Battle Mage: Forging New Steel (Tales of Alus Book 9)

by Donald Wigboldy

  “Admittedly I was not familiar with the titles of arkon and arkoness before meeting you and the arkhein. It is not among the titles usually used among the descendants of Taltan. Did your people come from somewhere else after the Cataclysm?” he asked trying to remain conversational. His belief that there must be at least some history with the merfolk was a complicated one to try and bring up. Those he had met among Gerid’s people wished to keep their existence quiet, so even if these were descendants of other merfolk, they might be hiding that secret as well.

  Smrajni looked thoughtful and shook her head, “I do not truly know. My father was arkon as was my grandfather, but the people have to agree with the succession so other tribes have had numerous changes in the families governing them. Arkon Anax is one of those who took the position as the strongest in his tribe for example. The title has always just been there.”

  Hoping not to alienate her with questions too guarded, he asked, “Some of your people are dark skinned. Few on North continent should have as dark of skin, since most who settled here are from Taltan. Even the Dark One’s armies are made up of those he found here after the Cataclysm and those tend to look more like the people of Southwall. Do your people have stories or songs from the Cataclysm that would tell how they got here?”

  The arkoness didn’t look too happy to answer him, but the woman said, “The Cataclysm drove some people from the sea. When the islands sank and rose, those with ships looked for a safe place to live. When the dark armies followed to this land, some joined as you said and some formed the tribes moving always to be free.

  “Your people behind the wall chose to restrict themselves behind their walls, but the tribes chose the freedom to move where they please,” she almost managed to not sound judgmental in her declaration, but not quite.

  Ashleen spoke into the lull between their words and said, “They built a wall, but are free behind it to trade or settle as farmers. Kardor is the same in that they have cities with walls to protect their people, but most live in homes outside of the castles and we have the rivers to keep the Dark One from easily taking our freedom away.”

  “Freedom comes in different forms,” Sebastian suggested to prevent the women from arguing. “Do all the nomads on the plains consider themselves part of a larger tribe like these grouped together under the arkhein?”

  Smrajni looked a bit guarded, but after a moment she chose to answer, “Not all those on the plains are family to one another. Khagan has allies beyond those here, but not every tribe can be considered a friend. Those who chose to ally with the people of Ensolus are viewed to have sold part of their freedom, but now a call has passed through the tribes saying that we should all join together. Those who thought the mountain people could be trusted say that a host of animated dead killed at least one tribe showing that the mountain people aren’t friends at all.”

  Managing to avoid a look of satisfaction at finally hearing the news that was likely to be the reason for so much change in the patterns of the plains folk, Sebastian tried to clarify, “People that were already dead attacked the tribes?”

  “According to the story, which was brief; a group of dead warlocks and hunters descended on a tribe southeast of the emperor’s city. Since dead numbered among both, they decided that it must have been a betrayal from Ensolus which caused the dead to rise and attack so mercilessly. One of the smaller tribes is said to have lost nearly every man, woman and child in the slaughter.”

  He wanted to ask more, but Smrajni had already said that the story was short. She probably knew little more than what was said. Whether Ensolus started the deaths or not, raising dead bodies to fight was definitely among the magic spells taught to the warlocks. He had seen wraiths, dead men beyond the puppets that some might be able to move to fight, which revealed intelligence. Wraiths were also very hard to kill, or destroy, depending on whether they could be considered alive.

  Perhaps this knowledge would help solidify Southwall’s bond with the tribes. New allies against the emperor would certainly not be turned away.

  “Well, if you think that your druids would be ready to come with us to chase down the fire monsters tomorrow morning, I think that we will be refreshed enough to ride,” Sebastian stated returning to the original subject to ease the tension in the woman at speaking of things perhaps that she shouldn’t to a waller.

  The arkoness nodded and they moved on to speak of things less important as Sebastian continued to try and build his relationship with the woman and her tribes.

  Chapter 24- The Burned Path

  Sebastian walked through the tall grass into another bare area burned to the ground. Whatever kind of monsters these creatures were, they were not natural to Alus. Such thoughts brought the mage to believe that they were either created by the emperor or brought to this world through a gateway. If they weren’t with the Dark One’s forces, he would be more worried. They didn’t need monsters from another world invading them, since they were still dealing with the most recent intrusion of Alus, the emperor.

  A woman in a green tunic and brown pants knelt in the burns noting the strange tracks forced into the ground by the passing of the beasts. Wizard Nartreya halted the small group as they waited for the nature wizard to tell them the same thing she had been saying almost the entire time they had been following the trail.

  “It is still the same tracks. No more have been added and I can see no sign of humans or nearly humans anywhere.” She looked to Sebastian and asked, “They said that they appeared from nowhere and then marched north again to disappear once more? How did they know where to meet the warlocks out in the middle of nowhere?”

  A brown skinned hunter marked with runes stated with annoyance, “There are many landmarks to use for finding your way on the plains or in the forests, if you know what to look for.” His tone insinuated that the woman did not.

  Sebastian prevented her retort as he mused aloud, “Still I have only seen this magic used with some kind of marker to draw the warlock for the gateway. If they were creating them out on the plain, does that mean that they scouted the area first or did something else to bring the markers here?”

