by Ryan McCall
Feyton scowled and incanted, “Aurus taoch!” He flung a small bottle at the floor in front of Yadra. Dark smoke wafted upwards and a nightmarish creature emerged. It was seven-foot tall and made of glowing, red and black stone. It had a thick horns around its face and a set of pure yellow eyes, but no nose or mouth. Its massive hands looked like the end of a sledgehammer and its thick legs ended in clawed feet.
It was a lava elemental, creatures that normally dwelt deep beneath the surface of the world. They were beings of pure magical energy and this was the first time Zuri had seen one successfully summoned. They were nigh indestructible beings, their bodies designed to propel through the hottest magma and the hardest rock. Its feet left charred marks on the stone floor as it slowly paced towards Yadra.
It swung one of its hammer-like hands at her, but she was able to dodge out of the way, the elemental was not very fast. It made a grunting sound and the fiery glow on its skin increased in brightness.
Yadra reached into her pocket and pulled out a wand. She waved at the creature’s legs and a layer of ice appeared at the elementals feet, climbed up its legs and stopping it in place. Zuri could see that the trap wouldn’t last long. The ice was already starting to melt from the heat emanating off the elementals legs and it swung its arms at Yadra in frustration.
Zuri let loose with an attack of her own and fired several balls of fire at Feyton. They sped toward him in a spinning helix of destruction. He held out his staff and spun it in front of himself, creating a defensive whirlwind. As the fireballs hit, they deflected away hitting the walls, one of them striking a wooden desk and igniting it.
“Ha!” said Feyton in mocking tone. He chanted three words in quick succession and his right hand was surrounded in red energy. At the same time, a large hand made of red light appeared near Zuri and Feyton made a grasping move with his hand.
The hand of energy mimicked his movement. Zuri’s speed was all that saved her and she propelled out of the way of the crushing hand. It continued to follow her relentlessly while Feyton laughed and chased her with it. She zipped around the room as fast as she could but the hand continued to follow. There wasn’t enough space to maneuver in here.
She looked over at the crumbled wall and flew outside, the hand following her. Now, in the open air, a skylord’s natural environment, she could dodge the magical construct much more easily.
It still pursued her, but her speed and reflexes continued to get the better of it. She couldn’t do this forever. If she continued like this Feyton’s elemental would kill Yadra and he could then focus all of his magic on her. She stopped suddenly and the hand flew past, unable to brake as fast as she could.
“Oloani!” she shouted and flung a spell of pure darkness at the hand. A deep dark circle appeared in the center of it and expanded until it had absorbed the entire hand, snuffing it out. The light construct couldn’t sustain itself in the pitch-black sphere.
Feyton watched the energy disappear from his hand and he snarled in anger and he looked up at Zuri flying above.
He let out a resounding shout that shook the entire tower and sent another of the walls crumbling down. He launched into the air with a flight spell and his staff held in front of him, the jewel on the end aimed right at Zuri.
***
Reese pressed his hands against the cold, stone wall. He’d had a rough day after last night and he had made up his mind to see if he could squeeze a favor from the skylord mage, Zuri. He had no luck at her teaching office or her living quarters. He had asked at every staff desk he could find, until he was finally told she had entered the Blue Tower twenty minutes ago.
He’d been told she went upstairs with Paragon Yadra Torres, so he started climbing. After he had reached the third floor the tower started shaking. Was this an earthquake? Reese tried to keep himself steady as the tower shook for the second time, much more violently and he covered his ears as a terrible shout of rage and power washed down through the tower.
What the in the hells? Mages were running out of the rooms in a panic, none of them knew what was going on. They wouldn’t respond to his questions and he gave up, most of them were trying to get out of the tower, concerned that it was going to collapse. He wasn’t leaving until he found Zuri. He needed her help. He ran up the stairs as fast as he could until he reached the top floor and went through the first door he came across. When he saw what was inside he regretted it.
A lava elemental was the last thing Reese had expected to find. The elemental was trapped in ice and facing down a mage in black robes. Reese assumed this was Paragon Yadra Torres. But where was Zuri? He couldn’t see her in the room.
Yadra shook a pouch of bones in her hand, chanting. Reese wanted to leave but he didn’t want to attract the attention of either the elemental or the mage. He stood still and tried to remember what he could of lava elementals.
The ice around the elemental’s feet was disappearing and there was a crack as the creature tried to move its legs. Yadra completed the last part of the ritual and released the pouch the bones spilling onto the floor in front of her.
As they bounced they grew larger and joined together, first forming four long, skeletal legs, then a pelvis, ribcage and spine until finally the head appeared. Between Yadra and the elemental stood the animated skeleton of a Vinacian hyena; an extinct animal with the most powerful set of jaws in history. In spite of the danger, the zoologist in Reese couldn’t help but admire the skeleton of the long, extinct creature.
“Attack,” said Yadra, right as the elemental cracked one leg free of the ice and stepped forward. Despite its undead state, the hyena made a high-pitched laughing noise and sprang forward. Its jaws clamped onto the arm of the elemental and held on tight.
