"Her body is younger." Pausing, Katya knew that explaining her mentor's new state would be fairly useless. Once the other team returned, it would be obvious. "You'll see when they get here."
There were more questions. Captain Anon had a few, but most centered on survivors and whether there had been any sign of an enemy after all of this. They had come expecting the possibility of more of the alien races Katya had seen half a year earlier. It was the whole point of sending so many soldiers to protect the wizards. Without an enemy to fight, they could have simply sent the gate team and a few research wizards to explore what had happened here.
Katya fielded what questions she could and fended off those that still needed to be tested out or seen.
With no apparent danger around them, the captain ordered a camp to be set. The diplomacy apprentice specifically requested Ylena's tent and gear to be put up as soon as possible. They would need a place to go through the procedure of locking the wizard's magic with the necklace. If it was the same process as Katya had gone through when she had arrived, it wouldn't take too long but the girl wanted to make certain that they had some privacy and seclusion to keep anyone from becoming enthralled by Ylena's voice or possibly even scent.
Less than an hour passed and the small group leading a handful of horses with empty saddles returned. Martina immediately drew Anon and some of the other leaders together to field more questions. There was the appearance of a familiar looking dark haired girl wrapped in Blake's brown coat. Light blue bands on the collar and sleeve identified the man's main element of air though the rest was tanned leather. Air users were popular wizards for the gate teams since they could also scout ahead with their magic.
The colors meant little on the pretty wizard, of course, since they weren't her own. Katya noted Ylena's face and noted that her eyes seemed to lack focus now. Fearing that shock might have finally claimed her friend as she came to deal with the changes to her body, the apprentice hurried over to Ylena on her horse.
Looking at the youthful looking wizard's legs, cleaned of blood, and bared almost to her rear end on the saddle; Katya thought her mentor's appearance lacked nearly all modesty. Once more she wondered if it was some regression of her diplomacy magic making her seem to not care what she looked like to those around her or if it was simple shock.
Ylena shook her head as if to snap herself out of her reverie and the woman dismounted. Katya received a view of more than she expected of her mentor as the beautiful wizard with her pearlescent skin threw her legs over to jump down from the horse's back. She noted legs smooth and hairless as if she had shaved recently using magic. Her cheeks were a bit rosy as well, but it didn't appear to be related to the cold air. Ylena didn't even seem to notice the cold even though her legs and feet were exposed while she was only covered by Blake's jacket.
Hopping onto the stone ground, her bare feet seemed tough enough to ignore the loose rocks as well.
"I had them put up our tent first. We can use the necklace to protect everyone from your magic," Katya said taking the raven haired beauty's hand.
"Ok," was the short reply, but even two letters uttered made men's heads turn if they weren't already looking at Ylena to see the changes in the diplomacy wizard.
Wizard Nyus hurried over looking intently at the dark haired girl. At first Katya was afraid that the man was especially susceptible to the siren like voice of the diplomacy wizard.
"It's true," he blurted out looking amazed by the sight of the woman. "You look like you did when we first went to White Hall. You're even shorter now. Does this mean your age has rolled back to before you were even full grown?"
Gray eyes, holding a strong hint of blue now, looked at the older man and a slight smile crossed her lips. "I didn't finish growing until I was nearly sixteen, so I would guess that my body is only fourteen or fifteen now."
"And your memory?"
"Intact," she replied in brevity.
"She still remembers me and everything leading through our trip here, Wizard Nyus," Katya interjected noticing more of the men looking with each word from the other girl, "but her control of her magic isn't as good as it was. We're not certain why, but we planned to use a locking necklace to retard any wilder reactions.
"If you'll excuse us, you can ask her more questions later," the apprentice said taking over the conversation and once more she tried to lead her mentor towards their tent.
"But..." the research wizard began again raising a hand with his forefinger pointed as if trying to make an important statement.
"After," Katya said sternly with a frown while adding a little diplomacy magic to the word and Nyus took a step backward without even realizing it.
The two young women hurried towards the newly formed rows of tents. Ylena went to her knees to crawl into their tent mooning a few soldiers looking their way curiously. Receiving a spectacular view for a moment before Katya could interject her body between them and frown at the soldiers, the wizard finally disappeared into the darkness of the small tent. Her apprentice followed her inside and could barely see thanks to the darkness created by the thick canvas.
Ylena's voice rose calling upon a short series of powerful words in a language that most of Southwall wouldn't understand. A ball of light formed near the peak of the tent. Moving it to the center, the wizard seemed to forget about it as she unbuttoned the coat and cast it to the side before fiddling with a pack set against a bedroll.
The soldiers had been quick to follow Katya's request, the girl realized as she waited uncomfortably.
"Where is it?" the naked wizard asked as she began to pull the contents from her pack. Black dresses and stockings were cast on the canvas floor as Ylena searched worriedly.
Katya shifted noting the harsh stone even through the tent's material. The thin layer of canvas wasn't much protection and the girl hoped that using her bedroll and her bag as a pillow at night would help make up for the lack of padding or she feared that her body would be sore by morning.
