Grundel was about to protest, but Anwar stopped him. “When I connected with my magic I felt this place. What she says is true.” For now he had covered his pain with determination. He had lost Mariah, but he had something to do now that could occupy the empty space she left. They needed to get back. He looked at Navaeh, who still stared at the queen, entranced. “Will she be like that forever?”
“No. Her connection is very strong. Being in my presence is overwhelming for her. The other fairies will teach her to adapt to the connection here. It won’t be long before she gets used to me, and she will live normally.”
Anwar believed her. “We are ready to go, then. Thank you for your help. Please take care of her.”
“Navaeh will go with you to the edge of the boundary. Once she is out of the clearing, the connection won’t be as overwhelming, and you all should be able to say your goodbyes.”
Anwar, Rundo, and Grundel each took the lead of two of the horses. Navaeh walked in front of them. She followed Fae, and they followed her. They all walked for a long time. Anwar hadn’t asked the others if they had slept when he had. He hoped they had.
Finally Fae stopped and floated in the air. She turned to Navaeh. “I will wait for you over there. Whenever you are ready I will lead you back,” then she floated away.
Navaeh turned to them. She seemed like her normal self again. “I am sorry that I cannot go back with you all. I believe what the fairy queen told you about me. I don’t really want to leave anyway. The connection here is unimaginable. I don’t know how I will ever get used to it.”
Anwar stepped up and gave her a hug. “Thank you for everything you have done for us. I will miss you.”
Grundel gave her a hug also. “Thank you for helping save us.”
Rundo was last. They had really bonded since they had met. Navaeh was his best friend. He was really starting to like Grundel, but he and Navaeh were a team. “I’m going to miss you. You are a good friend. I hope you will be happy here. I wish I could say goodbye to Messah.”
Navaeh put her hand on his shoulder. “I wish I could say goodbye to Messah. She is not able to travel through the boundary. Take my staff. The goddess has plans for you; I think I won’t need it here. When you leave I think Messah will bond to you now that our bond is broken. If she does, let her know that I will miss her.”
“How will I do that? I don’t understand. And what will I do with this staff? I don’t have your power. I am not a druid.”
Navaeh smiled down at him. “You have more power than you know, and you are not a druid yet. The link and the staff, you will have to figure out on your own. It is all part of the process.” She bent down and kissed his forehead. Then she turned and walked in the direction that Fae had gone.
Chapter Seventeen
Traveling Dragons
Vingaza stood in a room full of wizards. He saw that most of them had brought their underwizards with them. He had not, of course. He didn’t need anyone else to cast magic around him. He had all of the wizards in this room already. He needed men who could protect him while he was doing magic. To keep anyone away who tried to sneak up on him. He was of course bringing Malvagio and Cattivo. They were deadly and efficient. They were also loyal.
They both also wore items that protected them against magic. It was important that no one but he knew about the items. If any of the Dragon wizards came after him, they would assume they could eliminate his guards easily. They would be dead before they realized their mistake. Malvagio wore a ring that deflected magic away from him. It wouldn’t completely protect him, but it would save him from most direct attacks. Cattivo wore a belt buckle that would draw in any direct attack and absorb it. The magic would then be displaced harmlessly. Both items were very valuable, but they couldn’t withstand really powerful magic. He could attack them with magic that would overpower the items. There were a few others who would be able to. That was the beauty of the secret. The ones who could would not know about the items, and would use simple magic to kill them. By the time they tried to use their more powerful magic they would probably be dead already.
Both of them also carried a weapon that could get through most magical shields. The daggers had been difficult for him to acquire, but he felt it was worth it. It didn’t help to be surrounded by wizards and have master assassin bodyguards that could be dealt with effortlessly. He was strong enough to overpower them and defend against them, but he had elevated them enough that they could be dangerous. It was part of why they unnerved him. If they wanted to they could possibly catch him unaware, and if they teamed up against him they might have a chance. The uneasiness he felt reinforced his confidence in their abilities.
He looked around. There were a hundred and fifty dragons in this room. These were some of the most dangerous men in the world. This group could bring any one of the seven cities to its knees. Black Dragons didn’t look to rule though. They created chaos.
Looking around at the wizards, Vingaza remembered how foolish men could be. He saw men with all kinds of ridiculous items. One of the wizards had brought two men just to carry things for him. One of the men had a folding chair in one hand and a small table in the other. The other man carried a huge bag on his back that contained a huge tent, and in his arms was a rug. Why? Vingaza wondered. They were the most powerful wizards in the world. They men could teleport. Why they had their men laden with pointless nonsense was dumbfounding. He suppressed his anger and lifted a hand.
He waited until the men around him began to quiet. They in turn tapped the people near them, who then got quiet. Those men tapped the men closest to them, and so on. It took nearly five minutes before everyone was quiet and looking at him.
