“I hope today’s councils were not too vexing for you. At times you were ready to fall asleep in the command tent.” Even knowing what she said was true, he opened his mouth to protest, and she raised a hand to forestall him. “No, no. It’s alright. I myself find battle planning to be exceedingly tedious when one is not directly involved. I was relieved Krystelle Mora found you and brought you to the chamber. I deemed it the best place for you.”
Sebastian suppressed a flash of disappointment Krystelle had not sought him out on her own. “You mean you had her bring me to the council?”
“Because I had not yet decided what to do with you and I did not want Jarmo Dale to get his hands on you before I made up my mind.”
He could run. He screamed at himself in his own mind. Run! Right now, run away! Valeria…Mistress Valeria, Wizard of Uriasz was deciding what to do with him. He steeled himself, “and have you? Decided what to do with me that is.”
“I have,” she winked at him. “Would you like to know?”
Not really, he thought. However, what he said was, “Yes, very much.”
“I will trust you.” Not the answer Sebastian was expecting. “If you were listening today, you heard that the council feels we may yet avoid a battle. Foolishness. Sterling Lex has not put so much energy into arranging these circumstances to avoid a conflict. In fact, two battles are being prepared. The one the generals are planning, and the other, more important, battle.”
“More important?”
“Yes, more important. The fate of Cynneweald does not rest on the swords of men and dwarves but with the remnants of the wizards of Uriasz. We will fight the real battle against Sterling Lex and the dark wizards he has raised up to his cause.”
“But what does that have to do with me?”
“Do with you? Everything. You must stand with the wizards.”
Sebastian took a deep breath. “I will stand with you, if you believe I must. I thought that when the day came to join in some great battle, I’d do it with a sword. I’ve seen enough now to know that my path is one I never imagined. I always believed that one man with a sword can turn the tide of battle, but I am no longer that man.”
“You have grown since last we spoke. You possess power from your elven heritage. A power greater than you understand. If any of us are to survive this, we need that power. I had not wanted it to be this way, but I fear it must and that is why I have brought this to you.” She pulled a smooth, blood-red stone from her cloak.
Recognizing what she held, he took a step back and raised his hands in defiance. “The Dragonstone? You want me to carry it into battle?” She nodded. “Why me? Why don' t you carry it? Or Master Darden? Or one of the dwarves?”
“You have an affinity for the Dragonstone I can not explain. You have from the beginning. You overcame your friend Cenric’s connection to it, which should not have been possible. That is how strong your connection is. We had planned to keep you far away from the stone as we did not understand enough. The time for caution is over.”
“But surely someone who knows more about the stones could do so much more?”
“That may be. In fact, I will carry the Sunstone. Although there is one with more right to it than I.” Looking thoughtful for a moment, she shook her head. “That need not concern you. Suffice to say, I will wield the Eligius Siothrun.”
“And the Moonstone?”
“You mean you don’t know?” He shook his head. “Breandan took the Moonstone when he left with Cenric.”
“Then Sterling Lex has it! After everything we went through to keep it from him…”
“It is not certain Sterling Lex possesses the Moonstone. We've had no report of Breandan or your friend since they left the Dazhberg and our scouts have not seen them around Cineath.” She held out the Dragonstone. “Will you take it?”
Sebastian stood for a moment, staring at the stone dangling from its iron chain. The time had long past he could deny who he was. “I will.”
Valeria held her pose for a moment longer, considering his resolve. “So be it. I believe you have chosen wisely.”
Taking the Dragonstone from her, he hid it beneath his cloak. She pulled her arm back and swiveled away. Sebastian watched her go, wondering what tomorrow would be.
He stood there for a long time considering before he realized someone had come up to stand beside him. It was Zefran. “I take it you heard that?”
“Aye lad, I did.”
“What do you think?”
“Soldiers follow orders. We fight where and when we’re told or the whole damn thing falls apart. You’re doing a brave thing taking that stone. You’ve a destiny on you and I’m glad to see you start living it.”
