Battle Mage: Winter's Edge (30 page)

Moving to stand in front of his bed, Sebastian was surprised to find Helena Romonus, the ambassador’s daughter.

“Helena?” he asked dumbfounded.

Smiling her beautiful smile, the beauty dressed in a dark blue robe was calm while the mage remained confused. The girl had flirted with him a bit while at Falcon’s Keep, but had seemed distracted by other things, though perhaps Helena had simply seen Ashleen with him and decided to honor the other woman’s prior claim on him. The thought of such made him a bit like a bull on an auction block and more like a piece of meat than a man.

Thinking perhaps he was giving himself too much credit, the mage continued to use a similar line of questioning as he had for Raven Stallis, “What are you doing here?”

Slipping the heavy robe free to reveal a light, silk, sleeping gown, Helena fanned her face as if the room was extremely warm. Though modestly covering all but her lower legs, the upper part consisted of cloth rising from her chest in a V and leaving her arms completely bare. While it might be comfortable to sleep in, the clinginess of the glistening, true blue dress as it hugged her curves seemed inappropriate for any other place.

The girl moved to the table supplied for the room and the pitcher sitting there. A pair of glasses had miraculously found their way into his room that had not been there before. Pouring a glass, Helena glanced his way and asked, “Thirsty?”

Shaking his head, the girl turned back to her glass to swallow several sips that rippled along her bared throat. If she wasn’t trying to flirt with him, Sebastian couldn’t see how he could be so wrong. A little trickle of water trailed from the right side of her lips onto her chest making a water mark on her dress.

Letting a little “ah” out in an attractive way, Helena finally answered his question, “I’ve been wanting to talk to you for days, but first you were recovering from your wounds and now all those women kept rushing up to dance with you. You were so busy with them that I finally gave up thinking that you would dance with me, so I came here to wait for you instead.”

He hadn’t danced the entire time, Sebastian wanted to reply, but he had a feeling that wasn’t her point. “What did you want to talk about, Helena?”

The girl placed the glass back on the table and brushed at the last remnants of water on her chin, she didn’t even bother with the water on her chest. The water mark continued to lengthen as it followed the curvature along the inside of her right breast daring his eyes to look. Sliding off her matching blue slippers, Helena wanted to make him know that she was making herself comfortable.

Definitely flirting, he thought, or more accurately, she was being seductive. Dark brown eyes tried to be mysterious between the raven colored curls framing her face. “I just wanted to see if you were still going to protect us on the road to Hala. My father was really hoping that you and the rest of your team would be coming along, since you have proved yourselves so well already.”

“I will be going to Hala, though I have to check with my commanders as to whether I will be with your caravan. Even if I can’t make it, I am sure Duke Gelan and Lord Bryon will make sure that you are
well protected. You will be headed through safer lands as you travel east, however. The wilderness of the mountains we passed through isn’t a common travel hazard in the east.”

“Oh, I do hope that they say you can come,” the girl pouted slightly with her lower lip and made her brown eyes seem even larger. “Father, really respects you and I must say that I do too.” She sat on the edge of his bed hiking the dress just above her knees to reveal the shapely legs of a teenage girl that had only exercised enough to maintain her shape. Somehow the V pointing to her chest had expanded in nearly a U without the girl’s hand touching it revealing a bit more cleavage.

Sebastian could feel nervous sweat beading on his forehead. He wasn’t quite sure what to do, but his first instinct was to run. The second made for even more confusion as he almost wished to give in to what she was implying was available.

The girl continued as he remained silent and close to the door, “You know, I never did get a chance to dance with you tonight. Perhaps I could get that dance now?”

“There’s no music,” he replied quickly.

Standing again, the girl touched her chest and stated, “We could always dance to the beat of our hearts or maybe you would rather I sang? My father had teachers for that as well as reading and the like. Would you like me to sing, Sebastian?”

The words should have sounded silly at best, but the look in her face was too earnest and hungry. Swallowing hard, the mage wondered if he should still run as she stepped slowly closer. “You know what? I left my jacket in the dining hall, Helena. I should probably run back and get it before someone finds it and moves it from the bench where I left it,” he said quickly stepping back from the advancing girl. “Then I should probably get some sleep, since I have a meeting with the ravens in the morning. Did I tell you that I will be joining the Winter’s Edge tournament? Well, I am and should really get some sleep for all the training I’ll have to do.”

He mock yawned before quickly reaching out for the door handle and safety. Helena was quicker and the room too small. Placing her left hand on his upon the door handle to pause his retreat, her right hand reached up to stroke his cheek. “Are you sure? We could keep… talking if you want,” she said implying wanting to do a lot more.

“Oh no, it’s really important and I can’t keep someone like Raven Stallis or Raven Liom waiting because I overslept now can I? Perhaps tomorrow night we can get that dance, huh?” Sebastian quickly turned the handle to half run from his own room. He missed Helena’s smiles quickly turn to a frown of disappointment as the mage ran from a girl more than half a foot shorter than he and half his size.

It was morning again before Sebastian was ready for it as the first bell rang and he was still awake. He had hurried to Yara’s room and basically hid all night there. She didn’t ask why he stayed. They had slept over in one another’s rooms many times last fall, even though they could never be completely intimate. Their relationship wound up being based on much more than just the physical, but they did enjoy being able to hold one another.

Joining the the girl in her small bed was a bit of a challenge in and of itself as they could barely fit in the single bed. Sebastian lay next to the wall with his arm wrapped over Yara who enjoyed the extra warmth he provided during the cool night. Winter seeped into the stone over the months and even deep inside the castle it was cold. No amount of fireplaces seemed to warm the huge stone fortress fully and rooms like Yara’s didn’t even have their own fireplaces to add any extra warmth. Northerners were used to the cold, but it was still nicer to share some warmth with someone you loved.

