Beyond?

by Andur

  The stupid smile of the man in question disappears and turns into an angered expression. “Don't get cocky you-”

  He executes a simple straight forward kick to Chuck's chest, but Chuck isn't there any more and the nomad's foot passes through an after image. Instead the Great Shaman is suddenly half a metre to the left and raises a very small dagger. It appeared in his hand from seemingly nowhere. Chuck draws the claw-shaped sharp tool with cool precision over the man's Achilles' heel. The man grunts in pain and stumbles to his knees.

  He attempts to follow the Great Shaman, who turned away from the nomad to walk back to his stool. But the nomad's foot doesn't follow his owner's wishes and he falls flat on the ground. It's hard to walk with a cut tendon. “You little bastard! I'll take my time with you! Come back here!”

  Chuck ignores the nomad who is getting back to his feet with the aid of his comrades. He pulls a stick from his pocket and covers it with the blood from the small dagger.

  “I. Am. Not. Little!”

  He snaps the stick, folding it in the middle.

  The nomad, who was following Chuck by jumping on one foot, suddenly folds backwards at his hips. “AAIAAEEE!” A scream of surprise and pain fills the air.

  His companions, who were trying to aide him, jump away from him in shock. The nomad tumbles over and starts wailing and cursing at Chuck. I am impressed that a person can still curse like that while being in horrible pain.

  The Great Shaman turns around and reorients the bloody remains of the stick between his fingers, then he snaps them a second time.

  Abruptly the wailing and cursing stops, as the nomad is folded a second time, this time sideways. Chuck ignores the heap of bone and flesh on the ground and returns to his stool. While passing the fire he throws the remains of the stick into the fireplace and the crushed corpse of the nomad bursts into flames.

  The chief's smile disappeared during the show and now he is eyeing the Great Shaman like someone to be aware of.

  Chuck places himself onto his stool and starts cleaning his bloody hand with a handkerchief from his pocket. “Now, since order is restored, we can continue the discussion.”

  Stella bends over to whisper into my ear. “Did Chuck have a bad day? The wasn't diplomatic at all!”

  I whisper back. “I think he is grumpy because they didn't immediately give him a stool. And speaking about his size is an absolute taboo!”

  The chief straightens himself. “To make this farce short, you have to die since you violated our sacred land. But you fought well so far and our rules dictate that a worthy opponent has to be treated with respect. That requires us to give them the chance of explaining their reason for breaking our laws, though that won't change anything. As the strongest chief among the tribesmen I was chosen to give you the choice to surrender.”

  Giana snorts. “You just said that we have to die in any case. Why should we surrender? It sounds more like your tribe's politics require you to put up a front. Maybe it's more like the other chiefs refuse to fight any more and now you have to show them your strength?”

  The chief grins. “A smart one? But you are mistaken, they would fight you in any case. This is just about me becoming the leader of the whole raid. You see, fighting you as honourable opponents requires killing all of you properly. If you surrender, you aren't honourable opponents any more and we can take those whom we choose to as slaves.”

  His eyes wander over Giana's body and then to Sola and Stella. “I could imagine myself rescueing such nice maidens from certain death.”

  Helen's expression distorts in anger, but I can't tell if it is because she was overlooked, or because her daughters were threatened with a horrible fate. “Aren't you a little too cocky. I don't see us losing to a bunch of bandits any time soon.”

  The chief stands up. “Then let me inform you of a little important detail. My tribesmen are watching this exchange from afar and if any of your actions makes you lose face, then you become fair game. Think about all those feisty villages of yours at the border. How many years passed since we raided them the last time? They must be filled with riches! Do me the favour of running away with your army. It would remove your status as honourable opponents.”

  He claps his hands together. “That means that you can't get out of this situation by simply walking away from this exchange. I'll get my raid either way. And after all I have this!” He pulls the delicate dagger from his leather belt and the shadows which are thrown by the fireplace grow larger. “I might decide to use this ag-”

  I teleport right next to the chief when I recognize the tool in his hand. My hand slices through empty air as I try to take it. Unfortunately he is a bit faster than I expected.

  The chief looks angrily at me and then at Helen. “What do you think you are doing? Call that dog of yours back!”

  I point my finger at the dagger. “I want that.”

  “It doesn't belong to you!” The chief hisses at me.

  “Neither does it belong to you.” I point out. “Helen, you recognize what this probably is?”

  Helen nods and retreats backwards from the fireplace. “I am sorry chief, but I think your revelation of this item made any negotiations unnecessary.”

  Chuck is right beside her, holding his totem like a shield and a few pearls of sweat forming on his forehead.

  The chief's expression turns sad. “So you know this artefact. Too bad, I hoped to surprise you. Don't worry, I'll take my time in dealing with all of you.” He turns to walk away. “We'll see each other on the battlefield!”

  My eyes wander to his group of followers. They didn't exactly explain their shrewd system of honour and respect, but I maybe I can use that against him? “But you said that a man has to earn his respect in your society. How does it look if you, the Great Chief, walks away from someone who attacked him? Isn't such a leader unworthy to be followed? I mean, it looks like you are afraid of facing me? You even jumped away from me like a frightened chicken when I reached for the dagger.”

