by Simon Archer
18
We continued to travel through the forest for the next several days, setting up camp in any clearings we could find and using our navigation spells to find our way to the mountains near where Viktor’s fortress used to be. That was where some of the forest elves had seen the flashing lights that they believed to be our enemy conducting his own spells. We didn’t run into anyone else on the northern side of the forest. I could only assume that most or even all of the forest elves had either already fled to the kingdom or passed away due to the lack of resources. Occasionally, we would come across a dead or dying animal, but nothing we were comfortable eating like the bear.
The kingdom elves, especially Godfried and Nadeine, studied music theory and combat spells meticulously as we traveled. Every night before we set up camp, they would practice with my guidance for a while. Afterward, I would go off and find another small area in which to work on a custom spell to combat the one our enemy cast on the forest while the elves continued to practice their combat spells.
“Do you think we will be able to move on to advanced combat spells soon?” Godfried asked one evening when we found a clearing and were about to start the day’s practice session. “I feel as if I am learning these other combat spells very quickly.”
“You are,” I acknowledged. “You’ve all been doing great, and you, in particular, have been progressing quickly, Godfried. The music theory has probably helped a lot with that.” Then, I gestured down at the intricate pattern on the cloth of my robes, lined with gold that sparkled in the nearby light from my illumination spell. “But I’m not the one who decides when you’re ready to move on. When your power advances to that stage, your robes will change like mine did, and this pattern will appear. Then you can learn the more advanced spells. When you master those, the gold lining will appear, and you’ll be able to make your own spells like me.”
“I understand,” Godfried said, but he sighed and his shoulders slumped slightly lower than usual. Interestingly, that just made him look more like a normal person since his posture was normally so straight and proper. “I just feel as if I am ready. I wish to do more.” He clenched his fists and set his jaw in an angry line.
“I know,” was all I could think to say. The kingdom, this world, was now my adopted home, and what the mountain elves were doing threatened all of it as well as the women I loved. I could sympathize with Godfried’s frustration at not being able to advance. Like me, he could potentially lose everything if our quest didn’t succeed.
“I just do not understand why it is taking so long,” the young elf continued, his fists still clenched. “You were at that level after only a few short weeks, and yet Nadeine and I continue to languish in our beginner’s robes after months of work, despite our talent.”
“We cannot expect to progress at the same rate as Leo did, Godfried, no matter how much we wish it were so,” Nadeine reminded him swiftly as she looked up from her preparations. “He may have only studied our specific magic for a short time before he became an advanced mage, but in truth? He was training for this his whole life through his musical career in his world, even though he did not know it.” She smiled kindly at the kid. “Do not judge yourself so harshly. You are doing very well.”
“Indeed,” Marinka agreed, placing a hand on her cousin’s shoulder. “With Leo’s help, we have progressed far more quickly than even our most talented forefathers. We must keep this in mind when we grow frustrated.”
Godfried sighed and looked away from us. “I know, and I will try to do as you say.”
We stood in silence for a few moments, letting that sentiment sink in, until I drew a mage’s circle in the dirt beneath me and offered it to Godfried.
“Then the best way forward is to practice. Ready to start?” I asked, holding out one arm to him and the other to the mage’s circle.
“Very well.” Godfried sighed and took his position on one end of the circle as the rest of the kingdom elves drew their own.
“Another evening, another opportunity to learn how insufficient my abilities are,” Bernsten lamented as he positioned himself appropriately in his own circle.
“That’s not true,” I chided,
“Alas, it is, Leo Hayden, my friend,” Bernsten laughed and shook his head, “and yet my skills may still be as yet of use to us, and so I press on as I must.”
I grinned at him. “I suppose that’s the right attitude.” Then I turned to the task at hand, “Marinka and Bernsten, why don’t you two continue to practice the spells you’ve been working on memorizing while we traveled? Godfried and Nadeine, are you up for some sparring?”
Marinka and Bernsten nodded while Godfried and Nadeine perked up at the suggestion. We hadn’t sparred since arriving in the forest to avoid drawing undue attention to ourselves and to focus on learning new spells. However, Nadeine and Godfried didn’t have much more to learn out of the scrolls I had brought with me from the royal castle and the training grounds, so the only way for them to progress before we hit the mountains was in mock combat.
“Do you think that is wise?” Nadeine asked with a cautious tilt to her chin. “We have no bubbles to protect us.”
“Yeah, but the forest elves are quick and talented.” I grinned, glancing over at Freyja and Ishida, who were watching off to the side of the clearing as usual. “What do you say, ladies? Do you want to help these two learn?”
“If we can be of help, I’m up for anything,” Ishida said, though she looked a little wary.
Freyja, however, showed no signs of hesitancy as she grinned. “I’m down.”
“Awesome.” I smiled as I gestured toward my kingdom elf students. “Just stand on the other side of the circles with your swords and try to land a blow. How bout Ishida goes against Nadeine, and Freyja goes against Godfried?”
The forest elves each nodded and took their assigned positions, Ishida with caution and Freyja with gusto. Godfried frowned a bit as she looked across his mage’s circle at the fox-elf warily.
“I am worried about harming her,” Godfried muttered.
