Battle Mage: Winds of Change (The High King: A Tale of Alus Book 11) (30 page)

A discomfort from the new pressure holding him aloft began to annoy his back and shoulders. Lifting high enough in the air that he felt secure to drop his first set of wings to change to another, the owl mage changed the vision held in his mind. He hovered a moment and the three girls caught up quickly to the mage. As the girls started to open their mouths to scold him together, Sebastian released his bird wings.

Hearing a collective gasp from the three, the battle mage dropped with his feet aimed towards the ground.

"Dragon wings," the owl ordered calmly and felt the change immediately. A strange sound related to that of the buzzing of an insect's wings came to his ears immediately.

Glancing over his shoulder once more, a pale green blur could be seen. There were wings, but they were moving at the speed of a hummingbird's wings. This time, however, there were two sets of wings both high and low. Looking like a human dragonfly, the mage felt the spread of the pressure along his back. The support of the extra pair of wings felt much better and strangely these felt much more powerful than the first. The currents seemed like less of a challenge to these constructs.

"What were you thinking?!" Cheleya nearly screamed when she caught up to him. Sebastian looked down and thought that he had only dropped a few dozen feet.

"The other wings were bugging my back," the fledgling flyer admitted to the dragoness.

Frowning at him, which was an expression getting strangely common now, he thought; Cheleya scolded him, "Of course they felt wrong, you haven't built up any strength to deal with the way they support you."

Katya asked a different question as she heard the buzz of his wings and noticed that her eyes could barely see the rapid beating of his new dragonfly wings, "Are those insect wings and you have four?"

He smiled and replied, "They feel faster and stronger too. Let's test them!"

With that excited comment, the mage shot upward in a nearly perfect vertical line. Sebastian thought to shift backwards like the dragonfly's he had watched as a child flying around on the farm. The power of the wings pulled him back swiftly and the mage rolled over letting the momentum carry him into a new forward movement.

His speed was such that Katya and Iris started falling back quickly. His movements could change so swiftly that even the expert flyer Cheleya looked to have difficulties matching his ability to change direction using her current wings. As Sebastian altered course yet again challenging the dragoness' belief in how to fly, Cheleya let her current wings go.

Matching his dragonfly wings, the dragoness formed a darker pairing that looked red even in the blur. Like four blazing wings of fire, Cheleya tested them only a moment before launching after Sebastian.

This time the dragoness was able to catch him quickly. With twice as many wings and their ability to beat many times faster, Cheleya realized the mage's discovery surpassed her original design in many ways. Her bat wings were stronger and had more thrust. They could also envelope her to protect the girl from attacks. These wings were more rigid and designed for speed and mobility. There also seemed to be more of a limit to the height she could attain, but they still could lift her hundreds of feet above the ground without issue.

"Land already," the girl told him in frustration.

Katya and Iris were almost dots behind them and the dragoness noticed the city of White Hall was already a hazy shape in the distance. "We need to return," she added. "You aren't used to maintaining this kind of spell. If your attention falters, you will fall. Your magic power also limits how long you can keep them.

"These wings are much more active and will likely exhaust your power much quicker as well."

Sebastian came to a halt in midair and answered, "I thought of that beforehand. Like my air shield, I tied off the constructs to feed off the original casting of the spell. I barely have to think of them to maintain them and they drain my magic at a fraction of the first wings actually."

Looking at the mage in complete disbelief, Cheleya tried to see the flow of magic in the wings. He was correct and she could sense the flow of magic tied into the very construction of them as well. Shaking her head at the man who had already created two innovations in her magic that had been used for a millennium, Cheleya understood more than ever how unusually quick his mind worked.

She had marveled at his skill in the duels of Hala. His ability to fix her curse, when no one had a clue as to how to help her, had brought a new level of respect. Now he was flying and improving on dragon magic after only a few minutes of using the spells.

"Even so, we should get back," Cheleya stated with less insistence than before.

"I suppose so," he agreed and noted the other two girls closing on them as quickly as they could. Iris looked completely flustered by their swift movements, but his sister simply looked... proud.

