The Sorcerer's Destiny (The Sorcerer's Path)

by Deskins, Brock

  The heat of the near-miss blistered a large patch of skin beneath her scales, but she ignored the pain as she summoned a wind to lift her skyward while conjuring another to blast down upon the backs of the three dragons trying to roast her. The two dragons on the periphery of the gust were able to arrest their dive and bank away to avoid being pushed into the unyielding ground, but the creature at the center of the sudden downdraft was unable to compensate in time and plowed into the swarming ravagers, crushing scores of them beneath its tumbling mass.

  Sandy raced into the sky and led her pursuers away from the battlefield. Other dragons spotted the threat she represented and joined the chase, eager to destroy the kin slayer. She could easily outfly the bulk of her pursuers thanks to her runes, but a handful of them were able to wield magic nearly as powerful as hers and stuck fast to her tail. Neither was it her intent to shake off the slower dragons.

  Bright nimbuses of light flared as her wards blocked and deflected multiple attacks. She was able to avoid most of them completely, but not all, and those were quickly sapping her strength. Sandy sped almost straight up, leaving most of her pursuers far below until she arced over and raced downward at the slower-flying mob. Powerful elemental strikes preceded her as she dived through the tight mass of dragons.

  Sandy leveled her flight and flew at a narrow but deep canyon with the bulk of her enemies close behind. She sent her magic into the clouds and called for a fierce storm of wind, lightning, and hail. Rain pelted her as she neared the canyon and the unnatural storm brewing above it. Lightning flashed, illuminating the grey walls for an instant before going dark once more. Small hailstones bounced off her hard scales as she threaded her way into the massive crevasse, but they were growing substantially larger by the second.

  By the time the bulk of the hounding dragons entered the canyon, the hail was the size of apples and struck with the force of a mule kick. Many of the dragons were able to ward off the pummeling assault with their magic, but several were taking a brutal beating. Within moments, three dragons lost the ability to control their fight as their wings suffered too much abuse to keep them aloft. Others tried to fly out of the canyon only to be buffeted down and blown into the walls. Those strong enough to withstand the gusting wind and pounding hail fell to lightning strikes as Sandy reached out to them with her senses and guided the bolts to their targets.

  By the time Sandy began her steep ascent out of the canyon, only four of the almost two-dozen dragons still dogged her. Sharp pain and a massive blow struck her in her left side just as she cleared the edge of the fissure. She instinctively rolled and kicked her attacker away. The dragon tumbled and struggled to right itself as sandy fell from the sky. With her back toward the rapidly approaching ground, she spotted two more dragons dive at her from where they had been cleverly waiting for her just over the rim of the canyon. She felt the other dragons’ magic tear apart her storm, and rays of morning sunlight stabbed through the dissipating clouds.

  Sandy tucked in one wing and stretched out the other as she twisted her body in order to right herself. She could see the two shadows just seconds away from intersecting her path and knew she had no time to avoid them. She braced herself and prepared to pour all her strength into her wards when another shadow eclipsed all three of them. Sandy looked back just as a colossal dragon dropped onto one of her attackers and sank its massive claws into its body and engulfed the second one with a hellish blast of fire.

  “Mordigar!”

  “Fly away, child!”

  “But…”

  “Do not mistake my intervention as an alliance. I destroyed those two out of jealously for stealing my kill and nothing else. The Scions control will allow me to do little else, and even that bit of resistance is failing. My masters sense my conflict and are even now impressing upon me to destroy you.”

  “No, you can fight them!”

  “No, I cannot, and so you must kill me as you promised.”

  “Please don’t make me!”

  “It is our enemy who makes you, not I. I am begging you to win our battle and set me free. Do it!”

  Mordigar spread his paws and brought them together in a single clap. Thunder rolled out between them and struck Sandy with a concussive wave that sent her tumbling end over end across the sky. It took all her concentration to right herself and called upon the wind to speed her flight. Mordigar’s use of magic was every bit as awesome as his physical form, and he had no trouble keeping up with the smaller, swift sand dragon. Sandy was certain Mordigar could swat her from the sky with ease if he let himself go, but he was obviously subverting the Scions’ will to an extent. She surmised they were able to command him to kill her but not how he was to go about it. Not without taking a far more direct role in controlling him. She hoped her theory was correct. It was the only way she could possibly survive.

