Battle Mage: Forging New Steel (Tales of Alus Book 9)

by Donald Wigboldy

  As it bent, Ashleen gasped in surprise at the rough treatment of the expensive weapon. Sebastian released pressure and the sword sprung back into shape. If he had done such a thing to a normal blade like the generic pieces used in the main army or among the battle mages, the sword’s blade would most likely have broken by the time it had flexed so far. Certainly, some harder steel could return to shape without setting a bend as long as he didn’t hold the pressure for too long, though some of that was speculation since the mage didn’t abuse the equipment he was given. Still he had seen such demonstrations and broken enough swords in battle to know that it was true.

  Finding some discarded canvas used to hold feed for the horses sheltered at the Black Smith Inn by their customers, Sebastian folded and then rolled the strong canvas around the core of an old handle most likely discarded by the stable boys after breaking a pitchfork. Securing it with a vise in the forge, the mage took the weapon in both hands to swing at the improvised target.

  By this point, Ivol and his son were watching curiously as was Ashleen. He aimed high and let the blade swing with force. Stopping his swing after the cut, Sebastian and the others watched as a three foot tall piece of the target flew to his left following the impetus of the swing though slowly as the friction of the smooth blade barely gave it any speed. The blade had passed through so smoothly, that the mage had barely felt the impact.

  Reversing his swing, Sebastian crossed the air three more times letting the black blade strike the target whittling it down to just a nub sticking out from the vise. While the last pieces hit the floor, the battle mage turned the striking edge of the blade upward to check the weapon for any damage. Looking like it had never been used; the blade appeared clean and smooth. The edge was free of any damage along the length, though he had hit the target with different points on the sword to see if every inch could do as well.

  Ivol moved closer and stated, “It cuts well and there is no damage.”

  Sebastian handed the smith the blade for the man to examine it and Ivol discovered what Ashleen had already said. “It is light and thin, well balanced and with a sharp edge that holds its shape surprisingly well. A wood handle might not slow down most swords, but the thick canvas should have made the blade work at least as hard as cleaving flesh.”

  Nodding to the smith, the battle mage declared, “I wish that I knew where this sword smith had created this and what it was made out of. Even if the weapon doesn’t hold magic like the Hollow Sword, it is of a quality rarely found. Certainly, I haven’t noticed anyone with a similar blade in Southwall.”

  “Will you try to imbue it with magic too?” Ashleen questioned curiously watching the blade being passed between the men for inspection.

  Shaking his head, Sebastian said, “For now I am trying to find swords and the type of metal to use for making more hollow swords. I would need to study this weapon more before altering it in anyway. Magic was used in making it. I wouldn’t want to risk ruining it before I ever understood what materials were in the blade.”

  As the smiths returned to their task by the fire, Ashleen asked, “I am supposed to be here to learn from you as well as making you figure out if you like me, can you teach me how to examine the metal?”

  Sebastian looked at the girl trying to figure out how to explain such a process to a lightning wilder. While Ashleen had learned to use the spells of Kardor related to both the air and earth, the original concept he was using came from the school of healing. Examining the human body led to being able to extend his senses into other living organisms and finally he had discovered the ability to use the spells even on inorganic things like the metal within a sword.

  Thinking of his friend Collin’s spells for feeling tremors within the earth, he thought maybe the idea of an earth wizard’s spell might bridge the gap in their understanding of each other’s skills. Sebastian had found that he could dabble to a point in most of the schools of magic in Southwall, but earth magic hadn’t been something he had researched much so far.

  “Can you use your magic to sense the earth?”

  The blond hair bounced with her quick nod, though her eyes looked at him questioningly.

  “Try using a spell that might look for metal in the earth, but think of it as determining the individual metals and alloys within the blade. How was it folded or beaten into shape? If your mind can settle into the metal looking for these things, then you can do the same as me.”

  “You use the same spell for healing as checking metal in a sword?” she asked curiously before taking the heavier metal sword from the table. To use the heavier weapon, Sebastian had no doubt the smaller girl would need both hands unlike the black sword.

  “In a manner of speaking,” he nodded. “When I learned to heal, I also tried to heal a tree from the damage created when I learned how to use a wind spear. I had harmed a perfectly good tree and didn’t want it to die, so I tried picking up as much of the splinters created and tried to reassemble the bark and outer wood. It worked though I overdid it and collapsed, but when I use the word ‘heal’ I can also use it to simply examine things.

  “When I examine an injured person, I can work to heal the body once I understand the flesh is trying to return to what it was before it was damaged. The hollow sword was created similarly. The blade was in two pieces and there was this feeling that I could tap into to mend the pieces bringing them together as one.

  “Of course, I also managed to use my magic to feel out veins within the metal and implanted magic that eventually created the rune like channels in it that hold extra power and spells. That is beyond just healing, and goes towards adding a variation of the lightning spell. Just because I use the same word to tap into those spells doesn’t mean that I settle my mind to just the original purpose.”

  “In other words, you find a word to tap into magic and then manipulate it to do what you want?” Ashleen tried to clarify his unusually long winded explanation.

