Teliko Mageia: Curse of the Frozen Flame

by A. J. Carbonell

Jael immediately cast Explosion upon the Wyvern, but it had no major effect. The Wyvern flew into the sky, preparing for a dive. “Frekkis–prepare to avoid the attack,” Jael said.

  Screech! Jael covered his ears, bracing himself against the shrill cry. It dove. In that fraction of a second, Jael cast Rokka, Frekkis cast Full Swift, and they evaded. Momentum carried the Wyvern spiralling into the ground. Rocks splintered around it and dark smoke rose from the pit. Jael coughed and drew himself back to his feet.

  “Invoke Crows!” Alden ordered twin crows to attack Vaan and Draken. Gusts of strong winds came upon them.

  The fight was not going as smoothly as Vaan had hoped. He looked down at Draken, whose injuries were still nothing less than severe. “Draken, just rest, I shall cover you with my Golem Heart. You’ll be enveloped by my earth armour for your safety,” Vaan said and cast Golem Heart upon Draken. Already weak from the sustained injuries, he was unable to move his body now contained as it was within a sturdy suit of stone. “Revolut!” Vaan shouted, and he clad himself in whirling rocks. The shadowy crows rushed Vaan, struck his Revolut. Its myriad of pebbles pounded the crows into dense black smoke.

  Alden’s face could not be read: was he insulted or impressed? He ordered the Wyvern to release its Black Flame. The Wyvern soared, circling above, drawing in smoggy clouds of impenetrable dark smoke with each mighty inhalation.

  Jael and Frekkis ran toward Vaan for a defensive manoeuvre. “It’s about to release a powerful spell! It’s gathering magick! Vaan, cast Revolut while I put Kappe Flam around it!”

  A large pile of spinning rocks rose to cover the four of them; flame could be seen licking the outer shell. With a roar, the Wyvern released an effervescent black flame. As the black flame met Jael’s, it exploded, shredding the morning with plumes of hateful smoke clouds. When it cleared, Alden was astonished to see the Golem Heart umbrella covering them all.

  “You really are talented. Very well, I shall let you taste my ultimate spell!” Alden shouted. “Revert!” His Wyvern vanished. “You are gifted. I now understand why Zaac wanted me to take care of you. Sadly, you are no match to me. You are nothing more than a bunch of lowlife mercenary mages trying to save the kingdom. You cannot defeat me. You cannot defeat Malevolentiam.”

  “When we were in Sanhera, were you already a part of Malevolentiam?” Jael demanded, in a furious tone.

  “No. But shortly afterwards, I received an offer – something I could never refuse… Unlimited power!”

  “You are no different from those people who wanted power! You’re the lowlife! Seeking help from malevolent magick! You’re insane!” Jael exclaimed.

  “Say what you want to say, Jael–those will be your final words,” Alden answered, and he disappeared once again. But his voice could be heard as he spoke his most powerful spell. “Invoke Fusion!” he howled and appeared in the sky, still recognisable but changed.

  Wings of the Wyvern, the claws of the panthers, and the tail of the serpent.

  “Mmmm, this feels so good! This is what malevolent magick can do for you, Jael! Are you ready for it? Are you ready to meet your doom?!”

  “Jael, we need to retreat!” Vaan seized Jael’s arm, dragging him back down. “This is no longer a mage. This is the work of malevolent magick. This man is already a monster!”

  “We can’t! Alden was commanded to kill us. Do you really think he cannot catch us if we run? We need to fight not just for Bristal, but also for our lives!”

  “Shadow Crush!” Alden bellowed, and he rushed toward Vaan and crushed him to the ground. Fortunately, Vaan cast Golem Heart before he was hit by Alden. At once, Alden was behind Jael and dealt him a mighty blow. Jael was thrown, crashed into the nearby large rock and it crumbled. Alden darted around him with the speed of his crows, dashing from one place to the next. In the blink of an eye, he was before Frekkis and seized her neck. His fingers tightened into her white fur ruff and he raised her up, making a gesture to prepare for a final Black Flame attack.

  Frekkis made no sound, looked at him with conviction. “Huh?” Alden said, startled at Frekkis. “The last time someone looked at me like that… was… when I was a kid,” Alden said. “No! It can’t be!” He shouted and flung the wolf away from him. Frekkis slumped to the ground.

