"I suspect you are correct," said Elizabeth, "though we could have hoped that our blast would be powerful enough to overtax and break the ward. So what now?"
"What about other entrances?" asked Amanda.
"All are strengthened by the same ward system," said Elizabeth.
"What about the Dome over the Courtyard?" asked Alan. "Most of the Courtyard wards are likely aimed at containing blasts between training combatants inside the Courtyard, and masking observations from the outside, not at shielding blows from the outside."
"Yes, it might be possible to break through the Dome from above," agreed Elizabeth.
"How will you get up there?" asked Amanda.
"We'll find a way," said Elizabeth. "Cloak yourselves individually from satellite viewing, or the Government will see too much," she added, as she floated up to hover ten feet off the ground. Alan and dozens of other Wizards followed suit. Most had never flown outside a warded space such as the Courtyard. Most had many times contributed energies to the wards that protected the Courtyard. And now they would try to break through those wards.
****
In the forest behind the King house near the edge of Desolation Glen, two hundred Apprentice and Junior Apprentice Wizards, along with several dozen anxious parents, gathered around Vice Principle Sharp.
Before them on a small rock outcropping young elf Rog stood, surveying the ash of the dead clearing that stretched in front of him. "Maker!" he exclaimed. "All that ash is Evil? It's a good thing that I showed you humans how to self-shield against it or we'd be kaput by now, or damn close to it!" He turned to the small boy beside him. "I don't suppose that your friend Ben King has shown you how to control Wild Magic, has he?"
"He can't remember how to control any magic," said Rick. "He would tell his friends if he could remember something like that."
"So much for Plan A, as you humans would say," muttered the elf. When he arrived on Earth he immediately located a computer and studied common phrases.
"Can we destroy it, Mr. Rog?" asked Claire Jones.
"Well of course we can destroy all the Evil!" said Rog confidently, loud enough to be overheard by the entire crowd. "All elves are shown as children how to destroy Evil, that is the good news. The bad news is that first the Evil must be located. Usually the more difficult trick is to locate it, but that has conveniently been done for us already in this case. But destroying all of it will take more work than I at first thought! Evil is actually little bits of the Void, according to elf science, and the Void is where no kind of math rules hold up for long. No science or magic works in the disorder of the Void.
"But this isn't the Void. The order of this world and especially the magic of Life Energy would over time will eat away these bits of Evil. Evil can also be done away with rapidly using magic, but it's a dangerous business. If your protective shields fail you, the Evil will make you sick, and combining Evil and Life Energies together carelessly can be like combining matter and anti-matter. Bad things can happen if it is not properly done."
"We have to do it!" said Rick. "We have no choice."
"I can quickly show you how, but we'll need Life Energy and lots of it," said Rog. "Far more than I expected to need. I sense a good source of such energies here, carried through the Earth, but the Evil is blocking it. If we can but unblock it, perhaps we can shape the flow by spell to cancel out most of the Evil." He looked out over the gathered crowd. "We need a blast of what Earthly life magic you already have within each of you to be directed at the very center of the glen." He pulled a metallic amulet from a pocket. "If you would be so kind as to discharge your magic energies into this amulet, then I'll be able to personally use them to unblock the Earth magic flow."
In groups of a dozen or more, the child and adult Wizards gathered around the amulet and directed their energies into Rog's amulet. Rick helped gather and direct the energies of the children. Several times Rick was credited with stopping young Apprentice Wizards from contributing too much, which could have been life-threatening. The adults were amazed at the skills shown by such a young child. Sharp wasn't sure that she liked that everyone was draining most of their energies into the elf's amulet, but saw no alternative to following the directions of the seemingly knowledgeable and well intentioned elf.
The elf held his glowing amulet and grinned. How well things were going!
****
Chapter 11
Demons Attack!
The Alure Elf Council had been called into emergency session, much to the consternation of its members. "This is highly irregular!" Chairman Hemsope complained. "Declaring a Demon emergency is still in our laws as a reason for an emergency session, but that's only because we haven't gotten around to deleting all that foolishness about Demons and Evil from our laws yet."
