"Besides if they are destroyed while you are gone, then it is safer here and you can make more once you return," the boy said refusing any excuse.
Managing to avoid a sigh, Palose nodded and knew that he would have to do as he was asked. When an emperor suggested something, it was really an order and not to be ignored as anything less.
"Goodie!" Acheri said hugging the mage's arm tightly with both hands. She was slim and already taller than Kolban, though the boy was likely not full grown. Her eyes looked up at Palose from a few inches below his smiling as charmingly as she could.
He guessed that dinner in the castle wasn't too bad a thing at least. Sylvaine and the others in his house would simply have to eat without him. His wraiths were used to being alone with the others he had raised over night while Palose returned home to Sylvaine each evening. The war was going smoothly and like the emperor had said, if his creations were destroyed, he could just make more.
Chapter 30- Dragons on the Wind
The sound of wind and waves mixed with the gentle creaks of wooden boards as the battle ship cut through the water of the North Sea. Sebastian looked to the sky feeling the powerful vessel lifting and falling with each wave. The passage between Sileoth and Litsarin was typically gentler than being out in the main sea or in the ocean south of the large islands, but the winds had picked up agitating the channel creating larger waves.
With the western winds pushing hard against the sails, the fleet had to adjust canvas regularly to make sure that the slowest ships didn't fall too far behind. It was the first attempt of the combined forces to bring the much needed troops to the beleaguered cities of Litsarin using part of Sebastian's preparations. So far, too few of their reinforcements had been able to make the crossing with the black ships of the emperor patrolling the main route to the island.
Sebastian and those he had once trained to fight the wizard hunters and their ships had needed to spend time training Sileoth's wizards before the push. With such a small number of dragon mages to guard the fleet, the remaining wizards on each ship needed to know the best way to counter the warlocks that they would be facing. Such precautions were the best that the mage could accomplish in such a short time. The leaders of Mar'kal had yet to make up their minds and Gerid with his entourage were still talking with the merfolk to see if they were willing to join the effort as well. Thanks to the magic portals capable of bridging great distances in an instant, they had a chance to do what they could in a short time.
Still, as the mage looked at those gathered on the deck around him all nervously looking out at the water with trepidation; Sebastian felt like they had a good chance of making it this time even without the extra help. They had even fewer dragon mages than he wished to bring, however. Cheleya had remained behind, their most veteran dragon mage, to work with their newest recruits. The search had expanded from the veteran wizards and mages of White Hall to those in the other northern castles joined together by the portals. Twelve more men and women were a week into their training by now, but he couldn't risk them so soon. Few of them could fly well yet, which left the original class of dragon mages available to guard the fleet.
"I am surprised that you let them come along," Magnus spoke up sauntering up to the mage where he leaned against the forward wall of the center square built onto the deck. The battle ship was large enough to have multiple rooms on the deck concealing and protecting multiple stairways as well as the bridge and wheel house.
Following the wizard's gaze towards Ashleen standing beside Katya alongside the rail, Sebastian didn't comment right away. He didn't always see eye to eye with Magnus, but the man understood his worry. Sebastian loved both women and his sister was young. Still technically a novice, the thirteen year old girl wasn't even supposed to be a dragon mage.
He hadn't heard the full story, but if Sebastian knew one thing about his little sister, Katya did know how to get her way. If she wanted to become a dragon mage, the girl would somehow manage to become one and she had. His little sister was also a diplomacy wizard. He had heard that Katya was a natural, a prodigy perhaps, and had taken to her particular brand of magic as well as could be expected of a girl who had nearly become a wilder.
A few of her teachers were friends and one complaint was that his sister took after him as well. She tended to learn spells like a battle mage, more accurately, like Sebastian did. It was an annoyance to the wizards, but Katya was also determined to master each spell as a wizard would as well.
The girl was a novice, but only few a months ago, her class of novices had been caught in a battle. Katya had done well and been judged capable of being an apprentice diplomacy wizard given her skill, but her age and lack of knowledge would put off the promotion for a time even so.
"Katya fought with you, didn't she?" the mage asked without mentioning the specifics.
"In the Dimple Mountains during a routine training exercise, you mean?" Magnus questioned, but seemed to understand enough that it was rhetorical so he continued. "She joined the dragon mage class for flying exercises when the others were attacked by some unknown creatures we had never seen. When most of us used our ability to fly to stay safely out of reach, your sister landed and used her diplomacy magic to disrupt the enemy even more.
"She has courage, like her brother, but that doesn't mean a little girl should be put in danger again," the wizard admonished him.
"Unfortunately, everyone tells me that she is as capable as a dragon mage as any of you," he replied ruefully. "Even if Katya is just a young girl, and a novice, we have too few trained to do what she can."
"And what about the other one?" Magnus gestured towards Ashleen with a frown. "A Kardorian wilder following you around is odd enough, but she can't even fly with us. Why is she here?"
"Ashleen knows how to fight the wizard hunters. She may not be a dragon mage, but she can help out if we see their black ships."
The wizard looked at the mage and asked, "Which leads us to asking, why are you here? I'm surprised that the ravens would risk their golden mage out at sea like this, even if you have fought these wizard hunters before. Don't they need you some place safe thinking up new magic and training the rest of your corps?"