"Cheleya, I was wondering if you want me to move your runes back to an amulet?" he asked from what she thought was a completely different viewpoint in the moment. "Since you can hide them like my runes, it might actually be more handy to leave them tattooed to you since you don't have to worry over having the necklace knocked loose making you change back when you aren't ready. I did make a disc to receive them and I meant to ask you earlier, but I was kind of distracted by the idea of flying."

His rueful smile at his slip made the girl laugh. Another piece of news revealing how amazingly his mind worked was on display before her. He could even create a new amulet, when the mage had never made one before, she thought.

"I will think on it then," Cheleya agreed. "For now, I am content with remaining as I am. I have work to do here and I know that I can return to my dragon form when I wish. That was all I ever really wanted to be able to do, I guess."

The girl laughed her musical laugh as she realized that all her wishes to be able to return to her che'ther form in reality distilled into the freedom to be whichever she wanted to be. The freedom, not the need to be a che'ther, was the real need.

He nodded and replied, "Just say the word and I can always return to remove the tattoos."

"Thank you again, Sebastian. You make it very hard to repay you though, when you keep finding new ways to spoil me," she giggled happily.

Sebastian thought that he smelled the sweet smell of her perfume and was glad that he could help.

The other two dragon mages met them as they flew back towards White Hall at a lazier pace. Katya was smiling though Iris looked a little tired.

"I can't believe it, Bas! You took to flying beyond anything I've seen. Even Cheleya looks like she had to change her wings to keep up with you."

"Once she did," he said, "Cheleya caught me easy enough."

Rolling her eyes to avoid looking at the owl mage, the dragoness took the compliment. She managed to say to the others, "The dragonfly wings work well for speed and quick changes of direction. They are a good answer for those things, but they can't bend the same way as the others to protect your body from attack. This version will limit some of the other spells as well, I think."

"Can you perform a dragon gust?" Iris asked thinking of one of the other spells they could do by using their wings.

Sebastian pulled up and the girls paused in their return to see why. "That was dragon gust, correct?"

Aiming at an angle to the girls, the mage was curious as well. "Dragon gust!" he ordered the wings and felt them shift their power.

The buzzing changed pitch and his body vibrated with the swell from the increased strength of his four wings. Visualizing churning the wind into a torrent, the air shifted and a roar of air rushed past his arms. He aimed the thrust of the wind at the tops of the trees a hundred feet below them and they reacted violently. Like a tornado was striking them, weaker branches were quickly thrown from the trunks. Loose sticks flew away and the smaller branches at the tops of the trees began to whip and crack with the power.

He released the wind letting the trees relax once more and looked at Cheleya asking, "How is that?"

"It might be useful, though the quick thrust of our regular wings react quicker," she stated. "Now if you are done playing around, I think we should get back to check on the other students and Kel'lor."

Sebastian hid a smile as they flew back towards White Hall. He had a feeling that Cheleya would want to actually discuss his changes with Kel'lor more than she wanted to check on students that were all old enough to be fine without the guidance from their teachers.

Either way, the mage was satisfied with what he had discovered as well. He could now fly. With a little more education and practice, Sebastian hoped to add many of the other spells which could be useful to battle mages as well. It was yet another weapon that they could channel towards defeating the Dark One's forces.

Chapter 16- Mice and Guardians

Before they had even landed, the small group of flyers received attention from the other dragon mages. Magnus and a pair of wizards flanking him met Sebastian with a frown. The fire wizard looked cheery compared to the scowl on Kel'lor's face, however.

After they had all landed, Magnus moved close enough to complain sarcastically to the mage, "You have to learn every kind of magic that I know, don't you, and even that you put your own touches on to surpass me? It does continue to annoy me that you seem to always go out of your way to one up me."

Sebastian looked at the fire wizard and shrugged, "Contrary to your opinion, I don't do things thinking about how it will affect you, Magnus. I rarely consider you actually."

Peering into the mage's eyes, the fire wizard took a moment before replying, "You may not think about how your learning new magic might affect me, but I have a feeling that you think of me more often than you want to admit."

A smirk crossed the taller wizard's lips and Magnus looked confident in his opinion. Sebastian supposed that he had thought of the fire wizard on occasion though the mage couldn't say that it was with any fondness. Often when the fire wizard came to mind it involved their dislike for each other while at school.

