The Magelands Origins

by Christopher Mitchell

  ‘How ye feeling then, donkey brains?’ Keira said. ‘Reckon ye can stand?’

  He grunted, and took another sip of whisky from the flask. ‘Aye.’

  Bridget and Kallie each took an arm, and he got to his feet.

  ‘How long was I out?’

  ‘A few hours,’ Kallie said. ‘We carried you over the ridge and through the forest. Then doubled back after we’d lost them, and came back here.’

  He stretched his limbs. There was no pain, but he felt a deep fatigue.

  ‘Everyone make it?’ he asked in the gloom.

  ‘Aye,’ Keira said. ‘Did ye see what I did back there? Took two of the bastards’ heads clean off.’

  He shook his head.

  ‘It was pretty fucking impressive,’ she said.

  ‘Sorry, missed it.’

  She tutted, then strode off up the hill. ‘Come on,’ she called out to the squad, who were crouching on the hillside, ‘move yer lazy arses.’

  They got up and followed her, leaving Kallie and Killop alone.

  ‘You alright to walk?’ she said.

  ‘Aye,’ he said. ‘It’s starting to wear off.’

  ‘Don’t do that again.’

  ‘What?’ he said. ‘I had to.’

  She frowned, looking him in the eye. ‘The fire she threw. It came from you, she sucked it right out of you, and when you fell I thought…’

  ‘I’m fine,’ he said, ‘but you’re right, that’s why I don’t usually offer. She nearly killed me a couple of times when we tried it as teenagers. She’s too powerful for any sparker to take.’

  She took his hand and squeezed it.

  ‘Mage or no mage,’ she said, ‘if she tries it again, I’m knocking her out.’

  They camped that night in a patch of firs a few miles south of where the tunnel had been obliterated. Conal and Kalma, who had been out scouting, had returned with the news that the Rahain army had halted on the main road leading to the temple. Killop cut short the squad’s rest, and they set off several hours before dawn. The squad had been this way numerous times before, and knew the tracks and paths well, and Killop was content to let them lead.

  The Rahain army was occupying such a large space with their presence, that the squad were forced to travel a circuitous route that would take them past the heart of the Fire Mountain.

  By the time dawn arrived, they found themselves in the long shadows on the western side of a great lip of the old volcano, and Killop ordered a stop amid the lifeless rocks.

  The squad organised breakfast, and Killop sat on the dusty ground watching the morning sunlight rise over the eastern ridge, sending bright shafts down onto the vast caldera below. This was the first time Killop had seen the top of the volcano, so focussed had he been on planning and working in the vicinity of the temple since they had arrived. The Fire Mountain was quiet. There was not a soul among the clans who had been alive when the god had last erupted, but the signs of great destruction were apparent all around. On three sides, the conical rim of the mountain was intact, towering above the caldera, but on the western side the mountain had long vanished, devoured by centuries of eruptions. For some reason nobody understood, the direction of the lava flow had always been to the west, and from the caldera right down to the sea thousands of feet below, the land was covered in thick black basalt.

  The god was sleeping, said some. Others insisted that he was watching, ready to strike at the invader to protect his people. Killop recalled the words of the crazy old fool they had visited in the summer up above the Northern Pass, and how he had enraged the warriors by suggesting that the god of the Fire Mountain was impotent, or even non-existent.

  Gazing around at the ancient mountain, the spiritual heart of his people, Killop could sense no divine presence, but he had no idea what such a thing would feel like. Maybe Kalayne was right. Maybe there was no mountain god, and it was just the primitive imaginings of the people, who had invented what they thought they had needed.

  But Kalayne had also spoken of a true god, one that he heard in his mind, one that felt pity for the clans, but who could do nothing to save them. What was the point of gods if they could do nothing?

  He prayed.

  Fire God, if you are there, help us.

  Before it’s too late.

  Please.

  ‘Stop dreaming, wee brother,’ Keira said, stepping in front of him. ‘Been shouting on ye.’

  He looked up.

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘Breakfast, ya dumpling.’ She handed him a strip of dried mutton.

