Battle Mage: Winds of Change (The High King: A Tale of Alus Book 11)

by Donald Wigboldy

  "Harumph," Telamen said clearing his throat as he tried to shrug off his surprise. "Well, the sooner such knowledge can be spread to wizards with similar skills ...and battle mages too, I suppose, the easier it will get. Certainly it wouldn't do to have only one man capable of such things. Should something happen to you, the gods forbid, it would be lost once more."

  The wizard turned before Sebastian could summon any form of answer for the typically weighted summary that wizards should have everything he knew, Telamen turned to shout at a boy in novice white, "Job, make yourself useful and run to the main office. Tell them the mage is here to work on the gate."

  A boy of only thirteen, Job jumped at his mentor's order and practically ran full speed towards the door. Sebastian wondered if it was the need to please or the chance to run away that instilled such speed in the boy. Either way, he was reprimanded to slow down by one of the guards by the door and the novice did slow slightly.

  "What do you need us to do to help?" Telamen asked before stifling a yawn with just the strength of his jaws, but Sebastian could see that the man fought it as his jaw trembled slightly as did his lips.

  "Not a lot until the frame is constructed. I have wizards to form the welds, but haven't been able to pass on the knowledge to anyone for the rest. The problem is that I do much of it by feel and that makes it harder to pass along the skill."

  Looking curiously at the mage, Wizard Telamen asked, "Would you mind if I tagged along this time? Perhaps I can pick up something while tethered to you. We do the same with novices and apprentices teaching them how to sense things through the ground after all."

  Sebastian shrugged. While he had become used to sharing with Yara and Ashleen, it had been longer since he had tried tethering someone on his spell besides the girls. "The girls are doing rather simple welds first, but if you would like to try when they're done, then I have no problem with that."

  The man nodded looking less grumpy, but Sebastian decided that the man's face must have become naturally that way over time.

  While the girls worked to weld and his mages assisted by holding the rods in place, Telamen asked him more of what he would see during Sebastian's process. Doing his best to explain, the two spent much of the remaining hour with the mage explaining and the wizard trying to decipher the thoughts into a more wizardly way of thinking.

  When it became time to do the final construction, High Wizard Herrol and Falconi Garrett had arrived along with a small contingent of leaders hoping to understand more of what he was about to do. They stayed to the side, but in view of the mage and the wizard with his hand on Sebastian's back. Their eyes glowed looking for any clues they could discern as the owl built the system of runes and smoothed out any weaknesses in the welds.

  The two lodestones disappeared into the channels within the metal as they had in Hala and he added the locking rune to turn the portal. By the time the metal frame had been raised and the earth wizards helped cement it in place between the stone walls and towers, the show was over.

  He looked to Telamen as the man looked to be mulling over what he had seen and asked, "Were you able to follow all of it?"

  First letting out a grunt filled with distraction and frustration too probably, the wizard gave a more articulate reply saying, "Some of it. The work with the iron, even to installing the runes, I might be able to duplicate if you could write them down at least. What you did to the lodestones would take a little experimentation. I've never seen anyone bond stone to iron in such a way before.

  "It was like you used veins to draw the essence into the metal. No offense to you, but I would have thought that was something a wizard might have a chance to create, not a mere battle mage."

  Serrena overheard his comment and stated in annoyance, "Maybe that is because Sebastian is anything but a 'mere' battle mage. Those who continue to miss that have often come to a bad end underestimating him, in the duel circles at least."

  Looking irritatedly at the younger fire wizard, the man complained, "Fine, I didn't know that you were policing my words so closely woman! I said not to take offense, didn't I?

  "You are right though. Even tethered to him, his magic doesn't feel like a battle mage, though it is remarkably different from a wizard as well. It isn't just the power in him that feels different, but how it is carried within him. There is a definite strength that I can't quite wrap my mind around, but then again I can't completely figure out his mind either."

  Sebastian figured to take it as a compliment and tried to get back to his original question. "If I could write out the runes used, do you think that you could make the gates?"

  Grunting a laugh at the younger man, Telamen said in amusement, "Are you trying to get me to do your work for you, mage?"

  With a shrug and smile, Sebastian replied, "Well, as you said earlier, if I can teach a few wizards how to do my job, it will make my life easier."

  Giving a big laugh, the man clapped him on the back and Sebastian had to adjust his feet taking a step with the earth wizard's strength. He doubted that Telamen even realized how strong he was. The wizard didn't even bother to comment beyond his amusement at Sebastian's take on the idea of passing on the knowledge of the gates.

  High Wizard Herrol and Falconi Garrett moved closer leading the head wizards and mages of the school to speak to the creator of the new gate.

  Herrol led the questioning and Sebastian quickly demonstrated the ability of the rune to restrict the doorway and the use of it for flipping the portal. By the time all their questions were answered, Sebastian felt his stomach beginning to rumble with the need to eat. It wasn't a drastic need as he had noted with the previous creation of the Hala gate, but a lot of power was used and it was much easier to refill his energy by eating.

