Ashleen was quick to strip down enticing Sebastian to join her as he moved slower than the pretty blond. He had seen her with nothing on numerous times by now, but still covered as she was, some of the mystery seemed to return as he smiled at the woman that he loved. Sebastian pulled off his uniform and noticed Ylena looking uncertain.
She was older than any of the others by far, but the wizard was still quite attractive from what she showed the world. Wizard robes could hide a lot, he supposed, but Sebastian didn't want to be the one to try convincing her to join them.
"You wanted to come," he reminded the woman. "I can't imagine that the sun is making those black robes any cooler. Join us if you want."
Eyeing him without giving much away, Ylena confided, "It has been awhile since I have gone swimming in the river. That is usually an activity for the students more than the teachers."
He shrugged and moved after Ashleen, who still stood waiting for him a few steps away.
Sighing, the wizard pulled off her teacher's robes, Ylena revealed that she was as attractive as the face she showed. Her dark hair was long and contrasted with her pale white skin. With the winter forcing Southwall to hide inside of clothes warm enough to keep from freezing, any tan one might get during the summer would fade so far into the season which seemed to cover half of the year in the north.
Some of the boys in the water noticed Katya's mentor appraising her looks, but they were wise enough not to make too much of seeing the teacher as exposed. Ulia moved closer to the water as well. Her brother had gone back to watch over the gate, however, since the warrior seemed to feel responsible since he was one of those who had let Palose create the portal in the first place. It wasn't quite true and Sebastian knew that the rune warriors had been unable to resist the former mage turned warlock. It certainly wasn't their fault, but Erik and his comrade had helped Palose to kill his little sister after his own resurrection so the young man held more guilt than Sebastian could even imagine.
The younger girl hadn't truly changed in spite of what had happened at least. The dark magic had been used so close to her death, that even normal healing magic might have been able to bring her back naturally. Palose had wanted controllable agents, however, and the three rune warriors had paid the price for his desires.
Sebastian stepped into the water thinking that it was still pretty cold. The sun had heated his skin and the air around them making the difference in temperature great enough to make him want to enter slowly to get used to the water.
He looked at Ulia and noticed the girl's face. She appeared to want to join the other youths around her age. They had more in common than that, since they all had magic as well. Apprentices and cadets, they were still learning magic but knew more than Ulia did since her people had yet to train her; but that could be changed if the girl wanted to go to White Hall, he supposed.
Ylena noticed the petite, little warrior as well and asked, "Did you want to join us? They're all about your age, so you might enjoy playing with them."
Putting out her hand to invite Ulia, the girl took a step forward without thinking. Ulia jammed the butt of her spear into the sand before letting it go. She was a rune warrior, though the girl was too young to have earned all of the marks that her brother wore as a full warrior. Bravery, especially for someone trying to prove herself like Ulia always seemed to be doing, wasn't something she lacked and took it as a challenge to get to know these strangers.
Soon they were all playing in the water or swimming. Katya and many of the others grew cold or simply wished to enjoy the heat of the sun on their skin. Sebastian sat with Ashleen letting the air dry them off instead of using magic or a towel.
He watched as Katya called on her magic, but not that which Ylena had been trying to teach her. His sister had been taught dragon magic, though the first few spells she had watched close enough to learn on her own.
"Katya, what are you doing?" he asked. If she chose to fly, he worried that the island people would see her and become afraid. They knew magic, but none of that covered flying, though he knew that they had spells that gave them powers beneath the water's surface that no one in Southwall knew. Katya's new magic came from further north and from another race of people entirely.
His sister smiled at him and stated, "I just wanted to see where we are."
Without waiting for permission, the girl's blue bird wings stretched out before thrusting down to the ground propelling her into the air. She was above the treetops in seconds and started to circle growing ever higher.
Cursing under his breath, Sebastian turned to Ashleen to give her a quick kiss on the lips. "I'd better go after her. At least they know me here. If she goes to the village, the people might attack her after last summer."
The Dark One had sent troops to stop him from saving Gerid from his prison. Though the Grimnal's village had seen people both good and bad because of it, Sebastian guessed that someone flying over their island would cause them to wonder if they were under a new attack.
Creating dragonfly wings using the same spell, the buzz of the four beating wings caused the others to look his way as the owl mage took off after his sister. Sebastian had trained less with the foreign magic, but it was so close to battle mage spells that it had been easy enough for him to learn. Flying was the hardest part for most wizards or battle mages, but Sebastian had ridden the winds like an air wizard long enough that moving his body through the air had felt like second nature.
While Katya had worked through the summer to increase her flying skills, Sebastian had created a different type of wings that the other dragon mages had never tried. Soon many were using the design if they were looking for greater speed. Using wings that made him more agile and quicker, the mage caught up to Katya quickly.
The girl must have seen him coming and she hovered waiting for him to catch up even sooner. Her wings flapped strongly, though much slower than his.
