Waving his hands at Sebastian's refusal to own the magic, the younger mage replied, "Whatever, it is still something that the wizards and the king shouldn't be able to restrict you from using or sharing."
The owl shook his head. "No, portal magic is one of the most dangerous ones. Giving the magic to the wrong people would mean weakening a country's defenses since an army could use the magic to invade without facing any walls.
"Anyway, I can live with letting them tell me whether they think it is safe or not."
Ashleen frowned. "Now I feel like I should be offended. Kardor's my home. You almost make it sound like you don't trust them with this magic."
"Hmm, I guess it did come out like that, but obviously I am already working towards Interus and Velius. We don't even know if your king will allow the use of the magic in his country. I am also acting without his approval at the moment, so if I am wrong you are the one in trouble as his acting representative," Sebastian finished with a laugh as the girl's eyes revealed that she didn't like taking the blame for his actions.
"Hey! I didn't make you use your magic to create portals in Kardor, you know."
"But you didn't stop him either," Elzen joked.
"Ok, stop picking on Ashleen," Serrena ordered grabbing the younger mage by the ear and pulling him away. "We'll give you space and head down for dinner, Bas. You two figure it out and we'll meet you there."
After the door had closed, Sebastian pondered the unique relationship of the two who had just left. As most of his friends from the tournament team had slowly left him for their next missions, Serrena and Elzen's relationship as just friends had changed into something else. She was older than Sebastian and Elzen younger, but their difference in age hadn't been an issue for them. He had stayed out of it since who someone loved, or whatever the emotion was that drove those two, wasn't his business to control.
Looking at the pretty blonde remaining beside him, Sebastian watched as the petite girl sat on their bed to remove her warm boots. It wouldn't have surprised him if she had decided to change clothes for something more festive. Ashleen often changed her clothes of the day for dancing at night. He was a bit tired perhaps, but the owl doubted that he would need to go to bed too early tonight. Dancing late into the night hadn't been possible since his injuries, but his recovery was probably far enough along that his stamina would hold out to enjoy a little time with the girl.
Both of her boots dropped to the floor and Ashleen curled her legs underneath her as she looked at him in turn.
"You know that I didn't mean to imply that Kardor couldn't be trusted," he started, but Ashleen waved him off.
"I know when I am being teased by Elzen and I know you well enough too. Arguing about something like that isn't necessary. I also doubt that you would sacrifice me as being the one who didn't stop you, as if I could anyway."
"I can stop. The stones can be picked up and the gates would be like they were never made," he reminded her.
"If we can go to Interus to visit my family, I think that I will risk any rebuke from my father or the king. What is the saying, it is better to act and ask forgiveness later than to never act at all? It is something like that anyway. We can't ask King Vardal's permission until we get to Velius. Neither can my father tell us to not use it to visit until we do.
"I hope that this isn't going to be all we talk about tonight though. After all that waiting in the cold today, I could use a bit of release. Do you think that we can stay to dance for awhile tonight? You haven't exhausted yourself, have you?"
Again he chuckled at the girl's worrying over him. He moved to the bed and Ashleen rose up on her knees making them nearly eye to eye. Kissing the beautiful girl on her full lips as his hands caressed her cheeks and jaw line feeling her soft skin, he noted that even winter hadn't made her silky skin roughen or become too dry.
Pulling back from those lips, he looked into her crystal blue eyes and said, "I think I have enough energy for some dancing or whatever."
"I like whatever," she sighed before they kissed again.
When a grumble from his stomach interrupted their embrace making the couple laugh at the sound, Sebastian embarrassedly responded, "I forgot to eat after we made it to Atellan. Wind riding so long made me hungry again apparently."
"I guess that I had better get my shoes so we can take care of you then," Ashleen stated before slipping from his hands to drop to the floor and walk over to the wardrobe where she kept her slipper like shoes. The girl slipped her anklet on first before adding the powder blue slippers. Her silver ankle bracelet dotted with amethysts had been something that had caught his eye since they had first started to know each other. It always seemed to be used to bring his eyes to her bared legs, though she didn't bother wearing it when winter boots would cover it and likely make it uncomfortable for her besides.
Taking his hand, the girl surprised him by not changing further before dragging him willingly out the door and down to the dining area.
Early in the morning the four met at Sebastian's room again. It was early enough that Ashleen had been slow to awake, even though they had gone to bed earlier than some nights. With the mage still struggling to return to his full energy, they had managed to stay for dancing; but after their long day out in the cold both of them were ready to go to bed long before the music ended downstairs.
"What is that for?" Elzen asked pointing to a stool Sebastian held in his left hand.
"Well, I need to be outside to use my air spell and a wizard wind riding in Atellan might draw too much attention to make it wise to enter the city. Leaning against a tree was hard on my legs and feet, so I borrowed a stool from the stables out back," he replied as the owl checked on the readiness of his friends. Serrena didn't look much happier to be up early and, since both she and Elzen had needed to walk back from their guild houses, her walk in the cold hadn't served to improve her mood.
