A Mage's Power (Journey to Chaos)

by Wilkerson, Brian

  Eric leaned on his staff to catch his breath. Nolien tricked his opponent into stinging itself and stood in the center of smoking entrails. Tiza wasn't satisfied until she had dismembered hers: she cut off the claws, sliced its tail clean off, and impaled its head.

  “I hardly think that's necessary,” Nolien said.

  “Well, I do!” Tiza said. “Remember those things in the cave?” Eric only remembered the dimming eyes of his former roommate and his hand automatically went to his pack.

  Nolien noticed the reflex and said, “Good job, Eric. Boack are the same rank as the Cecri from—”

  “Poop Island!” Tiza shouted as she walked to the severed tail. Eric laughed.

  “That's not what it's called!” Nolien hissed. “Anyway, your fighting skills have improved.”

  Eric blushed and turned away. “N-no they haven't.” The hand on his pack scratched his neck.

  “Eric. You defeated a D+ class, without magic and on your own. Trust me, you've gotten better.”

  “Yeah . . .” Tiza agreed as she reached for the boack's tail. “You're not deadweight anymore.”

  While Nolien scolded Tiza for her backhanded compliment, Eric felt warm inside. He'd been deadweight his whole life and to be told he wasn't was an incredible feeling. It didn't last.

  “Don't touch that—” Anuzat shouted, but Tiza had already pulled out the scorpion’s stinger. It sprayed black liquid all over her. “Off!” Anuzat cried, but Tiza was already pulling off clothes that were rapidly turning black. They exploded in midair.

  “What were you thinking?” Anuzat shouted, “Scratch that! You weren’t thinking.”

  “Yeah, I was!” Tiza protested. “I wanted a trophy, and I thought it could be useful.”

  “Ah, I should've told you about it, but still, it was crazy! You should have expected—”

  “All right, I won't do it again,” Tiza promised. “You guys can look now.”

  The boys automatically did an about-face when they saw her shedding clothing. Now that it was safe, they saw her wearing Anuzat's sand-strewn cloak and the kangaroo fussing over her.

  “We can get you new clothes at the Stone Pile,” Anuzat said. “You'll have to share your burden with the boys since we don't have a sled anymore.”

  Tiza scowled. “Then I don't need this.” She was already removing the cloak. Faster than the speed of blushes Anuzat fixed it back around her shoulders.

  “Yes, you do,” she insisted. “You'll be cold enough with it.”

  “Oh, all right,” Tiza relented.

  Eric cleared out his ears; he hadn't known Tiza to give in that easily. Basilard had to threaten her training before she listened to him and she insulted most of their clients; sometimes to their faces. They must have done a lot of bonding . . .

  Anuzat made another Sand Shelter and they all climbed in for the day. Getting Basilard inside was a challenge because they couldn't agree on a method: Tiza was all for dragging him in by his feet while Nolien insisted on carrying him off the ground. The argument became heated and Anuzat refused to get involved. So the pair turned to Eric and he was startled by their similarities. He was frightened too, but for a different reason.

  He was tired and Tiza could hit harder so he sided with her. Nolien gave him a nasty look but conceded to Tiza's method. It wasn't long after he closed his eyes that he felt them open again under cloth. Good morning, Your Highness.

  Eric had another long talk with Kasile about each other's lives. She was very interested in Threan life, especially how a modern society developed without mana. He was more than happy to tell her about Threan-style power plants and she would become so absorbed that she forgot she was being held captive. He woke up refreshed and ready for another night of marching through the desert.

  Chapter 10 The Stone Pile

  Anuzat's ears twitched and she called a halt. Less than a mile ahead the air was thickening. Fog gathered from the sand to the clouds; a stadium for Chaos! It swirled and churned and crackled with energy. A spark of light illuminated the cloud as it channeled from one end to the other. All at once, it ejected into the distance and its crash was a fireworks spectacle. In its wake was a new rock formation. More bolts charged and discharged in all directions. They crashed to earth or exploded midair in fantastic displays of light and sound. A mana storm!