  Sandy heard Mordigar laugh as she dived toward the ravager lines. Her scales tingled and her wards glowed as the elder dragon began drawing in an enormous amount of power. Mordigar released a roar just before unleashing a blazing sphere of magical energy. Sandy was already dipping hard to the right when the orb streaked past her and left a smoldering crater in the heart of the ravager army more than a hundred yards wide. Had it hit her, it would have blown her to bits. The massive dragon swooped after her, spewing long blasts of fire that narrowly missed his target and decimated his “allies”.

  Both dragons understood the game they were playing as the pair wheeled and dived back and forth across the valley. Mordigar hurled spell after spell at his quarry, always giving her some sort of cue just before he struck so she could dodge away. What Sandy may not have understood was that Mordigar was intentionally exhausting himself so she could defeat him while doing as much damage to the Scions’ army as he could. If his death was the only way to be free of enslavement, he was determined to make it worth something.

  Either the Scions finally took notice of him, or they no longer found his and Sandy’s antics amusing. Whichever the case, Xar’s voice filled his head and commanded him to kill Sandy, and then use his awesome power against the human wizards. His gigantic form shuddered beneath the mental assault as she fought to retain what was left of his independence, but the Scion’s hold was too powerful.

  Several rapid but powerful magical strikes struck Sandy’s wards and buffeted her around like a strong wind. Two broke through her defenses to blast away scales and traumatize the skin beneath.

  “I am sorry, little one, but my masters have decided our game must end.”

  Sandy’s only response was to coax more wind to push her faster. Mordigar’s fatigue was showing as he struggled to keep up. Brilliant flashes of light streaked past as the elder dragon hurled arcane bolts at her in rapid succession. Sandy twisted and contorted as she dived and banked to avoid the lethal magic, grunting in pain whenever she failed. She sped away from the battle toward the mountains once more with Mordigar refusing to give up his pursuit.

  Sandy hugged the mountainside and raced upward along its face as Mordigar conjured a powerful squall. Heavy rain pelted her body and greatly reduced her vision. Strong winds buffeted her wings, threatening to shove her into the mountainside even as bolts of lightning reached out and tried to touch her. Sensing Mordigar close on her tail, Sandy raised a thick wall of stone behind her, but Mordigar was familiar with that tactic and easily avoided it.

  Despite Mordigar trying to tire himself out, Sandy was certain she was fatiguing even faster. Just beating her wings was becoming an arduous task. She needed to finish this battle soon before it ended in a way neither of them wanted.

  A bolt of lightning seared the tip of her tail but also illuminated a deep cleft cut in the side of a cliff. Sandy aimed herself at the fissure, using the flashes of lightning to keep her course true. Mordigar’s vision was every bit as acute as hers, so she needed to fly into the crevasse without allowing him the time to avoid it.

  Her heart was torn just like the rent in the air as she conjured a magical gate
. Part of her hoped her plan would succeed but understood the anguish she would suffer if it did. Sandy vanished into the portal and immediately twisted so her long wings would not brush the fissure’s walls. She had allowed Mordigar to close the distance between them until he was right on her tail and would have no time to avoid the gate or the crevasse. Sandy heard his sharp bark of surprise a split second before he plunged through the portal. Not even the torrential rain, fierce wind, or booming thunder could mask the sickening sound of the ancient dragon’s bones snapping under the impact of his wings striking the narrow canyon walls.

  Sandy flew upward out of the fissure and circled back to its entrance. Her keen vision picked out the massive lump of Mordigar’s broken body lying almost a hundred yards inside the cleft. She walked hesitantly into the dark crevice as the pounding rain washed away her tears.

  “You did well, child,” Mordigar said in an agonized rumble. “I am proud of you. Now you must set me free.”

