“The elves are not known for their war mongering, do you really think the Wizard can rely on them?”
“I truly do not know. Their entrance into this war would greatly complicate things.”
The conversation was interrupted by a shout from the invading force. They were beginning their charge toward the keep and wanted to instill fear in their enemy. Arcantos looked on with much trepidation. Every time he had dealt with the Wizards, they had some trick up their sleeve that he had been unable to anticipate. As the attackers came within range, arrows, rocks, and spells were hurled at them. The Knights of Doom leader watched as his men were cut down by volley after volley of spells. His eyes darted to and fro, attempting to ascertain the number of magic users among his opponent’s forces. The majority of the spells being used were easily cast, signifying a large number of apprentices. However, there were still others that gave him pause. He slammed his fist against the wall as the last of his invading troops began to retreat. The Captains of the Galimdorian force shrunk back as he turned to face them.
“You see why I was against sending in our forces too early? I wanted to find out what we were up against without losing too many men. What are the casualty numbers?” He asked, trying to calm himself.
“We’ve got more than four hundred dead from attacks on the keep. Our previous battles have left us with near fifteen-thousand men. Why don’t we push the brunt of our force into the breach and take the keep?” One of the Captains asked.
“We could, but their spells could cut us down to five-thousand men. It would be a victory, but not one that we could easily survive. If Cardinia and Sardinia called upon all of their reserves, they could easily pull together an army of nearly twenty thousand strong. It wouldn’t be as large as the Holy Order could muster, but they rarely attack in full force. We could easily be facing a unified southern kingdom army that rivals the most powerful that could be fielded in the land.”
*
Thanos paced back and forth as he waited for the Necromancers to finish their deliberations. They had called him in to meet with them about the impending doom of an attack by the Holy Order. The fires that were sparking throughout the Telmac Valley informed them of how much time they had left to prepare. The Archwizard had attempted to convince them to move, but they would have none of it. Now they would ask him if he was willing to assist in defending their shared home. Stubborn and predictable, Thanos thought as he knocked on the door to their council chambers. His patience had worn thin, and he wanted to give the Necromancers a piece of his mind. The door creaked as it opened. There were several Necromancers sitting around their table discussing some issue or another. They looked up at Thanos and then motioned for him to join them. He nodded and then came over to take a seat. The room was as dreary as one might imagine a Necromancers’ meeting place to be. Their entire castle was made of black stones, and this room was no different.
“Welcome, Thanos, thank you for coming,” The leader of the Necromancers, a former Warlock named Cerzanes, said.
“Kind of you to invite me, you Necromancers are not known for your openness toward others.”
“This is your problem as much as it is ours. The Holy Order will have no problem associating you with us, especially with that hand of yours. We’ve got too much at stake to up and run. I’m not even sure running would do the trick anyway. Have you ever faced the Holy Order?”
“I cannot say that I have. They don’t take a lot of stock in the comings and goings of the Wizards. Rolin made sure of that a long time ago. I reckon it has had a lasting effect on why they have not come after you in recent years as well.”
“Rolin is a smart man, can you match him in that sense, Thanos?” Cerzanes asked.
“Not in that sense, no, I fare better in a fight though. Rolin does what he can, but is unwilling to make the sacrifices needed to become as powerful as one should be. It is a disease prevalent in the Wizards. Leon is much the same and Melissa is worse than Rolin. We won’t likely be getting assistance from any of them, perhaps Cormac or Janessa, but I’ve heard they are preoccupied.”
“We face them alone, then. Much like we always have our enemies. Help us through this one and we will offer you full membership, Thanos. This is not a situation that we are taking lightly. Our lives hang in the balance.”
“Are we here to discuss our dire circumstances or are we here to discuss our strategy?” Thanos asked.
“The latter, of course. It seems that the Holy Order is advancing faster than we anticipated. As such, we haven’t had time to finish our greatest weapon. We’ll need to look to our reserves instead. Our scouts report that their force is nearly twenty-thousand strong.”
“What do our forces look like?”
“We’ve got the seven Necromancers on the council, ten skilled mages, fifteen apprentices, five-thousand skeleton warriors, two-thousand skeleton archers, three-thousand zombies, three liches, one hundred vampires, and fifty fallen knights. That plus whatever you can bring us.”
“It isn’t much to work with, but I think we can manage. I’ve got Wizards who can hold their own. Other than that, several dozen reanimated beasts. We’ve been attempting to bring back a group of trolls we came across not too long ago, perhaps if we join forces we can expedite things.” Thanos did his best to keep calm throughout the situation.
“I suppose it is time we let you in on our secret weapon.” Cerzanes stood up and glanced at his fellow Necromancers. “Come, let us show our guest the true height of our aspirations.”
The entire group stood and walked to the other side of the room. Thanos watched as the Necromancer heaved open the massive metal door leading deeper into their sanctum. It was the first time in more than a hundred years that they were telling anyone outside of their order of their experiments. Not even the seven Necromancer’s apprentices knew of what they were about to show Thanos. He was excited and nervous all at once. The power that they must hold at their fingertips, he thought as he followed them through a dark corridor. It was rare to find vampires, liches, and fallen knights that bowed their knees to mortals, but Thanos was sure that they had plans on immortality. He had his own thoughts and plans on the matter, but they would be kept a secret. His research was directed at trying to find a way to retain more of the mind after transformation into a vampire, fallen knight, or lich. As his thoughts drifted to the afore mentioned groups, a question popped into his mind.