The two men didn't have time to interact any longer as Kel'lor surged forward looming over everyone in his mar'goyn'lya form. "What have you done now?" the gargoyle complained irritably. His anger was yet to be focused on what angered him most, but Sebastian had little doubt that it probably included a little bit of everything he had just done.

Cheleya intercepted the monster's ire saying, "The mage has found a new form of wings and a few new abilities by using them. Your mar'goyn'lya wings have great power, but I think these new ones are faster. I can now pull away from you in the open air."

Her meaning wasn't lost on the gargoyle. Kel'lor had always been faster than the girl with her magical wings. She was more maneuverable and could out fly him in canyons or in the tight spires of the Dragon Spine Mountains, but the che'ther lost a lot of her advantage in the open where there were no obstructions.

"First, his sister made the strange feathered wings of a bird and now these insect wings are created by her brother. What is with their family?" Kel'lor complained.

Cheleya laughed charmingly even as Sebastian could see a certain amount of annoyance on most of the faces surrounding him. These wizards and mages had been trying to learn the skills of dragon mages to in turn take their new skills out to teach others. Now these students watched as he stepped in flying better than any of them could so far.

"Well, he is that talented battle mage from the tournament after all and Katya is his sister. Some of his talent must have rubbed off on her," the little blond said with a smile at the towering statue like Mar'goyn'lya. Sebastian thought that he could smell Cheleya's fragrance on the air as she spoke. It was an enchanting scent, but he wondered at how it seemed to soothe those around her as well.

Sebastian spoke up in his defense, "One of my stronger elements is air. I've often thought of my trips on the air like taking flight. Though dealing with weight and inertia is new, and controlling the magic to the wings also; but it feels very natural to me.

"I combined the wings with an air spell to see the currents. It might be a bit of a cheat, but seeing them before they can interfere with my flight made it easier as well."

The two air wizards looked at one another after his comment and nearly raced each other to find out more. The younger of the two, one of Magnus' close friends named Wellas, beat the other wizard to the punch asking, "What air spell did you use? If it makes learning how to fly easier, then we should really try to learn it as well. Air wizards in particular might be able to learn the magic closer to one hundred percent as well as be able to teach those who aren't afraid of heights."

"I called it wind vision, but that is just because it let my mind see the winds to fly on or through them making better use of the air. It is just a weather reading spell fine tuned to see the air currents. You could modify one of a couple of your air spells to work for you in the same way," he assured them and noticed the shadow of Kel'lor moving closer as the mage continued speaking.

"This is an ancient magic and you are trying to pervert it for your own use. Making it easy won't make you appreciate and understand the skills of flight," the mar'goyn'lya complained. Cheleya's hand rested on his forearm as if to try to settle the giant before his anger could lead to something violent.

Sebastian didn't know if he would need to defend himself against the gargoyle. Kel'lor had seemed easy going enough the few times the mage had dealt with him, so this side of him was new. "I found myself lost up there at first," he clarified. "I am used to feeling the currents and seeing their movements with my vision. Being in my physical body, the second spell simply helped me adjust to the movement of the air.

"I already appreciated the skill and I take nothing for granted, Kel'lor."

It was said soberly and truthfully. The owl mage could fly now and made the tentative title seem more accurate as well. Even the mar'goyn'lya settled back with his words. Giving them thought, he ventured, "Maybe pairing sight with the wings for your kind makes more sense. Those who can master the air will probably be more akin to a mar'goyn'lya then. We feel the currents in either form. It is an advantage."

Cheleya smiled up at him and said, "Even ancient magic can be improved on from time to time. I guess we will have to add these new techniques to our teachings. It cannot hurt to use them. The dragonfly wings can't replace everything our old wings can do, but they do have their advantages for flight even so."

Waving the girl off, the monster turned trying to pull as many of the dragon mages after him to return to their training. Cheleya remained along with Katya and Iris. The taller apprentice looked towards the gargoyle, but Sebastian sensed that she followed the che'ther girl as an instructor more than Kel'lor.

"I don't know how the teachers of Mar'kal will take to changes in the magic, but it won't take long for them to see that both the wings and using an air spell like yours are improvements," the little blonde haired girl replied. Her straight hair tied up in a ponytail moved with the breeze Sebastian could still see with his air sensing spell. He felt like he could physically grab hold of the currents using it, which was why it had made flying easier.

