Lyallan held out his hands. Two five inch rods released from the inner arm of the metal bands and sprouted tendril wires that blazed red like an older sun. The thin filaments, superheated with energy, cut through armor and bone both, driving the savages back as six more of their number lost limbs and lives to Lyallan and his new bodyguards.
Two of his other puppets were slashed to death in the outer melee, but it mattered little to the Force Master at the moment. If anything, their loss was a blessing in its own way. Back to five puppets, the Ummair began drawing his weapons back to guard him. It wasn’t needed as a strategy, however, since dozens of charged weapons lashed out from the enemy flank. The newest deaths took the enemy’s will with them and spurred the savages into panicked flight in spite of their greater numbers.
Looking through his puppets’ eyes from their various positions, Lyallan watched as they all ran from the Ummair onslaught. Their superior technology had proven itself once more. Perhaps this time the savages would give them more time and a wide berth to set up better defenses around the ship. He could only hope.
“Force Master Lyallan!” a male voice shouted worriedly from where several cobalt armored Ummair were cautiously making their way through a corpse strewn field. “Are you all right, sir?”
“Yes, Eloan, although the timing of the trap was much appreciated. There’s no sense adding undue risk to a battle, even if we have the technological advantage. The numbers of these savages already brings enough worry to our lives.”
Nearly as blue as his armor, the marine squad leader’s skin virtually blended with it to the point that his light grey eyes and white teeth leaped out at the force master in stark contrast.
Inspecting one of his puppets, Lyallan frowned at the creature. Slightly taller than an Ummair, nearly twice as broad in the chest, jutting jaws and lower foreheads all meant the beasts looked quite different from the smaller aliens. As puppets, however, the force master noted the value in their powerfully muscled frames. Most importantly, their worth as cannon fodder would save the lives of his troops. It was much safer to send these undead monsters in with advanced weaponry and maybe even some armor, if they had the time to make it, than to send in his Ummair, living or otherwise.
“They are quite ugly, aren’t they?” Ryella, one of the females that crewed the Dark Sparron noted perusing one of his undead savages. The creature didn’t even blink as she poked at the flesh of its face. “The skin’s almost like bark, probably thick like it too.”
“We’ll have to store these along with a few more of the beasts for my future puppets. They could prove very useful since their fingers can use our weapons. We need to conserve our ship's resources and they seem like ideal tools.”
“Perhaps we should see about enslaving these things as well while we’re stuck here?” Eloan ventured as he surveyed the battlefield.
The force master nodded. “All in good time, Eloan, we Ummair may not have meant to come here, but this world will know our presence soon enough. Subduing these beasts will most likely be worth our while. Not only would their forces working for us be much safer, we can assume that at least some of our allies and enemies have survived as we have. With an army of these savages under our control, few of our enemies could hope to mount a force significant to resist us with just one ship.”
“True enough, but we have the same problem,” Ryella commented taking her attention from the creature she had been inspecting. “These creatures may not have our technology, but it’s finite as are our forces. We need to build up our own numbers slowly, I think. Maybe we should find a small village here and there while taking who and what we need to better our position.”
Frowning slightly at the cautious negativity, Lyallan and the other men could not reject the wisdom of her words. Ryella had been a strategist in the elite core known as the Inquisitors. They were good at rooting out truths and sedition as well as knowing how to deal with the same. Inquisitors were both respected and feared by the general populace. They were the ones that held onto order at all costs. How many possible threats had been eliminated by their sect without anyone knowing of them? Lyallan could only guess at such a thing. Secret, discrete action was the whole point of their order.
“We’ll need to see about survivors,” he added looking at the sloping field in front of him. “I also note that there seems to be three different main colorings to these creatures. The blue ones look a little different in the face and even their build, perhaps we are dealing with more than one faction that have come together thinking us demons or something.
“If we found a village or two of the same type, we might be able to incite distrust between them and cause these savages to fight amongst each other lessening their strength. Or perhaps we simply need to conscript some from each race and have them attack their allies’ villages to bring out more animosity?”
The woman nodded, “You sound a bit like an inquisitor, Force Master Lyallan. Perhaps you have more than just a talent for puppeteering the dead. You know you could do a lot more damage by mind controlling an entire population rather than just a few here and there with your little darts.” Her eyes seemed to appraise him in a new manner. He wondered at the odd look, but it was something to be wary of another time. Right now they had other things to worry over.
“Controlling populations and crowds is all well and good, but if you need a blunt hammer to beat the metal, I'd rather use the hammer.” His puppets beat their chests with a thump that made the others jump in surprise. Force masters were feared for a reason, he wanted to remind Ryella in particular of that fact.
With matters settled between them, the Ummair began to search among the fallen. Survivors with minor wounds were still found amongst the dead apparently playing possum. Controller bands went over the cowards’ heads with little resistance. The Sparron had dozens of these circlets in storage for a reason. Even their enemies could be cleansed of their resistance and new thoughts of service could be placed inside their minds over time with the circlets. Ryella would be in charge of the indoctrination, of course. She was the only surviving inquisitor aboard the Dark Sparron and as such was the only master of the gear. With time and proper use of the controller bands, the woman could control many more of these beasts at once than a force master could hope to at one time with just his limited powers. There was also no limit to the possible numbers once they were properly enslaved.
