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

by Donald Wigboldy

  The dark mage could see armored viles and crag trolls tearing into the structure virtually unmolested by any defenders. Left unchecked, the armored viles would be able to dig through the stone in minutes. That was the problem with the wall. It was simply an obstruction. While it helped defend the men and women on the wall, the wall in turn was defended by them. When one of the two faltered, the empire’s forces would win and open a hole into Southwall that didn’t require portal magic.

  As the dark mage watched nearly gloating at the ease of the operation, even though someone had found his original lodestones to move them; other feelings threatened his good mood. He was born in this land and had even promised his resurrected wizards, Dorgred and Wendle, that they wouldn’t have to harm Southwall. Palose wasn’t restricted by that rule of his personal actions and followed Kolban’s orders; but his mind was his own now and his heart warred with the direction of the empire’s master.

  Sighing at the sight of the dying men and women struggling on the wall, Palose looked away from the wall. His eyes cast over the creatures starting to become congested beneath their goal, but the western forces were also acting strangely. He noted those to the rear had faltered in their approach and even backed away from the front few lines attacking the barrier.

  In fact, a line of orcs and trolls backed by several viles had turned to the south looking ready for a battle behind them instead.

  Palose had not heard the sound of air over head. He was too far away to hear the efforts of Sebastian, who had attacked from the west side of the river; but his eyes worked well enough to spy the problem quickly enough. Moving towards the south army of his forces, a smaller amount of men and women raced towards them scaling hills or dodging through the valleys between them equally swift.

  His vision scanned the eastern side of the Cadhalla and spied another force echoing the movements of those to the west. They moved too quickly to be mere soldiers. Palose knew these were battle mages, his former kind and much more formidable than normal human men and women. These troops could take down armored viles and trolls with their magic. Normally they were stuck protecting both those with magic and those without; but this force looked unleashed from the restrictions of magical body guards to the other forces in Southwall’s army.

  Palose actually smiled thinking that battle mages had become one of the most fearsome warriors on the battle field for either side. It was almost pride that he felt even if he was no longer truly one of them.

  “Fireballs,” the dark mage uttered the spell varying it from his old battle mage spell using greater strength as he cast dozens of massive balls of flame behind the monsters of the dark army.

  Striking with force enough to alert his allies to the danger from behind, the east side of the river turned at first in surprise before sighting the mages beginning to close on them. Shields whipped around in troll, orc and even vile hands to face the attackers. The fire burned the grass between them slowing the approach of the mages, but they hardly seemed to mind as a volley of air spears flew towards the shields of their enemy.

  Some shields held. Some of the soldiers were lucky enough to be wearing the black armor originally designed for wizard hunters, which absorbed the air without doing the wearer any harm; but not every soldier was so lucky and several troops fell as the mages readied a second attack.

  The west side had no fire burning between the two factions and the mages bore down on those meant to take the wall from behind. While fire on the east side served as an obstacle, there were holes between the flame and the two sides met between the fires in a clash of magic and steel.

  Xander’s sword swung catching the heavy metal hammer in the hand of the large furred beast before him. The sound of breaking steel signaled vibrations rushing into his hand making the cadet wince with pain. For a soldier, his sword was his life. Once broken, it was likely only a moment before that man would find his life taken, though some could survive long enough to find a second weapon.

  A battle mage didn’t need to look for another weapon, he was a weapon.

  “Air lance!” the cadet cried tossing his broken weapon into the creature’s face as he jumped back. Manifesting in his hand as the hilt of the sword left him, the air spear hardened in his grip as his blue shield met another strike of the hammer.

  He could feel the magic shield weakening with each blow, but it held and Xander was able to counter with the air lance surprising his opponent. It wasn’t a good enough recovery to hurt the monster, however. The spear merely found air as the kiriak dodged to the side.

  The young mage was getting frustrated. It wasn’t like the monster was an intelligent swordsman using technique to defeat him. Sheer power and surprising speed were used by the black furred fighter making up for technique along with its instincts and reflexes.

  His foot bumped into something behind him and the cadet knew that it was the body of a fallen soldier. With the unknown behind him, Xander changed direction letting his blue shield shift to cover his head while the battle mage drove forward leading with the air lance aimed at the monster’s heart. It was a desperate attack, but the kiriak dodged to his left away from the confining stone parapet to the mage’s right.

  Spinning to face the kiriak as his eyes took in the scene behind the attacker; Xander looked not only at the monster fighting him, but at what was behind it. He saw the defenders struggling to protect the north side with half the men and women looking north and half guarding their backs against the intruders from the south. Closer to the tower, Xander saw a few black furred creatures fighting the defenders and more dead or wounded lying on the stone of the wall. Behind his current opponent, too few Southwall defenders remained fighting the beasts.

  A glow came from the tower reflecting in the monster’s eyes and served to distract it just enough to drive the air weapon upward into its neck. Surprise reflected in its eyes as black blood sprayed onto the blue shield and cadet. The hammer slipped free of numbed fingers to clatter onto the stone as it slid towards the defenders on the north side as the kiriak’s hands moved instinctively to try and stop the bleeding.

