Without waiting for Evie, the man called up his dragonfly wings and took to the air. He crossed most of the twenty-five miles in flight, but felt his back hurting almost immediately. Controlling his wish to stop with the focus of his mind, the mage refused to land until he was just beyond the easy viewing of Tarmand's city guards. At this distance, a man looked small to anyone looking his way. He could walk the rest.
While Sileoth was a close ally of Southwall, his magic wasn't something to be given away so easily. Dragon magic and portal spells were to be hidden from other nations until the time the king declared it ready to unveil. It would keep spies of the Dark One from finding out about what they had learned.
His mission had brought him in contact with forces of the Dark One along the way. Some things like the darkness spells had been revealed in battle. The portal spells might still be a secret, though he had used them at the Twins to save the wall; but certainly the spells brought by Cheleya and Kel'lor needed to be hidden. Then there were the runes...
A lot had been found in a short time, but he had a feeling that every new spell was going to be needed. The Dark One had displayed some of his hand using the Wizard Hunters to try capturing him, and his new creatures which had battled the nomads and the soldiers of Southwall who had allied with them a little over a month ago too.
Things were changing on both sides. The enemy had attacked the wall, created a fortress behind the wall's defenses and was now trying to take all of Litsarin from Sileoth. Southwall had new magic and had brought back the legendary Grimnal from his prison island. With Sebastian's trip to the enemy's city, it meant both countries could bring the fight to each other like no other time in history.
His back was hurting the man by the time he crossed the relatively short distance to his view of the city. With about a mile of separation, Sebastian opened a new gate and soon afterward Evie came through, but she wasn't alone. Ashleen followed and he was forced to ask, "Are there any others who have decided to follow you here?"
Ashleen shook her head and replied, "Evie said that the flight had left you very sore. Hopefully between the two of us, we can help your back with our magic."
Sebastian didn't turn down the girls' offer. Evie and Ashleen worked together to ease the muscles that were hurting him from legs to back. While he couldn't take a long rest break, the mage did let them heal as much as they could for the short time remaining.
He sent Ashleen back through the portal and was about to tell Evie that her task was finished as well, but she surprised him as she handed her dress to him to place in his pack. Before the man could complain, she was a mouse again looking up at him to pick her up.
Sighing, Sebastian replaced her in his pack which he placed over his shoulders this time. He pushed his magic into his runes and used those of speed and strength to propel the mage at exceptional speed towards Tarmand.
Evicting the mouse in a quiet alley not far from the king's castle, he placed Evie on the ground and removed her dress by the time she could finish changing to her human form. While the girl dressed, he placed her boots beside her and took two of the lodestones from his pouch. He dropped them at the base of each wall created by the two story buildings creating a stone canyon for them to use for discretion.
The girl couldn't very well expose herself on one of the main streets after all. Sileoth had rules as much as Southwall. Hiding gates that could lead an invasion force into the city was also probably not a good thing to display in front of a crowd either, he supposed.
Sebastian could have done the same thing inside the castle, but at least here, there were a few blocks between the alleyway and the outer walls of the fortress within the city. The owl didn't want to leave an undefended gate at all. Unsure if he could get an audience with the king, however, the mage didn't want to waste time finding another place to set the gate either.
As the crowds grew around them on the main streets leading to the center of Tarmand, Evie moved closer grabbing his hand with hers. Like a small child looking for confidence from her father's touch, the wilder reminded him once more that she was a product of nature. She had always been a bit nervous in the crowds of Hala as well, Sebastian realized, and held her hand without complaint.
Reaching the gates, the falcon produced his letter of introduction. Sebastian didn't have Gerid to prove that he was an immortal king, but he did have the seal of King Alain this time and that was almost as good. The guards set him up with a page to escort them. The young man was dressed in silks and satin. Such finery made him look soft to the mage, but Sebastian had seen his like among the royals of Hala and even Tarmand before this.
He held his tongue, but the page glanced from him to the younger girl making idle chit chat. "You two don't look like the usual ambassadors or messengers sent from a king," he stated looking slightly smug. "This girl looks more like a peasant and you are a... battle mage? I would have thought that a king would at least have sent a wizard to speak with King Qeyless."
"I have spoken with your king in the past. He knows me, since I introduced him to King Gerid the Grimnal."
The fancy young man's step faltered nearly making Evie run into him. She had eased away, but still held his hand. Shrinking against him once more, Sebastian added, "Evie is my ward and not necessarily used to kings and castles."
Trying to recover his dignity, the man's ego managed to make him assume the same haughty posture he had displayed from the beginning. Turning his face towards where they were going rather than to those following him, the page continued, "It is late in the day. I am not sure if the king will see you."
"King Alain sent me to address him about the war. If he still is taking supplicants, I think that the king would wish to accommodate someone who has come so far on the behalf of one of his greatest allies. Southwall has sent troops and ships to help you with your war after all.
