White Hall (The High King: A Tale of Alus Book 10)

by Donald Wigboldy

  His left shoulder told him it was injured as well, but the cadet had a feeling that it came from his poor landing more than the fight. Admitting that wound to the healers would come with a little bit of shame. Injuring himself wasn't the story of a hero after all.

  Elijah heard the small hiss of pain as the cadet's shoulder popped, but after a moment Niklaus stood shakily. His legs felt like he had run ten miles or more. Whether his energy was used up because of magic or just the battle, he wasn't sure; but the young mage knew that finding some food before a second attack would be wise.

  "I'm a little nicked up, but I'll be ok. I am hungry though. Maybe the griffin's metabolism eats up energy quicker than my own, or it's from using magic; but I'll need to resupply," he told his mentor even as the boy wondered if his legs would ever stabilize. They were like gelatin and felt ready to give without Elijah's support beside him.

  "How bad did they hit us? Are the healers safe?"

  The falcon nodded even as he led the boy up the hill, which made his legs even more exhausted; but that was where their packs were located. Each wizard and mage had been carrying their own supplies, so most of them had bags nearby. The cadet had simply landed too far downhill to retrieve his pack and the food inside easily.

  "With your distraction and I think that of your brother, the creatures never went beyond the line of novices for long," the man's voice stopped and Niklaus glanced to his mentor. Elijah's bleak looking face told the story too well.

  "Have you been down the hill yet?" the cadet asked looking over his shoulder and down the hill. He could make out men and women in yellow or white with yellow stripes moving through the novice wizards. There was also a lot of movement from other white clad individuals with different colored stripes on their sleeves or at their shoulders and neck among the fallen.

  He breathed a little easier even though Elijah had looked ready to tell him that it was a massacre.

  His trainer shook his head slowly.

  "Then think positively until we know otherwise. We have healers here, and not just some novices guessing at the problem."

  Elijah looked at the boy in surprise and retorted, "I thought that I was your mentor and I was supposed to make you feel better."

  "Probably, but you're doing a lousy job of it so far," Niklaus managed a chuckle that sounded genuine. His mind was on his friends and brother down below. If he weren't on the verge of collapse, the cadet would have run down the hill as fast as he could to help. He worried over Piotr, but Elijah had said something about him as well.

  "You said that Piotr was doing something to keep the grayvens off of us?"

  "The what?" the elder mage asked in confusion.

  "Sorry, I was thinking that they look like ravens or shrikes blended with some sort of black cat. They also resemble the griffin from the stories," the boy apologized and explained himself.

  "So a griffin and raven combined, I follow now." He shook his head remembering Niklaus' question. "There was always at least one of those things biting or clawing at the others. One would rip the wings from another's back and then the next thing I would see, a different one would attack the same way; so I kind of assumed that it would take someone like your brother to cause that kind of havoc among the... grayvens," the falcon finished testing out the word.

  A healer's apprentice approached after Elijah had raised his hand behind the cadet's back. Niklaus gave him a questioning look as the wizard who looked slightly older than him came up to them as he sat beside his pack. As the cadet moved to reach for the food in his bag, pain lanced up his arm. He barely had any strength in the arm at all and Niklaus was surprised as he noticed that he was still bleeding from the long gash on his forearm.

  The male apprentice knelt beside him looking at Elijah with concern despite being on the level of the cadet.

  "I'm sure that there are people hurt worse than me," Niklaus complained as the apprentice began mouthing his words of power. His hands touched his arm just below the shoulder. "Shouldn't you be helping the novices or the mages that were caught in the worst of it down there? I'll be fine if you want to put me last."

  Taking a drink from his canteen, the boy discovered that he was very thirsty and drank quickly even as he expected the apprentice to back off and find somebody in true need.

  "You're in worse shape than you say," the dark haired apprentice stated as his eyes glazed over with the use of his magic. "Your shoulder is out of its socket. There are two cracked ribs on the same side and you're bleeding from five different wounds.