  Most of the wizards and mages joined him for lunch making for bit of a stir in the dining hall. It was rare to see the high wizard joining them as his meals were normally brought to him in his tower. For some that meant a disassociation with him as head master, but beyond that, seeing so many of the guild leaders and falconi at one table around the single mage was unheard of.

  Ashleen and his team had actually needed to get a separate table, though it was right behind Sebastian as if to say that they had his back; but Sebastian was becoming more comfortable with having to speak with leaders of the various guilds. He had spoken to the king of all of Southwall after all, so anyone else was likely to be less impressive to the young mage.

  As he had figured, Sebastian would need to spend a few days at least trying to find others who could understand the rune magic to help spreading the runes to those who could benefit the most, the soldiers in the army. Having rune soldiers in the field would take a lot of the heat off of the battle mages, whose power better defended wizards from the monsters of the Dark One's armies.

  He would also try to see if anyone could figure out how to make the gates. Certainly having more teams to cover the many cities needing the defensive portals would help ensure their safety. There were other jobs and duties that Sebastian had to put aside for now as he worked to secure the gates of Southwall against the enemy.

  After the wizards had moved on leaving Sebastian with Falconi Garrett, the mage broached one of the subjects weighing on his mind. "Falconi, would you mind giving me some guidance?"

  Smiling at the younger mage, Garrett replied, "The mage being called an owl needs my guidance? I thought maybe that had ended when you became a falcon."

  Returning the smile with one filled with chagrin, Sebastian answered, "Well, no matter how old we get or how much we think that we know, there is always someone with a different viewpoint and knowledge that we don't have. No one can know everything."

  "But you are trying," the falconi laughed quietly. "What questions do you have that I might be able to help with?"

  Sebastian glanced around the steadily clearing room. Ashleen and some of the others had joined them at the table as well. Though he wasn't too worried over them hearing what he was about to ask, the mag
e decided to be more cautious with the information he was about to share.

  "Maybe we should do this in your office. Some of what I am about to say has been restricted to just a few others."

  The falconi rose with Sebastian. As the others in his team looked to him curiously, he told them that he would just be a minute. Ashleen frowned as the owl left with Garrett leaving her behind as well.

  Once they had climbed the stairs of the Tower of War to the falconi's office, Sebastian pulled out his map of Southwall and much of North continent as well. Markers in the various guardian cities and those to the south in a few different colors dotted the map.

  "This map holds gates in Southwall that I know and a few more that were formed outside of the country as well."

  Falconi Garrett let out a low whistle seeing so many marked gates. Then his eyes moved beyond their borders noticing a couple in the sea far to the southeast. One didn't even have the color of an island to support it. A few more were marked north of the wall.

  "You've discovered the enemy's gates?"

  "Most likely these let the Dark One move his armies between fortresses. We know almost nothing of the ones in the mountains and some say that this one may be his capitol," Sebastian stated noting a spot marked by four distinct gates. One of those gates had a different color from the rest in the mountains. It was still colored with the mark that signified one of Palose's gates.

  The falconi finished taking in the map and asked, "What exactly am I supposed to guide you on here? I don't know how to make a portal. I tried actually, but they taught it like a wizard and most said that it takes a lot of magic to open."

  "A mage that can set them in his mind, or by using a map to do so, could get the power from wizards willing to assist; but that isn't what I wanted to ask you.

  "You see this area with the four portals. Two feel fairly normal for points held by more than one person's magic. They are basically generic portals, I would guess, that any warlock should be able to lock onto and use. This one feels the same generically, but I sense that it is stronger and larger than the others.

  "This last one was created by Palose alone."

  Garrett's eyes widened. The former cadet of White Hall, who was raised to falcon status after he was found to have survived the same mission which had earned Sebastian's promotion, had in turn become a betrayer of Southwall. Palose was one of the Dark One's minions now and had opened a gate into Windmeer for the Dark One's soldiers and monsters.

  If the remnants of the company dispatched beyond the wall hadn't returned when they did, Windmeer could very well have fallen that day. Sebastian had been in the returning company and had helped lead in renewing the defense of the castle. He had nearly died that day as well, when he came across Palose leading a force of orcs and goblins. With a few warlocks in tow, the mage had become overwhelmed and only a last minute appearance by the defenders of Southwall had saved his life. That and the healing of Yara and the other wizards to breathe life back into him anyway.

  "You are sure that is Palose's gate? Have you tried using it?" the older mage asked incredulously and seemed to ask him with his eyes to tell him no.

  "No, but the other gates that I closed before Palose tried to mask them in some new way; were marked the same. I knew his magic signature and using the map I discovered his portals both in the south and north of the wall." He pointed to the islands beyond Southwall and added, "These were his as well and the first that I closed. Once I made my move, he responded by changing the magic signature.

  "I am not sure how he did it, but I also haven't had the time to spend to find out if someone else covered his tracks using their magic or if he managed another trick. Even so, I can still open the ones marked where they existed. A trace of the magic remains either from marking them on the map or because Palose's magic lingers. Whatever it is, I could try using his gate to infiltrate the Dark One's city."

