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

by Donald Wigboldy

  Falconi Garrett looked at his former student shaking his head slightly in amazement. "Your teachers always reported that you had a quick mind. Teaching you tactics was a breeze, they would say. You simply understood things that involved your brain more than many of your fellow cadets.

  "Obviously cerebral challenges are something you flourish with, like making new spells from wizard magic. I don't know how you managed to create so many and you even discovered magic unknown to our wizards.

  "Cheleya came here looking to discover something from us that had helped make you what you are. We warned her that you were simply something special and unique, but she has been trying to find it anyway."

  "I've met the dragoness. We've fixed her curse now. If she wants to return home to her old life, it is possible to change back and forth for her now."

  The falconi's mouth opened slightly but it took a moment for the thought to sink into his brain. "You fixed something the wizards of Hala couldn't... in a single day?"

  "An afternoon really," Sebastian replied with a chuckle and couldn't help smirking at Falconi Garrett's reaction. "Of course, it related to rune magic which only I really seem to understand so far. I have wizards and mages who can copy and transfer them, but they go through the motions. They can make existing runes when they have them to copy on their body, but I don't think anyone has fully grasped more beyond that. It took awhile for the rest to take shape in my mind, but even I am still just beginning to understand it."

  "And now you have started writing your own runes," the falconi stated. "This is why I don't think anyone will be willing to let you try storming the emperor's castle."

  Sebastian laughed at the concept. "I was hardly planning to try that, but perhaps I could scout the city from inside and once I do, then we can send others as saboteurs."

  Patting the air to slow Sebastian's ambition, Garrett warned, "Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves now. You still haven't been given the order to proceed."

  Sebastian heard the man, but knew that if he truly decided that it must be done, no one in Southwall could truly stop him short of binding him so he couldn't speak the spell or move to enter the portal. There were definitely times where the owl forgot that he was supposed to be serving under the battle mage elite. He had been autonomous for too long to easily want to follow once more. Still struggling with such things, the young man held his tongue and nodded agreement to one of those elite.

  Having covered all they wished to for now, Falconi Garrett added as Sebastian began to retreat towards the stairs leading down through the Tower of War, "If you need help scheduling times and places to help pass on your new magic, let me know. I can even help find you some students, if you need to worry about that."

  "Yes, sir, I will let you know. Thank you," the younger mage replied before returning to the dining hall where he assumed at least some of his people would go while waiting to see what Sebastian planned to do next.

  Chapter 15- Dragon Wings

  Sebastian looked up watching the dragon mages flying over head in mock battle. The spells had different names usually involving the word dragon, but he thought that there was little difference between them and the spells a battle mage learned. He could see why so many leaders had told Cheleya that learning from the battle mages of White Hall would do her little good.

  The only real training that they could give her was weapon's training and perhaps their tactics. There were copies of spells within both school's of magic as well as a few new ones to learn, but it was a very similar set of styles.

  Many from his team had made their way up to the roof as well. There had always been benches on the roof for those without a fear of heights and love of the sky. Air apprentices could do as much on the large roof as they could from their two towers, if not more, though the school frowned upon it in case a spell might get out of hand and damage the roof. The thick stone beneath them should shield anyone within the school, but were it to give way people could be killed below as it collapsed.

  Getting to use the school roof for teaching the art of dragon magic hadn't been well received, but they had reminded High Wizard Herrol and the others that the goal was to fly and that meant they only wanted the roof for a safer take off point. Still, Cheleya and Kel'lor had had their opponents to the idea. Sebastian had a feeling that Falconi Martina joining the trainees was as much because she wanted to learn the new spells as the school wanting someone there to watch over them.

  Rilena sat on the bench beside him talking to the small red haired girl called Evie. She was supposed to be older than Katya, but he thought his sister seemed a lot more mature and was a little larger besides making the other girl seem younger if only for that. The girl had become like a shadow to the older mage and it was obvious that the two had a close bond like that of sisters.

  "I guess that I may as well return to Lord Garosh now," Evie stated sounding a little sad about the idea.

  Rilena countered, "Why now?"

  "Cheleya wasn't taking to shape changing anyway and now he has fixed her," the small girl stated leaning around the taller brunette as she emphasized 'he' to her friend. "My need here is gone, so I would think that they would rather send away an extra mouth to feed."

  "White Hall has plenty of food to feed someone as small as you, I would think," Sebastian joked. He didn't know Evie that well, but he doubted the girl ate much at her size.

  Rilena and Evie both frowned at his words.

  "Bas..." the female mage stated a cautionary warning.

  Evie was les subtle and quicker to complain as she stood up from the bench complaining, "I am not that small and if I wanted to I could become a bigger animal that would make you believe that I can eat a lot more. Are you like Arrimus and his friends, teasing me because I am smaller than you?"

  "Hardly," Sebastian returned matter-of-factly to the girl making her blink in surprise. Most would try to apologize or maybe try to defend themselves from the accusation. The mage knew that his answer was quick enough to pierce the problem deflating the issue. "What I meant was that one girl, or boy, would hardly make a dent in what was eaten in a school where wizards and mages continually use the dining hall to refuel their magic. They use it all morning and then eat lunch. They do even more magic or work on fighting before they eat some more in the afternoon.

