Producing a pair of lodestones from his pocket, the mage considered the defensive nature of the cliff. They were about thirty miles south of the gate at Culleras and there was perhaps a hundred more miles to the next gate. Perhaps a compromising position between the two would be acceptable for their first point of retaliation.
Ashleen noted the action and said, "If you are looking for a defensible position, the emperor can't strike from the sea; but," her hand swept from south to north as the girl faced the east, "there isn't much here for a camp."
Bare stone made up most of the ground studded by tall jagged rocks. Coral had died leaving the rocks as the island had risen from the sea during the Cataclysm. While wizards from Sileoth had been working to turn as much of the island into usable land, they hadn't bothered with such places. The salt from the sea remained embedded in the ground and few plants had taken the place of underwater vegetation which had died with the exposure to the air.
He nodded at the girl's evaluation, but answered, "There is still enough for earth wizards to work with to make a fortification. Water wizards can work with the sea and probably bring clean water for the troops as well. It just has to be good enough for a start.
"This is for an invasion, not a permanent settlement."
He dropped the stones about eight feet from each other pressing them firmly into the ground so they wouldn't move without help.
While Ashleen sighed at being ignored in his determination, Sebastian pulled the map out again centering his attention on the next of the enemy's portals. The girl shook her head and asked once more, "You're determined to do this again?"
He nodded. "We'll be even more prepared than last time. I doubt that fire urchins will be at every point anyway. The emperor will want them for assaulting Helsen even if they are a bit slow for pitched war on a battle field."
Drawing out a pair of light grenades once again, Sebastian called on his dragon wings before opening the next portal. He looked to Ashleen and ordered, "Be ready with your magic. I'll lead the way, but we might have to fly from there as well."
The girl rolled her eyes at him. He was earnest and prepared, but she felt that the mage was risking too much when they were certain now that the gates would be protected against intruders.
Smiling at her annoyed look, Sebastian made the portal open before tossing the corrinuts through the passage of golden light. He followed them a moment later leaving Ashleen to wait a few more seconds before she followed him also.
The next portal point was similar to the last. Set on a hill that rose higher towards a small mountain to the east, it would be defensible while giving a good view of the land around it. As the mage joined the enemy guarding the gate, Sebastian had little time to take in the view, however.
Tents surrounded the area and those closest to the gate were orcs, trolls and a pair of armored viles. All were sensitive to the light, but the larger creatures were recovering quickly.
Ashleen stepped through and Sebastian took her hand calling on his dragon magic to produce another set of wings for the wilder. He pulled her into the sky even as cries from the camp brought dozens of black armored soldiers to the aid of their blinded guards. The sound of his grenades had alerted the others, but they had also served to weaken the entry point.
Forcing the gate closed after Ashleen, the two lifted into the air to see the tents expanded from the hill to the west. Part of the emperor's army held the land here. Smoke rose to the south letting him know that at least some of their allies must be alive to resist the dark horde threatening Litsarin.
He flew high enough to avoid a lucky shot from an arrow making for the smoke. As the two neared, Sebastian spotted defensive trenches out beyond the walls of a small town or village. It wasn't on his map, but not every town would be on a map designed to show a larger view of the world than just the island.
The trenches and stone walls erected to protect the village and soldiers were extended half a mile from the outskirts of the town walls. They must have had time to build their defenses enough to make them strong. The war had been going on for over a month with little information getting back to Sileoth, but these men and women had held out probably hoping for reinforcements certain that their king would know to help them.
Sebastian flew in over what he could only think of as a casual battle. Wizards and warlocks exchanged blows. Catapults and other siege gear lobbed their ammo back and forth doing little damage to either side. It was a battle of attrition. The dark army held the village and its defenders in check waiting for supplies to run out and the defenders to weaken while they remained well fed from their supply lines.
A grim smile crossed his lips as the mage thought the magic of the portals could extend the battle indefinitely or even turn it against the Dark One. The enemy had used it against them over the centuries and Southwall could finally use it against them as well.
Men and women looked up crying out in shock as the two dragon mages crossed over their defenses as if they weren't even there. Arrows were lifted to attack, but seeing the enemy equally perplexed, they waited until Sebastian and Ashleen landed within the walls of the village.
Not surprisingly, dozens of soldiers and wizards ran to surround the two of them immediately.
Releasing their wings, Sebastian held up his hands displaying a willingness to surrender without confrontation. Ashleen noticed the movement and put up her hands also though she looked less certain that those surrounding them would acknowledge the gesture. Weeks of battling the enemy had them all on edge and that made the Sileoth army appear less predictable.
A man pushed forward wearing a ragged looking uniform marking him as a captain in the Sileoth army. Frowning as he pointed his sword at the battle mage, the man demanded, "Who are you? What are you? You flew into camp. How is that even possible?"
Nodding as if giving the man a bow of respect, the mage replied, "I am Falcon Sebastian Trillon from Southwall. Thanks to our allies from Mar'kal, we have learned some new magic which includes flight.
"I can see that the enemy hopes to starve you and exhaust your people. We have deciphered the enemy's magic also and can start bringing you reinforcements almost immediately."