  “Well, in short, yes,” he chuckled. “Now you see why I am not a good teacher. I can’t always simplify my thoughts to explain, and yet using a spell I actually simplify it for myself.”

  Finishing with a shrug, Sebastian could only smile sheepishly at his flaws.

  Ashleen handed back the blade he had planned to examine.

  “You were going to work with this one. Maybe I will train on the other until you need it... master,” she added the last with a grin.

  As the wilder moved to the side and sat on a stool with the alternate sword on her lap, she began to cast a spell used for earth sensing, while Sebastian began to ignore her to begin his own spell. When he had worked on the Hollow Sword, the mage had been with Yara and his team onboard the Sea Dragon. Food and water had been ready for him, but it had been Yara who had fed him extra energy during the lengthy spell helping him finish.

  The setting of his mind for the spell faltered a moment bringing the noise of the forge back into being and Sebastian shook his head. Yara had been instrumental in several spells he had used of late and the mage wondered if he had become a bit dependent on her. She had helped with the sword; but he had created Bairh’loore, his staff, without her. While he could channel light and darkness spells, only their combined strength of spirit had been able to break the strongest curse spells of the emperor’s warlocks.

  Frowning, Sebastian tried to put his worries of his relationship with Yara aside for a moment. He couldn’t do anything about their relationship until she returned to Hala unless he could discover how to use a portal spell and direct it to the girl. The combination of his magic and Ashleen’s had broken them free of Silver World, a space used between an entry and exit to and from Alus.

  His eyes glanced to his “apprentice” noting the beautiful wilder and wondered if he should let his heart go a bit to see if there was more to their relationship than just friendship. Jealousy over his friendship with Ashleen had placed a wedge between him and Yara, but maybe it should be explored. After all, exploring was part of what made him the owl,
as his friends had come to call him. It was an interesting point and it wasn’t like he didn’t like Ashleen. She might have become the love of his life, if he hadn’t met Yara first.

  Once again he shook his head to look back down on the sword before him. “Air spear,” the mage called a weapon of air to his hand. He had left Bairh’loore behind at the inn, but another experiment had discovered that use of a magically created staff could moderate the power of the earth to strengthen his magic almost as well. Closing his eyes, Sebastian added, “Heal.”

  His magic took his consciousness into the metal and his senses shut out the rest of the world as the owl began to work.

  Chapter 4- Center of Attention

  Returning to the Two Circles in the afternoon, Sebastian and Yara were feeling tired. Both had pushed their magic and strength quite far in their examination of the swords. Ashleen had made a breakthrough with her spells and had been able to find the variations in the sword that he had told her to look for with her magic. It was a surprise for the wilder who had used her earth magic less regularly than her air spells. Lightning drew from both, but as a wilder Ashleen didn’t so much cast lightning spells as she simply channeled the electricity without much thought.

  Sebastian had begun the first twists of magic within his new sword. He didn’t ask for help from Ashleen, since the mage wanted to do this magic by himself. The Hollow Sword had been more of an act of instinct than intent and he needed to know if he could replicate the magic used without Yara or anyone else’s help.

  They had gone into the Black Smith Inn for lunch and eaten with Ivol and Aric. The men had questions for his process, since nothing had been done that was noticeable to the men.

  Even after eating, he and Ashleen could only put in a couple more hours of practice and experimentation. Magic drained a wizard or mage much faster than most physical work and they had to be careful not to go beyond their abilities. A wizard who used up all of his magic would likely die, unless a comrade could manage to channel enough power back into the drained magician. Not every wizard survived even then as Sebastian had discovered during the tournament. Of course, the battle mage had pushed himself even farther by using the power of the earth to augment his reserves of magic.

  His use of the air staff in the forge was noticed by Ashleen, but the girl held off asking about it. He was the teacher and she the student in this case, but her curiosity was raised. Sebastian had used staves in the tournament as well as during their battles with the warlocks of the emperor. While others had asked, Sebastian had maintained that the trick wasn’t safe yet. Still the battle mage would use it from time to time, which angered his healer and girlfriend, Yara.

  “Falcon Trillon?” the man behind the main desk for the inn called as he spotted the two entering the combination dining room and entry. Noticing the dirt on both of them, his face frowned a moment before trying to hide his displeasure at hosting such people in the high class inn. “You have messages.”

  Sebastian had noticed the man’s look of disgust, but wasn’t surprised. The staff of the Two Circles Inn was used to serving the elite of society including visiting nobles from various nations beyond Southwall. A place for visiting dignitaries, who didn’t quite rate a stay in the castle, often used the inn since it was of the highest repute. In spite of how royalty might find the service, for those of lesser backgrounds, the Two Circles Inn wasn’t always as hospitable.

  Taking his messages with him, Sebastian led Ashleen to the lift and pushed for his floor. The ease of the lift was certainly better than walking up five floors of stairs and there was a certain amount of amazement caused in the mage even after using it a few times. What wizards could do with magic was incredible and he had no doubt that no mage could have devised such a device. It was a matter of cleverness and power that most battle mages simply didn’t have. On the other hand, few battle mages found a need to climb so many stairs on a regular basis, unless they were inside of one of the castles.

