Battle Mage: Winter's Edge

by Donald Wigboldy

  Sebastian often forgot that women could be considered inferior to men, since that thinking was pushed down working as battle mages. They were all equals, except where age and skill brought promotion. Being male or female was rarely an issue, or so he thought, but he was a man and perhaps Rilena’s experience had been different. Even so, Sebastian had to argue, “I don’t know what being a man has to do with it. Being a wizard, who is almost twice your age, will more likely determine that and, of course, Markun will out rank you at least from the falcons.

  “That’s why I doubt that it will be as crucial to have you there, so I’m sure I could convince them to let me take you with to Hala. You’re the one trying to talk me into this. I should make you come along just because of that.”

  The woman rolled her eyes at him before replying, “I don’t need you getting me out of this mission, Sebastian. Whether I am in charge of it or not, I still want to go. You don’t need to protect me and I want to go back if only to get some payback on those monsters!”

  Her determination was set, and he could tell. Southwallers seemed a breed determined to face danger and more importantly a battle mage hated to lose. Sebastian felt some of the frustration she must be feeling after the loss and punishment taken at the fortress. The enemy had gotten the better of them from a trap that he felt partially responsible for letting catch them unaware. Rilena had that and the humiliation of being used as a tool to try and coerce Druick. A battle mage hated being helpless and Garosh had made her little more than a helpless girl in his dungeon.

  “Well, I’m not going to stand in your way of getting some revenge, but just be careful,” Sebastian said to his friend with a disappointed smile. “Though I still say I should make them send you with me just to get even with you for making me go.”

  Rilena’s hands came up between them as she shook her head. “I haven’t made you do anything, sir,” refuted the falcon playfully as the two stopped their dance momentarily. “You said the ravens wanted you to go and I just said that I would love to see you put a few wizards in their place. That doesn’t mean I’ve made you do anything at all.”

  Finished with her response, the girl moved back into the frame of the dance letting them continue in a song that was only half complete. Sebastian let the music move him and his partner moved fluidly along as Rilena was a very good dancer. Her attempts at teaching Wendle how to dance aside, the two mages were a good match on the dance floor.

  “You may not be making me go, but I think you may be right. I can see having the chance to test myself against some new wizards would be good training and a chance to learn a few new things perhaps. I still wish you would go with me, since I need to decide on some form of team to help me train. That’s another issue I have.

  “What kind of training I need really depends on what the tournament rules are. I know how duels with weapons are done. The local tournaments held at White Hall between the soldiers and nobles were easy enough to understand, but how do wizards duel without destroying an arena or wherever they plan to hold it?”

  Looking unsure herself, Rilena replied, “Well, when you tell the ravens that you will do it, I would hazard to ask them that. As for me, I have no idea, so maybe it’s a good thing I have the mission back to the fortress where I know what I have to do. What good will I be to the great mizard anyway? You’re the one that knows all the magic and can always seem to figure out how to use it in new ways, not me.” She finished with a smug smile that said the mage was truly glad that she didn’t have to be the one to figure it all out.

  It was several songs later as Sebastian sat with Wendle and a couple other falcons that Yara managed to free herself of her admirers. Walking up to their table, he could feel all the men standing just a little straighter at her approach. Hands brushed at hair or straightened clothes, but the girl barely glanced at them as she went straight up to Sebastian.

  “Save me?” she asked with a smile as her eyes flicked quickly to the other men and back to him again in hope.

  “It’s been that bad? Have you become too popular in those pretty clothes of Ashleen’s?” Sebastian queried with a small laugh. He hadn’t paid close attention to just how many men had asked Yara to dance since the music had begun, but he was pretty sure that the pretty blond hadn’t been off the dance floor for at least twenty songs.

  Rolling her eyes and adding a little snort of disgust, Yara nodded as she replied, “My feet are so sore and not from being on the floor for so many dances. If one more man apologizes for crushing my foot before I get a break, I may have to change my career and kill him.”

  Standing smoothly from the bench, Sebastian caught the blonde’s hand and deftly spun her back towards the floor.

  Glancing around even as she smiled at the playful dance move, Yara asked, “Do you think we have a prayer of sneaking away? I wasn’t kidding. I think someone may have actually broken my foot with his heavy boots. Ashleen convinced me to wear these lightweight slippers because they would be more comfortable and look nice with the dress, but, with these clumsy men and their boots kicking and stomping on my feet, they may have been a mistake.”

  Speaking of the wizard, Sebastian caught a glimpse of the pretty wilder in her blue dress with yet another male waltzing her around the floor. Her eyes looked a little pained even as she struggled to maintain a smile. He had to guess that Ashleen was having similar problems. They had only danced one time before a noble had cut in for the next dance.

  “Well, I am sure that I can sneak away, but you, on the other hand, might not ever get out of here,” chuckled her dance partner. They slid into the crowd smoothly. Both knew how to dance and the two had spent a number of nights together in the crowds together dancing until late. Even in her apprentice robes, Yara had been whisked away by admiring fans. Young wizards were her chief dance partners since they tended to want to be with their own kind and perhaps even felt that they were guarding her from lesser men.

