by Jon Bender
With Serin’s shadow body now above the flames of the wall, Darian and Alimar had directed there casts there. The ice mage sending large bolts of ice to shatter on the creatures head, while Alimar cast forth a long thick stream of white smoke to wrap around its neck. Nothing they did had any effect on the mage who was now infused with the power of a god. Serin laughed a deep rumbling chuckle at the futile attempts, a sound that reverberated in Jaxom’s chest. Bringing a clawed hand up Serin easily severed the white smoke around his neck freeing himself from leash.
“Jaxom what do we do?” Darian yelled.
Jaxom looked about at his allies, the two risen mages continuing to hurl magic as Darian waited for an answer. Alimar, who had commanded the durgen he rode into the air, continuing his attacks from a higher vantage point with no viable effect. Looking down at himself he found he still wore the bone armor, having become so used to maintaining the magical bonds that held it in place, he no longer even noticed it. Then a moment of inspiration hit him like the first rays of the dawn breaking over the horizon. Jaxom brought his eyes up to meet Darian’s and smiled at him.
“Do you remember what happened after we had our match?” Jaxom asked. The other mage looked confused but Jaxom had already command his two risen to perform the test that would detect a mage, the same test Darian had shown him that day in camp after their match.
The risen each raised a hand and directed a flow of energy into Jaxom who could already feel his power growing as his body absorbed the power. Darian must have caught on to what was happening, Jaxom feeling his friend’s energy added as well. What was most surprising was that a fourth flow had connected with him further feeding the power that was now coursing through him. It was nothing like he had ever felt before, as if with a thought he could raise an army of soldiers from death. Wanting to revel in what he was now capable Jaxom knew he had did not have the time. Directing all the energy that was pouring into him he cast his hands out and down. The ground around him erupted, thousands upon thousands of bones ripping from the earth to spin around him in a hurricane of white. He felt himself begin to grow as the bones attached themselves to the armor he already wore. Creating a body of white to match the creature Serin was becoming. Centered at the chest of his creation, Jaxom created limbs commanding them with thought as if they were his own arms and legs. Concentrating, he formed a long sword like appendage on the right arm, it would not be as sharp as steel but it would serve for what he needed. The head of his creation showed no features except two holes which glowed a soft white allowing him to see outside of his self-made tomb.
Looking through the glowing white eyes Jaxom saw that he had finished his new body just in time. The flame wall around Serin had gone, leaving the shadow creature he had become standing there staring at Jaxom. “I see you have learned some new tricks boy, but it will not save you,” Serin said in a strange rumbling voice. Amplified by the darkness of his new form. Jaxom wanted to reply with a witty retort, realizing he had no means to project his voice as the fire mage had done. “Nothing to say? Just as well, the sooner I am done here the sooner I can return to rule over my new city in the name of Or’Keer.”
Jaxom was grateful that the man had taken his silence for stoicism. He might very well have died from embarrassment had Serin known that he could not speak in his current form. With a quickness Jaxom had not expected, Serin launched himself forward bringing a clawed hand downward. Bringing the bone sword up Jaxom caught the claws on its edge feeling the bonds holding it together weaken slightly. Redoubling the magic in that part of his bone made the bonds hardened once again. Jaxom brought his free hand forward to punch the dark creature but was caught by Serin’s other hand. With both arms now locked in place, the monstrous maw came forward biting down into Jaxom’s shoulder, tearing away bones by the dozen. Knowing he could not last long under such abuse, Jaxom thrust Serin away with every bit of the magic he now contained. Forced back by the mighty push, Serin rushed again only to be met by a swing of the bone sword that carved a rent through his chest where his true body was. More cautious now, the transformed fire mage circled to the left, forcing Jaxom to turn with him when again the creature lunged swiping with its claws. Jaxom brought his arm up to block the attack while thrusting low with the sword piercing the creature’s leg. Jumping back, Serin was obviously less sturdy on the limb than he had been, and even as the wound began to close Jaxom could see that it was doing so slowly. If he could inflict enough damage fast enough, Jaxom could bring it down.
Pressing the advantage, he swung the sword in a downward arc which the creature brought a clawed hand up to stop, losing one of its claws in the process. Retaliating with the other hand more bone armor was torn away as the creature raked Jaxom’s chest. Deep within the protection of the many layers of bone, his true body felt the impact of the claws sending waves of pain through him. Lashing out with a fist, Jaxom connected again and again with the dark creature’s head. Snapping many of the teeth and almost ripping the low hanging jaw away completely. Changing tactics, Jaxom aimed for the core of its body knowing that was where Serin truly was. With the sword still entangled with the left clawed hand, Jaxom pounded away at its chest even as the claws of the other hand ripped more of his own bone protection away. The duel had turned into a brawl with each man struggling to be the first to get to the other.
