Magi Legend

by Andrew Dobell

  “Marcus,” Amanda muttered.

  “Do I know you?” the man asked.

  “No, but I saw you during the siege of Constantinople after Horlack had defeated you,” she said as she threw more Essentia at him.

  Marcus scowled back at her and returned fire, but her Aegis held firm. “And now you’re helping the blasphemous Templars? Is that Ulrich I see with you? Adulterers and sodomisers the lot of them,” Marcus yelled.

  Amanda had heard enough. She lashed out with another Kinetic strike and smashed Marcus backwards. He flew into the back wall. Holding her hands out before her, Amanda called on her Magic and lightning flashed out from her hands, leaping across the room and smashing onto Marcus’ Aegis.

  The man yelled in pain and anger as he tried to fend her off.

  “All right, I’m ready,” Ulrich called out from behind her.

  With a wave of her hand and another working of Magic, Amanda brought down a whole section of the ceiling on top of Marcus as she cancelled her Essentia strikes and looked back at Ulrich. He stood close by, holding a wooden box in his arms.

  “Excellent,” Amanda replied and pulled on the threads of Magical energy. They snapped back to the garden, to find a hole in reality, hovering in mid-air above the grass as the last of the liberated Templars stepped through. A blue-haired woman in a tight-fitting, futuristic-looking catsuit with padding, glowing lights, and bits of armour attached to it stood beside the Portal with Israel close by.

  “Thank you,” Ulrich said, turning to Amanda.

  “That’s okay, I’m just happy to help,” she answered as she looked at the wooden crate he was holding with her Aetheric sight. It glowed with Essentia. “I take it they were after these Magical items?”

  “These are Relic’s that the Order collected. I’m glad we got to them before the Disciples did.”

  “Well, look after them.”

  “Actually, I want you to have one of them. Most of them don’t do much, but this one,” he said, holding up a rolled up piece of parchment. “This one is more powerful, and I think, more dangerous. I would prefer for you to have it. I have no idea what we will find out there, and I’d feel better if I knew this was in safe hands,” he said, holding it out for her.

  The item glowed brightly in her Magical sight, announcing its power. More shocking to Amanda though, was that she recognised it right away. She’d seen this item before. In her time, it was known as the Lazarus Scroll, and it had played a part in her younger life several times already.

  Amanda reached out and took hold of it, nodding to Ulrich. “I understand.” Knowing its importance to her future life, this was another of those moments that felt almost meant-to-be, and because of that, she wasn’t about to refuse the gift. Instead, she accepted it gracefully. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me yet, that thing has brought plenty of pain and misery through the years.”

  Amanda smiled. She knew just how powerful this thing was. Looking up, she saw Israel and the blue-haired woman she didn’t know, waiting for them. Maya was close by, too.

  “I think it’s time,” Amanda said.

  Ulrich picked up his box of items and walked over to the Portal. “Everyone on board?” he asked.

  “Ready and waiting for you,” said the blue-haired woman. “I’m Astrid, a friend of a friend of Israel here, and through this Portal is my ship,” she said with a smile.

  “Thanks,” Ulrich said before he looked back at Amanda and Israel. “Thanks again, you’ve done so much for me.”

  “Come and visit,” Israel said.

  “I will,” Ulrich answered, and stepped through the Portal, saying goodbye as he went.

  “Astrid here, is a friend of Cyrac and Luxana,” Israel explained to Amanda. “She’s agreed to help. She’ll take the Templars to the Sol Prime Station, but from there, they’re on their own.”

  “Thank you,” Amanda said to both of them.

  “What’s that he’s given you?” Israel asked.

  Amanda held up the Lazarus Scroll and looked at it. “This is nothing but trouble,” she said.

  1302 AD – Near Earth Orbit

  “I take it that it’s as dangerous out there for Magi as it is down there?” Amanda asked, pointing to Earth with her thumb.

  “It certainly is,” Luxana answered.

