe and lurch into the air without effort at all. His limbs torqued, and his movement could not be contained. He felt merely like a witness as his body ran like a wild beast. He ran down the summoner.
She shrieked and moaned as Kanos took her down and ran his dagger into her torso. He yelled, “Where is the next beast? Where is the next?” But there was no answer coming, as Kanos mauled her body in such a savage way. His whole front side was covered with thick, dark blood. His mouth spewed strings of saliva. He was a frenzied monster and could barely understand the carnage that lay before him.
Kanos abandoned the pile of gore and charged onward down the path with the veracity of an animal.
12.
The beastly impulse ran for quite some time. Kanos could not believe how energized he was. His body began to ache deep in the joints, and his muscles felt exhausted, but he surged onward. He burst through wooded patches and soared across open land. He became aware of himself in greater measures as time passed.
Kanos was so far gone, he didn’t know how much time passed or how far he traveled.
Finally, his rapid pace just began to let go. His limbs could barely keep up with his fiery will. His legs tried to move him forward, but the mechanism was nearly gone. He lumbered awkwardly like a toy soldier for another mile or two and finally collapsed in a knotted pile of exhausted bone and muscle.
The side effects of the orange syrup wearing off met the hangover effect of the blue trinket, and Kanos rested in a state of tepid misery.
He curled up and waited the night out in great pain, unable to sleep. He shivered and was sick until early morning the next day. He finally fell asleep and remained that way until the next morning came.
Kanos woke up drenched in sweat. His memory of the battle was vague, but the time charging through the world was a jittery vivid memory, a delinquent nightmare. His thoughts of the constant motion seemed to haunt his mind and stomach — it made him weary and want to vomit.
Kanos found some dried meat to chew, and he handled his magical trinkets again, amazed at what they could do.
He clasped the white trinket and looked at its finer features. It was a glassy object with nested orbs and pearlescent interior. He squeezed it in his palm and felt relief as though it eased the tension in his energy field.
“Those must have been two of the sorcerers who took my village. I feel much lighter despite this misery in my body.” Kanos figured four of the sorcerers were now buried in his past. He had at least five more to go.
Kanos thought about what lay ahead and the bonds of magic running through his life. “They sought to conquer something bigger than a town. They must want to rule the world.”
Kanos felt the energy pass through him, and the enhancement from the white trinket ran much further. He felt he must travel a few degrees away from where the sun would set. He held his attention and bound his heart quite deeply. Kanos had a sense of dread the more he focused. “One of these fahngholes will be too much… maybe more than I can fight,” he thought to himself. “ Take your time and focus.”
Kanos stayed put for quite some time. He sat wearily near some shaded trees and contemplated life.
13.
The mountains seemed a simple place to roam. Kanos could not be deterred by any obstacle. He traveled to the furthest reaches, which led to a rolling valley. The valley offered sanctity and peace.
As he drank the cool spring waters, Kanos felt no need to rest. His body was far more enduring in travel than ever before.
The days passed with many miles crossed. The spring grew into a wide river, and the river became a more tiresome place to trek. After hours crossing through tangled branches, Kanos saw planks of wood and buildings in the distance. It was the river town of Uon.
Kanos decided the bar was the place to begin his questions. So, he crossed the narrow pass and wandered into the well-lit establishment as the sunlight began to fade.
He walked in and faced a sharp-eyed crew. They were not sorcerers, he could distinctly tell. The look of the men was calculating though. Their expressions grew flat.
The barkeep didn’t hesitate. “Stranger what will you drink? And also, what business do you have?”
Kanos did not feel like revealing himself and said, “I’ll have the drink, but what do you wish to know? I’m passing through.”
The barkeep said, “This is not the town bar you wandered into. It’s the boatmen’s keep.” Kanos felt he was not where he belonged. The men were all staring at him, so he felt compelled to speak. “I am a farmer who is now a traveler.”
“And where do you travel to now?”