"We wouldn't have bothered the High Council at all," said Jeanine, "but over much of Alure this Council still holds sway over many, and we need all the elves we can get to defend Alure and the Balance. We need to protect against Evil!"
"The true evil is the long obsession of the elves have had with the Balance," said Hemsope. "We elves have dedicated ourselves to it for millennia, this myth of Demons and Evil. Far too many elves still defy Council and waste their hard-earned magic by feeding the Balance Wards. Think of all we could have done for ourselves if we hadn't been feeding those Wards! Because of that neglect, now our gardens fail!"
"No, because of your neglect of the Wards they are weakened and now Demons and Evil attack elves and their Gardens," said Jeanine. "But those of us that still hold with elf traditions have gotten ourselves together here to either get your approval and support or to make sure that you no longer oppose us." She gestured to the five dozen elves that had entered the Chamber with her. Most were elves as old as herself or older, along with two or three generations of their kin. Powerful elf Wizards, all of them, but only a few were officially Gaou. Most were from the countryside, where traditions still held strong, but several were from the Grand Hall Gardens, including old Hancow.
"The Gardens still fail, Council Leader,” said Hancow. "The only hope for them is for us to return to the old ways."
Several local elves were also in attendance, including young Knarf and his circle of friends. Jeanine recognized them: they were the same elves that argued against Soone about elf traditions at the Grand Hall. "So this is the bunch that has been preaching against the High Council!" said Knarf. "And now you've foolishly gathered yourselves together here with the High Council. How very timely and convenient! Traitors, all of you rabble!"
"Excellent point," said Hemsope. "You gathered here are all subject to the official reprimand of the Council!"
"Don't bother," said Knarf. "The High Elf Council of Alure is being dissolved here and now! Here and also on Earth where Evil has been concentrated and Demon powers are great! It is time for all elves and humans to die!"
The image of the elf shimmered, glowed, and seemed to age. For a few moments some of the older elves noticed a resemblance to a long dead and revered elf of recent history. Then horns appeared on the image as it expanded and darkened, while it tripled in height and gained in mass dozens of times. New skin looked like scales made of black rock-chunks, its eyes glowed bright red, and red also glowed between and through the scales. When two horns appeared on its head all the stunned elves in the room knew exactly what the being known as Knarf was!
"It can't be!" mumbled Hemsope. "It must be illusion! A projection, perhaps!"
"Always the fool!" said the Demon, with a voice as deep and loud as thunder. "That's why I helped you become Council Leader! A leader of fools!"
From the Demon's hands a ball of lightning suddenly formed and shot forward to engulf the Council Leader! In moments the elf was gone, consumed by Evil and pure energy, but the ball of energy grew still larger and brightened while the Earth, building, and air trembled as if anticipating what was coming next!
"Strengthen your shields and join them together!" shouted Jeanine, as she crouched
down on her knees in the ancient elven defensive posture that minimized surface area and exposure to attack. The eves with her group also assumed the defensive posture and formed shields around themselves and linked them together, just as they had practiced doing for most of their lives.
The explosion from the bursting ball of energy knocked the grouped visiting elves across the Chamber but didn't destroy them. When the smoke cleared Jeanine and her followers were all tumbled together where the far wall had been a moment earlier, but still crouched unharmed in their defensive postures. The ten other Council members were gone, obliterated into their constituent elements and blown away like most of the building. Knarf's little band of followers were gone. The walls were gone. The roof was gone. The entire Chamber building was gone: tons of well-crafted, heavily warded stone were completely obliterated. The only thing of the Chamber that remained was blackened stone floor tiles, except for where the Council Leader and the Demon had stood. There the tiles were gone and replaced by a shallow pit full of glowing black rocks.
