by Paul Sobol
The energy that gave him life felt like a raging river of fire and ice through his veins. Wondering what his personal weapon would be, Alex felt a sudden weight appear in his hand. Opening his eyes he couldn’t believe what had been summoned, even Archer stood speechless beside him.
Towering at seven feet tall was a dark stained, intricately carved wooden pole, curved slightly towards one end with a two foot blackened steel blade affixed. The large weapon in his hand had some weight to it, but when held with both hands it felt light and easily manoeuvrable. Despite being completely unfamiliar with the bladed weapon, Alex gave it an experimental swing. It dipped down and cleanly sliced several tall blades of overgrown grass.
“Isn’t this what the Grim Reaper uses?” he asked in astonishment.
“It is called a scythe. Originally farmers used it to reap their fields, and at some point it became associated with a death figure reaping souls. More commonly referred to as the Reaper, whose touch alone would take a person's soul, some legends say it was the scythe that would drain a person's energy.”
“It feels weird. It’s like a resistance, almost as though the scythe was trying to fight me.”
“Strange. Soul-weapons are created from our own energy; it should feel familiar, as though it were an extension of our being. Like anything, the more you use it, the more familiar you’ll become. Later I will show you several exercises designed to enhance your training with that particular weapon.
“But seeing as how we are soon losing the daylight, I am going to test you on your illusions. Enigma told me you were quite adept at them already. Come, we shall begin in the forest.”
Following Archer towards the tree-line, Alex allowed his soul-weapon to disappear. The walk to the first strand of trees went by in silence as he mentally prepared himself for this new test. Illusions were easy enough, but Alex had the feeling the test wouldn’t be as straightforward as training was back at the safe house. If he had impressed Archer before it only meant he had to work twice as hard now.
Stepping into the deepening shade, he let his eyes become adjusted. Walking further into the gloom Alex felt slightly refreshed from the coolness of the forest. Birds chirped high above in the branches and a slight breeze rustled the browning foliage.
Occasionally looking down to make sure of his footing, Alex knew a partially hidden root or branch could easily trip him up. At best he would walk away with a sprained ankle, a broken bone at worst. Looking up Archer was no longer in front of him. Hoping to catch some sound that would betray her location, Alex froze, and after several heartbeats knew he was completely alone. He was about to face the next test.
Impressed at how easily Archer had disappeared behind a cloaking spell, Alex knew he should keep moving. He was too much of an easy target out in the open, and with a small amount of mana he wove his own invisibility spell and disappeared from sight, but realising it wouldn’t be enough he added more spells to fool the other senses. Archer, a half-elf, would have superior hearing as well as intimate knowledge of moving about undetected in the forest environment. She was watching him right now, but if he covered all his bases there was a slight chance he might go by unnoticed.
Focusing his thoughts, Alex slowly became aware of his surroundings. He became a part of all living things around him – from the smallest insect to the largest tree. A slight disturbance, a leaf falling the wrong way, alerted him to Archer’s possible location. With a small amount of power he jumped to an overhanging tree branch and, like a monkey, swung away.
Chapter Nine
Archer crouched behind a large oak tree whose roots created a twisted maze. The simple illusions she used to distract Alex were becoming increasingly more complex. Hoping they would be enough to fool his senses, she slipped from her cover to begin another assault. This would test his ability to distinguish between what was artificial and what was real.
Pausing for a moment, Archer realised the forest had gone completely silent. The usual sound of birds and insects was no longer present. Just the mournful rustle of the wind blowing through leaves.
Something had disturbed the wildlife, and skilled enough to avoid detection. Sending out a probe Archer’s suspicions was soon confirmed. They were not alone.
Moving quickly, she closed in on Alex’s position. The magical probe was powerful enough to detect anything out of the ordinary say, an invisible magician, but it also gave away her own position. Whatever was coming would know it had been detected, so there was little point now in being stealthy.