  The falconi answered quickly, "It would be very dangerous. I don't think anyone would authorize letting you try in particular. Your knowledge of other magic that no one else knows makes you invaluable."

  Sebastian nodded slowly, less because of the appraisal of his worth as much as knowing that others would see him that way.

  "But because of the spells I know, I may be the safest bet to try. The king had me try to infiltrate the groups setting up in New Harbor because of my abilities. It was considered dangerous, but I can call a portal by myself. Few can do that.

  "No wizard can defend themselves as well without bodyguards, so I was given the mission.

  "A trip inside the Dark One's city might be best left to me as well."

  Garrett frowned assessing the mage's mind succinctly as he replied, "If you are going to go against my opinion and my orders, why would you ask me at all?"

  "You haven't given me an order and this is all just theory so far after all," Sebastian managed to say without letting a smile touch his lips. The idea of the trip had been calling to him since he had discovered the gates on his map, but other things had continued to pop up getting in his way and taking up his time.

  He feared waiting too long might cause the point to decay beyond his ability to open it. If Palose had created this separate portal in secret, then it was likely lightly defended, if at all. It was the perfect entry point to discover what hid within the Dark One's city. Scouts had come within sight of a mountain with stone walls and defenses guarding the mouth of a large cave, but no one had ever managed to infiltrate beyond the outer farms as far as he knew.

  Falconi Garrett looked unready to continue discussing this particular issue and they fell into an uneasy silence until the man asked, "Has your sister told you what happened on her first test trip to the mountains?"

  "I assume it was one of the summer trials to train them in simulations of what they will go through on a mission?"

  Nodding, the falconi replied, "Apparently she maintained security and didn't tell you what happened.

  "While they were there another force showed up starting a fight with the company after they had set up their site to release the animals being returned back into the wild."

  "Another attack from the emperor? There wasn't another fortress like the one Garosh started was there?"

  Falconi Garrett looked like he hadn't heard of the giant's name. "Word came to us of an enemy fortress, but I do not know the name.

  "Anyway, it wasn't something from the emperor. It was something completely new that no one had seen before. The descriptions of the creatures in the army made reference to similar monsters to those in the dark armies. Smaller creatures like the goblins, the apprentices nicknamed them hobgoblins to differentiate the creatures for example.

  "The reason I mention it is because we had to send a gate team to close a new type of portal. One of our novice wizards described what it looked like and other than the fact that it worked like a doorway, it looked nothing like the ones you and Darius discovered.

  "Instead of golden light, the novice said that it looked like swirling clouds. A gray fog mixed with dark, storm clouds swirling within it was the closest Piotr could come up with to describe it. He said the base billowed out a bit like a fog bank and the edges weren't as crisp either."

  Sebastian's forehead creased with confusion after a moment and asked, "While that is interesting, what does it have to do with me?"

  "Before you start going off to pick fights with the emperor in his own city, maybe you should try to deal with the portals in Southwall first? You are the only one making these gates and there are other mysteries we need to solve. Having you go to the portal in the mountains at some point might bring more insight into the situation as well."

  The younger man let the conversation lapse back into silence for a moment as he thought on the falconi's words. A thought came to his mind and Sebastian suggested, "Have you asked Kel'lor and Cheleya if they knew anything of this type of portal? Gates have been opening up since the ancient sorcerers opened a rift between our world and that of the che'ther and
mar'goyn'lya.

  "Maybe Mar'kal has a better record of the original spell used and what it looked like? I doubt that what we do using the emperor's portals would match something created here hundreds of years before the Dark One stumbled across our world."

  "It is worth asking, and someone from the wizards' side might have done so already." The falconi looked at the young man curiously before asking, "You aren't curious about it?"

  Sebastian shrugged and replied, "If the gate team has already sealed the breach, then there is little that I will be able to get out of going there. I can scan the reports from the eyewitness, but it came from a novice not a veteran so he may not be completely reliable."

  "Apparently this boy could be elevated to apprentice any time according to Herrol and the others. I've heard similar things about your sister, but the customary way of it is to keep them novices for about a year before promoting them to apprentice. They run their division differently from ours. You are either a cadet or falcon here. Of course, they don't have clear ranks aside from the white wizards above becoming a full wizard."

  "Even so," the younger mage countered, "it would be difficult to discover much that the gate team couldn't figure out. Perhaps if he hasn't already been there, you should ask High Wizard Darius. He has more practical experience with the spells than anyone, since he has been on gate closing teams as well."

  Letting out a long, disappointed, breath, Garrett nodded. "We would like to stop relying on the high wizard for everything, but his knowledge dwarf's anyone alive."

  "There are still things that he doesn't know," Sebastian added.

  "True, and that is where you come in, isn't that right? Do you still plan to stay for a few days to teach more of your magic to the teachers here?"

  "Yes, I might have to come up with a better plan for the other cities I need to make safe anyway. Perhaps I can give them a little time to adjust the defenses by telling them the size of the gate frame? If I can just pop into a city with them ready, we can probably build them in more than one city each day."