by Jeff Inlo
The desert was wide open before him and he hoped to put a great space between himself and the sorcerer. Once out of range, he could return to his proper path and reach the algors' home without further delay. Unfortunately, the land itself did not seem to cooperate.
As he pressed forward, landmarks in the distance appeared to move further away. It was as if he was running in reverse even as he pressed forward. He changed his direction, first to his left and then to his right in hopes of offsetting the apparent abnormality, but it didn't matter. Every forward move appeared to take him backward and even frantic leaps just accelerated his reverse movement.
He thought it had to be an illusion, yet another trick of light. Holli had used an illusion at Connel to lure him into a guarded area when he initially brought Heteera to see Enin. Just because the land appeared to be moving in reverse didn't mean it was. A swallit had also cast an illusion to make it appear as if his sword stopped glowing. The beast even warned him of the power of illusion. This had to be more of the same. He wouldn't fall for it.
Knowing he couldn't rely on his eyes, Ryson believed he could depend on his ears and his nose. He caught the scent of the spell caster and placed it at a set distance in relation to his current position. He also focused on the sound of the sorcerer's breathing and movements. That would be his focal point and he would race away from it regardless of what he saw.
Increasing his speed, he ignored the strange vision he attributed to a mirage-like illusion. He concentrated on the fixed position of the sorcerer based on what the delver could smell and hear. To his amazement, his other senses matched his sight. He was not escaping the spell caster. If anything, the faster he ran, the closer he seemed to be returning to the sorcerer even as he did everything in his power to move in the opposite direction. Frustration almost bubbled over for the delver, but he was not alone in his annoyance over the predicament.
"That is enough!" a new voice boomed across the desert, one that Ryson immediately recognized.
The delver pulled to a complete halt and looked to the skies above the rocks where he knew the sorcerer to be hiding. He could see Enin, and the wizard was clearly unhappy as he descended to the ground.
The long-haired spell caster meekly stepped out of the shadows. He knew hiding was useless against the superior wizard and he did not wish to appear threatening in any manner. He looked up at the wizard in obvious concern.
"I wasn't going to harm him," the man revealed in a near panic.
Enin frowned in clear annoyance, but then his attention to the delver.
"Ryson, come here quickly, please."
The delver ran to the side of his friend and to confront the heavyset sorcerer.
"Ryson Acumen?" the spell caster asked in even greater dismay. "I did not know. Honestly, I didn't know." He looked upon the delver with pleading eyes. "I didn't hurt you. You know that. I was just practicing my spells. I just knew you were a delver, that's all. If I knew you were Ryson Acumen, I wouldn't have bothered you at all."
Enin dismissed the excuses as irrelevant.
"It shouldn't matter who he is. What is your name?"
"Neltus," the man responded without hesitation, and he clearly knew the wizard before him. "Honestly, Enin, I was just practicing."
"You were delaying Ryson Acumen from performing a service at my request... and for what? A ridiculous game to hone your so-called skills. Well Neltus, you will have need of those skills and I will put them to much better use. Don't test my patience with further excuses."
The spell caster fell silent as Enin turned his attention to Ryson.
"I assume you completed the first part of your mission without incident?"
"Small incident, but everyone's safe," Ryson admitted. "No real problems until I got here. I didn't want to mess around with him, but he wouldn't let me leave." Ryson then considered the appearance of the wizard. Baannat had been at the forefront of Enin's concern. His delver curiosity kicked in as he openly wondered what would bring Enin to the desert. "Why are you here?"
"I am in need of those with the ability to cast powerful spells. Loath as I am to admit it, this foolish man has such an ability. I was probing the desert for spells and couldn't ignore the energy being used here."
The wizard turned back to Neltus.
"You have great power over the land, but you use it unwisely. No matter, there is a debt that must be paid by all spell casters, particularly those who abuse their power."
Ryson agreed it appeared as nothing more than an abuse of power, but he still questioned the aspects of what had just happened to him.
"What did he do to me out there?" Ryson interrupted. "I thought it was an illusion but it wasn't. He kept me running in place, actually going backward even though I was moving forward. Why couldn't I get away?"
Enin knew the answer but forced Neltus to explain.
"Tell him."
Neltus spoke sheepishly at first, not wanting to expose himself to the wrath of the wizard, but in mere moments, a clear tinge of arrogance shaped his words.
"You're right. It wasn't an illusion. I don't mess with things that aren't real, but the land is as real as it gets. That's what I focus on. I cast a spell to have the land work in direct opposition to you. You expand energy on the ground to move forward, but I can make it so the land fights back. Whatever you did, whichever way you moved, the very ground under you would react in the reverse. You were pushing forward, but the ground was pushing you back, and you're not stronger than the land."
"He can do that?" Ryson asked of Enin.
"Unfortunately, power and wisdom don't always go hand-in-hand. Yes, he has the ability. It's a powerful spell. Only those casting pure red magic," Enin paused to look at Neltus in a most menacing fashion, "or white magic, can accomplish the spell. It does, however, take a great deal of energy. He probably couldn't have kept it up much longer."