In the end Serin retreated, letting go his grip on Jaxom’s sword and stepping back. With the wound on his leg half way closed, he looked even more unsteady then before. Jaxom’s hope soared at seeing the traitor so weakened, his own power only a little less than what it had been. Serin must have seen it as well because instead of attacking Jaxom directly he swung at the risen ice mage, tearing his body and the horse he rode apart. Jaxom instantly felt the loss of power and knew Serin had found his weakness. Commanding his remaining risen mage to retreat to a safer distance he hoped that Alimar and Darian would do the same. Serin lashed out at Alimar trying to snare him from the air, the other death mage only narrowly avoiding the attack by climbing higher out of reach.
Jaxom charged forward trying to keep Serin’s attention on him, noticing that his bone constructed body reacted more slowly to his commands now. Swinging his sword in a wide arc he connected solidly with the distracted Serin’s shoulder, tearing deeply into the darkness from which it was made. Seeing that his ploy was now over, Serin attacked in a flurry of swipes, ripping away more of bone armor with every hit. Jaxom struggling to keep pace, was finding it harder and harder to both fight and maintain the bonds holding the armor together.
After scoring several strikes of his own, Jaxom was able to break away from Serin who now seemed so much faster than he was. “Give up now boy and swear your loyalty to Or’Keer,” Serin said through his shadow body. “He will accept your service if you but vow to obey him. The power he will grant you will surpass even what you now control.”
Jaxom wished he had thought of a way to communicate, but saw that his lack of a response appeared to unnerve Serin, who was now seemed less sure of himself. It was just as well since the only responses that came to mind were curses, and how Serin’s mother should never have spread her legs for his father. The delay caused by Serin’s hesitation did however give Jaxom time to formulate a new plan. It was risky, but at this point if he did not win now he was not going to win at all. Willing his bone body to move as quickly as it could, he charged. The sword out front leading the way, as if to impale the dark creature through the chest. With Jaxom’s movement so slowed by the loss of power, Serin easily grasped the sword turning it aside before it even got close to its mark. Just as Jaxom felt his body being pulled to the side he released the bonds holding the sword in place leaving a stump of bone in its place. With Serin now off balance from the sudden shift in weight, Jaxom slipped within his reach. Colliding heavily, his bone body slammed into the one made of darkness, taking both down with an impact that shook the ground. Climbing his way up, Jaxom straddled its waist and began raining down blows on its chest trying
to crush Serin who was deep within. The traitor tried to fight back in a series of panicked slashes, tearing more of the armor away from the arms and shoulder. One attack tearing away the part where Jaxom had placed the eyes, effectively blinded him. It did not matter as he knew where Serin was, continuing to pummel the same spot. Jaxom felt the body shift underneath him, trying to take advantage of his blindness but he refused to let go. Jaxom clamped down his bone legs securing the traitor in place. He never stopped blindly hitting over and over again until the surface began to soften, allowing his blows to go deeper. Finally his fist hit the ground as the shadow body dissolved below him. Willing the head of his armor to reform, which was easier now without the added strain of holding the sword together, he regained his sight to find the crumpled form of Serin unmoving beneath him.
Raising his head, Jaxom looked for his friend and Alimar. Both safe and still casting their energy into him. With the threat now over, he released the bonds of the armor to have them fall away until all that was left was a pile of bones on which he stood. With the bone armor gone the two other mages stopped their flow of magic. If not for his remaining risen mage continuing to channel him magic, the sudden loss would have brought Jaxom to his knees. When he felt that he was ready he commanded the fire mage to stop as well. The loss of so much power felt as if it had left a hole inside of him that he desperately wanted to fill again. Knowing such a desire to be impractical he pushed the feelings of emptiness to the back of his mind.
“I do not know how you learned you could draw on the power of others, but I am glad you did,” Alimar said after he had landed nearby. The other death mage looked to where Serin laid with disgust. “To think that one of our own would lower himself to accept the power of a god is shameful.” Raising a hand Alimar released the blight over the dead mage’s body covering it completely. When he finally withdrew his cast, nothing remained of the traitor, only a blackened spot on the grass.
Darian had walked over to watch the display looking from Jaxom to Alimar and back again. “There are more of you?” he asked Jaxom.
“As far as we know we are the only two,” Jaxom replied.
“But were did he come from, and why is he here?” Darian spluttered.
Jaxom raised a hand staving off his friends questions. He had questions of his own for Alimar, but they would have to wait “There will be time for answers later. Right now we still have to win this battle, and hope that when we return to the capital we find what Serin said was a lie. If Or’Keer has taken the city for himself we will be in much more trouble than we are now.”
“Your right of course, but I want to hear everything once this over,” Darian replied. “So what do we do now?”
Jaxom looked to Alimar who was sitting calmly on his risen mount. “Can you tell us how the battle is going?” he asked.
Alimar seemed to go into a trance, his face blank and devoid of emotion. It was an eerie look and made Jaxom wonder if that was how he looked when gazing through a risen’s eyes. “The Southerners have lost most of their men on the left and many are fleeing from that area. It would seem that much of their force was concentrated where you were in a gamble to overwhelm that side quickly, a gamble it would appear they lost,” the death mage said.
“How would they know that Serin would be there to aid them?” Jaxom asked no one in particular.
“I would think it likely he was in communication with servants of Or’Keer who were embedded within the enemies own ranks. They must have hoped that the two sides would destroy each other leaving the rest too weak to oppose them,” Alimar replied.