  Vaan rushed toward Alden and attacked him with his Upheaval spell. Large swaths of earth emerged from below the earth, striking Alden, who stood up so quickly it seemed he was barely damaged at all.

  “You cannot beat me,” Alden said.

  “Blazierga!” Jael shouted from beneath the pile crumbled rocks. They exploded out from around him and he surfaced with a gasp. “Dragon’s Breath!” he cast and thick, syrupy red flames blasted from his bare palms.

  “Black Flame!” Alden roared. Black flame spewed from his mouth. Their flames connected. A large ball of fire gradually emerged, reverberating back and forth between their flames, a wicked combination of black and red. It grew larger, larger, all sound sucking into it until all at once it exploded.

  Shockwave ripples sent them flying, the force of the blast ripping apart the ground. Jael weakly lay, breathing and trying not to succumb to the beckoning dark; Vaan too was nearly unconscious. Alden, curse him, stood up. “Puny mages,” he said. But off to the side, mere metres away, a dark shadow grew up from the shadows of the rippled earth, growing larger with each passing second. “Who was that?”

  “Where is Zaac?” Draken uttered.

  “You have no business with him,” Alden answered.

  “If you won’t tell me, then you too, will die by my hand,” Draken stated arrogantly.

  “Oh really? Let’s see about that” Alden replied. Opening his mouth, black flame rushed and struck Draken, who scoffed.

  “Hmph, I am immune to shadow magick!” Draken said, and he rushed toward Alden and cast a spell he liked to call Touch of Decay. A rapid rate of decay could be applied to anything, and this dark aura emitted from Draken’s hands as he squeezed Alden’s forearm.

  “You fool!” Alden shouted. “This body is made up of dark shadows. Your magick cannot stir me. It seems like we will have to make use of brute force, eh? Classic!” Alden caught Draken with his great tail and squeezed him. Draken shouted in pain. “Now, who shall die by whose hand? Tell me that!” Alden cried. With every breath Draken took, Alden squeezed tighter. Draken struggled, but his gasps soon turned to sags and slowly, his consciousness waned.

  Frekkis clawed her way back to consciousness, whipping Alden’s tail. He howled, dropping Draken, and whirled on her. “You, wolf. Do I know you?” Frekkis again looked him in the eyes with that same strong conviction. “Who are you?” Alden demanded, feeling uncomfortable.

  Frekkis quickly cast Heaven’s Wings, and she flew high into the sky. Alden followed and started to attack with his Shadow Crush. Because of Frekkis speed, Alden could not hit him. Bit by bit, Frekkis damaged Alden with Berserker Slash.

  “Even if you attack me all day, your damage is insignificant,” Alden said, and he cast Black Flare upon Frekkis. Alden read Frekkis’ movements and knew where the wolf would dash. Aiming his spell at that direction, he struck Frekkis with a massive attack.

  “Frekkis!” Jael shouted, and cast Rokka to catch Frekkis. “Now, I shall kill you all,” Alden’s voice boomed.

  “Revolut! Golem Heart! Kappe Flam!” Jael and Vaan shouted in unison. Nothing happened. They stared into each other’s eyes in dawning horror.

  “We have no more energy left, no more magick stamina remaining. How can we defeat this monster? Vaan, can you activate your rage?”

  “I don’t know how to activate it. It just comes out of me! And I still haven’t figured out what circumstances trigger it!” Vaan replied in helpless frustration.

  “Say your prayers,” Alden shouted from the sky as he gathered up large swaths of shadowy flame.

  But they were not completely out of options yet. Frekkis had one final trick remaining; one last mighty spell to be used at the greatest cost of all. With her frien
ds helpless, defenceless, it was time. Finally she would use her spell called Treant’s Torment, the Fate magick of the element of Nature. However, Frekkis could not unleash this Fate magick without killing herself in the process.

  She looked to Jael for one split second but could say nothing as the spell activated.

  Frekkis’ chest split open, vines emerging rapidly from his heart. The large vines grew faster, seizing up Alden and slamming his massive body to the ground. Shining waves of blinding light beams rained upon Alden, burning him in their immense holy light. The holiness consumed the darkness, gnawing through every inch of shadowy dark defence possessing Alden’s form. As it dissipated the dark, the light too faded, and Alden’s body became normal again. The white wolf crumbled to the ground, the vines shaping upwards into the form of a growing tree.