The elemental slammed its other arm against the undead hyena and the force shattered several of its ribs. The hyena let go of the arm and fell to the ground. Despite the powerful bite of the hyena, there wasn’t even a scratch in the elemental’s arm.
The hyena laughed again and this time grabbed at the elemental’s leg and bit down as hard as it could. This time there was a sound of grinding rock and small chips of the elemental’s skin fell off around the hyena’s teeth. The elemental brought its hands down towards the undead canine. It missed as the hyena dodged out of the way.
Yadra moved further away from the two battling creatures and towards the other side of the room. Then she finally noticed Reese. She looked at him in surprise. “What are you doing in here, you fool?” she yelled.
There was a sound of smashing bones. The elemental shattered the back legs and pelvis of her hyena. It was still snapping its jaws at the elemental’s legs, unable to feel pain. It was no good, the elemental had the undead hound right where it wanted.
The elemental brought both of its hands down together at the same time and smashed the skull of the hyena. It then continued to pummel its hands down, ensuring that the bones were no longer active and were pulverized into pieces. It then turned towards Yadra and Reese.
Reese remembered what little he had read about lava elementals. They were as ancient as colossi and dragons, created by the raw magical energy of the primeval era.
He hadn’t studied them extensively but he did recall one report from a ship’s captain that encountered one, on a small island off the coast of Araiin. He and his crew had fled the island and the captain had used brine to slow the creature down, it had an extreme reaction to the mixture of salt and water.
Reese scanned the room and saw a sink and taps. He ran over and grabbed a rubber container. He turned on the tap full blast and water began to fill the container. Now all he needed was salt.
He searched the shelves but couldn’t find anything. He crouched down and opened the cupboards, there were plenty of bottles of powders. He spotted one that said Bath Salts.
He grabbed it and poured the contents into the container, the powder dissolving upon hitting the water. He had no idea if it would work like regular salt, but he had to try. He picked up the contai
ner and headed towards the elemental, water splashing on his shirt.
The elemental must have sensed his presence as it stopped moving towards the mage and turned. He threw the entire container over the creature and the salty water rained over it, covering its head and upper body. Steam hissed up as the water hit the creature, its high body temperature instantly evaporating the liquid.
It moved slower now, the salt reacting with its skin and forming a black layer. It was still in mid turn when it stopped moving, the reaction having immobilized it. Yadra watched in amazement as the elemental stopped and she looked at Reese.
“How did you do that?” she asked.
“Salt water. It will slow it down, but I don’t know for how long. I’m Reese Galius, I came to see Mastermage Abeliah when the whole tower started shaking.”
Yadra nodded, “I’m afraid, you’ve come at a bad time Reese. Thank you for stopping that beast. The mastermage is waging the real battle out there.” She pointed out towards the sky, Reese squinted. He could make out two figures high above the tower, flashes of light arcing between them.
***
Zuri let loose with another a jet of flame from her hand. The fire raced through the air towards Feyton, following him as he flew. It was speeding right towards his head until he pulled up his gloved hand and held it out at the fire.
The long jet of flame disappeared instantly and Zuri cursed. No matter what she used, Feyton always managed to counter her spells. He had powerful anti-magic at his disposal.
Feyton flung another blast of lightning at her. It thundered as it smashed into her defensive shadow barrier, the barrier turning black for a moment, absorbing the blow. A few more blasts would reduce her barrier to nothing and then Feyton would be able to disintegrate her with ease.
She needed to even up the odds somehow. If she could get whatever he was using to counter her spells, she would stand a chance. She looked below and saw the many towers of Warded Spirals. That was the answer, she needed to bring the fight out of the open air, and among the towers. Feyton was a powerful mage, but he didn’t have her natural ability at flying.
Feyton yelled at her across the air, “You’re far more powerful than you ever let on Mastermage Abeliah. What a shame I have to kill you. You’re too mature for my physical tastes, but your mind will be as delectable as any of my students.”
“I would rather die a thousand times than submit to you,” shouted Zuri. “You’ll never get your degenerate will inside my head.” She flapped her wings, turned around and went into a dive. She aimed at the grouping of five towers on the western side of the Center called the Wands. Her wings opened out all the way and she sped down at the spires.
“If that’s how you want it,” shouted Feyton and he flew after her. He continued to throw spells at her. Zuri moved faster than she ever had, moving from side to side to avoid the lightning blasts.
As she neared the first of the towers a blast shot through the air she had occupied only a few seconds ago and hit the top of the tower. She had to bank left to avoid being showered in pieces of wood and stone from the shattered tower top. She banked around the tower and thrust towards the next one.
If she could briefly lose the archmage among the towers here, then she could try and take him by surprise. She banked again, this time twisting around one of the inner towers as another blast thundered through the air behind her. She moved upwards and flew though the open window of the middle tower. She went all the way through and exited through the window on the opposite side. Then she stopped sharply, turned around and lifted herself up and over the tower top.
Feyton approached the window she had flown into and wasn’t paying attention to the air above him. Her wings flapped, keeping her in a stationary position for a few seconds until she had re-positioned herself.
