Holding out their empty hands to demonstrate good faith, Sebastian looked at one of the men who seemed to be directing the others. Three concentrated on them now and all had weapons ready just in case they might need them.
"We're from Southwall sent from the arkhein of the Khagan, Drays and Turbuis to check on what is happening here."
The warrior frowned and thumbed at the war waging behind him. "The empire city is fighting some other force that appears about as strong.
"Now explain how you could have come here so fast? Where are the rest of our warriors?"
Ylena stepped forward. Wearing a light blouse and skirt, she looked little like a wizard and was certainly beautiful. The eyes of the men were drawn to her and the brunette beauty wasn't even using magic. She appeared safe enough and her appearance began to disarm them as their muscles eased their grip on their weapons.
"We used magic to come ahead of the others, of course. The messenger gave a little information; but with a few days difference since he left here, we were sent to assess the situation. We don't want your people being drawn into someone else's war after all," she added gesturing towards the city.
Though capable of seeing the battle raging from here, the sounds of magic and cries of warriors barely reach them on the wind.
Ylena smiled and Sebastian watched the nomads start to smile with her. The diplomacy wizard continued, "What has happened since your messenger was sent south? The battle has continued obviously, but we had been told that some of the creatures of Ponfies were running away from the city."
"Whoever these new combatants are, they made a push into the city after breaking through the east wall. Someone inside Ponfies must have rallied the defense though. Warlocks used magic to rebuild from the rubble. The enemy was driven back later the same day that we saw the deserters. The new army set up a camp deeper in the mountains and have struck Ponfies each day.
"The deserters must have rallied also, because some reinforcements came back up through yesterday giving Ponfies enough troops to meet them on the field today."
Sebastian looked up seeing magic lance out from one of the grayvens. He could barely see the blue skinned warlock, but his spell was true and one of the shrikes was struck out of the sky.
"Who seems to be winning?" he asked loud enough for the entranced nomads to hear.
Their leader shrugged. "Every time one side seems to have the upper hand, something happens to shift it slightly back again. If I had to guess, I would say Ponfies should win. They have the walls reinforced by warlocks now. Those black shrikes appear capable of using magic as well," he said with a frown that told the mage that the man was uncertain of how he should feel about such a thing. A flying sorcerer or magical bird man, it didn't matter which was the truth. Having an enemy capable of flying over your defenses to rain down magical destruction was bad for anyone in their way.
Sebastian was glad for the dragon magic shared with Southwall only a summer ago.
An eruption of sound echoed down the pass. All of them looked in worry to see another barrage of magic raining down from the city walls. He thought that it was a group spell. Though such magic was known, the battle mage had seen it only once. Usually only pairs of wizards were used, but on occasion gathering several together for either defense or an offensive spell happened. Bigger spells could amplify beyond what any single wizard could hope to do.
Like a battle mage couldn't hope to achieve the same spell power of a wizard without help, dozens of magic users could do almost miraculous things. It did tend to come at a cost, however.
Whether the warlocks would be worn out or even dead from drawing on such powerful magic, Ponfies' magic users had in fact changed the course of today's battle. Large pockets of the enemy were down. Minos and koze survived here and there. Ogres stood once more, if they had fallen, but there were many of all kinds of creatures scattered across the ground that no longer even breathed let alone moved on the field.
Picking themselves up, the enemy forces managed to pull back. Ponfies' men and monsters didn't pursue them for the most part. A few continued to fight, but seeing few rallying to them, even those let the enemy retreat after a moment. The alien monsters could still fight enough that those reckless enough to pursue them were either driven back or killed in their haste.
"Well, I guess they did it for today at least," the nomad said quietly. "We'd better pull back a bit. They'll send out shrikes to look for any other trouble most likely."
Elzen looked perplexed. "They'd come here? The enemy is to the east."
"They drove them back yesterday and the day before, but the foreigners came back. Ponfies sent out shrikes to check this pass yesterday and we lost a couple men that could be seen from above."
Taking their advice since the nomads were already starting to stealthily pull back from the stones hiding them, Sebastian and the others joined them walking back to a camp nearly two miles to the southwest. They followed a back and forth path. Sometimes it was dictated by cover and other times it was just the nature of the pass guiding them around the mountain to the east.
The mage looked up at the mountains surrounding them. Tall, jagged peaks seemed different from the Dimple Mountains. Perhaps it was the age of the mountains that was noticeable. The mountains in Southwall had been created in the chaos of the Cataclysm. The Dragon Spine Mountains were much older, though perhaps these were slightly changed from North's past thanks to the Dark One. Whether he was right or not, Sebastian brought his thoughts back to what he had seen.
A force newly arrived through a breech was already enough to give one of the Dark One's city fortresses a severe beating. They had broken their walls and only risky, powerful magic had driven them back. He had seen the wizards on their grayven. Perhaps the foreign enemy would have another answer tomorrow.