"The rocks are Evil, Jeanine," said the Demon. "Stone by stone I gathered Evil by creating ruptures to the Void. I planted Evil here, and also at the Grand Hall and Soone's gardens under the water troughs. But I put most of the Evil here in the Council Chamber under the floor tiles, to sap the strength and dull the thoughts of the so-called leading citizens of Alure. It has been delicious to watch the High Elf Council of Alure decay physically and mentally! There are tons of Evil gathered here on Alure, and there's even more Evil horded on Earth!"
"Thanks for that information, Demon," said Jeanine. "We'll get rid of all that Evil, now that we know where it is."
"You won't live long enough to make use of anything you've learned," countered the Demon. He extended his arms to hold his open hands above the evil rocks. Tendrils of lightning snaked up from the rocks to strike and be absorbed by the Demon's open beckoning hands as he drew strength from the Evil.
"What should we do Jeanine?" asked one of the younger elves.
"Too late for us to do anything except brace for the next blast," said Jeanine. "We'll follow our plan or die trying!"
The Demon smiled and stepped towards Jeanine with outreached open hands. The joined together elves were strong but over the centuries the Demon had seen their spells before and knew exactly how to overcome them. "Goodbye elves!" it said.
****
"It's about time you called us together to meet again!" said Fredrick Kroner, as he entered the Council Hall. "Grim, I demand that the prisoners be released immediately. In reviewing our laws I have come to realize that no Council Member can be held prisoner. Why that was not realized by this body earlier is truly puzzling."
"It is because there is fifty pounds of Evil hidden in the podium," said Horace Grim. "It has a dizzying effect on biological beings."
"What?" said Kroner. "What are you talking about?"
"The end of Hope Wizards and of all humans," said Grim.
"Are you losing your mind Horace?" asked Council member George Price, one of Grim's supporters.
"Your support is no longer required, Price," said Grim. The image of Horace Grim faded to be replaced by Fred Hanes, the usually grim and silent friend of Troy Grim. "And the time of hiding is past." Fred's image disappeared also, and glowed as it turned black and expanded in size to inhuman proportions. Its monstrous features immediately identified it to be a Demon of legend, but this creature was no myth, this was real! "Time to die, humans!" it said. Its voice was impossibly loud and deep. Without warning lightening shot out from the Demon's hands and obliterated Price, who sat closest to Grim.
Half a dozen Hope security police fired blasts of energy at the Demon, with absolutely no effect, except to soon bring their deaths. The Demon swept his hands through the air, lightning erupting from them to strike all the police down. He then directed his lightning at the remaining terrified Council members, first restraining them all and then striking them down one by one.
"This Chamber and entire complex is designed to protect from outside dangers, fool humans! It's a well-designed death-trap for you now that blocks your escape! You can't even teleport away! Death is your only refuge!"
Several Wizards of the Council had attack skills and fought to live even though shackled by Demon spells, but their efforts were futile. Two tried to flee but were easily picked off by the Demon when they fled towards one of the exits.
Soon only Fredrick Kroner remained alive. "Your turn to die now, Kroner," said the Demon. "For years you opposed me, resisting my Evil with impossible resolve. Now I take great pleasure in your death!"
Kroner was too old and terrified to effectively flee or defend himself, and was also being restrained by overpowering Demon magic. But despite the restraining spell he managed to defiantly lift up one shaking arm and direct a mighty blast of energy at the Demon, which the Demon totally ignored!
A return massive energy blast from the Demon knocked Kroner across the room like a rag doll, but most of the blast was deflected and absorbed by an armor clad figure that had suddenly interposed himself in front of Kroner! The astonished Demon next suffered a massive hammer blow to the top of its head that actually knocked it a pace or two backwards!
"Die Demon," shouted Carl Bruger, as he drew back his hammer to strike a second mighty blow!
The blow never came. The Attack Wizard was amazed to see a huge blast of energy from the Demon completely obliterate most of his strongly warded hammer! Bruger threw the surviving hammer handle at the monster, but the solid steel projectile bounced harmlessly off one of the creature's raised hands, while the second hand of the monster in the form of a gigantic fist struck out towards the impudent human.
