“Gentlemen, our target is New Haven.”
“Civilian settlement?” One of the soldiers cocked his head.
“Civilian settlement hiding a mage,” I corrected. “That will be the end of the discussion from this point. Those of you who have worked with me before, you know the drill. Those of you who haven’t, try to stay out of my way.”
* * * * * *
New Haven was approximately three hours’ drive north from our position. The roads in this area had long been cleared of debris, but I could see the burnt out husks of cars and trucks as they lay upon the roadside. The war hadn’t really ever claimed this area of land, although there had been sporadic outbreaks of fighting. This area was supposed to have been cleared of enemy troops. It was infuriating, but understandable. Teleportation gave mages the ability to move far quicker and further than conventional troops. In some ways, small groups of insurgents were far more dangerous than regular corps.
I didn’t really understand what I was doing here. Sure, I was taking out a mage far behind our lines, but I would be far more useful elsewhere. I was easily the most powerful mage we had. I should be on the front line where I would be more effective. Why Command had me chasing down small pockets of resistance far within our own borders was beyond me. Conventional combat tactics had already failed us; why the hell were we still trying to use them? Perhaps it would have been better to just deal with the problem myself, but that would make me no better than any of the mages who had joined our enemies. We were fighting this war in the wrong way, but those in a position of power didn’t seem to realise it. It had already almost cost us the war. I didn’t exactly understand why we hadn’t already lost. It looked almost certain two years ago.
I was reminded briefly of General Hanagan. He had been an American general at the beginning of the outbreak, and had thought he could contain the threat with troops. He had been wrong; he had chosen to escalate with the threat of bombing. I sympathised with him a little; he had been completely outmatched by our kind, something that he hadn’t understood at the time. I often wonder if he realised how stupid he had been at the end? My sympathy for the man only went so far though. Chicago was now a smouldering nuclear wasteland thanks to him. He had learned from his mistakes eventually, but by then it had been too late. With a good portion of his forces either destroyed or defected, he had been routed and eventually killed before anyone could extricate him. It had taken us a long time to recover from that defeat. He had thought the threat of bombing would keep his enemies in check. He was a fool. Nuclear power wasn’t going to win this war - both sides seemed to realise that. In fact, Chicago had proved that our nuclear arsenal would simply become a liability. I didn’t know if Hanagan had thought nukes were a good idea or if one of the mages had acquired one somehow. In the end it didn’t matter much. A good many people had died who didn’t need to, and the fallout from the incident had the military scrambling to destroy or secure its nuclear arsenal. They were now only a liability that your opponent could use against you.
Most of the Eastern American continent was now a battleground, or had been at one point. The massive invasion of troops led by mages had swept across the country, and the American military was spread too thinly throughout other theatres to do much about it. It looked at one point like they were going to wipe us completely off the continent. That didn’t happen, but our forces were pushed further west every day; we simply didn’t have the numbers of mages that our opponents seemed to have. As they pushed us back across the landscape, they left nothing but burned cities and towns behind them. We were powerless to stop them. I still don’t understand how we managed to resist them, and I don’t know why it looks like we are now winning.
The countryside here actually looked relatively intact, if you discounted the odd burnt out vehicle on the side of the road, or ignored the occasional burnt out farm house. I knew this wouldn’t last; as we got closer to New Haven the landscape would change. The scars of our battles would become more visible.
I let only my body travel with the convoy, my mind had no need to. I could have been in New Haven in the blink of an eye. I did, however, scout out the path for the vehicles using my powers. It was a good thing that I did too. Someone had anticipated an attack and had laid an ambush. It would probably have worked too. Had I not stopped it.
The ambush was simple enough: a burnt out bus had been pushed across the road to prevent thoroughfare and a small group of soldiers were lying in wait. It was almost like they knew when we were coming. It was possible that they did. I had to assume that my mage counterpart was also scouting ahead.
