Her appearance was deceiving in more ways than one. Acheri definitely wasn’t a typical fourteen year girl, even for a wizard of Ensolus. The vessel created for the emperor before he died to hold both his memories and his power, Acheri had been a successful creation. Her brothers were similar experiments, but while Lanquer had come up short using a different creation process, as had the man known as Garosh before him; Acheri had not been used only because her male counterpart had been made to perfection.
Still Palose had been there as the emperor, a withered, frail, dying man who had to hide the truth in smoke and shadow; had brought the three blanks to life one by one. Lanquer had been first. Gifted with a fraction of the emperor’s power, he would be brother and guard to the other two; but failure even came there for the boy. Training had been needed from Palose to even begin to make him into a guardsman of any skill.
Second, the emperor had cast his knowledge and power into the girl, Acheri. Like her brothers, her body was that of a young teen and not fully mature. She was beautiful, however, and as brilliant as the emperor had been. His knowledge was hers and his magic as well. She wielded power second only to the emperor himself and became his sister. Acheri was her own person as was Lanquer though and the two were not just copies of the emperor as the last clone had been.
Kolban was the third one born, even as the emperor died in his old body to give him life. The most powerful of the three, Kolban had kept his memories and most of his power to transfer to the new body of the emperor. He was complete and young once more avoiding death that threatened to claim every mortal thing.
As Acheri stood up with a smile to greet him, Palose thought on the fact that not only Acheri, but Kolban seemed to have taken a liking to him and that seemed a bit strange to him. The girl flirted with him as if she had a crush on him, but she was either too young or maybe too old for him at the same time depending on one’s view of the new being. He wondered what tied him to them so strongly and so quickly. From the moment they had stepped from the birthing chambers, Acheri and Kolban seemed to have affection for him as had the old emperor, who had known him only briefly.
Perhaps it was the fact that he had also escaped death. A resurrection man by name, Palose had died and been brought back, but not healed like a wizard of Southwall might have done. A warlock named Atrouseon had pulled him from death to make him a servant long enough to send Palose back to Southwall where he brought the army into Windmeer. He knew that he was viewed as a betrayer, but it was more than that. As a resurrection man, certain parts of the spell had bound him to serve the warlock. He had returned at Atrouseon’s direction and brought death into the castle.
At first, Palose had thought that his disparaging view of Southwall had been true. His heart had betrayed his former country without any care. He had killed and left after thinking he had sentenced Sebastian to death. His rival and the man who had abandoned him to die, it had been his moment of revenge.
Once returned, his thinking had been changed forever. He didn’t truly wish to return to Southwall. It wasn’t his home anymore and his ambition wouldn’t have thrived as a falcon just serving to maybe rise through the corps. Here he had found new power and abilities. Magic was different and unfettered. Even his very power in magic had increased due to a flaw in the resurrection spell.
He had found that he shared magical strength with Atrouseon, which eventually drove a wedge between him and the warlock.
Palose had found more ways to add to his strength and looked back to his weakness as a battle mage with disdain. His power had grown and the battle mage now had the strength of a full warlock or wizard. Some had noted his power growing, but no one had stopped him. As long as he didn’t threaten their well being, the people within Ensolus didn’t care how powerful someone became.
“You look thoughtful,” Acheri greeted him. The plunging neckline of the red dress drew his eyes without thought to the smooth, perfect flesh between her petite breasts. Her arms were bare now that spring had fully warmed the northern land, as if that would have stopped the girl who never seemed bothered by the cold anyway.
“Just a little tired perhaps,” he lied to the girl. While Acheri seemed infatuated with him, the dark mage still didn’t trust her. After all, she had given him little reason of late.
Her only perceived rival for his affection, a girl named Sylvaine, had oddly been sent away. It was supposedly just a simple mission to visit some nomads on the plains to the south, but her whole party had been wiped out, warlocks and guardsmen both. While Acheri had never come out and said anything specifically, that which she had inferred let him know that it hadn’t exactly been an accident.
“You work too hard now. You always seem to be on one mission or another,” the girl pouted trying to look cute. Her lips were painted red to match her dress and she exaggerated the look almost comically to play with the young man. “I liked it better when you were training Lanquer and we could see each other almost every morning.”
Shrugging, he replied, “Tell the emperor then. He’s the one who has had me bringing men to every city I have ties to in Southwall. He even had warlocks take me to some new cities and had men ride out to bring my particular lodestones where he had no previous gate.
“I’m not exactly sure what he has planned, but half of Southwall and nearby countries like Maris and Sileoth have had dozens of these small groups deposited in them for the past few weeks.”
The girl probably knew what the reason for all the renewed interest in Southwall and its allies actually was, but Palose didn’t truly feel the need to know even if he had given her an opening to inform him. She was Kolban’s sister and usually had the emperor’s ear, whether individually or sitting in with him and his advisors. Even so, Acheri was as tight lipped with the things she knew as Kolban was which meant only those they wished to know their plans knew them. As close as he was to them, Palose was rarely that well informed or included in the emperor’s plans.