“I am looking for some people who have done bad things to those I love.”
The men grew at ease. Kanos already knew they were not cruel men. He could sense their mild and balanced energy. The barkeep gave him an ale and refused the coin when Kanos tried to pay. The barman said to Kanos, “You look terrible, man. Have seen your reflection lately?” He reached below the bar and grabbed a mirrored tray.
Kanos saw a wild-eyed man in the reflection. He was caked in dirt, and the dirt was clearly not of dust and soil alone, but also much dried blood.
The barkeep said, “Yeah, see, for a minute, we were not sure about you. Where did all this blood come from?”
Kanos looked around and said, “I was nearly killed by some beasts in the mountains. I guess I’ve grown absent of mind. I have been traveling by the river for days but have not cleaned myself well…”
A middle-aged man at the nearest table said, “What kind of beasts have you fought — at least a bear from the look of it?”
Kanos looked at the man and said, “I have fought… beasts… of magic, pulled from thin air. Then I slayed the sorcerers who tried to kill me with the beasts.”
The men were silent. Each of them milled the response.
Kanos spoke, “I believe you are in more danger now than ever. We all are. I come from a village that has been decimated by magi.”
A younger man said, “You mean Brakkish magic. Are you serious?”
Kanos said, “I think the lore from the Age of Solis was not wrong. The world you see is not the world you know… anymore.” Kanos dragged his hand down the dried blood of his face. “This is the world around us now.”
Another man said, “You can’t be serious.”
Kanos held up the blade of Anoak, and the red crystal beamed a faint light. The men stared.
A tall man said, “They’re out there. I’ve seen them.”
“What have you seen?” said the barkeep.
“I’ve seen the light of the magus. It grows from their arms and swells from their body and staff.”
Kanos said, “I slayed those beasts just a weeks’ walk from here.
“What did you slay them with?”
Kanos raised his arm and held out the blade of Anoak — he moved his hand away and left the blade suspended firmly in the air.
The men stared. They did not speak. Finally, a man subtly said, “How can we protect ourselves?”
Kanos said, “I do not know.”
14.
The barman gave Kanos a room two buildings away to sleep. Kanos felt exposed, but he contemplated the vulnerability of such a town. The river folk were good people. His own cousin stayed in the village long ago.
“How can I help them?” Kanos thought. A single sorcerer could take these people. He puzzled over the vulnerability that would spread over Avios as the magi found their powers. “Perhaps there are spells of protection, just as there are spells of horror.”
Hours passed, and Kanos couldn’t sleep. He was startled when he heard a faint knock on his door.
It was the man in dim green robes, who said he saw magic in the hands of a sorcerer. The man had kind eyes, and he apologized for disturbing Kanos so late at night.
Kanos let him in the room. The man, named Farin, began to speak.
“I have seen the energy of magic.”
Kanos said, “I know. Did it cause harm?”
“The men who had this power were not good men. They were brothers, three of them. They grew up in my village and began to prod in everyone’s affairs, like bullies. They showed their powers subtly at first. They seemed able to make people change their minds about things. That’s how I saw it.”
Kanos said, “How did they use their magic?”
Farin said, “An orange light from his palm, it was a mass of energy that could make a person feel awful. The energy sheered the air around his hand. He used it on me. I wanted nothing of it. It was horrible, and my will was revoked. They forced me out of my shipping business in that very meeting. I sold it to them for 20% of its value to avoid that magic. I could do nothing about it.”
Kanos nodded with down-turned eyes.
Farin said, “Those men grew worse. They began to bully others constantly. With time, they grew even worse. They… began to harm the women. They began to do whatever they wanted.”
Kanos said, “The energy seems to magnify purpose. It changes those who wield it. I have seen humans overtaken with wickedness.”
Farin said, “There’s more… a man arrived to my town with two others, a man named Elrock.”
Farin almost shivered as the words came from his mouth, “He approached the three brothers as though afraid of nothing. Four others and I were witness.”
