Looking up towards the falcon, the elder wizard looked confused even as Piotr pulled the man’s mind free. It was like when he had taken Niklaus and Job that night to see the girls. Though he hadn’t used such a distance in the past, magic didn’t care about distance as long as he met the requirements of the spell. Eye contact was the only true necessity to accomplish the transfer.
With Zieran in tow, Piotr turned in the direction Job and Telamen had mentioned. The movement was supposed to be merely a mile or so away, but the crag falcon’s eyesight could see that far and Piotr noticed no movement even from a decent altitude. He guided the falcon to rise higher.
If there were enough people moving to alert the earth wizards, the novice figured there would have to be some obvious sign of his quarry if they were moving towards the Southwall camp. When they finally spotted what he believed was the cause of the vibrations which had alerted the wizards, Piotr had no words for what he was seeing.
‘People’ might even have been a stretch for what moved through a canyon towards the wizards to the east.
Though the bird had vision far exceeding his human eyes, Piotr wanted to question what the falcon spied upon. There were creatures moving through the canyon that weren’t human, but they weren’t anything he had heard described in the emperor’s list of beasts either. First, there were two types of creatures with horns. They might have been confused for one race, but the novice doubted it. There were those which appeared more like giant men with the heads of bulls. They seemed to be manifestations of the stories of minotaurs.
The other creatures that might have been related had horns like rams, but their mouths were the beaks of hawks or eagles. They were thinner and looked more agile than the minotaurs, though no less evil looking. Even smaller than the ram men were dark skinned, scruffy looking creatures that seemed most like the goblins of the Dark Emperor; but they were twisted versions of those with mouths and noses that extended out slightly like a bear or dog.
None of these seemed to be the leader though and Piotr wasn’t sure why he believed that, but they seemed like the weapons of an army and not that which led them. A large, dark winged creature lifted from the shadows between the hills racing towards the falcon. The instincts of the bird made it dive away from the much larger attacker.
Piotr’s short glimpse burned into his mind, however. With four sets of taloned feet, its body was longer like a mountain cat or wolf. The head looked similar to the falcon, except larger and angrier. If its eyes were as good as the bird’s, it would be hard to lose the predator. On its own, Piotr wasn’t sure that the crag falcon would be able to escape the strange, alien beast.
He released Zieran’s mind letting his mentor warn the camp. This was no friendly greeting party or a group who wished for their help. Piotr was sure that this was a hunting party that wanted to kill the humans who had wandered too near.
Directing the falcon towards cover that should be small enough to protect the bird from the larger predator; Piotr felt the bird’s instinct for survival kick in. A small indentation made a depression large enough for the crag falcon to slip into that was deeper than the monster’s legs were long, so he hoped that it would be safe.
They were barely inside and huddled within the tiny cave before a dark shadow blotted out the sun. Strange growls came from the creature that sounded like neither bird nor cat, but an odd mix of the two. Its wings flapped keeping it aloft as its hind legs looked for purchase just beneath the cave and its fore paws dug into the soft stone surrounding the opening. Luckily, the outer dirt covered dense, resistant stone, so the monster couldn’t dig its way to the falcon.
It dug at the stone. It hissed when thwarted at first, but one fore paw reached in swiping with claws that were four inches long as they were extended. No matter how hard it tried, though Piotr heard the creature's wings flapping in a steady thrum pushing it against the stone; the monster couldn’t quite reach its quarry.
Piotr saw the yellow eyes surrounded by black and gray feathers and wondered, if the need came, would his magic let him usurp its mind to use the winged beast as a weapon against these strange monsters bearing down on his people. Any of the things walking through the canyon might be animalistic enough to become his weapon as a nature wizard, but they were all frightfully alien as well.
Unlike Niklaus, he couldn’t shift to another animal from an animal. He needed his hands and eyes to form the spell. Unable to do more for the falcon, Piotr kept his contact imbuing his patience on the bird in case it should try to flee without his guidance; but returned to his body to check on Zieran and the camp.
Luckily while they had been away scouting, some of the air wizards had begun to return. The mentors knew how to draw their fellow wizards back properly and more continued to wake up each minute. It was a good thing to, since the unknown force was likely to find them in perhaps half an hour. If they learned that they had been discovered, which was a fear since the crag falcon was under a spell that might have somehow been traced, that pace could change.
Piotr and the rest could only hope that they weren’t dealing with wizards on such a level of observance, but that made the novice wonder, how had they spotted the Southwall camp in the first place? The hills and mountains made it hard to know if there was a large armed force or even a town in the span of half a mile or so. With such cover, could the dragon mages’ flight or noise of the dueling wizards have drawn their attention?
“Do we just ready for a fight?” a fire wizard and official leader of the combat teams for the company asked aloud. His name was Urzen and even though a fire wizard might be considered a war wizard, he seemed unsure of how to act. The arrival of creatures and an armed force like no one had seen before had unnerved him slightly.
Zieran had brought the information to Ylena and the other leaders as soon as Piotr had sent his mind back to his body. It wasn’t the full mind release used by an air wizard, so the wizard had been able to start working his way towards the command even before full release from the novice.