  “Of course,” Cyrac agreed. “The Nomads followed the early Magi out into space as well and found new masters to serve in the process. The Nomads of Earth serve the Archons, right?”

  Amanda nodded.

  “Out there, are the Crux. Powerful, ancient creatures that once fought a war with the Magi. They’re intelligent and dangerous and the biggest threat to the Magi. They’re served by Scions and Nomads, in much the same way as they serve the Archons on Earth.”

  “If only they were the sole danger,” Luxana interjected. “The Magi out here fight amongst themselves as well. They’re divided into Dynasties within the larger Nexus and disagree on all kinds of issues. Conflicts over things like territory often bubble up into small-scale local wars, even though we’re supposedly on the same side.”

  “Civil war within the Nexus has always been a possibility,” Cyrac agreed.

  “The Nexus?”

  “The Nexus Arcadia,” Luxana explained. “The main group of Arcadian Magi,”

  “A bunch of entitled idiots who think they’re invincible.” Cyrac continued. “If only they’d focus their attentions on the Crux. The rumours I’ve heard come out of Crux space suggest they’ve been building their forces for millennia. I’m convinced they’re not the broken, ragtag band of fugitives the Nexus Council thinks they are.”

  “Speaking of Nomads,” Israel said. “Have you had any more trouble with Kade?”

  “No, not recently, but we know he’s not very happy with us,” Cyrac said.

  “Who’s Kade?” Amanda asked.

  Campaign

  1476 AD

  Smoke rose from the town before her as she looked over the heads of the advancing forces. Amanda sat on her horse, riding a short distance behind Stephen Bathory as they approached the capital, Târgovişte. They were surrounded on all sides by cavalry and infantry, their spears rising high above their heads as they advanced on the Transylvanian city.

  Vlad’s forces were already in the city, fighting to liberate it from Basarab Laiotă, and from what little they’d heard, the fight was going well. Amanda knew this to be true, having scryed the city several times now.

  One of the best things about living through the history of the world was actually meeting some of the famous historical figures that she had heard so much about. Vlad Dracula, the legendary Impaler, had been one of those people she’d been keen to meet. The legends of him were colourful, and then there was the whole thing about him being a Vampire.

  Given that Amanda knew Vampires to be real, she’d been curious to see what the truth was.

  So far, he was certainly not a Vampire. A charismatic, patriotic, and driven ruler of Wallachia, yes. A hero of the people, certainly. But he was not an immortal drinker of blood. Well, not yet, at least. Right now, he was very much alive, so she supposed there was still time.

  There were Magi and other members of the supernatural community around Vlad though, not least of which was Stephen Bathory, who sat on a horse just a short distance ahead of her.

  Amanda had first met Stephen back in the modern-day when she’d visited Ultima Thule on Saturn’s moon for the first time. He’d requested a meeting with her. She’d not thought anything of it back then, figuring he was just curious who Trevelyan had brought to the castle, but looking back at that meeting now, and knowing she had met him here, in this time, threw a whole new light on it.

  She’d come to Transylvania to meet Vlad and to experience his court in 1460, purely out of curiosity. She’d enjoyed that first visit, finding the Count to be a charismatic host, and returned to Vlad’s court often over the years. She’d also become somewhat friendly with his wife. It was during one of these visits
that Amanda met Stephen Bathory. She’d recognised him immediately. They talked, and over the next few days became friends.

  Vlad could be charming, good company, and an excellent host, but she found him a little too intense to spend too much time with.

  Despite this, she remained fascinated by the ruler and often returned to see how things were going for him and Stephen, including getting involved in some of the offensives, like this one.

  Being a known close friend of Stephen’s had its benefits, including the fact that she could move about more freely and dress how she wanted, such as today. She usually had to wear long skirts in an attempt to blend in, but here with Stephen, she was able to wear trousers without anyone confronting her about it.