  ‘Is that all I’m getting?’

  ‘We weren’t exactly planning on staying out overnight,’ she said, taking a seat next to him on the grey earth, ‘so ye’ll eat it and like it.’

  He chewed. It was mostly gristle.

  ‘How far are we from the tunnel?’

  ‘Few miles, Conal says,’ she replied. ‘It’s likely that Kyla will already know that the lizards are here, but.’

  ‘You got something in mind?’

  ‘Aye,’ she said. ‘Kalma knows a path that’ll take us back round to the east. It comes out above the temple, on the southern flank of the valley. If the lizards are planning on attacking, we can hit the scaly bastards from the side.’

  ‘Aye, but we’ve hardly any food or water left,’ he said, ‘and there’s none up here.’

  ‘Don’t worry, wee brother,’ she laughed. ‘There’s another tunnel where we’re going. We’ll smack them, then run like fuck.’

  He spat out the gristle.

  ‘Aye, alright.’

  After their meagre breakfast, they circled the barren eastern rim of the caldera until they came to a path that led upwards.

  Coming over the edge of the ridge, they passed from the bare landscape of the caldera, back into the thick vegetation of the outer slope of the great mountain. Giant firs hung onto the steep hillside, and moss-covered boulders and fallen trees littered the ground.

  Halfway down, the eastern slope of the mountain split in two, creating a valley. At its head, burrowed deep into the mountainside, was the Fire Temple, its front protruding out from the side of the cliff-face. A series of palisade walls had been built across the valley, along with ditches, to impede any attack.

  Kalma led the squad along the southern spur, atop a ridge that ran like a backbone down to the east. They stopped when they reached the massive foundations of an old, ruined watchtower. It held a good position from where they could scan the length of the valley, from the palisade walls and temple on their left, to the entrance to the valley to the right. In an intact cellar, the tower also held the entrance to the other tunnel that Keira had mentioned.

  ‘There they are!’ cried Conal, from where they were crouching on the ruins of the fallen tower. He pointed down the valley, where the leading units of the Rahain army were approaching. The front ranks were holding up their large shields, making a continuous wall as they made their way towards the temple.

  ‘No flying lizards,’ Killop said. ‘I think they might be scared of you.’

  ‘They’re not complete numpties, then,’ Keira said.

  The tower was perched on the side of the cliff, which fell all the way to the valley floor, five hundred feet below. The squad lay on the massive foundation walls and watched as the great army filled the entrance to the valley, swarming like insects across the green land. They reached the point below the ruined tower, continued on for a further fifty paces, then halted.

  The front row of soldiers brought their shields into a line, and planted them down into the ground, and within minutes a solid wall ran across the valley, just out of longbow range of the foremost clan palisade.

  Behind their wall, the Rahain soldiers stood in ranks, formed into squares. There were three of them, and then a row of four as the valley widened. Between the rows sat the hulking frames of six stone-throwing machines.

  To the rear a command tent was erected, and then row upon row of smaller tents were put up.

&
nbsp; ‘Wish we were that fucking organised,’ he heard Koreen mutter.

  ‘Reminds me of an anthill,’ said Bridget.

  ‘Fancy causing some mayhem?’ Keira grinned. ‘I’ve a new trick I want to try.’

  They worked fast, since they knew that the smoke from their fire would soon be spotted. Bryanna and Bryony got to work clearing the entrance to the tunnel, while the rest of the crossbow crew built a fire at the base of the tower’s wall. The longbow team unsheathed their knives and started to gouge out the mortar that held the enormous stones together in the old foundation wall. There were eight levels of blocks, each over a foot high, remaining on the side overhanging the cliff. Killop, Kyleen and Domnan cut long, thick staffs of wood from the nearby trees, and hammered them with stones into the wide cracks the longbow crew had made. They were careful not to go too far, and left the huge blocks still in position, but ready to be toppled when required.

  Keira sat amid the hurry and bustle, Lacey at her side. They were both laughing.

  She stood up once the fire started to roar.