  "If I leave you alone for an hour, you'll probably be unconscious and in three hours or less you'll probably be dead. So why don't you leave healing to those who can do it and just eat something? You'll need the energy, because I can't share as much while I heal you, if I hope to take care of the rest of those you think are injured worse than you."

  Niklaus frowned and retorted, "You aren't very good with patients. No wonder you're just an apprentice."

  A quick yank from the apprentice made a loud pop in his shoulder that made Niklaus yelp. He would have screamed, but the pain cut his breath before more than the weak protest escaped his lips.

  Giving the apprentice an angry look as the blood began to restore the color to his face, the cadet complained, "I thought you healers could use your magic to block pain!"

  "I thought you said that you were fine," the apprentice quipped back, though his voice sounded a bit distant as his magic worked on his patient. "Blocking pain for major wounds might be necessary, but most people can handle a shoulder pop without crying too much."

  Elijah had his hand over his mouth to cover a smile, though he still shook with amusement. Adding a frown for his mentor, Niklaus was glad when the healer was finished. He finished eating and drinking without further disruption as the wizard moved down the hill towards those with more need.

  When the cadet stood minutes later, his legs still felt a little weak; but Niklaus could tell that the rest and food had already begun to restore him. He had a long way to go before he could say that he felt like himself again, but his legs held him without Elijah's support.

  He looked around him seeing that the team he had originally been grouped with for the battle had already moved down the hill with the healers. Uliya and Xara had gone to find their mentors where the fighting had been the worst. The cadet could only assume that the two girls, along with the other two cadets stationed with them who were newer to White Hall, had felt helpless in their position with the healers as he had. No one wanted to be in the middle of such a battle, but a battle mage wanted to be able to stand next to their comrades to help protect them if they could.

  Starting the long walk down the hill towards the groups which had been in the heart of things, Niklaus looked to the sky over the far hill wondering where the enemy might have gone. Would they be back?

  Southwall had certainly bloodied them a bit. The monsters had been strong, but magic made the frail humans easily a match even for the much larger ox men. He could make out bodies of the enemy lying near the base of the two hills. It wasn't even large enough to refer to as a true valley, but had been chosen for the tactical advantage their campsite didn't have. The blood continued to trickle down the slopes to pool among the dead bodies.

  Unfortunately there were human bodies lying on the ground as well. Too many weren't moving and he could only hope that no one he was close to was among them. With such a selfish thought in his mind, Niklaus went to look for his brother first.

  "Piotr, are you dead?!" Uliya yelled at the novice wizard still in his cocoon of roots. His face could be seen, but the boy truly looked like a giant caterpillar in its cocoon. He hadn't responded to the girl as she poked at his left cheek in worry. Having called to him several times, the red headed cadet resorted to yelling in his ear.

  Even those were somewhat covered by the roots growing up around him. Piotr was a very odd sight on the battle ground. Like the last tree standing of a stripped forest, the nature novice's defense w
as the last remaining on the slope occupied by Southwall's company.

  "I'm not dead," Piotr finally mumbled though his voice sounded distant as he followed the enemy forces with one of the grayven. It was the last he had captured with his mind, but the enemy was pulling back at that point. Instead of trying to stir up chaos amongst the flying beasts, whose number had been reduced significantly; the wizard chose to follow the others thinking that he could use the information if their leaders chose to counterattack.

  From his vantage point above the main battle ground, Piotr might assume that Southwall had no intention of following the strange beast army; but he was not in charge so the novice thought it better to at least know what the enemy was up to now. He had seen a lot of bodies lying on the ground from one slope to the other and up the rise towards where his body remained nestled in his cocoon of roots. While the company might have some fight left in it, they might prefer sending for back up from White Hall or Windmeer to the north.

