Ashleen took the sword with both hands and swung it from the point on the ground on her right up lifting it in front of her and continued the arc until the tip rested once more on the ground to her left. As the weapon slid through the air, the wilder released the power of the lightning straining at the rune seals along the blade.
Even through her closed eyelids, the flash of light could be seen as she scrunched them tighter and turned her head away. Ashleen blinked seeing the purple after glare on her retinas as the wilder looked at the battle field again. Her lightning cage swirled around her picking up residual lightning from the Hollow Sword as it passed through her defensive spell; but it was barely noticed by the girl as her eyes widened in surprise.
The enemy monsters had been scattered with the power of the swath of lightning. The low walls of the defenders had been cut into ragged mounds torn apart by the striking of lightning. Only those who had ducked into the cover of the dugouts behind the walls were able to rise again to look back at the wilder with her sword.
Armored viles struggled to get back up as the shock of lightning continued to stun the massive creatures for many minutes. Trolls in shattered, broken armor could no longer move and bits of stone scattered for hundreds of feet marked the fire urchins caught in the brunt of her attack. Those would remain where they lay forever more, but not all had been destroyed by the wave of lightning. Struggling to lift their bodies of stone and fire, several fire urchins began to rise from the ground like stones coming back to life in slow motion.
Ashleen's mouth opened struggling to comprehend the devastation in front of her. "By the gods, I need to be more careful. I'll end up killing our allies in front of me as easily as the enemy."
Remembering how Sebastian had loaned his charged sword to the Grimnal during battle, the wilder looked at the shocked looking men nearby. Soldiers mostly, the girl wished that she could find a battle mage to wield the sword.
"You," she called pointing to a man who didn't shy away from her look. "Come here. I need your help."
The man looked over the edge of the wall before him noting the momentary cease fire caused by the surprising use of power in the middle of the battlefield. He moved his shield to his shoulder in case the archers should begin once more and said, "Lady, I think you've got this already."
She frowned, but noted the man moving from the shelter of his defensive wall. Answering him quietly in the lull caused by the lighting spell, Ashleen stated, "I'm not strong enough to aim this thing properly. You look strong. Come here and help me."
The lightning shield opened up admitting the wary man inside the expanded ring of lightning. Once inside, the soldier asked, "What do you want me to do exactly?"
Ashleen smiled and said, "I want you to use the sword after I fill it with lightning."
The man's eyes widened with shock and fear, but he nodded.
"What is your name, soldier?"
"Sergeant Xarnov, my lady," he answered with a nod of respect to the girl who looked little more than half his age. Xarnov towered over the petite, little wizard. His dark hair and beard made him look fierce and large muscles on the exposed parts of his arms let her know that he was strong as well. Such a man could face the power of magic without blinking, Ashleen thought.
"I am Ashleen and you will serve as my arms, sergeant," the wilder informed him quickly before trying to use the Hollow Sword once more. "Lightning," she ordered but tried to restrain the power slightly. Even the soldier's strength would have trouble wielding the weapon, Ashleen feared, so she hoped using more controlled spells would make it less threatening to their people as well as the wielder.
Xarnov was just a man and had no magic within him, but Gerid was like anti-magic and had managed to use it. If she was right, this might just work.
Passing the sword to the larger man, Xarnov took the weapon warily. It was weighted like any sword, but the balance was amazing. As it glowed in the soldier's hand, he looked at the light glowing in the runes and asked, "So what do I do?"
"When you see the enemy coming, swing it like you plan to strike them like you normally would. I'll protect you with my lightning shield."
The dark army began to stir and a pair of armored viles flanked by trolls and urchins lifted massive black shields. Only the trolls were truly trained to use them, but the creatures understood that the shields would protect them from most spells.
Xarnov, at Ashleen's urging, swung the weapon in an overhand slash like he was trying to hammer at their shields though a couple hundred feet separated them from him and the wilder. Nothing happened and the man looked at her questioningly.
The blond haired girl stepped closer placing her hand in the small of his back and nodded, "I will have to trigger it through you apparently. Without magic, you must be unable to use the weapon at least from a distance."
Gerid hadn't used the Hollow Sword at a distance, but Xarnov needed to act from afar. Even with her lightning cage, Ashleen wasn't sure how long they would last if the enemy closed on the pair.
Swinging the sword at the enemy again, Ashleen watched the blade and used her magic through the man to make the sword release the stored lightning. Only a quarter lanced out striking the black shields. The wielders of the shields staggered being pushed back by the power of the sword. Cracks formed in those shields, but they remained otherwise unaffected by the power of the lightning.
"They still stand," Xarnov informed the girl standing behind him.
Nodding from her place behind the soldier, Ashleen stated, "I will hit them with more this time. I wasn't positive that it would work this way, so I didn't push it as hard."
Xarnov swung the weapon the same way and Ashleen made the sword release twice as much lighting. Even standing behind the man, the light nearly blinded the girl with the flash. The soldier raised his left hand to rub at the blinding purple line across his vision a moment before assessing what had been done.
