The distance closed rapidly, but as she called her magic finally responded. It was too slow, however, and her wings barely caught the air making her twist in her fall. They flapped as the dragoness tried to control her body to change the angle of her trajectory. Pulling into an angle still destined to hit the earth, Cheleya fought gravity and her numb body.
“Come on!” she screamed before catching her knee against the ground. Twisting with the impact, her shoulder and head struck on the side before her body tumbled end over end with the speed of her fall. She had managed to change the direction from a direct impact, but still Cheleya tumbled end over end expecting each hit to break her bones and end her life.
Bleeding, but not broken, Cheleya held still for a moment. A loud slap nearby announced her pack thrown down by Malaketh just as she had been. It was garbage to the wizard and merely added to the illusion that she had tried to escape with stolen artifacts. Moaning in pain, Cheleya managed to move her arms and legs. Her eyes found her pack.
There had been little that could break inside, so when the girl opened it she was surprised to see pieces of glass and metal inside. Some was even precious metals like gold and silver, which surprised Cheleya. Thinking for a moment, the girl realized that Malaketh must have decided to throw the pieces inside to look like broken artifacts. She doubted that they had been real, since his greed seemed too great to part with anything even to frame her with his story.
Taking a moment to survey her body for damage, Cheleya noted her cloth had disappeared along with most of her magic. Rummaging inside the pack carefully trying to avoid glass, the dragoness found one of a pair of dresses that she had chosen over the last months. She liked soft things and these were pretty to her eyes. Unfortunately, the girl never bothered to try buying shoes.
Her knees were scratched and bleeding as was her right shoulder that had taken the first hit on the stone littered ground. Touching the side of her head, Cheleya found blood on the same side of her head, which accounted for some of the dizziness she felt from moving.
Searching her pack one more time, the girl found a golden device that looked like little more a small rounded bar of gold. It was not real gold and the bar that was about the size of a bar of soap was very light and smooth. Trying to summon her magical power was difficult still. Whatever Malaketh had done to her still lingered and she realized that only sheer willpower had managed to overcome it enough to save her life. Head aching, Cheleya channeled just enough magic into the bar causing it to glow. She touched it to the side of her head and felt a cooling effect where a cut must have formed from striking the earth.
Still glowing with the taste of magic, the bar was placed against her damaged legs, elbows and lastly her right shoulder. Driven by her magic, the healing stone erased the wounds. Though it could heal skin very well, the healing stone was only capable of surface deep healing. Her shoulder and head still hurt, but she doubted that anything was broken.
Cleaned of the blood from her wounds, Cheleya finally pulled the red sun dress over her head covering her body. She felt cold. It was a new sensation and not strong, but it made Cheleya fear that Malaketh’s magic may have separated her from her che’ther roots beyond the simple locking of her form with the broken amulet. She felt different and as the shock of her fall faded Cheleya began to shiver with emotion. These were stronger than the girl had ever felt before and that made her even more fearful.
She looked up at the giant spire of stone and could barely make out the academy from her position. The fact that it angled as the base expanded had helped her manage to survive. Her wings had just barely let her follow the slanting ground to crash as she had.
Looking up let her know where she had come from, but the question became where she should go now. Malaketh was going to blame and accuse her for stealing from the academy. If he sent the word through the city, she couldn’t return home or she would draw her family into even greater troubles than mere disappointment in an undersized daughter. It would be her word against a teacher’s and, unless Fa’Kelman’zer would be able to resist the powerful magic of Malaketh; she doubted anyone would believe her.
The barren stone around the dragoness made her falter uncertain of what she should do. Home was dangerous, but where could she go? Cheleya had never been beyond the training mountains and knew little of the outside world. What could she do?
Malaketh stood upon the balcony feeling proud of himself. He hadn’t let any attachments for his student stop him from achieving his goal. The wizard had done what he must and the scapegoat had been set.
Having taken a few slightly precious pieces of equipment from the training gear, the wizard had put enough inside her pack to make it look like the girl had been stealing. Binding her body and magic, he had ensured that she would die from her fall, or so he believed.
“Is it done, Malaketh?” a deep voice questioned from the darkness.
“I believe so,” the master answered as he began to cast a vision enhancing spell. Both distance and the night became nothing to him as he summoned a hovering eye and his mind was able to see whatever his creation could. The eye moved past the edge of the balcony as Malaketh gripped the rail. He knew the dragon wing spell and could fly as easily as any che’ther in human form, but it was still best not to tempt fate or the greed these men might harbor.
Seeing Cheleya moving down below caused the man to curse. The girl was supposed to be a broken mess at the base of the stone spire, but he could see her looking very alive. If she was alive to refute his word, it could be trouble. Though he was a master and it was his word against hers, it would plant the seed of doubt in those around him that he still needed to persuade to trust him.
“She lives,” the wizard admitted to his comrade.
“Shall I call the hounds to hunt her down?”
Malaketh thought for a moment. “If she survived that fall, then it means she was able to draw on her magic at least for a moment. Without a complete block, the girl might actually have the power to defeat the hounds. Send them to drive her away. If she fears for her life too much, the girl could draw on her magic in desperation and still win. No, we need her scared enough to run, but not fearful enough to do more.
