Bones of the Empire

by Jim Galford

Raeln walked quickly toward the Turessians, smiling grimly as they shifted their position to use the rows of wooden spikes as protection. He pushed on faster, refusing to let them see any fear from him, despite the shimmering wall of heat getting closer with each step.

  Flashes of magic erupted from behind Raeln, slamming into the wall. Some passed through and were easily dispatched by the Turessians, but most of the spells crashed into the barrier, making it waver and shudder. By the time Raeln and the Marakeer reached the ditch, the wall was gone, leaving only the spikes to slow them.

  The Marakeer doubled their pace as soon as the wall fell, forcing Raeln to run to keep up. While dangerous, the spikes were easily navigated, with the obvious intention that they would give the Turessians time to attack anyone approaching. Instead, the Marakeer uprooted the spikes as they went and hurled them like spears at the Turessians.

  Though he tried not to look at them while running, Raeln could see the five Turessian men and women casting spells. He had another thirty feet to cover before he could reach them, and nowhere to avoid anything that came at him.

  Magic exploded above the long trenches, pummeling Raeln and the others with shards of ice, falling embers, and the scent of a storm, though nothing hit them directly. As Raeln slid between the spikes in the ditch, he glanced up. For every spell coming from the temple, twice as many were coming from his army. Spell after spell crashed into magic that had been hurled for no purpose other than to stop it. The Turessians could not keep up with the sheer number of wizards in Raeln’s army, and they were running out of time.

  Breaking free of the last row of wooden spikes with little more than a thin slice across his ribs, Raeln ran up the other side of the trench with Marakeer all around him and Dalania right at his tail. They came up the rise and nearly crashed into a long line of small whirlwinds that remained in one place, man-sized columns of flame, and lumbering mounds of stones. For every person Raeln had brought through the trench, there were easily four of the magical creations that had not been there a minute before.

  The Turessians had created an army of elementals.

  Raeln rushed at the nearest elemental, trying to reach it before the mindless embodiment of stone could react. His sword glanced off its rock “skin,” throwing off Raeln’s balance. The Marakeer appeared to be faring little better in his peripheral vision, their claws either unable to tear through the stone elementals, or the flame and winds of the others forcing them to retreat. Weapons would be far more valuable than claws and the wrong weapons would do little to these creatures.

  “Creatures made from my blood and bone,” Dalania cried, shoving Raeln aside with the strength of a Marakeer, “turn on those holding you in this world! I release your bonds!”

  The entire line of elementals reversed direction and rushed at the Turessians. It took only seconds for the Turessians to tear the elementals apart with the same magic that had created them. But doing so bought Raeln and the others time to get within ten feet of the Turessians, forcing them on the defensive. Four of the men and women looked as shaky as any living wizard might be after using far too much magic, though Liris held her ground, her hands clenched at her sides. Fury burned in her eyes as she watched Raeln close on her.

  “She has all of his magic for now,” Dalania whispered, moving to let Raeln get ahead of her. “Stall her. One of our allies is coming to even our odds. We do not have enough magic held in reserve to face Dorralt’s might directly. When the time for the pattern to restore itself comes, she will be powerless.”

  Raeln continued across the muddy ground, his Marakeer and soldiers rushing at the Turessians. Three Turessians turned to aim at Raeln, likely intending to strike down the army’s leader, but Liris raised a hand to stop them. Their group split then, with two Turessians going to each side, facing down dozens of Marakeer, orcs, humans, dwarves, and the spells that came in every so often from the living Turessians behind Raeln.

  “More than a year of talk and high-minded speeches about how you’ll kill me,” Raeln shouted as he closed the gap between himself and Liris. “I’m still standing. You’re all that’s left between me and your master.”

  Liris laughed and gestured at Raeln with her hand held as though clutching something.

  His whole body tensed as flames seemed to race through his veins. He could not make himself move, and the burning grew in intensity. He wanted to scream but could not. Every muscle in his body trembled in agony, refusing any attempt to make them budge.