  The hunter was quiet a moment thinking. “Our hunters had mentioned seeing large shrikes flying in the distance of late, but even an intelligent bird is unlikely to know how to sow these markers you speak of.”

  “They can be a pair of stones or possibly just one,” the mage clarified beginning to follow Nartreya as she moved through the grass towards their destination. “A bird could drop it from the sky or someone could have walked here. Once the lodestone is created, it requires no other talent for magic to set them here.”

  Nartreya glanced to the battle mage and asked, “Have you heard that nature wizards can be used as scouts like an air or earth wizard?”

  For the owl, who had been only trying to learn other wizard spells for a little over a year; it was news though it didn’t exactly surprise him. “The nature wizards I have worked with never mentioned it,” he confessed and wondered why Nara or one of the others had never brought up the spell. Perhaps his ability to ride the winds already had kept them from speaking of it before.

  “Not every nature wizard can do it, but there are spells which let us commune with a creature to the point that we can see through their eyes,” confided the woman lowering her voice as if the nomad wasn’t still close enough to hear her. They were the advanced scouts for the column which was following them. Ashleen and his closest friends hadn’t been happy to be left behind, but the falconi had ordered it that way, since three people were less likely to mess up the evidence as they advanced towards where the nomads had lost the monsters. “There is actually a multitude of spells that all try to do the same thing, since each spell is tailored towards working with a certain creature.

  “For example, a wizard could work with a mouse in a castle or a dog could wander through a town unnoticed. They can also work with birds,” she finished pointing towards the sky.

  Sebastian conside
red the implication of such a spell. If a warlock were to use the large black birds known as shrikes to see the area to work a portal, could they cast the spell like they were there physically? It was something to consider, but he had never tried such a thing himself.

  The temptation to try the wind riding spell to move his mind beyond his vision was overridden by the presence of the nomad walking nearby him. Falconi Neven and Wizard Oltus had agreed with him that displaying his ability to cast a portal had best be left to an emergency only. They weren’t sure how the plains tribes would react if they knew that Southwall had managed to learn the magic of the Dark One.

  When they came to the clearing of burnt grass at the base of a hill, Sebastian could see that the nomads had been correct. Nartreya frowned knowing that, for all her attempts to say otherwise; there was a straight line that seemed to halt the damage from the burning flesh of the monsters. The mage was also familiar with the feel of the gates formed by portal magic and had learned the process to find one from Darius and his grandson Darterian, who had traveled with him closing some of the emperor’s gates to the south.

  Sebastian sniffed at the air smelling the scent of charred plants even now after several days. Wrinkling his nose at the scent, the mage knelt looking at the ground. Not every portal touched the earth when it was cast. An inch or two above the earth would avoid leaving evidence for those without magic to find. Land was rarely perfectly flat after all, so a gap would be fine and exiting a portal was a bit of a leap anyway so no one would truly notice using it.

  He found a straight gash where a large stone, once hidden by the grass, had been cut by the magic doorway. Looking both ways, the mage found a second to the left and judged that this gate had formed very close to the earth for some reason.

  “There was definitely a gate formed here,” Sebastian stated pointing out the marks to the wizard. Placing his hand where the doorway had been, he added a new spell, “Reveal.”

  Dust and charred plant material rose around them and seemed to cling to an unseen glass door. Like dust on glass revealing the clear covering of a window, the debris formed into a large rectangle that was the remnant magic of the portal.

  A low whistle from Nartreya proved that even wizards could be surprised.

  The hunter stated less impressed, “A doorway in the middle of nowhere as you said.”

  Squinting in annoyance, the woman complained, “Fine, I was wrong. Are you happy?”

  Scowling at the gray rectangle, the hunter shook his head, “I would be happy if we could have caught and destroyed these creatures. Too many people were hurt or killed when they rampaged through the north side of the camp. If they were sent by someone, then I won’t be happy until they pay as well.”

  As they looked at the echo of the door, a shadow passed over head bringing new frowns of worry to their faces.

  Sebastian asked, “Is that a shrike?”

  Nartreya shook her head saying, “Maybe a raven, but the mountain shrikes don’t usually come this far south.”

  “How would you know wizard?” the hunter asked the woman. “Your kind stay south of your wall. We live here and watch as the north adjusts to time. The Cataclysm may have driven many of the birds away for awhile, but shrikes have been more common in recent years.

  “That is a shrike, though it is smaller than the ones which attacked us along with the fire beasts.”

  With that knowledge, Sebastian wondered if Nartreya’s information of the spells a wizard could use might bring new danger with the innocent flight of the bird.

  “Can you test if the bird is being used by a warlock?” the owl mage asked quickly while it was still close by.

  “If I try to join with it and am repelled, the bird’s mind is being used,” the woman replied brushing at her hair and setting her feet carefully. “If I manage to join with it, you will need to catch me before I fall,” she stated to Sebastian taking him in quickly with her green eyes.

  Standing close to the woman, the mage watched closely as she performed the spell. If he could learn similar tricks, there were likely mages who might be able to use this when air magic remained beyond most.

