I stared for a moment and shook my head, "Could you explain?"
Stain smiled, "We form shields and ride through the fire river. It empties upon a desolate area where nothing lives. Then we hike across the plain and we will be out of Gias's reach."
We all sat there and thought about this.
"Stain. I do not know how to make such a shield. What would it even consist of and how big would it have to be?" Raven was in shock.
Conium smiled, "Believe it or not you can do this. Ott too."
I shook my head, "What kind of shield?"
Stain patted me on the shoulder, "A double shield. The inner of water and earth with an outer shield of water and fire."
I thought about it and grinned. "The water provides a barrier to the heat?"
Stain grinned, "Correct!"
"What is the point of the earth?" Raven asked.
"It helps keep the air pure." Conium smiled.
I looked around and grinned. "Then I guess we need to get underway."
Stain nodded, "I will provide the shield for Tag and Conium. You do the shield for the rest. Raven can help." He gathered everyone into two groups. "We need to get underway. Gias will start searching for us soon." He cast the inner shield, made of earth and water. The outer shield formed, almost twice the size of the inner one. The shield was such that I could not see them. It slowly started rolling towards the fire river. It stuck for a moment against the bank and then sank out of sight, a slight bulge in the fire where it floated.
"I guess it is our turn." I smiled and stood next to Evins.
Raven walked over to me and wrapped her arms around me. "Keep us safe Ott." She leaned against me as I cast the spells.
I formed the inner shield. A solid shield of water and earth formed. It felt like a shield of thick, gooey mud. Next I cast the outer shield. The water and fire fought one another at first, then they seemed to almost blend. I focused more intently and made the shield move gently towards where the fire river was. I could feel the fire magic that flowed within the river. It was immense and powerful. We slid down into it and started moving forward.
"I wonder how long we have to stay in the river?" Raven asked in the dark. Suddenly she cast a small glow spell. "That is better. I think I will sit down." She sat down and leaned against Evins shell.
"I hope it is not long." Evins dryly stated. "I hate being in tight spaces."
I looked at him, thinking he was teasing. "I do not think it will be long. I will try to get us out as soon as I can."
We floated along for what seemed like hours. Occasionally I could feel the river changing course or falling suddenly. Finally I noticed that the power of the fire river was waning
"Wake up." Raven and Evins had fallen asleep.
"What is going on?" Evins sleepingly asked.
"I think we might be there." I reached out my mage sight and looked for Stain. He was off to the side, no spells active. I moved my shield towards him slowly. After a moment I felt the river slip away. I carefully took some power from my shields, so that I could see through them. We were in clear sky, no fire around us. I dropped my shields carefully, making sure to warn the others so they did not fall.
"Good job Ott." Stain gave me a big hug. "I am proud of you."
I looked around and grinned. "You were not joking about a desolate place." There was only rocks and ash. Not a single living thing existed on the plain other than us.
Stain looked around and smiled, "This is one of the last places Gias will look for us. Now, we need to head that direction. Up to that ledge and over the ridge. We will be only a day's travel to the river and then by boat another day. Then we will arrive at the capital"
Raven picked up her pack and handed mine to me. "Shall we get underway? This place is disturbing"
We all grabbed our stuff and started towards the ledge Stain had pointed out. We were safe, at least for a while.
* * *
"Well, it looks as if something is going on." Stain stated this dryly.
We had made it to within view of the river and had to stop. The landing at the river looked to be destroyed. Troops were camped in the clearing.
"Can you make out who's troops they are?" Conium asked. Her owl had caught up with us during our walk. She had been the first to see the troops and the devastation at the landing. She brought back word to Stain.
"I can not tell from here. I worry they might have a mage with them so I hesitate to scry into their camp." Stain looked frustrated. "We need to know what happened."
"I can find out." Mophar spoke up. "I can sneak into the camp and listen. Nobody will see me and I do not use magic so if there is a mage they will not detect me."
Stain stood there and thought a moment. "That is a reasonable idea Mophar. Be careful." He turned and pointed, "See that tent with all the flags? Their leader will be there. Do not get caught."
Mophar nodded and jumped into the trees. Seconds later there was no sign he was there. We all watched nervously to see if anyone in the camp sounded an alarm. After an hour of waiting Mophar dropped from the nearest tree.
"You are not going to believe this." He was so upset his tail bristled like a brush. "Those idiots down there belong to some foreign king. He is in league with the evil mage. For his assistance he gets half the kingdom."
"Did you hear what kingdom?" Stain was visible upset.
Mophar shook his head. "They never said which one, but their flag has a blue tree on it, if that helps."
Stain was shocked, his mouth dropped. "That is the king's brother-in-law. How can he do such a thing?"
Mophar made an odd noise, "That makes sense. I heard something about not hurting the queen. Someone asked why it mattered and the captain replied that it mattered more than their lives. Also they have mages with them. Nobody truly powerful from the sound of it, but battle mages who are experienced."