  Sebastian led the girl through the moves as the song played and continued towards the far side of the crowd. While the dancers were distracted by some of the most animated portions of the dance, the young man snuck the girl through the double doors into the hallway outside.

  Yara’s eyes widened slightly as she nodded in appreciation, “That was very smooth, Falcon Trillon. Did you also use some of your mizard magic to spell us away from prying eyes?”

  With a little laugh, Sebastian led her away from the dance hall and soon stepped into one of several side chambers. It was someone’s study by the look of it; perhaps it was used as an office. There were so many people in Windmeer and rooms were appropriated for all sorts of functions. This one served their purpose for two reasons: one it was quiet and two there were padded seats to let Yara rest in as Sebastian kneeled to look at her feet. She hadn’t been completely exaggerating as the girl had half limped down the hall from all the damage her feet had taken. While Southwall men loved to dance, too many of them were terrible at it, even if enthusiastic.

  “Heal,” he ordered his spell as the mage took gentle hold of her bared lower leg and removed first one slipper and then the other. Letting his magic, originally taught to him by this girl, seep into her body, Sebastian marveled at the way the spell made him feel a part of her.

  Luckily, Yara had been exaggerating about having anything broken, but he could feel her pain before letting his magic move into her extremities to sooth the pain and heal the damage done.

  “Mmmm,” the moan was followed by her left hand first touching his shoulder as he worked from that side and then the girl played with his hair while she added, “That feels so good, Sebastian. Can we stay here the rest of the night and you just keep doing that for me?”

  His hands moved to massage her feet gently as the magic let him know just how much pressure to place on each to maximize the enjoyment for the girl. “While I wouldn’t mind, I have a feeling that we would be missed.”

  “Let them miss us. I’m tired of hiding that I want to be with you.”

/>   His eyes sought hers knowing the frustration well, but he tried to settle the feelings by reminding the girl, “Well, we’re only doing it so you won’t get in trouble. I doubt that anything would happen to me, even if falcons haven’t been known to mingle with wizards in the past. Once you’re a full wizard, we can probably find a way to stay together. If one of us gets sent to a post, the other can come along or something along that line.”

  With a sigh that was half enjoyment from the magical massage and half disappointment in having to wait, Yara nodded as she said, “I think I might be close to getting promoted. If I pressured Deyla, I think, she might tell the council that I am ready. I’ve been healing people without having them watch over my shoulder for quite awhile. Then there was all that combat magic last year, which I survived thanks to you more than once.”

  The man chuckled. Everyone seemed to think all the trouble of the last season began and ended with him somehow it seemed. “Well, I can say the same after being healed a few times myself. Without your teaching me how to heal, I don’t know where I would be now.”

  A little whimper as another knot in her foot eased and released under his attention led to Yara saying, “Man, I’m a good teacher. How ever did you get so good at this again?”

  Standing up as he let the spell drop, Sebastian leaned toward her face with his own. “Lots of practice,” he kissed her lightly on the lips, “and I had a good teacher.”

  With a big grin, Yara nodded, “Yes, you did.”

  Replacing the slippers for Yara, Sebastian extended his hands to pull her back to her healed feet. “Ready for more?” he asked smiling at the beauty before him.

  Releasing a content sigh, she inclined her head in agreement, “I guess as long as you promise, that if we get separated and someone breaks my foot again you’ll come to my room tonight and fix it.”

  “Do we even need that excuse?” Sebastian chuckled.

  Placing a finger thoughtfully against her lips, Yara quickly shook her head and began to grin. “Probably not,” was her quiet answer.

  Chapter 16- Insight of Crows

  As the night wore on, Sebastian and Yara both wound up practicing their healing. It had been a lively night made all the more so, by the girls in their kardorian robes. The men of Windmeer seemed willing to stay as late as they could keep the musicians playing, if only for the chance to dance with the girls in their exotic and beautiful clothes.

  Yara had always been in demand at least among her peers, but if not for Sebastian interceding more than once or the healer having to break to use her own healing powers on Ashleen and several of the other women dancing, she would never have been let go. Sebastian noted that few among the men wound up similarly wounded. Their big boots protected their own feet, but even Rilena wearing her own boots, if somewhat more dainty in size, wound up asking Sebastian for help.

  Though the Southwallers were in rare form on that winter night, eventually the musicians tired to the point that they could no longer be asked for more. Couples had begun to fade and recede from the dance floor to head off to sleep or perhaps continue their night with a partner, but eventually all good things had to come to an end.

  Ashleen had said good night and even kissed him on the cheek. The two had danced together several times and he had healed her as well. It had been a truly rough night on the most popular girls and both Yara and Ashleen had needed healing more than once to continue. Her kiss had half surprised him and he wondered if the gesture was more for him or to show Yara that her interest in him wasn’t over. She left with Wendle to escort her safely back to her room in the suite that the rest of the Kardorians shared.

  Rilena had exchanged a hug after a last minute’s heal before heading off to bed. The girl had garnered several admirers, but she didn’t let anyone walk her back, though several other falcons and cadets were headed that way at the same time. Several had been dance partners with the pretty brunette, but, though the girl could be a bit of a flirt when she felt like it, the girl had her walls up and Sebastian could tell that sleep and perhaps her next mission were foremost in her mind.