A small grouping made of diplomacy wizards and those in charge of combat had gathered around him as Zieran described what they had seen.
“A flying creature broke from a canyon to try and kill Piotr’s falcon, but it may have been a more basic ruling of nature. If it was simply hungry, the creature might have seen the bird as dinner and nothing more.
“On the other hand,” the nature wizard continued, “they began their movement directly towards our camp and are moving under cover. That isn’t the act of a friendly force, I don’t think.”
Ylena waved him off and reminded them, “If they are a group that came through a gateway to our world by accident, they might be cautious even so. I don’t think we know enough to say this is or is not an enemy.”
Another fire wizard, a female named Eyfren, who was also Briahnna’s mentor and known to Piotr; looked less ready to write off a cautious approach and said, “We can’t think to play it off as a diplomatic meeting, Ylena. We have the novices to think of in this scenario, if nothing else. If this is a new enemy and they believe our presence will threaten whatever mission they are on, then they might attack before we could summon resistance.
“I think we should assume, like Zieran suggested, that they are hostile and protect ourselves. Set up the falcons and cadets, who they deem ready, as our first buffer line. Veteran combat wizards should form up as the secondary line, while more of the students and healers cover our backs.”
Ylena looked like she wanted to argue. Her calling in life was to smooth things over to avoid war, but the woman had seen both peace and fighting. She knew that not everything could be taken care of with words.
“I will defer to the consensus. If this is deemed combat, then Urzen will take the lead with Eyfren as his lieutenant,” she judged. Though Ylena had hoped for it to be at least a split decision, the diplomacy wizard was saddened when it was unanimously voted against her. “Then as you all believe this is combat, I yield command to you for the durat
ion, Urzen.”
She was polite about it and being set aside by those better at combat was nothing new for a diplomacy wizard. Being able to lead and know when to yield was part of their schooling as well.
The man with the auburn hair seemed to come alive. His hair managed to reflect more red in the sunlight as if a spell had gone off with the declaration of his leadership. Turning to the other fire wizard, he asked as much as ordered, “Eyfren can you begin arranging the lines as you suggested? I agree that it would be best to keep the novices and cadets out of this as much as possible.”
Urzen looked to Piotr and Zieran as one and asked, “Do you have any idea of the enemy’s numbers?”
“We don’t know that they’re enemies,” Ylena sighed trying to remind them of the fact that they still knew nothing of these creatures.
“We are assuming that they are, so for ease of reference allow me the term, Ylena,” the man stated with a frown and verbally pushed her out of his way as he took charge.
Zieran glanced to Piotr for confirmation as he answered, “I am guessing in the range of a hundred total. They are using a canyon to help confuse their numbers, we believe.”
“If they are already trying to mask themselves from view; that probably means that they know where we are as well.”
Ylena reminded the fire wizard, “The canyon might have been the easiest way that they found to approach as well, Urzen. Even so, we can assume that they know we are here, since they have moved to find us either way.”
Urzen nodded, “We don’t doubt that their approach is calculated. They only moved once we settled, so our noise must have alerted them. We’ve seen no scouts, so either they are using magic or they have excellent abilities to hide.
“Keep our sentries looking, but they need to be ready to fall back without confronting them. We will assume that they aren’t looking for a fight for now, but our caution will keep us from being overwhelmed as well if they are.
“Zieran, can you find Falcon Eyrk and coordinate the sentries for us?”
The nature wizard nodded. He knew enough of the falcons well that the man was a good fit for the job.
Last Urzen looked to Ylena and asked, “Is there a way to alert the dragon mages to return? They should be coming back eventually, but I don’t need them running into a surprise or starting something by accident either.”
“The standard fire signal from your wizards should be enough, I would think. There is no special spell that I was given to summon them back, but there are fire wizards among them. Have your people give the warning signal, but try to communicate caution not to attack unless the enemy arrives beforehand.”
Urzen shook his auburn hair and again Piotr thought that he had changed to suit his role somehow. “Well, I guess for now we can do little more than wait. Piotr, do you think that you can use one of your birds to keep track of them?”
The novice shook his head in turn. “Even if they weren’t targeting us because we were linked magically, that would mean those monsters would tear any up that I send before I could really watch them closely.”
“I’ll send a couple air wizards and hope for the best then,” Urzen stated and turned away to join Eyfren arranging the troops.
Piotr looked at Ylena who looked disappointed in the results of the meeting.
“I would prefer a peaceful meeting as well, Wizard Ylena, but these creatures don’t look like they are here to just do a little scouting. I could see weapons and most had them held ready in their hands.”
“A hunter holds his bow ready and a logger holds his axe, but that doesn’t mean either are looking to fight, Piotr,” the dark haired woman in her silver and black wizard robes answered still sounding unconvinced.
“Well, I guess we will find out shortly,” the boy answered before adding. “You will get your chance to prove that you are right first at least. Even if it isn’t an enemy, you can look on it as giving a potential ally something to think about as well.”
Ylena nodded and replied, “Like you said, I guess that we will find out soon enough.”