“What if I don’t believe in destiny?”
“Then you do it anyway. You do it because its the right thing to do. Now here’s what will happen. You’ll come back to your blankets and get a fair night of sleep. Tomorrow morn, you’ll do your duty in this battle just like us all. Are we clear?” Sebastian stood there, mouth gaping open as the solider stalked back to their camp.
Dawn came the next morning before Sebastian was prepared. It seemed he had just closed his eyes, worrying over Valeria and the Dragonstone, when reveille sounded across the camp. Emerging from his blankets, he found Zefran watching him. Shrugging a tunic around his shoulders, Sebastian slinked away in the general direction of Valeria’s tent.
Walking, Sebastian considered the battle ahead. He could feel the Dragonstone beneath his cloak, its presence palpable. Just beyond, at the edge of his consciousness, that presence he’d connected with at Cale Uriasz. The dragon. He was there, waiting.
Sebastian realized he had stopped in the middle of the lane between rows of tents. He’d passed into the spearman’s camp and was nearing the area where Valeria’s tent would be. Looking around, he saw men preparing their gear for the battle ahead. Some sharpened their weapons one last time, others cinched armor tight, and a few scribbled final letters to some distant friend, lover, or relative.
Looking into the faces of these men, Sebastian realized they were just victims of fate. To be sure, they volunteered to join Gabirel. But they joined expecting to face opponents they could understand. Enemies armed with steel and cunning. This day they faced a different enemy. The kind of enemy that devastated the kingdom during the Dragon Wars. The kind of enemy that the Ban was supposed to prevent from ever rising again. The kind of enemy that required someone like him.
The Ban had failed, but the wizards remained in a weakened state. These soldiers were prepared to go to their deaths to defend the land one last time and here he stood, wondering if he could control his power. If he didn’t try, the blood of these men would be on his hands.
Sebastian tromped with newfound purpose towards Valeria’s tent. He would not abandon these men. Passing out of the spearmen’s encampment, he entered the section of camp housing the wizards. Ahead he saw a colorful, purple canvas that had to be hers. A moment later, his assumption proved true as the wizard emerged from the tent and glided towards him.
“Sebastian, it is good to see you this morning. Are you ready?”
He nodded, “I am. A wise man reminded me I have a duty to perform. But…”
“But?” she cocked her head to the side.
“I still don’t know what I’m doing. What if the battle begins and I am helpless?”
“All I am asking is that you believe in yourself. You have more strength than you realize. I will be with you at every step. Have faith, together we will defeat Sterling Lex. We must.”
#
From their vantage point on a bluff overlooking Cinaeth, Sebastian saw for the first time the force Sterling Lex had gathered to oppose Gabirel and its allies. He guessed the enemy outnumbered Gabirel at least ten to one. Even Sebastian’s untrained eye could tell this was no cohesive fighting unit.
Sterling Lex’s army was not organized chaos, it was chaos. Groups of mismatched tents and shelters stretched across the valley to the west o
f Cinaeth, between the keep and the graveyard and it reminded Sebastian more of a country fair than anything else. Fighting men strutted about the camp, with their armaments in full display, while women and camp-followers thronged everywhere. The lilt of music drifted from across the camp as did the sound of fights breaking out. The army, if you could call it that, seemed unaware that their enemy was out of sight over the rise.
Far to the right, separated from both Sterling Lex’s forces around Cinaeth and the Gabirelean army stood a third encampment. Smaller than both the armies facing off, a row of red-robed figures stood alongside the group of tents. What were the Krenon doing here?
Valeria answered, as if she could read his mind, “They have come as witnesses. Magic will be used in battle today for the first time since the Dragon Wars. The very thing they are sworn to prevent. Put them out of your mind. I doubt they will intervene until the battle is done.”
Looking back to the fortress, Sebastian realized that this hill was the same place he had been standing the last time he had seen Cinaeth and the nearby graveyard. It had been night then, and he had been in shock from everything that had happened. His friend and erstwhile mentor had been killed and, in a rage, he had taken his first life. A life that had turned out to belong to his own father. Cinaeth was an ill-omened place to him, well-deserving of its reputation.
