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

by Donald Wigboldy

  Cheleya and Sebastian led a small train of people after them. The dragoness had picked up another of the black swords from her collection stashed away in her room, which was shared with Katya and Evie. With those two girls joining them, the latter of the two apparently shadowing Rilena like some frightened child, they found an abandoned classroom, which was much easier than other times since it was late enough in the afternoon that most students were off studying on personal time.

  Noting the petite redhead behind the much taller Rilena, Sebastian thought the two definitely looked like a protective sister with her younger sibling in tow. Evie had green eyes that seemed slightly large, though perhaps it was simply the wide eyed look the girl often had on her face. Appearing skittish, he had watched Arrimus and his friends teasing her from time to time while he was at the school. Perhaps she had reason to be fearful, even if it was their belief that such actions were done in jest. Sebastian thought that it looked more like the bullying Arrimus had done while following Magnus' example when both were apprentices studying at the school.

  Cheleya placed the sword on the table and asked, "Do you still have any of those iron rods hidden in your ink?"

  The tattoos could fade from sight as they adopted his skin color thanks to magic, but they could look like a normal tattoo as well. Not widely popular among the northern cities, Sebastian had noted a certain popularity of various markings in cities like New Harbor. He supposed that being able to bear your skin in the warmer climate made it possible to display the tattoos, while further north such weather was less common.

  Placing his fingers over the rune forcing his magic into it to make the oval glow, Sebastian soon produced one of the four foot long rods.

  Cheleya looked like she noticed the weight of the rod much more than the mage. His time working with the sword and more recently hammering metal in the forge had increased his strength to the point that the iron seemed insignificant in weight.

  "The swords were made using alteration magic," the girl stated simply before explaining further. "The book that I read on it more or less says that the magic comes from enforcing your will over the matter before you. Energy and magic make up everything in the world, so to alter matter is to simply reset the energy within. Magic becomes the tool of the change while you must set your mind to focus the tool."

  Sebastian heard her brief explanation and thought that the premise behind it was what he had begun to feel about magic use in general. The combination of magic and the will to use it could make nearly anything possible.

  Without using any words or gestures of an incantation, Cheleya placed her hands gently against the surface of the iron letting her magic channel into the metal. He could feel her energy even without using a spell for sight. Placing his hand on her shoulder, the mage tried to feel what the dragoness was doing. The feel of this magic was unlike anything he had ever felt before and left him confused even while Cheleya accepted his touch to let him try to use his magic to understand the spell.

  In just a short time of concentration, the rod changed color and texture. Becoming a small length of rough rope, Cheleya released it long enough to say, "The change can be permanent. What I've done with my clothing remains until I play with it again."

  Sebastian picked up the rope and that was exactly what it felt like. The weight was slightly more than he expected, but fell within that of a rope of such thickness. "No one would believe that this was made from metal," he said with a nod.

  Ashleen moved forward to touch the rope and was quickly followed by most of the others watching. Even Evie tentatively touched the new rope before Cheleya replied, "Alteration magic can change metal, cloth and just about anything you choose to touch. I have never changed anything from afar. I am not even sure that I can."

  Shrugging, Sebastian countered, "There is nothing stopping you from trying here. Why not try it now?"

  After a nod, Cheleya waved her hands from beyond the reach of the rope, which remained just over a foot away. She frowned and closed her eyes a moment still with her fingers extended towards the rope. Shaking her head after nearly a minute, the dragoness decided, "I cannot. Perhaps someone else with the skill would be able to, but I need to touch the thing I am changing apparently."

  Placing her fingers on the rope again, the dragoness channeled her energy into it and the shape began to change as well as the color. Smoothing the rough fibers of the rope, Cheleya rolled the shape out creating a four foot long piece of silk that soon flattened out horizontally as she rotated it to open the cloth revealing the width had been changed to wider than the length of Sebastian's hand. Colored red, the girl had picked one of her favorite colors; but she wasn't through. "Some have jokingly called it tailoring magic since I can use this magic to alter the shape and size of my clothes. I can also change colors."

