“Ters,” the High Mage said.
“High Mage,” he said, “King Pharris is in a much more agreeable mood.”
“As I expected,”
“He would like to discuss the terms of your offer,” Ters said.
“Inform the king that the mages are willing to assist if he will have us,” she said. “Expedite the message, in the meantime. We will ready ourselves.”
“Yes, High Mage,” the King’s Hand said and opened a rift.
“Tell him that we will negotiate our terms later,” Insmith said. “If Auverance still stands.”
Ters stepped through the rift.
“Forec, you and your talents will be sent to Quisen to assist in defense of the city,” she said. “Gather the group of mages you train with as well. I believe they will be needed there.”
“You mean...” he said.
“The ones you practice your fighting with,” the High Mage said and brushed her hand in the air. “I have reason to believe their skills will be particularly useful.”
“Yes, High Mage,” Forec said and bowed his head.
“What about the wall?” Freedic asked. “Will we be assisting them at the wall as well?”
“Yes, talent,” she said. “I will have that prepared as well.”
“Is there any way I can get there?” Freedic asked. “Rather than sending me to Quisen. I need to be at that wall.”
“Know your place, swordmaster,” she said. Her eyes narrowed and locked onto him. “I am sending to Quisen. You will obey without question.”
Freedic’s shoulders sunk and his face went pale. “Yes, High Mage,”
Forec led the two talents through the maze-like hallways. He had to stop occasionally to get his bearings, despite having lived in Krux Aev’then the majority of his life. He imagined that all the mages did, seeing as how they were constantly stopped and staring at the walls. If they weren’t so damned proud, they’d probably be asking for directions constantly.
He knocked on the door of what he thought was Mauvia’s chamber. She was the most competent of the mages who practiced combat. The door cracked open and behind it was her long, flowing red hair and pudgy spectacled face. Behind her glasses were skeptical gray eyes that widened with glee when she saw Forec behind the door. She opened the door the rest of the way with and met him with a wide grin.
“Forec! Are these new recruits?” Mauvia said. “I’ve been waiting for fresh blood for the past twenty years!”
“No, Mauvia, these are talents that were assigned to me,” Forec said. “We need to gather the rest. We’re being sent to Quisen.”
“We’re attacking Auverance?” she said, voice shaky. “Forec when I agreed to learn to fight I didn’t mean to invade a nation. I meant to-”
“We’re being sent to defend the city,” he said. “That feeling yesterday...The council suspects it was invaders. And from what Auverance’s King’s Hand told us, they’re attacking.”
“Invaders?” Mauvia asked. “From where?”
“Elves,” Forec said. “The High Mage believes they’re returning.”
“The High Mage believes mythical creatures are invading us?” she asked. “I suppose a few thousand years of life would degrade the brain, but I never imagined it would be so bad.”
“Mauvia,” he said. “Collect Ausa and Ruephen. I’m going to get Helien.”
She curled into herself and looked at her feet. “Okay, Forec. I’m sorry,”
“It’s Insmith’s orders,” he said, forcing compassion into his voice. “I’m just following them.”
“We’ll meet at her chamber then,” she said.
Forec continued walking through the winding halls with the two talents. He had them looking for the door to Helien’s chamber. The man was a bit of an eccentric even among the mages. He would disguise his doors for months and only realize it once he tried to exit his chamber. As a mage he was unremarkable, his illusions were weak at best, sometimes being completely transparent. He did love fire, though. Most of his nerves had been burnt into numbness early in his life. He had never bothered to heal completely. He saw it as an advantage, able to interact more closely with the object of his obsession, fire.
Forec knocked on the segment of wall that was an illusion. A flat, single portion of stone where the rest was layers of interlocking bricks. A grumble came from behind the wall before it swung open. A naked man with no hair to speak of on his entire body stood behind. He looked at Forec and grunted something unintelligible. Probably had burned the inside of his mouth, Forec thought.