Xander watched as one of the terraces erupted in black flame. It was like nothing he had ever seen. Above them a handful of grayven flew carrying riders. More of the flying creatures dove at the battlements trying to pull the men and women away or otherwise trying to create havoc in between the waves of arrows that had been coming for several minutes now.
Throwing a fireball towards a warlock on his mount, the cadet watched his attempt not only miss but fall short as the grayven reacted easily to the slower moving flame. He had never thought of fire as slow, but the winged beast evaded it without any trouble. Arrows and other spells tried to get rid of the flying distractions, but no one had any better success than he.
Another terrace raised shields in time to avoid joining the burning defense. The first had very little movement left on the platform.
"There are survivors," Xander said loud enough to make both Shaylene and the sergeant look at the boy.
"They'll ignore them at least until they can get us all. Don't think about leaving here, mage," the man ordered with a frown.
Shaylene looked at him with caring, hazel eyes. "I can help you make a door; but without more help, can we hope to get the survivors to safety? If they can't stand or walk, we won't be able to hold the gate and pull them through it also."
Grinding his teeth, she could see his jaw clench helplessly.
His eyes lifted to the enemy warlocks above them. "We're going to need to fall back at this rate anyway. If we need to continue blocking their flyers, we won't be able to do anything to the ones below."
An archer cried out in pain falling back with an arrow in his shoulder despite the shields attempting to protect them.
"Sergeant, should I make a door so we can fall back?" he asked. A few of the other men and women looked at him with eyes appearing hopeful. Their position was growing dire. Two more had died. Four others had various injuries making those uninjured a dwindling majority. Their full strength was nearly halved.
"We'll hold a little longer. Just keep those warlocks from striking us from above, wizards. We'll take a few more down below before we retreat to the fort," the sergeant said after a moment's pause.
Xander could t
ell that the man didn't want to give in even that much, but they all knew from the beginning that the terraces were likely to fall. Retreating had been an assumption from the moment that they had been created. Resisting the power thrown at them here, the cadet wondered why these creatures had decided to bring an entire army if they were just here to check the caves.
Had they come looking for a fight or was there something else at play here? He wished that he knew what was going on. No one seemed to have a certain belief about these time caves or the ones that had created them. Were they just making this time sand here to be safe or was this some sort of weapon to destroy the people that they had fought last summer?
"Keep your head in the game, Xander," Shaylene said touching his arm gently using his earlier words against him. Her warm smile for the mage held a moment before worry could take it away. The apprentice called on her magic turning away to look over the wall again. A large fireball easily three times the size of his launched over the wall into the enemy.
A sudden cry from the girl sent her launching back into him. He had set his shield before her and only lifted it slightly to let Shaylene release the spell, but black fire struck the stone in front of her. Wincing in pain, the apprentice sunk down behind the wall holding her left arm with her right.
Most of her sleeve was gone and burns ran up her arm.
"Heal," he called on his spell long enough to remove the pain and take care of much of her skin. Given more time and a wizard's power to augment him, Xander could have fully healed her.
"Sergeant, we have to go now! Shaylene's hurt and without her I won't be able to make a gate last for long. We go now or we don't go at all!" the young mage called out sounding hoarse after using more magic in less than a minute than he had since the battle had begun.
"I can feed you my power," a male wizard stated through clenched teeth. The man had a bolt sticking out of his right arm. Xander had still watched him throwing spells even as blood continued to turn his shirt red slowly.
The soldier was in charge of the defense, but with a wizard supporting the cadet, he gave in after a moment.
"Make a gate. We're pulling back. Get ready to move everyone!" he ordered loud enough for the others to hear.
Xander saw looks of relief and a few that looked disappointed that they couldn't stay.
Picking up Shaylene, whose forehead had drops of sweat from pain glistening there, and using the other wizard's magical strength; Xander called out his spell, "Door."
As the golden light formed, the wounded among them hurried through it first. Two had to be carried away by the soldiers that had tried to protect them from harm. Moving through quickly, nearly everyone was through when Xander looked up to see the gout of black flame dropping down from above the terrace.
Chapter 29- Battle for the Terraces
A horn sounded and the foreign creatures pulled back. Warlocks from grayven backs used their magic to dissuade any further pursuit from the empire's army. It was also likely from an order to remain close to the city to protect it, Sebastian guessed.
His group had followed the squad of nomads back down the pass to a small camp. Walking back took a little longer than it had to come all the way from the opening above the plains, but he believed that they had been stealthy enough to avoid notice by any enemies. At least, they had yet to see anyone pursuing them.
With a great number of enemy forces around, the mage doubted that either side cared much about dealing with a few nomads just watching their battle. Even if the two armies decimated one another, it was doubtful that the nomads had enough numbers even joining a few tribes together to actually be a real threat.
Sebastian looked at the girls and noted their rustic looking clothing. The colors and cuts chosen were similar to the nomads that they had seen in camp, so he doubted that anyone looking would think that they were more, unless they could see the auras of magic. He and Elzen weren't wearing battle mage clothing, but they were likely to stand out more than the women. Nomads didn't dress like the men of Southwall, but they were as close to being inconspicuous as they were likely to get unless both mages decided to use their stealth magic.