Stain sat there and fumed for a while. Finally he stood up. "There are too many players in this game. I would do something about this group at the landing but I feel we need to get to the capital quickly and to fight this group would delay us too long." He looked around. "There are few options in reaching the capital. It was designed to be easily defended. It has two entrances that we can use. The main entrance is a road and the river. Both can be secured in times of trouble. The second is a secret passage that is in the mountains around the capital. I and the captain in charge of the king's guard are the only ones who know of this passage. And only I know how to access it from outside the capital." He picked up his items and slung his bag over his shoulder. "We must walk two days now. Then we will reach the entrance of this passage. Then we must walk another tiring day to reach the capital. I had hoped to make it to the capital sooner." He headed off into the woods, heading towards the capital.
We all followed Stain, each lost in our thoughts. We walked until it was almost dark. Stain called a halt and had us set up camp in a small clearing
"No fire tonight. There are enemy forces that would see the light. We also need watches, two at a time." He sat down and handed out food. "I hate that this is happening. I had heard of stirrings, but not anything like this just yet."
Conium sat down next to Stain, "Must I remind you that you are not the only one who takes care of this kingdom?" Her tone made it obvious that this was an old argument
Stain smiled sourly and shook his head, "I might not be the only one, but it seems as if I should have seen this occurring"
Conium poked him in the ribs, "Has it occurred to you that the reason you did not see any of this could be because the enemy fears you and has taken pains to avoid your attention?"
Stain sat there and considered that. "I guess you could be right."
Raven leaned back against a rock. "So, does that mean the capital is under siege?"
Stain looked at her. "I had not even considered it. We have not had a siege in hundreds of years." He reached out and made a circle on the ground. I could feel magic pour into the circle. It suddenly lit up w
ith an image of an immense city surrounded by mountains. Stain adjusted his view and the city shrunk smaller, showing the countryside around it. Tents and fires burned all around the city. Massive gates were shut across the road and river leading into the city. "Well, that answers that question." Stain's voice was furious. The image moved around, giving us views of different flags and groups. "Mercenaries, neighboring kingdoms, even some guild flags. This is outrageous" Stain was livid.
"Will we still be able to get into the city?" Conium asked. She seemed upset also.
Stain nodded. "I could get in through the front gates if I had to do so. However, I would have to draw on spells that I had set aside many years ago." He seemed haunted.
"Can we reach the secret passage?" Stain's voice made me worry.
He zoomed out and looked at the side of a mountain. "We should, as long as we can avoid their patrols."
Raven leaned forward, "I guess things are getting interesting."
Stain looked at her in shock, then he started laughing. "Oh my dear, I do think it is getting interesting." He hugged her and bid us a goodnight. Going into his tent we could hear him muttering to himself until he fell asleep.
"Conium, what did he mean about spells he set aside?" I worried she would not answer.
For a moment she seemed like she was not going to answer but then she nodded, "He will not like that I have told you this, however I think it is better for you to know." She looked around and sat on a log. "I will tell you the story, but I would ask you not to repeat it. I only know because Stain told me once as a warning. You see I was misusing my magic when he found me. He tried to teach me how to use my magic to do good, but all I saw was my selfish desires. I did not see any harm in using magic the way I was. He finally sat me down and shared with me one of the most heart rending stories I have ever heard."
* * *
Stain is very old, he likes to change the age around depending on who is asking. However, after he told me this story I know he is at least over eight hundred years old. I looked up in the histories of the kingdom and this story was dated around that time.
In that day and time the kingdom was smaller and still at war with many of it's neighbors. Battles and duels were normal occasions. Each small kingdom fought with each other. Knights rode the countryside. Peasants hid or were taken into the armies. It was a dark time in the kingdom. Yet a darker time was coming. A beast of a man came from one of the northern kingdoms. He brought his army with him. It was an immense army of fighters. Warriors who reveled in destruction. They conquered and destroyed many kingdoms., swallowing them whole. Taking whatever they so desired by force and killing all that stood in the way. They never backed down or accepted surrender. It was fight or die with these people. They grew larger and stronger as they took soldiers and turned them to their own devices. Their army was larger than any other that had existed. They wiped whole areas clear, leaving a path of blood and destruction in their wake.
