“As am I, Kiddo, but that also makes me more pissed. As it should you.”
She was quiet for a time as he sipped his drink. “Dad, can your promise me you and my mothers will be alright?” Her words were barely audible.
He sighed and gripped the banister. “Kiddo, your almost eight years old and you well know I don’t hold my personal feelings or observations back from you, your brother or your mothers. And I won’t start now. I won’t lie when it isn’t needed. If I told you life was going to go smoothly and no one would be hurt and it did happen, I don’t want you to think it was your fault or that I couldn’t keep my promise.” Rena was quiet as she listened. “Kiddo, I’ll do everything in my power to save everyone I care about, but I’m just one man.
“Imagine you went hunting and killed your first buffalo. You did it for a reason, but the other buffalo see you as a threat. They will run you down. That is what I’ve done to a very powerful group of mages. I’ve inadvertently caused a stampede that has made its way here, to our new home.”
“Then promise you’ll win.” She asked hopefully.
“I sure plan on it.” He grinned. “Enough of this talk. Your mothers should be about done with breakfast. Go wake your girlfriends and tell them to head downstairs. Today I’m not teaching combat lessons, but Meeka was wanting to teach you girls about herbs and about being a healer.”
“Sure thing, Dad, but Sean’s better with the herbs Meeka Mother is teaching us to make.” Rena got up and headed to her bedroom.
Cage walked around the balcony and placed a hand over the sealed door. It opened into Sean’s bedroom. He found Daku sandwiched between the snoring boys. “Time to wake up kids.” Cage said.
They boys groaned as Daku yawned greatly.
Downstairs everyone gathered for the morning meal and seemed less tense than the night before. Cage chose to wear his new robe in preparation for anything. Meeka told her plan to the children, but Sean also asked pointed questions and about methods. Even Zanza and her sister-mates asked to join the healing lectures since only one other sister besides Meeka had proper healing skills. Brooke said she needed to spend the day with her people and Frill chose to accompany her.
“Ready to learn to fly?” Megdline said with great enthusiasm.
He put the dirty dishes in the sink to soak as he entered the room. “Damn right I am!” He laughed, feeling a rush.
Together Cage, Daku and Megdline left the house and moved to her side of the stream where there was much more room to practice. Along the way she began the lecture. “Cage, as you well understand, especially from riding Daku, flying is freedom in its most raw form. Nothing can hold you down. But before we dare begin you must place wards upon your diamonds. No mage in his or her right mind will ever dare fly without their gem.”
“Obviously.” He retorted. “I haven’t seen parachutes invented and I assume that if one runs out of mana or are rendered unconscious and they fall… nothing will save them from dying on impact. At terminal velocity not even a water landing will save your life. It will be just as hard as the ground at that speed.”
“Then we are of like mind.” Megdline commented. “Can I assume you know at what speeds will break bone or cause death from specific heights?”
“So long as Raliea has a terminal velocity of thirty two feet per second per second you can.”
“Then I can rest assured our worlds have only differences in mana for gravity is the same here. Since you know the speeds, imagine the barrier you usually use when fighting, not the cloak though. Picture it as a spherical cushion, thick yet absorbing instead of a membrane that won’t bend under force. Have the wards instantly activate no less than twenty feet from the ground, but make sure it absorbs, not bounce or you’ll be liable to cause internal damage. Allow the magic to distribute your weight on impact. And most of all, set this ward as a permanent one like the saturation wards which stop siphoning when full. Be sure it always has enough mana set aside to be activated.” Megdline watched closely as her student closed his eyes and worked the mechanics of the spells into a diamond. He held still, focusing on the details of her meaning for twenty minutes for it wasn’t an easy spell to integrate without it activating immediately due to gravity’s constant pull. He had to make it so the diamonds felt his body constantly and would only begin activation when weightlessness overcame his system. He added a few more wards, knowing how best to use them in tight situations.