The man shook his head even as a pair of wizards, who looked exhausted and worn from being among those acting as the backbone of the defense, ran up to see if they were needed again. The captain didn't seem to understand Sebastian's words and growled, "Unless you have an army of flying men, how will you do that?"
Shrugging, Sebastian replied calmly, "I'll open up a gate to Tarmand or one of the other cities where your army awaits the signal to use a portal to Litsarin."
"That's impossible!" the captain exclaimed in shock.
The two wizards pressed forward moving to either side of the captain. An older looking wizard with a fairly powerful aura placed his hand on the soldier's shoulder and nodded towards the mage. "You are the mage from Winter's Edge, aren't you?"
Surprised by the man's knowledge, Sebastian nodded.
The wizard glanced at the captain saying, "This is the one who learned darkness and light magic while fighting in the tournament. If anyone could figure out the Dark One's portal magic, I guess it would be him."
Sebastian tried to place the man's face and the wizard laughed, "Don't exhaust your memory trying to remember my face. We've never met. I was just one of our support wizards for the tournament. I caught a couple of your early matches and heard the rest."
"And you are?" Ashleen asked curiously, though Sebastian thought maybe the pretty girl was tired of being ignored at the same time.
"I am Wizard Altus and if I am not mistaken this pretty wizard is the lightning wilder from Kardor," the man acknowledged the girl with a brief nod and an appreciative smile.
"This is Wizard Ashleen from Kardor," Sebastian answered for the girl even as his attention seemed to wander from those surrounding them. "If you have a good place to set up a portal gate, I can begin to bring you those reinforcements. I can return t
o Sileoth at any time."
Altus asked quickly, "Can you teach us how to open these gates?"
"Soon perhaps, but it isn't an easy form of magic to grasp. We're finding only a small percentage of our wizards can work the spells to make them. A few of your wizards are being trained to help out already though. If it is something that works for you, I suppose someone will work with you to master the spell.
"At the moment, I don't have the time to do much more than set a gate and send a messenger through to Sileoth to get them to come help you," the mage replied receiving frowns at his answer. He appeared a bit preoccupied and ready to move on again, which didn't make the beleaguered soldiers any happier. Still he had promised them help that they couldn't have hoped for before his news.
Before anyone could voice their opinions, a messenger ran up even as explosions rang through the air from the front.
"Captain Jamen, the enemy has started a new offensive. They don't appear willing to wait us out anymore!"
Sebastian was the focus of dozens of glares even as Captain Jamen ordered, "Everyone get to your positions. Our new friends have apparently made the enemy angry enough to wipe us out!"
Pushing his magic into the oval Sebastian pulled out one of the Hollow Swords and handed it to Ashleen. "Take this and give them a hand. I'll bring help and return as fast as I can."
Ashleen took the weapon from him, but pulled the mage closer to kiss him on the lips before demanding, "Don't be too long. If they throw everything at us, I'm not sure we can hold them back."
Overhearing the short conversation, Altus stated, "We've held them until now. We aren't beaten just yet. We can give them a fight, but you are leaving the girl here?"
Sebastian nodded even as he dropped the lodestones onto the ground. "Ashleen can help you with a few surprises as well. I'll gather some help that is ready now.
"Make sure to leave a few guards here. If anything outside of Southwall wizards come through this gate next, be ready to kill them because the enemy might be able to hijack our gate spells like we have theirs."
Voices started to protest, but Sebastian opened the gate. The sight of the golden doorway silenced every complaint, even as Ashleen yelled for them to get their minds back on the impending fight.
Sebastian disappeared in an instant leaving Ashleen with butterflies in her stomach. She had complained that he was always risking his life, but seemed unwilling to let her risk hers as a Kardorian wizard. Now her lover had passed her his sword leaving the wilder to hold out against an army.
Giving a chuckle at the thought, Ashleen thought that she should have been careful what she wished for.
The wilder dragged the heavy sword along often touching the tip to the ground. She wasn't trying to draw power as Ashleen had seen Sebastian do many times before. It was simply too heavy for the wizard to carry any great distance, so she tried to save her strength letting the ground support most of the weight. Ashleen had no training with the sword and couldn't have done more than swing the Hollow Sword with two hands a few times if she were to see battle.
Her magic had always been the source of her strength and, like most wizards; she had viewed swords as something designed for soldiers not someone like her. Of course Ashleen was slender and light making the blade feel like it weighed half of what she did. That was an exaggeration, but that was how it seemed to Ashleen by the time the soldiers had led her to a group of wizards hiding behind one of the defending walls beyond the village's outer perimeter.
She looked at the wizards in their robes and other colorful clothing. While even those dressed in more rugged looking gear still had the resemblance of wizards, Ashleen realized that she no longer appeared like an air wizard of Kardor.
The girl wore her favorite pair of short boots, which covered her ankles to touch the bases of her calf muscles. A pair of shorts touching the tops of her knees were dark blue with a lace pattern running up her outer leg, while a tunic of light blue coming down to mid thigh didn't even have sleeves.