  Sidestepping the injured monster, Xander swept his hand towards the beast calling out, “Gust!”

  A strong blast of wind struck the kiriak against the wall finding the low spot between the protective stones of the crenellations. Taller than a man, the black beast stumbled and slid through the opening releasing its throat too slowly to catch itself from tumbling over and down the wall.

  Gasps for air were drowned out by the thunder of blood pumping through his skull. His ears could only hear the roar and missed the shouts behind him. Noticing the sight of orange flame reflecting on the stone, Xander turned to see several wizards rushing from the western Twin Tower. They weren’t anyone he knew, but they were dressed in the robes of Southwall wizards. How these wizards had arrived escaped his mind for a moment until he recalled the strange light which had distracted the beast.

  Questions of their origin faded quickly to just being thankful for the reinforcements as the power of their magic singled out each enemy creature destroying the closest with fire and wind. Seeing their position dire, the kiriaks broke from their attacks appearing to leap off of the wall. Xander looked through the gap in the stones watching the strange black beasts virtually running down the wall to return to the throng of monsters below.

  Gasping for air as the cadet worked to get his breathing back under control; he couldn’t summon a spell to knock them free. A few wizards took their shots, but the kiriaks appeared almost faster climbing down than they were moving on land. They could even change direction quickly so nearly all of them made it back to the ground unscathed.

  More magic rained down trying to drive back those breaking the wall. The new wizards were fresh and their array of spells brightened the darkness of twilight. Xander wanted to watch, but knew there was more to be done to the north as well. The larger army was still there and even with the loss of their cannons they were determined to force their way thro
ugh the Twins leaving it in ruins.

  Worry for the wall between the two towers made his feet start towards the western tower, but Falcon Gareth was suddenly at his side.

  “Reinforcements are here,” the older man stated gripping the smaller cadet’s shoulder. His sword was sheathed in fire and still intact, Xander noted ruefully. He hadn’t thought of the protective sheath of magic during the fight proving once more that the cadet needed more experience. Unfortunately, he looked to have more fighting to do yet this night, so the boy would have time to learn more about himself and his magic. “The army to the north is closing with their warlocks and archers again. Keep your shield out and your head about you, boy. This isn’t over by a long shot.”

  “The wizards?” Xander began.

  Gareth interrupted thinking he meant the new wizards, “Reinforcements from Blackwall who used the second gate inside of the tower. It’s a good thing that foreign wizard set up those gates. We might actually be able to survive this and drive the enemy away.”

  “What about the wall over the river?”

  “I’m not sure. Now get to the north parapets. This isn’t the time for conversation,” the falcon ordered even as his eyes began to assess their preparations for the next wave.

  The whistle of arrows flying in from the north was nearly masked by the thunder of the assault by the warlocks as they struck the stone face trying to batter the already suffering wall. Xander felt pain from his right arm before instinct made him sink down behind the protective stone.

  Armored viles backed by trolls and the new, more massive, crag trolls struck the front line of the battle mages from Hala. Sebastian could see the attack from the crest of the hill as a little over sixty mages were pushed back in the initial rush of the much larger monsters of the dark army.

  Swords covered in fire bounced off of armor plate. Those using the air lances tried to find weak points, but there were so many of the enemy that trying to just meet the attack proved futile.

  He had watched the first attack of the air spears from the mages from a distance. A few of the monsters had fallen, but this line had already turned thanks to his air cannon spells. It was his fault that they had lost the benefit of a true ambush. Wanting to make up for his mistake, even though removing the enemy weapons was arguably more important; Sebastian started to move forward until Westlin’s arm reached out barring his path.

  “Stay here, Sebastian,” she ordered. “You are the only one who can open more gates. We need you to contact Hala, and to open up the new gates for the army and wizards to follow.”

  Staying out of the fight was against the battle mage’s nature, but he knew that she was right.

  A handful of mages were arrayed in a semi circle around the owl and he knew that Westlin had chosen them to guard him now. It wasn’t just from making sure he was safe using the air cannon earlier. Probably she and Falconi Neven had decided the matter before leaving to have the woman keep an eye on him. He had become too valuable an asset to get deep into battle now. That he had been allowed to see the nomads, was almost surprising in retrospect; but his knowledge of runes had been needed more, he guessed.

  With a big sigh, the mage made the portal rune open to take out Bairh’loore before planting it before him. He would need the strength of the earth to open those gates.

  Sebastian first looked to the east and performed his first distant opening of a gate. The golden glow of a modest opening formed on the eastern shore. It connected with Hala in the assembly area of the wizards. He would need the portal wizards help to bring the army.

  “Door,” he ordered as the mage made out the first forms exiting the portal. A second gate opened in the shelter of the hill northwest of his. The tight valley between the hills would open facing the battling mages, but was still far enough back for the moment to be safe.