  Oblivious to the cold night air, Eric watched in awe. So that's what they look like . . .The xethras filled him with disgust and fear, but this, though more terrible, filled him with wonder. Whatever the bolts touched, they mutated into something new: a clump of sand became solid rock or flowers, a patch of sky became colored wind, rain fell from nowhere; a cherry bomb version of the Big Bang unfolding before his eyes. They shot open as a bolt flew directly at him.

  The caravan dove to either side, and it exploded between them. In its wake arose a rock of bizarre design. It sat in a hole of sand proportional to its mass and dragged Team Four down with it. Pieces broke off, fell with a thud, and stood up. One rotated in Eric's direction and launched towards him. He dived again and it burrowed into the sand wall. Nolien deflected a second with his barrier. Tiza whacked a third back into the pillar with her sword. That must be some sword . . . Anuzat crushed a fourth under foot. Before they could celebrate, bigger pieces came to life.

  “This is what I'm talking about!” Tiza cheered as she engaged a rock golem a head taller than she was. “Alone in the wilderness, ambushed by a freak storm, attacked by brand new monsters!” Her cloak swayed as she dodged its blows and jumped. “A mercenary's life for me!” She sliced it down the middle, her blade glowing with runes designed for stone cutting. She landed lightly and turned her back on the monster as its two halves fell to either side.

  “I'm gonna die!” Eric shouted as a golem chased him in circles. It punched from behind and clipped his pack. Eric spun to face it with narrowed eyes. “Aio's in there!” He ran back at the thing and whacked it with the mace end of his staff. The impact rattled his arms, but the golem stumbled and fell on its side. Anuzat smashed it with her big feet.

  “Nice hit.”

  “Thanks . . . Nolien!”

  “Finished.” The healer jerked his thumb at a golem standing still. “Petrification spells work better on things already made of stone.”

  “Fascinating,” Anuzat deadpanned. She kicked the sand cliff and a ramp formed. “Now we need to get out of here before something else spawns.”

  “Wait for trophies!” Tiza pried off a chunk of her kill. “Stories are better with visual aids.”

  Said kill reformed as two kills. The one Anuzat crushed spawned ten smaller versions of itself. Nolien's petrified victim lumbered towards them with a sleek new coat. The three novices grabbed Basilard and dashed up the ramp. Anuzat collapsed it before the golems could follow.

  Still the mana storm raged. New forms of life were crawling out of the sand or taking flight and they preyed on those already living. The sapients; jackrabbits, lizards, and others happily ate them.

  “Run!”

  They sprinted as another bolt flew over their heads and exploded. Drizzles of Fog fell to earth and spawned healthy green moss. Another landed next to them and transformed the sand into a flower bed. A third formed a sinkhole in their path, forcing a detour. A fourth spawned a new monster; a towering lizard with stone skin and frilled neck. It roared, they screamed, and the chase began. A fifth struck the huge beast and it became a fish shaped tree. For the next ten minutes, Team Four dodged the storm's bolts and the monsters it spawned. Then, with all its energy discharged, the cloud dissipated. It left behind a changed landscape.

  New rocks, new plant growth, new animals breeds, sand of different colors, and even the air itself was charged from the mana pillar. All that remained now was a thin Fog lazily circulating the area where it was born. The most radical mutations lay in the center; the boundary was almost normal.

  “How often does this happen?” Eric asked Anuzat.

  “Impossible to say. Sometimes once a year. Other
times, one every—” She cut off at the sound of heavy footsteps. Through the Fog, she could see silhouettes of bizarre creatures slinking, flying, stomping, and eating. “Let's leave before those things notice us.”

  They were delayed a solid night and their rations felt it. They ran out of food the next day. Anuzat purposely steered her caravan into a monster pack to resupply. Afterward, they were all tired, injured, and used up their water, but had enough meat for three more days. They lived on cactus juice for the remainder of the trip. Fatigue, chill, and hunger numbed Eric's body and mind. On the dawn of the ninth day, he dismissed the strange pile of stones in the distance as either a mirage or unimportant. Then Anuzat announced their arrival at the Stone Pile.

  The capital looked as if someone grabbed rocks at random and tossed them up in the air. Stones were piled high without mortar and some lay precariously on the edge of others. Instead of a fortress or a city, it truly looked like a pile of stones.