  The way people dressed at this time on Earth had been further highlighted by her contact with those who lived beyond Earth, who wore clothing that people in the modern-day would consider futuristic.

  But it was a contrast she enjoyed. Spending time out there beyond Earth was fascinating and a welcome break from her time here on Earth, not least because the restrictions on her involvement with the Magi community didn’t apply so much. Her younger-self had almost no contact with, or experience of, the Magi beyond Sol.

  Despite the endless wonders of deep space though, there was just something about the Earth and its history that Amanda found utterly fascinating and thrilling, and when she was out there in deep space, she sometimes longed to be back home in case she missed something important.

  As they neared the city gates, Amanda saw someone run towards Stephen and deliver a message to him that seemed quite urgent. Stephen read it and quickly looked back at Amanda.

  ~There’s trouble in the Capital,~ Stephen said to her through their Mental Link.

  ~Do we need to go in ahead?~ she asked.

  ~I think so,~ he answered, before turning to his men and handpicking a few of them. Amanda recognised the group as Stephen’s Initiated, the Riven humans who knew he was a Magus.

  “Keep moving forward and follow my generals in through the west entrance,” Stephen shouted to the rest of his troops. “I ride to the East to join my forces there who have encountered greater resistance than they anticipated. Onward, for the glory of Transylvania and for victory!”

  Stephen nodded to his generals who continued to rally the troops.

  With that, Amanda spurred her horse forward to follow Stephen and his Initiated as he rode left into the fields and through the thickets of trees until they were out of sight of the troops. About halfway to the next gate around the city wall, within a lightly wooded area, he came to a stop. Stephen jumped off his steed and handed the reins to one of his men. Amanda did the same, anticipating that they would Port into the city from here. She was curious about what the problem was though.

  “What’s going on? Is Vlad all right?” she asked.

  “Vlad is unharmed as far as I know. But there does seem to be a group of what I suspect to be Scions in the city. They’ve commandeered part of the palace residence and are killing any who come near. We need to get in there and deal with them before they become a real problem,” Stephen explained.

  Amanda nodded. “Understood. Do you want to Port us in? You probably know better where we need to be than I do,” she suggested.

  “Of course.” He turned to his men and issued them some instructions before he nodded to Amanda and gazed into the middle distance as Essentia flared all around him.

  A second later, his eyes flicked up. “Ready?”

  “Always,” Amanda answered him, as the glow of Essentia reached out and took her.

  Amanda found herself standing within the Capital. They’d appeared between houses in a muddy, shady alleyway alone.

  “Are we close?” Amanda asked.

  “Very,” Stephen answered, looking in both directions up and down the alleyway before choosing a direction and moving off. Amanda followed him around a corner and found herself looking up at the outer wall of the palace. They were close to a tower with darkened windows. Amanda noticed a few of Stephen’s militia standing close to a heavy-looking door that led into the tower. Stephen walked towards them.

  “Sir,” said one of the men, a look of relief on his face.

  “Captain,” Stephen greeted him. “They’re inside?”

  “That’s right, sir, we’re all that’s left. They slaughtered the rest inside.”

  Amanda stood behind Stephen and looked down at two badly injured men who sat up against the wall of the tower. They’d been mauled, slashed by something with claws, and seemed to be in a state of shock. A couple of other people were already ministering to them though, so Amanda left them to it.

  “Come on,” Stephen said to her and approached the door. One of Stephen’s men opened it for him, forcing the door to shift despite it sticking. Stephen stopped partway through and looked at the man holding the door and back at the captain standing behind them.

  “You close this behind us, got it? You close it and don’t let anyone else through until I say otherwise.”

  “Yes, sir,” the captain said.

  Stephen nodded and stepped into the darkened room beyond.

  A couple of dusty windows let a meagre amount of light into the room, but Amanda’s enhanced vision allowed her to see easily enough.

  This part of the palace looked like it wasn’t in regular use. In fact, it looked like it was used for storage more than anything else. Furniture was stacked up next to boxes and ornaments and toys, as well as piles of clothing scattered about the place.

