Battle Mage Bonds (Tales of Alus Book 13)

by Donald Wigboldy

  From the corner of his eye, he noted the frowns from a couple other men including Falconi Ralto. The falconi had always seemed to keep his feelings on his sleeve. Unfortunately those feelings didn't include anything positive for the owl mage.

  Without bothering to give in to his question, Raven Daleyr continued, "Not that the decisions of the ravens' council directly affects you in most ways, but from now on I will be the Raven of Hala and head of the council. Raven Leros' former falconi, Neven, will be taking over for me in Ravenhurst effective immediately. Raven Liom will join him in his transition, which I will have to assist on occasion also. Thankfully we now have the portal gates which will aid in that effort. A trip to the gate in the wizard's guild will take longer than crossing to the city on the other side of the country."

  Though the raven paused for effect, Sebastian remained silent waiting for the reason for his summons to be made known. Like the raven said, as a falcon or owl, the twenty-one year old wasn't likely to be promoted to any other rank in the corps and he had no say over who would be appointed to either raven or falconi.

  "There will be a few other changes, including our likely need to move a raven into one of the southern cities, perhaps two. The problems in New Harbor seem to have the risk of spreading thanks to the Dark One's men. Even with his fall, the seeds of sedition have continued to grow, especially in that city. We will likely need to reinforce the main cities closest to that particular bad seed so that we might deal with Count Terris or whoever has chosen to lead the city down this path."

  Pointing at the owl, he stated succinctly, "That is why we need to speak with you."

  "Has something new happened?" the younger mage asked assuming that was his cue to speak.

  "Yes and no, the white wizards have tested New Harbor's defenses, these new runes or whatever that can block our attempts at using portals into the city."

  "They've lost men," Sebastian didn't even have to ask. If he had nearly died trying to escape the binding magic that could trap a gate where the city's wizards wanted it, the owl doubted that anyone else who might go had a better chance than he of dealing with such an ambush. Battle mages might be able to fight and guarding some wizards they might be able to fight free, but until Elzen or Kharrik had the ability to use gates on their own, no single mage or wizard had better skills to fight free on their own than the owl. It wasn't his ego speaking either. No wizard had the practical fighting skills or magic that he had, just as no battle mage could match his other forms of magic.

  Daleyr didn't respond, but Sebastian noted Ralto shift angrily again. The falconi wasn't the only one that seemed frustrated by his blunt assumption.

  Raven Stallis spoke up in his quiet way. "The white wizards hoped that you might have some insights into the magic or another option for infiltrating the city. If we can't deal with the leaders of the city peacefully, we will need a way to move our army closer to them. It is a harsh reality that New Harbor and its people might very well become our enemies."

  Falconi Ralto spoke as the raven ceased, "We can't very well allow a city to rebel and let it go unpunished. If I have to lead another expedition to break down their walls, I will."

  Raven Daleyr gave the falconi a slight frown at the man's choice of words. "We hope to cut out the rebellious part of New Harbor without having to harm its people. Most of them live in the city and have nowhere to go. The amount of those joining the army to attempt to be free of Southwall is likely quite small. Merchants might agree with it, if there are fewer taxes and they can still make money, I suppose."

  "If Southwall stands against them, even a city with easy access to the ocean will see a drop in its trade," Sebastian stated. "That said, you only called to see if I could give you better access to New Harbor?"

  His dismissive attitude was almost cavalier. He was telling them that something they saw as important wasn't that dire in his mind.

  Placing his hand over the oval rune, Sebastian drew out a rolled up map before spreading it out on the table. Using a couple paperweights to hold the corners of a map showing Southwall and some of the islands in the North Sea, Sebastian pointed at New Harbor. "If we can't use the gates in the city, then the closest thing I have would be here."

  Moving his finger west along the coastline on the map, Sebastian settled on a point of land marked with a dot. No town or city was mentioned on the paper, but the mark was the same color as those where he had a gate using just his lodestones. "This is about a hundred miles southwest of the city. I left a set of stones there when I attempted to fly across the straight to Sileoth. Since I had never flown so far at the time, I marked the point since it was about the closest to New Harbor and the shortest point from Sileoth aside from flying much further west.

  "I can either show this to the gate wizards or go there and move the markers closer to New Harbor. Maybe one of the towns along the coast would be a safe base of operations in the future as you deal with the city."

  Raven Stallis noted Sebastian's final words. "We might need you as we deal with New Harbor. You sound like you have written the matter off already."

  Producing a sealed document marked by the king, Sebastian slid the paper across to Raven Daleyr. "Since you are the new leader in Hala, I guess this belongs with you. This says that I am transferring out of the mage corps to work directly for King Alain as his new agent."

  The declaration caused a few of the men to stand in shock, while those already standing appeared ready to dispute the claim. Stallis looked at him calmly, even as Daleyr quickly snapped the seal to read the short letter inside.

  "Why?" was all the raven was willing to ask as he frowned at the younger man.

  "I have fulfilled my contract as a battle mage with my last birthday. My father no longer gets a stipend for me as a soldier in Southwall's army. I am fully trained, more fully than any other mage in some ways in fact, so there is obviously no risk of my losing control of my magic like a wilder might.

