by Jeff Inlo
Chapter 9
Sazar had no illusions of his status among those that utilized magic for their own benefit. He wielded great power—this point was beyond debate. He was a master manipulator, the magic allowed him to bend the will of countless dark creatures in one moment. His devious yet quick mind categorized and segmented his minions into different roles. He was never overwhelmed by the near infinite feedback he received from their collective thoughts. Instead, he ordered them with perfect genius, prioritized them, and laid them out intertwined with his own twisted desires. In this, he had no equal, and that kind of power deserved considerable respect.
The serp also fielded unequal capabilities of strategy, deception and cunning. He understood tactics with the same perception as a leathered old war general that had suffered through countless campaigns. While he used logic, he was well aware that most of his victims acted on emotion, thus he never separated the two from his assessments. He balanced his decisions on a cruel but perfect utilization of the weaknesses of his enemies against the strengths of his own forces.
Combine his intellect with his ability to control a vast league of monsters, and Sazar represented a dangerous threat. To ignore him or treat him as inferior would be a mistake of incalculable stupidity. An army of minions with powers of their own was at his command. To anger a serp of this aptitude was to invite a plague of monsters to your own doorstep—a plague directed with mind boggling genius and without compassion.
Dealing with other magic casters on a one-on-one basis, however, was a different matter entirely. In a simple contest of spell casting might, the serp would almost always end up on the losing end. Sazar knew his limits. His spells of pure offensive energy could not match an even below average practitioner. His defensive skills ranked even lower. He lacked the pure power to overwhelm, and he was deficient of the skill to outmaneuver. Remove his near infinite power to manipulate other monsters and reduce him to a caster of spells, and he was no threat at all.
Yet, what he needed now was exactly what he lacked. While he could manipulate and control monsters, his power to do so had certain limitations in duration and range. While in his presence, dark creatures would remain under his will indefinitely. As they ventured beyond his direct company to carry out his desires, however, they became open to other stimuli. The further they traveled from him and the longer they were away, the more likely they would fall from his control. In fact, the true size of an army he could control knew no other limits, but these aspects would always constrain his true potential.
If he had the intrinsic ability to cast spells of power, he could offset these limitations. The magic could carry his dominion over greater distances and could imprint his will more firmly in the minds of his minions. In order for him to succeed in this venture, however, he would need to cast certain spells, and quite simply, he lacked the ability to do so.
Still, it was his nature and his strength to realize his shortcomings and determine ways to achieve his objectives. If he lacked the power and ability to cast the proper spells, he would simply find someone that had such power and ability. His needs were straightforward. The situation called for both skill in certain aspects of magical power and reserves of magical energy. He knew the human sorceress in the desert possessed both. What he did not know was if the woman named Tabris would make the turn down the path that would satisfy his own needs.
What further presented a challenge was the simple fact that Sazar needed an alliance with the sorceress free of any manipulation. He had to have her assistance based on her own will, not his. He did not doubt he could control her if she turned down the proper path, but the control would only be temporary—the bane of his current weakness. The moment she gained any semblance of her own cognition, she would attempt to obliterate him. He could not afford that risk.
No, she must be willing to give her assistance to him freely. Otherwise, he would gain only an interlude of the power he sought. Thus, he would have to restrain his own true power to manipulate and allow the sorceress to decide on her own.
He set off to the Lacobian Desert clearly understanding his needs and his mission. He took with him only the large shag, ordering his other minions to remain within the limits of the Dark Spruce forest. He focused most of his will on the hook hawk and the rock beetle. He did not wish to lose control of these two, and he hoped his resolve was strong enough to keep them in line. As for the smaller shag and the goblins, he believed their losses could be mitigated upon his return.
Sazar allowed his larger shag to follow as a guard for most of the journey, but as the serp closed on the oasis deep in the harsh heat, he bade the monster back. If he were to succeed, to gain the true crux of his plans, he would have to meet the sorceress alone.
The serp wondered if he should approach the oasis without hesitation or simply wait outside its boundaries for an invitation. On quick consideration, he opted for an immediate entrance. If he waited, he doubted an invitation would be forthcoming, and if he appeared to be a distraction, it was most likely the sorceress would use him as target practice for a lightning spell.