“Helien, we’re going to Quisen,” he said. “Insmith knows we’ve been training and requested our presence.”
“Tell her to shove it,” the nude man said. “I’m not overthrowing a kingdom on her whim.”
“We’re defending Quisen from elves,” Forec said. It was strange to hear himself saying it so matter-of-factly. “We don’t have a say in this.”
“And after we’re going to have a feast with Avalyns, right?” Helien laughed.
“They’re real, dammit,” Freedic shouted. “Why are all of these mages so damned arrogant?”
“And I’m supposed to believe a child’s hysteria?” he said with a laugh. “He does look like he’d burn awful pretty, though.”
“Helien, you can dress yourself and come, or Insmith will deal with you herself,” Forec said.
“Two seconds,”
The segment of wall closed and Helien began cursing inside, rustling around the room. Almost like he was trying to make as much noise as possible.
“Is everyone in the building so...” Vyra trailed.
“Insane?” Forec finished. “No, I just keep good company.”
“I was going to say eccentric. Or condescending. Or abhorrent. Maybe unpleasant,” Vyra said. “Just generally bad, I guess.”
“Yes, to all of the above,” Freedic answered. “Mages tend to see themselves as above everyone else.”
“Including other mages,” Forec said. “But, generally yes, we’re a terrible group to deal with.”
“Oh,” she said. “It’s annoying.”
The wall swung open, and once nude and hairless man stepped out. He wore a plain gray robe with a bushy head of hair and chest-long beard nearly the same color gray. His face was hairless and smooth. Too smooth to be natural. Forec found him uncomfortable to look at.
Helien nodded to Forec and began walking in the wrong direction.
“Helien, just follow me,” Forec sighed.
They returned to the High Mage’s chamber where the other three waited in front of the guards. The two guards in front scowled at the group despite the explanation Mauvia was giving.
Ruephen stood, leaned against the wall and laughed as the argument continued. He laughed so hard, his eyes watered. Tears stained his olive skin with each added comment from either the guard or Mauvia. He reached up and braced himself against the ten-foot tall ceiling as he gasped for breath. When he finished laughing, he wiped the tears off his face and opened his eyes. The laughter was gone. Gray piercing eyes stared straight at the guards.
Ausa sat on the floor with her knees curled in front of her. Only her gray eyes and top of her head were visible. She was a small thing, only coming up to the waist of the nearly eight-foot-tall Ruephen.
As Forec approached, the two guards turned to him with narrowed eyes.
“Don’t bother,” Forec said, raising his hand. “Just shut up and let us through.”
“The High Mage is in a meeting,” the guard said. “No one is to pass.”
Forec pushed through the two men despite their resistance and opened the door. Ters stood inside with a rift opened as a handful of mages walked through. Forec walked into the room. The four mages and two talents followed behind cautiously.
“Wonderful timing,” Insmith said. “King Phariss has accepted our assistance. You are to defend the city to the best of your capability, but if you see it beginning to fall, you are to watch. I want a detailed report on the
ir military capabilities.”
“We are not to defend the city we’re there to defend?” Forec asked. “Seems strange.”
“I don’t need a king claiming that mages leveled half his city even if it is while you save them,” she said. “If they are within the city walls, your job is to observe. That doesn’t carry over to your talents, though, allow them to act as you wish.”
“Yes, High Mage,” he said.
“Ters,”
Ters nodded once and opened a rift. “This will bring you to the top of the main gate of Quisen,” he said. “I’ll join you once my meeting has ended.”
CHAPTER SIX
Chapter 6
Norvance watched as one of the creatures in black armor Freedic had described landed on the wall. It landed on an guard. He popped in an explosion of gore that covered the wall and the creature’s armor. It turned and began to walk towards Norvance. As it stepped forward, it flung away any of the men who dared stand in its way.