It made sense if what Serin had said about Or’Keer attacking the city was true. Whoever was left after tonight would not have the strength to retake it. “So we have to return to the right flank to aid the men there if we are to win,” Jaxom said.
“We can yes, but it would appear that your King has gathered the troops no longer needed elsewhere and reinforced them already. From what I can see it will not be long before the Southerners are in full rout. Many of their mages are either dead or gone already,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter, we need to help them if you are still willing to fight with us.” Jaxom said.
“I have no choice, I have already thrown my lot in with you. It is only logical that I ensure your King wins here, as long you and he are still willing to accept my proposal,” he said.
“Yes, Corin already told me he thought of a way it could be done,” Jaxom said.
“Wait a minute, what proposal? What are you two talking about?” Darian said interrupting the conversation.
“I will explain everything later my friend, I promise,” Jaxom said.
“Alright, but I want to hear it all. I am betting it is a very interesting story,” he replied. Jaxom looked at the ice mage for moment considering how far he could trust the man then dismissed the notion. He had proven himself many times over tonight, and was deserving of Jaxom’s trust.
Jaxom walked over to Alimar offering a hand to the man who took it pulling him up. “You will have to ride back with the fire mage,” Jaxom said looking down to Darian.
“I will be right behind you,” he replied climbing behind the risen woman. Jaxom left a command for her to obey Darian before patting Alimar on the shoulder signaling he was ready. The durgren used it six powerful legs to leap into the air where the wings took over, lifting the two men away into the night sky.
From the high vantage point, Jaxom could see that Alimar was right when he said that Corin had rallied his forces. The Southerners were for once outnumbered, with many already running in the direction they had come. To his left the Ale’adarian soldiers were cleaning up the last remnants of resistance, and he could see that large groups of the enemy had already surrendered. He had no idea what Corin intended to do with the prisoners, but every man who gave up now was one less they had to fight. Above the men still fighting, Jaxom saw durgren sweeping in low attacking those of the enemy that remained. Catching sight of two that carried riders, a great sense of relief washed over him at seeing both Adriana and Brenin alive. He would have been saddened if the archer had not made it, but looking at Adriana he knew that he would not have been able to bare losing her.
There were still over a dozen of the durgen Alimar had brought flying as well which brought a thought to Jaxom. “When this is over I would hope that you will show me how you create those enchanted stones,” Jaxom said to Alimar.
“Of course. If we are to rebuild the death mages as a school, I will have to teach you what I know so that you can instruct others,” he replied. Jaxom did not know how many others like them they would find, but they would need them all to face Or’Keer.
Moments later that the older mage landed letting Jaxom down before taking to the air again. The scene before him had reversed since he had left to find Serin. The Ale’adarian army now surrounding groups of Southerners who were trying to extricate themselves from the fight. It seemed that after what they had gone through the defenders were not willing to let them go so easily. Moving through the battle carefully, Jaxom was able to avoid becoming entangled in a fight, stopping only long enough to help where it was needed. He could see Corin had brought mages with him as magic streaked overhead, and he caught the occasional glimpse of a golem lumbering through the field.
It did not take him long to find members of the Guard surrounding Corin, with Celia and Nelix next to him both shouting orders. The King was not fighting himself, the Guard would never allow that, but he was in the middle of the battle to show his men that he was with them. When the first Guardsmen saw Jaxom approaching the protective ring, the man had thought to attack, stopping at the last moment when recognizing Jaxom. With an abashed look on his face he stepped to the side allowing Jaxom to pass. Corin was sitting atop his horse next to Celia, talking to one of his commanders about rounding up us much of the cavalry as possible to chase after the small groups of retreating enemy soldiers. The Southerners were retreating, but not as a whole, and many of t
hose groups would turn bandit on their way back south. Corin wanting to avoid any more destruction and looting to his kingdom if possible. The Commander brought a fist to his chest in salute before turning his horse to leave the area protected by the Guard, using a horn to sound the signal for cavalry to rally as he went.
After the man had left, Jaxom approached his friends. Celia seeing him first, jumped down from her saddle to grab him in a hug while laughing. “We have to stop meeting like this,” she said in a much better mood than when he had last seen her. Not that long ago she had been depressed over the loss of so many of her men, and he was glad to see that somehow her spirits had been lifted.
“Yes we really should not make this our usual greeting,” Jaxom said smiling. “I am happy to see that you are all right.”
“Corin made it here just in time. Any longer and the Southerners would have finished us,” she said.
“It should have never gotten that far. Even after they put all their extra men here, we should have never come so close to losing,” Corin said joining them on the ground with Nelix beside him. His blond hair and beard were disheveled, and his face was covered in dirt with streaks where sweat had cleaned it. Apparently the Guard had not been able to keep their King from all of the fighting, and Jaxom was again proud to call the man his friend. “Celia reported what happened once she got here, and how she and her men killed four of their mages. What I don’t know is what happened to Serin and the mages with him, they should have been countering the enemy mages and not leaving Celia and less than a hundred cavalry to do it.”