The sorceress appeared before him the moment he stepped past the dry sandy rock of the desert and onto the soft grass that surrounded a large pool of water. The oasis stretched far in every direction. Large boulders that were part of the landscape for untold generations now stood as silent sentinels seemingly out of place in a lush and cool haven of thick grass, lazy circling streams, small trees, and a variety of plants and bushes. A small structure appeared almost hidden among the vines that hung about some of the larger rocks.
Sazar ignored the wonder of such a green place in the midst of such a harsh environment. He bowed slightly to the sorceress and directed his gaze toward the ground before her. He would not speak until spoken to. She would know who and what he was and he would not risk even for one moment the appearance of trying to sway her.
The magic caster appeared annoyed by the appearance of the serp. Her tone was short and uninviting. “What do you want?”
“To speak with you,” he replied succinctly.
“About what?”
“About an offer that I have.”
Tabris sighed heavily, obviously further annoyed by now having to waste more time with the serp. “What might this offer be?”
“I hope you would consider an alliance. I need the assistance of someone with your capabilities.”
“And what capabilities do you think I have?”
“A very large reserve of magical energies, the ability to cast magical spells that are focused on wind and storm—as well as spells that are fairly precise but more importantly deep in range. You also possess a willingness to prosper without regard to the consequences it might have on those that do not matter to you, and a desire to increase both skill and knowledge. These are the qualities I seek and these are the qualities I believe you possess.”
Tabris frowned but did not otherwise move. “State your offer.”
Sazar had to be very careful indeed at this instant. He was about to request what he truly needed, what he wanted very badly. At this critical point, he knew that he would almost instinctively use his power to manipulate and to control. After all, that was how he always got what he wanted. Unfortunately, he was forced to do more than control his instinct, he needed to bury it. Success depended solely on him stating his offer as succinctly as possible and allowing the sorceress herself to decide whether or not to give him what he wanted.
The task was daunting, but his strength remained centered on his own concentration and will. Just as he willed others to do his own bidding, he now willed himself to keep his powers in check.
“I wish to control an army of dark creatures. I have the ability to do so within my mind, but not the power within my body. I am limited by time and distance. Do you understand?”
“Of course,” Tabris sighed again, obviously becoming more irritated by the moment.
“Very well, then you understand I have the power to control an army. I do not lack the
concentration. An infinitely growing horde of simple-minded creatures at my command is not beyond my abilities. I believe you know that. The problem is distance, not numbers. Once my minions move beyond a certain range, they are free to make their own decisions. And they usually make poor ones. The other difficulty is time. As it passes, my control also diminishes. It’s almost laughable that I can not overcome these limitations on my own, but I must admit that I can not, and so I am here.”
Sazar noticed Tabris’ growing impatient and hastened to the crux of his offer. “A simple spell of wind drift would probably suffice to offset my difficulty in distance. A sorceress in tune with the power of storm would have no problem with such a spell. If the spell were cast in such a way that it would carry my very will in all directions, then distance would no longer be an issue. The spell would need to be open ended and constantly linked to my own mind, that is why I need a spell caster with great reserves of magical energy. As for time, another storm spell would be necessary—this one along the lines of pressure and imprint to allow my will to be more ingrained in the minds of my minions. Again, this spell would also require a constant tap into your powers, but again only for the sake of that one simple spell.
“With the assistance of these two spells, my weaknesses would be removed, my army would be limitless—in essence my power would be limitless. We would be able to conquer as much as we desired. Further, opposed to conquerors that became weakened by stretching their forces too thin over large areas, my army would achieve just the opposite. The more we conquered, the stronger we would become. Control over one region would not lead to conflict within. Instead, it would lead to a larger army and thus more power. As long as I have the ability to shape the desires of those I wish to control and as long as you kept that ability from waning over time or distance, there would be no end to our conquest. As partners in this, we would share in the spoils of what this legion of dark creatures conquered.”
“This is your offer?” Tabris stared coldly at Sazar. If not for her surprise, she might have simply obliterated him with the wave of her hand. Still, she could not refrain from questioning the audacity of the serp. “You offer me nothing and you stand to gain much. In fact, your offer is less than nothing. To give you what you want would require a constant drain of my power, a link to you that would add to your strength and diminish my own energy. This is insulting.”