Shedding the spell of invisibility Archer suddenly appeared beside Alex. He had heard her approach and realised something must be amiss if the test had been so hastily abandoned. “What is it?”
Archer slowly turned in a circle, scanning high and low for any disturbance in the environment. Hopefully she would catch it in time before being ambushed. “There aren’t many creatures, magical or mundane, that can match the stealth of an elf. Whatever is out there knows we are here, and if my suspicion is correct we could be in trouble.”
Alex couldn’t hide his surprise. Archer had always appeared calm and collected, even in the face of adversity. He had heard stories of her courage and resourcefulness in times of great strife, and every time she had managed to walk away unscathed. She was like a mighty bastion – a pillar of unwavering strength everyone could rely on. If there was anything that could trouble her, it definitely had to be nasty.
Concentrating on the surrounding area of forest Alex tried his best to sense anything approaching. After a moment though, he gave up. His ability to detect anything magical wasn’t as good as Archers, but if it wasn’t another magician, what else could it be?
As though struck by a lightning bolt the answer came to him.
Mentally kicking himself, Alex realised he already knew the answer. Since his first encounter with the world of magic, he had been reading every book he could get on the one subject that had nearly ended his life – vampires. What Archer had said was true, there weren’t many things that could go unnoticed by even a half-elf’s senses. Except one of the living dead.
Vampires possessed many unique abilities such as great strength, super-human speed and minor shape-changing. They also had access to magic which was powered by the mana in the blood they consumed. They could regenerate, use psychic spells to influence pray, and move about undetected like a shadow. But all this power came at a price – the need to continuously drink blood, for without the source of mana the vampire would grow weaker and lose all the abilities. Including longevity.
Like magicians, vampires can live a long time and maintain a youthful appearance with the aid of life-giving mana. But contrary to popular belief, vampires aren’t dead. Their hearts beat, pumping blood throughout their bodies. They breathe, eat and sleep. So technically calling them the ‘undead’ is incorrect, but unlike humans and other living creatures, vampires don’t possess any life energy. If they don’t drink blood to replenish their own deficiency, they will wither and die.
How the vampire race came to exist remains a mystery to Alex, but if they survived this encounter he would definitely have to ask Archer who, at the moment, was standing against his back. Together they watched the forest, circling, scanning, but as the day’s last rays of light vanished they were plunged into sudden darkness. Realising this was the best moment of opportunity to strike, Archer extended her hand outward. An orange ball of flame flew from her open palm and struck an onrushing vampire.
The ensuing blast tore charred flesh from bone and the vampire was flung backwards into the forest, leaving flaming chunks of flesh like some demented trail of breadcrumbs.
As more vampires appeared from the darkness between the trees, Archer quickly cast a spell of light directly above which illuminated the small clearing. A blast of energy from behind told her Alex was busy engaging his own problems. She spared a quick thought for him before having to deal with the ‘undead’ scourge attacking her position. Despite the vampire’s super speed, her bow and arro
ws were quicker.
The lead vampire, a male in his early twenties, launched himself across the clearing. Before her magical bow could fully materialize, Archer was already pulling the string back, and as the arrow appeared she let loose. The air-born vampire had no way of stopping or changing his trajectory; he was completely at gravity’s mercy. The arrow pierced the vampire’s chest, and before he moved another foot through the air had already begun to disintegrate.
Archer stepped aside before the cloud of ash reached her.
The next vampire paused momentarily, and taking advantage of the hesitation Archer sent another arrow flying. Unfortunately this vampire knew better than the first and swatted the magical projectile aside. Three more arrows streaked across the clearing, and as though they were moving in slow motion the vampire dodged each one. Grinning evilly, he approached nonchalantly, as if he had all the time in the world to attack.