Glancing around at the furniture around him, the younger mage asked, "Why don't we go and borrow a bench? Then we could all take turns sitting. You weren't the only one who had to stand around in the cold, you know."
"At least you could move around or stretch to change pressure," was his retort. "Feel free to ask Madame Alamore for a bench or stool, but do it tomorrow. Time to go."
As Elzen began to protest and the others grinned at the youngest of their group, Sebastian called up the gate to Atellan. It would be another day like the last. He pushed his abilities as hard as the second half of the trip the previous day making it to the next branch of the river. It forked far to the north of the coastal city creating an island. While Atellan was the only major fortified city, he spotted several other smaller towns and farming communities until he spotted the glimmer of the west branch of the Aderan River.
His best guess at the location of Kardor's next major fortification was a little off. Fort Delial wasn't on the coast, though it was close enough to assist the cities and towns there with a standing army. It sat on the west side of the river halfway between the coast and the fork to the north where a small fort was supposed to hold the river if the Dark One's forces chose to come so far south. Cannon were mounted on outer towers and on the main walls of the stone keep. Though wizards might turn the black powder against its users or reduce even stout walls to rubble, against regular soldiers or ships trying to sail up the river, they would be a serious threat.
Turning north even before he reached the river with his mind, Sebastian moved towards Delial. It was the proposed next stop, but he was already ahead of schedule. Before long, the stone fortifications could be seen in the distance. Once more he sent an air spear ahead of his mind in the direction of the far shore just to the south of the fort.
When he returned to his friends, the mage felt his hunger more than the previous day after either leg of his travel. He had pushed harder and gone farther in a shorter time than before if the distances on the map were to be believed.
Reaching for his bag at his feet, Sebastian met the questioning eyes and
said, "We can go to Delial now."
Ashleen looked confused and disputed his claim saying, "But that's too far. How could you reach the fort in just one try? ...And so soon?"
"I'm not fighting the winds," he replied after taking a drink from his canteen. Juice fortified with a few other things to restore his energy instead of just water was inside and refreshed him even as it touched his tongue. "I still can't move as fast as my spear, but I am working on it."
"That speed should be impossible," the wizard in her replied. "I've never known a wizard that has figured out how to move faster than the winds around them."
Elzen chuckled and interrupted the wizard's dispute. "That's Sebastian for you always undermining wizards by doing things that they've never conceived of before. It might have been impossible for them until now, but I bet he'll be teaching them how to fly like an owl soon enough."
His joking comment caused the two women to frown at him. Serrena complained to the younger mage, "Don't be rude, Elzen. It isn't like Sebastian doesn't make people question what he can do regularly, but give wizards some credit since he wouldn't even know about wind riding without their help."
Shaking her head, Ashleen seemed less offended by Elzen's joke at her expense. "Well, he's kind of right. I did forget who I was talking about, I guess. He's always surprising me, so maybe the bigger surprise is that he still can."
As he stood, Sebastian noted his stiff legs and back, though it wasn't as bad as the previous day and some of the aches were likely leftover from standing beside a tree on his last use of the magic. He found it odd that at only twenty-two years old he could feel like an old man. Unlike that old man, the mage would recover soon enough if he stayed out of the cold for awhile.
"We're ahead of schedule now," the mage stated with a smile as he rubbed absently at his lower back. The stool lessened some of the aches in his legs, he thought, but without a rear frame to it his back suffered as much or more. "Should we go have lunch somewhere warmer?"
"The Grimnal's island?" Elzen asked with an expectant smile.
"Well, I was thinking White Hall's dining room, since we can get a warm meal from the cafeteria."
Though Elzen looked a little disappointed, Sebastian opened the gate to the school.
A shift from one cold place to another was barely broken up by the swift transition through the silver void. Their return to White Hall was barely given a glance though it was noted by the guards like any other opening of the gates. Sebastian's regular presence at the school gave the men a dismissive attitude concerning the owl and his three friends. They were welcomed with nods and had passed into the hallway between the mess hall and mage barracks enjoying their first true break from North's winter weather after only a few moments' time.
Serrena was walking beside Elzen when they entered the dining hall. With her attention distracted by the young mage, the young woman accidentally bumped into a wizard roughly the same size dressed in a set of red robes. Turning on her with chilly brown eyes, the blonde haired fire wizard appeared to be about the same age and her face betrayed a dislike for the one who had disrupted her thoughts as she stood in the buffet line.
"Excuse me..." Serrena began with a start looking ready to add more to her apology until she noticed the identity of the woman in front of her.
"Well, leave it to someone like you to walk without looking where you are going. You always did have a bad habit of blindly driving forward no matter what was in front of you," the wizard complained with her annoyance easily read in her voice.
"At least, I am not a fire wizard with the personality of a water wizard!" Serrena retorted as the red in her auburn hair seemed to stand out reminding everyone that she was a fire wizard also.
The woman in red noted Serrena's brown coat and pants. Only a tunic peeking out from the slightly open jacket at the collar and red border sticking out below the leather coat would let anyone guess that she was a fire wizard. They had made sure to not dress too obviously as they worked their way through Kardor.