Valeria and Darden bracketed him on either side. She to his right and he to the left, along with three other wizards he’d not seen before. He caught Darden glancing sideways at the Eligius hanging from his neck and over to Valeria, who stood looking over the impending battlefield. “You should have consulted the rest of us, Valeria,” said Darden.
Turning her head towards him, she cocked it to the side, “And how would that have helped matters? We would have spent hours arguing only to come to the same conclusion. I simply bypassed all that and made sure we got a full night sleep, giving him time to come to terms with the idea.”
Sebastian shook his head, “I’m right here,” he muttered.
Darden chuckled, “Indeed you are. But, alas, Valeria is right as she so often is.” One of the other wizards pulled on his sleeve, drawing his attention back to the valley. “Something is happening.
On the valley floor below, four riders were making their way towards Cinaeth. High Councilor Damianus led the way clad in his burgundy robes of office and looking resplendent on a black charger. General Uisdean accompanied him astride a horse loaned to him for the occasion, along with Lord Commander Teoma. Sebastian did not recognize the fourth. He towered over the other two in leather and fur armor, his swarthy complexion glistening in the sun.
Valeria leaned over to whisper in his ear. “That is Guardian Demosthenes. Lord Marcello was quite convincing. The Dragon Guard has allied itself with us.” That explained why the army was so much larger than Sebastian expected. Reputed to be fearsome warriors, the devastation of the Dragon wars had left the Guard without a country. In the aftermath, they swore an oath to protect against the rise of anyone who seeking power to bring such destruction again. Given their recent alliance with the Krenon, Sebastian wondered if they could be trusted in this battle.
A trumpet called out from the walls of Cinaeth and the fortresses’ massive gate opened. The enemy camp riled at the sound like an anthill that had been kicked over. Two figures rode out from the gates. Sebastian recognized the first from the Dazhberg. It was the King’s Herald. With him rode a figure hooded in black robes. Sebastian tensed and Valeria laid a hand on his arm. “Sterling Lex would not reveal himself so openly. It is one of his apprentices.”
The five of them watched as the parley continued and Sebastian could only imagine how that conversation was going. Gabirel and her allies were not going to roll over and submit, the challenge lay in determining how far the King lay under Sterling Lex’s thrall. To Sebastian's way of thinking, the presence of one of Sterling Lex’s minions at the parley was not a good sign.
Looking down, Sebastian focused his attention on the talks. Lord Marcello raised a fist and his horse danced in agitation. Without warning, the dark wizard facing him lifted his hand, releasing a flash of black light. It struck Marcello full in the chest and the man slumped motionless to the ground. Everything froze for a moment and then Guardian Demosthenes screamed out a battle cry, drawing a wicked looking saber. He swung it, muscles rippling with effort as it dug into the dark wizard’s flesh. Blood gushed from the wound and the sorcerer fell to the ground next to Marcello. Seeing what had happened, the army around Cinaeth let out a collective roar of anger.
The King’s Herald shouted something unintelligible from a distance and whirled his horse around, galloping back to Cinaeth while Uisdean and Demothenes gathered up Marcello’s body and draped it across his horse. Lord Damianus stared for a moment at Cinaeth and the army surrounding it before gathering up the reins of Marcello’s horse and leading the party back toward their own lines.
As Damianus and the others passed back over the hill, Gabirel’s spearmen marched into view, forming a line fronting the enemy forces. Behind them a phalanx of archers took up position. Across the valley, Sterling Lex’s army formed up in clumps of warriors by tribe. There was no military order, but their sheer numbers threatened to overwhelm any opposition.
A mass of the enemy surged forward at the sight of the line of spears and closed. Screaming and shouting a challenge, they ran towards the disciplined ranks of soldiers. It was just as the generals had predicted in their councils of war. Sebastian looked back at the archers, anticipating their next move.