  “This is how we kill those who cause too much trouble,” Liris said, slowly closing her hand, as though crushing something. “When I am satisfied, your blood will ignite. No one can save you. No healer in this world can restore your body. Dorralt says it is a waste of our power…an army to kill an ant…but my brothers and sisters have used it before. A filthy-mouthed dwarf. A traitor to the purposes we set him on. Today, I will see you reduced to dust!”

  Abruptly, the burning sensation vanished. Raeln fell forward to his knees, gasping for breath. A rumble through the ground from somewhere behind him warned of something immense coming. From what he could see of Liris’s face, it was something she was afraid of. That meant whatever it might be, Raeln would be thankful for its arrival.

  Turning slightly as he forced his muscles to lift him back to his feet, Raeln saw the old elven woman Mairlee walking toward him. He had not seen her since the day she had healed his wounds at Greth’s urging, miles from Lantonne, more than a year prior. She smiled mischievously as she brushed her long grey hair out of her face. Behind her, a huge crater was all that remained of the spiked trench, the wood smashed into the mud.

  “A more even fight,” she said as she walked up beside Raeln. “I cannot overcome Dorralt’s power here, but I can keep it at bay. Liris, I believe you were a wizardess before all of this nonsense. Do you need the power of a god to kill one little wildling? I would think that would shame you terribly to need more than your own capabilities for this. Even Dorralt reveres honor in his children. Abide by the ways you grew up with.”

  Liris sneered at Raeln and lowered herself into a fighting stance, her usual sword of magical flame appearing in her hands. “There is nowhere left for either of us to run, it seems. Today, at least one of us will die. Keep the elf out of this fight and I will not flee.”

  “Who are you, old woman?” Raeln demanded, keeping his attention on Liris, who was nervously looking between Mairlee and Raeln, though he watched Mairlee from the corner of his eye. “This is not the place for a healer.”

  Mairlee sighed and shook her head. “You truly are a dense one. Nenophar was my son and he was a dragon. What do you think I am, or do I need to draw you pictures? Even Estin figured things out more easily, and he is not the brightest mortal I have ever met.”

  Between Raeln and the temple, Liris shifted uncomfortably, watching Mairlee as the rest of the army fought against the remaining Turessians behind her. She started to back away again, but Raeln pointed his weapon at her and she froze, smirking wryly. When she took another step, she ran into a flicker of magic that blocked her from retreating. Raeln looked to Mairlee, who only smiled back at him.

  Somewhere nearby, Raeln heard Dalania’s voice—though the tone was clearly not her own—shout, “Raeln! The sapling must reach the temple. There is no time for this. We will take the sapling past the barriers, though this will take all of our remaining strength. Destroy the abominations and join us inside. Our lord will need to have you there.”

  A blur of forest-green light raced past Liris and crashed into the doors of the temple. Blue-white magic rippled across the doors and stones nearby, burning much of the area black before the doors collapsed inward. An almost tangible sense of the way no longer being blocked settled over the place, and the Turessians and Raeln’s army stopped fighting to stare at the open doors.

  “Into the temple!” Raeln shouted, staying where he was as the army fanned out to encircle the eastern side of the temple. He knew only a portion of the army might be able
to fit inside the massive structure, but they needed to claim what ground they could. “Hold it at all costs!”

  Soon the army moved past Liris. She remained perfectly still, her sword leveled at Raeln and her eyes shifting rapidly between Raeln and the elven woman at his side. Eventually, even Dalania walked past Raeln, with Yoska at her side, skirting Liris by about fifty feet as she made her way toward the temple.

  “Two against one?” Liris asked, grinning and lowering her stance slightly. “Your claims of honorable combat are as hollow as I expected, beast. My allies are being butchered by your army…I expect I am next. Have your pet dragon strike if you must.”

  “No,” Mairlee said, putting a hand on Raeln’s arm. “I will only intervene if Dorralt does. This is not my fight. I will make sure that you have the time you need. As it stands, the mists are held back from the temple’s walls by the actions of someone inside. I will ensure that no mists touch you.”