Not bothering to wait, Archer let her bow disappear before rushing forward. In her hands appeared two silver daggers, and with a series of impossibly quick attacks managed to get the vampire to retreat a few steps. He was no longer smiling. Pressing the attack she looked for any opening in her opponent’s defences. This vampire was young and most likely inexperienced in the art of hand to hand combat. Feinting with a lunge to the right Archer was pleased when he took the bait, leaving his flank open to attack. One of her silver blades cut deep, but even as the surrounding flesh began to burn the vampire, knowing it was doomed, counter-attacked in desperation.
A cry of pain escaped Archer’s lips, and looking down she noticed three claw marks across her shoulder. Blood was running down her arm freely, and knowing time was of the essence hastily drew in enough mana to seal the wound. The sound of battle raged around her as Alex fought off three vampires simultaneously. How he had managed to keep three at bay was surprising, but she could no longer spare time for either her wound or the young magician fighting beside her as yet more vampires appeared.
Archer briefly wondered if they were especially slow learners. Apparently the demise of their comrades hadn’t made them think twice about attacking the two mages.
Time seemed to slow down as the scythe materialised in a shimmer of magical energy. The female vampire, a cute blonde, had tried to rush his position in an attempt to physically overwhelm him, but the dark soul-weapon he summoned sliced neatly through the 'undead'. The two halves disintegrated in a shower of fiery sparks, covering Alex with ash. Shaking his head he soon regretted it. A grey cloud now enveloped him, triggering a small coughing fit.
Hawking and spitting, Alex tried to get the 'undead' remains out of his mouth, and once clean fresh air entered his lungs he felt much better. Vampire dust tasted awful. Sheepishly he looked behind at Archer, but she was busy turning a vampire into a pin-cushion. In that moment of inattention Alex was taken by surprise as another vampire appeared.
The ‘undead’ creature held the young magician aloft in a vice-like grip around his throat. Alex felt dizzy as his supply of oxygen was swiftly cut off, but before panic could take control, he punched the monster square in the nose. An ordinary human would have been slightly stunned, eyes watering, and most likely have let go by now. The vampire shook his head as though bothered by an insect. Boy did he seem pissed off now.
The pressure on Alex’s neck increased and he expected to hear the snap of his death any second now. If at first you don’t succeed, he thought, try harder! The second hit did the trick, just a bit too effectively. Dropped to the ground, Alex fought hard to pull his arm from the cavity created in the vampire’s head. With a sickening slurping sound he managed to free his limb.
Disgusted, and close to hurling, Alex wanted desperately to wipe the blood and brain matter off his hand. Next time he would have to use less power when reinforcing his punches with magic. Picking up his fallen scythe, Alex looked up in time to see three more vampires appear from the depths of the forest.
The ‘undead’ approached carefully, taking their time before deciding how best to deal with their quarry. Alex had proven himself a fearsome adversary, having killed two vampires already, but he realised it was only a matter of time before the bloodsuckers wizened up and rushed him. The best defence is usually a strong offence, he thought. And with that he took the fight to the vampires.
A fireball sent the three scattering for cover. In three quick steps Alex was amongst them, scythe in hand ready to deal death at the slightest touch. The slowest to recover from the miniature conflagration was quickly dispatched. A single sweep and nothing but ash soon remained. Changing tactics, the two remaining vampires dashed into the forest.
Knowing better than to follow, Alex took the opportunity to check on his companion who remained locked in combat. He noticed the bloodstain down Archer’s arm but she didn’t seem to be affected by the wound.
Closing his eyes, Alex extended his senses outward. Just as he suspected, the two vampires were waiting beyond the line of trees. Having realised he was not stupid enough to follow, they moved around to attack from opposite sides. Let’s see just how clever they really are.
As if by some silent signal, the two vampires rushed forward. To ordinary human senses they would have looked like a blur, racing from the shadows of the forest in the space between heartbeats. However, with magically heightened awareness, Alex sensed them coming as if they were moving in slow motion. Drawing on a little mana the young magician stood calmly in the forest clearing, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.