"That might give my voice a little stronger position than a farmer complaining about his fields, though I don't begrudge one his right to speak either."
The page grumbled something about peasants, but Sebastian didn't listen closely. It was likely derogatory, but the falcon had business to attend and the little fop of a man wasn't worth the use of air.
They arrived at a well guarded side gallery to wait. He had been through this door before and wasn't surprised when one of those in charge of arranging the lines of people stopped the page at the door.
"These... people have documents from Southwall," the young man stated apparently no longer worrying over angering the falcon with his disdain. "He says that he comes asking to speak with his majesty on behalf of his king."
Sebastian offered another sealed document, a letter of introduction of the falcon acting as ambassador for Alain. He knew enough of what each envelope and document in his pouch said and that they should make the attendants of the king treat him with more respect than the haughty little page.
"The king sent me to find out the state of the war and his troops," the mage stated standing straight. Evie glanced from him to the men around them holding no such posture. The girl still held his hand also making some of his posturing a little less official looking in fact.
Despite his words and papers, the man in charge merely nodded waving him to follow. He didn't even waste a look at the page in dismissal. Evie sniffed at him turning her head to display her annoyance at the rude young man, but Sebastian ignored them both.
He remained standing when the official paused him with a raised hand. Taking the document to another man of greater importance than their official, the two had quick words as the first man displayed the note with the royal seal of King Alain on it. Eyes looked to him from time to time before the second official made his way to the king.
Ignoring a man dressed better than a simple peasant farmer as he spoke to the king, the king's man moved to the king's side offering the sealed paper to Qeyless. The king excused himself halting the man midsentence to look at the letter. He snapped the seal to read the words inside without botheri
ng to allow one of his attendants to open it for him.
The king's eyes lifted to see Sebastian and the great man gave him a nod before having the man before him continue telling his story.
Sebastian didn't bother to sit, though there were seats available on the benches lining the central walkway of the audience chamber. The mage's back was feeling better, but he wasn't sure if sitting would exacerbate his fatigue again.
The petitioner finished and the audience was told that the day's petitions would have to wait for a time. There were sighs and groans, mostly stifled as they realized that they were criticizing their king.
Being waved to follow the second official, Sebastian led Evie onto the carpet of the center walkway. It led from the low wooden gates holding back the people coming to visit the king all the way to his throne. Woven in intricate patterns, it helped give the room a richer feel while making a petitioner feel special as well, Sebastian thought.
The king had disappeared through a door partially hidden by the draperies breaking up the stone of the wall behind the throne. Sebastian and Evie followed the official through the door and down a short hall to a much smaller room.
King Qeyless was there with several guards and a pair of men. Sebastian could tell that one was most likely a general as he wore a metal breastplate and other pieces to make him look like a warrior. The second man was dressed more like a robed wizard, but the mage sensed no magic to the man.
"So King Alain sent you? I had no word of a Southwall vessel in port today. Did you just arrive and run across the city to bring me your king's message?" King Qeyless asked looking a bit annoyed, which surprised the mage until he noted the tired look in the man's eyes. The war was weighing on the king's mind, the falcon believed, but he had to maintain the more trivial parts of his kingdom like listening to petitions from his people all day.
"I made landfall outside the city and made the rest of the trip on foot, your majesty. King Alain sent me to find out how the war is going. He has received no word in weeks."
The king frowned and looked confused, "What do you mean? I have sent messages weekly, since his fleet of ships arrived. Over a thousand men including wizards and battle mages were all that he could spare on such short notice, but they were still appreciated. I haven't heard as much from Litsarin as I would like either, but I have passed on what I could.
"How is it that you say your king has received no word then, falcon?" The king paused and his eyes narrowed as he concentrated on the mage's face. "I know you also, do I not?"
Answering the easier question first, he replied, "I am Falcon Sebastian Trillon, your majesty. We met a couple months earlier when I brought King Gerid to meet you on our way to Hala."
The king's eyes opened wider and he leaned back as the mage's words struck home quickly. "Ah, yes, I vaguely recall a battle mage then. King Gerid stated that you actually led that expedition.
"That you lead as a battle mage is less surprising than to see someone so young in charge of veteran wizards and mages," the king replied. Qeyless was a man in his forties. Gray was starting to appear in threads in his brown beard and at his temples. Still strong and healthy, the king was young enough to lead his people for decades to come, if all things went well. The king also had the look of someone who could both command and fight his own battles.
"I have been working with my king closely at times," Sebastian stated not bothering to be disappointed that the king had all but forgotten him beside Gerid's powerful presence. "I also have some unique talents that help with a mission like this where saving time is of the utmost importance."
"And what talents are these?" Qeyless asked looking shrewdly at the young mage.
Sebastian realized that his own ego had just placed him in a position that a diplomacy wizard would have been smart enough to have avoided. It dawned on him that maybe he should have brought one of them through a portal so someone with more experience could take the point in this conversation.