Kanos was eager to hear what came next.
Farin said, “Kanos, this man Elrock stood five feet away from the brothers. He raised his arms and simply threw them down. And Saam, one of the brothers, tried to raise that orange light and strike Elrock with it.”
Farin expression was a bit aghast. “Elrock raised his hand and threw it down. Saam’s clothing and skin… were peeled down, straight from his body — he screamed with a pain I still can’t understand. The thought of his voice makes my bones hurt to this day.”
Kanos was a bit amazed. Farin said, “He’s a serious mage, that Elrock. His friends too. Saam’s other two brothers tried to do magic. Elrock’s friends raised their arms and sent out a huge sweep of energy that was almost invisible. The other two brothers were suspended in the air… their bodies were… bent and crumbled as though nothing more than a piece of paper.”
Farin continued, “With the brothers dead, Elrock consoled the four of us who watched the massacre. They showed us some… things.”
“What kind of things did you see?”
Farin raised his hand and held out his open palm. From his hand began to grow curving bands of green energy. The light was soothing and bright, and from the leaf-like shapes arose small blue spheres of light. Farin nodded at Kanos and reached out his hand. The energy met Kanos’ hand and surged up his arm.
Kanos was amazed. His arm began to feel lithe and light. His shoulder felt graced, and tingling up his neck and to his mind was a sensation of enlightened being.
Kanos’ eyes were lit up, and his whole sense of self began to shift. He couldn’t believe such a thing was occurring.
Farin slowly pulled away the energy he was giving Kanos.
Kanos stood still and contemplated what had occurred.
Farin said, “This is an energy of healing. It was given to me by the friend of Elrock named Quarin. He said I was a healer and then he showed me how. I could do no magic before. I think they unlocked the ability.”
Farin reached up into the air, and from his hand began to ignite the same small webbings of energy that Kanos worked with. The web reached out further until Farin swung his arm, and the energy reached out and laid across the doorway and wall.
Farin said, “You see, now you are much safer. It is a spell of protection. A spell I uphold around this village every day. It is why you did not see my magic when you arrived. I wear this spell around me at all times.” Farin looked modestly proud, “I discovered it myself.”
Farin reached upward with his other hand and lowered his hand across his own body. Kanos saw the obscuration magic fade away, and indeed, he could see the faint wisps of energy around him. He could see clearly that Farin was a magus as well. Kanos admired the kind man, who seemed fair-minded, with a soft voice who was trying to protect his town.
Farin looked up to Kanos and said, “Elrock and his friends are not alone. Avios has moved into an age as great as the Brakkish tomes described. We are in an epoch of magic, my friend. All of this is just the start.”
Farin handed Kanos a piece of paper with a scrawled map and said the ‘X’ marked Elrock’s camp. “If you are of good spirit, they would like to meet you. They want to meet all mages. There are others, Kanos, like you and me. We are all trying to figure this out. I don’t know how you survived those beasts, but unless you want to stay here and help, you must meet Elrock.”
15.
Kanos slept and later left the river town with peace of mind. He wondered if Farin was alone as a magus or if he was protecting the privacy of others.
Kanos could feel the avenues of his past and future pulling in many directions. He sought the next sorcerer, who he felt was not far away. He could feel an articulate sense of darkness.
Kanos took a flatboat ride across the river and wandered into a rather dense, misty forest. He followed the path for days until there was no more path to follow. Reluctantly, he pushed toward the tugging on his heart into the dim blue light among the ovaan trees, the only trees in the land with nearly transparent blue leaves.
Kanos knew he was getting close. A two-hour walk in the surreal blue light allowed his mind to drift into the center of himself. He was quite startled when among the trees he saw a figure cloaked in darkness. That figure spoke and used no human tongue, but the drawing sound of demons uttered foul sounds as it spoke:
“You have taken few… you will take no more.”