  She gestured and mumbled the ancient words of magic. While such things remained outside of how the battle mage worked, Sebastian could feel what was transpiring with her spell. Words mattered in only that they set his mind on the right course to create the magic; but until he understood the feel of it, her words and gestures didn’t matter to him at all.

  Recoiling back into Sebastian, the smaller wizard stumbled into him as if she had been punched. Catching her in his arms, Nartreya looked dazed as he eased her to a sitting position. After a moment, the woman recovered enough to place her hands on either side of her head showing the ache she wished would ease.

  “There is a presence inside of the shrike. It struck me when I tried to merge with the creature. I’ve experienced my masters holding a bird’s mind to show me how it would feel, but I’ve never been harmed by the feeling before. It was like a fist of iron struck my mind.

  “I am sorry, Sebastian, that I couldn’t recover sooner; but I am afraid that this is definitely an enemy mind at work.”

  “If your thought about casting at a distance is correct, we better hope this mind doesn’t know how to cast a portal then,” he nodded and quickly called up a healing spell to ease Nartreya’s headache.

  Almost before he was done the sound of explosions and shouts carried on the wind.

  “Come on!” he ordered pulling the wizard to her feet. “The column is under attack!”

  Elzen followed Rilena leading Sebastian’s horse. The platoon had been organized to follow slowly behind the trio leading as trackers. Looking on the burnt grass leading in a nearly straight line, the mage wondered why they had bothered. It was pretty easy to not only follow the path, but even from horseback they could see tracks in the burns between the high grasses.

  Two lines of riders followed on either side of the trail as they kept the devastation between them in case there was a further need for the tracks. “I don’t know why we couldn’t just ride near the trackers,” he complained towards the dark haired girl in front of him.

  Shrugging, Rilena retorted, “Because Oltus and Falconi Neven decided that some people could be annoying while they worked, I would guess.”

  “Hey!” he replied in indignation as those nearest them began to laugh.

  Olan joined in, “I don’t know you that well, but from the stories I have heard of you from White Hall as a cadet, she might have a point.”

  “Don’t side with the woman,” Elzen pleaded with the other mage with whom he had struck up an easy friendship on the journey. It wasn’t a surprise that another mage friend of Sebastian’s would be someone he could get along with. There were no real exceptions that he had met so far, Elzen thought as he added, “She is evil and will twist things around to her benefit. Have I told you how she abused me in the men’s baths at Windmeer?”

  Rilena turned around looking genuinely angry and embarrassed. “I did not! When I fell through the portal that first time, you just happened to be in the bath. Stop telling everyone it was like that as if I am some pervert who just jumped you while you were in the baths.”

  Ashleen giggled as she rode beside the other girl.

  Elzen sighed and played up the drama in comedic fashion saying, “Next she’ll try to use an old story from White Hall that I supposedly let a box of frogs loose in the girl’s baths while the female students were bathing. I just happened to be in the hall walking to the boy’s rooms when it occurred. There has never been substantial proof, but I always get the blame.”

  “Oh poor you,” Rilena cooed mockingly.

  Westlin looked back trying to appear angry and stated, “With you four causing all that racket, you wonder why the falconi didn’t trust you to behave while the trackers searched the ground? With such childish falcons, you’re lucky that you were allowed to come along at all. It is no wonder why their druids refused to come agai
n.”

  “Falcondi,” Elzen began seemingly back to business, “shouldn’t we ride a little faster to keep them in sight? I know horses’ hooves could mask the tracks if we rode over them, but if Sebastian and the others do come across the enemy they have no support.”

  “They are just on the other side of this hill,” Westlin stated with a shake of her head at the boy’s instant change of mood. She had been warned that he could be a comedian, but Elzen was also an excellent battle mage in a pinch. “The vanguard will keep them in sight and signal us if they see trouble.”

  Noticing movement overhead, Elzen’s hand reached to touch the sword in its sheath. A hollow sword given to him by Sebastian was kept inside. The owl had said to be careful in its use, since he didn’t feel that it completely met his tough criteria; but they had tested both it and the one in the falconi’s possession the first few nights finding no flaw in the design so far. It was a powerful weapon and a comfort as his hand touched it.

  “It’s only a bird,” one of the soldiers ahead of them stated as if noticing Elzen’s unease. The young mage wasn’t the only one to look up tensely. They had all been told of the black bird men referred to as shrikes by the nomads.

  Ashleen’s hair rose slightly with the electricity in her aura which seemed to sense danger as well.

  A glow nearly drowned out by the late summer sunlight was barely noticed to his right. “Portal!” he exclaimed as the sword found its way out of the sheath in an instant.

  Like an echo from the left, others noted a second glowing doorway and worse several dark shapes lunged through the gate quickly spotting their prey. Elzen glanced away for only a moment before returning his attention to the first portal.

  “Mages ready your shields!” Falconi Neven cried out instantly from the left side of the path. “Soldiers guard the wizards in the center. Form a defensive circle,” the lead mage ordered taking charge of the platoon. A falconi ranked above a mere lieutenant and, in battle, wizards followed their lead as well.