Their new army was begun.
The Unexpected Heir: A Tale of Alus
Chapter 1- A Prologue
Gulls flew through the air above a courtyard that gleamed white in the early morning sun. Fluffy white clouds seemed to avoid the pristine courtyard with their shadows, but it was hardly silent perfection. No shadows darkened the stone, but the sounds of wind and water moving vigorously under the magical intent of wizards seemed to absorb the voices of the nearest birds. Forty feet below the white stone tiles making up a steady floor for the open air courtyard, waves lapped against the base of a stone cliff. Vibrations from the constant drumming of the ocean were masked by the force of magic spells being used by a pair of duelists surrounded by several other men and women.
Four wizards worked to maintain a united spell of protection. They stood creating an open rectangle of energy capable of absorbing the damage of even the strongest of the duelers' spells as the two fought hard to defeat their opponent.
A dark haired man, tall, strong and fierce looking as his hands moved in intricate patterns, continued to mumble his words of power as he worked to shake the ground or whip up the air to counter the girlish figure across from him. Wearing a dark red shirt and dark brown pants, the wizard was beginning to sweat in the cool air.
It was winter, but in Yalan that merely meant the air wasn't as hot as it could get. The kingdom of Malaiy formed the northwest corner of Taltan, but the continent rode the equator making it warm even after a few months of so called winter. Ocean breezes cooled the land in summer, but the water also served to even out the other seasons as well
making all four very similar for the occupants of the small country.
Across from the dark, serious wizard; a petite young woman with blonde hair so light that it looked silver in sunlight wore a light blue skirt that fluttered in the winds cast by her opponent. The skirt came to just above the knee, an almost scandalous length among certain crowds, but the girl didn't care. Her top was even worse. A short, solid white shirt exposed her navel leaving several inches of exposed skin between the top of the skirt. Sheer white material made sleeves and covered her upper chest to the neck above the sleeveless inner shirt in a slight attempt at added modesty.
Her hair was pulled back in a tail leaving only a couple locks to frame her cheeks and toss in the air with each breeze. Almond shaped, green eyes concentrated on watching each move of the man and expressed little care over whether the others watching her appreciated her unusual choice of dress.
Several buckets of water formed a half circle behind the young woman. They remained inside the perimeter made of swirling wind whipping around the wizard. Wind was her protection making her look unprotected from afar, but as water from a bucket lifted free to be swung around in a circle, the wizard used the power of her cyclone to send the water towards the opponent across from her.
Changing shape under her attention, the water became a serpent. It lashed at his defenses of earth and crawled over the embankments searching for the wizard. Only a quickly cast spell using wind to slice the water tendril saved the man from being pushed out of the circle he stood within. Drawn on the ground, this ring was a clone of the one that the girl stood inside and different from the way the wizards of Malaiy typically dueled each other.
This was a duel following the rules sent by far off Southwall. The northern kingdom had sent an invitation to the nations of Taltan and most of the other continents of Alus calling for any wizards of talent to come fight in a tournament unlike anything ever put together before. The world of Alus was large and travel by horse or boat took time. Only ambassadors sent abroad knew much of the world beyond the borders of each country, but that didn't mean that the invitation would be ignored.
Moving more like a dancer in her circle, the silver haired woman pulled all her strength from her bare feet to the top of her head; or so Annalicia felt as she worked to pull at the elements that the wizard felt most comfortable using. Like Malaiy, the girl seemed most affected by wind and water. Unlike most of the wizards of her country, the movements she used had become an adaption that felt most natural to her feel for magic.
Her opponent was much more solid. His feet rarely moved. His body was steady as a rock, but then again his strength lay in using earth magic as much as the wind. Annalicia was trained to more than just magic, however, and the fluid movements of a skilled dancer and performer seemed the opposite of the man.
Stone tiles rippled as the dark haired wizard focused his power into the ground making a tremor headed straight for the petite blonde. Continuing her dance, she stomped the ground countering with a wave of her own. Though the earth wasn't her most comfortable element, Annalicia could use a few of those spells to defend herself. Any good wizard knew at least some of each element, even if they were complete rubbish at the spells. A great wizard did what they could to master their weaknesses making them strengths when possible.
A stone golem constructed like a hefty wolf or maybe a bear lunged through the dust created by the conflicting earth spells. It had been a feint for the second spell. Both combatants knew each other well enough to know that simple magic like the ripple wouldn't accomplish much, but the dust from the collision had set up the second attack using it as a deception.
Water whipped in from either side like serpents striking their victim. Punishing the stone construct, they pierced the bear drilling through and expanding quickly. A loud set of cracks filled the air as the golem exploded from the expanding holes created by each whip.