Chapter 34- A Meeting of Armies
Katya sat on the stone ledge almost thirty feet above the next piece of ground which was itself an extended ledge before another drop off heading down the mountain. For most normal men and women, it would be a height that would make a person sweat with worry. The novice dragon mage didn’t even have her magical wings as she sat calmly eating a snack.
A small pack holding some food and water was the only extra weight Katya had brought along on the training mission with the other dragon mages. Following Kel’lor and Cheleya into the higher mountains meant little likelihood of finding a meal or even a bush with berries; so like the rest, the girl had brought some lunch with her. During their break, the rest of fledgling mages were spread out from the larger ledge below her to a few across the way. Few had picked a height higher than the girl, not that she was competing. It had simply been available and Katya had found it acceptable for its view of the eastern countryside if for no other reason.
Loose stones shifted and a blur of red flashed from the corner of her eye.
Magnus stood on the flat stone to her left and exchanged a look as the little blond glanced up at him questioningly. In turn, the wizard asked, “Is this spot taken?”
Shaking her head, Katya looked to the lower ledge and saw the wizards Embrell and Wellas sitting below them eating their meal. Those two were supposedly his friends and had traveled with him to Hala and then to White Hall, so the girl had seen them with the fire wizard quite often.
Gesturing with her head towards the two men, she said, “I would have thought that you would want to spend time with your friends. Maybe you’d want to discuss strategy for the next session of flying?”
“Well, from that perspective, I might be better off picking the brain of one of my competition. You are from what they refer to as the ‘agility team’, so we bulky men have to follow Kel’lor instead of that little beauty, Cheleya.”
Katya shook her head and replied, “I can’t teach you agility any more than I can become as powerful as you or the others working with Kel’lor.”
Snorting at the idea, Magnus sat figuring that she hadn’t denied him a seat, even if the girl had yet to truly offer one as well.
“Like we aren’t agile at all,” he complained pulling out an item wrapped in paper. Removing the wrapper, the fire wizard revealed his sandwich made earlier in the day before they took off with the other dragon mages. “Yes, most of us are certainly bigger than you or Cheleya, but I can turn almost as quickly. My magic wings also seem to provide more lift and strength than yours. With extra thrust, I can corner as well as you do.”
“You sound defensive,” the girl replied evenly. To her, it was a joke and she was curious what his reaction would be. There had been times watching him in practice where Magnus acted as if nothing was hard for him, but flight wasn’t the same as magic. He certainly was known as a prodigy with fire magic in particular, but dragon magic and flight were new to everyone. Flying was harder in some ways than any magic, though Katya had felt fairly comfortable with it from almost the first.
“Just stating the truth,” Magnus replied sounding equally calm and cool. The girl continued to look out over the land to the southeast enjoying the view while she could. Talking with Magnus was neither good nor bad in her opinion, but getting this view back again might be impossible in the future. She just wanted to enjoy the moment. He continued, “Have you noticed how well Wellas can fly? I’ve caught him using air spells to create tighter turns already. We’re all getting used to flying, even in these mountains.”
“Well, if you don’t like the titles ‘agile team’ and ‘strength team’, perhaps ‘larger team’ and ‘smaller team’ would be more appropriate? Edwar is our tallest and yet all of your team are taller, so maybe “taller team’ and ‘shorter team’?”
Magnus snorted at the idea and added, “Your team has all the women too, but I suppose calling it the �
��male team’ versus the ‘female team’ would probably offend Edwar and Wellar.”
Wrinkling her nose in joking disdain, Katya looked at the wizard and shook her head, “No, I don’t think that they would appreciate that. Anyway, I think we are teamed up the way we are because Cheleya’s group also react more like she does, while you men copy Kel’lor more closely.”
Magnus looked out as she had and his eyes seemed lost to the beauty of the mountains and foothills. With magic, Katya could even see to the plains which ran to the Cadhalla River and their current home. The girl thought of all the fun she could have now because of magic. Her brother had found her and tried to ease her into it, but he was a mage and no wizard to try and contain her power. Katya wondered if she would see him and feel his aura as beneath her. Wizards, even apprentices and novices, seemed to look on the cadets as broken or inferior to them; but she was new to magic and had seen her brother defeat full wizards of great skill and power. She couldn’t see auras back then, but she could still tell that no one was more gifted in magic use than Sebastian even if his strength was that of a mage.
Certainly no wizard there was as weak in magical power than Sebastian’s level, yet he found ways to win and used magic that defied logic. She had looked into many of the spells her brother had used and how many. From what the books and mentors said, he shouldn’t have been able to do half of what he had. Sebastian was more than a prodigy. Magnus was a prodigy, but Sebastian had blazed new trails of battle magic for his kind and that went beyond just skill. Katya had learned some of those battle mage spells or learned new wizard spells in the form of a mage, she had been admonished for it since a battle mage cast in a similar way to a wilder, but still the girl knew some of her leaned towards her brother as a spell caster.
Magnus suddenly cursed and Katya noted a flare of magic lifting into the air. There was no trail of smoke like one of the crude rockets she heard the military might use as a signal in combat to alert their comrades; but like it, the girl had a feeling this meant the same thing.
White Hall (The High King: A Tale of Alus Book 10) Page 52
