Battle Mage: Winds of Change (The High King: A Tale of Alus Book 11) (63 page)

Ashleen looked at the distance to the approaching black army and frowned. "I need to get closer to help," she replied to the other wizard.

Again the looks at the wilder let her know that they considered her at least halfway to insanity. No wizard in their right mind joined the front. Soldiers and battle mages were meant to hold the front lines while wizards would lend their spells to pushing the other army back from relative safety.

Another wizard in green shook her head incredulously as she retorted, "Do you think that you are a battle mage? You can't even lift that sword. It might be a fine weapon, but you'll get yourself killed for sure."

Nervousness made the wilder's skin begin to tingle with the electrical sparks pushing up from the ground. The others noted the strange reaction and quickly assumed the worst.

The older man tried to talk her out of her plans to continue closer to the approaching enemy as he said, "Are you even trained to use your magic? If you can't even restrain your power, how can you hope to fight these monsters?"

Ashleen frowned before forming a large shield of darkness raised before her above her head. It could stop arrows as well as ingest most elemental spells. She doubted that a block of stone would be deterred, but the wilder hoped that it would do to get her closer to the enemy. Having seen Sebastian's use of the Hollow Sword to amplify his magic, the girl hoped that it would work for her as well.

Voices from the other wizards rose in warning, but none of them moved beyond the sheltering reinforced wall to try and actually stop her.

"I've seen him do it," the little blonde haired wizard said quietly trying to steel herself for the task at hand. She was close to the outermost ring of defenses now. Wizards' shields of fire and stone rose and fell trying to stem the oncoming tide of the enemy.

Darkness spells quenched fire, light struck down the night before new elements tried to replace old just repeating the process over and over as both sides struggled to gain ground. For the defenders, it was just a matter of holding the enemy back; while the dark horde hoped to push their opponents into the sea. It made those defending the village fight even harder knowing that they had nowhere to run. They had to give it their all because there would be no mercy from the enemy they fought.

An explosion to her right made the girl stumble and fall to her knees. A soldier left the safety of his bunker to the left and started to pull the wizard to safety, but yelped at the shocks of electricity running along her skin.

"I'm alright," she replied looking at the young man probably no older than she was.

The boy shook out his hand feeling the hairs on his arms standing up along with a few strays on his head. He nodded, but added, "We can cover you, miss, if you want."

He glanced to the other men in his bunker who looked frightened, but knew that they were dedicated. A soldier risked his life putting his shield in front of wizards. They were the shield to the power of magic. If they died saving a wizard, that was just part of war.

"No, get to safety," Ashleen waved with her left hand as she continued to drag the Hollow Sword with her right. The wilder thought she must look insane. A little girl wandering a battle field dragging a weapon too heavy for her to wield, but the sword would get lighter once she made it to the front, Ashleen was certain that she could wield the Hollow Sword once it was needed. "I have my magic to protect me," the girl added walking forward with her eyes watching the battlefield before her.

It didn't take much longer before Ashleen stood in a place that frightened her weakening the wizard's resolve. She set her feet and called a spell like a battle mage while holding the sword to the ground.

"Lightning," she said drawing power into the weapon from the earth while placing the intention of the spell in the sword. It began to shine drawing eyes from both sides of the field. Her second spell expanded the lightning around her making a swirling cage of lightning. It swirled around the wizard lifting several feet above her head as she spotted movement before her.

The first wave of dark armored soldiers was led by armored viles, trolls and a handful of fire urchins, the mighty tanks of the dark army. Only the trolls wore the black armor treated to absorb the elements. The other two kinds of monsters had natural armor as resistant as their metal clad allies.

Ashleen took the sword with both hands and swung it from the point on the ground on her right up lifting it in front of her and continued the arc until the tip rested once more on the ground to her left. As the weapon slid through the air, the wilder released the power of the lightning straining at the rune seals along the blade.

Even through her closed eyelids, the flash of light could be seen as she scrunched them tighter and turned her head away. Ashleen blinked seeing the purple after glare on her retinas as the wilder looked at the battle field again. Her lightning cage swirled around her picking up residual lightning from the Hollow Sword as it passed through her defensive spell; but it was barely noticed by the girl as her eyes widened in surprise.

The enemy monsters had been scattered with the power of the swath of lightning. The low walls of the defenders had been cut into ragged mounds torn apart by the striking of lightning. Only those who had ducked into the cover of the dugouts behind the walls were able to rise again to look back at the wilder with her sword.

Armored viles struggled to get back up as the shock of lightning continued to stun the massive creatures for many minutes. Trolls in shattered, broken armor could no longer move and bits of stone scattered for hundreds of feet marked the fire urchins caught in the brunt of her attack. Those would remain where they lay forever more, but not all had been destroyed by the wave of lightning. Struggling to lift their bodies of stone and fire, several fire urchins began to rise from the ground like stones coming back to life in slow motion.

Ashleen's mouth opened struggling to comprehend the devastation in front of her. "By the gods, I need to be more careful. I'll end up killing our allies in front of me as easily as the enemy."

Remembering how Sebastian had loaned his charged sword to the Grimnal during battle, the wilder looked at the shocked looking men nearby. Soldiers mostly, the girl wished that she could find a battle mage to wield the sword.

"You," she called pointing to a man who didn't shy away from her look. "Come here. I need your help."

The man looked over the edge of the wall before him noting the momentary cease fire caused by the surprising use of power in the middle of the battlefield. He moved his shield to his shoulder in case the archers should begin once more and said, "Lady, I think you've got this already."

She frowned, but noted the man moving from the shelter of his defensive wall. Answering him quietly in the lull caused by the lighting spell, Ashleen stated, "I'm not strong enough to aim this thing properly. You look strong. Come here and help me."