  “Why'd they bother building this place?” Eric asked. “It looks ready to fall apart.”

  “I told you already: they built it so other nations would have somewhere to go.” Anuzat's voice turned bitter. “It's hard to have relations with a nation that's constantly on the move.”

  “You have such disdain and yet you're one of them.”

  “Was one of them,” Anuzat insisted. “Past tense.” She knocked on the gate to call its keeper.

  The gatekeeper was a human tanned brown from life in the sun. He dressed like Anuzat and greeted her with a code phrase, which, of course, she knew by heart. After exchanging pleasantries, he welcomed “cactus stinger” home, she retorted with something inappropriate, and the gate slid open. The gatekeeper took one look at the diminished caravan and directed them to the local healer.

  A spacious tent decorated with the sun and the moon. Ethereal enforcers circled the sun; glowing tricksters jumped over the moon. A majestic griffin painting guarded the entrance flap. It was pushed aside by an old human woman with three eyes and fly wings poking out the bottom of her embroidered cloak.

  “Welcome home, Cactus Stinger.” Anuzat scowled. “And Otherworlder.” Eric shuffled his feet. “Come in, come in.” She waved them forward and the novices carried their mentor inside.

  Scented pelts hung from the rafters and bottles lined the rear wall. The woman's own staff stood proudly at the center. The healer instructed them to place Basilard there. After a preliminary exam, she said Basilard had been well taken care of and would awaken soon. Nolien beamed.

  Anuzat held the flap open. “Come, we'll conduct our business in the morning.”

  “Why not now when it's not as hot?” Nolien asked.

  “It's dark and it won't be so hot.” Eric detected a touch of pride in her voice. “Not here.”

  The Inn was a three-story building of the same construction as the wall. Anuzat hopped through the door and the Innkeeper greeted “Cactus Stinger.” She made a rude gesture on her way to the room perpetually reserved for her.

  The morning sun revealed a tower in the center of the city. Eight streams of light connected it to the wall and the sky shimmered between them. I bet it works on the Green House Effect but in reverse; keeping heat out instead of in. I'd like to see the runes describing their function . . . Hot and dry but bearably so; the capital of Kyraa was the largest scale magecraft in the region.

  “Now we can get things done,” Anuzat said. The merchant pointed out the clothing store then leaned towards the boys and whispered, “Keep an eye on Tiza. I don't want her to get in trouble.”

  Eric said nothing. Anuzat used Tiza's name and told them to do something that had nothing to do with guarding her. Nolien nudged him and gave Anuzat his word in agreement.

  The store was divided in two sections, which Eric assumed to be male and female, but the signs said otherwise. Instead of gendered images, the signs were two unisex individuals: one with a shield and one without. Behind the shield carrier were pants and gauntlets. Behind the shield-less person were skirts of varying length and cloaks. Tiza dropped her purchases on the counter.

  The clerk shook her heads. “You can't buy these.”

  “Why not?”

  “They're warrior clothes,” the left one said.

  “The store is split into gear for warriors and clothes for non-warriors,” the middle one said.

  “Seeing as you aren't a warrior you can't buy anything from that section,” the right one said.

  Tiza thrust her scabbard in the clerk's face. “Hello! I AM a warrior.”

  They were unimpressed. “Not a Kyraan warrior.” The boys saw Tiza's body tense up and her hand move to her hilt. As one, they each took some coins from their bags and placed them on the counter with Tiza's. She grabbed them and threw them back with a glare.

  “How do I get recognized?” she asked the clerk. Eric looked at Nolien, who shrugged

  “You have to challenge a recognized warrior and defeat them before an elder.”

  Still wearing Anuzat's cloak, Tiza left the store to look for a warrior to beat into the ground. All the while, she complained about the trouble she had to go through to buy new clothes.

  “If you hadn't grabbed the stinger,” Nolien reminded, “then you wouldn't need new clothes.”

  Tiza pulled the stinger, plugged with safety rubber, from within her cloak. “This stinger will come in handy one of these days. Just you wait! We'll be fighting some big powerful monster that repels all our attacks, you'll be screaming and wetting yourself and then I'll jam this thing into its eye!” She made a stabbing motion. “Then you’ll be sorry!”