"You're far too slow, blundering Demon!" Bruger taunted, as he ducked the blow and in a single swift motion drew his sword and struck the extended striking arm of the Demon. Brilliant energy from the blow shattered the blade in a sharp explosion, and the Demon screamed in anger when it realized that just below the elbow the sword had cut half-way through its arm! "Too slow and too weak to defeat a Hope Attack Wizard!"
Glowing red Evil poured freely from the Demon's wound for a few moments, then stopped as the wound sealed and hardened to black rock-like Demon scale. "I will kill you next for that, human," the Demon screamed, as with surprising speed it launched itself towards Bruger, who was by now fleeing out the rear exit of the Chamber.
The doorway was just wide enough for Bruger to duck through with his wide shoulders but nowhere near large enough to accommodate the Demon, who doubled the size of the opening with a large crash and scattering of shattered wood and stone, despite the strong wards that reinforced the doorframe. The Attack Wizard and the pursuing Demon shot up the stairs and through another too-narrow doorway that was also soon violently enlarged by the Demon.
"Now!" shouted Bruger, as he dodged yet another column of flaming plasma that shot towards him from the on-charging Demon!
Ringed around them in the Courtyard, over a dozen Attack Wizards simultaneously erupted in lightning blasts that struck the Demon from head to foot with energies gathered from a hundred thunderstorms! The Demon stood frozen in shock, glowing white-hot for a few moments as the Evil within it consumed the residual energy of the blast.
At that moment Sam Putt struck it with his Attack Hammer, a weapon strengthened by him every day for three decades by spells. He intended the mighty blow to shatter the Demon into manageable Evil pieces, but instead of shattering the Demon the hammer itself shattered with a thunderous explosion that flattened the Attack Wizards, including Sam and Carl!
"I don't get it!" Carl told Sam. "One being couldn't have all that power!"
"It is itself shaped Evil and it draws strength from the Evil it has placed in Hope!" said Sam. "It will keep renewing itself using Evil while we exhaust ourselves!"
"Correct Human!" said the Demon. "The Evil that my Master gathered to Desolation Glen will power me to destroy you all and allow my Master to call forth thousands of my brother
Demons to kill all life on Earth!"
****
At Desolation Glen, the Elf Rog tossed his beloved amulet of power into the center of the desolation and shouted for joy when the resulting explosion knocked himself and the humans off their feet!
"It worked!" said Sharp. "I can sense the Earth magic flow!"
"Well of course it worked!" said Rog. "I already miss my amulet though. I gathered life energy into it for many years, saving up for a moment such as this! At last I'm a real hero! I hope that among you are bards capable of singing songs of praise that will do justice to the heroism of Rog!
Have you actually used your spells to destroy Evil?" Sharp asked.
"Not yet," admitted Rog. "But I learned the spells when I was a child and never forgot them. I was always a very good student."
"Terrific!" said Sharp.
“Are your Evil containment wards still holding?" asked the little elf.
A few steps back from the Desolation, more than a hundred of the stronger children and adult Wizards held hands and formed a circle that completely surrounded the field of Evil. "The physical containment wards are stronger than ever," said one of the adults. "We constrict the wards to push the Evil back towards the center. But now we also begin to block the effects of the Evil on Hope, by expanding our personal protection shielding as you have shown us."
"The Life Magic flowing now to the center of the Glen is being cleverly crafted by me to safely and rapidly eat away the Evil at its center!" said Rog. "And using the spells I have shown you, you humans are also eating away at the Evil at its edge and pushing the Evil into the wellspring of Life Energy! Humans are fast learners!"
"The Hortega boy quickly showed us what you showed him, and helped us to all work together," said Sharp. "More important, Rick calms our fears and strengthens our resolve. Many of these children have never even heard of Demons or Evil, or seen the destruction in this glen. The Council is going to have to reassess the value and legality of collaborative magic, if we live through this event."
Apprentice Wizards of Hope Page 18