  “Mordigar, I’m so sorry!”

  “Do not be. You have freed me, and we hurt the enslavers in process. I could not ask for a better death. Now you must end my suffering, please.”

  Sandy could only nod as her throat clenched too tightly to speak. She laid her front paws on Mordigar’s brow and summoned her magic. Mordigar did not resist and sighed as the golden aura warmed him and took away his pain just before it resolved into a razor’s edge and cleanly severed his soul from his body.

  Sandy lay next to her mentor’s body for several minutes before speaking her final farewells and trudging from the cleft. Without Mordigar’s guiding magic, the localized storm was dispersing. There was no more lightning arcing across the sky, and the rain had slowed to a drizzle. Turning back to face the fissure, Sandy fought through her exhaustion and called upon her runic power. The canyon walls trembled and collapsed, entombing Mordigar in a cairn worthy of the great dragon.

  Thoroughly spent, Sandy lay down near the edge of the rubble and looked into the sky. Her heart sank as scores upon scores of winged shapes appeared over the tops of the distant mountains. For all the damage they had caused, Mordigar had given his life for nothing. The Humans and dwarves could not possibly defend against so many dragons. They had all fought valiantly, but it was soon to be over.

  CHAPTER 22

  “Dear gods,” Jarvin exclaimed as he passed his spyglass over the northern range and spotted the flying shapes.

  Azerick turned to look at what the King had spotted. “How can there be so many dragons still left in this world?”

  “Our wizards are already being pushed back and dying. How can we possibly defeat so many?” Jarvin asked desperately.

  “We cannot.”

  “Father, they do not fly like dragons,” Raijaun interjected. “They’re birds, enormous birds with men astride them!”

  Azerick smiled. “The elves have come.”

  At least a hundred blood hawks and their riders dived at the backs of the dragons wreaking so much havoc on the mortal defenders. Wizard riders hurled powerful magic, and the silver streaks of elven-enchanted arrows broke the dragons’ assault. No longer being pounded by the dragons’ relentless magic and fiery breath, the human wizards were able to resume their offensive, and the dwarves and their destructive machines reemerged from their caves. Within minutes, the tide of the battle turned, and the humans stopped the ravager advance and even began reclaiming some ground.

  A handful of aerial riders broke off from the main body and landed their powerful birds near the hilltop where Jarvin and the others commanded the battle. Ten figures approached and Jarvin waved his Blackguard to stand down. A human warrior, a priest of Solarian, a dwarf, and seven elves, all sheathed in magnificent plate armor save one who wore a rainbow of silken robes and stood a head taller than even most of the humans present, comprised the delegation.

  The elf bedecked in golden armor doffed his helm and delivered a short bow to Jarvin and then Azerick. “Your Majesty, I am Duharhuln Oakroot, son of Tuharhuln, chosen King of the elven nation.”

  Jarvin returned the bow. “I am Jarvin Ollander, son of Harlan Ollander, and King of Valeria. I cannot express my gratitude for your coming.”

  “I bring more than my hawk riders, Jarvin. Fifteen thousand elven warriors are marching through the northern pass as we speak. I expect them to arrive by midday to bolster our defense and cast these monsters back into the pits from whence they came.”

  “That is welcome news. I pray we can hold out that long.”

  The rising sun revealed a battlefield every bit as terrifying as when the fighting first began. More so as Jarvin made a tactician’s count of their forces. The Scions’ army was so vast that their numbers were replenished as quickly as they were struck down no matter how much damage was inflicted upon them. Jarvin began to feel their efforts were as futile as trying to hold back the rising tide.

  “Fear not, friend Jarvin. We did not come alone.” The elven king turned to Tarth. “Can you contact our cousins, Tarthanalis?”

  “Azerick, I rode a bird!” Tarth excitedly exclaimed.

  Azerick smiled at the distracted elf. “I saw.”

  “Borik threw up, and I laughed so hard I almost fell off.”

  “Tarth, our friends?” Duharhuln asked again.