  “What if it doesn't have eyes?” Eric asked. Tiza pointed the stinger at him. “Shutting up.”

  They heard laughter and turned to see a human boy leaning against one of the stone buildings. His arms were crossed and he was staring at the ground. He wore a shirt and pants, two swords on his back and gauntlets on his arms.

  “What's so funny?” Tiza asked.

  “Just you, my lovely scorpion.”

  Tiza cocked her arm and Eric feared she was going to throw the stinger at him. Then her arm fell and she put the stinger back under the cloak. Eric was both relieved and surprised: Relieved because he didn't want to be involved in attempted murder and surprised because Tiza was showing restraint. The second feeling vanished when she chucked the rock trophy at him instead. A rock that size and speed would crack his skull if it hit, but the boy leaned without a care in the world. Rest in Peace . . .

  The boy caught it with one hand like a baseball; he didn't even look up. It was an impressive feat, but he'd seen it before at the Dragon's Lair. His jaw dropped because those people were Regulars. That wouldn't stop Tiza. He sighed and waited for the inevitable.

  “Fight me!”

  “This is a golem head, isn't it?” the boy asked, ignoring her demand. “You must have been caught in that mana storm a week ago. The fact that you survived means you're not a crummy tourist, possibly a decent opponent, but then again . . . I'd rather not have a senseless brawl.”

  Her hand twitched. “All right, I challenge you to a duel! That better?”

  “All right, what are the stakes?”

  “Stakes?”

  “Yes, stakes. I don't know about where you come from, but here in Kyraa, we don't fight for the heck of it. Fighting is for defense, hunting, or training in one of those two.” He finally looked at Tiza. “I doubt you fall into any of those categories; particularly the last one.”

  Tiza growled and her hand flew to the sword beneath her cloak. She had it halfway out before Nolien grabbed her hands and tried to reason with her. Good luck.

  “Why are you baiting her?” Eric asked. The boy shrugged.

  “Can you tell me your name?” The boy shrugged again. This is getting annoying.

  “How about why warriors are such a big deal here?”

  “Warriors bring honor to themselves and their families through hunting, duels, and sport. Warriors enforce the Law and carry out decisions made b
y the Elders.” That explains it; warriors are the police here. Tiza trying to buy what she did would be like a civilian trying to buy a police uniform.

  He heard a thud of metal on leather and saw Tiza's arms crossed instead of on her hilt. Will wonders never cease. “All right, what are you going to put up?”

  “I don't have to because you'll get honorary warrior status if you win.”

  Eric had to admit it was fair, otherwise Tiza would get two prizes and he would only get one. His teammates scowled. Once again, he noted how strangely similar they looked when in agreement.

  “I don't have to put up anything either. I won't lose.”

  “All the same, I want a kiss.” Tiza was silent, her eyes an unbelieving blank.

  “You don't have to fight him at all, you know,” Nolien said. “You can get new clothes in Roalt and wear Anuzat's cloak until then.”

  Tiza's face hardened. Eric feared she'd go into Videlicet Mens. If that happened, both mages together couldn't stop her.

  “No . . .” she said in cold fury. “I'm going to beat that smirk off his face!”

  He chuckled and said, “Just one more thing.”

  “What!?”

  “If you want to prove yourself in accordance with our traditions, you'll have to dress as a non-warrior.” Tiza glared hatefully, which made him happier. “Since I know I'll win, I'll pay for it.”

  This is not going to end well! Nolien shared his dread. They both remembered what happened the last time someone made Tiza wear a dress. I don't care if this guy has Regular skill, he's gonna die.

  “Come, my lovely scorpion.” Both of Tiza's hands twitched as she followed the warrior boy back to the clothing store.

  By now, Eric was wondering if this guy had a death wish, but more likely he simply didn't take Tiza seriously. Their fighter did give the impression of being a big mouth with a piece of sharp steel, but could definitely take care of herself in a fight. That boy's gonna get stung if he calls her 'my lovely scorpion' again.