As Cage applied magical protection and worked them to activate under certain circumstances, he began to remember flight training back on Earth. He never spoke of his training, not wanting to turn this world upside down with the many tactics and military advancements. He couldn’t help remembering how it felt in wind-tunnels designed to teach freefall in a controlled environment nor the covert missions which required jumping from jets and planes over enemy territory. Even though they were side thoughts, his magic seemed to take hold of those memories and use them to further refine the spells.
He opened his eyes to the early morning light and said “I think I’ve got them the way I want.”
“Then how about a proper test.” Megdline then made her topaz glow and tried to grasp hold of her student via a simple spell to hold and move objects.
His own wards flared in opposition, preventing her offensive spells to gain a hold. He didn’t intend for them to do so, but they did what they were supposed to. Cage then realized what she was planning, but she didn’t seem irritated her spell was barred. She actually seemed glad they worked so flawlessly. A second look from her was one of request, which he complied with by lowering his wards against magic. While he did so he watched his teacher conjure a green, viscous blob that moved like slime, but he could see the consistency would be great to land in. The creation gave a faint glow over the bare ground.
Just as she finished crafting the blob, he felt pressure encase his body before looking down when his feet left the ground. She lifted him about thirty feet into the air and positioned him over her spell. “At this height, if your wards fail or if my spell does, you won’t die. At most you’ll break a few bones.” She said from below.
“That’s encouraging.” He grumbled dryly.
Daku sat and watched, knowing his partner wasn’t in any life threatening danger unless Megdline could turn him upside down and drop him headfirst. Since he remained almost as he stood on land, Daku didn’t worry much.
Megdline released her magical grasp.
Cage dropped like a rock, but didn’t scream as he was more than comfortable with falling and heights didn’t bother him. The drop lasted less than a second. As he braced himself for impact, he felt a surge of magic as he was encompassed entirely by a darkness that could be seen through. Then beneath, the green spell his mentor created, splattered as his own spell touched down. The ward made the impact nearly effortless, like jumping down only three feet. Then the darkness vanished with a soft slurping sound. Cage immediately felt his feet hit the ground.
“Well done. That was completed better than expected.” Megdline congratulated while ending her spell. Since she made no move to do it again, Cage reactivated all his wards. He approached as she said “Now we can begin the real fun. Flying is simple in concept, but difficult in practice. Imagine a solid board of magic beneath your feet. Make sure you are ready in a proper stance, for if you fail to apply a secondary spell to bind your feet to the magic, you can fall. To fly you must have the strength to pull it off and maintain the spell. Third class wizards can fly for an hour without extra power, but for me as a second class sorceress I can fly for just over six hours without tapping into my gem. By the time you reach your full potential I doubt you’ll even have such a restriction.” She smiled enviously. “Flight is controlled by wind. The more you can create through the board, the faster it is you can go. Flying the way we will is completely different than Daku or other winged creatures. If you chose to fly fast, you will need to create a barrier for your eyes, just like you did when Daku flew us. Take all that I sa
id and begin.”
Cage mentally focused and called upon his magic to flow from him and create what he desired. He had seen Megdline and other mages fly before and to him it reminded of surfing. Surfing the waves were one of the most enjoyable things he used to do as a teen and those skills went into how the board was created. Blackness began to gather around his feet and within a second he felt himself being lifted upon a solid oval board with a seven foot length and the widest point was no more than two feet. He hadn’t yet imbued it to fly till after he used a sticking spell on his feet. Then he applied the board to begin creating pressure on the air to make wind push from all sides beneath him. At first it was slow, intentionally so for he didn’t want to shoot off in an uncontrollable way. Then he poured more of his mana into the object and watched as sand and dust began to flow away from his position. Then he felt the bare minimum it took to rise off the ground. He hovered on the jet black board and listened to his teacher’s instructions on how best to think and move.
