Branded Mage

by D. W.

  Without saying a word Todd went back to work. Thad knew that if it was possible, the young man would get it done, and if it wasn’t, there was little reason to lament over it. With his business taken care of he allowed Ballard to escort him back to his room. Though he had little choice in the matter, it didn’t look like he or any of the others were willing to listen to his complaints or suggestions at the moment.

  Back in his room, he was forced to strip and get into bed immediately. It was a little annoying being treated as if he was a toddler again, but it didn’t seem prudent to point this out to a bunch of heavily armed and trained soldiers when he was barely able to hold himself upright. So like a good little kid, he did as he was told. It was still fairly early and he wasn’t physically tired enough to sleep, so he passed the time by writing a letter to the princess.

  He did his best to inform her of what was happing without making her worry. It was a fine line to walk. The queen did need to know the unadulterated trust, so he decided to write a second letter informing her of all the grisly details.

  It only took him a short moment to pen the letter and he was still left with plenty of time to kill. He knew his “guards” would be much happier if he just lay down and closed his eyes, but he just wasn’t in the mood to sleep just yet. The day had been tiring, but it had also left him feeling empty and morose. If he went to sleep with that still weighing heavily on his mind he knew it would be far from a restful night.

  Eloen came to his room a short time later. The look on her face spoke volumes and the guards in her room quickly picked up on it and vacated quickly. Thad thought it was funny the people who were supposed to be protecting him were now leaving him alone with someone who was obviously not very pleased with him at the moment.

  Instead of flopping down on his bed which was her normal routine, Eloen grabbed the chair from his desk and drug it around to sit in. he knew she wasn’t please with him overworking himself, but the look on her face was much more intense than he expected. If he had thought she had seemed mad before, that must have only been a prelude to what she was showing now.

  “The officers have had a meeting and during the battle tomorrow, they would like you to make a target of yourself.” Eloen said her voice showing her displeasure with their decision.

  “Your magic was so effective today that they think if you make a bigger spectacle of yourself, it will weaken the enemies’ moral and allow us to deal with them without expending much energy.”

  Thad let out a sigh of relief which quickly got a glare from Eloen. “Sorry I’m just glad it’s not me your mad at this time.” He said giving her a reassuring smile.

  Eloen’s face softened as she halfheartedly returned his smile. “It’s not right. The second you make yourself too much of a target, all the enemy will focus on is you. While it will definitely help us win the battle, it might cost you your life. I don’t like it and I don’t think the queen would approve of such a measure either. Even general Forman was against it, but he was overruled when he couldn’t think of a good reason against it.”

  “It shouldn’t be that hard with what I have planned for them tomorrow. I doubt there would be a way to hide my presence after everything that I did today anyway. What’s the worst they could do to me, shoot a few arrows? y armor will stop those.”

  “You don’t get it do you. I’m not talking about it being dangerous during the battle, but afterward. If Alba learns we have a mage, let alone one with your level of power, they will make sure you meet a bad end. It wouldn’t be the first time someone was killed by an assassin in the night for being an inconvenience.”

  Eloen didn’t say anything else; she just sat there watching him. Thad wanted to comfort her, but everything she had said was the truth. It made sense at least in the grand scheme of things; he was nothing but a tool of the crown. If the Ablaians wanted him dead, there were hundreds of means for them to achieve that goal. All that really meant for him was that he would have to find a way to protect himself even while he slept once this was all over with.

  Thad wondered, not for the first time, if life wouldn’t have been easier if he had never learned magic. Honestly he didn’t understand why it had stayed lost so long. It wasn’t overly hard to learn. Someone had to learn it the first time anyway; it didn’t make sense to him that it had stayed buried for over a thousand years. Why couldn’t there have been someone to help guide him and make this a little easier. He hated bumbling around in the dark waiting to make a mistake.

  With his mind laden with worries, Thad finally consented and closed his eyes. His rest came, but it wasn’t peaceful it was filled with thoughts of assassins and death. His magic haunted his dreams too, taunting him with more power than anyone should rightly hold.

  CHAPTER XX

  Morning came far too early for Thad’s liking when he was jostled awake by Darryl who looked as tired as Thad felt. “Time to get up, the Ablaians are already forming up. Right bastards won’t even let a man get a good night’s rest.”

  When Darryl’s words registered in his head, Thad jumped and quickly dressed, grabbing his pack and staff as he ran out the door. He always packed up everything before going to bed, he didn’t really know why; it had just been a habit of his dating back the Slave Academy. Usually it was a hassle having to pull everything back out as he needed it, but today it was a blessing since he had plenty of gems and cut crystals stored in the side pouches. If his plan worked today he would need them.

  Outside of the command center, the rest of the group waited on him, including Eloen who still wore a sour expression. Looking around, he noticed that many of his friends looked equally unhappy. He couldn’t say the prospect of being the main target was thrilling, but he wasn’t sure he was taking it as hard as his companions were.

