Battle Mage Bonds (Tales of Alus Book 13)

by Donald Wigboldy

  "So the question is; what is the best way to quickly move towards Interus where your family lives?"

  Ashleen had been weighing in on that question since Sebastian had proposed the idea to his friends the previous day.

  "Getting to Atellan as the closest official Kardorian city is still the best idea, I think. You still haven't told us how you plan to advance towards our goal though, Sebastian. With your injuries, can you actually fly? Wouldn't it be pretty cold to try using dragon mage magic to fly anyway?"

  He nodded. "I think that I can use an older, more familiar spell or set of spells to do what we need. Even if I felt healthy enough to attempt a flight, I don't think even dragon armor will keep me warm enough to want to fly very far in the winter air."

  Elzen suggested, "We could get some horses and ride. If you use wind riding, we'll either want a horse for you to keep moving or a carriage; unless you don't want to move at all. I suppose with your magic, you can move your mind and not worry over riding at all."

  Tapping his lips in thought, the mage considered the layout of the land and water that would need to be crossed to begin trying his proposed visit to Ashleen's home. He could tell that the wilder was getting homesick, though she would never want to admit it to him. Ashleen wanted to show that she was committed to being with him and he didn't doubt that; but with magic he hoped to make crossing those distances just a matter of a quick spell.

  Sebastian frowned and placed his finger on the far side of an inlet shown on the map. It went nearly a hundred miles north. If they were to ride to Atellan it would mean virtually riding that far north only to turn southwest after getting around the wide expanse of water. "If I could wind ride straight across to here, I think that I could send a lodestone across the gap. After that it would be pretty easy to get to the Alderan River and from there to Atellan."

  Shaking her head, Ashleen warned, "Most wizards wouldn't risk separating their minds from their bodies over so far a distance. It can be dangerous. You'll be trying to ride winds that are likely pushing east besides, so they will resist you.

  "After that, you propose to cross the gap how?"

  "I've sent magic arrows across miles of distance while my mind was separated on the wind. Distance doesn't really seem to matter. When I scouted the ship you were on, I was able to harass the wizard hunters from afar; if you'll recall."

  He reminded the wilder of their adventure searching for Gerid on the North Sea. While Sebastian had led a team on a Malaiyan frigate, Ashleen's benefactor had followed on a Kardorian battleship, until they fell into a trap. The Dark One's reach had extended even out into the North Sea, though no piece of his known empire touched an ocean or river. His wizard hunters captured her ship and the wizards aboard including the young woman.

  The wizard hunters' pursuit of his ship helped free Ashleen and a couple others, but it had also let the owl make use of some of the tricks he had learned the summer previous to the spring mission.

  "How many miles were you able to cross to do that?" the girl questioned trying to seriously determine the safety of his proposal.

  "It's hard to say, but at least half as far as this will be. I don't think that was my limit, of course, if I try and find it too difficult I can always return to my body. That would mean we would need to ride around the point to start back to Atellan."

  Serrena looked impatient and pushed her opinion into the conversation, "We are wasting time. I vote to let Bas try his plan first. If he needs extra strength, either I can loan him mine or Ashleen can. Either way, I say let him try. If anyone can do this, it is Sebastian; so let's find a place for him to work already.

  "We can argue away the day, but you'll just lose your chance. Once the healers say that you are healthy enough to return to active duty, you'll have to follow the raven's orders or the local corps commander's at least."

  No one could refute the fiery wizard's opinion, at least until the owl failed anyway. Sebastian hoped to avoid failure, however, and soon the four found a place in the outer city to try. Ravenhurst, the keep and castle, sat at the heart of a larger city. The furthest north of the western cities, the activity in the harbor wasn't as great as that in Hala, which was a point that many merchant ships visited on the way to countries to Southwall's northeast.

  There were still many shops with owners looking out through frosted windows hoping for business during the second half of winter. One was a restaurant that was likely a popular haunt for sailors not wanting to walk too far from their ships. It even had a few tables and chairs kept outside under an extended roof. Likely pleasant in late spring through early fall, no patrons were using the area now though Sebastian could see several tables inside the restaurant through the windows with diners eating breakfast.

  The mage noted the sun and realized once again that time was relative. Closer to lunch time in Hala, Ravenhurst was still barely getting started for the day and, thanks to the cold, he guessed that the local population wasn't likely to truly be pushing to go outside until late morning or the afternoon when the sun was likely to add a little heat to the air.

  Judging from the standing snow, increased heat would still mean that it would be quite cold.

  Sitting down after brushing away a dusting of snow on one chair, Sebastian took a deep breath readying to take to the air with his mind.

  "Just don't push yourself beyond where you can get back," Ashleen urged him with her worry.

  He nodded. "I'll be careful. Wind riding is something that I have practiced quite a bit since learning how to cast the spell."

  Elzen looked at a chair next to his friend dubiously. "You want to do it out here? If you asked, I am sure that they would let you sit inside where it is warm."