“Why are they called fallen knights?” He asked.
“We liken them to knights for they are as loyal to us as a knight to his King. They have a code of honor, it just differs from that of a knight. That and the first of the order was a volunteer who had been exiled by his king. The name seemed fitting.” Cerzanes replied.
Thanos nodded and watched intently as they began to open one final door. It opened up into a large laboratory. The room was littered with vials of various liquids and a whole slew of skeletons belonging to nearly every manner of creature. The death Archwizard looked on in awe as they proceeded to show him several different types of skeletons they were working on reanimating. This is a veritable gold mine, he thought as he examined the bones. Much to his delight, they even had a section where skeleton hybrids were being worked on. He knew that the other Archwizards would be appalled to see that he was turning to the Necromancers and their pet projects for protection, but for him it was a means to an end. Unlike the Necromancers, Thanos’ goal was not world domination. He wanted to master all forms of death. Where they wanted legions of the undead, he wanted more than just shambling corpses. It was his hope to be able to not only bring back the dead, but communicate with their spirits to learn more about the vast world that he lived in.
“Are you ready to see the greatest of our experiments?” Cerzanes asked.
“There is more?” Thanos asked, somewhat beside himself.
“What we are about to show you could shift the power in our world for ages to come. Before I show it to you, do you know why we chose this location?”
<
br /> “It is isolated, easy to defend, and hard to find. Other than that, I haven’t a clue.”
“We heard rumors that the dragons of old nested here. Imagine the hoards of gold that we would have been able to find. Alas, the treasures of the dragons are long since gone from this place. We did, however, find another treasure.” The head Necromancer unfurled a cloth that had been draped over a large glass container.
Thanos could scarcely believe his eyes. The Necromancers had found the remains of a dragon of old, a skeleton so large that the Wizard could not rightly tell the whole of its mass. He stepped closer to the glass to examine the remains. By his estimation, the height of the beast was well over fifteen feet. The length of it, including the tail, was more than thirty feet and the wingspan around twenty feet. Thanos marveled at the revelation before him. A reanimated skeleton could strike fear into the hearts of any enemy, he thought. It had been more than a hundred years since anyone had seen or heard from the dragons. The tales said that they were both magician and warrior alike. Upon witnessing the remains of a dragon, Thanos couldn’t help but wonder if there were still living dragons somewhere in the world. His thoughts were interrupted by the Necromancers.
“We’ve attempted to reanimate it twice before, but each time we were unsuccessful. We had hoped that you would be able to assist us in the matter,” One of the Necromancers said.
“I will do what I can. My reanimation skill is amateur at best, but I’ve created a great many notes on the process. If my assumptions are correct, my talks with Rolin on Life magic might just come in handy,” Thanos replied.
“The time for talk is over, we must reanimate this beast before the Holy Order arrives!” Cerzanes commanded as he stepped toward the glass.
The other Necromancers nodded and took up positions around the glass. Thanos fell into an open spot near Cerzanes. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate. What was it Rolin said? He thought as he searched his mind to lend his knowledge to the others. His hairs stood on end as he felt the energy surging about the room. A small part of him wanted to open his eyes and witness the event as an outsider, but he knew they would not be able to accomplish it without him. He breathed deeply and pressed his hands against the glass. The motionless form of a dragon appeared in his mind. Rolin was standing next to it and saying something about how death left behind a small piece of life in its wake. He searched out with his mind, scouring the bones for any sign of that life. A small spark in the center of the dragon’s ribcage caught his attention. He strained with all he had to send the thought out to his companions. The energy in the room magnified, knocking Thanos to the floor. He let go of the glass and opened his eyes. The dragon’s skull slowly rose off the ground and inched forward toward him.
*
Septimus sat down in the chair and began his wait for the food. No doubt Talia would want to talk to him, but he wanted his meal first. If his suspicions proved to be true, she was more than just one of the city folk that decided to side with the Wielders. The Wielders had their secrets, that much the Warlock knew quite well. Talia came and took the seat across the table from him. He nodded to her, but did not speak. His cold stare was enough to let anyone know not to bother him. She wants to speak, he thought as he glanced over at Talia. She didn’t have the look of a magic user, but she spoke as one of the Wielders. Septimus found it intriguing that they would send her to talk with him. Perhaps the Wielders are weaker than I surmised, he thought as he watched a serving girl approach with his meal. He thanked her and began to eat his food. Talia could wait no more, Septimus was certain of it. He placed the leg of lamb back on his plate and wiped his mouth before addressing her.
“It is finished, if that is what you are wondering,” His tone was harsh.
“Did you kill him?” She asked.
“I had no other choice. Each Warlock may follow his own code, but this is one rule we all have to abide by.”
“That is a harsh rule to live by, couldn’t you have changed it?”