The enemy soldiers looked more like kids than military; they had either been forced into insurgency or simply had a taste for chaos. Either way it didn’t change things. They were in my way. As I scouted about, it didn’t take long to notice the rocket launcher they had, along with enough armament and ammo to take out a small army. They were definitely well supplied. I vaguely wondered where they were getting their equipment from. I would have to investigate that later, but for now their armament could be used against them.
A grenade tossed into a box of rockets brought a quick end to their ambush. They hadn’t even known anything was wrong until one of their own grenades seemed to jump by its own volition into an ammunition case and pull out its own pin. The explosion rocked from the ammo box like wildfire, consuming the enemy instantly. There were no survivors. With a contemptuous flick I sent the blocked bus sliding out of the way. If it weren’t for the small plume of smoke from the explosion, my soldiers never would have known an ambush had been planned here.
I quickly found and dispatched two more groups that had been lying in wait. The last group appeared to be attempting a hasty retreat. Someone knew we were coming and was trying to protect their troops. Their foreknowledge hadn’t saved them. It had probably only bought someone some time, but then again that may have been the whole point of the exercise.
When we arrived at New Haven, we found it had been completely locked down. This wasn’t unexpected. What had been unexpected was the twelve people tied to stakes at the gates of the settlement. It didn’t take too long to figure out their strategy. Hostage negotiation.
I wasn’t surprised when a Mana thread snaked out from the settlement and found me. I identified it long before it reached me and concluded its intention. I also wasn’t surprised when a soft voice whispered in my ear through the thread. A Whisper thread, rudimentary magic – nothing special.
My opponent wished to discuss terms.
“You see what lies before you. I will execute these people and it will be on your head. Leave now or these people will suffer for your intrusion.”
I wasn’t sure if my opponent could hear me or not. The whisper thread he had used could be sufficiently augmented to include hearing, but it required skilful manipulation of the technique. Nothing I had seen so far indicated that he had learned sufficient skills for such a feat. His displays so far had all been about raw power. It was probably safer to assume he couldn’t hear me. It didn’t matter in the long run anyway. I had no intention of negotiating with him. The people tied to the stakes were already dead, I would bet my life on it. Fortunately I didn’t have to gamble. My opponent knew that normally I would need to scry to inspect the hostages. I also assumed that should I attempt to scry across the field, I would be met with resistance. He had been counting on it. The moment I attempted to scry, I would probably receive another threat of the hostages’ deaths.
Fortunately I had other options. I hadn’t been idle with my studies since the war had begun, and I, like my master, had turned my studies into a very dark area. I used my powers to enhance my eyesight tenfold, allowing me to see details clearly from a distance. I could make out the creases on their clothes and the lack of movement that would normally be associated with death. There was no movement. These people were definitely dead. If my observational skills were wrong, then the Mana reinforced my conviction. There was no doubt, these people were already de
ad. They had most likely been killed through asphyxiation and they had been killed recently - their bodies were still warm. This was more than just a warning to me. They had been killed as both a threat to keep us away and as a warning to those who remained inside. There were people inside who weren’t happy about the new inhabitants. This was a bluff and a good one. Unfortunately it would fail. They couldn’t possibly have known I would be able to see through it from this distance.
I nodded to Marcellus. I wasn’t sure if he had heard our opponent’s voice earlier. Our opponent could have simply wished for only me to hear his voice. Marcellus nodded back. He had identified their targets. We had done this dozens of times before. Keep the mages focused on me, keep the soldiers busy while my team took aim. A sniper shot would take out enemy soldiers while I dealt with the real threat.
I began walking towards the gates slowly, as if I had all the time in the world. I let the Mana rise up in me with every step, letting it flow through me in a display of raw power. I amplified it, enhanced it, and let it emanate from me like a lightning storm.
“You’re killing them,” the voice whispered in my ear. He was referring of course to his ‘hostages’. I ignored him. I wondered how long it would take until he realised this wasn’t going to work.