"At least I look like a fire wizard. Did they finally decide to kick you out of the guild?"
"Some of us don't get to sit inside all day in our winter robes, Haylee; but I guess you couldn't hack it and need to stay in White Hall to teach."
"Those who can do and those who can't teach?" Elzen chipped in before receiving glares from both women.
"Stay out of it, mage," the blond ordered causing the younger mage to blink. "As for your remark, Serrena, obviously you don't know about the battle at the Twins. I was there in the middle of it when it began. What have you been doing that makes you any more of a fire wizard than I?"
Serrena's face changed slightly, but her reply continued to sound angry as she said, "Of course I know about the battle of the Twins, but I didn't know that you were there."
A nod from the blond led her to look around the room. She must have seen something that annoyed her as Wizard Haylee frowned before returning her attention to Serrena. "I was assigned there with my apprentice," the woman stated gesturing towards a girl standing beside a mage cadet. "If you think being a teacher is so easy, try being one during a battle where you need to try to stay alive while protecting your apprentice."
Elzen spotted a girl with light brown hair whose hazel eyes seemed locked onto a dark haired boy next to her in line. The two smiled at each other too often for him to think that they were only friends, but he asked for clarification, "The pretty girl with the light brown hair talking with that cadet?"
Cool brown eyes glanced to the mage standing beside Serrena with a similar look of disappointment or perhaps disgust. "Who are you? I was having a conversation with my former classmate. What business is it of yours?"
Serrena cleared her throat drawing the blonde's attention back to her and she replied with less fire, "This is Falcon Elzen my... comrade. He and I work with the owl, Sebastian."
"Hmmph, owl," the wizard responded with a slight shake of her head, "those battle mages seem to think a lot of him, but now they've decided to use a new bird in their classifications? There are certainly enough rumors about him flitting around the school. His name kept being brought up in Windmeer as well."
"Yes, everyone does seem to be making a big deal over him," Sebastian stated having overheard the conversation while he and Ashleen stood right behind the others. "Maybe they shouldn't."
Haylee looked over the head of Serrena as her eyes narrowed a bit for the eavesdropper. The wizard was smart enough to feel like she was being set up and didn't respond.
Sebastian inclined his head towards the apprentice and cadet who were starting to put food on their trays. The two almost appeared to be working together as they moved along the line of food placed by the lunch room workers. "It's nice to see mages and wizards getting along."
Another glance from the woman to the pair several paces away, led her back to those she had been speaking with and she replied, "Getting along is fine as long as it doesn't cross the line. Shaylene has seemed to be enamored with the boy ever since the battle last fall."
"It was an ugly battle," Sebastian stated as he looked at the wizard in front of them. "You were at one of the towers when the fighting began?"
Her eyes glowed slightly and the mage guessed that she was trying to read his aura. An air of confusion seeped into that look as she replied, "Shaylene and I were a part of a group sent there with the mage and a few others at the end of summer. When the battle began we went to try and protect the wall over the river lending our power to our earth wizards."
The woman paused and her eyes clouded as her gaze seemed to look to the past event. "We were drastically outnumbered not only in manpower but in magic also. I can't even remember much after the fighting began. Shaylene and I were both nearly killed, though I suppose almost everyone can say that who was there.
"When I awoke after the battle, I was in Blackwall. Shaylene and the boy went to Windmeer apparently. It wasn't until we were recovered enough to return to White Hall that I learned of
what had happened."
Sebastian nodded to the two who had arrived at the end and were already moving towards the tables. The cadet carried both trays while the girl held a pair of a glasses and a pitcher. Still talking with smiles on their faces, the two of them never noticed the attention from their elders talking about them.
"They got pretty close then?"
Sighing, Haylee seemed to have adjusted to the others involved in the conversation now and replied, "Those two hit it off on the ride to the wall and trapped in the west tower left them with too few people to talk to, I guess. There was a story that said he carried her through the portal to Windmeer himself and that he didn't leave her side until she awoke. Some people thought it was cute or romantic, but she is too young to get distracted by a young man; especially not a battle mage."
Elzen managed to not look offended and asked, "What is wrong with a battle mage exactly? I'm sure more than a few wizards have found one of them interesting, even romantically."
With wary eyes, the wizard responded, "I am sure that there have been a few. Women often seem to find love with men that others might deem beneath them. It is just that finding it with a battle mage, especially when they are so young... those relationships are nearly impossible when they are sent to different posts at a whim."
Serrena asked, "So what do you do about it... as a mentor or teacher, I mean?"
"What can you do about it?" the blonde said with a shrug. "We're free to like whoever we want, even battle mages; but when it falls apart then I get to try and keep her focused on what is important."
"Keep her focused? That sounds like the wizard way," Serrena commented with a snort. "Focus on your magic and serve the kingdom. Don't worry about a girl's broken heart. It isn't that important after all as long as she does her work."
Battle Mage Bonds (Tales of Alus Book 13) Page 15