Her eyes glanced away looking out over the island sprawled out below them hundreds of feet below. As Sebastian joined her, Katya asked, "Is that a village? I see houses and a couple roads too."
Pointing to the village near the southern tip, he said loud enough to be heard over the noise of their wings, "Gerid has a home there. It's more like an inn actually. Many of his people live there. Others farm the land to the north and bring in crops after each harvest."
"It's beautiful here," she said with a smile for her brother.
"Which is better: the necklace or the trip here?" he asked with a laugh.
Her right hand gently grasped the pendant sitting just below her collar bone. "I'll have this longer to remember my birthday, so I would still say this necklace; but this is a close second. I can't believe you have magic that can take us so far away that it is like a completely different season of the year!"
"Well, it is always warm here, I think. They didn't know about snow beyond what the Grimnal told them until Ashleen recreated it with her magic. Of course, it is so warm that it melted quickly," he finished with a laugh thinking of the last time he was here.
Looking thoughtful, Katya asked, "Do you think that Ulia will want to come to White Hall to learn magic?"
It was hard to shrug with the wings magically attached to his back, so Sebastian replied, "I'm not sure. If her people don't want to, but will let us... maybe."
Frowning slightly, his sister's energy showed why many considered her a more powerful version of her brother. "What is wrong with her magic? Is that why her wizards won't teach her, that strange shift in her aura?"
Her eyes had seen more than Ylena's also, he thought, unless the older woman just chose not to say anything. "Palose... killed Ulia and her brother. He used blood magic to bring them back to life, but it is like they aren't quite the same anymore. I am not sure of it all, but his magic remains in them and some of theirs is shared with him.
"Erik didn't have magic, but the trauma brought on the change in Ulia when we tried to break her from his hold. They're still bonded in a way, but th
ey are no longer controlled by him anymore."
The news made several emotions pass across the girl's face. While she had been training to control her looks and emotions as a diplomacy wizard, there were still things that would make anyone who was human emotional. Katya might have been able to hold it in with someone else, but she didn't need to hide from him.
"That is so cruel!"
"Erik and his friend were turned first. Palose made them hold her down to kill her also. That's why he went back to watch the gate. He feels responsible, even if he couldn't control his body at the time. Palose ordered and they had to obey."
Her face went white and tears came into her eyes. Suddenly realizing that this was supposed to be a happy day, Sebastian regretted telling the young girl such depressing things on her birthday.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything, especially today."
Shaking her head as Katya brushed the tears from her eyes, the girl said, "No, you just owe me one last present. Make them let her come back with us. She should be with people who will help her become what she was meant to be."
"Making her leave her home without warning wouldn't be right, Katya. I'll see what I can do for her, but unless she wants to go right away. We'll need to prepare her for going to what is in effect another world to her."
Looking a little let down, Katya gave the village and island a last look before turning back to the beach. She hurried there heading straight for Ulia as she landed. Realizing that his sister had often worked to get her way as a child and had been that way until the day he had left her in Darius' hands to bring to White Hall, the mage hurried to stop her from doing what he thought she was.
"Katya, don't..."
Turning to face her brother looking happy with herself, his sister stated, "I asked Ulia if she'd like to go with us and she said yes. Now you just need to convince her family or whoever to let her go, Bas."
The mage groaned wanting to roll his eyes. A glance to her mentor, Ylena, seemed to share his annoyance with his sister. Instead of reprimanding her, Sebastian looked at Ulia. "Do you want to come back with us to go to the wizards' school?"
Nodding, the rune warrior replied, "If your people will train me, perhaps it would be for the best."
"You will be away from your family, possibly for a very long time."
That made the young girl stop for a moment, but she again nodded. "One day you can teach me how move across great distances like you do. Until then, I can make the sacrifice. I am no longer a child that I require my mother watching over me.
"What will I need to pack? I usually need very little."
"She's going to need warm clothes," Ashleen stated simply. "Likely one of us will have to loan her something."
"I can give her something," Katya offered. "I have my coat here and can last long enough to get inside from the portal."
Shaking her head, Ylena refused saying, "Even if you do, if these are the kinds of clothes she wears; she'll be half frozen before we can get her suitable clothes."
Holding up his hand, Sebastian reminded the suddenly excited group around him, "We need to bring her to the village for permission first. Just because Ulia wishes to go, we still need to honor her people here by asking. We can't just take her with us."
As a group, they all collected their clothing making bundles. It was still too warm to think of wearing their winter gear, so Sebastian led the rest as they walked along the west beach towards the village. The mage knew that he could make another gateway to cut down on their walking, but creating more portals had its own set of problems that the mage decided weren't worth saving a little time and walking.
Ashleen took his hand as they walked. Her robes and coat weighed down her other arm, but the late afternoon air remained warm compared to Southwall making it better than trying to wear the warm clothing. The mage only carried a jacket and before long Ashleen unloaded all but one layer of her robes.
While they walked, Katya found her way to the front. She remained quiet for several minutes, but Sebastian could tell that she had something to say to him.
"Bas?"