  The eyes of the chief's followers wander back and forth between me and him. Finally he turns around to face me. “Ha! I thought about sparing a child's life, but it looks like you want to be killed!”

  “Child?” I look down at myself.

  “Of course! Look at you! How old are you? Are you even twenty yet? Just so that you know! I am four hundred and thirty eight! How could I feel threatened by a baby!?” He gestures furiously and turns towards his nightmare.

  I point at his mount, which is relatively easy to discern because the equipment on it looks a little fancier than the rest. “Ghost. Food!”

  My warcat blurs and flies into the gathered waiting nightmares of the nomads. A single swipe with its paw ends the life of the nightmare which I pointed out. The remaining nightmares flee like frightened herbivores in all directions.

  The chief turns around and glares at me. “I liked that nightmare!”

  I place my hands behind my back. “And I want that dagger. Don't run away from me!”

  His eyes wander to his subordinates who seem to start doubting him. Then he finally decides to face me properly. “Then I'll start with you, Fool. And since I honour our culture I'll properly introduce myself. I am the warchief Narcus. Four hundred and thirty eight years old. I killed two thousand and forty eight men in close combat.”

  I nod and smile. “It's an honour to meet someone with manners. My name is Azir Zait, twenty one. I never counted the number of insects under my shoes, nor did I try to remember their names. Don't hope that I'll even try to remember yours. So how do you want to do this, or can I simply kill you?”

  The angrier he is at me the better. I think the description of the dagger was that the user could walk through shadows? That could become troublesome when he decides to run, I don't want him to flee and take the dagger with him. His entire focus has to be on me.

  Narcus snorts and puts the dagger away. “Then let's have a real magical duel. How about that? You guys from Nict are so proud of your magic, b
ut all you can do is rely on your magical abilities! I'll defeat you in a real duel of magic! How about that? No weapons, no martial arts, just magic.”

  Maybe he isn't fully aware of what's in his possession. He doesn't act like an agent of the Master either. Was it pure luck that the dagger fell into his hands? No, it's too unlikely. I can't let my guard down. “Okay! A duel of magic.” Fighting on my own field of expertise can't be to my disadvantage.

  But he is an old mage like me. Underestimating him could cost me my life since a real battle of magic is a fight of the mind as much as it is one of power. All the cards have to be played right and it doesn't hurt to have a few hidden ones up your sleeve. I reach into my pocket and bring out a worn, old coin. It's the one which I got from Chuck. Then I flip it while keeping the eye contact with Narcus.

  72. ~Scorched.~

  “And the children of the dragon brought their fire into our land. It proved that they had inherited the dragon's power and turned it into their own.”

  -Old Nomad.

  Eastern Plains

  Azir

  “What do you want with the coin?” Narcus glares at the spinning coin as I catch it, but then his attention is back on me immediately.

  “Nothing. It's just for a spell. You know rituals right? Sometimes a spell is easier to cast if you rely on a physical object as a carrier.” Each time the coin spins in the air, I infuse more of my mana into it. The charged coin's movement seems dulled and heavier than it should be, as if it is slowed in time.

  Narcus walks closer until he is ten metres away from me. “Then let me explain the rules. We'll use only magic. No physical contact with the other party. The one who breaks that rule loses his honour.” His eyes wander to our spectators.

  I try to wrap my mind around his strange idea of a magical duel. When you are in a fight for life and death you normally use everything at your disposal. The dirtier, the better. You use the most simplest spells and the fastest ones. There is no time for fancy hocus pocus when your opponent can simply raise his finger and kill you with a fireball, which he learned in his first class of school.

  Straining my eyes, I try to look at my opponent. And I don't mean his outer appearance. This time I am really looking at him. The fine veins of energy which are fanning out from his brain and heart. There is the dagger at his hip, which is flaring in a bright white light. This convinces me that my hunch about the dagger has to be right. It's The Emperor's Wish and belonging to the Tinn. To command the shadows and walk among them. I don't remember much of what I am told, but when it comes to artefacts and machines, I never forget.

  I gesture for him to start. “I'll leave the first move to you, since I've already started to cast my spell.” The coin wanders between my finger and I infuse more mana into it, reforming it's inner structure. Then I flip it again to let it cool down. Pushing so much magical force into a small object causes a serious amount of waste heat.

  My opponent starts circling me carefully. “I'll start slowly. Otherwise I may not be able to enjoy this.” He raises his hand and I notice magical energy flowing along the veins of energy within it. The mana forms a simple spell which I use myself quite often. Reading the magical formation I step out of the missile's path as it is fired. The spell shoots past my left upper arm and I flip the coin again, reforging and refining the spell within it. “Oh, please. I thought you wanted a real magical duel. There isn't a person in the world who doesn't know the arcane missile spell.”

  The chief's eyes turn into thin slits as he circles me and I notice mana flowing down his feet and into the earth, where it remains in a small tight package. A magical mine?

  He leaves one of those packages behind for each step he takes. “I'll show you a real spell then. You seem to be at least a halfway decent magician.” He raises his hands and pours mana into his surroundings while humming a melody, influencing the magic through the use of his voice.