“First I will say that I apologize for the delay. Anwar’s brother evaded his first captor and we had to root him out of the house. By now I am sure you have all heard, but Anwar Alamira’s brother died today at the hand of the Black Dragons. Stregone is in Kampar now, rounding up anyone who was ever connected with Anwar. Even if they were not, Anwar is a man who holds the lives of lower men too high. He would come if we killed strangers in his name. I have insured that agents in every city and large town spread the word. Anwar will hear it. Even in the dwarf kingdom the word is already being spread. Anwar Alamira will finally pay for standing against us, and for defying Delvidge, the great God of Chaos. Before he does, though, he will live to see everything and everyone he has ever cared about dead or destroyed. Today we move against Evermount. We will go to a place just north of the mountain. There we will wait for the orcs.
“I will take two Dragons with me now. When we come back I will take my own men back with me. Those two I took will each take two with them. The distance is too far to travel individually. One of our men spent all day yesterday traveling small jumps all the way there. He placed a traveling stone there. The other stone is in this room. It will allow our jump to take us the full distance. For those of you who have never used the stones before, all the same rules apply. You still have to know the spot to travel to it. Once you get there, hurry out of the way. The area that the stone will allow us to move to is only about a thirty-foot radius. That means that you will need to hurry out of the way so more Dragons can come. Remember to be cautious. We don’t need any accidents. Every man will show two more where to go before he takes his own men. If I find that any of you did not, I will ensure that you do not make it back when this is done.”
Vingaza put a hand on each of the two Black Dragon wizards in front of him. He pictured the place that he had been taken to earlier, the hill where the stone was. When he appeared there he made sure the area was clear and then rematerialized. The two Dragons looked around. After a moment they both disappeared. Vingaza pictured the room he had just been in and traveled again. He appeared back in the room. He made sure the spot he was in was clear before rematerializing. He put his hand on the shoulders of his two assassins and was gone again.
Once he was back on the hill he walked away from the stone. The last thing he need
ed was to have some fool wizard carelessly rematerialize where he was standing. That would be an embarrassing way to die.
Malvagio and Cattivo followed him up the hill where they waited and watched as all of the other hundred and fifty dragons with all their nonsense arrived.
It had been nearly an hour and almost everyone had traveled to the spot when it happened. Vingaza watched in shock. He had heard all of the warnings and stories, but he had never actually seen a traveling accident.
The last two wizards who had been brought had both gone straight back and grabbed their own men then traveled back to the same spot. Six men were all taking up the same area. One of the two wizards had appeared exactly in the same spot as one of the other wizard’s men. Their bodies tried to take up the same space, and they both fell to the ground instantly in a bloody, mangled mess. The other wizard was equally unlucky, maybe more so. He hadn’t appeared in the exact same spot. Only a portion of his and one of the other man’s bodies were in the same place. Their shoulders, part of their torsos, their hips, and parts of their legs were merged. Both men screamed in pain as they materialized together. Both men fell to the ground fighting to get free of the other. They wouldn’t live long like that. Everyone stopped and watched, but no one moved to help them. There was nothing anyone could do, but kill them. As terrible as it was, it was also quite fascinating, and no one was going to be the one to end it.
In the end it was one of the men who materialized who did. He had materialized with his arm through the chest of another man. The man, who had died instantly, pulled him to the ground. He was a Black Dragon assassin, and even in unimaginable pain he acted quickly. He reached his left arm down to his left hip and awkwardly pulled his sword out. In one determined swing he sliced through his own right arm at the elbow. Then, with blood pouring from the stump, he went over to the two men, who were screaming in pain, and pushed his sword into the heart of each one. Silence fell over the hill. The assassin walked over to the nearest wizard and spoke quietly to him as he held up the stump. The wizard cast fire over the stump. To his credit the man never screamed. He fell to his knees gritting his teeth. Veins bulged in his neck and forehead. A tooth cracked, and after a second of searing pain the assassin patted out the fire on the stump. The wound was cauterized and was no longer bleeding. The assassin stood and spit out the broken tooth. He realized then what the tooth was. He just shook his head until he fell. The tooth had been his poison capped tooth. Every Black Dragon assassin had one. In the event that they were captured and tortured they could choose death.
After that, the traveling continued. Soon everyone was on the hill. Those who had seen the event told the late arrivals as they pointed to the mangled remains. Camp was set. The orcs were expected to arrive tomorrow.
Chapter Eighteen
The Call of Kalise
When Rundo crossed through the barrier of the fairy forest, his world changed. In that moment he made a connection with Kalise. His senses shifted, and he froze in place. It was overwhelming. He could feel all of the life around him. He was connected somehow to everything that was living. The world was brighter. He looked around at everything. The leaves on the trees were greener and more vibrant. He could feel the energy in the staff as well. It was too much to take at one time. He couldn’t separate all of the new feelings. He closed his eyes to shut out some of them, but he could still sense all of the life around him. Then he heard a voice in his head. “You are more powerful than you know. If you choose to accept me, I will guide you.”
“Rundo, are you okay?” Grundel asked.