  When the hall began to empty after the musicians packed up their gear, Sebastian walked back to his room alone. Yara and a few wizard friends went to their wing several minutes earlier. Compliments for her change of dress flowed around the girl and, while she acknowledged the comments, Yara had to remind them that the robes were only a loan from a friend. She never looked for Sebastian as she left and he knew that was only for show. There would be time for saying good night later.

  He was halfway back to his room, when Sebastian noted a presence at almost the same time as he heard a throat clear before saying, “Falcon Trillon.”

  The voice was familiar and the mage turned to look down a side passage, and he immediately noted the black of a raven’s uniform. Taller than Sebastian and heavier to the point of having a softer belly, Raven Stallis would still be a daunting form even without knowing his rank and age.

  “Raven Stallis?” the mage quickly saluted as he struggled to contain his surprise. Had the man used a stealth spell to hide from him or had the younger man just been that preoccupied with his thoughts.

  “No need for that, falcon,” he referenced the salute and half returned the gesture. “We don’t have to be so formal here.”

  Nodding in reply, Sebastian was emboldened to ask. “What brings you down here, sir?”

  “Oh, not much. I noticed that you had a fine night. Those are some pretty ladies that you spent time with tonight and using a healer’s touch to get even closer, I wish I had your talent for it. That and if I was half my age.”

  “And unmarried, sir?”

  With a grunt of disappointment, the raven nodded brusquely, “And that, but that’s not the point, of course. So which one are you attracted to the most, the falcon from Falcon’s Keep, the wilder from Kardor or maybe it’s that pretty healer who you’ve been so close to since last year?”

  “Sir?” Sebastian questioned worriedly. Sweat was already beginning to add itself to that from dancing earlier. He was glad that it was close enough to the last dance that perhaps new nervous sweating wouldn’t be noticed. Was the question rhetorical, since he knew that he couldn’t answer it truthfully, even to his ranking officer?

  “Mmmm, yes, I guess that we are not that close, are we? A few trainings hardly make us friends, eh?” The older man looked up slightly as if contemplating something. “Perhaps I should simply ask if you have given our request any new consideration then.”

  More than willing to change the subject, Sebastian latched onto the life line but tried to be calm as he replied, “The request to join the tournament and represent the falcons? Yes, sir, I’ve given it much thought and I think that perhaps I should join. It will be a good chance to see if what I have learned so far will be useful and, of course, some of the best wizards in the country will be there to learn from as well.”

  “From the world, actually,” Stallis informed the young man. “His majesty sent the invitation out to a few dozen wizard guilds from around the world I gather. How many will feel comfortable enough to send representatives remains to be seen, of course.

  “Anyway, I am glad that you see it our way. This is a chance to represent the battle mages of Southwall and maybe help gain a little respect for our little corps. Of all the mages in the country, you are unique and there’s probably never been another like you, except perhaps the first mage, rest his soul.”

  Raven Hurst, Sebastian let his mind think to the legend of the corps. The man had made such a name in Southwall that the westernmost castle guarding the wall had been named after him. Sebastian thought such a comparison was more than generous. He hadn’t accomplished anything like the man that had virtually formed the battle mage corps into what it was based on his original grasp of magic alone.

  “Don’t look so surprised at the comparison, Sebastian. Such an association was bound to come when our magic has barely changed since Hurst taught our first generation how to
maximize their magic. In less than a year, you’ve nearly doubled the original spells or found unique uses to expand on the old.

  “I hate to say it, but even the ravens, despite achieving their ranks, have never been overly clever when it comes to such things. We’ve had others try to research, but until you there has been little advancement in over a hundred years. For many, it was a case of why change what already works, but now I suppose you see how much our people starve to learn more by simply looking to you.”

  “Permission to speak freely,” Sebastian asked feeling surprisingly bold at the raven’s candidness. The easy nod and slight smile from Stallis leant more strength as he confessed, “It’s pretty frustrating actually. I have everyone looking to me to learn magic for them and when I see that I wonder why they can’t simply look at the wizards and figure these things out themselves. If they spent more time watching the different wizards’ guilds, we might find even more spells to use.”

  The larger man began to chuckle and it grew to strong laughter. “You have no idea how special you are, Sebastian. If it was truly that easy, trust me that we wouldn’t rely on you so completely. As I’ve told you, we’ve put our brightest minds to work doing just as you say and no one has come up with more than one of two minor spells in a lifetime of work. For some reason, the logic you find so easy escapes the rest of us. You must simply see magic differently. We all use it, but only you and Hurst seem able to break it down in such a way that we can use it as our own.

  “That’s another reason why we asked you to go to the tournament. You’re the only battle mage that can think like a wizard. Anyone else who joins will likely be laughed out of the arena.”

  “That reminds me, sir,” Sebastian decided to ask some his earlier questions from the night of talking with Rilena, “What are the rules and how will the matches be set? I can’t imagine that they will make it like the battle ring. Distance is their ally and the speed of a battle mage in close range would never be allowed to give them an advantage, so how am I supposed to train without knowing what I will be up against?”