While the hidden agenda of the emperor might have him curious, he was just another soldier in his army in the grand scheme of things. Since it wasn’t his place to question Kolban’s mind, he was at least glad that other than the basic tasks he was needed to perform; he was also left alone to pursue his own plans and rarely questioned about his life in the city save for a little prodding from Acheri at times. Like the other residents of Ensolus, Palose had adopted their way of thinking. As long as Acheri and the emperor’s plans didn’t actually interfere with his own, he was content with helping as he had been since he had arrived in the city. With Atrouseon gone, the requests came much more directly though that had its own repercussions.
Taking his arm and entwining her right with his left, the girl held his hand and her left hand lay across his forearm gripping it lightly as if Acheri were taking him as her escort for a walk. The girl didn’t seem to care if anyone noticed her affection and it probably mattered very little to the guardsmen and warlocks there. Most did not even know of the emperor’s change of bodies since he used magic to hide his true appearance when seen in public. Very few knew of the girl’s true identity because of the secrecy involved. The existence of a new brother and sister for the emperor had been hidden making it possible for Acheri to wander the city safely, though she was usually accompanied by Lanquer even so.
Her half brother had been trained by Palose in both the sword and battle mage magic. While he had once been a laughable swordsmen playing at being a soldier or guard, Lanquer had become reasonably skilled and could keep the girl safe against most opponents.
The dark mage noted her shadow missing and asked curiously, “Where’s Lanquer? I am surprised that you could get away by yourself. Isn’t he your guardsman?”
Wrinkling her nose slightly in distaste, Acheri voiced her annoyance saying, “Ever since you boys went to the fortress to deal with Garosh, Kolban seems to have discovered a new love for our half brother.”
Her dark blue eyes looked at the mage she clung to and searched his face, “All
I hear now is how Lanquer dealt a death blow to a wraith and then volunteered to put our elder brother down for his betrayal. Apparently Lanquer impressed Kolban with both his skill and determination.”
Palose nodded remembering the assault on the fortress. He had been there and was the impetus for the assault since the mage had seeded the fortress with multiple gate points using lodestones he had created for directing his spells. Bringing two main assault teams into the fortress, they had sealed the entry and brought the fight directly to Garosh and his inner circle.
Lanquer hadn’t been the only one to defeat the undead creatures guarding the giant, but he had made an impact on the emperor. Since Kolban had braved the threats of the betrayer’s fortress, he had seen enough of the fighting to give his lesser brother rare praise.
“He put himself between the emperor and the threat before taking it on and defeating the creature. It was an act worthy of praise and I am glad that my pupil acquitted himself well during the assault,” he said wondering if he was going to be required to bring the girl all the way back to the emperor’s castle. She had obviously made it to the travel chamber safely, but the city’s streets weren’t completely safe. No city ever seemed to avoid drawing at least a little criminal activity, even one held in the grip of the Dark One, the emperor.
“Blah, blah, all this battle nonsense is starting to annoy me. Kolban wouldn’t even let me go that time. I went into the heart of Windmeer with you to drive Garosh from his new allies, but the fortress was believed too dangerous to risk my life.
“Lanquer is with Kolban now acting as one of the emperor’s guards while he holds audience with petitioners. Kolban wraps his masking smoke around him to prevent people from seeing his new body and to make them more in awe of him too, I would guess. He has always used dramatic effects to help mold the masses.”
Palose nodded and mused aloud, “I guess that is just another bit of memory you would know.
“Do you have vivid memories from Kolban, since it was the emperor that shared his knowledge at your birth?” he had always wondered how Acheri and Lanquer had managed to be so separate from the emperor, if his memories and knowledge had been shared. The three were as different as could be, though some people seemed to change personalities depending on who they were with or what they were doing. Were they all just formed from three parts of the emperor’s personality or had they managed to take in his knowledge while forming into their own beings?
The girl looked uncomfortable. She was good at prying into his life, though Acheri was skilled at doing so without being blunt about it. Giving up information about her self was much harder, though what could a creature only a few months old have to say? If her mind was her own, that would be true enough as she merely gained new experiences of life. If, on the other hand, Acheri was still the emperor inside; then she would have a millennia or more of memories to draw from even in this new form.
“We are not the same person,” Acheri stated as if worrying that he would see her as the ancient creature, who was also male. Like the young girl she appeared to be, Acheri continued as she appeared introspective thanks to his question, “I knew magic, language, names of people, and sometimes my mind can see pictures of worlds I’ve never seen with these eyes. I know parts of Kolban’s, the original Kolban’s, life and his motivations at least in part.”
Her blue eyes looked up at him troubled and asked, “You don’t think that I am just another piece of the emperor; do you?”
He understood her true question in those cryptic words. Did he think that she was just a shadow of the emperor, a pawn or instrument used to expand the man’s view of the world? Was she a copy or her own person?
“You certainly don’t act like Kolban or Lanquer,” he answered without truly committing. How could he answer when he didn’t truly understand what the emperor had done while transferring knowledge and power to his siblings. “I assume he did a similar transfer to Garosh when he was created and, of course, it is obvious that he had a mind of his own or Kolban wouldn’t have to end his threat.”