“Send them between the city and the girl. Make them drive her away to the south or something. She won’t be able to do any damage to us until it is too late.”
The other wizard nodded and began to summon his magic. Summoning spells and portals cost a lot of power when casting, but curse spells could bridge some of the power needed if done by the right warlock.
A small light lit the night to the north of the spire and the summoned eye watched as a dozen werewolves and cats appeared through a glowing doorway. The warlock standing in the darkness continued to cast. After a few moments, Malaketh could hear the distant baying of wolves.
“It is done. I have sent word of their quarry. If she is strong enough, your former student might be able to escape for a time,” the warlock stated sounding like he didn’t believe any such thing.
“With her magic unhindered, she would destroy your pets, but with my magic disrupting hers we will see what Cheleya can do without any help,” Malaketh replied as he waited for the girl to figure out that the wolves were there for her. The dragoness had better act quickly, he thought, or she would be dinner for the wolves.
Chapter 4- A Che’ther’s Tears
Turas climbed the eastern sky overwhelming his elder brother moon with his red light giving the barren, stone strewn wasteland around the dragoness an eerie crimson glow. The world seemed alien even to one who had lived in the Dragon Spine Mountains all her life like Cheleya. The crying of wolves in the air added to that feeling and the dragoness trapped in her fragile human form knew that they were coming for her.
Her cheeks felt wet and Cheleya wiped her face fearing that she had missed a wound. It wasn’t blood and she licked her fingers tasting salt on her tongue. Sighing, the che’ther wondered if she would ever understand this body.
&nbs
p; Standing up, the girl shouldered her pack with its strap. The wolves were coming and she doubted that anyone would be rushing to her aid. She felt for her magic and could tell that it was unlikely to help her either, so with another sigh Cheleya turned south away from the approaching pack.
She searched around with her eyes finding her human vision very inadequate. Even with the moons’ light, the girl could barely make out much in the darkness. Shadows hid too much and her sight couldn’t penetrate them the way her che’ther eyes could. Creatures designed to live in caves like her race were apparently better designed than these fragile human bodies, she thought.
“Dragon wings,” the girl muttered trying to access her magic. Her power refused to answer. It was almost as if her power was gone, but she had managed to call it when she needed it most, so it had to be there deep inside somewhere. There must have been some interruption caused by Malaketh’s spells. He had broken her amulet and made it disappear into her body before shocking her system. Only the residual strength of her che’ther aura had probably made her strong enough to resist his magic long enough to call upon her wings, but they disappeared with her crashing into the ground almost immediately.
“Ouch!” she cried out in whispered pain as her foot kicked a rock solidly injuring her toes. A che’ther never had to fear a simple stone on the ground and Cheleya had never felt so much from her human body before either. This forced transformation seemed to make her almost more human than any change had before.
The sounds of the wolves seemed to be getting closer, so Cheleya had to push on despite the pain. Her eyes scanned for a place that she could climb that wolves could not. There were many slopes and spires of stone were numerous around Mar’kal, but she wasn’t familiar enough with her body to know how well she could climb. Cheleya had heard of humans climbing where che’ther could only hope to fly, but she had no training and was still a dragoness at heart. Her wings were her freedom to go where the rest of her kind could only wish to travel, but they had been stripped from her at least for a time.
“Fire,” the apprentice tried using the most basic elemental spell that all magi knew, but the flame refused her as well. Having no magic was like ripping out her heart, Cheleya thought sadly. It was magic that had made her forsake her home and now it was gone too. She was also what her mother hated most, a human.
Her ears caught the sounds of the wolves baying again and she turned to look across the open stone of the valley that the girl had been following. She thought that she could see movement near where she had fallen from the academy. It took forever to cross any distance as a human, Cheleya thought in annoyance. She needed her wings, but apparently not desperately enough for her magic to answer the need.
A stone rolled from behind her and Cheleya turned quickly to the direction that she had been hurrying towards. Her eyes struggled to follow the path of the stone as her eyes moved up the slope rising out of the valley. A shape moved enough for the girl to make it out. With the aid of the moons’ light, Cheleya thought that she spied a crag dog.
It wasn’t a dog like the humans of the low lands would think. It wasn’t even from the same kind of species. More like the Dark One’s armored viles; these creatures typically were gray in coloring to blend in with their surroundings. Thick armor coated their backs and plates ran down the outer parts of their long legs. More armor ran up their necks from their upper chest plate and back. The top plate sometimes had small spikes or even a couple solo spines that were longer. They weren’t horns, but each side of their heads did have tusk like horns tracing their jaw lines protecting their mouths and giving them a dangerous set of offensive weapons.
Luckily for Cheleya, they were rarely aggressive with her kind. A growl from the animal suddenly reminded her that she wasn’t a che’ther to his eyes and probably differed in smell. Wracking her brain, the girl tried to remember if she had heard of humans dealing with any crag dogs and she couldn’t remember any.
“Easy, fellow,” she said gently as she slowed trying to ease past the animal’s side. As she moved, it barely seemed to care if the girl was there. Its eyes simply flicked to her careful footsteps before returning its attention to the distant movement of the wolves and werecats.