  "That said, I still feel like I can do more for my country and king; but being a falcon or this new title of owl seems to restrain what I can actually do to help."

  Ralto's face was reddening with anger and he started to blurt, "Who do you think you are, boy? You've barely begun a career as a battle mage and you want to quit?"

  Raven Daleyr glared at the falconi shutting down further complaint. "But you are a battle mage. What do you hope to do away from the corps?"

  Stallis hid his mouth behind his folded hands as the man remained seated and leaned forward with his elbows on the table. His words were still clear as he asked, "Aren't you more worried about what he will do with his research, if he is no longer in the corps, Daleyr?"

  The elder raven's glare moved to his peer on the council. "That would be part of it, Stallis. His research has certainly sparked change in the corps and even among the wizards' guilds; but my question stands."

  "I don't need the money," Sebastian stated spreading his hands before him at the questions. "I've already said that I plan to keep on helping Southwall. Stepping away from the corps, I hope to have more time to research besides. When I find something useful, I still plan to share it with wizards and mages alike.

  "Not everything I do is about magic, however. As an agent for King Alain, I can go where I am needed or believe that I can help. I don't always have time to work it all out with whoever is in charge of the ravens or even when the white wizards think they should be involved. Now I can just report to the king. No one can second guess what I intend to do, if King Alain approves. I also don't need to wait for you to send the request to the king while wasting more time.

  "Not everything is as time sensitive, of course, but that is just one reason why I felt the need to step away from the corps. It was either work for the king or quit the corps to go on my own."

  Falconi Brelan had been listening quietly. One of the few women at her rank, he had worked with her as one of Raven Leros' assistants. If she were older, Sebastian guessed that the woman might have become the first
raven; but Neven was both older and had served under the head raven longer.

  "And what of the tasks that you have yet to finish as a mage?" she asked calmly. "You promised the nomads north of the wall that you would return. It is the first true possibility of an alliance that we've had with them in over a hundred years. New Harbor and some of the other southern cities remain a problem as does Litsarin. You are just going to walk away from those responsibilities?"

  Sebastian hadn't forgotten any of the work from his past that remained feeling unfinished, so he answered easily, "I still work for the king. He will call on me when I am needed and I will do what is necessary.

  "I was already pulled from going to New Harbor anyway. If my superiors have become too afraid to let me do what I need to in the field, I might as well retire or go to White Hall to teach; but I am not the type to do either.

  "There will be times where I visit White Hall and other cities to help them train, but I am not someone best left to teach instead of being able to fight when it is necessary. King Alain has already listened to my thoughts and agrees. I will go on the missions he needs me to and I can work with mages and wizards as well."

  Refusing to rehash the same questions over and over, Sebastian finished, "There will be things to learn as we go along, but I don't plan to just abandon my friends and fellow mages anymore than I do my country. To me, they are the same."

  Silence settled over the room a moment before Daleyr asked, "So about this gate?"

  "I can bring wizards or mages to it directly, but there is little more than rocks next to the sea. If you need me to move it east with dragon magic, I will need a couple more days for my health to be good enough to fly."

  The room settled down after his announcement. It would be a new relationship. In essence, the owl was no longer an inferior rank to the men and women around him. As an agent of the king, he could stand with them making decisions for his path without having to worry over them making him do something that he didn't wish to do. Raven Daleyr and some of the others looked to resent the idea, but battle mages were nothing if not resilient. They would adjust and so would he in his new position working for the king.

  Ashleen was waiting for him in the Black Smith Inn's dining area.

  "What happened? How did it go?" the girl asked curiously. She knew what he had intended to do and that Sebastian was going to speak with the king first.

  "King Alain offered to make me one of his agents. He even gave me this ring with his mark in case I need to prove who I am," Sebastian answered holding up his right hand. The mage knew that he would likely need to hide it most of the time. His oval rune never seemed to overflow and he could find anything placed inside just by thinking of it, so it would be the perfect place for the ring when he didn't need it.

  "King Alain also agreed to the idea of offering King Vardal gate magic. If your king wants me to help teach his wizards, or even bring through a few wizards from Southwall to do it, it can be done."

  Ashleen didn't even seem surprised and the girl asked, "So what did the ravens have to say?"

  "Raven Daleyr is the new leader of Hala as I'd guessed. He and Falconi Ralto seemed the most upset by it, I think. Though most didn't look too happy with the idea, no one could dispute an order from the king. It isn't like they could have stopped me from quitting otherwise anyway."

  Shaking her finger at the mage, Ashleen said, "It sounds like you didn't give anyone much of a choice. Take you as a mage on your own terms or lose you completely."

  "Well, probably not completely," he countered. "I can't see retiring at only twenty-one, though I suppose I could have become a black smith or healer to make money. Since I have a fair amount of money in the bank, I wouldn't really need to work unless something comes up that requires a fortune."