Those unfortunate few who were brave enough to face it didn't stand a chance, and those smart enough to run were looked at as cowards. Each time it swung an armored fist, a man was sent into the air. If they were lucky, they were thrown off the wall. The ones who hit the parapets folded and landed in contorted positions in puddles of blood that spread outward.
"Hold here," Norvance said to the men. "We'll hold it here."
"Are you insane?" one of the men shouted. "That thing cleaved a head off with a fucking punch."
"And we'll cleave its head off with a fucking sword," Norvance said. "Now hold here."
A hand full of the men he stopped remained while the rest ran past. If he weren't the leader of those men, he would probably have run too. But his decision had been made for him. The only reason he was on this wall was to lead, and lead he would.
The armored creature continued forward, with a trail of blood and bodies in its wake. Even with the sword still sheathed at its hip, it cut through Norvance's men. But he hadn't seen any of the men coordinate yet. They had run to their deaths as they seeked individual glory. The men he was with now didn't see glory in the future. Cowards rarely did. They merely saw survival. That was useful.
"Swarm it, never attack alone," Norvance said. "It can't kill us all. We just need to find our opening, and we can kill it."
The armored creature stopped a few feet before them and waved its hand to goad them forward. Norvance stood at the front and waited for the right moment. It would come, it was just a matter of time. Everyone let down their guard at some point.
A soldier shouted from the creature’s back and rushed forward. It snapped its head around and swung its arm into the man's shoulder. He flew to the side, off the wall and into a tree in the Warring Kingdoms. It was their chance.
"Now!" Norvance shouted and began to rush the giant.
It was only a few steps, but his soldiers were too slow. The armored creature prepared another swing as they charged forward. Norvance ducked into a slide and drew his blade, aimed the joint at its knee. He heard the crunch of someone who hadn't been as fast as him, and a moment later the scream of another.
His blade bounced off the black armor as he slid past. It wasn’t even enough to get the attention of the damned thing. The others struggled with their attacks as they hunted for a weakness in the armor. All to no avail. Norvance stood behind with a few other men who began to close in on it. They prodded for any space in the giant’s defense. Norvance found his target. He aimed for the gap where the helmet met its chest plate.
His sword slid under the helmet. As it did, the giant began to turn around. As it turned, Norvance felt the tip of his blade bite into its flesh and heard it let out a pained scream. It reached a hand forward towards him. This time, it was too slow. Norvance already stabbed the blade further in until he felt it the metal on the other side.
The giant went limp and crumbled to the ground. Most of the men that had stopped to fight with him had died against it. But they had killed it. Norvance's heart thumped in his chest. Each beat was so hard it sent a jolt of pain through his body. He slid the black helmet off the creature and revealed the sharp features and gaunt face that Freedic had described.
"Find me a chatter," he said. "Now!"
Several men ran off in both directions, to look for a chatter. Norvance sighed and looked down at his hands as they shook uncontrollably. Whatever that thing had been was not of this world. But what the hell had it been? And where the hell was his chatter? His hands continued to shake even as he worked to control his breath. He took another deep breath and turned his head to the sky.
He saw something strange in the sky. A dark spot that flied towards him. It wasn't a bird, no. Too big. And it moved too fast. A stone crashed into the wall beside him and sprayed fragments of rock in every direction. Blood started to drip from his neck and arm. He turned and began to run, but it was too late. A stone crashed into the ground just behind him. He flew into the air. More fragments of rocks embedded themselves in his flesh, his legs went numb. He waved his arms as he flew but it was all for naught. The ground came closer and closer.
Forec and his talents stepped from the musty chamber into the mid-day sun. The four mages followed a few steps behind. Just as Ters had told them, they stood atop the front gate of Quisen. The constant buzz of sounds was a shock, even more so when had stepped out of the nearly complete silence in Krux Aev’then.
It was but a moment before Forec discovered what caused the urgent buzz. In the field below them, some five hundred elves marched forward. There was perfect order within their ranks. Each step was in perfect sync with the others around them. Even the massive cat beasts they held on leashes walked in lockstep. Were they not so damned terrible, Forec would have been fascinated by them.