  Looking down at Mairlee, Raeln whispered, “Are you sure about this? I’ve needed Dalania’s help every time I’ve fought her.”

  “I would tear her apart myself,” Mairlee said, shrugging. “However, Dorralt has used her as an anchor for wards that make my entry to the temple difficult. I cannot touch her and she cannot touch me…I believe this was by intent to slow our attack. You must do this alone. Once she falls, the dragons will be able to enter the temple more easily.”

  “I can’t win this fight, Mairlee. She’s a lot stronger than I am.”

  Mairlee grinned up at him. “Your last teacher in Hyeth…the one with the vast claims of being faster than magic, who believed that strength could not win a battle. He taught you to avoid being hit when others claimed that magic never misses? He was the one who saved you during the Turessian trials, if I’m not mistaken?”

  “He did. Saved me a few times since leaving Hyeth. Wait…how do you know that? My father paid him quietly, as his advice was considered nonsense. No one wanted an old drunk teaching them to fight.”

  “Let us just say that your old master learned his tricks from one of the few people I truly respect,” she explained, smirking at Raeln. “We may not have believed the stories Turess told us, but dragons do not live this long without planning ahead, even for things we refuse to accept will happen. Remember the four rules of fighting, as my sire taught to your master. We must leave this fight to mortals while we deal with the larger problems Eldvar faces. Be our weapon, Raeln. My sire wanted to help you here himself, but he is busy saving the rest of our allies on the far side of the temple. When he finishes there, he may well have to fight the mists by himself if we fail.”

  “I am not fighting this for you, Mairlee. I am fighting for my friends…my family.”

  “Oh…do you not understand by now, Raeln? My people do not care about such emotional matters. You are fighting for us whether you know it or not. Today, you fight for every living creatures on Eldvar. You may wish to calm yourself, Raeln. You will need your training more than you will need my help against Liris.”

  Raeln stared at her in disbelief. He had received that training as almost an afterthought from a crazy teacher during his childhood nearly twenty years earlier. That she knew of it was strange enough, but Mairlee might have influenced the direction of Raeln’s life was beyond his ability to think through. So many people had died, and it all could have been changed with Mairlee’s help. He was angry, frustrated, and confused, but he also knew that would not help him fight Liris. Mairlee was right. He needed to calm himself. Only the quiet of his mind would give him any hope of surviving.

  Slowing his breathing, Raeln struggled to get his heart to stop pounding so painfully in his chest after fighting up to the temple. Gradually, breath by breath, he brought his body back under his control and stopped the trembling of his muscles. Absolute control over himself was needed to ensure an absolute victory over a foe.

  “I’m actually surprised you’re doing this,” Raeln said as he advanced. “I would have thought you’d fight to keep the army out of the temple. Mairlee and I are the only ones you’ve managed to stop.”

  Liris laughed and shrugged. “Dorralt made me promise not to let you, Estin, or Feanne inside if I saw any of you. I’m upholding my word. He also told me that he would reduce me to ash if any of the dragons set foot inside. For once I am more concerned about her than killing you.”

  “So my friends are still alive,” Raeln said, smiling. He twirled his sword once and then raised his shield as he prepared for Liris to strike.

  “Not for long from what I hear,” Liris replied, tapping her temple with a gloved finger. “So many whispers. I may have lied about killing them before, but Dorralt is tracking them within the temple now. Be careless out here and you won’t be able to help them. I do promise to let you know when I see them die. I’ll be happy to describe it in detail.”

  They approached until a good lunge could have brought them together. Far off to the west on the far side of the temple, Raeln could hear the echoes of another fearsome battle. He let everything else in the world fade away as he and Liris studied each other.

  “Have you spent all these years making up stories to frighten wildlings?” Raeln asked, flicking his tail to see if she would take it as a hint of him starting an attack.

  She did not budge. “Consider it a hobby.” Liris tensed her leg muscles suddenly, likely to try to trick him the same way he had tried with her. “I intended to be a poet before my parents died to your kind.”

