Battle Mage: Winter's Edge

by Donald Wigboldy

  Once the meal was over, they began to break from the table doing different tasks. The women chose to move the dishes to the sink in the hopes of washing them, but quickly found that the pipes leading down from the large water barrel outside were too frozen to work. Yara moved quickly to bring Sebastian over. “It’s frozen, Bas. Can you fix it?”

  Knowing the girl was trying to show his worth to his family once more, the mage still could not refuse. He put on his coat to go see the water supply and the tubing used to bring it into the house. It was his home so he knew how the barrel was supposed to save them the effort of going to the well as often, but exposed water in the North would freeze. Only a fire or a person with magic could keep such things running under the circumstances.

  “Fire,” he commanded and a stream of flame played from his hand into the top of the barrel. “Flow,” the mage added moments later as the fire quickly worked to thaw the ice in the water. His senses knew that much of the barrel still held thawed water since the sun struck the blackened barrel during the day. If the sun was strong enough the water warmed to the point of easy use, but if not the pipes leading into the house would tend to freeze.

  The combination of the two spells moved the heat to the source of the blockage and after several minutes he could hear the noise of running water inside. Rather than returning inside right away, Sebastian stood looking out over the white covered fields reflecting the first moon in the night sky, Epsilon. The faint red tinge in the eastern sky signaled the war god’s moon taking charge of the night behind his brother. Gelinas, the third moon would still be in view as the morning began if he got up early enough.

  Three brothers who had both stood together and been at odds much of their lives according to the legends. He was one of four, but maybe his brothers could understand what he had to do in life as well. The farmers couldn’t fathom the life of a battle mage anymore than he could truly understand the training of a wizard, but he still respected what they had achieved. Even someone like Magnus, who had been a bane in his side for so long, was respected for skill and knowledge as a wizard.

  Shaking his head, Sebastian tried to move such thoughts back to the recesses of his mind. His father was the perfect example of the ignorance and intolerance shown to mages in particular. If it wasn’t his father’s disappointment that he was just a mage, then there was the stigma of magic itself for the man to be ashamed of in his son. There was little that he could truly do to change the man’s mind. The Winter’s Edge tournament was a chance to at least prove to witnesses there that a mage could still stand with wizards on their own ground.

  “Sebastian?” Yara’s voice called around the corner of the house for the missing man. “The water is running fine. You can come back in now.”

  Moving his feet reluctantly, the mage walked towards the pretty blond huddled into a blanket that she had quickly thrown around her shoulders to come get him. He just had to remember that they were going to sleep in town and would be leaving soon. Anyone could put up with an hour of nearly anything, or so his father had once argued during a particularly hard day in the fields.

  It was strange to think of his father’s words when he was much of the source of Sebastian’s anxiety. The couple returned to the heat of the farmhouse to spend a little more time with everyone before heading back to Mera.

  “No, no, Olan, you need to set your shields better than that or Collin will just roll over them in a duel. If they’re not set both strongly and strategically, they will shatter under any duelist’s attack,” Sebastian found himself scolding the young mage as a coach instead of training once more. With Yara to heal, there were six wizards and six mages counting himself, but that meant only five of the wizards could duel the other six when they were all working together.

  Setting a strong trio of shields in front of him. Sebastian gestured at the defenses as he stared at Olan daring the mage to disagree, but the falcon simply nodded. These five were supposed to be some of the more gifted mages at Windmeer according to the ravens, so being able to take advice or direct teaching while holding their tongues and not arguing every point was to be expected.

  Collin nodded as well and sent a wave of stone into Olan’s shields shattering three flat blue barriers with just the one attack. A second wave struck Sebastian’s wall managing to break the first, but the wedge split the remainder of its energy sending the magical attack safely to either side. Sebastian was getting slightly frustrated with the training between the wizards and the novice mages. If they were still getting the basics of defense wrong, then how long would it take for any of them to be ready for a duel where a wizard of Collin’s caliber was actually trying?

  A sound of laughter from the earth wizard brought the mage’s attention back to the man. At Sebastian’s questioning look, seconded by Olan, Collin said what had amused his mind, “I was just thinking that maybe you will have to start wearing white. If your corps likes bird names, then perhaps you need to dress like a white owl as you keep sharing your wisdom.”

  Olan began to chuckle nodding, “The owl. That kind of fits you too.”

  Groaning, Sebastian turned on the pair ignoring them as he checked on the other pairings. Just what he needed, another nickname, he thought to himself.

  Serrena and Frell were having a lively session. The two girls had decided to start together as they trained and gotten along very well on the trip to the farm. Sebastian didn’t mind if there were friends or groups that along between the two sides, in fact he encouraged it. One day maybe they could erase that line between them and learn from each other. Wizards seemed to be more guarded with what they knew wanting an edge even between schools, while mages shared their skills to the point that everyone knew everything save the new magic created by him.