  "Some students wind up eating a couple more meals between the ones that are actually scheduled and call them snacks."

  Evie's forehead fought her as it seemed to want to frown, but the girl was caught looking confused and embarrassed at the same time. "Even still, there is no point to my being here if you have fixed Cheleya's transformation magic."

  He shrugged and asked, "Is there anything that you might like to learn while you are here? You could ask to join the school and learn what you like. There are a lot of other young wizards and mages here. You could even make more friends."

  Glancing to Rilena, Sebastian realized that his instincts about the girl's true meaning about going away was correct. If her closeness to the female mage, who was only slightly older than her, was because she was one of a rare few friends the girl might have, staying in the school with a chance to make more friends would be an enticement to her.

  He doubted that there were many children hidden away in Garosh's fortress. It was also a place hidden beneath a mountain. A hole in the side of the mountain led to miles of tunnels which were no place a shape changer would likely be comfortable. The werewolves and cats he had dealt with in the wild were there to harass Southwall and the other humans sure, but it was likely easier to have them running around away from the mountain cities of the Dark One as well.

  Evie looked at him again with her green eyes trying to pierce his visage as she looked for whether the mage spoke the truth. Unable to penetrate his calm look, the girl asked, "Do you really think that they would let me stay? I could learn something else or at least try."

  Shrugging as if he didn't have a care in the world, Sebastian looked away from Evie to thos
e flying above them. "I don't see why they wouldn't. We could go with you to speak with High Wizard Herrol or one of the other wizards in charge. They are always looking for new wizards and you are already trained in at least some magic."

  Evie noted his apparent lack of interest, though it was mostly feigned by Sebastian, and looked eagerly at Rilena who smiled at the girl. The two fell back to talking, but now the younger girl spoke eagerly to her friend asking whether they should do as he had said and what she should say.

  As he watched the flyers, Cheleya and Katya began to descend heading for their bench. The red headed apprentice Iris, a close friend of Katya's apparently, followed quickly after them. The air apprentice had been with his sister when he had first arrived and run into the two the first day.

  When the girls had landed, Katya smiled and hurried over to her brother. Excitedly she asked as his sister closed the distance, "Did you see me, Bas?"

  "Very impressive," her older brother replied nodding that he had. "You look like a natural up there."

  Cheleya had paused to make sure that Iris was all right as the other girl had been sparring in the air with Katya before taking a hit with one of the claw spells. It hadn't been a powerful attack, but Iris did look a bit winded. The fact that they had been both flying and fighting might account for most of that though, he thought.

  Catching his comment, Cheleya responded for her friend, "Katya learned much of our spells while supposedly reading her magic books on the roof. Her first flight went very smoothly and your sister is one of the best in the class."

  The dragoness paused before adding, "You might be another good candidate for our magic. You showed no fear of falling or heights when Magnus snatched you from the roof. Using that strange harpoon tattoo to pull yourself free to fall all that way was impressive. You maintained your calm and used your magic to bring you to a safe halt. Had you ever tried something like that before?"

  He shook his head. "I hadn't really used the harpoon rune frankly and I guess that my ego made me pull away from Magnus without the ability to fly myself. Without really thinking, I made the leap and used the rune shield to protect me. I wasn't sure it would work really."

  Cheleya and the others looked shocked to hear his confession. With no worry over his safety, the mage had made the leap for the tower wall.

  "I could teach you our magic, if you wanted," Cheleya offered as the shock of his words wore off the group. "I do owe you for removing my curse."

  Sebastian thought about the idea only for an instant before replying, "I don't know that there is a lot to learn. It looks a lot like battle mage spells. All I need to do is learn the words and feeling associated with them to create the magic."

  He was glad that Cheleya didn't look offended. In fact, the girl smiled and said with a shrug of her petite shoulders, "Well, then I could teach you those and the feel of the spells they go to, if you have a little time. Depending on how well your memory works, I could teach you the bulk of it in no time at all.

  "The hard part is actually flying and learning to fight in the air," she confessed.

  Sebastian thought of the spells he had witnessed Magnus use and those of the other dragon mages as well since then. "Well, I will say that after a mishap trying to breathe a fire spell from my mouth in an admittedly desperate move, I wouldn't mind learning the dragon breath spells. Flying and the wings should be handy as well, of course."

  Cheleya smiled at his willingness to let her try and repay him.

  As she pulled the mage by the hand, making Ashleen frown at the gesture before catching herself in her jealous moment; Cheleya said, "Well, which spells would you like to try first?"

  He mused, "Perhaps the wings would be best. The claw spell seems to draw on the same kind of magic. It isn't elemental from what I can tell."

  Nodding at his summation of the two spells, the dragoness stated, "The dragon claw can go through a darkness shield like it isn't there, while the wings act like steel or something stronger. They can protect you from elemental spells and also be used to cut like giant blades."