  All stood in stunned silence. The tree continued to grow, and Jael bounded towards it, screaming in shock and horror. Its vines knit together, weaving into the shape of a large white oak. Tree fibres slowly devoured her body until nothing remained but a shadowy imprint of her canine body in the dirt. “Frekkis!” Jael shouted, blinded by the tears gushing from his eyes. He flung himself to his knees at the base of the tree and howled at the sky. “FREKKIS! NO!”

  “Jael, I am so sorry,” Vaan said, voice choked up with grief. He came close to his friend and put a hand on his shoulders, trying to comfort him, but hesitant to surprise his agonised, dangerous companion in this time of utmost loss.

  But it could never touch the agony that tore Jael asunder, and while he felt no hate for his friend, his nails scraped rivets in the ground. Jael’s shoulders heaved, his breath ragged and heavy, and this tree, this thing–he could do nothing about.

  There was something he could. His eyes narrowed to furious slits and his attention too, honed in, coming to a halt at the shaking, normal man. All of Jael’s stamina was depleted, but his fists still ached for vengeance.

  “You! Alden! I will kill you!” Jael shouted at the top of his lungs, and he heaved himself to his feet.

  “Jael, stop it! Alden is already defeated!” Vaan insisted. “No! It’s not enough! Because of him, Frekkis is dead!”

  “Jael, enough…” A sweet voice sang out from inside the tree. “Jael, please… enough of your anger… it’ll do you no good…”

  “Who are you?” Jael asked, wiping his face with his filthy vest, drenched in tears. “Are you Frekkis?”

  “I am your mother, Artemia,” the voice answered. Jael and Alden were stunned by what they heard. A spirit appeared in front of them. “Jael, my spirit stayed with Frekkis’ body ever since I died. I promised you I will be with you always, yes?” Artemia said. Jael sobbed so much the more as he heard Artemia’s voice, saw her face for the first time in forever, knowing it would be the last.

  “Aldweihen, my son, look how strong you have been. You have been consumed with your anger and your fear. My son, I never deserted you. You thought I abandoned you and would never return, but when I came back from the woods, you were gone. I am thrilled to see you, my son. I know that you are strong enough to handle your own now. But I was terrified when I saw you here. Full of madness and malevolence. I sacrificed myself to save you both, Aldweihen and Jael.”

  “Mother! I am sorry! Mother! Please forgive me!” Alden said and wept.

  “It’s all right my son. It was all my fault, my fault for leaving you alone in such dire circumstances, my fault for not guiding you enough,” Artemia said. If it were possible, more tears spilled from Alden’s eyes, his face distorted by each heavy sob. “Jael, I want you to understand that Alden is my son. I have cleansed him from malevolent magick. Please do not despise him. If you can, please forgive him and just let him be. I believe he can be guided from now on,” Artemia said.

  “Mother, what happened? Why did you leave me? There were enormous monsters attacking the house and so I needed to flee,” Alden said in confusion.

  “Forgive me, Aldweihen, for what happened. I was bringing Jael back to our home. He was still an infant then. My heart exploded when I realised that you ran away. I ordered my summons to find you, and when I could not, I believed you dead. If you can remember, at Sanhera, I knew immediately it was you, my lost son. My heart jumped for joy when I saw you,” she said.

  “When I ran from home, I ran as far as I could, until I exhausted myself,” Alden told her.

  “I am proud of how strong you’ve become, my son. Jael, please take care always and I dream that may you find your own past. I was the one who saved you in Sanhera. You were all alone, and I heard you crying when I came by the burning village,” Artemia narrated. “Vaan, I would like to thank you for helping me and Jael through our struggles and battles. Also Draken, I believe you are a good man. I believe you will be of great help to the kingdom, just control your anger and you shall be a great mage. Lastly, my son, Aldweihen, I dream of your success for the good of the kingdom. Though your magick is dark, still, your heart can be pure. I dream for your protection. My heart will always be with you, my son. This will be my final gift for you all, ‘Nature’s Barrier’. This spell will protect you from all spells as long as you are near this tree. My magick cannot extend far but this tree shall protect you from any threats. I leave you now, young mages. Dream for your triumph!” Artemia disappeared.

  “Mother!” Alden shouted, and he burst into tears once more. “Alden, we will be parting ways from here. Do not return to

  Malevolentiam, it would be foolish. We shall be leaving. We hope for your recovery,” Jael said, though coldly through his own grief.