  I try to find out what he is doing while I am gathering the mana from my surroundings around me. Narcus seems to be a decent magician, though his focus on my age shows that he misunderstood something vital about magic.

  A sentient mind can take in only a limited amount of information and knowledge. If you remember your entire life, you would turn insane. My guess is that twenty to thirty years are the absolute maximum of remembering something without practising it.

  You should never be too confident whether your opponent is thirty or a thousand years old. All it takes is just a little mistake or misconception.

  A genius should be able to learn the most important stuff about the workings of the world within twenty years. When I dodged his missile, he should have been alarmed.

  Suddenly his magic surges forward and engulfs the entire area. I start feeling light and as I flip my coin, it doesn't return and shoots straight upwards instead. “A gravity spell?” I feel my feet disconnecting from the ground and a moment later I am floating in the air.

  Narcus grins. “Let's see how you intend to dodge now!” He sends a burst of compressed air towards me and I open my mouth in order to not get my eardrums damaged. His spell isn't particularly strong and only pushes me away from my position. Narcus kept walking while he executed his spells and now he manoeuvred me directly above his waiting balls of compressed mana.

  No, I don't want to be here. I strike my fist in his direction and send a burst of condensed mana against him while forgetting about fortifying my own position. The recoil pushes me away from the waiting mines and I exit the danger zone as he makes a gesture.

  Gravity returns and I send mana through my feet to land on the ground. He even increased the gravity and my soles dig a few millimetres into the earth.

  “You are better than I thought.” He disperses his magic. “Whom did you learn from? Nict doesn't have such outstanding masters of magic. You even saw though my trick with the mines.”

  I smile wryly. “Then you've never fought a clan head. Are we done with measuring each other up?” Sensing the strong power inside my returning coin, I hold out my hand and catch it.

  Flipping it again I start to explain. “I was so excited about your proclamation that I even decided to show you a real spell. This coin is a part of it. It's a very powerful spell which ends the life of any chosen opponent. The only problems are the requirements for the activation. First I obviously have to flip it a hundred times, as you see. That's a bothersome restriction, but the effect makes it worth the effort. The second is that I have to explain the conditions to the target, which is you, before I've flipped the coin fifty times.”

  His stupid grin vanishes and is replaced by a more calculating one. “How often did you flip the coin up until now.”

  This time it's my turn to grin. “Who knows?” Flip.

  He bursts into action and casts an arcane missile, while simultaneously pouring his mana into a magic formation to his feet. I focus the mana around my free hand and swing it to divert the missile while walking forward, closing the distance.

  The mines which were placed by Narcus blow up and envelop us in a cloud of dust. Suddenly a shadow appears in the corner of my eye and I strike instinctively at it.

  Eastern Plains

  Stella

  “But he can't do that! What is he thinking to throw himself into danger like that!” I try to free myself from my father and Sola as the magical duel heats up. All parties retreated from the negotiation when Azir went for the dagger without asking anyone else about their opinion.

  Lucas holds me in a firm grip. “His rash decisions are bothersome, but it also seems like the dagger is the real deal. Who knows how much control the chief has over it? Azir seems to be our best chance stop him before he can use it against us. He purposefully directed the chief's attention to himself.”

  Helen and the Great Shaman are still shielding us against the battle, which proves to be fortunate as a ball of energy leaves the dust cloud and impacts on our barrier. The wall of energy around us deforms, but holds as an explosion scorches the ground around our
party. A few of our guards are battle mages and assist Chuck by pouring their mana into his ritual.

  My mother turns around and slaps me. “Get a hold of yourself. For all we know the dagger is a very powerful tool for assassination. It's possible that the chief could have killed us easily. Now assist with the barrier. Those two are hurling serious powers around, I only saw the Zait clan head do so up until now.”

  Another explosion lights up the big dust cloud and a ring of fire travels outwards from it. Sola and Lucas let go of me to pour their mana into the Shaman's ritual. I join them.

  Eastern Plains

  Azir

  “Whew... that turned into a real brawl of power.” I flip the coin again. “Are you under some kind of time pressure?” Flip. “But I admit that I am amazed by your ability.”

  The dust cloud settles and I kick the magical core of the last earth golem while evading the huge fist, which is striking down at me. The chief summoned a whole group of these self repairing man-sized manikins. Luckily they can't regenerate once I destroy their cores.

  Though the golems aren't bothering me that much. What's bothering me is this. I raise my hand and fire another orb of condensed mana at Narcus.

  He does nothing to evade the attack. Upon making contact with the orb his figure turns black and the orb passes right through him. I notice that he is tracking every spell very carefully with his eyes. Maybe his protection isn't automatic? He has to activate it.

  I frown. “That's troublesome. Some kind of space shifting by the dagger? What can I do if none of my spells are able to connect?” I flip the coin again. “Doesn't matter. I simply have to finish the last few flips. But while I do so, how about this?”

  He laughs. “Isn't this little artefact magnificent? Nobody can harm me while I have it! I am a god! So what do you think you can do with a stupid coin! Come on! Show me! I am right in front of you. Nothing you fire at me has any effect!” He spreads his arms to invite me.