  “Mecklin says that he will try to bring some of the others from the Sea Dragon for dinner tonight. Annalicia and Darterian were asked to stay for the big celebration of Gerid’s return,” he informed Ashleen as he read the first note. As the mage read the second message which was lengthier, Sebastian groaned, “We have officially been invited to join a parade through the city tomorrow afternoon in honor of the Grimnal. As someone who was part of rescuing Gerid, I guess you are as involved as I am now. The message even includes both of our names.”

  “And me just a simple wilder from Kardor,” Ashleen chuckled noticing his discomfort. She knew him well enough to realize that he didn’t enjoy the spotlight. Sebastian was a humble man who preferred action and not to sit through lavish celebrations, even if they celebrated his accomplishments.

  “I thought that you came from a noble family there,” Sebastian said looking at the third message. It was from Raven Leros ordering him to do as the king requested as well as setting a date two days later for another meeting. Likely the raven had more ideas about how he would spend his time while in Hala. Hopefully he could continue his experiments with swords and the forge. Sebastian was certain that Hollow Swords could counter the emperor’s new armor which absorbed much of the elemental magic a wizard used. If Leros couldn’t be convinced of their importance, the owl would be surprised; but how much time he would be given was the bigger question.

  Ashleen shrugged and replied to his question, “I am from a lesser house, though my father has actually done quite well as a merchant increasing his reputation beyond that. My family has some businesses and money.”

  It was most likely an understatement, the battle mage thought. His own background was being the son of a simple farmer. They hadn’t been rich, and his call to White Hall had been a blessing for his family. Every mage and wizard’s family were paid for their service, while the children would grow up and eventually reap a stipend of their own.

  Ashleen leaned against the wall of the elevator and began pulling off her boots. At his questioning look, the girl replied, “I’ve been on my feet most of the day. That stool wasn’t easy on my bottom either. Since these boots are new, I am also still getting used to them.”

  He noted the two inch heels which had helped raise the girl’s eyes closer to his. Removed from her feet, the smaller girl was even more obviously shorter than the mage. He said nothing knowing many girls who preferred some amount of heel in an effort to not feel like others loomed over them.

  Once more, Ashleen entered through his room. There was a second door to hers, but it was redundant for both to bring their keys, so Sebastian had become the official opener of the suite door. The girl was barely to the doorway of the bathroom before she threw her boots through the opening into her room and reached to the sides of her tunic pulling the garment up and over her head revealing no other covering for her upper body. With her back to the mage, Ashleen announced, “After being in that smithy all day, I need a bath.”

  She pulled the door to the bathroom closed behind her, but only after giving him a bit of a show.

  Sebastian sat on his bed only a moment before lying back while his feet remained on the floor. With first one foot and then the other, the mage kicked off his boots understanding Ashleen’s sore feet as his were also sore. While his boots were older, the continual walking or standing beside the workbench had taken its toll.

  With his eyes closed, Sebastian heard the water running in the other room. The door wasn’t so thick as to obscure even that sound and he had to admit that there was a part of him that wished he would give in and take a look at the pretty girl. Ashleen was as beautiful as Yara in his opinion and alike in many ways. That was probably why he liked both of them so much.

  Yara was the peace he often sought. She was a healer and had brought that out of him. Yes, he had been inquisitive about magic and pushed to learn the spells beginning almost innocently with a saddle sore spell. It was considered a simple healing spell for them, but they had been surprised when a battle mage had act
ually discovered that he could duplicate the healing.

  A slight smile, as he thought about touching Yara so intimately for the first time, came to his lips. Those touches had become much more over time.

  Like Yara, Ashleen had been someone who brought something to his life. He had an affinity for air magic as well, but it had only been after discovering the wilder that lightning, wind riding and a few other spells had come. She brought out the fun side of him and once he had been reunited with Yara, Sebastian had needed to put up a wall between him and the pretty wilder.

  It wasn’t that he couldn’t have fun with Yara, but what they had was far different from his relationship with the wilder.

  After a time, the door to his room opened. The girl’s blond hair was still wet and hanging down her back. Dressed in only a towel wrapped around her body, Ashleen tried to tempt him again. It had become a game to see how far she could push him and they both knew it.

  “You might want to take a bath as well. You’re filthy and if you want other women to dance with you, you might want to bathe,” she stated giving him a smirk.

  He didn’t sit up and Ashleen frowned. “Do you need more motivation to get up? I can drop my towel and give you a show to wake you up.”

  Lifting his head, the battle mage called up a spell familiar to all battle mages. “Gust,” he ordered and swiped with his hand. A sudden wind struck catching the fold of the towel causing it to pull free making Ashleen squeak in surprise.

  He put his head down before truly seeing what the girl had offered only a moment before and smiled at the joke.

  “Sebastian!” she complained, but he had closed his eyes ignoring her complaint. He heard feet on stone a moment before Ashleen’s voice came to him from only a couple feet away. “If you really wanted a look that bad, I said that I would show you what you are missing.”