I knew that once I had reached a suitable distance, the sharpshooters within my squad would deal with whoever had been foolish enough to remain in sight. This should keep any stray gunfire from me. I wasn’t worried about the gunfire. They would have to hit me with something akin of a howitzer to even dent my shield, but keeping the defenders busy would keep them focused on what I was about to do and not my soldiers.
With my enhanced vision I could have torn the gates off the walls at any point, but I wanted to be closer. I could also have teleported into the compound at any point - again I didn’t want to. I needed to minimise damage to the facility and any non-combatants inside, and to do that I needed them to keep their focus on me.
“Stop! Now!” the voice demanded again in my ear. I could hear the panic in his words. “Don’t make me stop you!”
He was bluffing. What could he do? Any attempt to teleport out wouldn’t end well, an attack would be clearly seen, and I would have time to prepare an adequate defence. He would attack me eventually and then I would counterattack and he would fall. That was exactly what I wanted. Keep the fight outside of the inhabited areas - less collateral damage.
He let me get further than I had thought he would before he launched his attack. The tell-tale flare of Mana caused me to involuntarily flinch and I waited for the inevitable impact against my shield. It took several seconds before I realised I hadn’t been his target. A column of Mana rose from the settlement and into the sky. The power being expended was mindboggling. I gazed in wonder at the sheer forced being expended into the sky. A haze of Mana issued out from the burst as it impacted its target, and tendrils of lightning flashed as the Mana merged with the atmosphere. Clouds heavy with Mana were forming. The display was impressive. I wondered vaguely where he had learned to do this. This required skill, more skill than he had displayed so far. As the clouds expanded across the settlement, they grew darker with Mana each passing moment.
It had all happened within seconds. Impressive though it was, I still didn’t see the reason for all this effort. What was the point of all this power? Fear crept into my mind as I pondered the possible ramifications. From this distance I couldn’t exactly study the configuration of frequency of the Mana being used, and that worried me. Anything that I didn’t understand could possibly be used against me. An unknown threat was one that could possibly finish me. Perhaps he had lured me into my death? I didn’t have to wait long before the threat was made clear. The clouds burst open once they could contain no more Mana. The oxygen in the sky mixed with the Mana heavy-particles and caught fire. My enemy had set the sky on fire.
As the first droplets fell on my shield, I knew that this wasn’t normal fire. This was Mana fire. Not quite as powerful as the supercharged Mana that I used to power a Mana Nova thread, but equally dangerous. My shield could probably withstand the downpour, but my surroundings wouldn’t and my soldiers definitely couldn’t.
As I looked around, I saw the grass had already caught fire and thick black smoke emanated in every direction. This changed things. I ordered my soldiers back. The Mana fire hadn’t reached them yet, but it would. It was expanding exponentially. The soldiers needed to leave; they would not be able to survive long under these conditions. I received a terse reply from Marcellus that he would pull his troops back to a safe distance. I vaguely wondered how far a safe distance was as the temperature increased. It didn’t take long before I needed to modulate my shield to withstand the heat, but I didn’t want to completely reconfigure my shield - I had seen too many fall through that mistake. Fortunately I didn’t have to completely change my shield. It wouldn’t tax my reserves too much to simply increase the flow of Mana and reinforce my defences. I smiled as the heat immediately disappeared. I was standing in a firestorm completely unharmed and completely safe. Even so, it wouldn’t be smart to stay there as eventually I would become unable to power a shield of this strength. I mentally applauded my opponent; it had been some time since I had been forced to actively focus on shielding myself. This put a time limit on events. The smart thing to do would be to teleport out, but I couldn’t do that. My opponent would be waiting for such a thing. I really only had one option, and that was to make my way into New Haven and deal with my opponent before my strength gave out.