  ‘Back!’ she yelled, and the squad moved away.

  Keira lifted her left hand, and flames from the fire rose, intensifying into a boiling mass. She brought her arm down to face the wall, her palm held out as if she were pushing, and the fire burst forwards and slammed into the wall with a great thrum of vibration. Killop staggered, and scrambled into a low ditch. The flames surrounding the wall turned from reds and oranges into a translucent blue.

  Sweat appeared on Keira’s brow, and the heat rose, and the stones began to glow. Nearby bushes, hanging onto the cliff’s edge, burst into flames, and the squad retreated further. The heat was almost unbearable, and Killop saw the world through a haze. There was a deafening crack as the blocks in the tower wall gave way at last, and several tonnes of red hot rock exploded outwards, falling like a hailstorm of flame down onto the Rahain below.

  Killop crawled over the roasting hot earth to look. The burning rock exploded onto the ranks of soldiers, showering them with glowing fragments of stone. Screams echoed up from the valley floor, as whole formations of Rahain infantry were bombarded. Soldiers on fire ran in panic, while countless lay dead amid the burning rock.

  ‘Let’s go!’ Killop shouted, pulling himself up. ‘The tunnel!’

  They ran to the rear of the tower, Lacey and Kyleen carrying Keira.

  ‘Bryanna!’ he cried, as he reached the entrance to the cellar. ‘Tunnel open and ready?’

  ‘Aye, boss.’

  ‘Everyone, get down there.’ He stood by and watched as they filed past him into the cellar, counting until they were all through. The pair carrying the mage were last to go, and Killop waited a few moments, then followed them in.

  The cellar was dark and empty, the rest of the squad having already passed through the tunnel entrance in the west wall. The ground started to tremble, and dust fell onto him from above.

  He dived through the tunnel entrance as the first stones started to fall into the cellar behind him. He staggered to his feet, his head brushing the low ceiling. The ground shook around him, and he rushed forwards, hurtling down the steep incline into the deep darkness of the tunnel. Behind him stones crashed, and the rock beneath his feet rolled and slid. He could see nothing, and put his arms up to protect his head. The ground fell away, and he tumbled through the air, landing in a heap onto a stone floor.

  He grunted and opened his eyes. He was in a cave, lit by lamps.

  Kallie ran to him. ‘Why did ye not use the ladder?’

  He looked up, and saw a rope ladder hanging from the opening. Down here he could feel no tremors, and the ground felt solid to his touch.

  ‘Had to run,’ he said. He ached all over from the fall, but nothing seemed broken. ‘Their mages flattened the tunnel.’

  ‘Their power doesn’t seem to reach down here,’ she said. ‘Maybe we’re too deep.’

  Kallie helped him to his feet and they went over to his sister. She was lying propped up against a wall of the cave, but was awake. Lacey was holding a waterskin to her lips, giving her the last drops.

  She smirked up at him. ‘There’s no fucking way you missed that, wee brother.’

  Chapter 32

  Falling Apart

  Temple, Fire Mountain – 15th Day, Last Third Winter 503

  ‘This decision will be the ruin of us,’ Donial cried, banging his fist on the stained and chipped table. ‘If the lizards attack, the warriors will be too weak to fight!’

  ‘Strange,’ Lanika said, ‘and here I thought the whole point of the warriors was to protect the clansfolk, not to take food from their mouths.’

  ‘We’ve been over this before,’ Kyla said, irritation colouring her voice. ‘Everyone gets the same rations, regardless of what they do. This principle has not changed.’

  Donial scowled, and shot a furious look at the Lach representatives, who sat opposite him round the long table. Killop looked at the floor. The daily meetings of the command were becoming ever more fractious and bad tempered.

  Half a third had passed since the massive Rahain army had appeared in the narrow valley leading to the Fire Mountain, and the over-crowded caverns and tunnels that stretched beneath the temple had become a desperate place to be. Almost twenty thousand clansfolk were crammed into the ancient holy site, huddled deep enough to be safe from the lizards’ earth-shaking mages.