"Southwall's wizards have been working on countering certain spells the emperor's warlocks like to use. I have figured out a few that help in that matter," the mage stated remaining vague.
The king let out an exasperated breath and retorted, "Obviously this is something that your country doesn't feel comfortable sharing with its allies, but I suppose this meeting isn't supposed to be about those things either. You come saying that your king has received no news of the state of the war.
"I don't know why he is in the dark, but there is little good news to tell.
"The waters between Sileoth and Litsarin have come alive with brigands making it hard to even send our troops to reinforce our cities. Word of black hulled ships with black sails manned by wizards capable of destroying our ships only made it back to Tarmand when a few escaped an attack that sank half of the fleet we had sent.
"Their ships are fast and seem to appear from almost nowhere according to the captains, who ran from the black ships.
"Word from Litsarin isn't much better. The Dark One managed to move multiple armies into range of our cities and towns so quickly that many have fallen. Our armies that have met them in the field get driven back as well. The monsters they bring can kill our soldiers too easily and their warlocks can counter our wizards with spells of darkness that they have no answer for.
"If we don't find something to stop them, Helsen will fall before winter begins. Once that city falls, we will have basically lost the war. The southern towns can't stand up against the dark armies, if Helsen can't."
The king looked frustrated. He had no answer for the enemy's magic and monsters. Southwall had been fighting those problems for nearly two hundred years. Night spells were newer complications, but thanks to the Winter's Edge tournament, they had learned of them before the warlocks could start using them to great effect.
Wanting to give the king hope, Sebastian wanted to say that he could teach his wizards spells that would at least make the battle a little more even. Unfortunately, his magic was still a secret outside of Southwall's borders. Some hadn't even been shared with the southern cities thanks to the strife sown by the Dark One's spies.
"King Alain will want to know if his troops made it to Litsarin and if they still fight for you," Sebastian replied having little that he could say. King Alain and his superiors had ordered him to hold his tongue about his magic and what it could do. Even allies of centuries feared giving another country too much of an edge.
"One ship was sunk, but much of the crew was saved. The black ships were driven off by your wizards somehow," the king replied sounding truly surprised that Southwall could drive away the enemy at all. Some of the wizards, which had joined the first fleet, had benefited from his night shield teachings. The knowledge of light spells being the counter to the shields meant that the wizards could take on the enemy as equals at sea.
The king continued, "Little word has come back, but last I heard, your people have helped hold Helsen."
Sebastian nodded. "I will let my king know then."
Qeyless' face darkened with the shadow of failure. Used to the delays in time while ships moved back and forth for weeks at a time to convey messages, the king said in disappointment, "Then I guess we will wait for a few weeks for his response again. By then, we will have probably lost Litsarin for good."
The battle mage wanted to give the king hope, but his hands were tied. He had been ordered to avoid showing Qeyless magic like his portal spells. "Maybe not, your majesty, where magic is concerned, sometimes there is a way."
Unable to tell the king more and vice versa, since Qeyless had told the mage all that he knew, they were at an impasse. With a few more amenities spoken, Sebastian and Evie left the king to return to the first quiet alleyway he could find. The mage returned home to the inn saving a longer walk from the fire guild portal.
He left Evie with Ashleen and walked to Castle Grimnal to speak with Raven Leros and his king.
Chapter 27- Council of War
Sebastian returned early in the mor
ning to Tarmand, which was far enough west to be a couple hours behind Hala. He had new documents to hand to the guards and followed a page to the side gallery of the audience chamber. It was much quieter in the gallery this early in the morning, but the main petitioners' line remained surrounded by the crowd of commoners who attended each day as an audience.
King Qeyless was a rare king who allowed his people to see him most of the week in his home. Admittedly there were guards and separation between them, but it was still a big risk that many rulers wouldn't dare.
Glad that he didn't have to deal with the rude page from the previous day, Sebastian found the same officials attending the king in the chamber.
His message for the king was different, but had a similar result. He was led to the door behind the drapery and on to the smaller room down the hall.
"You have returned," Qeyless stated with a bit of surprise. "I thought that you planned to return to speak with your king. In fact, you have brought me a new message from Alain, but unless you were sent with letters for different eventualities, I do not know how you could have received new information from your king."
Nodding, Sebastian replied, "I know that, your majesty, but you will understand shortly."
The mage gauged the room. A dozen soldiers, the same general as the day before and two lesser scribes supported their king.
"Are all these men people that can be trusted with your greatest secrets, King Qeyless?" he asked placing meaning into both his words and his look to the king.
Qeyless' eyes glanced almost without his intent, but the king sent the two scribes away. His personal guards and general remained, though the other man's hand remained touching the pommel of his sword as if wondering if he would have to defend his king.
"I trust these men with my life. My secrets aren't as important as that for the most part. These are men who protect my family as well. Now what do you have to tell me, mage?"
Battle Mage: Winds of Change (The High King: A Tale of Alus Book 11) Page 40