  “I shall stay here with my mother longer. I am terribly sorry for the trouble I have caused you.” As the three left, Alden sat down under the shade of the new born tree, and his tears watered it.

  Twenty years prior:

  Sanhera, the village of beauty, slept peacefully. The long deep silence of the night was shattered by the village horn. “Make haste! The bandits are upon us!” The village scout ran through the streets too late to warn the sleeping innocents waking from their respite. “Make haste! Make haste!” A bolt of lightning struck down the scout, and he fell, seizing, dying. Hornhawl, the notorious leader of the northern bandits, strode into town and spat on the ground.

  “Search for special mystos! Leave nothing behind! Kill them all!” Hornhawl exclaimed.

  The Tiger Paw destroyed everything in their path. Sanhera was left in flames.

  Artemia Thorin, a beast summoner who lived in the nearby forest, noticed the smoke rising. “Aldweihen, stay here, all right? I will go investigate the village. Do not go out of the house,” Artemia ordered, and left the young Aldweihen with one of her beast summons.

  Upon approach, Artemia could see the devastation would not easily be mended. Massive flames raged the still standing houses, thick fire spewing from open doors and windows with burnt out fixtures. One house splintered, shuddered and fell, sparks dancing up into the air in the smoky haze. Already the morning sky was reddish-gold, and the choked sun gazed down upon them with a smoky red eye. Nearing the village, Artemia was shocked to hear cries–infant cries. “Gerris!” she summoned, and the white wolf materialised at her side. Together they hunted for the source of the wails, and finally Artemia determined the house in which some strange child still survived the lapping flames. A mother herself, there was no way she would turn away, even from this hellish inferno the village of beauty had become.

  “Gerris, try to search for the baby, mind yourself, you may catch a burn.” They both went into the burning house. She shielded her mouth with her sleeve, taking care to not breathe so deeply as to faint from the smoke. Inside, the cupboards and doors burned fast and furious, the structure of the building still holding–for now. The baby’s crib had burnt away, and Artemia was stunned to see an infant on the floor, body covered in flames yet not consumed.

  “Good grief! The baby lives despite such flames!” Artemia was shocked. With great haste, Artemia swept up the burning boy and dashed to safety through the op
en window. She ripped off her own shirt and rolled the child up tight on the ground, swaddling the flames to extinguish them. All that remained was one naked crying baby wearing a leather necklace. There was no indication anyone else had survived the massacre of Sanhera. She summoned Gerris back to her side and made her way back towards home.

  But as she neared, dark smoke could be seen rising from the forest to the horizon. Artemia began to run, but it was already too late; she arrived in shock to see the house ruined and desolate. “Aldweihen?” He was nowhere to be found. “Aldweihen!” she shouted in fear. “Gerris, search for my son! Now! I cannot leave this baby behind!” Gerris rushed toward the woods and searched for Aldweihen but he had disappeared and thickly choked with smoke as the forest was, it was impossible to find a scent.

  Gerris went back to Artemia and licked her, nudging her with her nose. “Where is my son?!” Artemia said numbly, and tears started to fall. Surely he was not gone. Surely he was not dead. She clung to the infant in the vain hope that her own child would resurface, but days went by and Aldweihen hadn’t returned. Each day Artemia ordered Gerris and her summons to search for her son. Night after night they returned, travelling further each time, longer and more distant, finding nothing. Not a trace, not a word, not a bone, not a whimper.

  Maternal horror ruled her; she refused to accept that her son had already died. Yet as the days stretched on from weeks, into months, Artemia mourned and gathered the scant strength she had to go on. She would never, could never get over the incredible loss of her son. This orphan child too needed care, and she would have to be strong for his sake. She built a house from the surrounding woods with her own bare hands and any surviving pieces of metal she could salvage from her ruins and Sanhera’s alike and focused on raising the mysterious baby.

  When at last she nailed the final hinge for the front door, she stood back and was proud of what she had made. Only then did Artemia find herself drifting to other, more lofty thoughts–the baby, with no clues but a necklace and an incredible gift. Perhaps he was born destined to be a fire mage, already able to absorb fire. She too could remember her first interactions with beasts being very young. That intrigued her, and she examined the necklace, trying to interpret the strange symbols on it. Perhaps they were letters, and she wondered what they stood for. The writing was unfamiliar, and the pendant damaged from the flame. Ja, perhaps? Ja-el? It could be a name, she decided, and it was time she gave him one. So she named the boy Jael and lived on.