He waited for the question to be pushed further.
"Can you make a gate to our house? Have you seen our parents since we left for Hala?" the girl asked without looking up from the point on the ground ahead of her.
"I can usually only find a point on a map that has a previous gate or mark that I know. Either that or I need to be familiar with a gate that I can just call to mind. I used to need my map more, but it's become easier as I get used to making the portals.
"I never made a gate or sent stones to the house to create one that way. I suppose that I could, but you know how mother and father dislike magic. Having them set a gate wouldn't make them any happier with the idea."
Letting their feet carry them around a point that meant they were a little over half way to the village, Katya finally followed up on her question. "If we had a gate there, maybe I could go home for an afternoon to see them. I didn't get to go Beatrice's wedding because I was just a novice needing to learn how to control my power."
"If your wings were a little faster, you could almost fly there now," Sebastian commented thinking of his trip across the straight between Southwall and Sileoth several months ago. After meeting the king of Sileoth, he was able to make a gate that let King Alain travel to his ally's castle to make plans to save Litsarin.
Flying was certainly faster than taking horses and ships, but required a lot of energy as well.
The girl nodded, but seeing that her brother wouldn't offer to make the gate for her, Katya let the matter drop. Her previous good humor returned, however, as she rejoined her friends and spoke with Ulia getting to know the younger girl better.
Chapter 7- Challenges
"Sebastian, what are you doing here?" the boisterous voice of a giant asked as the mage led the others into Gerid's house that also served as a sort of town hall and inn for the people living further away on the island. It was a question that seemed to be getting asked quite often lately, he thought.
Looking over the mage since he was nearly a foot taller, the silver haired immortal noticed the young mages and wizards following him. Most were still dressed more for swimming than walking through a civilized city, especially one in the cold of Southwall. Seeing that he had stopped, most dropped their bundles of clothing just being glad to drop the extra weight that they had been carrying for roughly two miles. No one seemed to be self conscious entering the village even though they could see dozens of people as they had followed him to the largest home in town.
"It looks like you have started to hang out with an even younger crowd than normal," the giant added with a chuckle.
Gesturing towards his sister, whose skin seemed to darken more than the others in the sun; he introduced her, "This is my sister Katya and her friends from White Hall. Their mentor Ylena let me bring them here for her birthday."
"Happy birthday," the giant offered starting to look curious as to why they had walked to the village. "Do you all need drinks? You look like you've walked pretty far and the heat must seem harsh after being in the north. Is it still snowing?"
Being away from Hala and Southwall for much of the winter, Sebastian guessed that Gerid had lost track of these seasons since his island seemed to only have two seasons, warm and warmer.
The offer of drinks brought the younger wizards and mages forward. A few women were inside. The Grimnal's wife and some of his children and grandchildren also were in residence. Seeing the young people, many of whom looked a little red from the sun, they moved to bring cool pitchers of water from a cellar designed to keep things cooler than average.
Noticing Ulia holding back, Gerid frowned slightly and asked, "Does this have something to do with Ulia?"
Gesturing away from the doorway, Sebastian led the giant a little beyond casual hearing of the other people around them. He started, "Ulia says that the shamans haven't wished to teach her any magic. They've used a ward to contain her magi
c, but that won't let her find her true potential." He paused realizing that he was pushing harder than he truly meant to since the mage would actually prefer to wait at least until spring when the harvests usually began bringing in the young wizards and mages found in Southwall. "Well, Katya got it into her head to ask Ulia if she wanted to return to White Hall to be taught magic. Now Ulia wants to come back with us, but I'm not certain if her family or the shamans will approve. I'm also not certain if she can handle the change in weather. It was still bitter cold in White Hall and the girl considers this type of weather to be cold."
After a short bark of a laugh at the thought of such a beautiful day being cold, the giant nodded that he understood. "Her family lives in the village, except when her brother Erik uses a shack on the north end of the island watching over that new gate point. Ulia has been staying there more often, since the unfortunate event happened."
It was the giant's subtle wording for what had happened to the unfortunate warriors including Ulia's subsequent death.
"Do you think either group will resist her leaving? It seems like the shamans are uncertain of Ulia now," the mage questioned as he worried over not taking the girl as much as leaving her on the island.
"She's been more independent for the last few months as I said, so her parents may not be as concerned as they would have been a year before this. Her current status has been up in the air as is Erik and Nolan's since the incident. No one seems to fully trust them and others worry about what they are now."
"They're just people. While they died briefly, there have been people brought back from death by magic that were gone for only a short time. These three were brought back by darker magic and were tied to Palose, but Garosh took care of that tie as much as he could. They no longer will serve him," Sebastian stated what he knew thanks to Garosh and his group of warlocks. The man was partly cloned from Gerid and raised like a brother to the Dark One. His knowledge covered these resurrection men, and the mage believed what he was told. He could also see that Ulia was no different from any other girl her age that also possessed magic.
Battle Mage Bonds (Tales of Alus Book 13) Page 8