  After a moment of describing what he should feel, the girl called the first spell, "Dragon wings!"

  Pink wings looking bat like in their structure appeared at her call.

  The mage tried to feel the magic, but this was more elusive than he would have thought. He stepped forward and asked, "May I try using my magic on you to feel what you are doing when you call this spell?"

  Cheleya nodded. She understood that wizards and mages could often feel the nature of a spell when a wizard they were touching cast it. Dropping her wing spell a moment, she waited until he called the heal spell and was holding her hand. Another set of dragon wings formed exactly like the first.

  Nodding at the feel of them, Sebastian stepped back and formed the shape of the wings he wished to create in his mind. "Dragon wings!" he ordered and felt the shift of his magic to his lower shoulders.

  Glancing at his back to see large blue feathered wings behind him as he heard clapping from some of those watching as well as a few gasps, Sebastian tried to feel the new extensions and was surprised how natural the control of them actually was. He thought an action and they flapped. They moved in the directions he wished and after a moment, the owl mage leaped up as his wings thrust downward.

  Quickly repeating the flapping of his wings, the mage tried to feel for the air currents even as he heard Cheleya swear something in a different language. In a moment, the dragoness was airborne and flying just before him. Katya and Iris were quick to follow and moved to either side looking concerned.

  "You aren't supposed to just take off without a mentor! You haven't learned anything about this magic!" she worried and tried to make her point understood to the mage. Grumbling in a lower voice, Cheleya complained, "First Magnus and now this mage!"

  Sebastian didn't know what she meant and was in fact paying little attention to the other flyers as the owl tried to feel for the air currents that he was used to while riding the winds with his mind. Frowning as his senses failed to see what he could feel while using the air spell, the mage wondered if there was a better way to learn than to just blindly trying to get a feel for the air and how to move through it.

  Thinking of his spell to separate his mind from his body, Sebastian decided to try combining it with a vision spell. He had never thought to try it before and realized that if it worked, the mage would be able to read weather patterns in a similar way to those who had mastered air magic. Those wizards could see the air and sense the changes coming hours and days before the weather would change.

  "Wind vision," the owl called on his new spell as the mage sorted what he wanted to achieve in his mind. He had told Katya and others before that magic was similar to wishing for something to happen. The only difference was that with enough magic and force of will, anything could be done by a strong enough wizard or mage. It was the biggest limitation to mages really. Their belief that their power was limited, limited their achievements more than their actual reserves of magic.

  Looking around as his wings kept their beat to maintain his hovering, Sebastian could see them now. The movements of air currents looked nearly solid as his eyes glowed with the power to see the air around him.

  Cheleya and the other girls looked at him in confusion. The dragoness even said, "Maybe you should just land. I can help you."

  Seeing the movements of the air around him, Sebastian shook his head and made his wings beat more forcefully and in quicker time. Launching away like he had been doing this forever, Sebastian moved for the currents which could be beneficial and slipped between those that would counter his movements.

  The owl had often soared with his mind and felt like he was truly flying. Performing aerial maneuvers without the weight of his body and gravity pulling on him was different from this; but with his added vision spell, Sebastian found his way. The only problem he truly had was the feel of his wings and the way they held his body.

  A discomfort from the new pressu
re holding him aloft began to annoy his back and shoulders. Lifting high enough in the air that he felt secure to drop his first set of wings to change to another, the owl mage changed the vision held in his mind. He hovered a moment and the three girls caught up quickly to the mage. As the girls started to open their mouths to scold him together, Sebastian released his bird wings.

  Hearing a collective gasp from the three, the battle mage dropped with his feet aimed towards the ground.

  "Dragon wings," the owl ordered calmly and felt the change immediately. A strange sound related to that of the buzzing of an insect's wings came to his ears immediately.

  Glancing over his shoulder once more, a pale green blur could be seen. There were wings, but they were moving at the speed of a hummingbird's wings. This time, however, there were two sets of wings both high and low. Looking like a human dragonfly, the mage felt the spread of the pressure along his back. The support of the extra pair of wings felt much better and strangely these felt much more powerful than the first. The currents seemed like less of a challenge to these constructs.

  "What were you thinking?!" Cheleya nearly screamed when she caught up to him. Sebastian looked down and thought that he had only dropped a few dozen feet.

  "The other wings were bugging my back," the fledgling flyer admitted to the dragoness.

  Frowning at him, which was an expression getting strangely common now, he thought; Cheleya scolded him, "Of course they felt wrong, you haven't built up any strength to deal with the way they support you."

  Katya asked a different question as she heard the buzz of his wings and noticed that her eyes could barely see the rapid beating of his new dragonfly wings, "Are those insect wings and you have four?"

  He smiled and replied, "They feel faster and stronger too. Let's test them!"

  With that excited comment, the mage shot upward in a nearly perfect vertical line. Sebastian thought to shift backwards like the dragonfly's he had watched as a child flying around on the farm. The power of the wings pulled him back swiftly and the mage rolled over letting the momentum carry him into a new forward movement.