Frowning as Sebastian kept his gaze from Magnus, the mage hated the idea that such a thing might happen to him. To be kept captive somewhere just trying to learn new magic when he was a trained battle mage, was against everything he had been trained to become. Unfortunately, the wizard's question wasn't something that hadn't been asked by others before. At least the mage always had his ability to create portals to prevent such things from happening.
"I at least get to ride along for the first mission. Once we get the wizards capable of making portal gates to Helsen we'll be able to move troops there directly. We'll still need to find ways to bring our soldiers to other places, but it will be a start.
"After we reinforce Helsen, I'll probably be in greater danger than on a short trip like this."
It was Magnus' turn to frown, but more from becoming lost in thoughts created from the mage's answer. "You plan to slip out and set more portals on Litsarin. Are you really the only one capable of doing that?"
"Don't tell me that you are worried about me now," Sebastian chuckled glancing to the wizard's face. He wasn't sure the look in his eyes was concern exactly, at least not for him as a friend anyway.
Snorting at the idea, Magnus retorted, "Like I really care if you want to risk your life needlessly. I guess if you are stupid enough to do something like disappearing into enemy territory to get killed or captured I will be here to comfort your sister and girlfriend. It will be a challenge I'm sure, but I think I can handle the duties."
Sebastian rolled his eyes at the wizard and thought it rare to hear Magnus crack a joke with him. It was more or less at his expense though, so that was nothing new.
"It won't be the first time I've had to risk my life like that. It's not even the first time this week," he finished thinking of his trips to Ensolus. A secon
d and third trip visiting some of his seeded gate points had seemed more relaxing than the wizard's insinuation about the danger should make such a trip, but Raven Leros had made him take a few of Southwall's best spies along as well.
It was their first real chance behind the walls of the emperor's capitol city, since the mage had been forced to give up that secret by the raven. For all that Sebastian had trained to conceal his thoughts behind a stone face; his actions had been rooted out by the elder mage. At least he hadn't found himself in trouble for defying the order to avoid sneaking into the enemy stronghold.
Magnus let the comment rest and the two men stood quietly watching the sky and the waves as the lead ship continued to push towards Helsen.
"Black sails!" a voice rang out from the crow's nest high above the deck.
Wizards had used their wind riding techniques to scout all around the fleet, but it had been the sailor riding aloft in the sails who had spotted the enemy ships first. Whether they had used portal magic to move the handful of warships into range without being seen or they had used some kind of stealth magic, no one knew; but it didn't matter as the fleet of Southwall and Sileoth troops readied for a battle.
The dragon mages readied for a dangerous fight and Sebastian felt a new sense of concern that he had rarely felt since leaving the safety of White Hall more than a year and a half ago. His eyes strayed to Katya and Ashleen standing nearby and the young man understood that he had more to lose than just his life now. Wanting to protect his little sister and to leave her in White Hall where it was relatively safe, the mage knew that Magnus was right that he didn't want either girl along for this mission. It was dangerous and could turn deadly easily based off the fact so few ships had managed to cross the channel to Litsarin to aid in the fight.
Ashleen moved closer pulling his head down to kiss him on the lips for luck. "Be careful, Bas," she offered and Sebastian could see the nervousness in the girl's face. Ashleen didn't want him in this fight anymore than he wanted her there.
"You too," her lover offered heartfeltly; even if his words were merely echoes of hers.
Katya on the other hand grinned with excitement watching the black ships becoming more visible with each instant.
He placed his hand on his sister's shoulder and warned, "You be careful too. You're only a novice and have barely seen fighting. This will be more dangerous than anything you have seen before. If it looks too dangerous, retreat towards our fleet. At least there you will have the others to protect you."
She frowned and replied, "If you think that I haven't been in danger before, big brother, you are wrong. Those monsters we fought in the mountains were every bit as deadly as anything the emperor can throw at us. Besides we have the advantage here. We can fly. They can't."
"Unless they bring more of those shrikes or lightning imps," the mage warned of the monsters he had fought with the nomads of the plains recently. The emperor continuously seemed to be discovering new weapons. After nearly two hundred years of ground warfare, he seemed to have found renewed vigor. His new beasts made his army more dangerous than ever making Sebastian and the rest of Southwall more nervous than ever before as well.
Katya didn't seem to have an answer for that. She wasn't privy to everything that her brother had seen. Stories of human size shrikes hadn't been made widely known to avoid panic among the people living closest to the wall.
They waited for only a little longer before the dragon mages took flight. Lifting off too soon would have only served to warn their enemies of their new abilities and weapons. They wanted as much surprise at their disposal as they could have for this fight.
Sebastian used his dragonfly wings to zip ahead of the main force. Flying low along the water, the mage used the waves for cover as the sea seemed to become more agitated with the upcoming battle. Up and down the owl mage paralleled the waves lifting high only after the distance was minimal.