In ten minutes he flew no more than a foot off the ground, getting a feel for the subtleties of flight. Surfing helped by leaps and bounds with control. Leaning forward lowered the nose while back gave lift. His moves quickly became more crisp and clean as the comfort grew. Before long he was zipping around her house, surfing the air. Fun would be an understatement of the highest order for how great flying felt. He felt more alive at that moment than finding he could walk again.
As he circled the evergreen house from sixty feet high he found his laughter drew the attention of his family and friends as they stood with open surprise.
Daku could no longer contain his excitement. He jumped into the air with a shrill roar and pumped his forty foot long wings and matched his partner’s altitude. The griffin said “I’ve been waiting for this day for so long. Now we can fly as equals, Cage. It has been too long since a warlock and griffin shared the sky.”
Cage grinned brightly. “Then let’s never allow any to forget our flight.”
The warlock poured magic into the board and flew down past the houses and cliff. Daku roared so that none on the island could look away. He folded his wings and dove off after his human partner. Cage pulled up into a steep climb, doing a spiral along with Daku. Together they shot high above the island, drawling every eye to them in the early morning air. They pushed each other in an aerial dance that hasn’t occurred in ten thousand years. They did maneuvers which would make others sick, but they laughed and enjoyed the feel of wind in their faces. Cage found Daku could fly as fast as he could and the more he forced into the board, the harder it was for the griffin to match.
It was so fun and distracting that Cage pushed himself too far. The amount of mana he exerted seemed to slam upon him all at once, the spots came suddenly. Before he could react, darkness claimed him.
Daku’s own joy vanished along with the black object which allowed his partner to finally join him. Daku saw Cage’s eyes roll up into his head and the smile slacked. Gravity took control and began pulling him down. Daku powered his wings down faster than gravity’s hold. He matched Cage’s speed within seconds, thankfully they were up so high that there was plenty of time to spare. Using his eons of flight experience, Daku carefully placed his partner between his wings and felt magic from the falling wards working and slowly took his weight and end the freefall. The griffin slowly circled his way down and looked backwards to find Cage unconscious and the magic to protect him gone.
The lazy circles took around ten minutes, enough for Cage to snap awake before they landed. Exhaustion weighed heavily, knowing he overexerted himself. “That was a blast!” he wanted to yell, but it came out a tired whisper.
Daku found it funny. “It was so much fun you fell asleep?” He teased. “I too had as much fun as one of our fights this day.”
Words such as those gave Cage wondrous ideas and possibilities. “Daku, that’s it!” Every moment that passed the more strength his voice gained. Too bad his body was completely spent. “Now we can battle in the air.”
“I know.” Daku turned his head and winked, already prepared to enjoy such a challenge. “You will become a better warrior now that you can fly on your own.”
On the ground around his house stood dozens of Utala. They landed and he wondered why they had come, but apparently Brooke forgot to explain it wasn’t an attack. From the beach, it had looked like Daku was in the fight of his life. Everyone got a good laugh at the misunderstanding. Then Megdline surprised the warlock and griffin by explaining they were flying close to four hard hours though for them it was more like twenty minutes. Cage quipped “Time flies when you’re having fun.”
Hidden from sight glared two pair of eyes who watched the events closely for not even two hundred feet away perched an owl and hawk. They stood quiet, observing everything. When the group of humans moved away and allowed them freedom to whisper, the owl said. “Go return to camp and tell them all that we see. If we are to act, tonight will be our only chance.”
“Agreed.” Chirped the fierce female hawk. “Before I leave, do not forget that you cannot use even a touch of magic or we’ll be compromised.”
“I haven’t forgotten the Arch Magister’s words. It took over a week to find a way to bypass the wards. I’ll not do anything to jeopardize the plan.” He hooted back. “I’ll mind-link with my master when I’m sure they are weak. Be ready.”