Right on schedule, the archers nocked their first flight and released them into the air. Arcing towards the screaming force pounding their way towards Gabirel’s first line of defense, the arrows reached their apogee and fell back towards the earth. Sebastian braced himself for the impact and death that would follow.
It never came. A few feet above the heads of the charging warriors, the arrows impacted an invisible barrier and shattered into splinters that rained harmlessly over the enemy. A cheer rose from the remaining army near Cinaeth and the rest charged after their vanguard that was nearing the thin-looking line of spearmen.
“Damn,” said Darden. “Sterling Lex’s dark wizards must have created a shield to block our arrows.”
“But how?” asked one of the other wizards. “That sort of projection should not be possible under the Ban's constraints.”
“Perhaps it is Sterling Lex himself?” mused one of the others.
Valeria shook her head, “No, he would not spend himself so early in the battle in that way. He has plenty of fodder to throw away within his army. Whatever it is, we must counter it! Sebastian, stand aside for now. The rest of you, focus your energies on bringing down that barrier.”
The three wizards and Darden entered the battle, working to counter the magic guarding the enemy force. Valeria brought up the glowing Sunstone between her hands. A burst of light exploded out and splashed like flame on the shield above Sterling Lex’s army. Sebastian watched as the energy soaked into the shield, burning it away. The archers loosed another flight, this time to their desired effect, just as the mob crashed into the line of spears.
The line held and then realigned as another wave of the enemy washed upon them. With the enemy close, the archers were now picking their targets with more care, and Raginald led a squad of swordsmen into the fray.
Horns sounded and Gabirel’s next gambit came into play. From behind the hills nearest to Sebastian and the wizards, a squadron of mounted knights charged toward the enemy’s flank. Across the valley, a similar contingent of Dragon Guard began their own maneuver, intending to catch the enemy in a pincher movement, while a second group of archers started their own assault now that the shield no longer protected the enemy. Things seemed to be going according to plan, all they had to do was keep the pressure on a numerically superior enemy and hope the wizards could counter any move Sterling Lex might make.
With that thought, Sebastian felt the short-hairs on hi
s neck rising and a tingling ran throughout his entire body. He’d felt that once before while working in his uncle’s field during a storm and knew what was coming. He lunged for Valeria and pulled her to the ground as the hilltop exploded with light and heat.
His ears ringing, Sebastian pulled himself to his knees and looked around, blinking to clear the after-image from his sight. When his vision cleared he saw that Darden was unconscious and two of the wizards were dead, their clothes still smoking. They’d been closest to the bolt when it hit. The third wizard was nowhere in sight, and he turned to check on Valeria. She was not moving, and he scrambled over in a panic, fearing the worst. Her chest moved almost imperceptibly, but it moved. She was alive.
Sebastian rose, hands dangling to either side, the Dragonstone draped about his neck. He looked at it, wondering what to do. In the valley, the battle raged and, in the back of his mind, he knew it was only a matter of moments before Sterling Lex capitalized on the success of his strike on Uriasz.
“Pull yourself together and do something!” he commanded himself. He grabbed the Dragonstone with both hands and lifted it in front of his face, trying to push power out. There was no response from the stone and he grunted in frustration. That’s when the fireballs started.
#
Sebastian watched as the first ball of flame exploded amongst the galloping Guardians, scattering them before they could close with the enemy. A second and a third launched out from inside Cinaeth, one crashing in to the squadron of knights, while the other annihilated a contingent of archers. Tears streamed down Sebastian’s face as he tried in vain to tap into the power of the Dragonstone and counter the assault. He was failing and people were dying.
He had to get it together. Closing his eyes, Sebastian began to breathe deeply, trying to calm himself. Shutting out the sounds of the battle, he focused his thoughts on the Dragonstone. If I can only connect with it… he thought. A warmth emanated from the stone gripped between his fingers, but he did not dare hope. Not yet.
Eligium- The Complete Series Page 39