  Cheleya ran her forefinger along the material leaving a trail of yellow through the red. A pattern of whimsy, the dragoness seemed unhappy with the second color and she passed her hand flat across the cloth. As if she were trying to flatten the already smooth material, her hand swept back and forth quickly returning the cloth to red.

  "I can also change color on living things," she stated and held a lock of her hair. Her left hand slid from where her other hand held the hair and changed the color from blond to a dark red matching that of Evie. A second pass swept the darker color from her hair leaving it blond once more.

  There were many wide eyes watching the girl as if she were some version of a mundane magician. A trickster using sleight of hand couldn't have left them more confused with her ability to alter things so swiftly.

  "Impressive," the mage replied nodding. He had released his touch and knew that it would not help him this time.

  Katya glanced at her brother curiously. His face told her the answer before she asked it. "Do you think you could do that, Bas?"

  "Not without playing with the idea a lot, if then. It feels foreign to my mind, but it wouldn't be the first time. I couldn't wind walk for nearly a year on my own. The runes eluded me for months as well." He shrugged and added, "Perhaps in time it will click."

  Cheleya raised an eyebrow in surprise and said, "You learned dragon magic so easily. I am a bit surprised that you can't see how to do this as well."

  "Can you make a sword like the one on the table from the same material?" Sebastian asked ignoring his inability to master this magic. Like he said, it wasn't something to fret over. Portals had seemed impossible at one point as well after all and he could cast one by himself now.

  Looking at the red cloth with a frown of concentration, the girl replied, "I don't know. I made the other swords from giant shrike wings. Have you seen the creatures? I had never seen their like before, but I suppose living in Mar'kal until a few months ago, I haven't seen a lot of the outside world."

  Sebastian nodded. He had fought them about a month ago north of the wall. In a battle alongside the eastern nomads, Southwall's magic and the new runes had turned back a force of creatures that few people had seen before. There had been massive fire urchins, which hadn't been seen in generations as well as the shrikes and some strange creatures that manipulated lightning with their tails.

  Cheleya rolled up the cloth forming a tube and looked thoughtfully at the material. Since she had just told him that it was just a matter of the will and the mind to mold energy, the dragoness realized that it should be possible. Only her doubt would hold her back.

  She touched the black sword trying to remember its feel before placing her hands on either end of the cloth. Breathing deeply nearing a meditative state, Cheleya let her mind settle on what she wished to create and let her magic flow into it.

  The other onlookers watched as the cloth began to glow. Within the glow, the shape began to shift and squirmed beneath the girl's magic. It took much longer than turning the rod to cloth, but after a few minutes, they were looking at a duplicate of the sword beside her.

  Sebastian handed the dragoness a glass of juice poured from a pitcher bro
ught along for those using their magic. While Cheleya drank from the glass, the mage let his magic search the new sword. After a moment he frowned and said, "It's different."

  Setting the glass down, Cheleya mirrored his look even before sending her magic into the second sword. She touched the original and looked disappointed. "That's strange. It feels like metal, but not the same as the shrike swords."

  It felt different from the weapons he had researched and made, but Sebastian had worked with metal to create steel. His magic had only refined the mixture to conform with what he needed. The black shrike sword was something made from a completely different, organic material. For some reason, even using alteration magic, the second weapon felt lifeless like the iron it was originally made from. Even if it was as strong, it was still different. It held Cheleya's magic differently as well.

  Placing her hand on each sword, Cheleya tried again and again, but could never quite match the iron based sword with that from the shrike's wing.

  Shaking her head, the dragoness finally gave up saying, "I am not sure why, but I can't make it feel the same way."