"So if I just kept running, eventually I would have broken free?" Ryson asked.
Enin simply nodded.
Ryson made a mental note of that new information.
"That's good to know."
"Have you made contact with any algors yet?" Enin asked, clearly concerned about the delver's progress in more important matters.
"No, I didn't want to search out any stragglers in the desert. I thought I would just go to the cliffs where they congregate," Ryson admitted. "Once I can get there, I can spread the word to most of them, and they have a way of communicating with each other that's much more efficient than anything I could do out here."
"Then do not delay any further, and give Neltus no more concern. I will deal with him."
Ryson was about to race off, but his delver curiosity held him for one more moment.
"What do you really want with him?"
"He is being recruited into the service of the land." Enin said with more than a sense of finality. The statement held an iron tone, as if the Neltus was bound to obey.
Neltus, however, found his voice again.
"Recruited?" Neltus asked with obvious worry. "Recruited for what?"
Enin's expression turned grim.
"The days of magic casters selfishly playing in the desert are over. You were given power for a reason, a reason far more important than casting spells for your own amusement or benefit. A war is coming and it is a war you cannot hope to avoid, even if I didn't come for you."
Near panic washed over the crimson sorcerer. He was in the desert to gain power, to grow in experience for his own gain, not so he could fight in some battle. He didn't even need to know what the war was about. It was not his concern. He only cared about his own well-being.
"I don't want any part of a war!" Neltus objected.
"It does not matter what you want, or what I want, for that matter. The desert will come under siege in but a few days time. Would you rather be caught out here when thousands of dark creatures emerge from the east to claim these lands?"
Neltus did not wish to contradict the wizard, but the claim sou
nded baseless.
"Dark creatures? Here? There's nothing here for them."
"There is actually much to be gained out here, but it's obviously beyond your rather narrow and selfish considerations. I'm not here to play games, Neltus, or spin lies. They are coming, and if you wish to ignore me and stay here, it will most likely mean your death."
Neltus understood Enin's vast power. As strong as he was over the crimson energy of the land, his power was dwarfed by the wizard that cast white magic with two circles of control. Enin had no reason to lie, and Neltus had no wish to die. Still, the plump sorcerer remained self-absorbed and he considered other alternatives, choices that would keep him from danger.
"I can go further to the west, to the seas."
"Can you? And what then? Your cowardice is irrelevant. What matters is the magic that courses through you. That magic binds you to the land, more so than most others. And the land recalls. It remembers the time of absent magic and the time before that—the time magic existed but was captured by Ingar's sphere. Those that used the magic bargained with dark creatures for their own benefit, and the land remembers, thus so do you."
Neltus would not openly admit it, but he did understand. His connection to history was as deep as his connection to the ground that withstood the passage of time. At Enin's insistence, he recalled the legends, sensed the time that magic casters chose corruption and selfishness. He dropped his gaze in shame.
"And so the debt exists for all spell casters," Enin declared, "and you must repay the debt or live with it for the rest of your days. You know you really don't have a choice, you will go where I send you."
Neltus wouldn't ask, but Ryson did.
"Where?"
"To Pinesway."
"Pinesway is abandoned," Ryson replied. "Nothing there but empty houses and a handful of thieves and vagrants."
"Give them no mind. They will leave as well when they see what is coming," Enin added. "And that is for the best. Baannat will move both east and west. You, the algors, and dwarves will confront him in the desert, and the spell casters will meet him in Pinesway. This will cut him off from his main objectives, and it will keep many others out of harm's way. I will not allow Connel to suffer again. The battle that is coming in the east will take place at the edge of Dark Spruce. We will stop him there, where there will be no innocents in danger and where the magic can be used to its full potential without worry for collateral damage."
Ryson was then hit by one more worry.
"What about Burbon?"
Enin frowned, revealing equal concern.
"I haven't fully decided what to do about Burbon. It must also hold in order to keep Baannat from breaking into the farmlands, but Baannat seemed to care more about the plains. I did not sense Burbon to be in his plans, but I can't discount the town's location. It's a problem I'm still working on."
Enin then shook off that particular concern.
"Don't worry. It will be dealt with appropriately. You will just have to trust me on that. You have to focus on the algors. Reach them quickly. If Baannat acts as I suspect, both the east and west will face a terrible onslaught."
"I'm on my way. Take care, Enin."
The delver said nothing more. He resumed his path to the algors, but surprisingly felt reassured. If Enin was obtaining the aid of spell casters from the desert to fight in Pinesway, the battle would remain, as Enin said, to the east and west. That was where Ryson wanted it, away from the north, away from the mountains and away from Linda.
Chapter 17
"I'm impressed. Pale blue, almost white, and a perfect circle. You have great control over water, but you're expanding your horizons."
After sending Neltus on to Pinesway, Enin had been following new trails of spells, reaching out to powerful magic casters across the desert. He had found another, one who appeared quite adept. The magic caster appeared older than Enin, perhaps by several cycles of the season. Despite his age, he clearly revealed youthful enthusiasm as he developed his skills.