Anwar hadn’t noticed. He was overcome with grief. The moment he had walked through that barrier, peace and hope had left him abruptly. He had thought that he had lost all of that when Mariah had died, but now he knew different. With one step the world came crashing down on him. The grief was magnified tenfold, and the magic came rushing back inside him. They both threatened to overcome him. Together it was more then he could handle. He heard Mariah’s voice in his head. “The world needs you, Anwar. Help them. Don’t forget me, Anwar. Remember how much I love you.” He grabbed on to that. He replayed it in his head over and over. “The world needs you, Anwar. Help them. Don’t forget me, Anwar. Remember how much I love you.” He forced down his grief and remembered her. He remembered how much they loved each other. “The world needs you, Anwar. Help them. Don’t forget me, Anwar. Remember how much I love you.” He took hold of the magic that was roaring inside of him. He suppressed it. The roaring flame became a small, controlled flame inside him. His grief was there, and it was painful, but he could bear it. He took hold of it all and held on to his memory of Mariah. “The world needs you, Anwar. Help them. Don’t forget me, Anwar. Remember how much I love you.”
Rundo was overcome with excitement and fear at the same time. There was so much happening at once. “I accept you,” he said out loud.
“What? What is going on? Rundo, who are you talking to? Anwar, are you okay? What is going on?” Grundel was concerned. There was something wrong with both of them. Neither of them was responding.
An unimaginably beautiful woman appeared before them. Her golden blond hair flowed down her back to her ankles. A large green leaf covered each of her breasts with thin vines wrapping around her body holding them in place, a short skirt of some kind of thick long grass wrapped around her waist. The rest of her perfectly toned form was bare. Her body was the perfect balance of muscle and softness. Her legs were long, smooth and tan. She looked down at Rundo, and her full, beautiful lips curled into a smile.
“Rundo, my child. You are most interesting. I will enjoy watching you grow. Most of my children come into their power much more slowly. They learn to control and develop it as it grows. Yours is a much more difficult path. Your power has come upon you all at once. The fairy forest awakened the awareness inside you. Messah was attempting to connect with you, but I stopped her. You were being overwhelmed, and I thought that connection would be too much. For now I want you to practice controlling your connection with life. You can control the intensity with which you feel the world around you. For now I want you to try to focus on one thing, and block everything else out. Right now you are seeing with a new set of eyes while still looking through your old ones. You will have to learn to see through both at once. Eventually you will learn to open up to all of it while also keeping it suppressed so that no one thing is overpowering any other. Eventually you will hardly notice the connection, but will come to rely on it also. It will be similar to your peripheral vision. When the connection is no longer overwhelming, reach out to Messah. She will stay with you, and she will be ready when you are ready to establish the link.” Then she turned her attention to Grundel.
“Grundel, you must watch over these two. They are both going through unimaginable changes. Keep on eye on them. Remind Rundo to focus on little things. Remind him not to take on too much at once. If he is unaware of what is happening around him, he has allowed himself to feel the world too strongly. Anwar’s struggles are greater than any man has ever faced before. Remind him to hold on to Mariah. The world depends on it. If he lets go of that he will lose himself. If he allows himself to be consumed with hate he will turn into the thing he has sworn to protect the world against. Do not allow his need for revenge consume him. He will need revenge. Help him get it, but help him control it. He must hold on to love. Remind him of Mariah often.
“Anwar, you have been through more than any mortal should be able to withstand. You are going to go through even more. Your life is going to get worse before it gets better, but it will get better. Hold onto your memory of her. Remember how good she was. You must hold onto love. When you think you are losing yourself, think about how she would feel. Honor her memory by being the man she loved. If you lose that you will fail her. Hold on to her memory in the coming days, Anwar. You will need them now more then ever.”
Then she was gone.
Chapter Nineteen
Coming out of the Forest
They walked the rest of the way through the forest in silence. Anwar fought the grief and power stirring inside of him. Grundel tried to watch everything that was going on around them, because the other two were too caught up in the things they had going on, and the forest still made him very uneasy.
Rundo tried to control his new connection with the world. He was able to push back against the forest, at least against the things that were alive but not living. The trees and plants he could push to the back of his awareness. He could feel Anwar’s and Jabaal’s presences very strongly. The animals that were close were strong, too. He was very aware of the horses and of their moods. Bumbo’s connection was the strongest, though. He was interested, and surprisingly aware. He wants to help me, and then it slammed into him. He was linked with Bumbo. That was the only explanation.
“Stop!” he shouted. Anwar and Grundel looked back at him.
“What is it?” Grundel asked.
“I don’t know. I linked with Bumbo somehow. I can’t see through my own eyes.”
“Of course not. They are closed,” Grundel replied.
Rundo hadn’t realized he had closed his eyes. When he focused on opening them he wasn’t looking through Bumbo’s eyes anymore. The link was still there. He could feel Bumbo’s emotions. Somehow he knew that he would be able to feel him no matter how far away they were. He could suppress the link. He wanted to try looking through the horse’s eyes again, but he knew that this was not the time. That must be what the link with Messah would be like. When he got comfortable with this new connection with Bumbo he was going to reach out to her. He might be able to get used to that eventually, but right now he had to control all of the other new experiences. “I’m fine now. I linked with Bumbo somehow. I have it under control now. I will explore it more when we stop again, but I think we should keep walking for a while so I can get used to this.”
Rising of a Mage: Book 03 - A Mage Risen Page 9