  "Perhaps it simply comes from the original being from something living instead of metal. You can make the same shape and probably make the iron one as strong, but it will never have been from something that was alive. You might start with a stalk of corn and be closer or maybe making it from horsehair?"

  It was all conjecture, they realized, unless they went to find some other material to try it again. She would also need to alter the weight from something lighter and he wasn't sure if that would be possible. Looking at Evie and her shape changing skill, the mage had heard that the people who could use the magic could alter their size. When they picked too small a form, only their bodies could change. Clothing and weapons would be left behind as the magic allowed only the wizard to change.

  As the bells for dinner rang, Katya took him by the arm saying, "Well, you two can play around with your experiments tomorrow. You are going to be here, aren't you?"

  "We'll probably return to Hala tonight, since I already have rooms rented at the Black Smith Inn; but I promised Falconi Garrett and High Wizard Herrol that I would try to pass on some of the new magic for the remainder of the week. I think if I send Windmeer plans of what I hope to set up there, their wizards can begin construction of whatever defenses they wish to use to guard the gate in the meanwhile."

  Ashleen added, "Sending word to the other cities in general would save us time."

  Turning to the wilder as she walked on his other side after leaving the classroom, Sebastian gave her a smile. Ashleen had adopted his work as hers as well. It was strange having a partner, not only in his work, but for other parts of his life. The mage wasn't sure he was ready to risk her life on certain missions like the one in New Harbor, but then again she was Kardorian and probably wouldn't be approved by his leaders either.

  The group went to the dining hall finding it already beginning to fill up. A line for the food made some of them move to claim a table while the others tried to pick up a second tray for whoever they were responsible for at the tables.

  He noticed the little redhead beside him and Sebastian looked at the shorter girl only to receive a shy smile. Wondering at her presence, Sebastian tried using small talk with Evie. "So you can change into various animals?"

  Looking surprised that he had addressed her, Evie appeared unsure whether to answer. A moment's pause finally stirred up her nerve and the girl replied, "I was brought here by Darius to help Cheleya learn how to change her shape because I can turn into several animals."

  "What kinds of creatures can you become?"

  Wrinkling her forehead in thought, she answered, "I can become a mountain cat or wolf, a couple of types of birds, a mouse... and a few more. If I were to be exposed to others, I could probably become those also with practice."

  The girl appeared to be thinking and Sebastian allowed her to choose her words without interrupting. He had two trays by that time and was beginning to fill them for Ashleen and himself.

  "They say that you are very smart and can learn almost any magic. Will you learn how to change your form like me?"

  It wasn't a point he had considered before, but Sebastian only took a couple seconds to answer to appear like he had needed the time. "I don't think that I will for now. There is already so much that I am working on at the moment. Changing size and form don't seem as necessary to me, though I am sure it is quite convenient. My other magic can do much of what I would gain from taking an animal's form, so it is almost redundant though becoming a mouse to slip under a door or maybe to become something large like a che'ther would be helpful too."

  She looked disappointed, but before Evie could think to answer, Arrimus swooped into line in front of the apprentice directly behind the girl. The other wizard nodded to his friend after apparently saving him his place. A few voices started to complain behind them though softly, most likely because they were used to such habits among certain wizards who believed that they were entitled to such privilege.

  "Don't waste your time talking to the mouse, Bas. If you look at her wrong she'll squeak and disappear into those clothes," the fire apprentice mocked and flicked the sleeve of her short smock making the girl swat at his hand irritably, "though she does give quite the show once she changes back, even if she is a little small."

  The wizard's finger toyed with her long red hair holding a smug smile on his face.

  "Why don't you leave her alone, Arrimus? At least when you and Magnus bullied me and the other mages, you chose boys who could defend themselves. Now you are picking on little girls. It's pretty pathetic that not only haven't you grown out of it, but you've regressed to pulling girls' pigtails."