  Frowning, Sebastian realized that he was more and more like a wizard in that way. He had his secrets already as well. The ability to tap into the earth for more power and the creation of Bairh’loore being just two that he had tried to avoid sharing with anyone. Tapping into so much power held a lot of danger and the mage wanted to test it more before risking anyone’s life on his theories. The second was even more tricky. Sebastian wasn’t sure creating such an artifact was even possible for many wizards and the envy over such magic could turn dangerous for anyone who knew, especially the mage who had created it. High Wizard Krennel had proved that to him when the wizard had spied his creation.

  Fireballs and blue shields winked in and out as defense intercepted projectiles on both sides. The girls weren’t holding back by much. Both had set low defensive shields in front of them just for the possibility of accidental fire. Frell’s defenses resembled his own choice, though he had never demanded anyone follow his exact set up. He didn’t care if Olan did exactly the same thing, but three flat barriers hadn’t worked for any wizard that he had watched at Windmeer either.

  “Shield,” Serrena commanded using a mage battle spell as easily as any falcon in the corps. The blue shields had proven popular quick defenses with his wizards on the trip to Mera. He had a feeling that all five, if they chose to compete, would surprise their fellow wizards with their mixture of magic in the first rounds especially. In that way, the week of training had been a success. Now he just needed to find a way for the mages to learn from their cousins.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be training as well?” Edgar asked with Everet and Katya standing on either side. The grin on his face as he tried to call his older brother out for being lazy made Sebastian roll his eyes.

  “Unlike dad’s theory on work, magic is still limited. We can only go so long before we exhaust ourselves to the point where a wizard or mage can actually kill themselves. Magic is like pulling from your soul. Pull too hard and you break,” he replied perhaps a little to soberly as his brother’s smile began to fade. “Have no fear, I’ll be training soon.”

  He watched as his sister’s attention moved between the mock duels and noted how she seemed to be analyzing their spells. If the gift was hereditary, then mayb
e Katya would be able to learn others’ spells similarly to his own skill. The girl started as she noticing him watching her. A little bit of worry glimmered in her eyes. He knew that his family were all afraid that Katya would be taken from them. Unfortunately in Southwall, such fears were justified as it was inevitable.

  “Can we talk a moment?” his words made the girl look a little more worried.

  Pulling her a short distance away from the twins, whose eyes kept watching them despite pretending to be watching the duels, Sebastian said quietly, “You know that we can sense magic ability in others. The seekers that came for me weren’t unique that way, though those are specially trained to enhance that skill.”

  The flush in her cheeks from the cold washed away as the girl turned white as a sheet. Sebastian went to his pack and pulled out a beginning wizard’s manual. Handing the tome to Katya, he stated, “You may as well start looking through this. It’s better to understand and learn how to control magic before it begins to control you.

  “Have you had any strange accidents from moving your hands or saying something too much like a command or wish?”

  Her eyes wandered from his face. Looking at the snow, his sister confessed, “There was this boy at school that I’ve always liked, but he never seemed that interested in me. One day I was thinking about him particularly hard. I wished that he liked me and would kiss me. While I was thinking it, Barlen, came over and talked to me with a strange grin on his face. When he suddenly kissed me, I was quite surprised. All afternoon until we went home, Barlen seemed interested in me, but when I saw him the next day and said hello he acted like it had never happened.

  “I don’t mean that he gave me any more of a cold shoulder than he always had, he seemed to truly not remember the day before. When I asked him why he had kissed me if he was just going to treat me like I didn’t exist, Barlen looked at me like I was crazy. He swore that he had never kissed me. It wasn’t like he was lying to cover in front of his friends.

  “There are several boys that have been interested in me, so I know that his friends wouldn’t think I was some mistake. He truly looked confused when I told him what had happened the previous afternoon. I let the matter drop, but it has stayed in my mind.

  “I’ve been able to get my way around here more than ever too. Do you think it’s because I have magic?”

  Her eyes looked worried sick, but she also seemed resigned to her magic. Katya could feel that she had changed without a wizard coming along to tell her. Sebastian had felt the same way months before the seekers had come for him.

  Trying to be gentle, though it was not his strong suit, her brother answered, “There is a magic called coercion. The wizards who use it are called diplomat wizards because it sounds better, but they can bend people to their will with their spells. They can also tamper with minds enough to make a person forget what happened while under a spell. Other spells leave the memories, but it comes in useful if they are captured. Leaving no witnesses with memory of you is very handy when you need to escape from an enemy country.”

  Katya looked even more squeamish at his description of the magic. “Does that mean the wizards will be coming for me? Perhaps I could make a boy have sex with me? Like Yara said with girl wizards, it may take away my power then I wouldn’t have to go to one of the halls.”

  Sighing sadly, he shook his head. “It doesn’t work that way. At worst, your power might lessen a bit or maybe some of your spells would be harder to control, but your magic won’t disappear. I’ve heard rumors of a few girls that have tried. The wizards work around whatever challenges to their teachings might arise from it, but the girls aren’t sent away.”

  “But I don’t want to be a wizard, Bas!” cried Katya quietly with tears trailing from her eyes.

  He nodded. “Few truly want to go because it’s forced on them, but talk to Yara or any of the other women. All four have seen this from different schools of training, so I am sure that they can relate to what you’re going through and can tell you how it was for them.