She went into a dive, this time straight at Feyton with her hands stretched out in front of her. Feyton was about to enter the tower when she reached him and with one hand grabbed his left wrist, while the other grabbed his throat and clamped down hard.
Feyton croaked in surprise, but couldn’t say anything with her hand wrapped tightly around his neck. She tightened her grip as hard as she could and he gurgled and croaked again. Feyton tried to hit her with his free arm but the blows didn’t have much effect.
“Ugh…ugh,” Feyton sounded as if he was trying to say something.
Zuri angrily replied, “How does it feel to be helpless? Like all the helpless children you took advantage of!”
She pulled him up higher into the sky by his throat. She flew as fast as she could, higher and higher, Feyton still trying to get out of her grip, but she refused to let go.
She reached the air near the clouds and Feyton started to lose consciousness. Unlike her, he wasn’t used to the change in temperature and pressure. Zuri continued climbing, hitting the grey, night-time clouds.
Droplets of moisture pelted both of them and she felt Feyton start to go limp. His eyes were closed. She moved her other hand to his throat, fully strangling him now. Her anger and grief were overpowering and she continued to tighten her grip. Feyton’s lips were turning blue and his mouth was making ragged sounds.
Zuri held on still, tears rolling down her face. Her rage was still powering her actions, the blue from Feyton’s lips started spread to the rest of his face. Zuri gasped as she realized what she was doing and loosened her hands. Her grief-fueled rage and adrenaline rush subsided. She put one hand on his neck to check his pulse. He was still alive, it was better than he deserved, but she was no killer. Even as angry as she was she couldn’t commit murder like this.
She sensed powerful magic emanating from the white glove on his left hand. She held him by the back of his collar and she reached over to remove it. It had a symbol on the palm, a blue circle with its line briefly broken in four places. This was his source of protection from her spells. The symbol was ancient Cartralan, it represented anti-magic.
She slipped it over her own hand and she felt the strong energy. She would need it if the archmage regained consciousness. She made sure she had a tight grip on him and descended back to the ruined top of the Blue Tower.
***
Reese and Yadra had retreated towards the door of the tower room, in case the elemental broke free.
“I don’t think we can kill it, but maybe I can contain it,” said Yadra. “We can’t let it get loose in the tower and harm someone else.” She conjured up a thick wall of bones to encircle it and they waited.
Yadra fell to her knees. Reese lowered the staff he had picked up and placed it back down on the table near the door. “Are you alright?” he asked.
Yadra nodded, “That last spell took everything I had. I’ll be fine after a hearty meal and a good night’s rest.”
Reese walked over to the opening in the wall to look out, then quickly stepped back as Zuri landed in front of him, holding the limp form of the archmage. She glanced at Reese for a moment, before placing the archmage on the floor.
She walked over to Yadra. “It’s done paragon,” she said.
Yadra looked her in the eyes. “You managed to defeat him? I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen you bring him in yourself. How did you manage it?”
“The archmage is powerful, but he knows little of moving through the sky. The sky is where my people live,” replied Zuri.
There was a cracking sound and the elemental moved. It pummeled against Yadra’s wall. Bits of bone slowly breaking off as its powerful blows wore down the magic. Its hammer like hands then smashed through the wall.
Before they could do anything it turned towards the fallen archmage. It lifted its hand, bringing it down upon his head and crushing it to bloody pulp. The elemental slowly disappeared. With the archmage dead, the magic keeping it here was undone and it returned to whatever deep place in the earth it had come from.
Zuri walked over to the now, dead Feyton. “I may not have been able to do it myself, but I’m not sorry to see you gone.” She spat on his body. The
n she looked back at Reese. “You, what are you doing here? Reese Galius, wasn’t it?” she asked.
“Yes mastermage. I was looking for you to ask a favor but it looks like I don’t have the best timing.”
Zuri stared at him for a second and then burst into laughter. She laughed for a long time, unable to control herself. His comment was just so absurd in the midst of all this madness. When she finally stopped she asked, “What favor?”
“I need to find the name of a mage” said Reese.
“That’s it?”
“A mage who threatened me and stole something from my room. All I have is an accent, but I have heard that Warded Spirals has the best records in the empire.”
“I’ll help you, I’m feeling in a generous mood right now, but we best hurry. The school’s security will be on their way and they’ll want answers from all of us. After tonight, you may not have a chance to check the records.”
Chapter 19
The party was more impressive than Luthais Mordain had expected. When Tegan first proposed having an extravagant wake for their father, he had not been looking forward to it. Wakes were tedious and grim affairs, with the guests dressed in drab greys and blacks, talking about how much they cared for the deceased or what they liked most about them.
This was different than he expected, no one was dressed in the drab colors associated with death. Tegan had insisted on not following that custom, though everyone still pandered to him and his siblings, talking about how close they had been to his father. They raved on about the business relationships they had with him. It was all terribly sycophantic.
Councilor Olig Northcote of Baran province had explained to him in great detail the lengths that Cormac Mordain had gone to help him get his appointment and how grateful he was. If Luthais ever needed anything he had only to ask.