  “Hundreds of years as a corpse, one would think you’d have found time.”

  Liris’s grin widened as she stepped forward.

  Raeln tightened his grip on his sword and raised his shield as he and Liris neared each other. He refused to let her goad him into attacking first. He would only get one chance like this before the mists swept them all away. And if Estin and Feanne were alive, he had to believe they could fend for themselves…and likely find a way to stop the mists from killing everyone. They would have to be strong enough to make a difference, and Raeln would keep Liris from reaching them. The dragons might be kept out of the temple, but they appeared to be occupied in the sky, keeping the swirling mists away, so he was less concerned about getting Mairlee inside.

  Slowly, Raeln and Liris circled, both their swords at the ready. Even a few feet away, Raeln could feel the warmth of Liris’s magical weapon as it crackled and hissed. A few snowflakes drifted past, reminding Raeln that time was of the essence after seeing the mists descending earlier. They might be safer so close to the temple, but he knew better than to assume it would last. Even dragons could not survive the mists from what he had seen back in Lantonne. He needed to deal with Liris, or he would doom at least himself and Mairlee.

  Liris was the first to strike, dancing in with speed that Raeln had trouble following with his eyes, let alone his muscles. He parried clumsily with his sword, and by the time he countered, she was gone again, grinning wickedly from the depths of her hood as she backed away, staying far from Mairlee.

  Tilting his sword, Raeln watched as a divot in the metal faded from a warm red to its regular sheen. Liris’s weapon had nearly cut his in half with a wild swing. A well-aimed one might go right through it or his shield.

  Raeln glanced to his side and saw Mairlee with her hand pressed to a faint blue wall of light—the barrier that she had mentioned. So long as Liris lived, that wall might keep Mairlee from helping.

  “Remember your lessons,” Mairlee said, sounding annoyed. “If you die at this point, my sire will likely punish me for your failure, as I talked him into that plan.”

  Raeln raised his shield slightly and inched toward Liris, only to have her back away. She was watching the temple from the edge of her vision. He had no doubt she was stalling. That told him someone was alive inside and Dorralt was afraid, if he was having his troops delay.

  Thinking over his childhood, Raeln struggled to separate the lessons of one teacher from another. He had trained with so many in his first decade that they were a blu
r of sometimes contradictory statements about how best to fight different types of foes. Most of them had been adamant that Raeln should avoid spellcasters, and if he could not, he would die. Only the one had lectured for weeks about how to confront a wizard and walk away intact.

  The crazy old man had been quick for his age, often flinging Raeln ten or fifteen feet with little more than a well-timed push from his thin arms. He had never once been sober in the time Raeln had known him and explained his drunkenness away by saying, “If you have seen what I have, boy, you would drink every day too.” It made so much more sense now.

  “The only weapon and armor a warrior requires are those he was born with,” Raeln remembered out loud, struggling to get the phrasing right. “Begin with this lesson and you will never be helpless.”

  An abrupt charge by Liris took Raeln off guard. He ducked her swing and slid past her, slamming his shield into her side. She stumbled and still managed to get away before his sword passed harmlessly by her.

  Giggling madly, Liris asked, “Do you somehow feel more complete, knowing that dragons have put their lives on the line to give you a chance at this? More and more lives will end because of your failures, wolf. One god died while you were impotent at your lover’s side. Two more may die at any moment. Thousands will be lost before I let you stop breathing.”

  Raeln attacked, sweeping his sword around Liris’s to keep her guessing at where he would strike and opening her defenses. Using the momentary opportunity, Raeln stabbed at Liris’s stomach, only to have her knock aside his sword with a burst of magic from her free hand. The simple spell numbed Raeln’s hand and forced him to backpedal, narrowly deflecting her sword with his shield. Heat washed across his left arm as the metal shield warmed abruptly.

  He found himself circling again, and one more of the man’s babbling lectures came to him. “The strongest opponent has the most to lose. They will use might against you, and you will use their might to destroy them. Even magic is nothing more than a weapon to be cast aside.”