Looking around Xarnov, Ashleen noted the enemy shields had broken. The armored viles at the center of the wedge of soldiers were still alive, but their shields had broken under the attack. On their hands and knees, the massive beasts looked stunned by the blow. The remaining monsters beside them moved in front of them tightening the line as more black armored soldiers with shields advanced behind them. They had taken stock of the lightning wielders and begun to respond accordingly.
Ashleen moved to take Xarnov's sword hand making it lower the point of the weapon to the ground. "We need to recharge it again. Less than half a charge will barely drive them back it looks like. We'll have to increase the lighting or risk being overwhelmed."
She recharged the Hollow Sword drawing in more of the power of the earth. The weapon glowed strongly and Ashleen checked the strength of the steel with her magic like Sebastian had taught her while making the brothers to the first Hollow Sword. It felt ready to burst. She could pull little more than this, the wizard thought to herself.
"Get ready," Ashleen ordered the soldier moving to the shelter of his powerful back. "You might want to guard your eyes this time. We will need to recharge after each attack as long as I can too."
The man nodded. He was just her tool to wield the greater power. Little better than being a wizard's shield, Xarnov knew his place; but the power in his hand made him feel greater than being just a soldier. It was an intoxicating feel to wield the power of lightning in his hand.
His jaw tightened grimly, however, as the man could see that even this great a power might not be enough to drive the enemy back. They would see which was greater: the sword or the darkness of the enemy.
Chapter 33- Renewed Defense
Palose used a reinforced battle mage shield to fend off another flight of arrows. The emperor's armies had stalled in the face of renewed opposition from the combined forces of Sileoth, Southwall and Maris. With the addition of the third country to the alliance of armies and the fact that the enemy forces had less to defend after their repeated losses, the defenders had picked their terrain t
o maximize their advantage in battle.
A ragged valley cracked in places with treacherous fissures, the remaining scars from the Cataclysm which had lifted this massive chunk of land from beneath the waves, was reinforced with stone walls, ditches and dozens of large war machines holding the high ground. Even in a world where wizards' magic could cover great range and deal massive damage to an enemy force, catapults, scorpions and other siege weapons were equally dangerous. Few warlocks could destroy a catapult at maximum range. Archers on a ridge were equally deadly, though a well kept magic shield could usually fend off such things.
Thunder seemed to roar as cannon fired ripping up the land from the base of the valley up the opposing rise. These were weapons perfected by pirates in a bygone age. A mix of modern warfare and innovation, the black powder the weapons used was their weakness as well. Wizards had destroyed cannon and ammo alike in battles, but some armies still felt they were worth the risk with their impressive range and devastating abilities. Iron shot could rip through even the magical black armor and many spell shields could be penetrated as well meaning a warlock wasn't safe, though it would take a lucky shot to kill them even so.
The enemy had thrown so much into these weapons that the giant golems which had appeared had been a true surprise. Stone golems were the most popular weapons, though each element could be used. Those made of stone or wood were easier to maintain than fire and water. Wind constructs were so hard that one never saw them on display, though Palose had heard such things could be created. Only master wizards and warlocks were likely to ever attempt such things, but as the dark mage watched the golems tear into enemies even as large as the viles, trolls and urchins; he could certainly respect the men and women controlling these monsters.
A pair of stone golems pushed through the dark armored forces appearing in front of the mage's squad of dead. Human and orc were swatted aside like they were nothing. The weight of the stone warriors was just too much for creatures made of flesh and bone.
"Night shield," the mage repeated several times bringing half a dozen black discs to life in the air around him. Like a juggler keeping plates spinning on a set of sticks, Palose challenged one of the monsters. Spinning black blades struck the stones legs and arms creating cuts in the golem, but they were little more than chips in the thick stone body.
An armored vile's thundering steps announced the attack of the beast as it charged the other golem. His undead forces were basically flesh golems or puppets, while the wraiths had more intelligence and were harder to kill. Unfortunately, most were former humans and lacked the brute power to stop the golems. His forces gave ground and many of his lesser puppets were destroyed. It was frustrating to the dark mage, but forced to back away from the power of the massive golem he faced, Palose had less time to think about it. He was merely trying to survive and solve this latest weapon from his enemies.
"Air lance!" the dark mage ordered manifesting the air spell learned so long ago from his former friend turned enemy, Sebastian.
The dark blades continued to chip away at the stone giant distracting the monster as Palose tried to focus his mind on the air attack like the talented battle mage had demonstrated before circumstances had turned dire for the resurrection man. Only Sebastian had realized the true power of this spell. The young mage had been the first to take the wizard spell and change it from a staff to a spear. He had also proved that just striking a target was merely scratching the surface of the spear's potential.
Stone shattered as the nearly invisible air spear plunged through the left leg of the monster. Palose left it in the new hole he had made and took Sebastian's spell in a different direction. While the golem barely slowed its attack, the dark mage danced back concentrating on the air spell. His hands clapped together before the man cast them apart. The spear responded to his will and expanded, flattening as it cut outward from the hole.