"You could put on one of those dresses, you know, in case someone else should come and peek inside."
The raven haired wizard didn't even look at her apprentice as she continued to search with her hand for whatever she was looking for now. "It can wait. You were the one who worried that my magic was out of control. I am trying to find the binding necklace. I know that I brought it with me."
Shaking her head, Katya was becoming more and more certain that her friend and mentor was losing her mind. The radical change to her body's clock could easily be blamed, but she wondered how much of it related to something being off with Ylena's magic as well. It was like she was being at least partially controlled by the spirit of her power. Katya feared that she had practically become an irrational wilder from the drastic changes to her body.
"Ah, here it is," the dark haired girl said turning back again with a simple necklace in her hand. A silver chain held a clear gemstone caged by a silver claw like setting. Her eyes lifted to the apprentice in front of her and her momentary elation wavered before she asked, "Have you read about how to utilize a controller's necklace yet?"
Though it hadn't been an official piece of her reading, Katya had been forced to wear one of these necklaces when she had arrived at the school. Wizard Darius had contained her magic first with his vast power and ancient knowledge of spells, but he had passed off control of her to Ylena and the necklace. Having to wear one for so long had driven the apprentice to go to the library to read about them. She had only been a novice, but the research wizards in charge of the school library had been nice enough about nurturing her intellectual curiosity.
"The gem is linked through a series of hard to see runes. Their shapes mimic the links in a chain, if someone untrained bothered to look close enough."
Nodding, the long, raven colored tresses floated up and down gently covering her shoulders nearly to her breasts. Katya had been to the communal baths and even seen Ylena there on occasion. Though she liked boys it was still hard to avoid loo
king at her mentor's chest now. Ylena's words helped draw her eyes to the wizard's face at least.
"Do you remember the ritual? Have you read about it?"
Frowning at the pretty wizard, Katya said, "You just had me focus on the gem while Darius released his hold on my magic. Isn't that the gist of it?"
Dark hair fluttered as Ylena shook her head. "That was because the high wizard already controlled your power like the necklace. We are essentially starting from the beginning without another's influence, but in some ways it is the same.
"Hold the necklace here and here with both hands. Your magic charges the two points while I focus my power on the gem. It will make your power the key for adjusting the amount of control the necklace has over my magic."
Holding the silver chain out to Katya, the younger girl took hold as directed and infused her power into the runes in those places. She felt Ylena's strength rising and sensed as the other wizard's magic was channeled towards the gem. It began to glow with color. At first the colors swirled with variety, but as the wizard continued it began to set towards purple. After a minute, it lightened a bit more making Katya think that 'pink' was the most appropriate description of the gem's new color.
"Set it over my neck," Ylena said breathily. Sweat was glistening on her forehead and her naked skin even had a slight sheen that reflected the light. The dark haired wizard's light suddenly winked out of existence as the necklace was secured in place. "All right, now hold the same points and slowly release the hold on my magic. I doesn't need to be completely suppressed after all. I do have some control. We just don't want it to leak without my intent behind it."
As Katya felt the spell holding her mentor's magic, she realized that she had complete control over what Ylena could do magically speaking. The apprentice could lock down her power or leave a faint restraint. With her current level of wildness, she was led to give the diplomacy wizard a slight delay to any use of her magic. It was slightly above the halfway point towards complete freedom.
"That should do it," the girl, who was Katya's elder by over twenty years though for now she looked to be the same age, judged the necklace's strength from the side of the one being controlled.
"How do you know?" Katya asked watching as Ylena turned her attention to one of the black dresses with silver trimming on the collar and sleeve.
"I've done enough of them that I know how it feels from either side. This will let me use my magic at full strength if needed, but it will require me to force past the new delay to actually cast. That should keep any stray magic from slipping free and accidentally controlling anyone."
Ylena had donned the dress, but kneeling in the tent meant her lower legs were still bare.
"Do you have a second set of boots or shoes at least?" Katya asked realizing that everything her friend had worn was shriveled away to nothingness. The apprentice had only brought a single coat and a single set of short boots. It hadn't occurred to her to bring a back up for either one.
Shaking her head, Ylena grimaced sheepishly and said, "No, unless someone has something to spare, I guess that I will be running around the countryside barefoot."
"You'll catch your death from a cold or have your toes drop off," the younger girl said worriedly. It was the same kind of warning that her mother had given her as a child during Southwall's winters.
Chuckling at her apprentice's overly dramatic warning, Ylena replied, "It isn't that cold. It is spring more or less. I can always put on a couple pairs of stockings if I am riding at least." She glanced at Blake's jacket and added, "I suppose that I should give him back his coat also. He'll be the one getting sick without it."
"If you used your magic on him, he wouldn't care."
"Katya, don't be so cruel!" she laughed again and Katya realized how much the older wizard's voice could sound like music. It was very pleasant to her ears and explained part of why Ylena's magic had been so potent on the men around them.
"Well, it is true though."