More men and a couple female hunters watched the approaching scouts holding bows with arrows notched and ready. At the sight of his people, more hands settled onto swords and spears as they made certain that their men hadn't been forced to return here to give them away.
The leader of the scout squad moved ahead and spoke with an older woman. She was likely in her thirties, if he had to guess. Asking the woman would have been rude, and it was also rather unimportant when they had more vital issues at hand.
"Who are these people, Detan?" he heard the woman ask the squad leader.
"They say that they are from Southwall. I believe these are the ones who fought the beasts from the mountains last year."
Moving towards the mage's group, who stood with the other three scouts; the woman greeted them brusquely. "I am Magda, scout leader for the Zelesh. I... think that I recognize you now," she said scrutinizing their faces. Honing in on Sebastian, Magda added, "You are that healer who helped save many who were wounded by the fire monsters and giant shrikes."
The woman bowed her head towards him and sounded surprisingly deferential as she said, "My brother was one of those you saved, Owl... I think that was your title. Many thanks to you from me and my family, Kerek would have certainly died without your intervention."
Inclining his head towards the woman, Sebastian exchanged greetings as he replied, "There were a great many noble warriors wounded. I am just glad that we could save most of the ones we found when we arrived.
"My mission brought my team back to the arkhein to the south to share our magic with the derashti. Hopefully more can be trained to heal as well and keep more of your people from dying in the future."
He wanted to wince. It wasn't the most diplomatic of messages, but at least it was heartfelt. These nomads were surprisingly good people. They enjoyed life and just wanted to live on the plains as they had for generations now. It was surprising, since previous experiences while the Dark One controlled many of the central tribes, meant that the nomads there were definite enemies who harassed and tried to kill any Southwall patrols while they checked the plains for enemy movement.
"Why are you here?"
"My people were with the arkhein and derashti when your messenger arrived. We used magic to come ahead of however many warriors they might be able to send to help your tribes."
The woman frowned and looked northward in the direction of the unseen city of Ponfies. "I am not certain if that is needed now. The two enemies seem evenly matched enough that the city should win. Whatever wounds they receive will keep them from bothering us, I would think.
"The empire has mostly left our people alone this far to the east and whatever these creatures that have come to battle them will likely be too bloodied to come looking for another fight."
Sebastian frowned as he followed her line of sight. His mind worried over another problem. "If the enemy fighting Ponfies is still sending more soldiers through a rift between worlds, we don't know how large their army actually is. This could be their all or it might just be the tip of the spear.
"Ponfies may or may not be able to call for help from the other cities in the empire also. Ensolus appears to be fighting itself, however, and at least one of the other cities has acted on its own to the west. If they are on their own, reinforcements from wherever these creatures hail from could eventually wear them down."
The woman's expression darkened with the thought. Those around them looked concerned listening to the mage's worries.
"Then what do you suggest, mage?"
Taking a deep breath, Sebastian glanced to those who followed him. He didn't want to risk their lives. He loved all of these people in different ways, even those newer to his circle.
His blue eyes met the squad leader's and he suggested, "We have both magic to let us fly and that to make us virtually invisible. W
e can move faster than your scouts without being noticed and can scout the enemy just as quickly.
"We'll go see whether there is another gate letting these creatures in and either seal it or figure out a way to get enough soldiers here to defeat this army long enough to do it. Without an anchor, it will be much harder for them to come back."
What he was saying made little sense to the nomad only serving to confuse her, the mage noticed almost immediately. Magda didn't understand magic and had only been told of portal magic moments ago, so she did what most would do in the face of a confident ally. "If you think that is best, then we will remain here keeping watch."
He turned to look at his team and nodded.
Moving them aside, the owl mage discussed his short plan. "We'll make our wings first, then we'll cast our invisibility spells. We can all cast that, correct?" he added realizing that he was just assuming all of them had such spells. It was a battle mage spell, but it wasn't a first year one. Not from difficulty to cast or maintain, but from the trouble a teenager could get into with such a spell, was it relegated to later training. Based off of some of Elzen's escapades, Sebastian wondered if it was still taught too soon to some of the students.
They all nodded he noticed in relief and further clarified, "There is a way to block almost everything of your aura also, but just use the basic spell capable of masking you from sight so the others can track you. We don't want anyone getting separated from the group."
Again the group nodded before wings were called forth using the simple spell. Most called on them like a mage, though the four women were all wizards. Ashleen and his sister were used to learning spells like Sebastian now, so it was just as easy as using the original forms taught by the gargoyle and dragon girl from Mar'kal.
Lifting off while still visible, the six flew northward a little more before casting their invisibility spells. Sebastian could no longer see the others with his eyes. A grayed out world surrounded him as the magic encompassed his body, but new magical driven senses compensated for the darkness shielding them.
Battle Mage, The Caves of Time Page 38