Now she could feel an urge to panic lapping at the edges of her mind.
Even as her mind turned to escaping the void, Rilena heard his sigh.
“I thought maybe we were getting a little closer than just friends, I guess,” the young man, who still had boyish looks, replied sounding only slightly disappointed. “I mean, when you were trapped here, I was the one that you used to find your way home. Usually when people are frightened or desperate to find someone, they pick someone closer than just a friend.”
Rilena paused on the rope turning to face him with a frown, “You saved my life and helped me through the trip to the fortress as well as through all the fighting. As battle mages, we become more than just friends and fellow soldiers. We become brothers and sisters to the point that we would die for each other and work to save each other.
“Just because that relationship made us so close that I found my way out to you doesn’t mean that it is more than that; but it’s certainly nothing to just dismiss. I’m loyal and fight for my close friends, Elzen.”
“Do you kiss all your friends? You seemed to think of me as more than just a friend for a little while,” the boy stated looking into her eyes.
His gaze was intense. Rilena looked away using the need to find the sparfinch in the void before Darius closed the door as an excuse. Trying to ignore his searching eyes, the young woman said, “I know I kissed you, but I probably shouldn’t have, especially if you’re going to read so much into it. You know that being a battle mage means we get moved to the next post, the next town or city, at the drop of a hat. I have problems letting myself get too close to anyone when I know that I will probably not see them for a long while or maybe never again.”
She had admitted more than she meant by saying those words. In truth, Rilena did have an attraction for Elzen, but as she had said, the woman guarded her heart against growing too attached when they could be separated with the next season or battle.
“You go on like that, you’ll forget why you’re fighting,” the boy said sounding like a man. She hated that Elzen could see through her so easily. While he seemed so much like the boy of seventeen that he was, he was also a falcon, someone who had been battle tested and found worthy of the title. This wasn’t some cadet trying to pretend to be a man, though he had much of his childish ways wrapped around that inner adult.
As the dark haired woman held onto the rope drifting in the silver light; Rilena fought to not let him break her resolve. She couldn’t let herself grow too attached, or the pain of losing him would be more than she could bear.
“There she is,” the boy stated pointing to the right of the gateway in the distance. Following his finger, Rilena spotted the little bird moving surprisingly fast towards them. It seemed like everything flowed at a different pace within the void. Movement beyond arm’s reach felt unnatural, just like looking along the simple rope felt like she was looking for miles rather than mere feet.
Expecting danger to be following right behind her, Rilena was more surprised when there wasn’t. The sparfinch closed the distance landing on Elzen’s shoulder causing him to chuckle. Since the wizard usually shadowed the dark haired mage, deciding to land on him was a change.
Hopping off of his shoulder onto the rope, the little bird began to change back into the naked red haired beauty. Elzen’s mouth went slack jawed and Rilena rebuked him warning, “Turn away you pervert. You knew that she didn’t have any clothes on.”
Turning away slower than the woman appreciated, the boy retorted, “It wasn’t like she gave me warning.”
The younger girl held a satisfied little smile a moment before she noticed Rilena watching her. Pulling the dress back onto her frame, and still showing more than she should in Rilena’s opinion, Evie quickly informed them, “I could feel the breezes like the winds in the north. I had always been afraid to try flying there, but there is nothing but space here,” she finished with a giggle. “There was nothing to really hit, if I lost control.”
Elzen turned as the dress fluttered down along her thighs and Evie caught his eyes moving with it as did Rilena. The younger girl seemed pleased and the older woman worried that Evie was getting ideas that she shouldn’t have towards him.
“There are the islands, but there is a lot of empty space for flight,” he agreed looking at the vast silver void around them.
Feeling the nervous energy she had clawing at her mind, Rilena asked, “Can we talk about it once we’ve returned? The wizards must be getting tired of holding the gate open.”
The other two exchanged glances as the older girl hurried back towards the glowing doorway. Once back inside the dimly lit castle room, Rilena felt blinded as her eyes tried to adjust to the change once more. Her heart was beating in her chest faster than she had realized. The panic wasn’t something that she had known before or at least to the degree that she was feeling it. Being a battle mage, the young woman had seen battle, blood and death without the fear that the simple silver prison seemed to engender inside her chest.
Managing to still the feeling quickly, however, Rilena watched as first Evie and then Elzen exited the glowing portal. The mage dropped the rope he had been coiling as they returned onto the stone floor and nodded to Darius as he said, “All clear.”
The high wizard nodded as the other men released the magic of the doorway looking relieved to either be done with the magic or perhaps the responsibility of holding the door open for those inside. While they didn’t voice their relief, Rilena felt it; but the other two travelers didn’t seem to notice at all as they began discussing their time in Silver World and their new experiences with Darius. Only the dark haired, young woman refrained from discussion of air currents and islands alive with plants and birds.
Darius pulled Rilena aside as the others began to walk off through the doorway before her. With a few guards remaining in the room as security against any feared breaches from the closed portal, the high wizard lowered his voice and asked, “Is there something wrong, Rilena?”