Arrows bounced off their armor and fell to the side, but the archers did not let up. The elves seemed utterly unconcerned with the projectiles. The cat beasts began to struggle against their holders, though. The arrows were essentially useless against the elves. Forec wondered if magic would be enough.
"You two," Forec said and pointed at the talents. "Stay here and get down. You aren't allowed to die. Mages, remember your orders."
He thought of something that he had developed—in theory of course—that would cause the most devastation. With both hands to the sky, he began to conjure both earth and fire. A stone engulfed in flames grew from nothing above the elven army, a shadow grew on top of them. It did nothing to slow they as they continued forward without hesitation. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he continued to grow the ball of rock and fire. When finally it was too much for him to control, he released it for gravity to take over.
It was a streak of brilliant red, orange, and white in the sky. Forec pulled on it with magic so it would land on the center of the elvish ranks. The shadow beneath the elves began to grow smaller and darker until they finally started to look up.
It tore the ground apart as it landed. A roar boomed as the ground and stone exploded in all directions. A cloud of dust erupted upwards, it caught fire and exploded in a second boom. Burnt rocks flew in all directions. Bodies and body parts from both elves and the cat beasts flew in all directions.
The elves who went unaffected by the attack continued forward. around the crater. Elves that were thrown from his attack but not killed began to stand and march again. The cats had been more skittish and ran in all directions away from the battlefield. It was a small victory.
"Kill the bastards!" Forec shouted to the mages.
The four mages snapped to attention and began their attacks. None were as impressive as Forec's meteor but combined they were almost as effective. Helien launched spear after spear of fire off the wall and into the elves. Ruephen forced wind behind them to accelerate the fire to ever faster speeds. On impact, they exploded against whatever they hit. The armor melted to the elves that wore it. The ground turned to molten stone.
Ausa lifted spikes from the earth the elves marched on, but there wasn’t enough force b
ehind them. They dented their armor, but couldn’t punch through it. Ausa cursed herself but continued to lift spikes as much as possible.
Mauvia summoned head sized balls of pure darkness in either hand and sent them downward, into the elven ranks. She sent hundreds of the orbs, though only a few managed to hit. When they did hit, their effect was truly profound. Whatever they touched evaporated into nothing. Head-sized craters formed in the ground. Holes appeared in elves when they made contact. One elf had his entire throat vanished, the head and body fell in separate directions.
But still, it was not enough, even once Forec had recovered enough to join in the onslaught. He began to materialize as many fiery stones as he could above the elves and allowed them to crash down. The elves continued their march as if their allies had never died. They managed to kill the elves, but not stop them.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Chapter 7
Vyra didn't appreciate how Forec tossed aside or ordered her around, but there wasn't much of an argument to be had. All she could do was disappear at the elves. Not particularly aggressive. That wouldn't be particularly effective, she decided, so she obeyed the order. But only because there wasn't another option available to her. The mages rained down spears fire, massive stones, and orbs of darkness on the elves, but it wasn't enough. After she had seen what the elves were capable of, it wasn't much of a surprise. Still, she expected the mages’ attack to have been more effective. After they made such a big deal of themselves, she had thought one of them would be enough to stop an army. It wasn’t much of a shock that they were more talk than action.
The elves reached the base of the gate which had begun to shake beneath her. Whatever they did seemed to be effective. The sounds of twisted and cracked metal made that obvious. Not so effective as to collapse the whole building, she hoped, it would be quite unpleasant to fall that far. It wasn't long before the wall was once again still and shouts started to come from the ground.
Elves streamed in from beneath their feet and into the city. Ready to meet them were the front lines of the soldiers within the city. They stood in line with spears out. Their presence didn’t slow the elves down at all.
Homecoming (Homecoming Chonicles Book 1) Page 5