I moved on. I didn’t bother simulating walking - that was a luxury I could no longer afford. I glided across the landscape as a ghost passing easily across this hell scorched earth. Embers and flame were cast in all directions as my movement displaced the air in the inferno. I didn’t seek the safe path; I simply took the most direct path through the fires to the settlement.
New Haven hadn’t fared any better than the surrounding grounds - the fires had struck it as well. This hadn’t exactly been a subtle attack. The buildings in the centre of the settlement were already aflame and the walls, largely made out of wood, had almost crumbled into the flames. I imagined that the shanty town that had made up the majority of the settlement was already nothing more than ash and charred wood.
I couldn’t see my opponent through the fog of ash and smoke, but I could see his Mana signature. He was doing as I was: waiting it out. I could hear the screams of people within the settlement, but there was nothing I could do to save them. Even If I attempted to disrupt the effect in the sky above, it was too far spread out for me to completely stop it.
The fire storm had been a very effective way of keeping me at a distance. No one in their right mind would have attempted to pass deeper into this hell. But I was too powerful to be cowed by such a display. Maybe three years ago I would have teleported away rather than bear such onslaught, but it was different now. I could endure this punishment easily and would eagerly do so than let my quarry escape. For all the destruction it had caused, the Mana storm had merely delayed the inevitable. We were at a stalemate, neither of us would teleport while the other waited – that would invite a messy death. And so we waited each other out as I crept closer to the blaze.
It must have taken me ten minutes to reach the charred remains of the gates of New Haven, but my eyes never left my opponent’s Mana signature. Any change, any rise towards teleportation would result in instant death. His Mana levels never wavered. He knew as I did that escape wasn’t an option. As I got closer, I could see his shield through the smog. It wasn’t impressive in itself, but it was modulated against fire. This mage wasn’t totally without skill.
With a shield like that it would not be taxing himself too much to maintain his shield despite the hellfire he had created. If I could see him, then he could also see me and I wasn’t going to give him the option of first strike. No, this needed to be over, and over quickly. I used my powers to fly into the air, the motion showering fire rain in every direct
ion as I launched myself at him. As I got closer I could see my opponent appeared to a teenage boy, no more than sixteen at most. As a mage he was more dangerous than any adult, and judging from the inferno he had unleashed on New Haven he was definitely not a weak mage, he was simply inexperienced. That would be his undoing.
There was no subtlety in my attack: it was brutal and direct. I impacted his shield as hard as I could and sent him flying into a flaming wall. The building promptly collapsed on him as the impact tore out its weakened supports. This wasn’t going to be a challenging fight. His shield had held, but only barely. It hadn’t been modulated to cope with physical damage, and he was weak. I had no idea if he had expended most of his power in the firestorm or if he was merely lacking in power. I had to assume the former. He wouldn’t have lasted this long during the mage wars if he was actually this weak. My opponent had been right to try to keep me at a distance. He had known that once the true mage fight started, it would be over quickly.
I saw him rise from the ruins of the building and attempt to draw his powers against me, but it was too late. Several threads lashed against him as I attempted to overpower his shield. The secondary impacts whiplashed against him and he was thrown to his knees again. He tried in vain to again draw his powers to protect himself, but again he was too slow. I was on him in fury as the fire rained down upon us. The heat and fury of my strikes must have played havoc across his shield, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before it failed. In vain he tried to counterattack, but I ignored the attack and let it smash against my shield. I didn’t even notice the impact as his thread dissipated against my shield.
I turned on him again in fury. His shield held for several strikes more before it cracked. He must have known what was happening as I tore the power from his shield, he must have felt it weakening and known that it would fail. It must have been terrifying as the liquid fire poured across the surface of his shield. He must have felt the heat first creeping through the gaps in his defence, and then terror as it seeped inside. He wouldn’t have suffered long, although he deserved to. This settlement had been sufficient to house and maintain over ten thousand refugees. A lot of people had died here. My opponent deserved to be amongst them.
Mage Emergence Page 3