Wondering if she should tell the wizard for only a moment, the young woman replied, “Being in the void was making me a bit anxious today.”
With a frown of confusion, the silver haired man ran his fingers through his hair considering the news. “Have you felt that way before? You were the one who jumped into the gate the first time to open the way to the fortress. I wouldn’t have thought that you had any fears of the silver world.”
Rilena sighed and tried to pinpoint the source of her anxiety. Was it a fear of being trapped or lost in the void or was it something else? “The first time I went because I was afraid that Elzen would be lost in here, since you didn’t know what you were doing,” she confessed eliciting a chuckle from the man who looked at the ceiling with his hand looking trapped in his mussed hair. “I didn’t really think about myself, since I had made it out by using the mental trick Garosh inadvertently shared with me when he returned me to Windmeer by thinking of someone.”
“Thinking of Elzen,” clarified the high wizard as his eyes returned to search her face. His simple statement brought a little flush into her face. It wasn’t from her close feelings for him, despite what she had told him in Silver World, but more from the embarrassment that he was the one she chose from all the people known in Windmeer.
“We pass through and I barely notice the time spent there anymore. It really is just a blink of time now that the portal is set, but the more Elzen and you play with exploring that world and its strange islands, the more I worry you will find something that one person won’t be ready to meet.
“Then Evie goes in and turns into a bird to go flying off into the light,” she finished with a nervous frown.
Mirroring her, the man nodded with a knowing little smile. Instead of answering as she expected, Darius asked, “Do you have siblings?”
Taking a moment to comprehend the change from the subject of their talk, Rilena replied, “I have a brother and sister.”
“Are either younger than you?”
“No, my sister is ten years older and my brother seven more than me,” she answered not understanding why he was delving into her personal life.
“And being rather young, you have probably yet to lead a team of younger falcons or cadets. You are not even twenty yet, correct?”
“I am nineteen. What does this have to do with being nervous in the void?” she asked beginning to be annoyed by the high wizard. Most of the time, Rilena would barely know that Darius was an immortal born long before her. At times like these, his ability for patience, since he couldn’t die, wore at the girl feeling herself aging as he dragged out the conversation. She was a battle mage and preferred getting to the point as quickly as possible in most situations.
Seeming to understand her impatience for what it was, Darius did come to his point saying, “Like a mother or older sister worrying over a younger child, your anxiety is probably not for worry over your condition, but for those you care for like Elzen and Evie. She’s become like a little sister to you, hasn’t she?”
Rilena thought to her childhood chasing her brother and sister around like a shadow attached to their heels. Her being taken away at only twelve years old because of her gift of magic had maybe never given her the chance to grow out of that childhood adoration naturally. While the mage had certainly become able to stand on her own, there was fondness for her siblings and those long lost times.
Putting herself in her sister’s shoes, she had probably looked on her younger sister chasing her around as both a nuisance and needing to be protected. They were so far distant in age that they couldn’t relate as peers back then, though the last time she had visited her sister, already married and with children of her own, it had felt more even than when she was still just a girl.
Whether she saw Evie as a little sister or not; Rilena did view the younger girl as her responsibility. Was that the source of her panic? The girl had flown off as a bird and the battle mage had no way of giving chase or making sure that Evie stayed safe. She couldn’t even follow her with her eyes enhanced by magic.
Seeing the younger girl disappearing into the silver light in her mind’s eye brought back some of the anxiety quickly, and she realized that maybe Darius was right. She wasn’t worried for herself. Death was a constant presence in a battle mage’s life, but people like Elzen and Evie were people that she didn’t want to lose, she realized.
His eyes caught the look in her dark, brown eyes. “That is it, isn’t it? You aren’t afraid of the void because of your safety, but because of theirs. In the void, you have little control. When they leave you behind, you worry that something will happen to them that you won’t be able to fix.”
Giving him a nod, the young woman replied a bit sarcastically, “Great I am acting like a big sister or their mother now. Now what am I going to do when Evie goes back to the mountain for good?”
As if he could read her, Darius shrugged saying, “You can’t keep building up walls forever. Friends are friends because they have reached your heart.
“You falcons all seem to be trying to push each other away. Only Sebastian seemed to be willing to risk more for his friends, at least for those of you I know.” He looked thoughtful a moment and added, “Elzen, may be that way as well, though he has been a little less himself of late. Maybe as his friend, you can find out what is bothering him. It certainly isn’t a fear of the void, though maybe it is more his willingness to risk himself there that worries me as well.”
Thinking on their conversation in the void, Rilena was afraid of asking him such a question. Still she answered, “Maybe I can find out, but I don’t think he will tell me so easily.”
Darius shrugged and started to walk the girl out of the tower room. “You never know until you ask. Sometimes the harder part is asking because we don’t want to know the answers.”
Rilena wasn’t sure she wanted to ask the questions, because she was more afraid that she already knew his answers.
Chapter 27- King Qeyless
The Sea Dragon rounded the final point revealing the heart of Tarmand, the capitol city of Sileoth. Unlike Litsarin, Sileoth was heavily populated along the coast and they had sailed past a continual chain of towns and cities for hundreds of miles.