"Light arrows," the mage called as he lifted up in the front of the closest black ship. His hand, placed palm flat towards the enemy, seemingly became a portal for shafts of light fired with each foot he climbed. More than a dozen arrows flew forward striking men and ship alike. Tears in the sails were too small to slow the vessel and the holes in the hull were too high to flood it as well.
He banked flying along side of the ship and enemy archers were quick to try to hit the flying man. While it was a surprising sight, magic was common enough in their world that the orcs and men were only slow to react because he had managed to sneak into the line of fire so well.
The rune shield lifted free to block the arrows and any magic the warlocks could summon while the harpoon lanced out striking the wood of the hull even as the weapon grew with the light of his magic. More like an anchor, the head of the harpoon became like a headsman's axe sinking deep into the wood as the mage pulled the line dragging the glowing blade in a ragged streak through the outer hull. Breaking wood snarled the magic weapon enough to slow Sebastian's flight that more arrows were able to zero in on him, but the shield reflected the wood shafts easily.
He released the magic helping the rune harpoon and it recoiled back to his forearm in an instant even as the mage lifted up behind the rear of the ship.
"Sleep," the owl ordered creating a mist that rolled across the aft deck causing the black armored soldiers to stumble. Some fell asleep while others managed to fight off the magic with their black armor. Though not an elemental attack, his healer based spell could still be absorbed into their magic nullifying armor at least enough to keep some from falling asleep.
The other dragon mages were swarming the first ship as they passed in a strafing attack. A mixture of magic attacks including elemental magic like fire could be helpful against the wizard hunters when it was directed at the ship rather the soldiers in their armor.
On fire with several holes in the deck and more in the sails, the ship faltered slowing down as the wind lost purchase on the burning canvas.
Pressing the advantage after nearly crippling the first ship, Sebastian moved past to the next black vessel. Magic shields arose as arrows and magic projectiles sprayed towards the flying mage. The rune shield caught the few close calls easily even as he switched between light and darkness arrow spells in an attempt to penetrate the defensive spells of the warlocks.
The minutes passed as the battle changed in flow. The black ships were being forced to fight a battle with the small number of dragon mages even as the warships of Sileoth and Southwall closed using their wizards' magic to bombard the enemy.
When one of the black ships suddenly turned towards one of its own, Sebastian was caught by surprise. His viewpoint from the air gave him a tactical advantage even as he continued to move to avoid a concentrated attack.
When a petite little blonde haired girl lifted into the air from the turning ship, his stomach sank for a moment worrying that Katya would be spotted and be caught as she flew away. It was quickly changed to elation as the mage watched the ship veer towards the next closest vessel to its left or port side as the sailors called it.
Like a siren's magic, the diplomacy novice was dangerous. Her voice could turn most creatures to her will and such a spell couldn't be blocked by the black armor either.
Magic from the target of the turning ship pushed their allied vessel away at the last minute, even while those onboard the first ship did their best to pull the navigator away from the wheel. The other sailors in the helmsman's room fought to keep the soldiers away making for a fight that meant the orcs and a troll were forced to beat the contaminated men near to death.
Sebastian shot towards the turning black ship and struck the hull near the water line with his harpoon. Using his magic, the rune created three lines as his split weapon hit the wooden side in three places raking through the hull. More magic found the dragon mage forcing him towards the water. A tall wave caught Sebastian with a splash. The man disappeared into the sea causing the black armored soldiers to cheer for a moment.
Concealed by
the waves of dark blue water, Sebastian pulled in his wings tight to his body as the man let the harpoons pull longer tears in the hull. He was pulled with the momentum of the ship for several seconds before the mage used his magic to shorten the lines. The harpoons remained in the hull long enough to help him increase his speed and lifted Sebastian back to the top of the waves running alongside the ship.
His wings churned the water as he lifted free releasing the harpoons once more. Flying upward with water trailing from the owl's skin and clothing, no one aboard the black ship was even able to get an accurate shot at him in their surprise.
Sebastian was closer to being struck by friendly fire as the mage climbed into the air looking on the naval battle. With the aerial units causing damage and acting as a distraction, the black ships appeared at a loss. The first ship in line was struck from both sides as the Sileoth warships used their wizards and archers to great effect. Cannon fire ripped more holes in the hull and the mage could see that the enemy vessel was taking on water now as well.
When the ships in the rear began to turn to withdraw, the mage wasn't completely surprised. It was a one sided fight and they were losing. With the opening of a large portal, the ships began to disappear from the sea. A bigger surprise was seeing several of the sailors and apparently unimportant soldiers like orcs and goblins being struck down by the warlocks. He felt the increase in power as the blood draining onto the deck fueled the spells.
To open portals large enough for the ships to pass through, a great need for power came wherever the warlocks could get it. Lives were lost and magic was used from their sacrifice. He was appalled at the callousness needed to kill their own men and understood again why Southwall stood against such creatures as the Dark One and his warlocks.
Pulling back, the dragon mages watched the rest of the black ships disappear into their individual gates. Each cost more lives, but the black fleet was in disarray and couldn't escape through a single gateway. Even the first ship was able to make an escape, which was disappointing. He had hoped to at least have that minor victory with its sinking.
Battle Mage: Winds of Change (The High King: A Tale of Alus Book 11) Page 45