The stone of the golem's leg split as the base remained rooted to the ground. Robbed of the length of stone to continue its support, the stone creature toppled over into the dirt. Ignoring the damage, the monster tried to reach out for the smaller human who remained just beyond its reach.
Another air spear formed placed through the arm by the mage followed by more piercing the golem from head to body and appendages. Held fast until he was done, the stone construct couldn't defeat the spears or draw away from them. It felt no pain, but the spears were rooted deep into the ground and intentionally widened above the stone skin to prevent the golem from sliding free.
With his weapons in place, Palose copied the movement from the first spear and threw his hands wide shattering the golem as ten air spears exploded within their holes. The dark mage wasn't using his reflex spell, but the battle around him seemed to slow with the destruction of his opponent. No wizard could reform the monster after so thoroughly destroying it, at least not from afar. The enemy wizards hid in the distance and couldn't manipulate what was broken without coming out to use their magic from close range.
He looked to the struggle between the armored vile and the golem it had attacked. The beasts weren't known as being overly intelligent, but they were powerful. With claws that could cut through stone, Palose thought that the vile might have a strong chance against the wizard's weapon. A stone arm had been torn free and several, deep claw marks were evidence that the creature of flesh had inflicted damage on the stone golem; but the armored vile was faltering before the animated stone.
Even before Palose could think to move to help the vile, the golem lashed out with a deadly attack designed to kill its opponent. The remaining arm formed into a spear as the wizard controlling it changed the shape of the stone appendage. Stabbing into the worn out armored vile, the spear went through the gap in its armor plates reaching for its heart with the new weapon.
Caught by the magical construct's weapon, the vile gripped the stone spear with both hands; but its strength was gone as its heart slowed. The bulk of the dark one's beast dragged the arm down with its weight. Palose rushed in with several air spears forming in the air around him. The dark mage didn't bother to cast each weapon from his hand. Gesturing with a sweeping attack of his hand, the flight of spears lashed out piercing the golem in several places before he concentrated on the air spells. Palose flung his hands wide and the spears responded exploding the golem like its predecessor.
With the ability to catch his breath since no more golems remained near the man, Palose took stock of the remaining forces in his command. Over half the dead men at his command had been destroyed. Their bodies broken, the necromancer's spell would no longer be able to move his damaged puppets.
"The flags are signaling to pull back," Balish stated making Palose look to the north ridge. The command center of the empire's army used a system of flags to communicate across the chaos of the battle field. With thousands of men and monsters fighting, it was the only way to let them know. Most often the flags gave commands to adjust to strengthen one area or the need to advance to another.
This set of flags hadn't been seen since the campaign had begun.
"Prepare a perimeter with the men we have left," the dark mage ordered the wraith. Balish was almost in the pristine condition of a resurrected man. Along with Tongold, they had served Palose as his lieutenants almost since the war had begun. A necromancer surrounded by an army of the dead had the protection he needed to use his magic in other ways to destroy the resistance before him. These two had become indispensable to Palose and he had considered trying to make them resurrection men instead, though they had no magic to add to his. It was unfortunate that they weren't warlocks, but they were still good men.
The two wraiths ordered the remaining twelve of the thirty undead he had left to spread out in a semicircle with their shields raised defensively before them. No enemy soldiers remained close. Few had followed the golems into battle while cannon and catapults continued to rain death down around the stone monsters.
Looking at the fallen armored vile, Palose considered the
action he was about to take. He had never brought one of the beasts back to life or near life, but it should be no harder than the humans, elves and orcs that had been his to command since coming to Litsarin. War had its casualties, but battle made it easy to find new corpses to animate for the fight also.
Palose cringed as he stood ready to unleash his spell on the dead beast. He had become a ghoul, the mage thought. Bringing back people as resurrection men and women felt like saving lives, but this was just manipulating dead flesh. Sylvaine had been disgusted when she had seen the first of his puppets come to life, but it was better than bringing his friends or close allies onto the battlefield.
If a resurrected person died, he wasn't sure that they could be brought back again. There was nothing written of such an attempt, so Palose chose to keep the others out of harm's way when he could.
In spite of the random thoughts swirling through the dark mage's mind, Palose watched as the vile stirred back to a semblance of life. It breathed in as if the body truly needed air. This was one of his basic puppets. The beast could survive without oxygen, but it would add to the decaying process. It was still better to mimic its former life as closely as possible to maintain the spell and condition of the body.
The control was set and Palose nodded as the vile rose back to its feet to tower over the men surrounding it.
"Yes, he should be a good weapon," the mage commented aloud making the vile's eyes move to him. He could see intelligence in those eyes, more than one would have believed of a creature like this.
He surveyed the other bodies littering the field nearby and saw nothing better. The dark mage would have to work on replacing his men later. Only bodies broken and crushed beyond use remained around them, so he ordered the others to follow him back to the ridge the empire held.
Palose had barely reached the new line of soldiers forming into new, lines while the leaders of the army considered their next move when a messenger found him. The message was brief. He was to see Lanquer at the command tent.
Battle Mage: Winds of Change (The High King: A Tale of Alus Book 11) Page 49