One of the oldest countries of North Continent, Sileoth had been one of the first areas settled during the ancient exodus from Taltan to the new lands in the north. It had also been a part of the mainland until the Cataclysm tore it and part of its neighbors from the continent leaving a deep channel eighty miles across separating it from Southwall. The land changed on the newly formed island as well. Once made of rolling farmlands with nothing taller than a hill interrupting one’s view for miles, the new island now had a mountain range in its heart breaking the useable land into three parts: the northeast, the west and the southeast.
The kings of Sileoth had once ruled from Entias, now called New Entias after the rebuilding, near the southernmost point of the island, but trade with their nearest neighbors drew merchants and farmers to the more lucrative side of the island. With nearly half the population calling the north end of the nation home, they moved the capitol to Tarmand, the largest of the cities and left the former capitol to govern the south end with princes or lesser lords.
Sileoth was far different from the towns of Litsarin. Tall towers dotted the main city as well as many of its satellites, but only the capitol had a large wall around the heart of its city. Set back from the warehouses and wharves along the water, solid rock and higher ground left much of the waterfront exposed while making sure to have the ability to guard the bulk of the population. In the distance, more castles had been built into the side of the nearest mountain, though Sebastian could barely make them out in the early haze of morning.
A fog had held them back from docking in the night all the way to mid morning. The Carnivore followed the Sea Dragon as usual, but this was to be the final farewell to the Kardorians and the Southwall wizards contracted to assist their allies to the northwest. Unfortunately, their allies’ mission had gone poorly and they were returning with fewer wizards than they had started out with so many months ago north of the wall.
The thud of heavy steps caused the mage to turn. Gerid loomed behind him looking as well dressed as he had ever seen the former king.
“You still plan on coming along?” Sebastian asked the giant curiously.
An argument with no real heat had been bantered about between them, as well as Maura and Captain Drayden. Both had been sent by either the high wizards of Hala or King Alain to help guide the young mage on his journey. While he took their wisdom into account, Sebastian had led like the captain of the ship only deferring to Annalicia at times since it was actually her vessel.
The main argument had been from Maura. The wizard had been pushing for Gerid to remain unseen in Sileoth, whether from fear that the emperor might have spies in the city or because she wanted to keep their prize a secret until they reached Hala; Sebastian wasn’t sure. Drayden had ridden the fence as had the mage. Some of Maura’s arguments made sense. Less knowledge of their valuable cargo would mean less likelihood to draw more attention from those wanting to take the Grimnal for themselves.
Not just the emperor would find having the immortal on their side or in their possession advantageous, but Gerid had insisted that he should start being of help since they had gone to such great lengths to free him from his prison along with his family.
“I am sure,” the giant stated with a nod as his eyes moved from the city sitting in its haze to the battle mage. “I do have one request, however.”
Raising his eyebrows curiously, Sebastian asked, “Oh, and what is that?”
“Do you still have that ring you found?”
Sebastian nodded, though it was currently in Captain Drayden’s possession. Being the only one of his team without magic until he received the runes on his arm from Porleyr, it had seemed fitting to arm the man with the best defense against the powers of the wizard hunters. The ring had been imbued
with a resistance to magic that was similar to the giant’s. Gerid resisted all forms of magic, though he could still be harmed directly or indirectly by certain spells.
It had been believed that one of the wizards serving the Grimnal had figured out how to imbue the ring with a resistance rivaling or even surpassing that which was innate in the immortal. It had also been a means of exiting a magical, cursed jungle for the battle mage on his journey to find the legend.
Drayden was close enough to overhear and moved forward removing the ring from his index finger. Sebastian had once kept it on his thumb since its circumference was larger than any of his actual fingers. It had been Gerid’s, who was much larger than either of the younger men. Watching as he placed it on his smallest finger, Sebastian shook his head.
Drayden asked, “Is there something significant about the ring, aside from the power placed in it?”
Smiling somewhat sadly, Gerid replied, “It can be used as a signet ring. As long as the records weren’t lost, Sileoth should hold a record of my mark. If the king or his subordinates refuse you, this ring and my appearance should give us passage.”
“A free pass to the king,” the captain nodded and added, “convenient.”
Annalicia joined them with Reynolvan and two of her guardsmen, while Gerid’s lone guard, Semael, looked uncomfortable in dress clothing borrowed from one of Annalicia’s men. The dozen rune warriors had transferred to the Sea Dragon after being loaned to the Carnivore, but they seemed happy enough to avoid having to dress similarly.
Frell and Mecklin joined Sebastian with Drayden and Maura’s three wizards. The rest of his personal team would remain near the ship and none of them seemed too sad to be left behind. Collin and Nara were like their magic, people more comfortable working with the earth and nature than dealing with kings in their castles. Only Serrena balked slightly, and even the fire wizard did so only because she followed Sebastian almost zealously; if he wasn’t likely to use or create new magic, however, the draw was lessened for the wizard.
Battle Mage: A Hero's Welcome (A Tale of Alus Book 8) Page 38