Despite the comfort of Yara sleeping beside him, Sebastian found that he slept restlessly and often awoke for long periods listening to the girl’s gentle breathing beside him. He realized how much he had missed the sounds of her over the past months. Being a falcon kept him busy and some thoughts were held at bay by all that he had to do, but when the silence of night surrounded him he had felt something missing. Unfortunately, the strange encounters with first Raven Stallis and then Helena had left the mage a bit restless.

When the first bell rang, he woke Yara gently and they kissed as he left to go get changed. Breakfast came and went quickly. The healer’s apprentice met him after half his meal was consumed. Their table was a mix of battle mages and a few wizards, so the two sitting next to each other wasn’t completely strange to see. The fact that they were known to many as being friends since the previous summer lessened questions even more.

Yara was still finishing her breakfast when the mage had to leave for the ravens’ offices.

New guards held their ground until they found out Sebastian’s appointment was officially planned, even if it was last minute. The mizard’s reputation didn’t earn him any special treatment when it came to the ravens’ security.  Windmeer security was strict refusing to relax even with people that were well known and much of that was reinforced when Palose had walked in and called down the emperor’s forces into the heart of the castle.

Upon entering, Sebastian was surprised to see more than just the two ravens. Falconi Ralto was away, but in his stead were three wizards. One wore the red of fire and a second the brown of earth. Both were older men, older than the two ravens, the falcon thought, but they weren’t all that unusual as both guilds often worked closely together. The third man wore the white of leadership, an uncommon wizard that was the master of more than one field of magic and a leader within the castle. He was Wizard Jeriah, the leader of the wizards in Windmeer and, though they had never met, everyone knew him by name and reputation if only based on the color of his robes. He was what every wizard aspired to be if they had any ambition. Even Sebastian, despite being in the battle mage corps, felt a little in awe of this man.

After saluting his superiors, he awaited what was to come and the men around him didn’t wait long to explain.

Stallis was the first to speak, “Well, Sebastian, since you agreed to join what is usually considered a wizard’s tournament; we requested the expertise of our brothers in the wizards’ guild to brief you not only on the rules of Winter’s Edge, but what you will be facing in the stadium. High Wizard Jeriah has honored us by coming to talk to you and has brought wizards Torin and Delfar, who are experts in magic combat dueling.”

The raven nodded and gestured with his hand towards the visiting wizards to give them the floor. As was to be expected, the white wizard, his sleeves decorated in twisting colors of red, blue, brown and silver signifying the four types of magic that he had mastered, took the lead as he took stock of the young battle mage before him.

“So this is the mage people have begun to call mizard? I am afraid that we have never met, but even among my guilds I hear of Falcon Sebastian Trillon, who has discovered a way to make wizard level magic his own. More over I am impressed that you managed to even share the knowledge in a way that let’s more of your mages actually use the same skills. That talent is the rarer of the two, I think.”

Sebastian calmly took in what he estimated was a compliment from such a talented wizard with a nod. The older man had grey hair; with shoulders just beginning to bow slightly with age, but his piercing blue eyes belied any belief that he might have become weak.

Letting the High Wizard continue uninterrupted, the man continued, “Not only have you an exceptional mind for developing and breaking down magic, which has typically been our domain, now I am told that you have decided to enter the wizards’ tournament.” He paused still trying to draw a reaction from the young man before continuing, “At first, it was easy to think that you may have gone too far. Knowing magic as opposed to having the skill and strength to survive a wizard’s duel are two entirely different things, young man. Some might think that you are too brazen or perhaps simply foolish to try such a thing. The power you will need is great and even now I can sense that your strength of magic barely touches on the weakest of wizards, but Raven Stallis and Raven Liom seem to think that if any battle mage can stand in the ring it is you.

“We’ll see about that in the future, of course, but as anyone who lives in Windmeer knows of your exploits, I have to give you the benefit of the doubt. Your leaders are not known to take chances that will make them look foolish, so we are here to try and make sure that you do not.

“Delfar, would you explain the basics of the wizard’s duel, please?” The words were polite, but the wave of his hand and his tone were those of a man used to getting his own way.

The wizard dressed in brown nodded his head obediently and began to speak, “Most controlled duel formats are the same. Two wizards square off about forty to fifty feet from one another and begin by setting defenses against their opponent’s magic. Some go on the attack trying to beat their foe quickly before their defenses can be raised. It is generally looked at as a bit cowardly in some circles, while if an attack fails to breach the defense, the attacker is more vulnerable to counter attack so some think it actually quite brave to risk the ploy.

“Where most duels take place outside away from houses, castles and the like, Winter’s Edge will take place inside of the city’s coliseum. Wizards will be surrounding the battle to protect onlookers from stray spells as well as minimizing the possibility of death to the combatants. Sometimes other duels have healers ready. Winter’s Edge will have a large force of healing wizards there to tend to the wounded.”

Wizard Torin had been listening half heartedly stroking his pointed beard, when Delfar paused Jeriah pointed at the taller man in his red robes. “Another difference between typical duels and what Winter’s Edge will have is that each contestant will be able to request resources brought into their combat zone. A wizard who uses water for ice and other spells can ask for a pool of water to draw from or a nature wizard can have plants or trees to utilize in their match.

“If you are smart, boy, you will research each opponent you face and look for weaknesses in his game or strengths that you can use against him. Your quick little battle mage tricks won’t work as well if you wish to close with your foe either. Every match has a ten to twenty second buffer to start a defense spell or series of spells. That is another reason few will try to sneak in an attack before setting their defenses.