“I didn’t want to, not this time. Malcorn was a weed. He choked out the growth around him. His actions turned me into the fool. This was about righting a wrong.”
“Is that all it was about?” She asked.
“I am by no means an upright man, Talia,” He replied.
“Did his death reverse any of the wrongs he committed?”
“No, but it prevented him from committing any in the future. I gave him that power, that was my mistake. As a result of it, I was forced to end his life. The facts are that simple.”
“Can’t you see that you have accomplished nothing in this?”
“You are still young and attractive, Talia, do not waste your time on a man such as myself. Find yourself a husband, start a family, but do not burden yourself with saving the lost,” His voice was devoid of emotion.
“I will do with my life as I choose and I have chosen to follow you.”
“Why do you do this? Why are you throwing your life away?”
“My reasons are my own, Septimus.”
*
Paul stared at Emily, questioning her logic. I knew he wouldn’t like the idea, she thought. Janessa and Emily dared not interfere with Rolin’s plans. Paul, on the other hand, despised the idea of going into hiding. Emily sighed and walked over to the balcony just outside Gloomvale castle’s council chambers. Her predicament was not at all similar to any of the others. Janessa, Rolin, and the others were fighting for their homes. Paul was fighting for some sense of vengeance. Emily’s home had been yanked away from her. Her own father tried to have her killed, and the others seemed to think they had it bad. None of them understand, she thought as she leaned against the railing. The realization of it all had sunk in some time ago, but this was the first time that she felt anger toward her own companions. She turned to face the two of them.
“None of you think that I have much stake in this matter, but you are all wrong!” She yelled.
“My home is threatened, Emily. Do you not see that?” Janessa asked, somewhat annoyed with Emily’s outburst.
“They killed my family and slaughtered my village, do you not see that?” Paul asked, just as annoyed as Janessa.
“My own father kicked me out of my home and tried to have me murdered!” Emily grabbed her staff and raised it in the air.
Paul and Janessa stood motionless, trying to assess their next move. Emily lowered her staff and let it drop to the floor. Tears began to well up in her eyes, and she slowly dropped to her knees. She dug her face into her hands and allowed herself to drop completely onto the floor. Janessa rushed forward to comfort her, and Paul stood in shock. He shook his head and clenched his fists. Emily continued her crying as Janessa did everything she could to comfort her. It all only seemed to aggravate Paul even more. He stepped forward and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. They looked up at him questioningly and waited for him to speak as he took a deep breath. He nodded slowly and then began to speak.
“They have wronged you more than any of us can imagine, Emily. For that, they will pay. I cannot sit idly by as these beasts rampage throughout the kingdoms. They will be brought to justice. When I find your father, I will stay my hand until he answers to why he has done these things.”
“No, first we help Janessa liberate Gloomvale Isles, then we return to Rolin and the others,” Emily said as she pulled herself together.
“The Gloomvale Isles are strong, and we’ve rooted out the majority of the threat. You two are needed on the mainland,” Janessa’s voice was unwavering.
“Then we move forward with what James and Rolin said. They told me to tell the two of you to put plan B into action. Janessa, we wish you the best in keeping the islands safe,” Paul spoke with enthusiasm.
“Plan B? Are you certain?” Emily asked.
“I am quite certain.”
“Janessa, we’ll need a boat. Preferably a smaller one that we can manage with only a handful of crewmembers,” Emily turned to the Water mage.
“Of course
, I can do you one better. You can take one of the mage craft, they are faster than the average boat. They only work for magic users though,” Janessa replied.
“That won’t be a problem,” Emily said as she hugged Janessa. “You’ve been a most gracious friend. I know not what the times ahead will look like, but I sincerely hope that we will see each other again.”
“May the winds always be at your back. I will have my men prepare food for your crossing. If ever you need anything, the Gloomvale Isles are open to you both!” Janessa said as the two began to exit the room.
“You aren’t going to like plan B, Paul,” Emily said as they exited Gloomvale Castle.
“Why not?” He asked.
“Rolin wants us to go to the Isle of Wizardry and train you into a proper Wizard.”
*
Cormac studied the underground lake as the others went about their work. He had already spent the better part of a week examining the statues of the minotaurs and the naga. It intrigued him to think of where they could have possibly come from. This question had ultimately steered him toward the lake. If he wanted answers, he would have to explore the lake and perhaps even find the creatures themselves. The gnomes, while not bothered by his presence, refused to give him directions back to the lands of the dwarves. They kept telling him that he’d have to earn their trust before being brought into the society. None of that bothered him as he had become quite preoccupied with the puzzle laid out before him. After trying several different spells, Cormac became resigned to the fact that he would have to cross the lake by boat. The gnomes had long since shut down the dock and were afraid to even go near the water’s edge. One day, Cormac broke down and decided to talk to Theros.
“Is there any way to convince you to allow me to take a boat across the lake?” The dwarven Wizard asked.
“It is far too dangerous to risk letting the naga get their hands on a boat. I appreciate the thirst for knowledge, but this is not a request that I can grant you. You would have to talk to Aithen, King of the gnomes, to get a boat built,” The gnome replied.
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