"I'm sure not every wizard will be able to see the currents," the mage replied, "but certainly some will be able to take advantage of the spell."

Thumbing over his shoulder towards the gargoyle, Sebastian asked, "Will he be all right though?"

Cheleya smiled again before looking over at the giant already trying to set up the next exercise. Rilena and Elzen had come closer along with Ashleen and the shy looking Evie. The last girl held Rilena's hand and the mage didn't even seem to notice it there. She gave him a smile as Evie partially hid behind the taller woman.

"Kel'lor's temperament is more often like the stone he appears to be at first glance. He is calm and problems tend to shift around him without moving him. Seeing you fly so well on the first try probably unnerved him more than I would have guessed."

"He flew like a shape changer feeling the truth of a bird that he was trying to become," Evie said surprising them all including herself.

Sebastian merely nodded to the girl and the small group looked unsure of what to do now. The mage had completed his commitments relating to the gate, but he knew that he would need to spend a few days trying to teach some of his newer magic to wizards and mages both.

There was still much to do in the other guardian cities as well, but for White Hall, the owl would make the time. It was a center of learning and would be the best place to establish what he knew for getting the magic spread around the country.

"There is time before dinner. Maybe you could run through the other dragon spells so that I can try to copy them. I am sure some will be similar enough to my battle mage spells, but it would be interesting to find out more of your magic," he said.

Cheleya nodded and stepped back. "You have seen some of them. Magnus used a few in your match."

The girl's face brightened as a thought came to her. "I was actually surprised that he didn't try to surprise you with a dragon claw or shield spell. Did you know that the magic used for them isn't elemental and the claw can even drive through a night shield? The dragon shield can resist both light and night spells also."

Calling up a dragon shield, Cheleya let him test the crimson protector with a probing strike of night. A beam of darkness, the spell seemed to strike the shield without any adverse affect. A ray of light was equally ineffective, while any element seemed resisted as solidly as using mage shields.

He set his hand over the oval rune and drew out the black sword he had purchased in Hala. The blade wasn't truly metal though it was strong and had a keen edge. It had fooled a seller of swords and the man was normally a keen eye. Of course, Cheleya might have been enough of a distraction for even a seasoned professional to have been swayed by her beauty, if the dragoness was the original seller.

Katya gasped and said, "Oh, I forgot to tell you with all the distractions! I think Bas bought one of your swords."

Dropping her crimson shield, the dragoness moved towards him nodding to her friend. "It is one of mine. How strange to find your brother with it? Did you buy it in Hala?"

The mage glanced between sword and girl a couple times realizing that at least part of the mystery of the black blade had been solved. He had found its maker. Now maybe he could discover what she had made the weapon out of to see if it was possible for him to make more. Sebastian hadn't wished to play with the weapon beyond its intended use. There was no experimenting done on the unique blade.

"I did buy it and picked up a discount when I assured Master Orden that this wasn't made of steel. He could hardly let it be known that he had purchased a weapon that wasn't even made of any known metal."

Cheleya frowned and retorted, "But I made it as close to the blade of a falcon from Staron while keeping the best properties of the shrike wings I used. It shouldn't have failed and would be as good as any blade he might purchase."

Smiling down on the petite girl before him, Sebastian shrugged and replied, "I never said that it wasn't a good sword. It's one of the best I've used; but his reputation would have taken a hit if people believed that he could be fooled into buying something that wasn't normal steel."

The girl looked disappointed, but the owl changed from that line of thinking and asked, "Perhaps you could show me what magic was used to make this after teaching me the dragon spells."

He paused catching what Cheleya had glossed over as she had considered his words. "You made them from shrike wings?"

With another of her charming smiles, the girl nodded. "They were the size of men and the wings cut through stone. I figured that they would be as good as any steel sword and lighter as well."

"Well that explains a few things," he mused before replacing the blade inside the oval without testing it on the shield. "Please continue teaching me here and maybe we can go see these other blades later."

The dragoness nodded and continued with the list of spells related to dragon mage magic.

Cheleya and Sebastian led a small train of people after them. The dragoness had picked up another of the black swords from her collection stashed away in her room, which was shared with Katya and Evie. With those two girls joining them, the latter of the two apparently shadowing Rilena like some frightened child, they found an abandoned classroom, which was much easier than other times since it was late enough in the afternoon that most students were off studying on personal time.