The dark figure stood seven feet tall, but as it spoke, it rose to greater heights. Among the pale blue light, an 11-foot demon of wide dark robe-like energy expanded across the forward path. Its horrid mouth hung open. Kanos was quite uneasy. The beast then expanded yet again.
Kanos grew taut, and his adrenaline surged. The demon stood 18 feet above him and began to move forward. It glided roughly with no indication of steps being taken among its dark ambiguous mass.
The demon leaned and loomed above. A foul sticky drool hung from its long, thin teeth.
Kanos yelled, “What are you?”
The beast said, “I am a man.”
Kanos said, “You are no man.”
The beast heaved in breath and began a slow horrid laugh.
Kanos yelled, “Why don’t you strike, beast?”
The demon just loomed above. Then from its sides streamed out a hundred violent gnarls of string that zinged ten feet past Kanos then tried to curl around.
Kanos took to the air. The energy of his webbing would not let him fall. He rose into the air as though pulled by force alone. His legs scrambled upward until he was suspended before the demon’s massive head. The demon surged with brutal force to take a bite of Kanos’ entire body.
Kanos swung the blade of Anoak and laid the demon’s face open in a single slash.
As Kanos fell to the ground, the demon simply leaned back. Its face peeled open, and a gruesome worm-like beast crawled out from the wound. The black shroud of the demon sloughed down, and the worm flopped against the ground, its massive jaws screamed open. Tentacles of great veracity screamed out as well. The sound was paralyzing, and Kanos fought to move.
He ran as though mired by quicksand, and his appeal to violence was wanting. The demon-worm rolled its huge trunk along the ground, and its tentacles sought to wrap up Kanos’ legs.
Kanos fought the energy that wrapped around him. He turned and mashed into the worm’s huge side. He jammed his foot into its flesh and walked above its massive body.
Kanos sunk the blade of Anoak into the worm’s slimy back and dragged the blade, full hilt, swiftly down to the face of the worm.
The worm splayed open, its blubbering guts poured out
from the gutting wound.
Kanos found himself standing waist deep in the rotten flesh of a demon worm.
He pulled against the sinking suction, and he felt the suction grow. He was being pulled into the void as though being swallowed by the huge disgusting wound. The demon was trying to swallow him whole.
Kanos had no magic to fight the attack, but he pulled the blade of Anoak again and again, opening larger cuts with deeper gutting drags.
The worm’s suction continued to pull, and as Kanos’ lower body was buried, his torso was being pulled deeper within. His shoulder nearly caught the edge. A horrible slurping sound emerged around his body, and just as he was about to disappear within the wounded throat, a final push of his blade caused the suction to stop. The worm stopped moving.
Kanos cut violently against the motionless flesh. He slashed his way out of the revolting body. He stood beside the huge worm for a moment before he fled. He ran, scraping sticky goo from his limbs and face. He was stricken with panic. He saw a test nearly beyond his strength and wasted no more time. Kanos immediately began to head toward the “X” on Farin’s map. He turned and made headway to meet the powerful mage, Elrock of Kaad.
16.
12 days of travel led Kanos to an empty food sack, and a few days of starved walking ended as he passed over the final ridge, where he looked down and saw a huge ring made of rocks in the center of a bustling camp town.
Kanos walked to the village and made his way to the center of the rock ring, where he stood not knowing what to do.
The red-haired man named Elrock greeted Kanos heartily. Elrock gazed at him directly, a gaze which he found difficult to let go.
Elrock could see the energy body of mages and sorcerers, and what he saw with Kanos was new to him. The two men traded names while Elrock still seemed quite distracted. Kanos explained the meeting with Farin the healer. Finally, Elrock just laid it out in the open.
“My friend, I am a leader of this camp of mages, and we slay those evil shits who use magic for their filthy, cruel desires. You already know that. Now, when I see your energy, you are like nothing I’ve seen before.”
Mages of Avios 2. Battlemage Page 4