  "It would take less to cut off a wizard's mind, even at a short distance," Ashleen warned the younger mage who had never mastered the magic. Wind was also more challenging than some spells for Elzen, so it was unlikely to be a line of magic that he never would learn to follow. "If the door wasn't kept open, the magic tethering Sebastian's body and mind could be severed by cutting off the current of air between them, Elzen. No air wizard uses a wind riding spell indoors."

  Raising his hand in front of his chest as if to ward off a blow; Elzen capitulated, saying, "Fine, I didn't know that the spell was so fragile. Do whatever you need to do then, Bas."

  "Thanks for your final blessing," the owl replied with a chuckle. "Once I start the spell I won't be able to see what is going on here. Are the stones ready?"

  Ashleen pulled out a small pouch. Wizards with a sensitivity to magic would be able to feel the enchanted stones inside. Coated with Ashleen's magic, Sebastian had let the girl infuse these stones with her power rather than use his magic. If Palose or one of the warlocks who had faced him could trace his power, the stones would put Kardor in danger. Unlike the owl mage, the wilder wasn't likely on their list of known magic users so they would be unlikely to ever find the stones the girl had enchanted for this purpose.

  With one of the stones placed on the table in front of the battle mage, Sebastian was as ready to attempt this flight as he would ever be.

  "Freedom," he stated the command as much as invoked the feeling of the word as his mind lifted free of his body almost instantly.

  Looking down at his body always felt strange to the mage; but as he began to feel the tendrils of wind swirling along the ground and in the air above, Sebastian gave not only his body a last glance but those of his friends also. Swirling on the breeze around Ashleen, the magic wind rider took in a last glimpse of her before lifting quickly onto the winds.

  Like the girl had warned, Sebastian noted winds mostly moving from the west towards the east; but wind riding was more than going with the flow of the breeze. The owl's mind moved from one tendril of air to the next seemingly jumping from one to another like a mountain goat moving from ledge to ledge effortlessly.

  The last time the owl mage had crossed a large of expanse of water like this, he had used dragon magic to fly across the
straight between Southwall and Sileoth. Physically more taxing, the journey had required magic to also maintain his wings as well as making the magical constructs continue to perform. An unexpected visitor had snuck along as little Evie had shape changed into a mouse to ride along in his pack filled with food to help maintain his energy.

  Though he didn't have to fear falling into the cold, salt water; Sebastian would still require all of his magical strength to push his mind so far from his body. The cut into the continent wasn't quite as wide as the distance between New Harbor and their ally to the south, but few wizards dared push so far in a single ride of the winds even so.

  While his body sat in the cold, the mage barely felt the winter air and soaring along the air currents didn't relay the temperature no matter how cold it might be so high in the air. Flying with dragon magic, Sebastian understood that flying so high would expose him to even greater cold. Back in Ravenhurst, Serrena and Ashleen could use their magic to warm his body if they felt that his skin was too red from exposure. Ignoring all but the currents his magic was able to see, the mage pushed harder than he usually would. Riding the wind like this had once been one of his favorite things. It was relaxing when he didn't need to worry over scouting for a mission, but learning dragon magic and having the skill to fly almost effortlessly had quickly replaced it as his favorite magic.

  To fly like a bird was one of the greatest draws for anyone to learn the magic brought to Southwall from Ch'thal.

  Ships moved at a much slower pace than the quickly moving mind of the mage. White sails caught the frigid winds. Ice could be seen coating both wood and canvas making sailors need to work in the cold and wet to keep sails and their lines from breaking. Without the sails, a ship would be left to float at the whims of the sea. He could guess that any vessel seen braving the ocean in winter was likely crewed by veteran sailors.

  Brave fishermen would draw up traps that had been placed beneath the waves using their winches. Filled with lobsters or crab most likely, those with greater hauls drew more men to turn the metal cranks. Four men might be needed to lift the thickly filled traps from what he could see as the mage dipped closer to take a look as he hurtled along as fast as his mind could.

  Broken ice sheets bobbed below the mage. Sunlight reflected off the frozen crystals seeking to distract him, but Sebastian could look past them giving them only a passing glance. Soon he spotted the distant shore across the bay.

  Not even bothering to finish his flight, the mage raised his left arm back in Ravenhurst drawing his right hand back like drawing the string of a bow. "Arrow," he ordered simply as Sebastian's hand held one of the lodestones. Surrounding it in solid air, the owl released the arrow sending it and the stone at its core hurtling west.

  The action made the others look on in surprise. He had explained his theory for moving his team as quickly as he could. None of the three had shown any inclination towards the magic, but for Ashleen there was another drawback to being a wilder that limited her ability to fly. While the girl could ride the winds as well as he could, she was both tied to the air and to the ground. It wasn't an equal pull between the two elements either.

  During the first days of their relationship, when Sebastian could only offer friendship since his heart was claimed by another at the time; the two of them had tested how the wilder naturally drew power from the earth. It wasn't the massive influx of energy that had claimed careless wizards' lives over the centuries, but it had led him to test how closely related she was to the earth. Merely climbing one of Falcon's Keep's towers reduced the energy drawn into the wilder enough to make her ill. Flying at any height was likely to make her physically ill or worse, so Ashleen had never tried to use dragon magic to find out what would happen.