  His eyes played across Ashleen's face. Her blue eyes twinkled as she smiled at him. As the daughter of a rich and powerful lord; if she didn't temper her spending ways buying clothes, among other things, maybe he would need more income to keep up with her. Ashleen's amused smile confirmed that she must be thinking similarly.

  "So now that you are a free man, so to speak, what now?"

  "I'm no freer than before really. I just have less people to report too or receive orders from now. Going to King Vardal is essentially my first official mission for Southwall as Alain's envoy, so we go as planned."

  "It should still be reasonably early in Velius," the pretty blonde stated following his train of thought.

  He nodded. "Do we take the others along this time?"

  Pursing her lips in thought, Ashleen replied, "I can speak for my father and you can speak for King Alain, but maybe a group looks more official. I mean we can walk up to a king's castle, but a group of mages and wizards would appear more impressive at least."

  Sebastian chuckled at the idea. "I never thought that my life would grow more complicated as an agent of the king this quickly."

  Rolling her eyes, the wilder answered, "Dealing with kings is never simple. You of all people should know that by now."

  He offered Ashleen a hand before leading her up the stairs to their room. They knocked on the door across from theirs alerting Serrena and Elzen to his return. A quickly opened portal after they had gathered their usual clothing and gear sent them through to White Hall where they picked up the remainder of their team. He agreed that it probably wasn't necessary to bring everyone with them, but it felt right to the mage as he prepared to speak to Kardor's king.

  Stepping out of the gateway, Sebastian was slow to realize that his team wasn't alone. Soldiers in coal colored uniforms stood in front of a dozen wizards. The first were easy enough to see with his normal senses. The group spread out in a line behind the armored men was spotted by magic that instinctively found the auras of magic even hidden behind bodies covered in leather and metal.

  His mages kept their hands well away from their swords as they lifted them to their chests palm facing those awaiting their arrival. Sebastian let the portal go and stepped through his team to face the men and women with Ashleen at his side.

  "Well hello there. This is unexpected. I am Sebastian Trillon, agent of King Alain of Southwall come to speak with his majesty if he is available," the mage announced with a sincere smile.

  A tall wizard moved through the armored soldiers to face him near their center. "I am Vanalus, one of the king's personal wizards. We had word someone using portal magic might be coming to Velius. When our wizards found these stones marked by a wizard's magic, we placed guards awaiting your arrival."

  "You had word?" Sebastian questioned curiously.

  Ashleen leaned towards him replying for the other wizard, "Father likely had his wizards send word magically. Your wizards have relics which can do the same, you know? That was how they sent word to New Harbor to let Yara and the others know that you had returned to Hala."

  "Hmm, yes, I suppose it is probably similar. Too bad no one has come up with a way to do that in the field. Maybe I'll have to ask the wizards if I can see one and have them use the magic to contact different cities," the mage mused seeming to ignore the two dozen soldiers with their weapons in their hands pointed towards him.

  The dark haired Vanalus peered at him with gray piercing eyes that held a frown for his cavalier attitude. "Duke Cerrus sent word from Interus yesterday afternoon. The notice said that a group of Southwall wizards and his daughter would likely appear during the morning wishing to discuss important matters with our king."

  Looking for the missing doorway, the wizard asked, "Has Southwall discovered the magic of the Dark One's doorways? You moved hundreds of miles in less than a day if the report is correct. Are you able to create doorways without ever having seen a city?"

  "I saw Velius from the air riding the winds," Sebastian stated. "The stones were sent ahead of us with another wind spell. We have been using this process to move from one city to another initially to reach Interus and then to come here."

  Vanalus continued to ask questions. "Wher
e did you come from? How far have you come and how long did it take?"

  Glancing around at the soldiers in their armor, he could see ice attached to the metal outer shells. Even some white of blowing snow speckled the armor making the nearly black armor seem more like a lighter shade of gray in the winter light. A breeze swept through stirring up flurries from the standing snow making Sebastian suggest, "Perhaps we should begin walking into Velius first. If you have been waiting for us all morning or longer, the cold must be deep in your bones by now." Shaking his head, he added, "Kings get to stay inside around their warm hearths while their soldiers and wizards get to stand in the cold. Well, you aren't the only ones in North that get to suffer like that if it makes you all feel better, though I doubt it will."

  Swords and spears moved to block his path as the mage took a single step.

  Ashleen frowned moving closer to the blades than Sebastian. "Would you put those things away or at least get them out of the way? You already know that I am Duke Cerrus' daughter. His message sent word ahead of us after all."

  The girl's hand went into her pack making the men nervously point towards her if they were close to the wilder. Sebastian thought it surprising that they would bother to threaten the petite blonde. To look at her just physically, the mage would have thought that the girl would be viewed as harmless. That she could wield lightning that could kill all these soldiers in a single blast made their wariness right in another way, but he doubted that the soldiers around them knew that.

  She held up her father's insignia. The mark of the duke had been enough in other circumstances to verify her lineage. Sebastian wore King Alain's ring on the middle finger of his left hand now and made it easily noticeable as well.

  "See?" the girl asked. "This is Duke Cerrus' mark and he has King Alain's. Now can we please start walking to get out of this cold? Surely you don't enjoy this weather?"