Both of the girls laughed at the idea before finally exiting to find out the state of the camp and its remaining leaders.
Chapter 12- Light and Dark
Shadows were cast across the camp making it hard to believe that it was already morning. Inside their tent, Katya awoke to darkness and the sound of Ylena moving. The other woman, now a girl, had gone to sleep shortly after the ritual to harness her magic. She hadn't even eaten dinner, though her apprentice had tried to wake her gently. Feeling it was for the best that Ylena had time to recover after the great changes to her body and the other major impacts to her life, Katya had left her to sleep and ate dinner with the other apprentices and wizards without her.
Now it was still early and Ylena had awoken most likely because of the needs of her body that had been ignored the evening before this. Katya heard a low rumble as the other wizard's stomach growled its need. Magic took energy and the best way to return it was to eat as well as rest. Though it was hard to say if what had happened to Ylena had affected her reserves at all her overall power felt the same. The magic used to bind her power would certainly have affected the wizard also while the time since Ylena had last eaten could be considered also. For now it was a need other than food that was best taken care of first and Katya felt a similar need in her body as she began to get up as well.
After a quick bathroom stop, the two young women headed towards a morning cook fire. There were enough troops with them to have more than one, so this fire was designated for the wizards and mages though a few officers and regular soldiers had come also.
There were obvious stares at the dark haired wizard as she approached. Her feet and legs were bare, but her wizard's dress was long enough to cover most of her body. Her feet and ankles were obvious to the eye as Ylena strode towards the fire, however. The black dress was in stark contrast to her pale, pearlescent skin as was her raven colored hair. Even her eyes, more blue now than gray since the change, had long dark lashes that seemed fuller than before and they stood out from her pale skin.
She seemed not to notice the stares, but Katya's eyes darted to those looking at her friend acting as if her face had been mauled or something, the apprentice thought. At least they didn't look horrified, but many eyes widened in surprise for those who hadn't had a chance to get a close look at the transformed wizard.
Katya also noticed men like Pheon appreciating her beauty perhaps a little too much as well.
Aside from the distraction of Ylena, she noticed that there seemed to be another gathering uphill in the direction of the sealed cave.
"What's going on up there?" she asked while Ylena took a metal plate and had the cooks place a substantial amount of food on it. It looked heavy, but the wizard's eyes told Katya that her stomach wanted it all.
Venya started to turn in the direction of her gaze, but began to speak as she did, "Wizard Nyus dragged Lius up to the cave. He said something about getting a sample of the dust to examine."
"He what?!" Ylena asked in shock before her apprentice. She had apparently been paying more attention to their conversation than Katya had realized.
Pointing up towards the crest of the hill that hid the lowest part of the wall and the cave entrance, the apprentice clarified though Ylena's question probably didn't need such. "Nyus took Chalman with him as well, though he looked rather nervous to be that close to the cave."
Zav nodded as Venya referenced his mentor. "Nyus came to our tent half an hour ago all worked up saying that he had an idea of how to contain the dust and that they needed to study it to understand why the aliens might have left it here.
"Chalman resisted, but he's always a little out of sorts in the morning, especially before his kaffe."
Katya could smell the scent of kaffe, a popular heated drink, even over the smells of food cooking.
"That idiot," Ylena complained and started to walk purposefully towards the rise that would lead her up to the cave mouth and the gathering that could be seen even from the valley beneath it. The heavy plate stil
l in hand, the wizard managed to shovel in more of her food refusing to leave it behind even to deal with this possible emergency.
Following in her wake, Katya gave a wistful look towards the food but hurried after the dark haired maiden. With the pink colored stone bouncing on her upper chest outside the black dress, Ylena's magic shouldn't be a problem; but Katya was essentially in charge of adjusting the grip on her power and felt like she should be close by just in case. Why Ylena might need her magic when supposedly everything was contained and safe, she didn't really know. Her gut told her to follow anyway.
Nearing the crest of the rise, the two young women trailed by a couple of the apprentices and their mentors from the fire saw Captain Anon and Falconi Martina arguing with the research wizard who seemed oblivious to any danger from the sealed cave.
"...you can't be sure, wizard," Captain Anon was finishing as he was even gesturing with his hands as he spoke. The soldier looked intent to stop the wizard, though he might not be certain if he could because of the man's magic.
"Be reasonable, Wizard Nyus," Falconi Martina added with a nod of her head towards the captain. "We know what a little of the dust can do to a person. There are already too many dead inside that proves it. What can possibly be gained by releasing any of that death magic?"
"Yes, yes, what it can do can certainly be deadly, but we can argue that any spell, any magic can be lumped into that same category. The problem is that we don't know enough about it to know why it was left here. We do know that the dust appears to affect living tissue and other things organic that were once living. On the other hand, stone doesn't seem to be affected at all. Some said that metal might have started to oxidize and rust because of it, but I would risk my life that there are other materials that can contain it. Like glass..." the man who seemed so plain to the eye said holding out a glass jar.
Battle Mage, The Caves of Time Page 15