  On the battlements, the rest of the soldiers were preparing for another day of battle. The small amount of explosive orbs was being rationed between the three different miniature catapults and massive amounts of magical arrows were being handed out to anyone who could shoot a bow.

  Thad wasn’t sure why everyone’s mood had changed so suddenly until he looked out over the field. So far the Ablaians had been content with sending out no more than two to three thousand troops at a time against them, but this morning it looked as if they meant to send the whole of their army to beat down the walls.

  Thad grabbed Ballard by the arm. “I need you go down and see if Todd finished any of those large orbs for me. If he did, bring whichever one looks to be the darkest red. It looks like we may need it sooner than I imagined.” Without further explanation the large warrior disappeared down the stairs.

  Not wanting to waste time, Thad started pulling out handfuls of gems and placing them around him in a tight circle. It wasn’t perfect, but it was the only thing he could think of the night before that might function given the limited time frame he had to work with. Gems worked by drawing in magic and focusing it. He knew a mage could use that power directly without the need for a core thanks to his rune necklace; however, a core did help with focusing the magical energies.

  With enough gems working together, he would be able to augment his power and last much longer. The only downside was that without a core, the gems would form a link with him and when he broke that link they would explode without an outlet for their stored energy. If he didn’t break the link and someone destroyed a gem then it would cause a magical backlash that would damage him, or if the gem had enough stored energy, even kill him. He had went over the risks and found that in the current situation he had little choice but to try. If he lived through the day, everything would work out as long an Eloen never learned of the inherent danger of what he was doing.

  Thad had the gems firmly attached to the stone ground around his feet and linked to him in a matter of moments. He could feel everyone’s eyes on him as he worked, but he tried his best to block it out. As an added set of protection, he set a condition linked to his staff that if he were to move to far, the link with the gems would s
ever. That way if the enemy gained the wall he would make a run for it without having to worry about his link.

  Ballard returned with a large bolder sized glass ball in his arms. It looked heavy and even the large man was having a bit of trouble holding onto the slick glass. With the help of Darryl and Alden, Thad had them lay out his bedroll from his pack and set the orb carefully down on it.

  With everything in place, Thad waved Eloen over to where he stood. Her face was apprehensive as she moved over to where he stood. “I need you to keep everyone away from me. I don’t want them to break my concentration and put us all in danger.”

  She tried to get him to explain more about what he was doing, but he dodged her questions by simply telling her that he was following orders. She wasn’t very happy with him, but she still started barking orders to the rest of her groups to form a protective perimeter around him and not to let anyone close to him unless absolutely necessary.

  The orb was only glowing a small amount and still needed a vast amount of magic to be volatile enough for his designs. Closing his eyes, Thad refocused the magic that the gems were collecting toward the sphere. There were easily over a hundred gems around him and while each one only collected a small amount at a time, combined together they seemed to multiply their strength. The sheer force of the magic transferring through his body to the orb left his body tingling as if lighting had stuck nearby.

  Thad watched the Ablaians closely for any indication they were ready to start the battle. He wasn’t sure how long the orb would take to charge fully, but he feared he wouldn’t have enough time. He could easily see them getting their massive ladders and the repaired battering ram in place. They had also constructed what looked like massive shields on wheels. There were only four of them, but anyone inside its protective box was safe from most anything the Farlans could throw at them.

  While he Waited, Thad learned of a nasty side effect of being linked to so many cores. The magic used his body like a guiding rod and no matter how hard he tried; some of the magical energy would break from its intended rout to the orb and course through his body. At first it wasn’t dangerous, all living things held magic inside them it permeated everything in the world around, but if too much got concentrated he wasn’t sure what it could do.

  To drain off the excess, he cast a few simple illusionary spells that would draw attention to him as the officers wanted. He was surprised when he felt no metal fatigue or pressure from casting. The spells were just alterations of his light spell, but even so he expected some backlash. Soon though the simple spells weren’t using enough magical energy and the tingling sensation in his body reached an uncomfortable level. Panicking slightly, he started so feed his energy into his staff using it like a grounding rod.

  Thad could instantly feel the difference as the tingling died down to a barely perceivable level. Looking down, he noticed that his staff was glowing, not brightly, but as if it were made of crystal and placed in front of a fire. The multicolored rays that sparked from it were enchanting.

  “Are you ok?” Eloen asked coming up beside him.

  “Yes, I’m just getting prepared.”

  “It’s just that your eyes are glowing.” Eloen said her voice shaking slightly.

  “Really?” Thad asked surprised at the revelation.

  Eloen’s face took on a slightly scared look and he could see her hands were fidgeting with the pommel of her sword. “Yes, it looks like someone lit a blue flame in your eyes. It’s more than a little unsettling.”

  “Don’t worry; it’s just a side effect of what I’m doing.” Thad replied in explanation. Eloen didn’t seem to like it, but she let the subject drop and went back to her position off to his side.

  Thad didn’t have to wait long for the Ablaians to begin their march. It was a slow thing with the moving shields first flanked on each side by well over a thousand men. Second was the battering ram and in the last line were the massive ladders.

