Underdog Mage Chronicles

by R. D. Bernstein

  The loud crash brought General Crowl back, but it was already too late. The crystal broke in half as well as dozens of tiny shards sprayed about the floor. As the Drakaran ran toward him in rage, Lance dove and grabbed a tiny piece of the crystal, shoving it into his mouth and swallowing it. The shard cut his throat and he could feel a trickle of blood running down.

  “You fool! What have you done?” General Crowl growled, picking up the remaining pieces and placing it into a bag on the side. “Luckily it doesn’t need to be in one piece to work. But unlucky for you is I am going to rip your mind into tiny pieces and pluck your memories one by one!”

  * * *

  General Crowl’s voice faded into the background as Lance’s entire body went into a spasm, the energy from the tiny shard of crystal flowing through his body, barely containable. Time seemed to slow down as his body tensed and then relaxed. General Crowl came at him, yet Lance felt like he had all the time in the world to act.

  Holding out his hand, a bolt of lightning shot outward and zapped the Drakaran’s armor. He stumbled backward, surprised by the strength of the blow.

  “You only have to stall,” the voice inside Lance’s head said. “Help is coming.”

  Crowl came again, this time met with a wall of energy. He raised his hand and his eyes widened in surprise that the magical wall held.

  “Impossible… humans are nothing but ants!” General Crowl yelled. He continued to struggle to get rid of the wall.

  Lance felt an immense amount of power within himself, but he also felt it waning. His body began to feel drained, and slowly but surely the wall began to go down.

  “No one on this planet is as strong as the weakest of Drakaran!” Crowl bellowed. Sensing the end, he renewed his efforts and the shield shattered, vanishing into the air with a loud bang.

  Lance’s arms fell limply to his side, his energy completely depleted. Crowl reached his hand out and a bolt of compressed energy shot forth, slamming into Lance’s chest. He was thrown through the air and landed in a heap against a wooden crate. Barely conscious, Lance watched as the Drakaran came closer, his eyes burning bright red with anger.

  “I will have my answers!” Crowl seethed.

  “We need to leave now!” Mallagan suddenly warned. She began to summon a portal, a spell that would take them back to her temporary home within the forest.

  “What? We don’t have the answers we need,” Crowl protested. “He is weakened. I’ll pull his memories out now.”

  “Leave him for another day,” Mallagan warned, her voice urgent. She continued to summon the portal.

  “Let me take him with us at least,” Crowl said.

  “Hurry there is no….” her voice trailed off as the portal appeared just as the door to the storage unit flew open. Dozens of knights charged inside and dozens more mages filed in behind them. At their front was Master Sellius.

  “Kill them!” Master Sellius commanded.

  The knights and mages charged forward. General Crowl considered fighting all of them, and it was indeed possible he could kill them all, but the mage in front gave off a tremendous amount of power. This fight was too risky when all they needed was answers.

  Mallagan jumped through the portal and General Crowl sneered at the charging knights. Just before following into the portal, Crowl raised his hand and with a twist tripped the three knights in front.

  “This isn’t over, crippled,” General Crowl promised as he disappeared into the shimmering blue portal. It vanished immediately after.

  Exhausted, Lance collapsed to the floor.

  * * *

  Lance woke up in the infirmary. He tried to sit up, but his ribs felt like they were broken. His head felt like an axe had split it down the middle.

  “Rest,” Master Sellius said, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. Lance looked to his right to see the head mage sitting on a chair next to Lance’s bed. “You’ve been through a lot. You need to take it easy.”

  “I’m just happy to be alive,” Lance said in a voice barely above a whisper.

  “You’re lucky to be alive,” Master Sellius corrected. “That was a foolish thing you did to leave the palace. I directly told you to stay inside.”

  “I… I’m sorry,” Lance replied. “How did you even find me? Were you the voice in my head?”

  “What are you talking about?” Master Sellius asked. “We found this note and tracked you down. This type of foolishness and rashness will get you killed. You have such power and potential and yet you continue to try and squander it all. How many warnings must we give you until you smarten up?”

  Lance knew better than to answer with a guess.

  Master Sellius took a deep breath and calmed himself down with great effort.

  “I think I know who the ones who took you are,” Master Sellius said. “Being able to open portals, great magic power, pale skin and red eyes… these are all described in books as beings from another world. According to the books, they call themselves the Drakaran. They gather enough power to send operatives to other worlds and while there they collect enough energy to open a sizeable portal capable of bringing over legions of their troops to enslave or kill the population. You have indirectly uncovered them here and might have very well saved our planet. There are legends of ancient beings such as Banthor that saved their planet once from Drakaran clutches. We have to unite the surrounding kingdoms and destroy them before it is too late. One or two of them is not impossible to kill, but facing an army of Drakaran are impossible odds.”

  “What can I do to help?” Lance asked.