These people called themselves the Razers. They razed all things to the ground before moving on to consume another kingdom. They worked their way through the plains north of our kingdom. Hitting upon the mountains they worked their way west. They slowly moved around the Barrier Mountains until they reached the ocean. Finding they could not move any further south they followed the mountains back up and around. Finally finding the pass to the east they climbed into the mountains and down into our kingdom The mountains had prevented this force from reaching us, but not the news of their horrors. Knowing that we would be overrun quickly the king then sent out a delegation to try to make a treaty. This king was a good king, if a little naive. He assumed that they would respect his people. They killed all but one man, leaving him alive to take their message back to his king. This man was the king's son. Before they sent him back they blinded him so that the last sight he ever saw was the army that would conquer his people. The king's son was led to the gates of the capital and left. When the king saw what had befallen his son his heart broke. From that broken heart came anger and hate. The king sent out a call to any that would answer for help. None answered before the army was at the gates. It spread out far into the plains surrounding the capital. The king stood on the walls and swore a vow that if he was destroyed then the very land would rise up and destroy the army. The leader of the army laughed and proceeded to plan his attack on the capital. Meanwhile the call the king sent out had reached the ears of a young man, one gifted with strong and unusual magic. This young man also remembered a king's son who had been a friend one summer. He decided to go to the capital and see if there was anything that he might do to help. Now this young man was not a battle mage, nor did his training cover most of the spells needed by a battle mage.
When he arrived at the capital he looked down into the valley surrounding it. It teemed with bodies. Animals and human alike calling for blood. He crept closer to hear what was occurring He heard how the king's son had been blinded. His anger rose. Creeping farther along he heard a report that the king's son had killed himself. The young man grew angrier still. He slowly made his way away from the army, back to where he had left his few possessions He sat there all night, watching and waiting. He did not know what he needed to do. He burned with rage and hate for this army of men. Those who had destroyed and demolished all in their paths. Just as the sun was rising he saw something that moved him beyond horror. A group of what could only be mages stood at the gates. These gates were beautiful, carved by artist and mages alike. They were casting spell upon spell into the gate, twisting it and defiling it. Their magic oozed and dripped off the gate. Like blood pouring into the soil. The young mage was infuriated that another mage would use their gift in such a way. It seemed as if it was a crime against the very idea of magic.
He stood up, anger burning deep into his soul. His magic reacted, calling upon powers and spells he had forgotten from disuse. He started walking down into the camp. His magic reaching out and devouring everything in it's path. Men, animals, tents, even the very weapons were destroyed. He walked into that camp screaming his anger. The army turned and saw the bane that walked among them. They tried to fight at first, yet every fighter died. The mages tried to attack but they burned where they stood. Finally the few left tried to run, throwing their weapons aside in their haste to flee. The young mage's rage fueled his magic to reach out and pull them back to be destroyed. He walked right up to the gate, leaving death and destruction behind him. Not a single man or beast of that army survived. The gates hung limply yet they were still closed, having resisted far longer than expected. The king feared this creature who now stood at his gates, having destroyed an entire army in a matter of moments.
The young man looked up and it could be seen that he wept. Tears ran down his face as he stood there. He then collapsed to the ground, passing out. The king, urged by his son, finally had the young man retrieved and taken to the king's keep. When he awoke the young man asked to see the young prince. The young prince came to sit beside him. The young prince inquired if there was anything that he could do to repay the young mage. The young mage burst into tears and pulled all his magic from deep in his soul. He placed his hands over the young prince's eyes and cast one last spell. The young prince fell to the floor, screaming. He was taken away, they thought to die from something the mage had done. The mage seemed to have died with this last act. His body was taken outside the city and placed in a grove of trees, as was the custom in that day and age.
Later that night yelling could be heard in the young princes rooms. His father came running, thinking his son in more danger. He found his son leaping and yelling in joy. His sight was returned. The next day the prince saw the devastation that had been wrought by the young mage. He cried for the mage, to have suffered such an act. Wanting to honor the mage's sacrifice he sent his men to retrieve the body, to have it sent back to his family. They found the spot where his body had been lain but it was gone. Speculation arose as to what occurred Some claimed the mage's body was taken, others that animals
had dragged him off, some even whispered of dark mages bringing it back to life. None ever guessed the truth. Having given all his magical energy to the attack and then to healing the prince the young mage grew close to death yet did not quite cross over. When he was dragged off to the woods he laid there a while, unaware of his situation. Finally he awoke and realizing what all that had occurred he took himself back to where he came from.
It took many weeks to clean up the destruction that the mage had wrought. They had to burn day and night to dispose of all the bodies. The fields ran with blood for days.
When I found this story, it described the young mage, and the description matched what I expect Stain looked like in those days. They called him the Blood Stained Mage in the story. Evidently when he reached the gate he was soaked with blood from head to toe, his garments dripping blood onto the ground. Stain told me part of this story so that I would understand that I must always control my magic and use it wisely. He failed to control it that day and destroyed an entire people. He eradicated them from the very earth, none were left alive.
* * *
We sat there, stunned with the knowledge that my kind, gently, funny master was the young mage from such a tale.
"Did he ever do such a thing again?" Raven asked.
"No, I did not." Stain's voice was full of emotion. "Conium, I would have rathered you not shared that story."
Conium looked over Raven's head at Stain and shook her head, "I think they needed to hear it. You come off as such a lovable mage that others might doubt your ability in matters of war."
Stain sat down beside Conium and hugged her. "I understand, however I do not enjoy hearing that story."
A Deepening Knowledge (A Life of Magic) Page 26