“No, you have not heard me in full. I will not deny the power I seek will cost you in magical energies, but even you must agree the total cost would be negligible compared to your vast reserves. My guess is you would not even notice the drain. I simply require a boost in range and endurance of my own powers, nothing more. I require no library of spells, no focus of your attention beyond the initial casting. It is just a simple extension of my own influence. How much energy would it take from you to cast a continuous spell of wind drift and a spell of imprint that would be linked to my powers of persuasion?”
“A shred would be too much because, as I said, I gain nothing from such an effort, so why should I bother?”
“You should bother because I do offer a gain, a substantial gain that would allow you everything you currently desire.”
“And how would you know what I desire?” Tabris eyed the serp almost dangerously.
“Simple. I understand logic. I need to in order to do what I can do. Do you disagree with that?”
Tabris said nothing.
Sazar turned his back to the sorceress and peered out across the vast wasteland that stood before him just beyond the oasis conjured by the sorceress.
“Why are you out here?” He did not let Tabris answer. “You are here for the same reason many magic casters have come here, to practice your craft without distraction. You are growing in power but you lack experience. With each day your understanding increases, but you are also shackled, limited by the resources you have before you. You test your skill on empty sand because it offers no resistance and little danger. Spells gone wrong can do little damage out here. The truth is, however, you crave more. You wish to build on your spells, build on your knowledge and build on your experience. If I am wrong, then I shall leave now. Better yet, if I’m wrong simply cast your spell of destruction on me and I will be no more.”
Sazar waited a scant few moments. He did not worry, for he knew his assessment to be accurate. He continued on with his back still to the sorceress. “The real truth of the matter is that I would be able to conquer only as long as you allowed it. The moment you felt as if our bargain did not aid you in any way, you could simply cancel the spell and my army would be gone, my conquests would be ended. It is, therefore, very much in my interest to make sure you not only gain at the initial bargain, but continue to gain as time goes on.
“Since I know what you desire, and I know that it is in my interest to make sure those desires are met, do you not believe that I would have an idea of how to ensure this?”
“I do not like playing in riddles, serp,” Tabris stated, but her tone was not as harsh, not as threatening. “I asked for your offer. If there is more to it, then I will hear of it now.”
“The offer is as I said it would be. We will share in the spoils of my army’s conquest. What you fail to see is what those spoils include. With every outpost, town, and city I take, there will be prisoners, prisoners I have no need for—prisoners I will send to you. You may do with them as you wish, practice whatever spell you desire, utilize them in whatever fashion necessary to assist you in gaining knowledge and power. Because these will be humans from defeated and occupied towns, you will be able to carry out your will without fear of consequence. There will be no war parties seeking justice, no vengeful militia threatening to put an end to you. Just as you will give me an everlasting flow of a very small part of your magical energy, I will give you an everlasting flow of a very large number of experimental subjects for your magical endeavors.”
Sazar understood choices. He understood them very well. When his true power was broken down to its most basic principle, it all relied on his ability to manipulate, to steer his target or victim toward a path that would benefit him the most. There were, however, some choices that were beyond his power. The all important choices, the choice of faith, the choice of love, the choice of loyalty, and ultimately the choice between good and evil, these choices belonged to the individual alone. When an individual faced a choice such as these, nothing the serp could do could sway that decision.
Sazar kept his eyes away for he knew that Tabris faced such a choice at this moment. While it was not within his power to force her down the twisted path of dark desires, he was not above the craving to try. He did not want to allow a lapse in instinct to cause disaster. This was a powerful sorceress that could incinerate him with a wave of her hand. He would not risk trying to persuade her in any way, and he made as much known to the sorceress without hesitation.
“I must say no more,” he admitted with a candor that was not his natural character. “I will admit I greatly desire to have this power, so great is my desire I might be willing to attempt to sway your opinion. We both know we can’t have that. There must never be a doubt that you accepted this proposal on your own, with absolutely no influence from me. I will give you as much time as you need.”
“I need no further time,” Tabris answered quickly, “and I know you did not try to bend my will to yours. Had you tried, it would have been the last thing you did in this life. No, I have decided on my own... and I will accept your proposal.”