  Sebastian's mind hovered as his sight remained on a single point beyond the water and sand. Even with magic driving his spell, the arrow seemed to take forever to catch up to his position. When it flew past his formless presence, it was hurtling almost faster than his eye could have seen. The distance had been covered in a much shorter length of time than it had taken his wind riding magic to carry him to the same place, and the arrow continued its rocketing trajectory until he finished by making it strike the ground he had chosen for it to hit.

  With the first part of his mission finished, the mage left his sight of the shaft of air with its payload where it sat on the ground. Like the arrow, Sebastian's mind returned at a much swifter speed; even so, by the time he had returned to his body it was time for lunch locally. The mage opened his eyes and felt the need to eat making his stomach clench tightly.

  Serrena raised an eyebrow questioningly, but voiced that question when he didn't immediately respond, "Well, did it work? You were gone for a very long time."

  A cup was taken from the fire wizard's hands by Ashleen ignoring the older girl's need to have answers immediately. Put in his hands, Sebastian noted that the container felt warm though the juice held inside was cool. It would have turned to ice most likely during the wait without the wizard's intervention of her magic. The mage was also certain that she could have made the juice bubble easily with her power over fire and heat.

  Drinking the cup of liquid down quickly, the owl finally replied, "The first part of the mission is a success. It took me a little longer to make it far enough to try sending the lodestone in an arrow, but once I could see the shore I was able to guide it to the far side of the bay."

  His stomach suddenly made a loud noise. It was like the juice had virtually evaporated inside of him as it was consumed by his body's need for nourishment.

  Nodding towards the restaurant, which appeared to have good business going on inside in spite of the cold that might wish to drive people away, he suggested, "Maybe he can continue this inside over lunch? It doesn't make much sense to eat travel food from our packs when this place seems to be popular enough."

  Serrena frowned as she replied, "It doesn't mean that it has anything good to eat."

  Guessing that the young woman's irritable opinion was likely driven by her impatience to see what he had done as well as probably needing to eat as well, the mage stood readying to go into the shop. Unfortunately, his sitting in one place in the cold for so long led to new aches. His body didn't want to respond to his need to move, but his mind forced him to his feet. Rubbing the backs of his legs and posterior, Sebastian thought getting warm for a bit was likely a good idea also.

  As he stepped towards the restaurant's door, the mage stepped through a swirling wind and noticed that it turned colder quickly. Ashleen must have created an air barrier to keep the worst of the cold out and maybe the warmth inside the shell had been added to by the fire wizard with one or more of her spells. Having two wizards with their capabilities, and guessing at their concern for his well being as well; Sebastian knew that they had done their best to keep him comfortable while his mind had been away from his body for so long.

  The four entered and looked for an available table. Though busier than he might expect for a cold winter day, there were still several tables open.

  An older man wearing an apron frowned at them as he walked over to take their orders. "You kids finally decided to come inside?"

  Sebastian nodded and replied, "And we're ready for lunch. I am particularly hungry now."

  Eyeing the young man in his chair, the server glanced in the direction of the windows. The table and chair he had occupied could be seen by the man as he stalled on taking the mage's food order. "What was so interesting that you could sit there for so long? Customers were beginning to ask questions and most of them didn't even stay long enough to see some crazy kids just sitting in the cold all morning long."

  Giving the older man a patient smile, Sebastian replied, "It would be a little hard to explain. Perhaps we could order first so the kitchen can start on our food?"

  Grumbling under his breath, the waiter took their orders to the kitchen. Like the old man, others around them were spending unusual amounts of attention on the four as they w
aited for their meals to come. One of the men closest to them was sitting with a handful of rough looking individuals, who were most likely sailors, asked, "You seem to want to avoid answering a simple question, boy. What would make you want to just sit out in the cold on a winter day like this? Most people would be afraid of freezing to death, I would think, and they certainly wouldn't choose to just sit there taking a nap."

  "At least one of them is a wizard," another man said making the statement sound nothing like a compliment. "I saw that girl creating fire for some reason and out of thin air."

  Elzen asked curiously, "Is there something wrong with being a wizard? Wizards and mages help protect the wall after all and have defended Southwall since before it was even called that."

  The first man retorted, "That's what they say they do. All I've even seen them do is play with their spells and tell regular people that they are so great."

  Doubting that any wizard would have just wasted their time talking about how great and powerful they were, Sebastian said, "I've seen and fought the Dark One's monsters and soldiers. They broke Northwall at the Cadhalla, but the army managed to turn them back. Wizards fixed the break and made it like new to stop the enemy from just walking back through it later.

  "Most wizards I've seen and known don't bother to talk about themselves or their magic. Maybe the ones in Ravenhurst are different from the ones I have known though."

  "Sailing from Hala to Ravenhurst, as well as out to Kardor; you see and hear a lot of things, boy. Maybe you need to get out more. These two girls might be pretty; but if they're wizards, how can you trust that their magic isn't what makes you like them?"