They had been aboard ship before she had followed Sebastian to Litsarin. As Southwall turned cold moving into winter, Sileoth and the other islands were far enough south to feel like summer by comparison. Winter clothing was hidden in the oval rune on Sebastian's arm, but she wouldn't need to put on a jacket until they returned to Hala or White Hall.
Feeling the ground tremble and hearing screams from soldiers caught beneath the heavy stone blocks thrown by enemy catapults, Ashleen worried that she might not live to worry over a jacket ever again. The dark army used their siege weapons hoping to wear down the allied defenses, but catapult teams guarded by walls and wizard shields returned fire hoping to hit those weapons as well as any enemies too slow to avoid the stones.
Ballistae and archers did what they could to slow a rapidly advancing enemy infantry, but armored viles and fire urchins shrugged off any wood projectiles. Trolls, orcs and goblins were smaller targets and many wore the black plate armor which could absorb elemental spells. The metal plates also served to protect the soldiers from arrows pretty well also. There didn't seem to be any cannon, though the defenders could simply have run out of ammo during this battle of attrition, Ashleen thought as she gauged the situation.
Eyes of the other wizards looked at the girl speculatively. Most could read her aura, which appeared that much stronger thanks to her innate ability to draw on the earth; so the wizards knew that she was one of them in spite of her clothing. The sword caused confusion since Ashleen could barely lift the weapon, but if the girl could help they would put up with the eccentricities of any wizard.
"Stay down, girl," an older man in the brown of an earth wizard cautioned as she joined the other wizards.
Ashleen looked at the distance to the approaching black army and frowned. "I need to get closer to help," she replied to the other wizard.
Again the looks at the wilder let her know that they considered her at least halfway to insanity. No wizard in their right mind joined the front. Soldiers and battle mages were meant to hold the front lines while wizards would lend their spells to pushing the other army back from relative safety.
Another wizard in green shook her head incredulously as she retorted, "Do you think that you are a battle mage? You can't even lift that sword. It might be a fine weapon, but you'll get yourself killed for sure."
Nervousness made the wilder's skin begin to tingle with the electrical sparks pushing up from the ground. The others noted the strange reaction and quickly assumed the worst.
The older man tried to talk her out of her plans to continue closer to the approaching enemy as he said, "Are you even trained to use your magic? If you can't even restrain your power, how can you hope to fight these monsters?"
Ashleen frowned before forming a large shield of darkness raised before her above her head. It could stop arrows as well as ingest most elemental spells. She doubted that a block of stone would be deterred, but the wilder hoped that it would do to get her closer to the enemy. Having seen Sebastian's use of the Hollow Sword to amplify his magic, the girl hoped that it would work for her as well.
Voices from the other wizards rose in warning, but none of them moved beyond the sheltering reinforced wall to try and actually stop her.
"I've seen him do it," the little blonde haired wizard said quietly trying to steel herself for the task at hand. She was close to the outermost ring of defenses now. Wizards' shields of fire and stone rose and fell trying to stem the oncoming tide of the enemy.
Darkness spells quenched fire, light struck down the night before new elements tried to replace old just repeating the process over and over as both sides struggled to gain ground. For the defenders, it was just a matter of holding the enemy back; while the dark horde hoped to push their opponents into the sea. It made those defending the village fight even harder knowing that they had nowhere to run. They had to give it their all because there would be no mercy from the enemy they fought.
An explosion to her right made the girl stumble and
fall to her knees. A soldier left the safety of his bunker to the left and started to pull the wizard to safety, but yelped at the shocks of electricity running along her skin.
"I'm alright," she replied looking at the young man probably no older than she was.
The boy shook out his hand feeling the hairs on his arms standing up along with a few strays on his head. He nodded, but added, "We can cover you, miss, if you want."
He glanced to the other men in his bunker who looked frightened, but knew that they were dedicated. A soldier risked his life putting his shield in front of wizards. They were the shield to the power of magic. If they died saving a wizard, that was just part of war.
"No, get to safety," Ashleen waved with her left hand as she continued to drag the Hollow Sword with her right. The wilder thought she must look insane. A little girl wandering a battle field dragging a weapon too heavy for her to wield, but the sword would get lighter once she made it to the front, Ashleen was certain that she could wield the Hollow Sword once it was needed. "I have my magic to protect me," the girl added walking forward with her eyes watching the battlefield before her.
It didn't take much longer before Ashleen stood in a place that frightened her weakening the wizard's resolve. She set her feet and called a spell like a battle mage while holding the sword to the ground.
"Lightning," she said drawing power into the weapon from the earth while placing the intention of the spell in the sword. It began to shine drawing eyes from both sides of the field. Her second spell expanded the lightning around her making a swirling cage of lightning. It swirled around the wizard lifting several feet above her head as she spotted movement before her.
The first wave of dark armored soldiers was led by armored viles, trolls and a handful of fire urchins, the mighty tanks of the dark army. Only the trolls wore the black armor treated to absorb the elements. The other two kinds of monsters had natural armor as resistant as their metal clad allies.
Battle Mage: Winds of Change (The High King: A Tale of Alus Book 11) Page 48