His comments only served to make the girl frown harder. “Garosh was a mistake, a flawed vessel! His threat came because he was allowed to live and given privilege because of the power given to him.”
“Is that the emperor’s thoughts or your own?” he asked boldly.
Her eyes squinted at him trying to see if he was joking, but the mage was not. It made her question her words and shook her head. “That is my own assessment. Garosh was an imperfect creature. He was a test and temporary holder of Kolban’s power. When it was obvious that he had been replaced, Garosh panicked and tried to join our enemies. He brought his destruction on himself.
“If he was once a copy of the emperor, then with time he certainly differed from Kolban in the end.”
Nodding at the girl, Palose’s eyes looked ahead to the emperor’s spire lifting to the shadowed ceiling above. They still had a bit of a walk to reach the castle’s outer gates, but with the reflected light on the southern side it stood out easily from the dark background of the inner cave. Ensolus was a dark city, if only because it was built inside of an enormous cave. An entire lake occupied a third of the inner city, yet there remained miles of buildings inside and even farm land strategically placed in the cave in case of an unlikely siege.
“Every battle mage has shared knowledge. Every child is raised by its parents and given knowledge as well. Shared knowledge doesn’t make you a copy of another person, but if it defines you then you become the shadow.
“In a way, Garosh was also a shadow of the emperor and his actions came from trying to not be a part of that shadow. He reacted apart from the emperor and stood alone, even if Kolban was then forced to eliminate his individuality.”
Acheri’s mouth held a frown as she turned away from him. “You are depressing me today. I don’t wish to think of such dreary things.
“Tell me of the city you went to today. Was it pretty?”
Acting like a young girl once more, the dark haired creature refused to look at him until he began telling her of Siltrene, the southern port of Southwall which was about a day’s sail away from both Sileoth and Marianis, allies to the emperor’s most hated enemies.
Sebastian concentrated on the tattoo running from his fingers to past his elbow on the left arm. It was an intricate working of lines and shapes interconnected throughout the entire design. While it wasn’t something he would normally have sought out, tattoos were still common enough among the soldiers of Southwall. Belief that some brought luck in battle led men to place them protectively over their hearts or on their arms for motivation.
Unlike the inking created on those men, the branding of runes on his arm did have power attributed to them by the shaman, Porleyr.
He stood before a tree and punched at the bark with his bare hand willing the tattoos to protect his hand. A loud crack shook the tree which was as thick as a man’s thigh. Since he hadn’t intended to harm the plant, Sebastian was a little surprised to see an impression of knuckles in the bark.
“What did that tree ever do to you?” a girl’s voice asked in amusement.
Turning to find Yara standing behind him in her short yellow dress; Sebastian could only smile as he took in the attractive young woman who had stolen his heart. Her blond hair appeared golden in the strong sunlight that only seemed to get stronger as the days moved into summer. In the north, Southwall would still have cool days that might require jackets; but for several weeks, as they had traveled south, the men and women on the Sea Dragon had been enjoying the warmth of late spring. Only the southern cities of the country had weather similar to that on the island.
“If I hurt it too much I can always heal it again,” Bas replied as he ran his fingers over the indentation in the bark. His staff, Bairh’loore, lay on the ground with a small pack holding food and water. The mage had gone off in the morning for a last walk on land to get some exercise. With his Hollow Sword at his hip, he could move through movements with his sw
ord or just enjoy the hike. Anything aside from sitting on the ship for weeks on end was more than enough for him since exercise wasn’t his true worry.
Yara played at the sand mixed with the grass so near the shore with her toes. Barefoot, as most of them were since they frequented the shore and the water enjoying the gifts of the island, the girl jokingly answered, “I remember the first time you tried to heal a tree. It didn’t work out so well, did it, oh wise owl mage.”
Shaking his head at her giggle, the young man brushed his hair back from his forehead before wiping at a light glistening of sweat. It was another warm day in a series of weeks it seemed.
“I had learned one healing spell by that point,” Sebastian stated and started to casually walk towards Yara. Her eyes looked at him questioningly until his arms encircled her body. Giving a little squeak as his hands cupped her rear end; he raised his eyebrows suggestively as he grinned. “You do remember the first healing spell that you taught me, don’t you?”
Giggling in return as her arms slid through his, Yara slid her hands up his back to his shoulders before replying, “I haven’t sat on a horse in months, Sebastian. I doubt there is much to heal there at the moment.”
“There might be other reasons to enjoy putting my hands there, I admit,” chuckled the mage as he leaned down to kiss the girl on her lips as she lifted her head in response.
Pulling away a moment, the healer took his hand as she looked around them. The shore curved and their view was limited due to the trees growing up as close to the sea as they dared while avoiding the salt that would ruin the ground. It was quiet and only the calming sound of the waves lapping at the sand could be heard on the air.
“You know one of the nice things about this island is that it is big enough to find places to be alone,” Yara smiled contentedly. “You don’t have to worry over someone stumbling across you too readily either.”
Battle Mage: A Hero's Welcome (A Tale of Alus Book 8) Page 13