  "I'm also not deaf, at least not yet," the boy quipped without opening his eyes. While his main attention centered on holding control over the grayven, keeping his eyes closed helped prevent extra distractions from entering his vision. His eyes worked as did his view through the grayven's orbs. The two could conflict at times so it was best to just use one set of eyes at a time. At this time controlling the beast was harder and so it demanded his greater attention than his protected body.

  Pouting a little at his rebuke, Uliya rested her forearms on his wood covered, left shoulder as she stood on her toes to speak into his ear. "Well, then you should have answered me the first time. How was I supposed to know that you heard me?

  "Where is your mind now?" she questioned as the girl understood enough of his abilities to assume he was in the mind of some other creature.

  "With one of those flying monsters, I am keeping an eye on them to make sure that they aren't trying to regroup to attack us again."

  Uliya shivered a little bit at the idea. She had seen the fighting, but not been in it directly. It had looked frightening and no amount of training could truly replicate it enough to prepare someone for the ugliness of war.

  "Do you think that they will try?" The girl asked remaining beside him. Even with his mind distant, Uliya found comfort in her friend. She hadn't told him that she had started to have a crush on him ever since that first night he had asked her to dance, though the girl had perhaps revealed more of her feelings after the battle at the forest a month ago. While he was different from Niklaus in so many ways, Uliya didn't think that was necessarily a bad thing. In fact, his gentle nature was heartwarming, while he still had that underlying strength that made him a place of security for the young girl.

  Piotr was unresponsive for a long moment and Uliya thought that he was going to ignore her again. Since she knew that he was alive in his cocoon, the girl decided that she could wait until he was ready. From his previous response, Piotr had heard her but was distracted by trying to control the beast. Maybe being larger the grayvens, or whatever they were going to be called, were also more intelligent and harder to control.

  On the other end of his link, the novice watched as the leader stopped by a small camp of other men who looked similar to him. Their dark blue skin made them appear related at least and they had the auras for magic as the other had shown.

  Once returned to their camp, Piotr was about to ask Uliya to call Urzen and Ylena to tell them of their location when the half dozen men began to cast a spell. The monsters gathered before them and the grayven landed to stand with the remaining army. His host mimicked their landing as the novice released much of his hold. As a mere passenger, Piotr could take over again if he must; but this seemed to be the end of the retreat for now.

  As he watched through borrowed eyes, the novice was shocked as the air began to swirl in a counterclockwise motion. Looking like swirling clouds of white and gray, the circle expanded along the ground creating a massive oval of a swirling fogbank. The ends began to straighten vertically while the clouds pushed along the ground in roiling clouds that looked like a storm slowly turning into a tornado.

  The leader was apparently satisfied and gestured to the closest of his army and motioned them into the angry clouds. Hurrying forward, the rams and oxen led the charge appearing unworried over the magic before them. Each disappeared into the clouds and the next line joined them. They never exited the far side as far his grayven could tell, but the army kept walking forward dissolving into the clouds.

  Hobgoblins joined the rush and soon the remaining grayven did as well. Piotr made his host halt to watch this strange exodus. He could only guess that the blue men had a reason for making their army disappear. While it could be magic designed to hold the beasts inside, Piotr had a feeling that he was watching these beings version of a portal.

  Talk of the Dark One's army using glowing doorways to move around the plains had been passed onto the novices. It had been a warning to never assume that the emperor's forces were where they were believed to be. With magic, and the dark magic of those warlocks serving the emperor in particular, there was room for the impossible to be possible. Southwall's beliefs in magic didn't mean others could use it in different ways.

  The crowd of monsters was thinning quickly and holding the grayven back could no longer be ignored by these magical creatures. Piotr let it follow its comrades fearlessly and let go just before the monster touched the clouds.

  Shaking his head as he opened his eyes, Piotr looked at Uliya's blue eyes staring at him from just a couple inches lower than his as she had settled back on her heals while she waited for him. The novice noted her concern but quickly turned his gaze to those wandering around him. Those not injured were trying to eat or helping the wounded for those with the ability to tend wounds.