  As the army moved toward the fort, it reminded Thad of a blanket being pulled over a bed. The sheer numbers in front of him was daunting. It was impossible to even see the ground through the tightly packed soldiers who marched upon it.

  The trepidations from the day before were gone. He no longer could see an individual standing before him, just a massive enemy that wished to destroy what little he had come to care about. All he felt was a need to unleash his magic on the horde that marched toward him.

  When the first rank of soldiers crossed the line into range, the small globes began to rain down on them. One after another were fired, breaking apart one of the moving shields and killing any enemy solder that was unlucky enough to be in their path. Having learned from their previous encounters, the archers held their arrows until an open target showed itself.

  Thad held his own magic until the front line of the invading enemy was only a few hundred yards from the fort. Then he unleashed all the pent of magic in his staff, raking the enemy lines with lighting strong enough to fell a large tree. After the first three passes Thad started to feel the effect of his magic. normally a few lightning bolts of that strength would have left him unable to stand, but with the aid of the gems, he had been able to unleash nearly ten times as much with only a small amount of backlash.

  Thad held back waiting for his body to recuperate from the massive display of magic. He could still push it, but the more damage he caused to himself the longer it took to recover, and currently it looked as if the Farlans had the situation well in control.

  When the battering ram made its way to the main gates, Thad decided it was time for him to reenter the fray. He had thought long and hard about the best way to deal with massive thing and had come up with a few ideas and was itching to try them out. Focusing his power, Thad held his staff out in front of him. He concentrated on the metal of the shields that protected the apparatus below him. He forced the metal to heat up and he could see that it was working if a bit slower than he wanted. In moments the shields were all glowing a bright red and thick tendrils of black smoke began to rise into the air. The metal then began to melt and run as if it had been placed in a hot forge and the treated wood below began to cook and burn.

  The effort left his head burning, but it had worked. He had hoped that with the extra help from the gems that it would have been as easy as the lighting had been, but it sheer amount of heat required to melt the metal was staggering.

  Slumping slightly from exhaustion, Thad held himself up by leaning on his staff. It still glowed, but dimly. The color of the orb next to him was darkening but it had slowed down and it still needed more time. The enemy’s ladders were coming up faster and more and more of their soldiers were making it to the top of the battlements. Thad’s only solace at the moment was that the large ladders were still a good deal away and moving slowly.

  With his energy depleted, Thad could only watch as the enemy pushed hard and soldiers fell around him. Shortly before midday, the Ablaians started to pull back just outside of arrow range.

  The reprieve was greatly appreciated, as Thad still needed time to finish charging the large orb. There had even been a few moments where he was afraid it was going to get smashed by one of the Ablaians who had reached the battlement, but thankfully Ballard stepped in and stopped the man. Thad knew that every moment that the orb sat there, that the risk of it getting destroyed and killing everyone increased, but if he used it too early he would be wasting their last trump card.

  “You look like you need a break brother.” Darryl said standing just outside his circle of jewels.

  “I won’t argue with you there, but I can’t leave this confounded circle yet.” Thad said breathing hard even though he had hardly moved.

  “I won’t pretend that I have the slightest clue as to what you’re doing, but it seems to be working. If what you have done so far is any indication. Well, if you can’t leave, I’ll bring you a bite to eat while the Ablaians are giving us a breather” Darryl asked, giving him a broad smile.

  Darryl was t
rue to his word and Thad soon had a nice bowl of stew and fresh bread to eat. Taking a seat on the hard ground, Thad relaxed as he enjoyed his meal. It wasn’t a feast or a feathered chair, but at the moment it was as good as either to his weary mind.

  While he ate, Eloen came up and sat next to him. She stayed outside his circle, but just having her nearby seemed to ease some of the tension that had built up in his body. He could see that her clothes were covered in dried blood and for a few minutes feared that she had been injured, but on closer inspection he could see no visible cuts on her.

  “The officers are preparing to fall back to Tremon. We just don’t have the manpower to hold them off much longer. We have only taken out two tenths of their forces and we are running low on arrows and the magical orbs have all been expended. I just wanted you to know that if you hear the sound for retreat, not to stay up here playing hero.” Eloen said seriously.

  Thad wanted to laugh, but he knew that would be a bad idea given Eloen’s nature. He just wasn’t up for the thrashing she would most likely give him in response. “I don’t plan to play hero at all, but I wouldn’t give up the fight just yet. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

  Eloen didn’t say anything else; she just sat their silently placing her hand over his. It was a nice moment, but it ended quickly when one of the other officers called to her. When Eloen got up to leave she let the tips of her fingers glide over the top of his hand.

  The Ablaians didn’t make them wait long. Soon after the sun reached its apex they began their march. They moved fast and hard with the massive ladders leading the charge. Every section of the ladder had a body holding it and helping it move along. Thad wanted to stop the ladders, but his orb wasn’t ready yet and he didn’t have the strength in him to concentrate on stopping both of them. Stopping even one by himself might be too much of a stretch with his current strength.