Hoping that it would let her pass, she stopped again in fright as the creature called out in the crag dog’s strange version of a bark. “Hup, hup, hup,” it called out loudly in its high pitched yell before Cheleya heard more movement among the rocks all around her.
Like stones coming to life, a large pack of crag dogs seemed to rise from nowhere. Before her and above, nearly a score of the animals appeared cutting off the girl’s path. Trying not to draw their attention to her, Cheleya found herself holding up her pack before her defensively as if the canvas’ bag could save her from their sharp tusks.
There was a large stone to her right and the girl shrunk against it hoping to avoid being attacked, but knowing that at least her back was protected. She instinctively wanted to try to use a soothing voice with the animals, but she feared any sound would simply bring their ire down upon her.
The wolves and large cats had reached the base of the slope and while they could see their prey, they could also see that they were intruding in the crag dogs’ territory. It was an affront not taken lightly by the formidable beasts. The intruders were large and powerful themselves however. Undeterred by the crag dogs’ numbers, the dozen creatures made from beasts and some form of human or orc combination stalked forward watching the bristling dogs.
Growling from the wolves and hissing from the cats in an attempt to intimidate the crag dogs received growls and the strange barks as they began to advance towards the intruders menacingly as well. The dogs had the advantage of the terrain, but among such creatures Cheleya was unsure how much it would even matter. The wolves and cats were a bit larger in size, though crag dogs were known to be solid and heavy for their size most likely because of the weight of their armored skins.
The girl wanted to move, but her legs refused her. It was like Malaketh’s magic had stopped her legs as well as her magic, Cheleya thought numbly.
A werewolf surged forward snarling angrily igniting his pack into movement. They had been summoned to destroy the girl after driving her far enough away. They wouldn’t be cowed by the vermin from the mountains.
Like a switch had been tripped, the crag dogs charged. They moved as one, but their individual movements were still their own as they danced left and right attempting to confuse their enemies. Claws ripped at the crag dogs as the werewolves and cats used the mobility of their nearly human arms to swipe at the dogs. Armor took the hits for the crag dogs as the animals swept their heads trying to bring their tusks to bear. They had claws on their feet as well, but the tusks were their favored weapons.
Armored dogs dodged in and out taking slashes to their armor while driving with their tusks. The mobility of the werewolves and cats, as well as their ability to react quickly with their clawed hands and feet, enabled the creatures to dodge and push the tusks away from vital points, but they were outnumbered and soon injuries were beginning to occur on both sides.
A crag dog was flipped onto its back by a werecat, which quickly flung itself onto the vulnerable beast slashing at its stomach. Crying out in pain, the crag dog bled from an open wound making Cheleya cry out as more tears streamed down her cheeks. It was her fault that these dark beasts were here and she felt for the crag dogs defending their home and her. The girl didn’t want the animals harmed or killed for her.
Sudden movement from the side startled Cheleya. A large black werewolf suddenly appeared looking ready to leap on the vulnerable girl. He had used his pack to distract the dogs and gone straight after their quarry. Cheleya screamed. It was a sound that came naturally to her human form apparently in her fear. To her surprise, two crag dogs appeared from virtually nowhere. From atop the protective stone behind her, one leaped from more than eight feet to the ground putting itself between the wolf and the girl. She wasn’t sure if the
crag dog truly protected her or simply refused to let the wolf roam unchecked.
The second crag dog launched from the melee charging the great beast. Slapping its tusks aside, the black wolf nearly missed the one in front of Cheleya attack. A growl of pain, as a tusk gored its right thigh, brought a powerful slap across the dog’s head. Even its armor wasn’t enough to prevent the blow from stunning the animal. The black wolf started to draw back for a killing blow.
“No!” the girl cried throwing a large rock into the wolf’s face. Managing to strike him right between the eyes, the wolf nearly missed the first crag dog recover and attack again.
Catching the dog’s tusks, the giant black werewolf pushed its snapping maw back. The dog snapped on air before the wolf pushed it back putting increasing pressure on both tusks. A growl as the monster tore a tusk from the right side of the dog’s jaw preceded the cry of pain from the crag dog.
“No!” came the girl’s forlorn cry once again. The pain of such a powerfully destructive act was beyond her knowledge and the crag dog fell over as the black wolf used the remaining tusk to toss the animal aside.
Her first protector snarled as it recovered goring the black wolf in the same thigh with its tusks. The black wolf cried out in pain punching at the spiked head like a man. The blow was more powerful, but the armor protected the animal’s head and the many small spikes drew blood again. The pain of the spikes was minor and drowned out in the wolf’s mind by the tusk shifting in its leg.
Before the crag dog could think to pull out of the wolf’s thigh, a second attack from the werewolf’s clawed hand went for the vulnerable eyes. Jabbing through the crag dog’s left eye, the long claw on the werewolf’s thumb drove deep into the socket. Driven so deep that only the thickness of the rest of its hand stopped the claw, the crag dog began to convulse even before the claw could be drawn back to drop the crag dog onto the ground to die in a pool of blood.
Battle Mage: Dragon Mage (Tales of Alus) Page 4