The lightning shield opened up admitting the wary man inside the expanded ring of lightning. Once inside, the soldier asked, "What do you want me to do exactly?"

Ashleen smiled and said, "I want you to use the sword after I fill it with lightning."

The man's eyes widened with shock and fear, but he nodded.

"What is your name, soldier?"

"Sergeant Xarnov, my lady," he answered with a nod of respect to the girl who looked little more than half his age. Xarnov towered over the petite, little wizard. His dark hair and beard made him look fierce and large muscles on the exposed parts of his arms let her know that he was strong as well. Such a man could face the power of magic without blinking, Ashleen thought.

"I am Ashleen and you will serve as my arms, sergeant," the wilder informed him quickly before trying to use the Hollow Sword once more. "Lightning," she ordered but tried to restrain the power slightly. Even the soldier's strength would have trouble wielding the weapon, Ashleen feared, so she hoped using more controlled spells would make it less threatening to their people as well as the wielder.

Xarnov was just a man and had no magic within him, but Gerid was like anti-magic and had managed to use it. If she was right, this might just work.

Passing the sword to the larger man, Xarnov took the weapon warily. It was weighted like any sword, but the balance was amazing. As it glowed in the soldier's hand, he looked at the light glowing in the runes and asked, "So what do I do?"

"When you see the enemy coming, swing it like you plan to strike them like you normally would. I'll protect you with my lightning shield."

The dark army began to stir and a pair of armored viles flanked by trolls and urchins lifted massive black shields. Only the trolls were truly trained to use them, but the creatures understood that the shields would protect them from most spells.

Xarnov, at Ashleen's urging, swung the weapon in an overhand slash like he was trying to hammer at their shields though a couple hundred feet separated them from him and the wilder. Nothing happened and the man looked at her questioningly.

The blond haired girl stepped closer placing her hand in the small of his back and nodded, "I will have to trigger it through you apparently. Without magic, you must be unable to use the weapon at least from a distance."

Gerid hadn't used the Hollow Sword at a distance, but Xarnov needed to act from afar. Even with her lightning cage, Ashleen wasn't sure how long they would last if the enemy closed on the pair.

Swinging the sword at the enemy again, Ashleen watched the blade and used her magic through the man to make the sword release the stored lightning. Only a quarter lanced out striking the black shields. The wielders of the shields staggered being pushed back by the power of the sword. Cracks formed in those shields, but they remained otherwise unaffected by the power of the lightning.

"They still stand," Xarnov informed the girl standing behind him.

Nodding from her place behind the soldier, Ashleen stated, "I will hit them with more this time. I wasn't positive that it would work this way, so I didn't push it as hard."

Xarnov swung the weapon the same way and Ashleen made the sword release twice as much lighting. Even standing behind the man, the light nearly blinded the girl with the flash. The soldier raised his left hand to rub at the blinding purple line across his vision a moment before assessing what had been done.

Looking around Xarnov, Ashleen noted the enemy shields had broken. The armored viles at the center of the wedge of soldiers were still alive, but their shields had broken under the attack. On their hands and knees, the massive beasts looked stunned by the blow. The remaining monsters beside them moved in front of them tightening the line as more black armored soldiers with shields advanced behind them. They had taken stock of the lightning wielders and begun to respond accordingly.

Ashleen moved to take Xarnov's sword hand making it lower the point of the weapon to the ground. "We need to recharge it again. Less than half a charge will barely drive them back it looks like. We'll have to increase the lighting or risk being overwhelmed."

She recharged the Hollow Sword drawing in more of the power of the earth. The weapon glowed strongly and Ashleen checked the strength of the steel with her magic like Sebastian had taught her while making the brothers to the first Hollow Sword. It felt ready to burst. She could pull little more than this, the wizard thought to herself.

"Get ready," Ashleen ordered the soldier moving to the shelter of his powerful back. "You might want to guard your eyes this time. We will need to recharge after each attack as long as I can too."

The man nodded. He was just her tool to wield the greater power. Little better than being a wizard's shield, Xarnov knew his place; but the power in his hand made him feel greater than being just a soldier. It was an intoxicating feel to wield the power of lightning in his hand.

His jaw tightened grimly, however, as the man could see that even this great a power might not be enough to drive the enemy back. They would see which was greater: the sword or the darkness of the enemy.

Chapter 33- Renewed Defense

Palose used a reinforced battle mage shield to fend off another flight of arrows. The emperor's armies had stalled in the face of renewed opposition from the combined forces of Sileoth, Southwall and Maris. With the addition of the third country to the alliance of armies and the fact that the enemy forces had less to defend after their repeated losses, the defenders had picked their terrain to maximize their advantage in battle.

A ragged valley cracked in places with treacherous fissures, the remaining scars from the Cataclysm which had lifted this massive chunk of land from beneath the waves, was reinforced with stone walls, ditches and dozens of large war machines holding the high ground. Even in a world where wizards' magic could cover great range and deal massive damage to an enemy force, catapults, scorpions and other siege weapons were equally dangerous. Few warlocks could destroy a catapult at maximum range. Archers on a ridge were equally deadly, though a well kept magic shield could usually fend off such things.

Thunder seemed to roar as cannon fired ripping up the land from the base of the valley up the opposing rise. These were weapons perfected by pirates in a bygone age. A mix of modern warfare and innovation, the black powder the weapons used was their weakness as well. Wizards had destroyed cannon and ammo alike in battles, but some armies still felt they were worth the risk with their impressive range and devastating abilities. Iron shot could rip through even the magical black armor and many spell shields could be penetrated as well meaning a warlock wasn't safe, though it would take a lucky shot to kill them even so.