  Letting Evie's dark red hair drop to her shoulder once more allowed the girl to quickly retreat behind the mage. Like her use of Rilena as a shield, Sebastian had suddenly become her protector, he thought in the back of his mind. He was used to protecting people. It was second nature to him and it seemed right even as the apprentice frowned at his interference.

  "I remember Magnus pushing you around and you never fought back. How did you manage to become anything? I can't believe Magnus lost to you of all people. Maybe I should challenge you to redeem our good name. Fire wizards are the true war wizards after all," Arrimus replied indignantly. It was a change of feeling from the other day when the apprentice was cheering the defeat of the fire wizard, but held much of the same wish to put others down as well.

  Holding onto his temper, since Arrimus truly meant less to him than Magnus, Sebastian merely gave him a tight smile. The apprentice had been a follower and the mage barely even remembered him from his time at the school. "You can call yourselves war wizards, but we are battle mages. There is no other word for us. I didn't fight with Magnus as a cadet because we are trained to protect wizards like you.

  "You get to play at war because mages and soldiers stand between you and danger, Arrimus. For instance, in a line like this, only inches from me; you couldn't defend yourself from an attacker. A battle mage is trained in every form of combat including close quarters fighting. You are not."

  A bit of worry flickered through the younger wizard's eyes, if only for a moment. Arrimus' indignant nature and unflappable ego wouldn't be deterred, however, so the apprentice retorted, "Are you threatening me, Sebastian? I'll fight you, if you want, anywhere and anytime."

  Sebastian shook his head. "It wouldn't be a fight. I'm trained differently from you. In fact, were it to come down to it, I could beat you with a simple flick to the face," the mage stated miming a flick of his forefinger towards the wizard.

  "I would like to see that!" Arrimus dared the mage.

  "Stop tormenting the girl and I'll leave you your dignity, Arrimus," the owl mage said trying not to roll his eyes at the younger man.

  "No, we can do this right here and right now!" Arrimus stated loudly bringing the eyes of those closest to them. As the apprentice looked to be working himself up bouncing
on the balls of his feet and shaking out his arms as if he planned to fight Sebastian, he added, "I get to do whatever I want and you have to beat me with a little flick of your finger. Come on, Bas, prove it!"

  Arrimus started to cast a fireball spell surprising many including his friends behind him, who pushed back against the line. Sebastian lifted his hand with his forefinger already primed to do as he had warned.

  "Sleep," the owl said as his finger flicked the air between them. Dust that glittered red and pink appeared to spray the apprentice in his eyes and onto his nose. There was no residue for evidence, but Arrimus sneezed interrupting his fire spell.

  Staggering back in surprise, the apprentice wiped at his face even as his eyes started to roll back and his eyelids descended to close.

  "Catch him," Sebastian warned the one who had let the fire apprentice in line.

  Arrimus mumbled something inarticulate and slumped into his friend's arms. After the initial shock of the apprentice's humiliation, even that wizard decided to lower Arrimus to the floor away from the food line. Like Sebastian and a wide eyed Evie, he retrieved his tray and began to fill it with his food.

  Ignored by everyone quickly, the fire apprentice was left to sleep it off as the room returned to their eating.

  "He sleeps?" Evie questioned curiously looking at the floor to see if Arrimus had recovered yet.

  "Yup, I didn't put a lot into the spell, but we should be about done eating by the time he awakes," Sebastian assured the girl. The friends of Arrimus heard his words as well, but didn't show relief or any real emotion in truth. It made the mage wonder, if they were what were known as fair weather friends.

  "You could have hurt him as easily?" the girl questioned as they moved along the line before taking their trays of food to the reserved table and those holding it. They all looked at him questioningly save Ashleen, whose face was more disapproving of his dealing with the apprentice.

  "We aren't supposed to fight and certainly not in the dining hall. Sometimes bullies do need to be taken down a peg to learn a lesson. Magnus was the same way and it took more than one lesson to show him that I wasn't his enemy, but I shouldn't be his target of humiliation either.