Bared fangs and razor-sharp claws came towards the seemingly defenceless magician. The onrushing vampires could almost taste his blood upon their lips, and driven by lust for this most covetous nectar they became oblivious to anything else. Alex’s scream of agony was cut short as his throat was savagely ripped open. Drowning on his own blood he could only make gurgling noises in a desperate attempt to call for help. In a spray of blood and gore he went down as the two vampires fed in bloodlust frenzy.
“Four!”
The two vampires looked up suddenly.
They never saw the killing stroke that neatly severed heads from bodies, and no doubt in the last moment of consciousness wondered how their demise was possible.
In a shimmer of colours, Alex dissolved the cloak of invisibility. Ash and the charred remains of the vampires sloughed from the huge scythe which he held like a golf club in his hands. The grizzly remains of the illusionary Alex disappeared as well, and suddenly the forest seemed a lot quieter than usual.
Together, Archer and Alex stood in the clearing amidst piles of cooling ashes. “You’ve passed the illusions test at least. Even I was fooled for a moment.”
Alex was about to add some witty remark but another disturbance forestalled him. Instead, all that came out was a strangled curse as a dozen vampires appeared. They were all young, males and females, wearing an assortment of fashionably ripped black clothes. Talk about going overboard with the vampire-goth stereotype, Alex thought, what’s next? Glitter?
“My, what have we come across here?” The speaker stepped forward as though to see the two magicians better under Archer’s globe of light. “Very impressive, I must say. If we weren’t constrained by time it would have been a tremendous pleasure to prolong this encounter.”
To his fellow ‘undead’ he calmly said “Kill them.”
The first wave surged forward, intent on simply overwhelming the two mages, but of the half dozen vampires only three managed to cross the clearing. Magical energy flashed again and another vampire disappeared in a cloud of fire and ash. Four down, two to go. Alex waved his hand and the nearest vampire froze in mid-step. Thrashing against invisible bonds it tried in vain to escape, but as Alex closed his fist the creature’s head simply exploded in a spray of blood and brain matter. Before the corpse could hit the ground it spontaneously combusted, its remains joining the ashes of the previously destroyed vampires. The last vampire to attack was quickly dispatched by one of Archer’s knives.
Silently the two magici
ans stood in the clearing, watching the remaining vampires. The leader fumed. He now knew the futility of ordering his group to attack, but retreating could leave them exposed to retaliation. The last thing they needed now was to be delayed any further. “I look forward to the next time we meet, mages,” he snarled. “You will be remembered.”
Silently the group of ‘undead’ vanished into the darkness.
“Do we let them go?” Alex asked, although he was fairly certain he already knew Archer’s answer.
As a reply she nodded.
“It’s strange though,” she said after a moment’s silence, “It’s almost as if they had something more important to do. Anyway, enough fooling around for one day, tomorrow there will be more tests.”
With that, the two walked back to the villa. Neither said anything, but Alex had the distinct feeling Archer was hiding something. For the remainder of the night she seemed withdrawn, lost deep in thought, as though the chance encounter with the vampires was more than it appeared to have been. He decided to break the uncomfortable silence.
“I’ve been reading about vampires and the other magical races, but I get the impression there’s more to the story than what is written.”
Archer sat cross-legged in her chair and stared thoughtfully into the small fireplace. After a hearty meal they were now relaxing in front of a fire, drinking freshly brewed tea. “There have always been magical creatures,” she started, “although some have disappeared from memory, while others have simply slipped into myth and legend.
“A long time ago, there were only humans on this world, primitive and barbaric, when suddenly a group of powerful magicians, whom we call Ancients, arrived. They had escaped from who knows where, and chose to settle here.
“At first this new race remained distant from the primitive humans, but over time there were many instances where magicians interfered with the lesser human race, and slowly introduced technology. A small group of magicians broke the decree of isolation and freely mingled with the humans.