  “You’ve done enough helping for one day,” Master Sellius replied. “You can help by getting rest and staying out of trouble while I speak with the king and his council. The Drakaran might be alone here, but if they have fear and money on their side, they could hire an army of mercenaries. They do not seem stupid. The Drakaran are smart and powerful. If the ancient books are correct, and so far their descriptions have been, war is coming to this world. We must be prepared.”

  Chapter 13

  Greyson leaned back in his chair and looked around the room. The castle he and his men purchased was small as castles go, but well-built and solid. He picked it more for its strategic position than anything. Besides, no amount of gold could purchase a larger castle. Those were kept within the family lines, long ago established. The only way to take those was by war and with so many allies on all sides, it was no easy task.

  Instead, Greyson found a small castle owned by an obscure, rich baron. It was tucked against a cliff edge leading down to a churning sea below. Its front was built on the top of an incline. Any opposing army would have to run uphill.

  The baron had two dozen staff and a standing army of fifty men. Greyson purchased all of them. His first task was to order them to remove any tapestries or portraits. If this was to be his castle then it would be made to look the part.

  Rumors of the Dark Ones hunted down and eliminated was music to Greyson’s ears. He cared little for them. His brothers and sisters died for the greater good of their survival. Now the Dark Ones had a castle and were able to start fresh. Things would be different this time. Although gold was running low, he could recruit as many able men and women as he wanted without threat of any city guard or king stopping him.

  The door swung open and Greyson turned to see General Crowl standing there. Greyson instinctively threw his dagger. It stopped just short of Crowl’s neck, hovering in the air as it continued to spiral, its point dangling mere inches from exposed skin.

  “Is that a way to greet a friend?” Crowl asked, plucking the dagger out of the air and tossing it onto the floor. “I’m going to ignore that attempt to kill me for now.”

  General Crowl looked around. “I see you have made good use of your gold.”

  “How did you find me?” Greyson asked.

  “We are Drakaran. We have ways to find all.”

  “Cut to the chase. What do you want?” Greyson glanced toward the doorway to see if any
of his men were coming, but it was empty. No help would be forthcoming, although Greyson doubted all of his men couldn’t do anything against the monster before him.

  “This castle must have cost most of your gold,” Crowl assessed. “From what I understand, castles are expensive to maintain and the help and soldiers as well.”

  “What are you getting at?”

  “I am calling on you again, and in return I will reward you for your efforts, enough so that your castle’s upkeep will be easily met for years to come.”

  Greyson considered the Drakaran’s words. He was right. Greyson would run out of gold soon if they didn’t pull off a major job. Besides, as much as he wanted to say no to Crowl, there was no choice.

  “And what exactly do you need from me?” Greyson inquired.

  “I need your connections,” Crowl stated. “I need you to build an army, but not just any army. I want thousands of fighters. We need enough to storm a castle.”

  “That will require a lot of gold and a lot of time,” Greyson answered.

  “You’ll have your gold, and as for time, you have one month,” Crowl said.

  “The men I can bribe and pay will not be trained knights,” Greyson warned. “But what we don’t have in skills will be made up in numbers. Hundreds of mercenaries and peasants armed are better than a few dozen knights any day.”

  “Make it happen,” Crowl warned. “I will be back here in one month’s time to collect my army.”

  * * *

  Eight days later…

  Back at the palace, things calmed down somewhat. There was no longer the sense of urgency and panic throughout the palace and surrounding city. Training classes resumed as precautions were set in place. Permanent guard stations were added throughout the kingdom and Lance had only one guard assigned to him. Patrols remained at triple the usual amount.

  During the lull in activity, Lance continued to hang out with Charlotte during training and after despite being somewhat embarrassed of the Drakaran deception. At the very least, Charlotte was a nice person and a good friend. When they got together it was always filled with laughter. Lance was grateful for the reprieve from so many near-death experiences and he wasn’t about to ruin it by telling Charlotte about the letter.

  After two of his Masters were murdered, Lance found the new yellow robe teacher a breath of fresh air. Her name was Master Mindy and she was both knowledgeable and patient. She pushed them all, but knew when to slow down and explain further. Lance was learning a lot, especially about timing and precision. The basics were over. Yellow robes was about learning their potential and maximizing it on a consistent basis.

  Charlotte said they would need to pick an apprenticeship when they reached blue robes, but there was plenty of time before that. An apprenticeship would be one step closer to specifying what he wanted to do for a living, and Lance wasn’t ready to decide yet.

  “Lance, are you paying attention?” Master Mindy asked.

  Lance nodded, although truth be told he had been lost in his thoughts.

  “The more powerful and higher quantity of a metal you ingest, the more toll it will take on your body after it is gone, Master Mindy warned. “That is why proper training is so important. Since each mage has such a different amount of capacity, it is vital to learn how different metals affect you and what quantity is safe.”

  Master Mindy walked back to her table and sat down.

  “Before you leave, I wanted to let you know that Master Sellius has approved a yellow robe excursion. We will be accompanied by an escort of guards as well as myself and Master Porthos due to recent events and increased defensive measures. We’ll be heading to the edge of the forest to work on different skills unavailable to us inside the palace. Please arrive promptly for training. We will leave as soon as training starts.”