Noting the petite redhead behind the much taller Rilena, Sebastian thought the two definitely looked like a protective sister with her younger sibling in tow. Evie had green eyes that seemed slightly large, though perhaps it was simply the wide eyed look the girl often had on her face. Appearing skittish, he had watched Arrimus and his friends teasing her from time to time while he was at the school. Perhaps she had reason to be fearful, even if it was their belief that such actions were done in jest. Sebastian thought that it looked more like the bullying Arrimus had done while following Magnus' example when both were apprentices studying at the school.

Cheleya placed the sword on the table and asked, "Do you still have any of those iron rods hidden in your ink?"

The tattoos could fade from sight as they adopted his skin color thanks to magic, but they could look like a normal tattoo as well. Not widely popular among the northern cities, Sebastian had noted a certain popularity of various markings in cities like New Harbor. He supposed that being able to bear your skin in the warmer climate made it possible to display the tattoos, while further north such weather was less common.

Placing his fingers over the rune forcing his magic into it to make the oval glow, Sebastian soon produced one of the four foot long rods.

Cheleya looked like she noticed the weight of the rod much more than the mage. His time working with the sword and more recently hammering metal in the forge had increased his strength to the point that the iron seemed insignificant in weight.

"The swords were made using alteration magic," the girl stated simply before explaining further. "The book that I read on it more or less says that the magic comes from enforcing your will over the matter before you. Energy and magic make up everything in the world, so to alter matter is to simply reset the energy within. Magic becomes the tool of the change while you must set your mind to focus the tool."

Sebastian heard her brief explanation and thought that the premise behind it was what he had begun to feel about magic use in general. The combination of magic and the will to use it could make nearly anything possible.

Without using any words or gestures of an incantation, Cheleya placed her hands gently against the surface of the iron letting her magic channel into the metal. He could feel her energy even without using a spell for sight. Placing his hand on her shoulder, the mage tried to feel what the dragoness was doing. The feel of this magic was unlike anything he had ever felt before and left him confused even while Cheleya accepted his touch to let him try to use his magic to understand the spell.

In just a short time of concentration, the rod changed color and texture. Becoming a small length of rough rope, Cheleya released it long enough to say, "The change can be permanent. What I've done with my clothing remains until I play with it again."

Sebastian picked up the rope and that was exactly what it felt like. The weight was slightly more than he expected, but fell within that of a rope of such thickness. "No one would believe that this was made from metal," he said with a nod.

Ashleen moved forward to touch the rope and was quickly followed by most of the others watching. Even Evie tentatively touched the new rope before Cheleya replied, "Alteration magic can change metal, cloth and just about anything you choose to touch. I have never changed anything from afar. I am not even sure that I can."

Shrugging, Sebastian countered, "There is nothing stopping you from trying here. Why not try it now?"

After a nod, Cheleya waved her hands from beyond the reach of the rope, which remained just over a foot away. She frowned and closed her eyes a moment still with her fingers extended towards the rope. Shaking her head after nearly a minute, the dragoness decided, "I cannot. Perhaps someone else with the skill would be able to, but I need to touch the thing I am changing apparently."

Placing her fingers on the rope again, the dragoness channeled her energy into it and the shape began to change as well as the color. Smoothing the rough fibers of the rope, Cheleya rolled the shape out creating a four foot long piece of silk that soon flattened out horizontally as she rotated it to open the cloth revealing the width had been changed to wider than the length of Sebastian's hand. Colored red, the girl had picked one of her favorite colors; but she wasn't through. "Some have jokingly called it tailoring magic since I can use this magic to alter the shape and size of my clothes. I can also change colors."

Cheleya ran her forefinger along the material leaving a trail of yellow through the red. A pattern of whimsy, the dragoness seemed unhappy with the second color and she passed her hand flat across the cloth. As if she were trying to flatten the already smooth material, her hand swept back and forth quickly returning the cloth to red.

"I can also change color on living things," she stated and held a lock of her hair. Her left hand slid from where her other hand held the hair and changed the color from blond to a dark red matching that of Evie. A second pass swept the darker color from her hair leaving it blond once more.