The practicing spell caster, a man named Jure, was not surprised at Enin's magical and unannounced appearance. Jure allowed his spirit to embrace the magic, and he immediately noticed the strong vibrations within the energy the moment Enin seized upon the imprint of Jure's spells.
As Enin approached, Jure gently bent his head downward and lowered his gaze to the ground, a great display of trust and respect. He raised his head only when Enin had stopped directly before him.
"Believe it or not, I owe it to you." Jure's voice was deep, but not booming. A solemn acceptance of solitude crept into the tone. "I came to you a while ago and you pointed me in the right direction. Do you remember?"
"I think I do," Enin admitted. "Your name is Jure, right?"
"It is."
"My memory is actually quite good. I've been told it's my focus that's the problem."
Jure found the admission somewhat surprising.
"Your focus? With all the control you have, you have a problem with focus?"
"Oh, I can control the magic when I want to, but you must realize by now how much the energy opens your perception. There are so many things to consider these days. Each spell can be altered a hundred different ways, maybe even a thousand, so many new ways to look at how the energy exists in the land... "
Enin stopped himself with a shake of the head.
"Ah, as you see, my focus is the problem. I'm going off again, not concentrating. As to answer your question; yes, I do remember. You came to me early in the magic's return. You understood water so well. Perhaps too well. I think it scared you."
"It did," Jure was not embarrassed to admit it. "That's one of the reason's I came to the desert. The water's presence isn't so overpowering to me here. When it all began, if I walked by a river, I felt like I was going to drown. That's why I came to you, and you told me to see things differently. You showed me how water was part of nature and of storm. How it could reflect light and douse fire. You also told me how it could feed the land. If I let my blue aura stretch out, I could touch all the other colors as well. I'm very close to that. I think it's the yellow that is the last obstacle for me. Once I understand that as well as the others, I think I might get that pure white circle."
Enin found no threat in hearing this. Jure was very different from Neltus. Enin could sense wisdom in the magical aura that surrounded the spell caster before him. Where Neltus acted like an immature adult trying to regain a youth that had passed him by, Jure accepted the role of an elder statesman and allowed the magic to refresh his outlook of life. Beyond that, Enin sensed a desire for justice, fairness and consistency within the man. The wizard believed that such qualities might allow Jure to become a great force for compassion, perhaps more than even Ryson Acumen, and that was a remarkable consideration.
"That makes me very proud," Enin proclaimed. "Many have come to me for answers. I won't refuse to offer my suggestions, unless I know it will only lead to hardship or acts of pure selfishness. You, however, have an understanding that many lack. Most want to increase their power over their natural gift or to master the control over the energy they contain. You are expanding to areas that were not immediately within you and you have gained greater control over them all. The circle was not your objective, but it has become a reward for an open mind."
"As I said, you're the one who opened it."
"Speaking of which, I'd like to discuss past actions and obligations of responsibility. You don't owe anything to me, but we all owe a debt, and that is why I'm here."
"I thought you were here about the rift."
Enin was only mildly surprised. Jure had no connection to the portal, but the gateway was now a source of disruption in the land. Even in the far reaches of the desert, Enin could sense the break—magical energy in upheaval.
"That is part of the reason I'm here. You are aware of it?"
Jure looked off to the northeast.
"I can sense it. It's an imbalance. It's not so much a gateway as it is an anomaly
. It's a bridge to be sure, but it doesn't just bend the magic, it slices it."
Not a description Enin expected to hear.
"Slices?"
"Yes, like small breaks in a line. The line exists through both realms—ummm, energy that connects the two dimensions through the gateway—but there are small gaps." Jure frowned at his own statement as he considered the ramifications and revealed his own concern. "Breaks shouldn't exist in magic. It should be a continuous flow, but for some reason, the breaks are still there."
Enin understood the description, but he grew confused over its implications.
"Is this the current rift or the previous one?"
"I don't follow," the spell caster admitted.
"There were two portals. I created the second. The first was created by a sorceress named Heteera. Her gateway lacked stability. It phased in and out of existence. I could understand breaks in the magic which coursed through Heteera's gateway, but that one is now closed."
Jure considered the point and expressed a new understanding of his own.
"Two portals, huh? That would explain the change. At least to some degree."
"What change?"
"Many days ago, when I first sensed the portal, I could feel the magical flows and they were continuous for a period of time. Then, they would cease. But this wasn't a blink or a break. It was a long pause. Then, the flow would continue. It was like it was turned on, then off, and then back on again. Those I actually understood. I thought someone was just practicing with portals—making a new one, then closing it. That must have been the first portal."
"What is it that you feel now that's so different?"
"Now, it is like I said—a broken line, quick breaks. The flow doesn't turn off completely. Instead, it's like someone is constantly chopping at the stream or perhaps swinging a blade through it over and over again. The magic comes and goes through the portal in segments. All of the breaks are very small, almost insignificant, but they are there."
"You are certain?"
"You don't feel it?"