They returned to a draw, though Anna's water continued to respond to the wizard's movements. A new set of commands whipped up a powerful, chilling wind driving through the water. The tendrils froze quickly and launched towards the man driving in or around his defenses.
A quickly erected stone wall shielded the wizard from harm, even though the other wizards would have made that true either way. It wasn't their test of skill, however, and he needed to protect himself to continue on with the duel.
While he ducked, the wind was called into a swirling tornado of force focused horizontally towards the girl. Unfazed by the maneuver, Annalicia moved her defensive wall of air to intercept the vortex making it turn faster as it went. The girl set her feet against the rush and moved like a reed in the wind. Only the plant's roots kept it from flying free and it bent with the wind returning to vertical as it passed. Annalicia reacted the same to the wind's passing and watched as the two cyclones canceled each other out even as she worked to use the stalled out ice attack to her advantage once more.
Ice turned to water by her manipulation and attacked the man once more. Half a dozen snakes attacked only to be rebuffed by a wall of wind. She had only missed tagging him by seconds. Magic, especially intricate magic, had lag between the start of the cast and the actual result of their work. Only spells which continued their use could react faster as long as the wizard maintained the magic fueling it.
"Halt!" a voice boomed across the courtyard drawing the attention of both wizards. It was an older man dressed in gray robes looking every bit like what most expected a wizard to be. His manner implied that he expected unerring results from the single command and the two duelists did indeed stop their next spells releasing the power building in them for the next round of attacks.
Shaking his head, the older man voiced his disapproval as well. "Ivanor, you are continually a step behind Lady Anna. If you continue to rely on just earth and air elements, you are going to need to generate your spells faster to have a chance of winning this wizards' tournament."
The elder wizard's eyes moved on from the younger man in his circle to the girl. Ivanor rolled his shoulders cracking them and his upper spine releasing the tension built up over nearly two minutes of dueling unnoticed.
"Lady Annalicia, you just aren't trying hard enough. I can see that your heart isn't completely into this session," her mentor stated judging her performance with a slight frown. "This is the last time you will have to truly hone your skills before setting sail on your ship. If you don't give it your all, you are just shorting yourself."
A charming smile crossed the young woman's face as she straightened her skirt before walking towards the gray wizard. "Qerlan, you know that you don't have to call me 'lady' while I am training. When I am training my magic, I am just like any other wizard. Besides my title means little, the odds of my ever being more than a distant cousin to the king are slim with all my uncles, aunts and cousins.
"As to giving it my all, I've dueled Ivanor more times than I can remember. We know each other well enough that it's a bigger challenge to avoid becoming bored than to actually beating him."
The older man frowned. His look was echoed by Ivanor who could hear them both speaking. A strong breeze came from the sea, but it didn't mask the two as he walked towards the master as well.
"That is disrespectful to your opponent, young lady," Master Qerlan warned glancing towards the larger wizard approaching them.
"I didn't mean it like that," the girl sighed as she brushed the stray locks of hair back over her ears. Diamond earrings sparkled in their silver settings denoting the wealth of Annalicia's family without her even trying. "I just meant that we know each other's moves too well. Unless either of us decides to suddenly change or grow more creative, we will continue to just go through the motions. There isn't enough to push us to grow just facing the same opponents over and over again," she complained.
Qerlan continued to frown and replied, "Having the same opponent should automatically make you grow because you do know each other so well. If you were in a life and death fight with Ivanor with that a
ttitude, he would most likely kill you.
"You have to learn to try, my lady."
Again Annalicia sighed before glancing to Ivanor as if to confirm something for herself. Instead of debating further, the blonde shrugged using her charming smile on the older man once more. "Well, be that as it may, you are correct that we don't have any more time for mindless drills or repetitive duels, master. I should be heading home to finish my packing. The servants will be ready to carry my luggage to the Sea Dragon before I know it.
"There is still so much for me to do. I guess that I will say goodbye now to you master. It will be quite a long time before we see each other again."
It was the old master's turn to sigh as he shook his head and replied, "A long time for you to avoid following your old master, you mean. Reynolvan and the others are as trained as we masters could get them. We can just hope that they will be ready to present a good face in this world tournament. Malaiy can't afford to look the fool in front of our peers."
Giving him a curious look, Anna asked, "While I don't plan on just rolling over for anyone, why are you so concerned? Surely you don't think that we are inferior to the wizards Southwall is bringing, do you?"
Waving her off, Qerlan replied, "No, no, of course not, we have trained you well and our magic is as strong as any who have visited Enchwold or Aerwold. We have made sure to visit those centers for magic regularly to train our students here. Few can hope to learn as much as someone like your grandfather, but he is one of a few who has lived multiple lifetimes, of course."
Wincing at the mention of her grandfather, Annalicia knew that his name would follow her throughout her life. Darius Eremia was referred to as an immortal. One of a handful of confirmed immortals, the connotation was slightly misleading. He had visited her a few times, well, more accurately he had visited her father. During one of those visits, her grandfather had lapsed into reminiscing about some of his adventures.
Battle Mage Bonds (Tales of Alus Book 13) Page 42