  "Have you seen Urzen or Ylena?" he asked making the girl look disappointed by his first question.

  She turned her head looking downhill and stated as she pointed her finger in the direction of the main battle, "Urzen was gathering up anyone who looked ready to keep fighting and has begun setting guards to protect our wounded and healers. Ylena..." the girl's eyes narrowed scanning for the diplomacy wizard. Spotting her long dark hair with her black and silver tunic, Uliya added, "There's Ylena. What happened?"

  "I think they are using portal magic to escape."

  The roots receded without a word as the novice let his magic send the roots back into the earth. His legs acted surprised to have to carry his weight again and Piotr nearly lost his balance as they began to feel weakness.

  Uliya held her canteen to his lips and said, "You'd better drink up and eat something too. You were using your magic for a long time, so I'm sure that you're exhausted."

  His legs agreed with the girl, but taking a quick drink from her canteen, Piotr reached into the pack on his back. He had kept it on his shoulders in case he needed quick access to food and drink. Magic was too dependent on a wizard's energy and food was a quick way to return it back to a body. Faster than an athlete could access energy from his food, magic seemed to draw it into a wizard almost before it could reach his stomach.

  Unwrapping a travel bar made of honey holding grains and dried fruit together, Piotr took a quick bite even as his weary legs started towards Ylena. He needed to warn them of the portal magic of these creatures. If the enemy was leaving their world or at least the mountains, they might be safe; but there was the possibility that the enemy was simply using their magic to relocate to attack from a different direction. Such a danger required quick warning before their company suffered anymore casualties.

  Uliya walked with the novice as he chased after the diplomacy wizard leading their forces. They would see what their elders made of the situation once he told them what was happening, then Piotr could rest.

  Chapter 36- Aftermath

  Katya had rejoined Cheleya and the other dragon mages as the enemy began to retreat. A swarm of grayven flew into them before the mages had a chance to do more damage to the gr
ound troops of the enemy. The flying beasts had taken their losses, but there were still quite a few as the dragon mages scattered skirmishing with the dark monsters briefly before the swarm moved on following their ground troops.

  She looked to her elders to see if they should follow, but the attack had taken its toll despite the brief exchange.

  Counting the flyers around her, Katya noticed they were short a few members. Iris was missing from the air making the younger girl scout the ground for her friend. Breathing easier, she noticed Cheleya drop down to the apprentice who was holding her arm tight to her formerly white dress. Unlike the other female dragon mages, Iris couldn't break from the constraints of her life as a wizard. Few female wizards wore pants or dressed more like their male counterparts. It seemed like only those who were likely to get dirty would think to be more practical. Nature, earth and even fire wizards tended to be those willing to break the mold.

  What Iris wore only made it easier to see she had been injured. Blood ran from her right breast down to her upper thigh. Splatters darkening to brown flecked her torn sleeve and left side. Cheleya helped her sit by the time Katya landed worrying for her friend, though Iris was at least living and accounted for.

  "What happened, Iris?" she asked with concern as she felt Cheleya using her magic to try and heal the girl. All the dragon mages had put on their scale armor before closing with the enemy, she had thought.

  The pretty redhead had always been light skinned though freckled lightly. With the blood loss, Iris looked positively white.

  "One of them cut across my arm with its talons and into my side. The armor magic didn't hold up to its power. Their talons are wickedly sharp and strong," she finished closing her eyes. They fluttered so Katya could tell that she was losing consciousness and not doing so of her own volition.

  "Iris?" Katya called worriedly.

  "It's just a sleep spell so she doesn't feel too much pain while I heal her," Cheleya commented absently. The dragoness's mind was distracted as her magic was switched from the sleep spell to healing. She was still considered a novice from the amount of time spent learning the skills of a healer, but the basics of healing wounds had been something she could do before coming to White Hall. Despite the deadly cut, Cheleya could consider such healing simple compared to some of that which was yet to be taught to her.