  Lance was excited to leave the palace, this time with permission.

  Charlotte leaned over to him. “Try not to get in trouble this time.”

  Quincy, standing next to them, chuckled. “Who do you think he is? Trouble always seems to find him.”

  * * *

  General Crowl came upon the clearing and immediately wished he hadn’t. Mallagan crouched, her frail body hovering over her victim’s body, her mouth red from the blood she drank.

  “Must you do that?” Crowl asked.

  Mallagan turned at the sound of his voice and smiled to reveal her sharp teeth. “Yes. If I do not, this body would have fallen apart long ago.” She turned back to the lifeless farmer’s body and continued to chew on the flesh. “I never said you had to watch me.” Despite her words, Crowl found it extremely difficult not to watch with horrid fascination at the necromantic act. The transfer of one’s lifeblood to another was part of a much darker spectrum of Drakaran magic.

  Crowl decided to give her and her dark arts a wide berth, standing at the edge of the trees. Her magic was strong, but it required tremendous sacrifice. Animals peered at them through the darkness the dense trees created, their curiosity and fear mimicking his own.

  “If we don’t open the portal soon, the Lord Commander will have our heads,” Crowl stated, trying to keep his mind off of the gruesomeness before him. He wasn’t afraid of blood or war, but this was something else entirely, a primal savagery unbridled throughout this world.

  “You don’t think I know that?” Mallagan asked, blood dripping down her chin. She must have felt it, but she didn’t even have the courtesy of wiping her mouth. “We should have opened it by now. They are probably already preparing a new team to come to this world and replace us.”

  “Then let us hurry,” Crowl urged. He drew his sword and began to sharpen it on a whetstone he carried with him. He yearned for battle. All this planning and waiting made him impatient.

  “Patience,” Mallagan advised. “I sent a message through letting them know we are nearly done. It will all come together in time. Everything is falling into place as it should be.”

  “You better be right,” General Crowl muttered under his breath. “I’m not so ready to die as you are, witch.”

  * * *

  Dozens of guards followed the group of over thirty yellow robes out of the palace and through the city. Lance felt like he was in a parade. Men, women and children parted for the large procession, watching them with curious eyes as they made their way through the main streets and out the front gate, winding their way down the road and toward the forest in the distance.

  “As a mage within society, you are expected to reserve your powers for when needed,” Master Mindy explained. “Job orders, training, helping others, king’s army and of course self-defense are all acceptable reasons. Your abilities are not something to use whenever you want. If there is found to be a lack of control, they will be brought back to the palace for proper training.”

  They passed a small farm. Several of the workers paused and looked up, leaning on farm tools to rest and watch.

  “Up until this point, we have been practicing basics,” Master Mindy continued. “Today we will work on coordinating our efforts, working in tandem with partners, you will help to use the trees to build a tower. This exercise will utilize your strength, teamwork, and coordination. It will allow you to see what you are capable of and what combining powers with fellow mages can do if coordinated properly. To do this, you must communicate on where you are focusing your energies and what you are doing so your partner can double your effectiveness. You will have plenty of available flakes of a variety of metals and plenty of water. If you feel too dizzy or exhausted, you are welcome to sit down and rest. Learn your limitations.”

  They made their way toward the forest and stopped just before the first line of trees. The dozens of palace guards gave the students space, moving off to the side and waiting patiently. Master Porthos took a seat on a log he found and watched with curiosity. As the one who gave the trials to move up to the next robe, he was interested in who showed promise.

  Master Mindy began to divide the students into groups of four. She v
isited each group and went over the intricacies of combining powers. Then she handed out several small tubes to each group.

  Lance worked with his group for over two hours and only accomplished a poor excuse for a foundation to their fort. Each tree was deeply rooted and took a tremendous amount of combined strength and coordination to uproot it and move it into position. The fort didn’t have to be livable, but balancing and turning the trees in synchrony was nearly impossible.

  Lance glanced at the other groups who weren’t faring any better. Sweat dripped down his body as his group caught their breath and downed more copper and silver flakes. Meredith, the lone female in his group eventually took over as leader and Lance was okay with that. It was easier to have one person giving out directions than everyone giving their input at the same time.

  Two more grueling hours later and several dozen more breaks and they had themselves a decent size fort. It felt like an adult version of a building game Lance used to play with wooden blocks when he was a kid. This was much harder and far more dangerous. More than once Master Porthos or Master Mindy had to step in and stop a tree from flying into the group.

  Toward the end of the day, most of the groups were finishing up when a lone rider galloped down the main road toward them. The guards instantly formed up and readied their weapons.

  As the rider grew closer, Lance recognized the comparaison wrapped around the horse’s body as that of the kingdom of Altrion, their neighbors to the east. The blue material with two swords crossed was clear. The guards relaxed somewhat as they recognized the rider as from an ally kingdom, but they still stood ready. Recent events made all knights wary.