  “Oh, right.” Tarth produced a polished shell from inside his many layers of silk and spoke into it. “Hello, dear, are you there?” Tarth held the shell to his ear with a look of confusion. “Oh, wrong shell.” The elf dipped his finger into a glossy paste filling the inside of the shell and applied a coating to his lips. “Flying is so much fun, but it wreaks havoc on my skin.”

  “Tarth, please,” the elf king urged.

  Tarth made a huffing sound and retrieved another shell from elsewhere in his robes. “Teraneshala, can you hear me?” Tarth held the shell to his ear and apparently received a reply. “We would love for you to join us now.”

  A large section of ground near the enemy’s frontline exploded in a spray of dirt, rock, and ravagers and left a vast hole in the battlefield. Like a colony of bats, alabaster-skinned abyssal elves poured out of the pit on the backs of wyverns and even a few dragons. Runes painted on their black and stone-grey scales and etched into silver collars glowed with eldritch light. Azerick understood their purpose immediately and wished he had been able to create a less permanent solution for Sandy. Dozens of portals opened near the outskirts of the battle lines and disgorged hundreds and eventually thousands of black-clad warriors and scores of wizards and priests.

  “We might actually do this,” Jarvin said in a hopeful breath.

  “Come on, Borik, let’s get down there and get our blades bloody,” Maude commanded.

  “I like it up here. I’m more of command and control sort of dwarf,” Borik responded.

  “You’re going to be a foot in your arse kind of dwarf if you don’t move it! Today we become heroes. Now get your knee-high backside to frontlines with me.”

  “Most heroes die in the end, Maude!” Borik complained bitterly as he followed the warrior woman down the hill. “I’ll tell you this, I’ll never complain about being on a boat after riding on one of those infernal dwarf-eating chickens. Did you see the way it kept eying me? Like I was a worm!”

  “Malek, Brother Thomas would be grateful for all the help he can get at the hospital tents,” Azerick told the cleric.

  Malek watched his friends headed toward the battlefield and was torn with indecision. He made his choice and nodded at Azerick. “You’re right. The wounded need me most right now.”

  The battle continued to rage, and the combined forces of the races managed to regain much of the ground they had lost by nightfall. Come morning, the Scion army had resurged, halted their advance, and began turning the tide yet again. The ravager numbers seemed endless, and the light of a new day revealed a field still choked with their enemy’s inexhaustible numbers. Ravagers threw themselves at the races’ forward lines, ignoring the iron constructs even as the animated machines hue
d at their backs. Wizards and pikemen were able to eventually stop the feverous drive, but not before they cut a deep swath in their defenses.

  Jarvin and his key leaders had been in conference most of the morning desperately trying to devise a strategy to counter the newest setback. Twice now they had been rescued from defeat by the arrival of allies, but now there was no one left to come to their aid.

  “There appears to be no end to these creatures,” Jarvin said. “If there is, I see us reaching ours far before we find theirs.”

  “Where are they coming from?” King Yusuf asked. “Surely they did not all travel across the land from Brightridge and Brelland? I read your accounts of those battles, and there did not seem to be nearly so many.”

  “There was not,” Raijaun confirmed. “Father and I think they managed to erect gates near the valley to allow a resupply of forces from their prison world, but the Scions are actively blocking any attempt at scrying them out.”

  “If we do not cut off their resupply, we will never defeat them here. Is there any way we can get some of our people to these gates and destroy them?” Jarvin asked.

  Duharhuln answered, “My riders have been trying to get a look at the far end of the valley, but the dragons rally and force us away before we can get near. This indicates they are indeed hiding something from us.”

  “We must ascertain the existence of those gates and destroy them if that is indeed how they are bringing in reinforcements.”

  “If we could locate them, it is possible for Raijaun and me to get near enough to open a portal to them,” Azerick said. “If we could do that, destroying them should pose little problem. The problem is going to be getting away afterward. The Scions have already shown a keen interest in protecting their existence, and they are sure to be heavily guarded. Undertaking this sort of action could leave me and Raijaun too fatigued to battle the Scions when they arrive. It is the very reason we have not expended ourselves thus far.”