She gave the other Familiar a critical eye, acknowledging with a sharp nod before gliding off her perch and taking to the air. She hugged the trees so that none could follow her. She now understood why so many precautions were taken, but she now had key information that must be shared. She flew quickly yet with upmost caution through the undeveloped island. The hawk Familiar found a high standing tree and perched herself for a half hour, making absolutely sure she wasn’t followed or that the griffin wasn’t in the air. When she felt safe she flew off the island and directly towards the location of her human master, but expending little energy on the ocean’s winds.
It took another three hours to find the camp for they had to make it so those mages on the island wouldn’t likely even glance in that direction. She fluttered down and passed a weak magical barrier which protected them from sight. Her partner stood as she called his name and held out a leather glove for her to land on which protected his hands from her filed talons. The hawks arrival drew every mages attention.
“You are not supposed to be here till nightfall.” Her male human of considerable years commented.
“I know.” She chirped. “But I have news we weren’t suspecting to see.”
The former Arch Magister approached with his lion. “What might that be?”
The hawk blinked while turning around on his hand. “This Ceembura, as you called him, isn’t even close to who he said he was.” The usual sneer the group of first class sorcerers and sorceresses saw in the magister’s expression finally changed into one of complete intrigue.
“Better start from the beginning.” The lion Familiar commanded.
The hawk complied immediately and as she spoke the camp of twelve first class sat to listen. “It was as you said, I and Yal were able to circumvent the wards of the island due to the covert magical assessments conducted throughout the week. We flew in under the cover of darkness and found the home of the mages easily enough. We were careful to look at the grown dwellings found by spyglass. The sorceress in yellow, I heard her name as Megdline and she and the large meemthia live in a much smaller structure…”
The Arch Magister sneer returned. “Now I remember that whore. She seemed recognizable in Eeroan, but I couldn’t place her at the time. Oh this is great. That bitch is heavily tied to the head of Twilight’s First Council. If we can capture her it’ll cause great turmoil in that weak minded place and we’ll finally have something to finally destroy them. We must be sure to drug her too. If we kill her we’ll be no match for Zikon when he’s sure to come… Go on.” His words had an effect on the group and most understood what he was saying and there
was agreement among the ancient mages.
The hawk Familiar continued. “When morning arrived we found the target and he didn’t see us. In a few hours a group of mostly female humans left to listen to a blonde female speaking on different plants. She is likely the escaped slave that freezes any who kiss her. We didn’t give them much attention for they will be easily dealt with after tonight.
“Then the one we thought as Ceembura left the house with the white griffin.” All ears were on her. “His real name is Cage and I have no doubt the griffin is his Familiar, not the suspected wyvern.” Before the group could become uneasy she went on. “This is the most interesting thing I observed, which we didn’t know. From the tiny bits of conversation we picked up, he is completely untrained. The sorceress was actually training him on how to fly. We thought it was odd, but Yal and I watched as this Cage and Daku flew together. It was an awesome sight, that lasted hours, but he didn’t seem to use a gem to fly. I saw the board disappear. He does have the power of the first class, but he is new. At the moment he is completely exhausted of mana. He could barely walk after his first flight and it might be our only chance since he won’t be at full strength for another day or two without a gem.”
“Sir, he must be some kind of new experiment Twilight has concocted.” One of the sorceresses said in the pondering silence.
“Finish your thoughts.” The magister said.
“If this is true then we can use their new weapon against them. You’ve personally felt his power when he broke your shield.” He nodded seriously to her observation. “Well that means Twilight must have figured a way to fully grow a mature first class sorcerer. If they have, then we must learn what they’ve done. If they make more like this Cage then they’ll have no need to fear us. If they sent someone like Megdline as a teacher then he only has power to command. His skill will be lacking and exploitable. If he cannot use gems then that can be a byproduct of their method. If we unlock the secrets of his origin… imagine if we grow a thousand first class sorcerers in a single year to maturity. The empress would shower us with wealth and praise. Emroc and the rest of Raliea will fall under the empress’s rule. Cage is an odd name, likely his experimental designation.”
Laugh of Destruction (Book 3 of the Death Incarnate Saga) Page 26