“You should be more worried about me harming you,” Freyja said, shooting him a sharp look. I grinned at that.
“I think you’ll find Freyja’s a pretty good fighter,” I concurred. “You shouldn’t take her lightly.”
“You better bet I am,” Freyja smirked as she drew her blades.
“I do not doubt it, I do not doubt it,” Godfried said, waving his hands in the air with a panicked expression on his face. “I did not mean to offend. I only mean to say that, if I were to do something wrong, there is a chance that I would harm you. Our magic is rather powerful, you see, and might cause damage that we do not intend.”
“I’ll be fine,” Freyja shot back, her tone scathing as she looked Godfried up and down with great skepticism. While I trusted in Freyja’s skills, having seen them first hand more than once, I also knew just how talented Godfried was, and it wouldn’t help her to dismiss the kid so quickly.
“He’s actually really good,” I warned her. “He could take off your head by accident, so just be careful.”
“Is he as good as you?” Freyja asked, slightly wary now.
“Not quite.” I grinned confidentially before shrugging slightly. “But he’s pretty good, and so’s Nadeine.”
“Perhaps this is not the best idea,” Nadeine said, glancing wearily at the forest elves.
“No, it’ll be fine, as long as Freyja and Ishida are comfortable,” I said, waving away her concern. “Just make sure you stop your spells if you think one of them is gonna land. And stay on opposite sides of the mage’s circles. Don’t get too close to one another.”
“Very well.” Godfried sighed and shrugged. “It will be good practice, I suppose.”
“Exactly,” I said. “Before we go into the mountains, I think it’s important that at least you two try to use your offensive combat spells in real-time or at least the closest to it we can create.”
“Are the two of you comfortable wit
h this?” Nadeine asked, looking from Ishida to Freyja.
Ishida took a fortifying breath and nodded. “If it will be of help to you.”
“I’m always up for a good fight.” Freyja grinned cockily and flipped one of her daggers in the air. “You’ll be wondering how to keep yourselves safe from us next.”
“Oh?” Nadeine arched an eyebrow, her competitive spirit sparked. “Do not speak so soon.”
“Alright, alright,” I said, cutting through the taunting. “Just be careful. and don’t try this at home, folks. I’ll be here to intervene if I have to, but I won’t always.” I glanced between the two pairs. “Whenever you’re ready.”
All four of the elves assumed their best battle positions. Freyja was already armed, but Ishida pulled out her jagged sword, while Godfried and Nadeine held out their arms and closed their eyes to prepare mentally for the coming battle. Nadeine began to hum a spell. Within moments, the magic gathered, and a golden sword appeared in the air between her and Ishida. It immediately snapped to work, swinging at the otter-girl and backing her into the corner of their mage’s circle.
Ishida swung haphazardly in the direction of the sword, clearly more than a little frightened of the menacing mystical blade, and I began to doubt the wisdom of this plan. I stepped forward, prepared to intervene and throw up a shield with one of my own spells, but Ishida recovered before I got the chance to, darting out of the way of the sword and lunging in Nadeine’s direction.
Seeing this, Nadeine switched tactics and began murmuring a defensive spell. As a result, the golden sword dissipated, replaced by a large shield the length of Nadeine’s body that protected her left side from Ishida’s incoming strike.
Before her sword could meet the shield and potentially shatter, Ishida pulled back and darted out of the way. It was clear that she was moving to the right, ready to strike Nadeine on her unprotected side. But the lady knight anticipated this move, and neatly switched her song back to an offensive spell, a series of daggers this time. The intimidating wall of blades stopped Ishida in her tracks before she could get a chance to land a blow. The daggers were about to pelt to the ground in Ishida’s direction when Nadeine stopped her spell song, causing the weapons to stop in their tracks and disappear in puffs of golden smoke.
As for the other spar, well, Freyja fared better in her battle with Godfried. While Ishida was a skilled fighter, she had lived most of her adult life in the center of the forest. She just didn’t have the fox-elf’s real-world experience in battle. Freyja had lived most of her life up until recently hunting, foraging, and fending for herself away from the protection of civilization. On top of that, she also had the benefits of her fox-like reflexes on her side.
Unlike Ishida, Freyja moved more quickly than her mage opponent, lunging straight for his abdomen with her daggers before he had a chance to even begin one of his spells. Surprised, Godfried barely opened his eyes in time to dart out of the way, stumbling slightly as he went. He regained his footing and regrouped quickly, however. With a shake of his head to clear it, the kid adapted quickly to his opponent’s unexpected skill.
His arrogance wouldn’t be the death of him today, at least.
Godfried darted out of the way of several of Freyja’s attacks until they were each standing on the opposite side of the mage’s circle from where they had started.
“Not boasting now, are you, kid?” Freyja snickered.
“I stand corrected,” Godfried admitted, to his credit. He gulped slightly, a clear display of his nerves.
“Come on, Godfried, you can get a spell in,” I called to him, trying to break through whatever was blocking him so he could display his abilities. “Come on.”