  “Two at once?” one of the mages questioned aloud in awe.

  Westlin looked at the younger man noticing the strength of aura increased several times beyond that of a normal mage. It was also well beyond what he usually revealed during the meetings between him and his fellow corps members.

  Her eyes glanced to the staff with unasked questions. She had been one of those to share the secret information of using a staff to draw power from the earth and its dangers; but that didn’t mean that the woman didn’t wish to try it. For those who didn’t know, most just assumed the staff was to help him stand as his strength disappeared.

  More wizards poured through this gate and two moved to the side gesturing as they chanted words of power adding their magic to the door. To Sebastian’s surprise, dozens of Southwall’s soldiers began to stream out of the golden glow. He supposed that there had been enough time to order the army to move to the wizards’ gates while they had run over two miles to find the forces attacking the wall.

  Looking across the river, Sebastian noticed a similar phenomenon. Soldiers encircled the enlarged gate. Archers took position on the nearby hills and began to fire on the enemy to the north while men in armor glinting in the moonlight formed a semicircle a few hundred feet around the glowing portal as more troops continued to arrive.

  Sebastian released his power letting the wizards do what they had already been trained to do. It was amazing how quickly certain wizards took to the magic and Darius’ teaching had been instrumental in that.

  Looking at the enemy between them and the wall, the mage suddenly thought that they looked too few to stop the increasing army of Southwall.

  Palose slipped below the hill as he spied the first portal. He thought to try killing anyone using it until the second gate formed on the west side of the river. His vantage point on the hill had allowed him to see both though the army fighting in the shadow of the wall could not. It also told him where these battle mages originated. These were not just some random force that Southwall had begun to keep near the wall. The enemy had discovered portal magic and was using it to great effect.

  The dark mage performed the gestures for a smaller gate and stepped through to disappear into the silver light.

  His destination wasn’t in the portal chamber this time. The emperor had approved of a single gate point in the castle, but it was guarded and watched day and night. Starting at the appearance of the gate, the orc and troll guards were ready to spear him until they saw who it was.

  Resetting into a wary position as he let the gate go, Palose said, “I need to speak to the generals and emperor.”

  An orc led him through a hall until they came to a doorway guarded by two large trolls. He hurried through the doorway spying Kolban with his generals standing behind a table covered with open maps pinned flat. Colored wood markers rested on the maps and as the dark mage neared he noticed that some seemed to be moving of their own accord.

  “What is it, Palose?” the emperor asked gruffly without even bothering to fully look at him. Aides were taking notes and running from the room with new orders.

  “Southwall is using portal magic to reinforce the Twins, your majesty. The force behind the wall needs help or it will be wiped out as soon as the rest of the Southwall army arrives. They already fight a force of battle mages distracting half our forces with more troops arriving through portals close to the wall.

  “I think wizards have arrived on the wall as well, since there has been a strong push from there against the southern force.”

  He expected the news to at least slightly surprise the youthful looking emperor, but as the boy before him nodded confirmation; Palose wasn’t rewarded with any such revelation.

  “I had supposed that Southwall had finally discovered the magic,” the boy with the light brown hair said without giving away much of what he was feeling. His gray eyes seemed unmoved by the information as he asked, “Have you set new points closer to the wall so we can send our own reinforcements?”

  “I can bring one gate on the east side of the river. I left stones there when I returned here, your highness. If I return, it would be child’s play to open another to the wes
t. We could use two portals to pinch the enemy between our forces,” Palose stated having already thought how he would react to the enemy’s new ability. It was either work to outmaneuver the novice portal makers of Southwall or give up and retreat, in his mind.

  “Open your first gate in chamber one,” the emperor ordered with little emotion. He wasn’t rushed, but Kolban was firm in his command. “The portal warlocks will hold the gate while you open the second position and open up the second gate in the other chamber.

  “Now go,” the boy added with a wave of his hand brushing him off as if he expected action from the mage.

  Palose turned casting a gate before disappearing through it to emerge in the first portal chamber from the stone arch. With his jaw set as he tried to decide if Kolban was treating him as a mere lackey in front of his generals or if it was how he was truly viewed him, the dark mage opened the first gate and stepped through as the first battalion of reinforcements rushed to join the battle behind him.

  Chapter 33- Broken Wall

  The battle for the Twins continued to escalate. Xander stuck on the wall was caught in the middle of the worst of the fighting, but as he crouched behind the protective battlements, the cadet looked back at the reinforcements and considered himself lucky.

  Wizards for the most part had few of the protective blue shields of a battle mage up to protect their backs as they pushed the enemy back to the south. Several fell to the stone without moving again as arrows came over the wall from the enemy. Xander was lucky that his shield was still up as a few bounced off as he ducked, but only after taking an arrow in the right, upper arm.

  It hurt tremendously nearly making the cadet forget to maintain his shield. Only repeated training and self preservation managed to keep him from losing his magic protector.