  “I can tell you from my own position that I don’t mind being a mage. Being sent to White Hall may not have been my choice, but I don’t regret a thing. I went to serve my country to protect people like you and the rest of our family. Perhaps it seems strange to other people, but I like being able to help people and protect them.

  “I know that I’ve saved lives. Becoming a healer, I’ve helped even more avoid death or lost limbs.

  “But maybe the best part is all these wondrous strange things that I can do because of magic. Wait ‘til you see what you can really do. You have the strength to be a full wizard. I can’t even imagine what you will be able to do that I can’t.”

  Some on the fear seemed to have settled as Katya’s face looked less drained. The girl looked at Frell and Serrena continuing to test each other. She could see Nara forcing plants to grow from the earth and creating puppets from stone and wood for Ardost to fight against as they practiced. The sight of so many women wielding magic in so many different ways began to take root in her.

  “Can you teach me something while you’re here? I’m not sure that I am ready to read a book about it,” his sister asked meekly.

  Smiling at the girl, Sebastian nodded and said, “I just learned this one a couple weeks ago. Dance,” he commanded as sparks played on his fingers. He extended the strands which swirled in a dance of blue and white lightning to a little more than a foot in length. Like a shiny, crackling vase of light the strands expanded and contracted as they swirled adjusting the shape to his whim.

  His brothers had noticed wide eyed as well. Katya began to grin, “It’s so pretty.”

  Chapter 25- Family Nature

  Wiping sweat from his brow, Sebastian stepped back from his sparring with Nara. The woman’s ability to twist nature and to a lesser degree the stone and air around them made her an excellent opponent. She had a way of distracting with one sort of attack and following it up with a completely different type. Thinking that her tactics resembled his more and more, the mage wondered just how much the wizards were learning from his bag of tricks rather than the other way around.

  Lunch had been brought out to the group at midday by his sisters, a courtesy that he had not truly expected, though the fact that they remained out in the cold rather than crowding into the main room around the dinner table, may have been the chief concern of his family. His parents in particular seemed less than enthusiastic to have their son return, which in turn made the mage think that the ravens had this trip figured out wrong. There was little true relaxation and his mental energy was certainly not gaining anything from it either with the tension that continually seemed to be in the air.

  While his parents seemed to want nothing to do with their prodigal son, his brothers and little sister seemed glad to see him and appeared to want to get to know him as well as watch his training. Chores pulled them away, of course. A farm like theirs didn’t run without them all pitching in to help, so they would appear in the field from time to time between duties and watch the wizards and mages dueling.

  Where the boys were always doing something, Katya seemed to be getting used to the idea that she would be leaving to become a wizard. The flashy magic of Nara and Serrena paired with Frell’s mage spells seemed to draw her curiosity most. They held their own with the males of the group too and perhaps that was another thing the girl had rarely seen in her world that consisted of the farms and Mera.

  He also noted Yara sitting to talk with his sister from time to time and the two of them even paging through the wizard’s beginning manual. The book held little for the mage now. While he hadn’t conquered everything inside, the mizard knew all of the spells backwards and forwards. There were many that he had not learned to adapt, but Sebastian still knew them and could look for other ways to learn the results of the spells if not the steps to complete it.

  “Bas! Bas!” the young man heard his name called from a distance during the lull of a break they were all taking. Energy w
as running low, so it was time for a little food and drink to replenish them. The voice belonged to Edgar and the boy looked frantic.

  “What is it, Edgar?” asked Sebastian as his brother came close enough to talk.

  Gasping for breath, his younger brother had to take a few deep gasps to settle enough to reply, “It’s Conner. He’s hurt and lying in the barn. Father and Everet are staying with him, but he’s hurt real bad!”

  Waving Yara over, the mage tried to pull out more details. “What happened?”

  As Yara hurried over with Katya in tow, Edgar hastily answered, “I’m not sure. We were working in the barn when some of the animals began to get spooked. Conner and dad were sending some of the cows out for exercise and I guess one of the bulls didn’t like it. The next thing I know Conner’s on the floor bleeding all over. Dad sent me to get you two before I could see very much.”

  Estranged by his parents or not, Sebastian could feel protective over strangers and Conner was no stranger. His brother had been trying as hard as any of his siblings to bridge the gap between their brother and parents, so he owed him for that as well. Hurrying along as fast as Yara and Katya could run in the turned earth covered in week old snow, the boys led them to the barn.

  The sight that greeted him was worse than he had thought. Conner was still lying on the floor cradled by his father. Marcel Trillon rarely showed much emotion, but the man had tears flowing down his cheeks and looked beside himself. As they neared, Sebastian took in the situation.

  A bull continued to fight the stall only a few feet from where the fallen man lay. Feed was strewn from a toppled over pail just beyond Conner, whose hands were drawn to a hay fork and the tines puncturing his stomach. Blood covered his shirt and pants as well as their father. Everet sat on a partially used bale of feed appearing white as a sheet, but continued looking on in stunned silence. Another pail was clenched between his legs and it looked to have been used.