  When Kyla’s battalion had first arrived, the sixteen thousand who were already at the temple, comprising thirteen thousand Lach civilians, one thousand of their warriors, and a further two thousand Domm warriors, were camped in the open valley, with only their supplies being stored in the temple caverns.

  Kyla had taken command, as the most senior leader of the clans, and had set about re-organising the entire area. The defensive walls that spanned the valley were constructed, and everyone was packed up and sent down into the temple. The Domm’s complaints had been the loudest and most sustained. As they had the largest number of warriors, they felt that the overall leadership should have fallen to themselves, and it had been the votes of the Lach and Brig that had secured Kyla’s appointment.

  Despite the amount of supplies that Kyla’s force had taken from the countryside, twenty thousand stomachs had diminished their stocks at a bewildering rate, and now that opportunities for gathering any further supplies were being stymied by the relentless Rahain blockade, people were starting to go hungry. Kyla had taken the decision to lower rations again, in an attempt to stretch out what little they had left.

  ‘A small piece of good news,’ Braed said, breaking the silence. ‘With the stores in the northern tunnels now exhausted, we’ll be able to let families move into that area to ease the crowding. We’re compiling a list of the neediest.’

  Donial snorted. ‘You call that good news? We’re starving, but at least we’re not quite as over-crowded as we used to be. I dread to imagine what bad news sounds like.’

  ‘Why don’t you shut the fuck up?’ snapped Keira.

  Donial’s face turned purple. ‘How dare you? Chief Kyla,’ he said, voice dripping with condescension, ‘is this is your idea of the clans working together? Being insulted by this, this…’

  ‘This what?’ Keira sneered. ‘You got something to say, ya ugly wee prick, go right ahead and say it.’

  ‘Mage,’ said Kyla. ‘That’s enough.’

  Donial got to his feet, glowering, and the two other Domm representatives rose alongside him.

  ‘We’ll be back when you’ve got her under control,’ he said, and they left the smoky, low-ceilinged chamber.

  Braed sighed, and put his head in his hands.

  Kyla turned to Keira. ‘I think we might have to stop inviting you to these morning briefings, mage.’

  ‘Come on, Chief,’ she said, ‘he was being a right arsehole. Again. I cannae just sit here and let him talk pish without saying something.’

  ‘Which is precisely why I think you shouldn’t attend,’ Kyla said, ‘for a few days at l
east. I’m sure your brother will let you know anything important.’

  ‘Fine,’ Keira said. ‘Was boring anyway. Every day’s like, Aye, we’re running out of food, and Naw, the lizards haven’t attacked yet.’

  ‘With that kind of insightful and helpful comment,’ Kyla said, ‘I don’t know how we’ll manage without you.’

  Keira’s expression fell flat. She gazed around the crowded table, looking for allies, but most averted their eyes.

  She got to her feet, brushing her hands down the front of her dark green leather armour. ‘I can tell when I’m not wanted,’ she muttered. ‘Come on, wee brother.’

  Killop nodded to Kyla, ‘Chief,’ he said. She nodded back.

  The two Kell left the dim chamber, and came out into a rough cavern. Kyleen and Lacey were sitting on one of the benches, as were several other guards and aides.

  Kyleen got to her feet.

  ‘Boss,’ she said. ‘What’s up? They finally kick you out?’

  Keira squinted at her.

  ‘We just saw Donial storm past, mage’ Lacey said. ‘We figured you might have said something to upset him.’

  ‘Well,’ Keira said, ‘he was getting on my tits.’

  ‘She’s been barred for a few days,’ Killop said. ‘You’ll have to keep her out of trouble while I attend.’

  Kyleen tutted, and Lacey sighed. Keira glared at them.

  ‘I’m sure Kylon will be happy to see more of you…’ Killop started, but tailed off as Lacey shook her head at him behind Keira’s back.

  ‘What?’ his sister cried. ‘That fucking bellend? The only part of me he’ll be seeing is my fist if he comes near!’

  ‘I take it you’ve broken up?’ Killop said.