Godfried gulped again and began to hum as he danced around the circle with Freyja, and finally, he stopped in one place, planting his feet so that the magic would be more grounded. Right before Freyja’s sword made contact with his cheek, a shield popped up between them. Freyja was already in the process of pulling her weapon back so as not to harm Godfried, so her sword did not make contact with the shield and possibly shatter.
Usually, weapons were fine after coming into contact with our mystical shields, but every once in a while, the metal would hit in just the right (or wrong, depending on your perspective) spot and shatter. Nadeine had learned this lesson the hard way one night when she was helping me practice before our last quest.
Godfried managed to take advantage of the brief moment Freyja took to pull back and save her sword by switching to an offensive spell. The blade his song created was a curved sword, just like the cutlasses I saw in pirate movies back on Earth. The cutlass sprang forward with sweeping left-to-right slashes, forcing Freyja to move back to the other edge of the mage’s circle, safely away from Godfried.
I breathed a sigh of relief. For a minute there, I worried that the younger elf had buckled under the pressure, but he had recovered nicely. As I was thinking that, Godfried switched to another offensive spell, a mace this time that swung backward and forward, almost like a chess piece being knocked down on the game board. He cast it in a position where Freyja wasn’t in any danger of being hit, but it dominated the battlefield. She didn’t have a whole lot of leeway to move and had to stay rooted in her current position in order to avoid Godfried’s spell.
As soon as he was finished with the mace spell, Godfried moved straight on to another song, the same one that summoned the daggers that Nadeine had used to overcome Ishida moments earlier. For Godfried’s level of training, the daggers were arguably the kingdom elves’ most lethal combat spell. While they were smaller and more unassuming than the other weapons, they pelted at their targets relentlessly, a wall of lethal mystical steel that left very little room for escape. As such, when used at just the right time, the daggers were virtually unbeatable, and this was no exception.
Seeing what was coming, Freyja simply sighed and held up her hands in defeat. She had seen me use that same spell to devastating effect before, after all.
“Okay, okay,” she said, looking more than a little annoyed at the situation she had found herself in. “You’ve won, kid. Call off your goons.”
Godfried obliged, stopping his spell in its tracks and causing the daggers to fade away in several puffs of golden smoke. He sighed in relief and slumped his shoulders, clearly glad the battle was over. With that, I walked over to him and clapped the kid on the shoulder.
“Good recovery,” I encouraged. “Sometimes, things like that happen. It’s how you deal with them that counts, and you didn’t buckle under the pressure.”
“Still, Leo, I should not have been in that situation, to begin with,” Godfried sulked.
“Don’t beat yourself up.” I gave him another pat on the shoulder. “It’s not your fault. As I said, it happens. It’s what you do in the aftermath that matters, and you did great. You should be proud of yourself. That was the best I’ve seen you.”
“I find that difficult to believe,” Godfried said, raising his eyebrows and shooting me a skeptical look.
I matched his skeptical glance with an honest one. “It was the only time I’ve seen you in non-ideal conditions,” I explained. “I’m not trying to humor you. I’m telling the truth. You did really well. Take the win, and next time, do even better.”
“Very well.” Godfried nodded curtly, though his brows were still raised skeptically. Even so, he sat up a little straighter and regained some of his usual gusto.
“And you were great, too,” I said, walking over to Nadeine. “Good job knowing when to let up. That’s an important skill, too.”
She smiled brightly at the praise. “Thank you, Leo.”
“And thanks to you two for stepping up like that,” I said, turning to the forest elves.
“No problem.” Freyja shrugged, already having forgotten her loss to Godfried.
“Anything to help.” Ishida smiled weakly, still appearing a bit shaken from her battle with Nadeine. “Let’s just take a break for the night, okay?”
I
laughed and smiled. “You’ve got it. I need to go work on my own spells, anyway. If you guys want to keep practicing, feel free to do so, but don’t try to fight each other without me here.”
“Don’t worry, we won’t,” Ishida assured me, so I slipped off to go find a good place to try to figure out a way to combat the terrible spell that our enemy had cast on the forest.
I found one not far from our campsite, just across what remained of the underbrush. There was a little cove by what used to be a small river running through the flora and fauna, under a small tree, and I settled down under the blackened branches and pulled out a scroll and some ink.
I imagined what the vibrant forest used to sound like and envisioned what a piece of music like that would be. I wrote it down, humming as I went, and sparks of light flew around in the air near me as I worked, responding to the budding music. It was going to be a very complicated piece, I could already tell. The forest was a vast, complex place, and the spell would have to reflect that. With a smile, I continued to write until my eyelids drooped, and I realized I couldn’t carry on anymore. Before I could even put my pen down, I drifted off for a moment.
I shook myself awake and scanned over what I had written. It seemed about half done, and after I was finished with the second half, I would have to go back through and correct it, fixing and adding some things. Once it fully fleshed out, I would have to memorize it, and only then would I be able to begin shaping the spell into what I wanted it to be.
I sighed, lamenting how long it would take. While I knew it would take about this long, complex music wasn’t written overnight, but part of me hadn’t believed it until it was staring me in the face. Still, because of my knowledge of music theory, it would take way less time to create my spells than the other ultimate magi the kingdom elves had told me about. I’d get in done in time. I had to.