  Adding to the sinister air, Amanda noticed several trails of blood leading to the door they had just come through. The blood probably belonged to one or both of the men she’d met who had been hurt.

  To her left, Amanda saw stairs leading up, while a couple of doors on this level led deeper into the building.

  Amanda looked at both but saw little to indicate which way they should go. She could sense some knots of Essentia nearby though. They were close to something supernatural, that was for sure.

  “Which way?” Amanda asked.

  “Either? Both? Depends. Do you want to stick together or split up?”

  Amanda couldn’t help but smile. It was the classic Hollywood movie trope where the heroes split up to cover more ground and ended up ambushed and sometimes killed for their stupidity.

  “What?” Stephen asked when he saw her mirth.

  “Nothing,” she answered. He wouldn’t understand or get the reference. Not for a few hundred years anyway.

  Movement caught Amanda’s attention. She turned just in time to see a huge creature leap at her from beyond one of the doors. It grabbed for her throat but slammed into her Aegis before it got there and slashed at her with its claws.

  Her Aegis flared as the creature’s supernatural talons raked over its surface. The creature’s weight knocked her off her feet. Amanda expanded her Aegis into a bubble, throwing the thing off her before contracting it back to form just over her skin again.

  She looked up as the thing nimbly righted itself and stepped forward into a pool of light. It was humanoid but covered in fur with a wolf’s head on its powerful shoulders. The Werewolf growled at them both. Drool dripped from its maw of evil-looking teeth.

  Amanda flipped herself back onto her feet. “Right, you little fuzzy fecker,” she said to it and stepped forward.

  Essentia flared from Stephen and slammed into the Werewolf’s natural Aegis with a flash in her Aetheric Sight. The creature roared in defiance as Amanda swung for it. Her Essentia-laced fist smashed into the Werewolf’s snout with a burst of Magical energy, knocking the beast back.

  Stephen hit it again with more Essentia strikes.

  Splitting her mind into several parts, Amanda sent Essentia strikes of her own at the creature and quickly reduced its Aegis to nothing.

  The thing howled and slashed at her. Amanda ducked under its claws, caught its arm, and twisted it up behind its back. The Werewolf tried desperately to reach for her, but couldn’t qu
ite manage it. Ahead of her, Stephen drew his sword and tested its weight in his hand.

  The Scion struggled, trying to release itself from Amanda’s grip, but she was too strong.

  Adjusting her hold on the thing, she forced it forward, so it was bent over in front of Stephen, who raised his sword without preamble and brought it scything down on its neck.

  The blade bit halfway through. The creature gurgled and coughed. Stephen yanked the sword from the grip of the Werewolf’s flesh, raised it again, and hacked at the thing's neck twice more before the head fell away and the body went limp.

  The creature immediately started to lose its fur and shift back into human form, and within seconds, a naked, headless man lay on the floor in front of them.

  Amanda looked at the Scion in disgust. “Thanks for the help.”

  “Anytime,” Stephen answered. “I’ll take this way, why don’t you head upstairs?”

  “Sure thing,” Amanda said and made her way over to the stairs before creeping up them. She reached the top and found herself standing on a wooden floor. The room was less cluttered than the one below, but there was still detritus of all kinds littered about the place. A single door led off from the tower, down a stone corridor with mouldy, spider web-covered drapes hanging from the walls. She could hear movement and sensed the distinctive feeling of something Magical. Stepping forward into the hallway, she saw doors and open arches leading off into more rooms and corridors. The first side-rooms were empty, unlit spaces with more junk piled up inside. As she approached the next door to her left, movement drew her eye. She saw a figure grappling another by the neck. The aggressor was a woman in a blood-stained dress, holding a young man by the throat. He looked terrified and was leaking deep crimson blood from a wound in his neck.

  Spotting Amanda, she bared her teeth, including two elongated canines, and hissed.